Visit with us, catch up, and get connected
as we share the journey of becoming parents through adoption.

Tuesday

Did you know, we are adopting???

Today marked 5 months on the long, long wait.
We have been in process since January 2011, with things to do and stuff and so on ... and we had a bumpy road to the actual waiting yet here we are.

5 months.

We went to our first support group session last week, and it was good.  It did not makes things better or easier, but it was good.  It was good to meet other people and forge connections.  It was good to talk to people that got it from the inside.  And then, there was a moment where you wondered, will they get theirs first?  It is a terrible feeling, but a real one.

I have been facing a lot of jealous feelings lately ... go figure.  I am trying to cut myself some slack as many of you have told me; it is not like I am on an easy street over here!  But, alas, I am trying to find some positiveness.

Something they told us in the session was to make sure our friends, family, and everyone we know knows that we are adopting!  I cannot imagine that you don't... but just in case, we are =)

They have told us it is usually a connection of a connection that brings a baby home ... so at this point we are wanting to make sure all of you know we are in this, we are home study approved and ready to go!  If you have any questions about us or our situation, we are an open book and all you have to do is ask.

xoxo.

Wednesday

A little self promotion ...

Here are the links to our online profile as well as the video of our life on YouTube!  Take a look and let us know what you think, and feel free to share this and pass it along!!



xoxo,
The Pea Pod

Monday

While we wait ...

While we wait,
Our hearts fill--
and our hearts break.

We have waited so long for you to come home,
There is relief in knowing
You cannot feel alone.
You are not here to feel this wait,
it is only our hearts that break.

Anticipation is a difficult walk
you are forced to be happy when your not
required to have hopeful talks
expected to be excited when you are simply sad
Riding the ups and downs of happy to mad.

But you, little one, are worth the wait
you are worth the tears, the smiles, and it all for Goodness sake!
You are going to come in on a breezy day
and change every little thing about our ways.

Until then, hold on for us to be near,
It cannot be long now, my dear.
Hear mommy and daddy when we say-
You are the reason we can get through these days.

This just about says it all right now ....

I saw this quote on Pintrest and sketched it into my own journal as a deal with the pain of loss and the struggle of waiting.  Ironic to be longing for my mom and to be a mom in the same breath.

Thursday

Sweet Success and Great Pain.

As you can see by our beautiful thermometer ... we have reached our goal!  Through living on a tight budget, awesome friends and family responding to our fundraisers, and the grace of God we have the money we need.  I remember about a year or so ago many people telling us "don't let the money scare you, it will come."  It seemed so ridiculous at the time ... what do you mean it will COME?!  Don't you know it doesn't grow on trees?!  Well, now I can say to other people as well, "don't let the money scare you, it will come."

That was the sweet success.

Sadly, there has been little joy in this great accomplishment.  Do not get me wrong, we are relieved ... but our lives have been destroyed.  My beautiful, young, amazing, and unbelievably strong Mom passed away 8 weeks ago tomorrow.  I cannot even believe I have to say that sentence or that this has happened.  I have spent all of my life with a great fear of death and loosing someone despite my relationship with God, and here I and my family are faced with it head on.

To say this has destroyed me is a total understatement ... but to say it has forced me to be stronger than I ever imagined is, too.  I am stronger, because I have her living inside me.  I have her courage, her power, and her abilities radiating from me and I know this because believe me, they were not in me 8 weeks ago.

The Pea Pod is cracked, damaged, shaken, but not destroyed.  She will not allow us to be.  She is right there with God at this moment, knowing the past, the present and the future of this whole story.  She is holding me tightly and will never ever leave me.  My relationship with God is healing ... I feel the anger and hate (sorry to be so real) dissolving and the hope and strength rising.

Please pray with the whole Pea Pod Gang (Kristin, Chad, Greg, Sean, Kirsten, & Andrew) that we find peace, light, love, and joy ... and that our littlest pea get here quickly.

A few pictures for you ...

This is the most comforting and best picture of my Mom.  Her face is simply happy, full of approval and joy.  She was at the cabin over Christmas with her whole family, and you can see the love in her eyes.
We each have this hanging in a 16x20 in our homes now, just so that approving smile and loving feeling spreads in our hearts, homes, and lives.


Our greatest moment as a family.  We were all so happy and so thrilled to be together.


Love you mommy, forever and ever and ever,
Baby Bird

Monday

Busy Bee's! Or Pea's! Busy Pea's!!

Well we have been some busy Pea's lately!  The Christmas shopping with Chickie Crafts is officially underway, and we have been SO amazed by how many orders we have!  And they are not just those that know about us, Chickie Crafts is taking on a life of its own and we love it!

So we are squirreling away every penny we can ... as you can see by that beautiful thermometer over there we are getting close!!  Just a few thousand more to go and we will be ready for that little bambino!

Speaking of that little pea, we sure have been thinking a lot about him or her lately!  Kristin is somewhat convinced we are thinking about Baby BOY Clark, Chad thinks Baby GIRL Clark!  It is 50/50 either way ... =)  Times are getting very exciting ... we are hoping and praying for a quick process and to have our little cutie pie home SOON!

So what do you think, boy or girl?!

Wednesday

Farting without the rainbows.

<Kristin talking here...>

My dear sweet bff Lisa has coined the funniest phrase ... "farting rainbows."  When there is a situation that calls for one to fart a rainbow, I apparently do so well.  For example, someone or something bad happens, and you create a usually fake but cheery response.  Some people say that is lemonade out of lemons, we say it is "farting a rainbow!"

Sometimes, there are just farts.  Forgive me for my crass language, it is just part of my reality right now. Right now, there is no rainbow in the farts happening right now, and I am just generally upset.

I hope that this rambling will draw someone closer to the reality of adoption, because as you can see by all the other posts here I have gotten really good a farting rainbows.  I make things look clean, easy, and happy all the time ... and there are moments that I am just taken to tears.  Infertility took me to those tears often, it reminds me of this post from my infertility blogging days.  I titled that "Waves of Infertility."  Today I could write a novel about the "Waves of Adoption."

Today was a wave.  Not a monsoon, not a downpour, not a sprinkle, and not a shower.  A wave.  I am waiting to see how I ride it, if I get swallowed whole or if I crest ... it is an unknown right now.  But I do know I will be writing that book.  I have to.

Thursday

Taking a breath!

Well, as you all know our fall fundraiser was stunning and amazing.  Click here to see the amazing pictures ... we had a BLAST!  We had a wonderful group of friends that hosted this amazing event and silent auction, and all in all raised almost $4,000 from this event!

Since then, we met with our agency and did our final set of interviews, and our case worker is working hard on our Home Study write up.  We have finished our profile books, it is FABULOUS!  They should arrive tomorrow!!

So from here, we meet with Nancy on Wednesday the 19th for our final meeting and to look over the Home Study, hand over our profiles, and wrap this side of the work up!  Then, it is waiting, praying, hoping, dreaming, saving, saving, saving time!!!

We are so excited and ready for this step ... it is giant.  In the past month our lives have been turned upside down with adoption ... one month ago today we were obsessively cleaning our house and freaking out about the study!  Since then we have had a beautiful party, raised $4,000, done all the home study work, created a profile, and laughed.  We have laughed a lot =)

I pray and hope that we can stay happy and excited about this after next week.  When the projects stop, and the constant "something to do for the agency" slows down ... when it is just the two of us and the wait.  Yes, we have PLENTY going on that will occupy that time, but it is still something we have to work toward.  Staying positive and happy takes work ... but it is so worthwhile!!

Monday

Financial Update!

So the Garden Party was wonderful ... We had the best time in the world.  Thank you all so so much for donating, participating, supporting, praying ... it was all we hoped it would be!

So you look over there to the right (--->) and you see that we just broke the $10k mark of fundraising!  WAHOOO!!  But wait, didn't that total say $22,500 yesterday?  Not $18,000?  Why yes, yes it did.

We had our first homestudy visit on the 14th of September, and it went smashingly well.  Aside from adoring our caseworker and having a wonderful time talking on the couch for what felt like hours, we got a wonderful surprise.  If our adoption is done within one year of our homestudy being finalized, our total fees will be $18k!!!  The fees with our agency are on a sliding scale based on your last 3 years of tax returns, and 3 years ago I worked for the board of education so my salary was quite a bit lower.  So we have 12 months from the end of the study, and at that moment our final payment will be $11,500 when we receive our little Pea!

So we are now around $7,000 away from all of our fees being raised.  We are so thrilled and in awe of the love we have experienced and the ability to save save save on our own!  It has only been 9 months (ironic!) since we started the adoption fund, and we are well over half way there!  We are actually 65.53% there =)

So, now we go into a world of slowing down, no big events, no insane deadlines ... just living a nice quiet fall season with all the other aspects of our cooky life =)  Preparing for Christmas Cards is our next big fundraiser, can you BELIEVE that?!?!!?

For pictures of the event, take a look here!

Thursday

GIVEAWAY!!!

Well, friends, it is GIVEAWAY TIME!!!
Chad has been working on this one ... something that would drum up some ticket sales for our upcoming Little Pea: Giant Love Garden Party Fundraiser ... and HERE IT IS!!!
 Product Image
AN APPLE TV!!!

To be entered to win, you simply have to purchase a ticket for $25 to our Garden Party, or make a donation of $25 or more if you are out of town or unable to attend!  For every $25 you spend, you are entered into the drawing!! (You must pay via paypal, check, or cash ... payment must be received by 9/24/2011)

Then, post a link to the Garden Party Facebook Invite on your facebook wall. (Tag us in the post so we know you did that part, or leave a comment below stating you posted!!)

That is IT!  We will do the drawing at the Garden Party, you do not have to be present to win!!!!!

Fall Fundraiser!!

Good morning, sweeties!
As you may have known by being directed here, we just announced our Fall Fundraiser and the ticket sale kick off starts TODAY!  For more info, click here.

I wanted to share a little background about WHY we are fundraising so much, and what the end goal is.  Enjoy!
Much love,
Fundraising Mommy



We hope this finds you well and you are enjoying your summer … we are busy, busy, busy preparing for our little Pea to arrive, and it is so fun!

As you might know, we had an amazing Yard Sale Fundraiser in the spring and it was a great success.  We were trying to think of another fundraiser to do when our great friend Joe approached us about a party. That idea has quickly developed in to the ….


Little Pea: Giant Love
Clark Adoption Fundraiser

This fundraiser will be a ton fun, and we would love for you to be a part of it and get your ticket to the Little Pea: Giant Love Garden Party September 24th, 2011 from 4 to 8pm.  It will be a wonderful event with music, food, drinks, silent auction, and time to celebrate together all while having a LOT of fun!

For this fundraiser, donating is the key and the party is the celebration.  So think simple … can you donate $10 or $20 to the cause?  If so, that is a huge success!  We need every dollar, and as soon as that baby pea is ready to roll we need to have the cash in hand!

Our entire adoption will be around $22,500, with the final portion of around $15,000 due when we take the baby home.  You can help us get that lined up right now with this event, so when our little one is ready we are too!

Thank you for your love, your support, and your encouragement!  This little pea is going to come into a world that is filled with giant love for them!!

Chad & Kristin Clark

Tuesday

Fall Fundraiser, SAVE THE DATE!!

September 24th, 2011!!
Click HERE for all the details!  This is going to be an amazing party you will not want to miss, email us for more information  and help us sell this event OUT!!  Share, invite, spread the word, and help us be ready for little pea!

Wednesday

Redesign ...What do you think?!

We are working on our big fall fundraiser ...
Little Pea: Giant Love ...
many, many more details to come.  If you are interested in participating, email me and let me know!

Because of the anticipated traffic to the site, the Chair of this event, Joe, and I took some time to revamp the blog and make it more universal and user friendly for those that may be visiting that do not know us personally (yet)!  What do you think?  Did we get it??!

So excited about things scooting right along ... hope to have lots of big things to share soon, stay tuned!!

Friday

You ain't seen nothing like us yet ...

To our little pea ... we love you sweet one.  Cannot wait to sing this song to you.
love forever...
Daddy & Mommy


When the rain Is blowing in your face
And the whole world Is on your case
I could offer you
A warm embrace
To make you feel my love

When the evening shadows
And the stars appear
And there is no one there
To dry your tears
I could hold you
For a million years
To make you feel my love
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/a/adele/make_you_feel_my_love.html ]
I know you Haven't made Your mind up yet
But I would never Do you wrong
I've known it From the moment That we met
No doubt in my mind
Where you belong


I'd go hungry
I'd go black and blue
I'd go crawling
Down the avenue
No, there's nothing
That I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love

The storms are raging
On the rolling sea
And on the highway of regret
Though winds of change
Are blowing wild and free
You ain't seen nothing
Like me yet


I could make you happy
Make your dreams come true
Nothing that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends
Of the Earth for you
To make you feel my love


First GIANT leap: Taken!!

On Wednesday June 22nd, 2011 Chad and I took our huge packet of paperwork to the agency!!
Our dear friend there, Charlie (aka paperwork nazi!) took our months of hard work and gave us the best advice ... let her be in charge for a while.  Stop worrying, stressing, and focusing on this; she said we had accomplished a great task in getting this in, and we need to celebrate that!

So a lot of you follow me on facebook personally, so you know most of the "checkins" we had to do for this packet.  Just to give you an image ...

  • Criminal background checks from the police station downtown
  • Psychological evaluations and personality testing
  • Physical exams including TB and drug tests
  • Fingerprinting
  • Life story paperwork, LOL for both of us, our childhoods, our families ...
and that is just a little bit of it.  We had to bury our heads and get it done, and we did!!  It is a wonderful feeling to know it is D-O-N-E!

So we are taking a break for this weekend, not thinking about any of it.  We have already heard back from Charlie with some things she needs, and how great we did.  Talk about feeling GOOD!

Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement .... please keep thinking about us as we move into a phase of waiting ... we now wait for them to look at it all, talk about us, ask for more stuff ... and then eventually we we will start the home study!  Then, we are live and available.  WOW.

Much love,
Relieved Mommy!

Wednesday

NEW Cards are here!!

I am in LOVE with these new cards my great friend Lisa printed for us!
She took one of my card covers, scanned it, and printed it on the card!  They are beautiful.

We have the first set available now ... many more to come for sure!  Take a look at the pictures below, and email me to order right away!  If you are not local to us, $1 shipping will apply ... and you can pay via paypal.

$5 for a set of 5!!  Beat that, Hallmark!!  And 100% of these proceeds come directly to the adoption fund, the cards were donated for the first round!!!  Help us sell this whole box, limited sets available!!!

Looking forward to sharing these with you all!!
Much love!





Tuesday

W O W.

That is the only word for this weekend.
W O W!!!

First, our heartfelt thank you goes out to all of our friends and family that donated items, volunteered their time to us, worked hard, shopped ... wow.  That is definitively the first wow!!  It was overwhelming, humbling, and amazing to be loved so deeply by others ... giving of your possessions and time was so amazing.  We love you all so so so much!!

The second wow is what we raised!!!  In one day, we earned over $2,400 for the adoption fund!!!  We are STILL in shock, 3 days later.  It is so unbelievable to us that we were so blessed ... we were hoping for $1,000!
It was such an amazing experience.

We are riding off all that love and support ... and have one last in person parenting class tonight, psychological evaluations Thursday night ... and we will hopefully be submitting our paperwork on Monday!!!  Then, we wait for the home study and as soon as it is complete we will be live and available to be chosen.

What a roller coaster ride ... it is teaching us to love the highs and stop fearing the lows!  Thank you God for your faithfulness to us and helping us along the way ... we feel your nudges at every turn!!

Now here are some pictures just to make your jaw drop!!





 

Wednesday

It is almost time!

We are just a few days away from the Yard Sale, and we are SO EXCITED!  Our storage unit is officially full and we still have quite a few pick ups, so to say this is going to be massive is an understatement!

Please help us out by sharing these links by email, twitter, facebook ... we just need the word OUT!
This is the Facebook invite with all the info:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=158361714231690

This is the Craigslist ad:
http://nashville.craigslist.org/gms/2424218362.html

And this is me smiling =) and hugging and kissing you XOXO for helping us get people there!!

Much love,
Yard-Sale-ing Mamma!