Where are we now...

We have hit a little snag with our second packet, and had to wait longer than expected for our background checks to be completed. However, they should be completed within the next week and then we will have all of our paperwork done and will be able to schedule our home study.
I have been trying to get the house ready for the home study, but still have a long way to go. However, I did finish one big project-I painted the bathroom. It has only needed to be done for 6 years, so yeah I am really on schedule. Joe had a work conference earlier last week and was gone for three days, I decided to surprise him by painting the bathroom while he was away. You see, whenever I have been gone, Joe rearranges the house, so I thought it only appropriate that I do something while he was gone (even if I didn't get it done before he got back.) It took me 5 days in all to finish, but I think it was worth it. I posted some pictures below of the finished product. (Image what it looked like before with just white primer on it, that may give you an idea of how beautiful it was.) I am pleased with the way it turned out and hope that it gives the bathroom a little personality. Now I am ready to tackle the rest of the house and want to paint all upstairs and have been searching the internet for decorating ideas. Everyone keeps telling me that I am taking on these projects because I am nesting-I guess they are right because I have become obsessed with going through every room in my house and trying to image what would make it better and help it be more baby friendly. I just hope I have the energy to start and finish all the projects that I want to.

Zubs Fundraiser Day

Zubs Fundraiser Day was a huge success! We earned enough money to turn in our second packet, which means we will be able to get our home study done. As soon as that is approved, we will be eligible to be looked at by birth moms. We are ecstatic! Thanks to everyone who donated time and money in order to bring this about. Joe said on Saturday that he felt like George Bailey from "It's a Wonderful Life" just seeing how many people came out to support us. We truly have the best family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and ward members. We are getting close to actually getting a baby here. Now, we just need to get the money to cover the hospital costs and we will be good. We love you all and appreciate all that you have done for us. I have heard that it takes a village to raise a child, but sometimes it takes a village to get a child here as well. Our heart felt thanks to everyone. 

Some awesome Zubs employees and my boss who donated their time on Saturday.

Ian busy making pizza, we went through six bins of dough on Saturday!

Just preparing some food for the busy day.  Melanie, Mat, and my
sister Talissa. 

 Eric busy making sandwiches to fill orders.

Wendy and Mat prepping cheese to be grated,
so much work to do. :) 

Our cute poster to announce the fundraiser day. 

Joe hasn't worked at Zubs in a long time,
but he quickly got the hang of things again. It was
so much fun to work with him again, I almost felt
like we were dating again. 

Steve got up bright and early to make 200 loaves of delicious
bread for the day. 

Amanda and I getting ready for the exciting
day to begin. 

My amazing boss and friend Rena, who organized and
gave us this fundraiser. Thanks a million! 

Kristen, happily slicing bread. 

My fundraising poster. I am having to exhaust
all my craft skills in order to get these things made.
Thanks to my sister Kara who helped me get
it done. 

My other awesome boss, Alan. Thanks for
your generosity. 

Success!!!

We had such a good turn out at the yard sale and made a good portion of money. We are off to a good start, we will get a baby here yet. We were so grateful that, despite the weather, we had so many people come out and support us. We are thankful to everyone who helped in anyway. We couldn't have done it without the support of family, friends, and neighbors. We had so many people that were extremely generous and we thank our Heavenly Father for blessing us with such wonderful people in our lives. We sold most of our big items, but still have some nice things left, so stay tuned because we will probably be having another yard sale in the coming months. Our next fundraiser will be May 4 at Zubs Pizza and Subs. Come out that day and buy some food and a portion of all proceeds brought in that day will be given to our adoption fund. We want to thank Alan and Rena Peacock and all the employees who are volunteering their time to allow this fundraiser to happen. Your generosity is incredible and we are indebted to all of you. We love you and cannot thank you enough!

Yard/Bake Sale Preparations and thank yous.

I have officially gone through and priced everything for the yard sale that is coming in just 2 days. All this planning and preparing and the big day is almost here! I am excited to see how everything turns out. I have so many items and so many people have offered to make goodies. I feel like it is going to be a great event. I feel so blessed to know so many kind and caring people. It is quite humbling to realize how giving people are. I thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for their service. Especially my sisters and mom who came and helped me go through all the yard sale items, it was a big job and I couldn't have done it by myself.  I also had a lot of fun working with them while we sorted and priced.  I want to thank everybody who let us borrow their vehicles and time to get the items here. That was no small sacrifice either and Joe and I are extremely grateful.
Tomorrow will be spent doing the final preparations and then all I can do is cross my fingers and hope for the best. If you do come on Saturday, make sure to grab me or Joe and tell us hi. We would love to talk to everyone we know, and if we don't know you, just come and say hi anyway and introduce yourselves- we'd love to get to know and thank you.
May the weather hold and the crowds appear. Thanks again to everyone who has helped in anyway. I've heard that it takes a village to raise a child, but I also think that sometimes it takes a village to get a child here.
Love you all,
Shanna

The Countdown begins....less than 2 weeks now

It's almost here! Now we just need to pray for good weather and a good turn out. If for some reason, you haven't got the information-I'm posting it again. Saturday, April 20 8 am-3 pm at 341 N Main Street Payson. I look forward to seeing you there! 

Running out of room...in a good way

This is just a lovely bit of artwork, so majestic. I think I'll call a curator for this one. :)
I feel like we have a bit of storage wars going on here...we have run out of room in the garage-mahal and so our house has now become a storage unit as well. I don't even mind the clutter though. Now I just have to kick my organizational skills in gear and start going through all of it. 

Moving Forward to April 20

Things are really coming together with the garage sale. We have been receiving a lot of good items, such as couches, a treadmill, and tools. We appreciate everyone who has donated and our neighbors who have generously allowed us to store the items in their large garage (which is affectionately known as the garage-mahal.) As we continue to gather items for the sale, please help us gather support by sharing this information with friends and family. We are hoping for a really good turn out at the sale. There will also be some baby items being sold, including tutus, car seat covers, afghans, and hair bows. The yard sale will right on main street, just down from Payson Market and O'Reilly Auto Parts on April 20. We also are going to have items for those with sweet teeth-brownies, peanut butter bars, cupcakes, and other wonderful desserts will be sold there as well. So you can pick something up for your house and your mouth at the same time.