tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15143182774123390722024-03-24T13:46:54.211-04:00Your Coffey BreakLachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-74355188813961132852014-01-09T18:27:00.000-05:002014-01-09T18:27:54.631-05:00How We Stage and Sell Our Homes<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We have
bought three homes, and sold two in our almost nine years of marriage. Prepping
a home to sell is HARD WORK, but I think it’s an opportunity for Lachlan and I to
use our gifts to be a pretty great team. Even though it’s stressful, we both
thrive in having a specific goal before us with mapped out tasks to accomplish
together. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We are not
expert decorators. Our lived in homes are not blog worthy. They’ve always been
cozy and comfortable, with lots of things we love, and lots we’d change if we
could. But I’d say we are pretty decent in the staging-and-prepping-to-sell
department. Staging and decorating are completely different. True, if you have
a well designed home, staging might be easier for you, and if it’s a pretty
neutral style, it will appeal to lots of potential buyers, but you can
certainly stage your home without spending lots of money or having the best
decorated home. I think a well decorated home welcomes people into <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">your</i> space, a well staged home welcomes
people into <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">their</i> space. It’s
neutral, it guides the eye, it shows people what a well organized life might be
like there, it focuses attention on the best of the home, and doesn’t distract
from the home itself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Over the past
few months, several friends have put their homes up for sale, and ask us to
give them some tips. In order to save some time, I wanted to compile our list
here. Feel free to share this with others, and add your own tips in the
comments! This is really just a place for me to have a link to send friends. It's not the best "blog," since I have no pictures, but here you go.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><strong>First thing, first.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><u>Get
a good realtor</u>. It’s invaluable. In the Louisville area, we cannot over state
how amazing <a href="http://www.reuproperties.com/agents/801/cynthia-madsen/" target="_blank">Cynthia Madsen</a> with Real Estate Unlimited has been. <br />
She is the perfect balance of completely professional, with a caring heart. We are
needy clients, we call a lot, we want to know things that other sellers don’t<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>care about, we ask lots of questions. Cynthia is
always available; either has an answer, or gets one quickly, and is a kind and warm person. Both of our homes have sold in short order with her at the helm-- 2 weeks and 6 weeks I believe.
She was also a huge help in purchasing our homes. If you are anywhere near the
Louisville area, use Cynthia. She’s represented lots of other friends as well,
and they have all had great experiences. Tell her the Coffeys sent you!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><strong>BEFORE YOU LIST</strong></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><strong></strong></span></o:p></span> </div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></o:p></span></strong> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><strong>Fix it...</strong></span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This
is the go crazy for 2 weeks part. Like totally crazy. Everything else on hold
crazy. Stay up late and recruit babysitters if you can. You will hit the pillow hard
these two weeks when you finally do make it to bed. You will stay up late, and get up early, and never sit down
during your baby's naps. You will eat too much pizza. But at the end of those two weeks,
you will stick that FOR SALE sign in the yard and feel so great. And you may
not want to move, because your home will be amazing!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Make a list of all those little things you haven’t fixed; the loose door knob,
the closet door that sticks, the creaky floor board. Do you have a light switch
plate that is beige, and the switch is white? Change it. Eliminate any little
thing you can that will be an eye sore or negative to the potential buyer. Make
your Lowes list, and make your first trip. Introduce yourself. You are going to
be BFFs with those people over the next few weeks. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Other
things to consider; Do you need to repaint? Are there paint splatters all over
your ceiling? Can you see finger prints on every wall or the art your 3 year
old made for you that Mr. Clean and his Magic Eraser couldn’t defeat? Then the
answer is “Yes, you do need to paint.” And the other answer is, “if you are not
a great painter (splatters on the ceiling?) You need to hire someone.” I know.
That stinks. But you really are paying yourself. Your house will sell faster.
You will have to prepare for less showings. You WILL have an edge on your
competition. Now, on the other hand, if you have a nice paint job, and the
walls are clean and the trim in great shape, I don’t think that you have to have
every room Beige. But Neon Orange may be something to consider changing. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">You
have to spend money to sell your home. And it’s painful. Because usually you
are spending money on the things you never really cared about enough to spend
money on. Our front steps on our last home were chipped and crumbling in spots.
It wasn’t pretty, but it wasn’t the end of the world to us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were plenty of other things we WANTED to
spend money on for our house, but when it comes to selling, you have to do it,
because the buyers don’t want to spend money on those things either, and they
start making a list in their head, comparing your home to the one down the
street. The one without the crumbling front step will take the lead.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p><strong>Pack it...</strong></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p><strong></strong></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">After
you’ve made your ‘Fix It’ list, it’s time to start packing. At the end of this
step, you will think, “WHY DO WE HAVE SO MUCH CRAP WE DON’T NEED?!?!” And you
will also be half way done packing when you sell and it’s time to move. It’s
like a gift to your future self. See? Glass half full. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Throw
away, and donate as much as you can during this stage. Everything you do pack up
in this stage, you should mark with some special symbol, to remind yourself to
go through it again when you unpack at your next house. After living without it
for a while, you will realize that you can toss or donate lots more of it.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We
personally try to pack more than half our stuff up before we list. I HIGHLY recommend
getting a storage unit, because half of your stuff also includes furniture.
Shop around, google coupon codes, and do it. You want to have the bare minimum
to keep your home livable. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Here
are some room by room tips:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><u>Kitchen<o:p></o:p></u></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Pack up all gadgets and specialty tools that you can. If you
usually use a zester, but can use a pairing knife for a while, it gets packed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Reduce your pots and
pans to the bare minimum it takes to make a dinner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-All specialty pans, extra casseroles, everything, PACK IT! You
should make it your goal to reduce each cabinet and drawer by 50%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Remove EVERYTHING from your counters, exception would be a
coffeemaker and maybe a cookbook holder and cute cookbook.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Do a good fridge clean
out, toss and then scrub, organize it well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Organize your pantry and leave extra space. You don't want it to
appear you ever lack for space<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-A big bowl of apples or citrus looks great on your table, is
useful, and last longer than flowers, although, I think fresh flowers are
always nice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><u>Bath</u></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-New shower curtain
liner<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Reduce your towels to your
best 6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Eliminate all makeup, meds and bath crap by 75% Think basic. Foundation,
mascara, eyeliner and 1 lip gloss. 1 lotion, 1 shampoo, 1 bodywash, 1
all-in-one kids wash. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you happen to
need more before you sell, just buy what you need.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Cute hand soap and
maybe a candle<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><u>Living room</u></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Keep no more than 4 DVDs
out, if any. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Reduce your furniture if
you can. We stored one of our couches each time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Remove all family pictures, and try to keep, purchase or make just
one large neutral piece of art. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-If you have bookcase you can get rid of, do. If you need to keep
the bookcase, or if you think it makes sense to, pack up 80% of your books. If
you have to keep books that are not pretty, buy a cute basket that will fit on
the shelf to put them in, otherwise, only keep books that are hardcover and
look nice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Only 3 or 5 (odd number) of knickknacks can be kept. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-No toys in the living area.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><u>Kids Room</u></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Get 2 cute non see through boxes for each kid
room, 1 for <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>books and 1 for toys. Keep 1
or 2 special stuffed animals they sleep with.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">EVERYTHING ELSE IS PACKED AWAY</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Closets--reduce by 50% and color code arrange. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1 sandal, 1 tennis shoe, and 1 school shoe set a
kid (and snow boots if it’s winter)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Remove flat sheets and just use a fitted sheet
and quilt, it makes for really easy bed making for last minute showings. We’ve
stopped using flat sheets for our kids at all, it’s just too hard for them to
make beds with the sheet.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><u>Master Bedroom</u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-DECLUTTER!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Only keep out 2-3 books you are currently
reading, a lamp and an alarm on your end table</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Clear your dresser (If you have two, see if you
can reduce to one!)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cut your closet by 50-75% and arrange by color
(You don’t have to give these clothes away, just make yourself do it. It will
be much easier to keep up!)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Keep a brown and black pair of dress
shoes/heels, one pair of athletic, one sandal or flip flop and one pair of
boots if it’s winter.</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><u>Dining Room</u></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><u>-</u><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Really keep this simple. Table, buffet if there
is ample room, and a piece of art on the wall. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Fresh fruit or flowers or a candle for the table.</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Overall, reduce your furniture so that buyers
can see the potential to live simply and have room to grow.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><u>Outside </u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">(If a buyer doesn’t think you take care of the outside, they may not go inside. We left a house or two without ever going in...)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Add or feature an outdoor eating area. Consider
a new umbrella for your patio set.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-LOTS of potted flowers! You can take them
with you!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Flowers for your front porch</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-A seating area on the front porch, if possible, with a little table. (Help them imagine passing the evenings away here!)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-A new welcome mat</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-A simple wreath</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-You may want to consider painting your front door if it is too neutral, dated or worn. This is a pretty quick project that can really make a huge difference.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-Power wash your siding and porch if necessary. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-Stain your deck if needed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-Lay new mulch, WEED, edge and keep your lawn looking nice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-If it’s winter, make sure the sidewalk and steps are shoveled if it snows</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong>Additionally...</strong></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Make sure you do a crazy cleaning.
Baseboards, mirrors, WINDOWS! Windows are one of the best indicators that you
keep a clean house (note to self: Wash windows…)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Scrub grout</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Clean the ceiling fans and
light fixtures.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-Check all the corners (up high on the ceiling and down low behind door...this is where all the dust and cobwebs you miss on your regular cleaning go to hide...</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong>LISTED AND TIME TO SHOW</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>-</strong><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Turn on all the lights, open all the blinds and
curtains, and make sure the windows are clean.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Buy a couple of laundry baskets to run through the
house and throw crap into them and put in your car. (Seriously you may have
people drive by and want to see your house, and this will help have it show
ready in 15 minutes!) YOU MUST COMMIT TO BRINGING SAID BASKETS BACK IN THE HOUSE TO DEAL WITH AFTER THE SHOWING!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">-<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you have any dirty dishes, put them in the dishwasher
and start it (so long as its a quite one)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If your washer and dryer are quiet, start a load
of dirty laundry. If not, put dirty laundry in a closed non-see through hamper.
Take unfolded laundry with you</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Make beds (it’s so easy with no flat sheets! </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> )</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Wipe down all counters, mirrors, and toilets.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Take out the trash!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Put the kids by the door with the iPad, or
better yet, buckled in their car seats with a snack and the iPad.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Light candles.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-I<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">f it’s winter and you have a fireplace, light
it!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vacuum yourself out the door. (I usually just
threw my vacuum in my trunk too)!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Reducing the stuff in your home makes managing
last minute showing so much easier. When all the toys in your kids room go in
one box, it’s easier for them to help as well. Ellory was such a happy kid with
her reduced toy load. She actually played much better and kept her room clean
on her own, she was 4 the last time we sold our home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then, just keep up on the daily stuff. If I knew
we were having a showing, I’d try to mop, but if I couldn’t, I just sprayed the
visible spots and wiped them up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Help your realtor sell! Help write the description
of your home. You know it best! Tell buyers about your neighborhood, where they
can walk, what it’s like to sit on your front porch. What do you love about
your home? A playroom near the family room? A kitchen where everyone can
gather? The light in the living room?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We do not have pets, but we’ve looked at lots of
houses with pets. TAKE YOUR PETS WITH YOU. It’s very weird to be in someone’s
home, without them, and their pets to be there. Your pets are freaking out, and
distracting us from seeing our potential home. Also, you may not know it, but your house
smells like your pet. Spend the money to have your carpets cleaned and light
some high quality candles. There was more than one house we walked in the door
of and turned around and walked right back out of because of either smoke or
heavy pet odors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As best as you can, every time you leave your
home, for work or the grocery, have it show ready. You won’t light candles and the fire place, but you
should have beds made and dirty dishes put away. We got lots of requests for
last minute showings when we were not home. Our neighbors or realtor would show
up a few minutes early and light the candles, and do a quick run through. But
it is a good habit to try to put your kids in the car, and run back through
your home every time you leave. You never know who will be the buyer!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Selling your home is hard work, but if you put
some up front effort into it, and develop some new habits, it can make your job
much easier. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Happy Selling!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-67906103268379400152013-01-29T11:28:00.001-05:002013-01-29T13:42:36.207-05:00My Friend Loves Me, and I Love Her<br />
One of the sweetest things about my life in Christ is the friendships I've been blessed with. These are not the kind of friends who always tell me that I am right, or who are there for me only when I have something to offer. These are friends who display the very real character of Christ, through encouragement and perseverance and steadfast love in the good, bad, joys and sorrows of life. I've learned so much about the Lord's perfect love for me, through these friends. I could literally dedicate this entire blog to the stories of friendship. <br />
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<em>The Coffey and Cosper Kiddos, pre-Ehren. There are not enough ways to say "precious."</em></div>
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One of my blessings is Sarah. As soon as I met Sarah, I knew I loved her. And I felt that she loved me. When I started attending Sojourn in 2002, there was a certain insecurity I dealt with in wanting to establish friendships that were my own, and weren't based on my status as Lachlan's girlfriend. But with Mike and Sarah the history with Lachlan was more a comfort than a cause for me to be self-conscience. I love that Mike and Lachlan have been friends since 3rd grade. I love that Sarah and Lachlan were theatre geeks alongside one another and prom dates. I love the confidence Mike and Lachlan have as brothers in Christ, that allows them to speak truth, and fight and get mad and be like--well brothers-- with no fear in ever losing one another. I love that they were all apart of God's plan in starting this crazy thing called Sojourn in the living room of an apartment, with 9 other people. I also love that I got to work with Mike for a year and a half--and refuse to clean his stanky bathroom in that nasty apartment we tried to pass off as an office. I love that we got to receive pre-marital counseling from them, and were served communion by them at our wedding. I love that I borrowed Sarah's necklace to walk down the isle in, and that Mike was standing next to Lachlan, promising to fight for our marriage as we took our vows. I love how our first born girls are just 10 weeks apart, and that we get to chat in the waiting room of dance class each Thursday, watching them grow-up together. I love that Mike sometimes cooks gourmet meals for us, and that they brought us wine after Ehren was born. I also love that they've showed us how to suffer and love each other in the midst of it. We love the Mike and Sarah rule, that if you are sick, the other spouse has to go get you anything to eat that you want. We also love their rule on allowances for each other. And so we stole both of them.<br />
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Lachlan and I are so very thankful to both journey alongside the Cospers and be led by them as well. Sarah is soft spoken and gentle, and I have so much to learn from her in how she speaks to and respects others. Mike is hands down one of the smartest people we know. Sarah has gone before me in the realm of suffering from an autoimmune disease. Her symptoms and suffering are beyond what I have had to endure. And I hate it for her--but I'm thankful, too. She kinda blew me away last night with a lovely letter that was addressed to me, but is applicable for all those faced with specifically Celiac Disease, but also other autoimmune sufferers or those with gluten allergies and sensitivities. <a href="http://sarahcosper.blogspot.com/2013/01/dear-terri-my-musings-on-going-gluten.html" target="_blank">Here is her post.</a> If you are now, or have to go gluten free, this will be a good read. If those things don't apply, read it anyway and learn about going gluten free, and how much my friend loves me.<br />
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Here's praying you have such friends who love you as well as my friends love me!<br />
<br />Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-42000494003333741602013-01-28T11:15:00.002-05:002013-01-28T11:15:18.730-05:00Ehren's Room: Before and AfterWe've been in our home for just over a year. My sweet husband is a complete slave driver when it comes to settling into a home. The man cannot sleep if there are boxes unpacked. I was 5 months pregnant with our third child when we closed on this house and I had just come out of severe "morning-sickness" which required home health care. I was exceedingly huge for being 5 months along, extremely tired, with an aching back and insomnia. Not to mention a 4 year old and 21 month old.<br />
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<em>Me, just after we moved in, and my crazies, loving the laundry shoot feature.</em></div>
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Lachlan painted 9 very large rooms in 3 days. We arranged furniture and unpacked boxes. As hard as those first 2 weeks were, I was happy to be (mostly) settled. One of the only rooms we put off was Ehren's room. Ellory Sue and Ezra had completed nurseries months before they came home from the hospital, but I just couldn't decide what to do in Ehren's room, and I was preoccupied with the rest of the house. The other issue is that I am cheap ya'll. It's one of my best and worst qualities. I have expensive taste, but I just can't bring myself to pay over $20 for almost anything. My wedding dress cost 100% more than my prom dress, and my prom dress was $20. It's a problem.<br />
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I ran across this <em><a href="http://laybabylay.com/" target="_blank">amazing blog</a></em>, and decided to loosely base my design on <a href="http://laybabylay.com/acoustic-nostalgia/" target="_blank">this</a>. If you need inspiration for a nursery or child's room, you'll get lost on her page for hours. Remember, however, that I am <strike>cheap</strike>--thrifty, I had set a basic budget of $200 for everything I needed for baby three. I'm talking layette, diapers, nursery items, the whole kit and caboodle. Here's the results. It's not design blog worthy, but I love it, and I'm learning that things don't have to be perfect. It's the smallest room in our house, and one of my favorites. It's been a precious place to rock and nurse my baby. <br />
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Isn't he adorable?</div>
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Before:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDHOUyrAYI2dnwPIyLrjI32Jv5bft2Z2iPFx4RYUTNfkUup8Z08ngaTkAPQz8t5aie1phnM63IwpL9zV6IQXRHMX4o6-WRdYT3DS2wj27J5BxZ1G1hPWYo2TgnKX6_9nvja-aAVQqufEXe/s1600/253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDHOUyrAYI2dnwPIyLrjI32Jv5bft2Z2iPFx4RYUTNfkUup8Z08ngaTkAPQz8t5aie1phnM63IwpL9zV6IQXRHMX4o6-WRdYT3DS2wj27J5BxZ1G1hPWYo2TgnKX6_9nvja-aAVQqufEXe/s320/253.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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After:</div>
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Black bookcase: <a href="http://www.target.com/p/room-essentials-3-shelf-bookcase-black/-/A-12630811#?lnk=sc_qi_detaillink" target="_blank">Target</a>, we bought this for Ellory's nursery. ET was his Christmas gift: eBay. Wire E we've had forever, I bought it on clearance at Urban Outfitters. Jimmy Eat World/ Taking Back Sunday print: eBay. Frame: Michael's. Vintage radio: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/YesterNook" target="_blank">Yesternook,</a> for about $4. "etc" is from Target, it was $20, I think I could have waited for it to be clearanced out, but they are his initials, and I didn't want to miss it. Robot tote: 31Bags, it was gifted to us by our sweet friend, Emily, and must be retired, because I can't find a link. </div>
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Vintage Metal Dresser: Yard Sale, it and the nightstand were in Ellory's room at our 2nd house, and were $60 for the pair. They are HEAVY and my favorite! Crib: gifted by our amazing friend's the Lewis Family. Bumper: gifted during a collaborated yard sale by our friends, the Eubanks Family, Sheets: Target, no long available. Mobile I made from a wire wreath form I spray painted, guitar picks and thread. The thread has been a complete tangled mess, but fishing line didn't work. We still love it. I bought the guitar picks at some random place on line, a huge pack was about $5. Art, Lachlan has owned since before we were dating.<br />
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Headphone art, I made by painting a canvas, and a decal from <a href="http://creativeliving.uppercaseliving.net/ShopLanding.m" target="_blank">Uppercase Living,</a> Changing Table, bought from a friend, $10. Changing pad and cover: <a href="http://www.littletreasuressale.com/" target="_blank">Little Treasures Consignment Sale</a>, less than $10. Pillow, Target, clearance from Ezra's nursery.</div>
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I originally bought an amazing mid century rocker for the nursery, but the back wasn't high enough, and it wasn't comfortable to nurse in, so we bought this recliner from a friend for $20. Sunny Day Real Estate print: eBay. Frame: Michael's. Lamp; Yesternook. (I spray painted) Shade: Target. Nightstand: vintage, yard sale. The beautiful quilt was handmade by our talented friend, <a href="http://sarahcosper.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Sarah Cosper</a>. The embroidered pillow I made for Lachlan for our first Christmas when we were dating, although he tried to tell Ellory Sue that he made it in high school. (Wha?!) The Orange pillow was an old Target clearance.</div>
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Close up of the beautiful quilt.</div>
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The wall color is Benjamin Moore, Colorado Gray.</div>
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I realize that you can't get a good idea of the layout, but my ET is sleeping, so no more pictures for now.</div>
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What do you think every nursery needs? </div>
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Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-40760187826364598592013-01-27T13:51:00.001-05:002013-01-27T13:51:17.583-05:00Graphic Art<br />
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I've had my eye on these prints for a while. Our friends Scott and Emily have the one representing Germantown, and I'm drawn to it every time I'm at their house. We bought the same print for our very missed neighbors and best friends, the Paces for Christmas. You'll see Nord's Bakery is featured, the place that inspired the poetry in my <a href="http://yourcoffeybreak.blogspot.com/2013/01/going-gluten-what.html" target="_blank">last post</a>. I then bought and framed both the <a href="http://www.madpixel.net/2011/09/germantown-art-print/" target="_blank">Germantown</a> and <a href="http://www.madpixel.net/2011/06/highlands-art-print/" target="_blank">Highlands</a> print for <strike>me,</strike> I mean, Lachlan. We've spent most of our adult years in apartments and houses in the Highlands and Germantown neighborhoods in Louisville, KY. We are happily settled in our Indiana home, but a piece of me will always long for a little camel back or bungalow within walking distance of a coffee shop, countless local eateries, hardware stores and gift shops. We have them in our dining room, and every time I catch a glimpse, my heart is happy with all the memories it stirs up. It's like a snapshot of home. <br />
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The prints are by <a href="http://www.madpixel.net/" target="_blank">Madpixel</a>, and can be purchased at one of our favorite stores <a href="http://www.whylouisville.com/" target="_blank">Why Louisville</a>, for $25.<br />
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We are still deciding if we like the casual "lean" of the prints, or if we are going to hang them. What do you think?<br />
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Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-7305926708975694192013-01-26T16:30:00.001-05:002013-01-26T16:30:56.417-05:00Going Gluten What?On New Year's Eve I had some blood test run. We were trying to figure out why my usually controlled hypothyroid condition has been unable to be regulated, and why I've felt like I've had mono for the past 9 months. The blood work showed that there were high celiac antibodies, and that I am probably suffering from <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001280/" target="_blank">Celiac Disease</a> as well. Two uncontrolled autoimmune diseases and 3 children under 5 make for one tired Momma. I'll be having an endoscopy on Friday to have a biopsy, to confirm if the blood work was accurate. <br />
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Celiac Disease is controlled through a gluten free diet. And. I. Am. Being. A. Big. Baby. About the prospect of the complete lifestyle change. <br />
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Lachlan has been a great encouragement in reminding me that our God is good, and Sovereign, and that though this will be hard, I have much to be thankful for! I'm getting there. I suppose because I can't quite remember what it feels like to have energy and feel "good", I'm wondering if I'd rather just remain miserable while enjoying beer and brownies. <br />
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As I begin to wrap my mind around my new diet, I've started a <a href="http://pinterest.com/tscoffey/gluten-what/" target="_blank">pinterst board</a> with gluten free recipes. I'd love to have you follow along. Assuming this goes down, you'll be finding lots of reviews and thoughts on the recipes and the lifestyle here in the future. Until then, you'll find me stuffing my face with french toast, drinking the growler of meade I bought from <a href="http://www.cumberlandbrewery.com/" target="_blank">Cumberland Brewery</a> last night, and writing poetry to and about <a href="http://www.nordsbakery.biz/" target="_blank">Nord's Doughnuts</a>.<br />
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Crispy, salty bacon on sweet maple glaze</div>
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Your custard filled round sets my heart a blaze.</div>
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Perfect dough, cold before fried</div>
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No other doughnut will ever be tried.</div>
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You were not my first, but you will be my last.</div>
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You are the sweet taste of my Germantown past.</div>
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<br />Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-36916142455770349782013-01-26T15:35:00.000-05:002013-01-26T15:35:22.895-05:00I'm bring blogging back....what?!I think the reason I keep putting off starting this thing back up, is because I feel like I have to update all 6 of you with every detail of our lives from my last post. I'm an "all or nothing" kind of girl, and I need to stop it. Stop.<br />
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This time-to-blog thing is good for me. It's good for me to record the important and mundane that make up our journey, and it's good for me to have to think through it all.
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Previously, our blog was almost solely devoted to updates on our adoption. Although we are currently considered "in process" with an agency, for a variety of reasons we are not actively pursuing paperwork at this time. I'll continue to give thoughts and updates as they become available.
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In the mean time, I'm just going to use this as a place to share about our family and friends, about places we visit and products we love and don't love. I want this to be a record for our family to look back on. I want it to preserve memories-- joys and heartaches. I want it to make my kids laugh when I review the products that are completely outdated by the time they care to read this. I want our family to see the hand of our Sovereign God as we look back over the story of our lives.
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Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-22128781374206262022012-04-09T17:03:00.004-04:002012-04-09T17:25:34.439-04:00New and Old Ways to Financially Support our AdoptionI'm hoping to give the 2 month update soon...I suppose not enough drastic or dramatic change has taken place...<br />
For now, I wanted to remind everyone of ways you can support us financially during our journey to adopt.<br />
We are pretty open about sharing that adoption is expensive (up to $30,000 in some estimations we've been given) and that we have almost none of it. We are working to be more and more wise with how we spend and save, and trying to be creative as we set out to raise money to bring our child home. <br />
Here are old and new ways to support us;<br />
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Buy coffee or other products here:<br />
<a href="https://justlovecoffee.com/about/beneficiary/thecoffeys/">https://justlovecoffee.com/thecoffeys</a><br />
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Donate to our Personal PayPal in the upper right hand corner of this blog.<br />
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Donate to the Tesfa Alliance PayPal here (you must include our name in the space provided, and note that PayPal will keep 2.2% of your donation for processing.<br />
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<a href="http://tesfaalliance.org/donate.php">http://tesfaalliance.org/donate.php</a><br />
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The Tesfa Alliance is a non-profit organization run by some very close friends, who's purpose is to help families receive donations for their adoptions, and provide those wishing to donate a tax-deductible way to do so.<br />
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Also, for those of you who are local, I am making these growth charts for $35. Cash, check or PayPal.<br />
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Until I find a moment for a more detailed update, we have been busy preparing for Ehren's arrival, celebrating my 30th and Ezra's 2nd birthday, serving at Sojourn New Albany, and watching the Disvovery Channel series Gold Rush, streaming on Netflix.<br />
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Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-53573143330285416792012-02-08T19:59:00.004-05:002012-02-08T20:20:02.997-05:00Approved!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4RxycBhg3GMjnJ-x0FqA86zSbAz-SpebJ1St9VVd6vZteqbIJf0-yt1ihmyDjbEZbjbHMjx-0ROAJw-YeD1jwTGu_ILcU4jO4b7gbPlkQyOOkdzGAYiZVsp1Y93mk5jE33bjG0jNwQr2/s1600/red_approved_stamp_svg_med.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4RxycBhg3GMjnJ-x0FqA86zSbAz-SpebJ1St9VVd6vZteqbIJf0-yt1ihmyDjbEZbjbHMjx-0ROAJw-YeD1jwTGu_ILcU4jO4b7gbPlkQyOOkdzGAYiZVsp1Y93mk5jE33bjG0jNwQr2/s320/red_approved_stamp_svg_med.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706938909098537410" /></a><br />Our formal application to adopt a child, in the 0-2 age range from Ethiopia,has been approved!<br />The next step is for us to sign and initial a bunch o' documents and send in the application fee of $550. After they receive all the documents and money, we can proceed with the homestudy portion. <br />We learned this week, that unless we want an additional $500 homestudy adendum fee, we will have to wait until Ehren is born to complete our homestudy. This is a little bit of a bummer, because we were hoping to have most of the heavy duty paperwork and meetings completed before we re-enter newborn land, but since we are less than 3 months from his due date, and we will be able to complete everything excluding the last home visit (and, wait for it, a background clearance on Ehren...) we think it would be a silly financial decision to try to rush to complete what we'd have to revise anyway. <br />We'd appreciate specific prayer in time to complete our documents, interviews, and paperwork. Additionally, as with most families in the adoption process, we ask for prayer for financial provision. We've already had to pay these fees once to Holt and our previous homestudy agency, and so they are a bit of a kick in the pants. Also, be praying that Ehren isn't running some in-utero gambleing ring that will send up red falgs on his teeny tiny baby background check, this would be an epic brother fail.<br />Also, I am trying to convince my amazingly funny and wise husband to join in on the fun of YourCoffeyBreak. Don't you guys want to hear the banter and weirdness of the two of us posting? Will everyone leave a peer-pressured plea, addressed to Lachlan, to dust off his key board and enter blog-land?!Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-176600925386022562012-01-18T16:39:00.009-05:002012-02-06T19:16:43.555-05:00Lots more change...Apparently, our whole world likes to change in 2 month seasons.<br />The week before Thanksgiving week, we were getting anxious about the house. We'd had a lot of good showings, but no offers. Lachlan was feeling a pull to jump start the adoption back as soon as possible, and decided that we would give the house until the first of December, and then we would call it, stay put, and start rolling in getting settled for Baby 3 and the adoption. We'd attended the open house at the private school we were considering for Ellory. Looking at the costs we (mmm...I) was overwhelmed. If we took the private school route, I knew we'd be committed for several years, at least until the Buna's adoption was finalized. A few days later we brainstormed, and decided to drop the price of our house the cost of Ellory's kindergarten tuition. We were pretty sure that Thanksgiving week was going to be slow for showings, which left us one week to sell. We got a showing request for Black Friday morning, and another request for the couple to return that afternoon.<br />We had an offer! And a good one at that!<br />We signed the agreement on Saturday, and on Sunday we went back out house hunting. We had our top house in mind (which had dropped 10k since we had seen it the first time), but we also wanted to see a few more in our price range, that would fit a growing family of six... SIX. This is crazy.<br />We felt so good about the house. We could picture our two babies turning into 4, and all of them growing into big, crazy teenagers there. The house was nearly double the size of our current digs, but still felt like a cozy home to grow together in. <br />We put in our offer. It was accepted, and 45 days later, we closed. <br />We have not quite been in our new house a month, but we are busy making it home. Lachlan painted almost every room. I'm putting all my pins from pinterest to use. (check me out here: <a href="http://pinterest.com/tscoffey/">pinterest</a>) We've jumped into eldership at the New Albany campus of the church we attend, and we are loving it! Ellory will register for kindergarten NEXT MONTH, (let me take a moment to wipe a tear from my eye..) and as I approach my third trimester, I am tired, but feeling so much better, I've actually been cooking on a regular basis! (again, putting pinterest to good use).<br />Thank you all so much for your prayers. We know that our God's got this, but it's so sweet to know that brothers and sisters are petitioning for us.<br /><br />Here's a look at our sweet home, I'll do a before and after post soon:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAIa-qWzq2nEHyZbKnY05UmORhm-EnA6euScxcsFsn7VifB7iEub-TozT_GVuDokiCWX7lsY0Yyv8CAOvhkw5P9KA-DzOSthttFQbDH2VLt97Tvr3-0F8mLkRMW3_e4Dk9M6O8uR6Zy6f/s1600/100.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAIa-qWzq2nEHyZbKnY05UmORhm-EnA6euScxcsFsn7VifB7iEub-TozT_GVuDokiCWX7lsY0Yyv8CAOvhkw5P9KA-DzOSthttFQbDH2VLt97Tvr3-0F8mLkRMW3_e4Dk9M6O8uR6Zy6f/s320/100.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706115900776711042" /></a><br /><br />In other news:<br /><br />Ellory Sue had her very first dance recital in December, and she did AWESOME! We were so proud. Here is a pic of Ellory Sue with one of her BFFs, Dorothy. Lachlan and Dorthy's Daddy, Mike have been best friends since 3rd grade! Isn't that amazing?! God is so good!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRQyB_3dQVzV2F7_JDQ4DUrBYSbfaLWC-Cd9c6ikowsv0w4LIXkoHXR65zAzhlrmalYp6_rmy6_nD_CIbv_Etf4-p-SST_fgn5KT_MGYBaMCD-aWIp-0vP3RuFOWnx09yBQ5B4Ra876gk/s1600/011.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRQyB_3dQVzV2F7_JDQ4DUrBYSbfaLWC-Cd9c6ikowsv0w4LIXkoHXR65zAzhlrmalYp6_rmy6_nD_CIbv_Etf4-p-SST_fgn5KT_MGYBaMCD-aWIp-0vP3RuFOWnx09yBQ5B4Ra876gk/s320/011.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706116925415944386" /></a><br /><br />We found out that Baby #3 is a... <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnOwILUPQwqCG9-sqHezpPGM-F7OFKg_QlXptsWtBP_IF-HC3GIyucdUss1mArqwuK1JhP7LoEsjHkoOfdex1P_RCEzQBRP4xYlQyaokQJmByRjYkgX8fZtpgqlpXcsb9RiPERR5rAL_d/s1600/020.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnOwILUPQwqCG9-sqHezpPGM-F7OFKg_QlXptsWtBP_IF-HC3GIyucdUss1mArqwuK1JhP7LoEsjHkoOfdex1P_RCEzQBRP4xYlQyaokQJmByRjYkgX8fZtpgqlpXcsb9RiPERR5rAL_d/s320/020.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706176203620912930" /></a><br />BOY!<br />I guess wrong EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.<br />We are really excited to welcome Ehren Thomasson into our family. My babycenter ap tells me there are 90 days until our due date! Yikes!<br />We knew we would stick with the "e" theme, and pretty quickly decided that if Baby 3 were a man-child, we would name him Ehren Thomasson. Ehren is the German spelling for Aaron. It means, "honorable." Thomas(son), was an apostle of Christ, and the meaning is "twin." More importantly to us, Ehren Thomasson is named after some very dear people. Our friend Aaron Marrs was an amazing friend to both of us. He was one of Lachlan's best friends, and for a short time my roommate. He was lost when his crab boat capsized in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska, just a few months before Lachlan and I were married. Aaron was full of laughter, always giving, creative, fun, and a friend to all. He had the gift of telling stories like no one else I've met. He loved Jesus with all his heart. Ehren will also be named after our dear friend, Erin Ferguson. Erin was the first Sojourn girl to take me in. She and Lachlan had a friendship that had gone back years, but it was her friendship to me that showed me I was in the right place. She has loved and served our family for years. Erin is so beautiful, creative, hilarious. She's a thinker and thoughtful friend. She's passionate about Christ and is a servant of the marginalized. Thomasson is a nod to my big brother, David Thomasson. Thom is only 5 years older than me, but as the man of our house growing up, he became so much more. It was his prodding letters from his college dorm room that helped me understand Christianity as a relationship with Christ, not a religion. His encouragement and love protected me in ways I'm sure I'm not even aware. We pray our little Ehren will grow into his own, but certainly he has many amazing qualities from his name sakes to strive after, most importantly surrendering his own life to Christ as Aaron, Erin, and Thom have. His a pretty blessed little dude already.<br /><br />We had a great but busy Christmas, trying to keep things Christmasy while packing and preparing to move:<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6dnQawH7ihwkwVagkrwYsnUAnO-aADFcFErgqQ4OOvZYyw6Hh44rx2EoCRVqissmc9al65KwUtFbfO4nyAlaI2251NInTB1ALo_Nr8pTrahGLKvbVbx7XREoE5F7z5E7hGWvE9fuIOvh/s1600/010.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6dnQawH7ihwkwVagkrwYsnUAnO-aADFcFErgqQ4OOvZYyw6Hh44rx2EoCRVqissmc9al65KwUtFbfO4nyAlaI2251NInTB1ALo_Nr8pTrahGLKvbVbx7XREoE5F7z5E7hGWvE9fuIOvh/s320/010.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706178218655118034" /></a><br /><br />We cut down our Christmas tree with our friends, the Jentsch Family.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0k1lfP9CVJnusZ8SVA5-bUudNb9jUplCGePDlmXaAE9dVd4F7OK4rDnxiV1XvzfqoJme6hobmkhII2GtUlzzb_51KF6m89YNSCdKOnkPGYnKXRTNp_96DBCG5W7PqOvvK2xJ-NeSG6Cc/s1600/102.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0k1lfP9CVJnusZ8SVA5-bUudNb9jUplCGePDlmXaAE9dVd4F7OK4rDnxiV1XvzfqoJme6hobmkhII2GtUlzzb_51KF6m89YNSCdKOnkPGYnKXRTNp_96DBCG5W7PqOvvK2xJ-NeSG6Cc/s320/102.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706178227638790962" /></a><br /><br />We went to the really fun, but way too expensive, KaLightascope at Galt House in downtown Louisville.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_rKXfPpKt4yvyBY5Z1UK1lSHBqzPkt8AxzviSjgUU3AOMpzU610gWzWs0ALEiD2SBbHv2a6K14DgZOjTy7har7JHgmpdtg8my7EnZ9H7CjtYFt_2Q1DQX8Y_yWdii0y9yZM5825lIJRV/s1600/119.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_rKXfPpKt4yvyBY5Z1UK1lSHBqzPkt8AxzviSjgUU3AOMpzU610gWzWs0ALEiD2SBbHv2a6K14DgZOjTy7har7JHgmpdtg8my7EnZ9H7CjtYFt_2Q1DQX8Y_yWdii0y9yZM5825lIJRV/s320/119.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706178235930205298" /></a><br /><br />We did lots of advent celebrating, readings, and outings with the best neighbors ever, the Paces. (We sure do miss those guys!)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfurbjsW46sjuQnH60S0wsO6irZI3rRCAP5Pw17s2Mx16JNfizqrml1jW9DLXnN2kBMLMcqEgClvO7FJWGhFhmFwteKkzwbfmMCwwx9AZny7bwaR68S3K5iVapJQqdiCVNv5h_hMRZR_-5/s1600/155.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfurbjsW46sjuQnH60S0wsO6irZI3rRCAP5Pw17s2Mx16JNfizqrml1jW9DLXnN2kBMLMcqEgClvO7FJWGhFhmFwteKkzwbfmMCwwx9AZny7bwaR68S3K5iVapJQqdiCVNv5h_hMRZR_-5/s320/155.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706178242558384482" /></a><br /><br />Ellory trying to wake her brother up for Christmas morning<br /><br />And finally, the big adoption news:<br />We have submitted the prelim application, and today, the formal application to our new agency, Bethany Christian Services.<br /><br />Please continue to pray for us as we enter into a very crazy year. New baby, the terribly terrific twos, kindergarten, adoption, church leadership, and continuing to make New Albany home. We Praise God for his provision and look forward to continuing to share our journey with you!<br /><br />A special shout out to all those blog stalkers that I don't know about! I've met a few of you in the past weeks, and you have inspired me to do a better job keeping up!<br />Leave a comment and make your presence known, it makes us smile!<br /><br />Love,<br />Terri for the Coffey HouseLachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-62899479060118559862011-11-09T11:54:00.002-05:002011-11-09T14:12:39.591-05:002 months later...It's been 2 months since our last blog entry.<br />2 months.<br />And. Everything.Is.Different.<br /><br />At first, I had to take a moment to process, and then more things changed, and more and more, and then our computer was out of service, and I took it as a sign to wait, and then more things changed.<br />And now, here we are, 2 months later, and I don't even know where to start. If I poured every detail onto this page, it would be a short novel. Considering I am borderline ADD, and no one wants that much info, I'm going to do my best to outline our lives, and not get carried away into spelling out every detail.<br /><br />The day following our last entry was uneventful, right up until about 10 minutes before Lachlan got home from work. There's no way to spell this out in terms that don't give you to much information into our personal lives, but my history basically requires me to take a pregnancy test each month. It's not a big deal, other than the fact that even cheap tests are not cheap. Except this month the test was positive. Really positive.<br />Immediately I was shocked. I wanted Lachlan. I didn't now how to respond.<br />When we found out we were expecting Ellory, it was an anticipated shock. We were not really trying to become parents, we just weren't not trying. We found out late on a Tuesday night, after a date. We laid in bed giggling and taking turns vocalizing "oh crap," in as many forms as our stunned brains could come up with.<br />Ezra was a different story. For 18 months we timed, calculated, planned for and tried every which way we knew how to become pregnant again. In hindsight, we know the Lord's timing was perfect, but in the midst of those 18 months, it was difficult and sad every time I stared at that single line...squinting, praying, willing all my momminess to see the plus sign. Nothing. Until the month I was stressed, and gave up for the month so we could pack and move and settle into our new home. Nothing more than preparing my second FULL pot of coffee one morning, just weeks after we closed on our home, made me think i should take a test...the last of my stock pile. Positive. Our little man was finally there, growing inside me. God's timing was sweet and perfect, and we were thankful.<br />But this third plus sign threw me for a loop. Certainly a small part of my heart was instantly joyful, but honestly most of it seemed to shatter...only held together until the moment my man walked through the door. Crash. This was terrible news for our Buna. I was well aware of the clause in our adoption agreement with our agency, "Pregnancy will terminate (seriously, this is the verb they chose!) the adoption process, regardless if you have been matched with a child." I could visibly see these words scrolling through my brain. No, we were not yet matched with a specific child, but our hearts were set on loving, praying for, pursuing and aching for a baby half way around the world. I felt as though we were being forced to give up one of our children in order that another might live. I don't expect that anyone who has not experienced the exact situation could understand.<br />The days following consisted of me crying. A lot. My emotions were all over the place. I was thankful for the life inside of me, and angry all at once. I was grieving a child that I thought existed, and coming to terms with the reality that Baby Buna just wasn't conceived, born, or ready for us yet. I questioned God's plan, and remembered his faithfulness and perfect timing with Ezra. I wondered why when we were purposeful in trying to conceive, we couldn't, and when we were more than careful not to, we did. Lachlan was so good to daily remind me of God's sovereignty. Clearly this child defied science, and was sent with purpose from our Father, the giver of all good things. Slowly, I chose to walk in faithfulness. With each day I was able to celebrate this new little one more, and grieve the path I though we were on less.<br />Our agency confirmed our fears, even with all our begging and pleading that we wanted to pursue BOTH new Coffeys simultaneously. They conceded to not "terminate", only pause our process, only becaus they had just announced they were no longer accepting applications for the Ethiopia program because of the many delays, and lack of referrals coming to them from their now reduced orphanage partners. Still, this was not good news. They wouldn't allow us to make any progress until Baby 3 turned 1 year old. With the delays, that meant that Baby Buna would not be Baby Coffey 4 until 2015, minimum. With updates to the program in the weeks following, it now seems that 2015 would be a long shot.<br />We were sad. We completely understand if families would make the decision to delay their adoption process if put in our same situation, but we felt confident that God was calling us to constantly pursue ALL our children, ALL the time.<br />Within a week my much dreaded morning sickness had appeared. We went to the doctor, and got an early ultrasound to confirm a due date, May 6, 2012, and were able to hear that sweet "swish swish swish" of heartbeat of a 6week and 5 day old babe. My normal cocktail of anti-nausea medicine was subscribed.<br />We began networking with all our adoption family connections, and praying that we could find an agency that would look at our family and our desires, and not simply lay out blanket rules to their process. Lachlan was able to communicate with a few recommendations, and felt really good about one of them, who said they would allow us to continue the process, simply slowing it down enough for us to adjust to the new addition before sending us a referral for our #4. (FOUR! this is crazy!). We decided to get through he first trimester before making a decision.<br />A couple weeks later, we were able to spend a long weekend with my best friend and her family in Alabama. I actually felt really good (given my history) and were had a sweet time with the Hall family, including a kid-free double date night!<br />The long drive home gave Lachlan and I the opportunity to talk and think and plan what life as 6 Coffeys would be like. This unexpected pregnancy, the pause in our adoption process, and the reality of parenting four children made many decisions we had already made resurface. So, in one trip down I-65, we decided that the ideal plan would be to 1. Sell our house, 2. Move to New Albany, 3. Restart the adoption process as soon as we settled.<br />The whys of all these things are both simple and complicated, but it mostly boiled down to, "this adoption process, regardless of the agency, is now going to take much longer. Our plan to send our kids to private school, which was already on a teetering point of what was financially feasible quickly dropped to the unfeasible end with the addition of another child, and our current public school option is in simple terms 'the pits'. Many of our very close friends live in New Albany, as well as Lachlan's mom and sister. The addition of a Sojourn campus there was a drawing point, and the public school system is better."<br />We are Coffeys. Well, perhaps I should say, we are the Coffey family under the leadership of my "do-it-now-husband," Lachlan, so we met with our favorite realtor the following day. We had packed up, decluttered, rearranged, and repaired all the "we'll get to it soon" projects within the week. 6 days after our drive, I was feeling worse, but the house was spotless, listed, and we had spent a day viewing potential homes across the river.<br />Time at this point becomes a complete blur to me. There were more huge personal decisions made. A ton of home viewings, lots of puking (not just from me), 2 UTI's for me...who knows what else. The day following my second OB appointment, my doctor called to tell me that after reviewing my infections and urinalysis, along with my 8 pound weight loss and my previous pregnancy history, she was putting me on 24 hour home health care, including a zofran pump and constant IV fluids.<br />God gave me the most amazing husband. I was discouraged, and weak and tired. He instantly took over our whole world. While I puked and began fusing with the fibers of our basement couch, he planned childcare, shuttled our children, took care of the house--in such a way that it was show ready at any moment--did laundry, shopping, and all the loving. All the while working hard and fulfilling all his additional responsibilities. Our friends organized meals and graciously parented and loved our children.<br />The zofran pump was soon sent back, because it gave me migraines that made me even more pukey than the pregnancy, and I was left on the only remaining anti-nausea medicine, which did in fact keep me from puking, but also left me zombie like and/or completely knocked out for most of the day.<br />Last week, I returned to the doctor for a check up, and we begged to be off the fluids. She agreed to give me a two week trial. Thankfully, I have felt relatively well the past week. Certainly escaping from my basement dungeon has helped my spirits. I am experimenting with how long I can go without the knock out meds, and trying to survive on half a dose when I do take it. There have been bumps, but so far so good, I think.<br />The house has yet to sell, but showings have picked up dramatically this past week. We are praying that we be sensitive to any clear direction from the Lord, while doing our best to make wise decisions for our family. Baby 3 is making their presence known early as I look much more pregnant than my 14.5 weeks, even though I am still below my starting weight. My back and hips are feeling much more late-third, then early-second trimester. We are anxious to return to the doctor next week, hopeful for a good report that will allow me to continue trying to hydrate myself with the help of fruit and polar pop ice, rather than IV bags and catheters. The plan is to have an ultrasound mid-December. As soon as we sell (or call it and decide to stay put...ay! the thought!...)we will begin the revamp of our homestudy, and dossier. Ethiopia seems to be changing policies and processes daily, so we are trying to keep up and be open to wherever our Great God leads us on the path to our child. On one hand I daily plead with God to make everything clear. I want it all. I want to know it all. And I want it now. But on the other hand, this process has been a painful yet sweet reminder that we are called to pursue the Lord and act in His wisdom, but His Sovereignty is what will see us through. He is faithful. He always has been. So for now, we are loving all our babies the best we know how and praying the Lord brings all 6 of us together, under some type of house, in either Louisville or New Albany, with one little Coffey in some school, and us attending one of our Sojourn campuses...soon! We'd be delighted if you joined us in praying that the Lord's will be done amongst our family!<br /><br /><br />-Practical note for all of our sweet and loving friends and family that have given financially to fund our adoption:<br />The bulk of our financial investment thus far was refunded to us, and is patiently waiting to be sent off again, whenever our process is back on. If you donated to us through the non-profit Tesfa Alliance, they are holding onto all our funds as well. As soon as we send them an invoice for accrued adoption costs, they will release the appropriate funds.<br />There will be a minimal amount of additional costs as we redo homestudies/update them, and as we submit our application to our new agency.<br />We are so thankful for your financial contributions. We still plan to creatively fund raise as life becomes more clear, and I am feeling better.<br />If you feel led to contribute, you can do so through The Tesfa Alliance, or through pal pal at the top of our page. Of course our coffee fund raiser is ongoing and would make great Christmas gifts! $5 from every bag goes to our adoption. http://www.justlovecoffee.com/thecoffeys<br /> We are thankful!Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-71625826768634120782011-09-09T13:20:00.005-04:002011-09-09T15:04:32.614-04:00Birthday, Traveling, Feeling like a whale, and PICTURES!<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG_Mw1v7KSOA6T3G5r0Hw-E48kTSM3Yk9rU4M7Aqgm72X2GkA1eG1b6OOWe9iNQMbReWHl4eBiEiZXCwVdqnOIxVZFDN6oTca6Tjon3ewc3p3EzkDs_qNfVtNQ4vw1u4s8L28Bb0MLpppj/s1600/april-aug2011+349.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG_Mw1v7KSOA6T3G5r0Hw-E48kTSM3Yk9rU4M7Aqgm72X2GkA1eG1b6OOWe9iNQMbReWHl4eBiEiZXCwVdqnOIxVZFDN6oTca6Tjon3ewc3p3EzkDs_qNfVtNQ4vw1u4s8L28Bb0MLpppj/s320/april-aug2011+349.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5650436305679613138" border="0" /></a><br />Ezzy eating yet another serving of blueberries on our Texas trip.<br /></div><br />Poor Ezra. We captured Ellory's every move. Each new tooth, step, phase...it's documented. Then came Ezra. We adore him, but documentation wise, he didn't really join our family until our family vacation when he was 6 months old. The iPhone has spoiled me in that I can always snap a quick picture, but I usually don't do a thing with them after I text Lachlan. I'm currently loading the 444 pictures that have been on our camera since April. So, hopefully, by the end of this update, I will actually get to share a few with you!<br />On August 25th, Lachlan and I got to have a little date downtown. We went to the USCIS building, and got our fingerprints taken for immigration approval of our little one. It was easy, and we were told we had "very clear prints"--the technician said that meant our approval should move quickly, since they seemed to be prints that could easily be cleared by the computer system, and not marked to be additionally reviewed by an actual person, CSI style. What that actually means, I have no idea. Our best guess is around 2 months.<br />As soon as we get the USCIS approval, we hope to turn in our dossier, which we sent off our payment for the same day we had our prints taken. We need to kick our document gathering into full gear so that it will be ready to send off as soon as possible.<br />We found out yesterday that we have been a bit optimistic in our estimation of when we would receive a referral, a court date, and bring our little one home. I've been sick the past two days, and the news sent me into sick/sulking mode. Basically, we've been told that it will almost certainly be 2013, (yep, that's a one-three at the end of that) until we bring our Buna home---possibly even until we receive our referral. Pouty face. This timeline makes me feel like I am having the gestation of a whale with this child. It's not that this was completely unexpected, but to have it completely confirmed was a little jab to the heart. It does make me want to do everything possible to get that $11,900 fee turned in, not short of standing on the corner of Grinstead and I-64 and begging. Which I may just have to do considering that in the past 2 weeks we have been hit with a $2000 truck repair bill and a stolen lawn mower. Boo.<br />Until then, we are living life as 4 Coffeys. Lachlan turned 31 a few weeks ago, and was sub-par celebrated with a dinner out with the kids at Incredible Dave's, and a bottle of bourbon I bought for him 3 days late. Wah wah.<br />We were happy to get away as a family the week leading into Labor Day. We still had vouchers left over and almost ready to expire, so we flew down to Texas and were spoiled by a week with Lachlan's Uncle Bob and Aunt Sue. Ellory deemed our trip "the best vacation ever," which says a lot, since she still talks about last year's trip to Disney World on a regular basis. It was a relaxing time, that include morning and evening swims, floating in tubes in the river, and day trips to San Antonio, outlet malls, and caves. We were very blessed, Ellory and Ezra were spoiled rotten with all the blueberries and swimming and feeding deer they could take, and Aunt Sue practiced her superb-grandma skills by staying with Ezra during the river trip, allowing Lachaln and I to have a dinner out with his cousin and Uncle without the kiddos in tow, and feeding and putting Ez to bed while I took a late night swim with all the cousins, who so graciously drove in from their first week of college and med school in College Station to visit us for the night! (RUN.ON.SENTENCE)<br /><br /><br /><br />Please continue to keep us in your prayers. We are certainly heavy hearted with the news of delays.<br /><br />Why can't I figure out how to move pictures?!?! I give up. Here they are, out of order...<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-hOxAfOWjLfZxb0PbHixLgDIIa4OV5C-Dxm0kqZJ4MUXUm3HgUaQnFHf44Qj8jt02iCgh0q6jsEgXmTuYu6O6IopGE85qr1GGO-9GL0MHxS0h9C1wpXIvVgW135DHBFKHUpVl92ogzap/s1600/april-aug2011+289.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-hOxAfOWjLfZxb0PbHixLgDIIa4OV5C-Dxm0kqZJ4MUXUm3HgUaQnFHf44Qj8jt02iCgh0q6jsEgXmTuYu6O6IopGE85qr1GGO-9GL0MHxS0h9C1wpXIvVgW135DHBFKHUpVl92ogzap/s320/april-aug2011+289.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5650436299967762642" border="0" /></a>Attempt at a family pic on the San Antonio River Walk<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3XmlkLkQAZYJy79ApqdMMB2WTc63w-4TNhLchn7VlrOayG2MjK3mjaZWRa8ueEw8DJ_e8NRjt9oyenUBHgTDEwbPHhHx5K2WkW05ZLyQq3pdE4Zx83-smCnUtCfmXN3CgyV2VC7UjmM_Q/s1600/april-aug2011+261.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3XmlkLkQAZYJy79ApqdMMB2WTc63w-4TNhLchn7VlrOayG2MjK3mjaZWRa8ueEw8DJ_e8NRjt9oyenUBHgTDEwbPHhHx5K2WkW05ZLyQq3pdE4Zx83-smCnUtCfmXN3CgyV2VC7UjmM_Q/s320/april-aug2011+261.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5650436295092367458" border="0" /></a>Handsome boy at the Alamo<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqaymd1v1rkjMsB7wP0lXDzauUMMjJ-2yGkB1jDtzQ6nkKfgTBzULyXxi8aVRQ761ub0nHrfr-t0nvlcu1DRDZ-vTszmyz9LaHlEmh4yIjiO5P2oacQcOJ0Aqkt7jSOZTERerko-0JwBPT/s1600/april-aug2011+367.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqaymd1v1rkjMsB7wP0lXDzauUMMjJ-2yGkB1jDtzQ6nkKfgTBzULyXxi8aVRQ761ub0nHrfr-t0nvlcu1DRDZ-vTszmyz9LaHlEmh4yIjiO5P2oacQcOJ0Aqkt7jSOZTERerko-0JwBPT/s320/april-aug2011+367.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5650436309256550898" border="0" /></a><br />Can you see the deer? Ellory helped Uncle Bob feed the deer every morning and night...About 6-7 would come right up and eat.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5MiKQykRwbHL_MtOny1xIrfgpxfYekLzdLLt9GLjy3kOdeCGvh4rD8Cku2LEXC8DnwEfsnkjto_CW1wF2W10-ErJu7raiWOqMo0mzI7kTDSsI9f4F9al5ZgoOnTb7iI_OQXcGuMbOs0J/s1600/april-aug2011+142.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5MiKQykRwbHL_MtOny1xIrfgpxfYekLzdLLt9GLjy3kOdeCGvh4rD8Cku2LEXC8DnwEfsnkjto_CW1wF2W10-ErJu7raiWOqMo0mzI7kTDSsI9f4F9al5ZgoOnTb7iI_OQXcGuMbOs0J/s320/april-aug2011+142.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5650430074561665490" border="0" /></a>4 Coffeys in Gatlinburg on a hike.--May 2011<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIvBG63hT4ymfmjgV7fol-mHbRGXrVqFcHOWuqabdkrSpAp2u0Ah02D4P4Mk3jBAlALHNnUHJ47tnDVeswL9IJcOscpMyNGmzbk8Q0SrXgrL4yYgNmUJT9qWKQLuuD9od9iVLrSSxE5p0/s1600/april-aug2011+112.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIvBG63hT4ymfmjgV7fol-mHbRGXrVqFcHOWuqabdkrSpAp2u0Ah02D4P4Mk3jBAlALHNnUHJ47tnDVeswL9IJcOscpMyNGmzbk8Q0SrXgrL4yYgNmUJT9qWKQLuuD9od9iVLrSSxE5p0/s320/april-aug2011+112.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5650430072562800274" border="0" /></a>Ellory Sue turns 4!--May 21, 2011<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4W5uH-skHZcPCQEZrkjot49M1My0rugZOMkWeSn5-ov4THExNZx4PN02ukohiL6U67jNKP91baYTwl2qKxe75JtaVVO6cglC2ltqSgCPJqIjMkIky8xAOEugqiHy3pX-3yku2mvlpiHe9/s1600/april-aug2011+027.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4W5uH-skHZcPCQEZrkjot49M1My0rugZOMkWeSn5-ov4THExNZx4PN02ukohiL6U67jNKP91baYTwl2qKxe75JtaVVO6cglC2ltqSgCPJqIjMkIky8xAOEugqiHy3pX-3yku2mvlpiHe9/s320/april-aug2011+027.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5650430068378730450" border="0" /></a>The Coffee Cousins in a dysfunctional Easter picture.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJ130Nh6MaIhEuVa_czsZKwmApRe8XFF-400VgcG1Cnr_pqgqvPWxEierJ3MgFhR0a7_vVe_EzUUbUOqK6aRQnpznFr4FKXWXvvHqjIMWPXwloszGkKt4MVB1qjNLaexhR4tpV3NMqEaU/s1600/april-aug2011+264.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJ130Nh6MaIhEuVa_czsZKwmApRe8XFF-400VgcG1Cnr_pqgqvPWxEierJ3MgFhR0a7_vVe_EzUUbUOqK6aRQnpznFr4FKXWXvvHqjIMWPXwloszGkKt4MVB1qjNLaexhR4tpV3NMqEaU/s320/april-aug2011+264.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5650430085306130002" border="0" /></a>Our real life attempt at a family photo in front of the Alamo. Everyone is HOT and HUNGRY and not in the mood for happy picture capturing.<br /><br /><br />That's it for now. It's out of order, missing several, and took me all of nap time. YOU BETTER ENJOY IT!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-25128583828419636992011-08-21T16:25:00.001-04:002011-08-21T16:27:27.870-04:00Items For Sale To Fund Our AdoptionI just posted this as a note on Facebook:
<br />
<br /><p>FOR SALE!</p><p>
<br /></p><p>Trying to sell a few things left from the yard sale, so I can park in my garage.</p><p>Reclining wing back chair</p><p>Counter top wine cooler</p><p>2 dining room tables- 1 oak, 1 mahogany</p><p>8 bottle wine rack</p><p>2 corner shelves-super nice</p><p>Van console organizer-tan</p><p>2 matching floor lamps, black base with white shades, kinda off white, but barely</p><p>massage ottoman</p><p>bread machine</p><p>4 drawer filing cabinet</p><p>Rock climbing shoes, size 6 1/5 and 11 1/2</p><p>rock climbing harnesses</p><p>The following I will be putting in the Little Treasures Sale Next week, the below prices are discounted to what I would actually receive from the sale:</p><p>2 infant car seats with bases--$25 each</p><p>changing table--$45, picture on my wall</p><p>Pottery Barn Kids Rug-Polka Dot Rug, Green and Pink, excellent condition, 3x5--$56</p><p>2 large Rolling canvas totes, pink, for toys--some coloring inside, $8 for both</p><p>3 large Vintage style nursery rhyme, nursery art, framed and in excellent condition--$60 for all three</p><p>spalding tennis racquet--$5</p><p>I also have tons of early reader style books, that I have bundled in to stacks of between 10-20. I will take $3 for a bundle.</p><p>Except for one of the dining tables, which belongs to the paces, all money will fund our adoption!
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<br />Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-1934860684641663062011-08-18T17:12:00.003-04:002011-08-19T10:59:39.034-04:00Encourgament and Discouragement<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I think most of the posts on this blog expose my fragile emotional state. This one will not disappoint.</span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">First, I must say, we have been overwhelmed with the love and support we have received from our friends and family members. To know that so many people are praying for our family, especially Baby Buna, is tremendously encouraging. Not to mention the financial support that has been pouring in. We are making drops in that required bucket of cash!</span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I'm not ignorant. We knew from the beginning that this would be a fight. Adoption, at it's core, is a very clear picture of the gospel. We were once lost, and God, in his goodness--and not because of our own, paid a much bigger price to adopt us as His own children. He continues the fight in convincing some of us that the payment has been made. That we are no longer slaves, no longer orphans wandering without hope. We know that our family's pursuit of Baby Buna is just a small picture of God's love for us, but a picture that Satan would rather not be displayed. He will fight, but we will fight back.</span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Today we received an email from our agency, we are asked not to share specific details of emails on blogs, social media outlets, etc. but this I took directly from a public page on their website:</span>
<br /><span class="error"> <p style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">As many of you are aware, there have been many changes to the adoption process in Ethiopia lately. Several orphanages have been closed, including one of Holt's partners. There has been a slow down in the number of children referred to Holt over the last few months. </p><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"> </span><p style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">In an effort to maintain reasonable wait times for the families currently in process with Holt, we have decided to place a hold on accepting new applications. We expect this to be a temporary measure, but at this time, we are not sure how long it will be before we begin to accept new applications again.
<br /></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Bummer. Delays in referrals. Orphans piled in less orphanages, with fewer going out to their families. Baby Buna. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Now, I must type this to remind myself that our God is good and sovereign. And that no, He doesn't delight in this situation, but He is over this situation, and He is working it our for good.
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Courts in Ethiopia close during the rainy season. They will reopen the second week of October. Will you please pray that the government will carefully, but swiftly begin sending out more referrals so that those babies can get to their mommas and daddies, waiting for them. Pray for all those sweet babies, waiting. For their nannies to love and serve them as best as they can. For the officials who have the final say to have mercy. For God to keep all of them, and us in His strength?</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I just sent an email to our case worker with a few questions about the next steps for us. One pressing issue on our hearts is to get our dossier turned in with it's $3,000 fee ASAP. Then, we have to work extra hard to get the $11,900 so that our names can get on the list to be able to receive a referral. The longer it takes, the further back the ever increasing list we go. Pray that we will figure out how to get this money and be able to submit it sooner than later.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">So, for now, we are thankful, but with heavy hearts.
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<br />Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-63030462233687403502011-08-04T12:16:00.002-04:002011-08-04T12:39:50.335-04:00Saturday and other thingsSaturday was a big day in the Baby Buna world.<br />All our hard work for the yard sale paid off. With Beth's urging and organization, we set our alarms for 5 am. We were greeted by our sweet friend Anne, who was knocking on our door as we stumbled, sleepy eyed down the steps. More friends soon joined, Rebekah, LT, Amy, Lauren. Coffee was poured, but never enjoyed, as we began the GINORMOUS task of taking all the goods from our garage and house, and setting them up in some type of semi-organized fashion on our front lawns. I put Beth in charge of the set up. The multitude of boxes was simultaneously encouraging and anxiety inducing.<br />The sale was set to start at 8, which means the first cars started pulling up at 7:15. Yard Sale goers are crazy, and serious, about their deals.<br />Praise God that we got a small break from this crazy Kentucky summer. It was certainly hot, but not unbearable, and the predicted rain held off to only a few drops as we set up.<br />Ellory was once again in charge of her lemonade stand, but wasn't quite as interested with her cousins available to play with. Fact: Lemonade stands make more money when a cute 4 year old is manning it.<br />We were so blessed with lots of visits from friends and family throughout the day. By the time we wrapped up, I had done minimal amounts of my own shopping, and we had added over $1000 to Baby Buna's collection jar!<br />At last count, we are about $800 shy of our dossier fee. Very doable by the time it is due! What a blessing! I have spent the remainder of the week listing an selling items on craigslist and eBay.<br />It's quite a job to keep up with all the emails and listings, but it's been great to share our story and the generosity of our friends and family with so many people!<br />Also on Saturday, we got our USCIS biometrics appointment date! Will be fingerprinted on the 25th! I LOVE having a date to look forward to. It's a continued struggle of emotions as we seemingly wait with what feels like no end in sight for our little one. Having a date to mark on the calendar and focus myself on is much appreciated!<br />Any insight on how long approval will take following our biometrics appointment?<br />Well dear readers, nap time has ended at the Coffey house, which means, like it our not, edited or not, it's time to end this post and get back mommahood!Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-15291635270982475682011-07-26T08:42:00.003-04:002011-07-26T09:27:24.712-04:00USCIS and Fundraising Updates!Last Wednesday we mailed off our USCIS forms, along with $890.<br />Let me tell you a little story about how we don't have the money to adopt, and how God provides.<br />The weeks prior to sending off the documents, I had in my mind that it was either $300 or $600 we had to send in with it. Then, as I read the instructions on filling out the form, and what additional documents I needed to send with it, I saw the fee. $720 plus $85/each adult for biometrics. (The adoption just went sci-fi with the biometrics fee...) We are collecting money for Buna in an old oatmeal container that Ellory Sue decorated. I pulled out the yard sale money: $800. Certainly we could just pull from our regular budget for the extra $90. But, then Lachlan told me that a friend who we owed, wait for it, $90, for helping Lachlan with a paint job, had called to tell us to keep the money to apply toward the adoption. $890. Done. Thank you God. I'm looking forward to seeing how God will continue to provide for us through this process, and sharing it with you all. This wa0s a huge encouragement to me!<br />I just received a text this morning from USCIS confirming that our application was received and that an official mailed receipt would follow. So now we wait on our biometrics appointments to be scheduled, which is the FBI fingerprinting. I'm still not sure if that includes an interview. I've heard yes and no.<br />This week we are HARD AT WORK, organizing our next big yard sale, which will be held at our home, this Saturday at 8am. Yesterday, my amazing friend and neighbor Beth and I lost 5 pounds each in sweat, pulling all the donations we have received thus far out of the 110* garage, and organizing everything into priced piles. I'm surprised with both survived. My sister in law came to man the children, and hang about a billion shirts onto all the hangers we could find.<br />This week will be filled with pick ups and drop offs and more organizing.<br />I've also started selling shoes on eBay this week, as another way to fund the adoption. My first auctions end today, so I'm having fun watching the bids on one pair, and hoping the other two gain some last minute interest before the end of the day!<br />Our coffee fundraiser is going well! We have received $70 so far! If you want some delicious coffee, considering buying it <a href="http://www.justlovecoffee.com/thecoffeys">here</a>. $5 from every bag will help bring Baby Buna home. You can also <a href="http://www.facebook.com/justlovecoffee">"like" them on facebook</a>, where you can get updates on sales and promotions--they have some good ones!<br />The other little Coffeys are doing great. (Excluding the THREE drink spills we have had in the past hour.) Ellory is soaking up reading her library books. I read them to her once, and she has basically memorized the entire thing. It's amazing, since my retention level is that of a concrete block. She's also entered into a season of being scared to be alone. She saw some British cartoon that had an "Ice Witch" that has plagued her since. On one hand, it's been a good lesson on taking our worries to Jesus, and reminding her that God is always with us, and always for us. On the other hand, our girl has always been so tough and brave, that this season has been difficult for me to be sensitive to. I'm not used to her having a frightened spirit.<br />Ezra is a wild man. He is cracking us up with his dance skills. (I think he got them from Lachlan...) He is a man of few words, but I think he is on the brink of a breakthrough. Yesterday his phrase of choice was "hot dog" and it was cute! He says Momma and DaDa, but usually only when he is mad...Wha?! And uses the phrase "what's that?" about 2,000 times a day. He loves bananas, and I may be ODing him on potassium. The man can trow down fruit, and rivals Jack Lalanne in the juicing department. I'm thinking of installing a funnel under his chin and selling at the farmer's market.<br />And, a shout out to Holly. A friend of a friend I met at Chic-fil-a last night who reads my blog! I didn't know anyone read my blog, much less strangers! Thanks Holly....just knowing that it's read is an encouragement. And thanks Tera for passing it on.<br />Love to you all!Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-23190084262080622622011-07-17T20:00:00.003-04:002011-07-17T20:25:27.900-04:00More Papers, More Money, More Planning, More Needing Jesus.We need Jesus. We desperately.need.Jesus.<br /><br />Sometimes you just have to call a spade, a spade. And the fact is, as soon as anyone asks me any question about our adoption, or the process, or says a word beginning with "a," I am instantly overwhelmed. I have not totally dissected this problem, but I will attempt to here:<br />First, I am a people pleaser, and I want to give people real answers when they ask real questions, and, as discussed before on this blog, when it comes to the adoption process, there doesn't seem to be any real answers. So I usually go into a 5 minute monologue that no one understands, and then end it with a good ol' shrug and say, "I don't really know."<br />Second, as pointed out in our sermon at church today, I am feeling more and more circumstantially joyful. And at this point in the process, there are not a ton of things to be joyful about. (Insert need for Jesus, and not the need for my joy to come from my children, or anything else.) We receive weekly updates on Ethiopia adoptions, and they are grim. I get bummed. I could not finish filling out the immigration form on Friday, because I needed assistance. Bummed. As we approach more notches in our adoption timeline, all I seem to see are money signs, and reach into empty pockets, and I feel...bummed. My trust that the Lord has called us to this process and will therefore see us through it is shaky. My fears about the whole thing then multiply. My heart is focused on the perfection of administrative details, and not the perfection of the Gospel.<br />So, I need Jesus. I need to turn my heart to prayer when I read those stink email updates. I need to remember that God's timing has always been and will always be perfect. I need to praise God that he has always taken care of us, and that he has given us the wisdom and ability to creatively raise money to bring home our baby. I need to recall all the fears I had when we were expecting Ellory and then Ezra, and see the Lord's hand at work in molding my heart and turning me to His strength to walk me through the unknowns.<br />This isn't about you, Terri. This isn't even about Baby Buna, or the Coffey family, or adoption. It's about Jesus. It's all about Jesus. So breathe. He is your joy.Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-90770201362118917702011-07-07T20:51:00.003-04:002011-07-07T21:10:30.557-04:00At a loss.I'm tired. I have very little energy.<br />I adore my children, but they are all exhausting. It's nothing in particular. Ellory Sue is actually pretty easy most days now-- after constant, consistent and what seemed to be never-ending discipline there for a while...in fact, I think I may still need to log some extra sleep hours or a pedicure, or some other restful event for those long days. Ezra is physically about all I can handle. He is most of the time happy, although we have entered into fits over the past few weeks. He's just needy, and wild, and a boy with lots and lots of energy. His highs are high and his lows are low, and both require my full attention, even if that means my full attention NOT to give him attention. Baby Buna, bless his (or her) heart may not have even taken an earthly breath, but I am emotionally exhausted by him. I think about Baby Buna all the time. Wondering if today is the day he is being born, or his first day at the orphanage...if he is being taken care of and loved and interacted with.<br />I'm actually yawning right this second, just thinking about it.<br />The reality is, the attention they require has gotten my rhythms out of rhyme. And this Coffey house likes it's rhymes. We're like Busta'.<br />So, our marriage is good, but needs some non-movie-watching-falling-asleep-on-the-couch time. And my friendships are good, but need some let's-not-talk-about-the-900-kids-between-us time.<br />And my time with the Lord is fine but needs some kick-in-the-pants-this-is-what-sustains-you time.<br />Lachlan and I have had some good conversations about prioritizing one another.<br />I'm heading out Saturday morning with a couple close friends for a night away.<br />Now to the sustaining stuff...how do you do it, Mommas? What do you read? Do you use a devotional? When do you do it? What's your thoughts on audio Bibles? Etc. Etc.<br />Everyone comment. Go.Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-16003969989159046212011-07-06T21:18:00.003-04:002011-07-06T22:10:21.530-04:00a not so updated update.Several people have asked me for an overview of the whole process. Truthfully, I don't really know many details. It's all confusing to me, and things seem to change on a weekly basis. What we know now, may not be the case next week, but I thought I would give a quick update of timelines and details.<br /><br />We are learning that this is how the adoption process goes.<br />Crazy.<br />Wait.<br />Crazy.<br />Wait. Wait. Wait.<br /><br />We are in a "wait" period.<br />Friday we were sent the first draft of our homestudy, and we quickly made corrections to it and sent it back to our social worker. We heard today that our agency had made all it's changes as well, and we should have the final report done by the end of the week. As soon as the final copy is in our hands, we will finish up the dossier paperwork (all the stuff sent to Ethiopia), as we have to make sure that some of the facts and figures are an exact match to the homestudy report.<br />I'm pretty sure we can have the dossier work done within a week, since most of it is all ready finished, and just needs to be finalized, put on letterhead, and notarized. The hold up here could be that our next big fee is due along with the dossier. However, it is not the biggest chunk, so hopefully we will have both the papers and money in place by the end of July.<br />At the same time, we will fill out and send in the immigration paperwork. This whole thing is confusing to me. All that I know is that it will require us being given an appointment with the FBI to be finger printed, and perhaps interviewed.<br />I've been interviewed by the FBI before, and it's weird. I get all insecure and shifty-eyed, which I hope they are smart enough to realize is because I'm freaked out, and not for some crazy reason that would prevent me from adopting a child.<br />Supposedly the FBI clearance can take some time. Hopefully my crazy eyes will not add on to that.<br />Side note: Adoption people like to give you ridiculous ranges in time to go by. (I literally read one piece of information that gave a range for a particular part of the process in terms of 6-190 days! REALLY?!) You basically have no clue what to expect. They give you the short amount of time to give you great hope in that you may actually one day have your baby. And then they give you some other number, that would serve better as a telephone number, to make you want to curl up and cry and pray that you don't find yourself even close to touching it.<br />As soon as the dossier paperwork is approved, and immigration has passed us, and we pay the big ol' country fee, we will be put on the referral list. To the best of our knowledge, from the time we are placed on the list, we can expect a referral in 9-12 months...and because we have requested a child younger than Ezra, we can expect the double digit range of that.<br />Once we meet our baby, via picture and fact sheet, we wait again. This time for a court date. Then Lachlan and I will travel for about a week to meet our little Baby Buna face to face, spend some bonding time, and appear with our child in court to state our intentions and officially adopt our child.<br />Then we will say what I am sure will be a very tearful good-bye to our little Coffey, and come back home, and you guessed it...WAIT. Again.<br />Not.Looking.Forward.To.This.<br />As soon as we get the all clear from the courts, (1-3 months) we will get our butts on the next plane outta here and go back to Ethiopia to bring our babe home for good. Right where they belong.<br /><br />Just a reminder that you can support us in many ways:<br /><ul><li>PRAYER! This is an emotionally draining experience. It's important that our hope and trust be in our Sovereign God, and not in our agency, ourselves, or any other person or thing. Pray for our sweet baby.<br /></li><li>Buy some coffee from the roaster we have partnered with--$5 from every bag goes directly toward our adoption fees. <a href="http://www.justlovecoffee.com/thecoffeys">www.justlovecoffee.com/thecoffeys</a></li><li>Donate your unwanted items to us for our 2nd yard sale! We plan on having another at our house in a few weeks! You can call us if you need a truck to pick things up, or just drop it by our house!</li><li>Give a service or item from your business to be auctioned at an upcoming fundraising event that you WILL NOT WANT TO MISS. </li><li>Give financially to help us cover the estimated $22,000 it will take to bring home Baby Buna. You can give through the Pay Pal link at the top of our page, or you can send a tax deductible donation made out to The Tesfa Alliance, with a note indicating it is for the Coffey Family. <a href="http://www.tesfaalliance.org">www.tesfaalliance.org</a></li></ul>We appreciate all the ways we have been supported. Baby Buna is quite loved.Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-19997573923947509802011-06-26T19:35:00.008-04:002011-06-27T15:14:39.898-04:00YARD SALE!It was 9:30am, before I'd realized that I had not fed my daughter.<br />Lachlan, Ellory and I had been going non-stop since, well, truthfully, all week, but for the sake of this post, we will start with Friday.<br />Ellory finished her last day of Vacation Bible School at noon on Friday. She did great! Our church did great! So many servants, pouring into the all those little hearts...I'm not much of a crier, but seeing 160+ kids belting out the truth of the gospel through song, is enough to moisten my eyes.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2GIUdKl5unHBM4P_xG2ZTWhWU2DOpNRG_2aQAujsXz_BzQP4AFQNGEAYRyv4vc3xDW_I_pzCtKKg_seu6aGjtBXLiJF9wPjpFfOP_hPNPGZWusn-Eba0XiKRNQnvOUCcYMj1SwFV0W6ds/s1600/house+647.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2GIUdKl5unHBM4P_xG2ZTWhWU2DOpNRG_2aQAujsXz_BzQP4AFQNGEAYRyv4vc3xDW_I_pzCtKKg_seu6aGjtBXLiJF9wPjpFfOP_hPNPGZWusn-Eba0XiKRNQnvOUCcYMj1SwFV0W6ds/s320/house+647.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622909190421618978" border="0" /></a>After VBS, we shipped Ezra off with my sweet sister in law, Lauren, and Ellory Sue and I began the final preparations for the yard sale.<br />Our first stop was our friends, the Wainright's, house. I loaded up the van with lots of stuff, and Ellory took a break to play with her friend Nora. She was very disappointed when I broke up the party, because, they "hadn't even gone to the ball yet."<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU5FGGKm5rtN3LSKigEad7QkkR0A8VkHFaOuOcNCQmvDkZp6F76yOoG3yGOhcuduJLpumdyZxplclWE441z_EcEj_jM4MQY1AMzIYX7VA76sgpgkY2HDeLLgKfYYq7kLPWHx2MXcLhWRpS/s1600/house+654.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU5FGGKm5rtN3LSKigEad7QkkR0A8VkHFaOuOcNCQmvDkZp6F76yOoG3yGOhcuduJLpumdyZxplclWE441z_EcEj_jM4MQY1AMzIYX7VA76sgpgkY2HDeLLgKfYYq7kLPWHx2MXcLhWRpS/s320/house+654.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622910257472480482" border="0" /></a>Then, Princess Tiana...I mean Ellory and I rushed home, packed up all our stuff, organized her lemonade stand bag o' goodies, and loaded up the van with as much stuff from the garage as possible. To. The. Top.<br />I meant to take pictures of all the craziness, but it was too crazy to stop and do it.<br />Lachlan's Aunt and Uncle then stopped by to unload their van, and do some pre-shopping. She picked up a really cute piece of furniture for their tv, and a gigantic frog. I kid you not. Your junk? Another person's treasure. Here is a picture of the frog when we loaded it from our friends' house earlier in the week.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgytVYqfm2LWoA-PIvnGVzRcE9OEEztY-uW_0RlGNoNmQs18Oo0iUAhMU2aoeBjwfSbcjKnWlx8BfU0Lx8RtRlmMzgt8m6V6JxWEEvYGlLMWf8BVc8TqOx_AvyNpH2Co0hypD8EBtifZvyD/s1600/house+609.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgytVYqfm2LWoA-PIvnGVzRcE9OEEztY-uW_0RlGNoNmQs18Oo0iUAhMU2aoeBjwfSbcjKnWlx8BfU0Lx8RtRlmMzgt8m6V6JxWEEvYGlLMWf8BVc8TqOx_AvyNpH2Co0hypD8EBtifZvyD/s320/house+609.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622911707189934258" border="0" /></a>I really mean gigantic.<br /><br />Uncle Larry, Aunt Debbie and their son, Chris got there just in time for Lachlan to show up with the UHaul, which means they got the honor of helping us load the rest of the garage.<br /><br />So, the UHaul was loaded, and the three Coffeys took off to Shelbyville. We made a quick stop at my friend <a href="http://millionsofmiles.com/">Megan's</a> house (read her blog) to pick up tables. And then to unload at my mom's. Yikes. By this time, we were pushing dinner. We then drove back across town to another friend's house to load up the van. Made a quick stop at our favorite Mexican place for COLD BEER, and then back to unload at mom's. THEN....We drove to the opposite end of the world...I mean, the county, to get a really amazing Antique Mahogany Table from my BFF's momma, "Momma D." That sucker is heavy. Back for a drop off...Poor Ellory was a trooper, but needless to say, this was not the most fun of trips for her alone time with us. We then jumped back in the car, headed to Crestwood and made our final pick up of the week. We were very ready to get back to my mom's and crash, but got held up by this dude:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgita8YkpMtABIVSA-CYMObKI0zDEHmPs6sD_WlJFBe2En-L2FFkYYAhL_Z0uyYioznZ5e2yNYOrPpYZcewj_5b-xf5t1CPWT8_Zu16G8ydpFJBDbWnNiqYzIlqTtYXXN8juGYOn7fhRXXb/s1600/house+657.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 238px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgita8YkpMtABIVSA-CYMObKI0zDEHmPs6sD_WlJFBe2En-L2FFkYYAhL_Z0uyYioznZ5e2yNYOrPpYZcewj_5b-xf5t1CPWT8_Zu16G8ydpFJBDbWnNiqYzIlqTtYXXN8juGYOn7fhRXXb/s320/house+657.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622975133063794450" border="0" /></a><br />It was frustrating but laughable. We also came with in 9 miles of running out of gas. (Or so our fancy new-to-us van said.) Thankfully we escaped the wet paint dudes, and finally made it to a gas station and then home around 10pm. We rushed Ellory Sue off to bed, thanked Aunt Lauren in our hearts that Ezra did not have to endure the journey, and then began the task of pricing...until 12 when we gave up and resigned ourselves to stress and exhaustion induced sleep. The thing with stress sleep is that it also wakes you up, so at 6am we were up and going.<br />I made coffee, which we were never able to drink, and we began unloading. And people began showing up. 8am means nothing to yard sale junkies. They take whatever time you say, and subtract 2 hours and your coffee from it.<br />We were still unloading, the UHaul still untouched, when at 9:30 I realized that Ellory was hard at work on her very successful Lemonade stand, but that I had not fed her breakfast or brushed her teeth...or mine for that matter. She very maturely said she'd find something and then reappeared with a giant bag of "EXTREME Goldfish" which she ate the rest of the day. Lachlan immediately pulled his back, and neither of us even considered sunscreen, which by 3 pm would result in some pretty awesome burns, and added blisters for Lachlan.<br />Labor Pains.<br />We were hoping to take pictures of the boxes, the sale, the lemonade stand, but by 2pm I found myself still unloading boxes, when Lachlan called it a day and I started to repack the unsellables. Literally, I went from laying clothes out on a table to repacking them in a matter of seconds. We were thankful to have my brother and sister in law stop by and then be coerced into helping for the last 2 hours or so.<br />WE.WERE.ALL.EXHAUSTED.<br />But we managed to get almost $800 closer to Baby Buna. And it was all worth it.<br />We are so thankful to all of you who donated and bought!<br />We are planning another sale in several weeks, so you are still welcome to drop off or have us pick up your unwanted items.<br />contact us at tsc382@yahoo.com<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" class=" down" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link"><img src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Link" class="gl_link" border="0" /></span></span>Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-52255628652615829342011-06-16T14:49:00.002-04:002011-06-16T14:58:57.782-04:00YARD SALE DELAYWah wah...<br />The yard sale that we have busting our tails over the past few days has been put on delay.<br />We were tagging onto my mom's neighborhood wide yard sale--a sure bet for yard sale junkies to attend--but, she called last night with the news that the neighborhood association had postponed the sale until June 25th.<br />No big deal. We considered going ahead with it at our house instead, but decided that the appeal of the neighbor sale was just too much. So, we are waiting until next Saturday.<br />The good news is, if anyone has any junk, there is still time to get it to us.<br />If you live in Shelbyville, and are able to drop it off to my mom's house, that would be great. Otherwise, you can drop it off to our house, or contact us, and we will be happy to pick it up!<br />We already have some great items, with more in the works! We are praying it will be a great way to raise money for our babe! If you don't have any yard sale items to donate, we still appreciate your prayers that it is a success!<br />More details in the coming days!Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-10139219691060126932011-06-13T10:46:00.002-04:002011-06-13T11:07:46.752-04:00Home-study Re-capPainless. Totally painless.<br />I finished tearing apart and putting our house back together. Lachlan would probably want me to note that that included piling a laundry basket with the last few items I was at a loss of what to do with, and storing it in Beth's dining room. I'll admit that I have a problem finishing things. It's usually only the last item or task in whatever project I am undertaking, but nonetheless, it's a trait on my husband's annoyance list. He's a finisher, unless we are talking about food, in which case, he REFUSES to take the last bite...Someday when we we are not scrapping money together for a baby, we will save for therapy for the both of us. Until then, he will sigh, "Terri, really? You can't finish this last little bit?" and I will cry "Babe, it's one bite, finish it...You're going to go get a snack in like 2 seconds. Just eat what you have." And in the end, we will still love each other...<br />Oh. Home-study.<br />So the house was spot-less. Free of expired medications and with all matches and cleaning supplies in their proper, out of reach places. We were still nervous.<br />We handed in our reference letters, and physical exam forms. We showed our negative TB and HIV results, and were given a list of a couple more documents to get together.<br />She took a tour. Short and sweet. My sweet husband all but forced her into my Real Simple laundry room. She asked us to buy two additional fire extinguishers--one for each floor.<br />Ellory was on her best behavior. (Thank you Jesus!) And was polite and funny, and all the things that make her such a sweet girl.<br />Done.<br />We thought things went well, but made sure to ask..."So, nothing would make you not approve us, right?!"<br />"No red flags."<br />Shew!<br />I had been sick for days, and crashed the rest of the afternoon. We celebrated with cheap-o pizza for dinner, and relaxed the rest of the weekend.<br />Now we wait. We will turn in the additional paperwork this week, and pay our fees. Within a couple weeks, we should be moving on the the dossier documents.<br />For now we are consumed with finding resources to fulfill our training requirements, and budgeting are re-budgeting our income.<br />We'll be jump-starting the fundraising efforts this weekend by having a yard sale at my mom's house in Shelbyville. The neighborhood has a yard sale each year, and although it doesn't give us much time to prepare, it will be the best time to have it. If you have any items you want to get rid of, we'd be happy to pick them up from you! Call or email us!<br />The following week we hope to begin planning the events we have up our sleeves! We are really excited about both events. Stay tuned for details!Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-34763313531618029042011-06-07T21:39:00.003-04:002011-06-07T22:23:31.385-04:00Nesting.Yesterday, when Lachlan left for work, our home was...how can I put this lightly...tsunami-aftermath-esque. We'd spent the few hours we had at home on Sunday afternoon doing odd jobs to prepare for our upcoming home-study. Lachlan worked on officially sealing up our kitchen cabinets with those annoying little child safety latches...apparently access to dishrags, trash cans and chemicals is bad. (I've been foiled in my attempts to dispose of garbage ever since.)<br />I took on the task of the laundry room. We've lived in this house 2 years, and I have organized, cleaned and reorganized this room upwards of 6 times. Each time however, it ends up a big pile of "just throw that crap in there and I'll deal with it later." So, I reorganized my stockpiled pantry of toilet paper, spaghetti sauce and shampoo, and reassigned the tossed items of the past 6 months to their proper rooms, finally breaking myself of several appliances, linens and odd and ends into a yard sale pile, (note to self: organize a yard sale.) Needless to say, when the laundry room was finished, it could have donned the pages of Real Simple, where the rest of you would say, "yeah right, no one has a laundry/storage room that looks like that." But then, I could have panned out into the family room beyond, and you would have breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that, all the crap you have in your laundry room and storage, was now just in organized chaotic piles all over our basement.<br />I ended Sunday by scattering the chaos around the house, moving boxes of dry goods to the kitchen, a "return to friends pile" in the dining room, a box of too little baby clothes outside the attic door. It was all progress, but messy progress.<br />Back to yesterday.<br />Knowing that my job this week boiled down to two tasks, 1. keep kids alive, and 2. prepare for home-study, it was clear that Lachlan expected to come home to breathing children and a more organized and prepared home. At 4pm, I sent Lachlan the following text.<br />"Before you come home and accidentally hurt my feelings, you should know that I have worked my butt off today doing things you will never know I have done."<br />I passed off the alive part of Ellory to my sweet and amazing neighbor and friend, Beth. While Ezra and I tore apart the rest of our home.<br />Now, before you tell me, I <span style="font-style: italic;">already know</span> that our social worker will not be opening my refrigerator, or even if she does, she will not judge the sticky goop on the bottom shelf as a sign of unfit parents. I know that she will not care about the FIVE boxes of 3-12 month clothes I have packed away from Ezra's room. She will not be alarmed to find my dishtowels and cloth napkins had made their way into the same pile... However, this has become much more than "post an emergency escape plan," and "make sure all your fire alarms are in working order" kind of home-study checklist. This my friends, has turned into full on obsession, in what may be over a year before we even see a picture of Baby Buna. I want everything perfect. I want to be prepared. I want Baby Buna. But for now, throwing out 1 month old Advil PM, and scraping the goo off my refrigerator shelf is all I can do. So. Here I am. I've torn my whole house apart in the past 3 days. Now I have 2 more to put it all back. All for my Baby Buna.<br />I'd call it borderline crazy, but <span style="font-style: italic;">nesting</span> sounds so much sweeter.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;">Please pray for:<br />Us Coffeys here, as we continue to prepare our home and hearts for Baby Buna.<br />Our home-study that will take place Friday at 3pm.<br />God's provision-- we need to sell our car quickly to have the funds due our social worker. We had a great showing tonight, and are hopeful they will make us an offer tomorrow.<br />Faith the Lord will provide, and discipline and wisdom to manage our resources.<br />Mostly--Baby Buna, wherever he/she may be-- conceived or not, born already or almost-- that he/she would somehow know we are coming.</span>Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-50461170768580998242011-05-19T22:20:00.002-04:002011-05-19T22:32:00.434-04:00Coffee for the Coffeys<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXGfcT8xupN4B8O5dqiYdcT3-FurQj3Vv8lZYB6ym1EayZQrmtoCqc3-9FnEWR3Z-gd2YrWLNR9fn1zt4EJA35w00t-gAxIz8Ll1C4L9p6w4y_io3C7SRXjiH3QPNukwvXN3Ag_bU4uGo/s1600/Harrar-thumb.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXGfcT8xupN4B8O5dqiYdcT3-FurQj3Vv8lZYB6ym1EayZQrmtoCqc3-9FnEWR3Z-gd2YrWLNR9fn1zt4EJA35w00t-gAxIz8Ll1C4L9p6w4y_io3C7SRXjiH3QPNukwvXN3Ag_bU4uGo/s320/Harrar-thumb.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608620450523708978" border="0" /></a><br />Fact: Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee.<br />Fact: Ethiopia is the birthplace of the newest Coffey.<br />Fact: You can buy coffee to help us bring home our Coffey.<br /><br />Just Love Coffee is a fundraising site for adoptive families. They sell Fair Trade Coffee by the pound, and in sample packs, as well as t-shirts. You can buy 1 pound, or even set up an account to have coffee delivered to your door on a set schedule! The best part is, when you buy from our "store," we get $5 from every bag to help bring home Baby Buna!<br />You get coffee, we get a Coffey. It's really a win-win, don't you think?<br /><br />Check out our store here<br /><a href="http://justlovecoffee.com/thecoffeys">http://justlovecoffee.com/thecoffeys</a><br /><br />We'd love to have you support us in this way!Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-62336390591910153652011-05-19T12:11:00.005-04:002011-05-19T22:20:37.058-04:00Papers, Papers, Everywhere.We went to a coffee shop last weekend, to sort through and figure out what papers we need to sign, what checks needed to be written, what needs notarizing, what we needed copies of, and proof of, and who needed to be contacted, emailed, called, questioned....agh!<br />Then we invested in an accordion binder.<br />It's maybe my most prized possession at the moment.<br />In it we have reading resources, and certified birth certificates, checklists and copies. We have home-study papers, and dossier papers. We have things to be mailed, things to be signed, and grants to look into. This file is as close to our baby as we can get for now, and we are throwing ourselves into it. The binder says: go to the police station, and I go. The binder says: Make an emergency evacuation plan, and Lachlan's on it.<br />This week we have each visited our doctor's offices to receive our first physicals since high school, with the added pleasure of TB, HIV and Cholesterol labs. We wrote 5 pages each in our "personal surveys". We mailed background checks to the State Police, and the kids and I adventured downtown to get city police checks. WE BOUGHT A MINIVAN. Today, I meet with our social worker for my personal interview, and Lachlan meets with her tomorrow. The kids' have appointments for their physicals in a week.<br />As much energy and organization as all this takes, I like it. I am participating in a task that will bring home my baby. It's the part after this, when all the forms have been mailed, and my primary task is waiting that I am not looking forward to. I like knowing. I like when things happen BEFORE I think they will.<br />Ellory was due May 29. Ezra, April 9. Praise God they both came early. I am that psycho pregnant lady who would have physically and emotionally lost it if I would have been pregnant at 12:01 am on May 30 or April 10. I'm not proud of this fact. But I'm aware.<br />I am the friend you call in your 39th week to verify what tactics to take in inducing labor. I like to, at minimum, <span style="font-style: italic;">believe</span> I have some say or hand in doing something to make my babies arrival eminent.<br />I.KNOW.I.HAVE.A.PROBLEM.<br />Adoption should be the ultimate lesson in patience for me. God's good way of reminding me to take a deep breathe and remember that He gave it to me. To remember that He is rightfully and thankfully, in control on Baby Buna, and the perfect timing for him/her to join us in our home.<br />Pray for patience. Pray for Baby Buna. Pray for Ellory and Ezra. Pray for our personal interviews and homestudy. Pray for the finances of this to all come together. Pray that we would trust in God to provide for all these need and desires.Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1514318277412339072.post-39959166896616288522011-05-11T10:30:00.002-04:002011-05-11T10:49:26.432-04:00Meeting OneOn Monday night we met our social worker for the first time. I felt like I was going to hear the heartbeat of our babe. It wasn't quite as exciting, and instead of urine samples and that cold belly gel, we were given a stack of papers to fill out, a list of papers to collect, a list of appointments to make, and briefed on all the things we need to rearrange, change, add and/or take away from our home. It was all a bit overwhelming, yet exciting, as we were given tangible "tasks" to complete to come a step closer to our little one, (who by the way we have nicknamed "Baby Buna"--Buna is "coffee" in Amharic).<br />Next week, Lachlan and I will meet with our social worker alone, for our personal interviews. Before then, we have to fill out personal history surveys, and basically write a college admission essay. We also have to get physical exams and have our doctors verify our health and ability to provide for our baby.<br />We are scheduled for our home visit to take place June 10th. This will be a financial stretch as all our homestudy money will be due on this date, but we didn't want to put it off considering that our social worker is 8 months pregnant. Her labor would push back our homestudy visit and report until August. Please pray that we would complete everything we need to before her child is born. Pray for us as we work diligently to gather, prepare, write, plan, meet, etc. over the next few weeks, as well.<br />Stay tuned for some exciting news in the fundraising efforts! We think you will enjoy!Lachlan and Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831362665050016269noreply@blogger.com0