White Christmas, Home made

Thanksgiving has come and gone!!!  We had a celebration with Chad’s parents on the Sunday before because they were headed up to the cabin in Steamboat on Wednesday.

Wednesday we had planned to have our own Thanksgiving dinner so that we would have leftovers, because the weather in the mountains was very cold and snow, Chad’s parents postponed their take off to the mountains until Thursday, so they joined us for a very nice dinner!

I pulled out my grandmother’s china and Chad’s grandparent’s silver for the first time.  I felt like a grown-up!!!  It was a lovely dinner!

We had set our tree up prior to dinner but still have not done our decorating.  

Chad has been allergic to real trees for quite awhile, but last year I had a not so lovely but very dramatic allergic reaction to the Christmas tree.  Alas, we have surrendered and we bought a very beautiful pre-lit tree from a couple on Craig’s list.  We got a steal!!!

Sliding Glass Door

On Thanksgiving day Carter and I went up to Woodland Park to have dinner with Chad and the rest of the ambulance crew.  both ambulances got calls right as we got there, but we hung around and helped finish dinner and had a scrumptious feast fixed by Jess!!!

Today Carter and I decided to watch Elf and White Christmas and make our own White Christmas.  We have never made snowflakes, but decided it would be fun!  After all, Elf knocks it out in a matter of minutes with scissors and paper flying!

Front Room Window

It is not as easy as it looks, but with a little Google help for the proper techniche of folding the paper, we ended up with some lovely snowflakes!

Tomorrow, Sunday will be our “decorating day” as we will all be home and it will once again look like Christmas exploded in our home!!!

I love the season and celebration of Christmas!!!

pre-miracle post

I haven’t blogged in a while.  For a variety of different reasons.  

1. Everything I think of to say is depressing
2. I am struggling with not being depressed
3. I feel like we don’t have any events to share
4. I don’t have any pictures
5. I have been working and have too much time on my hands

So now I have decided that it’s time to “just do it”.  If other people read my blog, that’s awesome, if not, well that’s ok too.  Someday I hope I look back on this post and am amazed at how far God has brought us and I will be able to see the miracles and answers to pray and use this blog as a gauge for how AMAZING God truly is.

Life is erratic to say the least for us right now.  I quit my job at the doctor’s office and while I am a happier person in general, it does not fix everything.

Chelsey found out she is having a boy and decided to keep the baby and raise him herself, and never wants to hear from us again. (This came to me from a friend that also knows Chelsey)

Chad was hired on full time at UPRAD!  This is an answer to prayer, we will have health insurance, although the pay is ridiculously low.  

I have been picking up shifts at UPRAD on the ambulance, as well to help bring in some money.  It’s easy work, mostly because I have done it for so long and because we haven’t really run any calls!  I will continue to pick up shifts to help supplement our income.

I am jumping through the hoops of going back to school.  I have (from the best of my calculations -- without an advisors help...yet) about 1 year to finish my degree in elementary education through Regis.  I have everything done that I can do and am just waiting on the final transcripts to come through.  I would like to start classes Jan 10, but it is completely dependent on financial aid.  

Our lease will be up in May, we are looking to reduce our expenses, so hoping to find a house with a much smaller payment.  We are hoping to buy a home and be settled for a while!  Chad’s parents are willing to help us get into a home, so that is a huge help.

Due to our financial “crisis” we have had to put adopting on hold.  This is for an unknown period of time.  My very wise husband (the realist side of this relationship) pointed out that it is very difficult to add additional expenses to an already stretched budget.  So, my hope is in the future we will get to revisit this, and if not, well God has a plan for that as well.  He is and will continue to be the balm for my hurting heart and soul.

It is an emotional, roller coaster of a ride.  Financially, we went from wonderful, amazing amount of income, to peanuts.  Emotionally, I am still a roller coaster.  I have good days, bad days and some days with both wrapped up into one.  I have struggled through jobs and now am in a different situation than I could have ever imagined myself being in.

I am completely and totally reliant upon Christ to rescue me, pick me up and carry me through this stage of life.  

I am ready to see the view from the top of this mountain.  We have had a turbulent two years and I holding on to the promise that God will not give us more than we can handle and he will provide a way of escape! 

I am at the end of me and beyond all self-sufficiency that i can muster.

I am completely and utterly reliant on the saving grace and power of my Savior and the Lord of my life, the King and Prince of Peace.

Thank you for your prayers!

Fall Update

Happy Fall!!!!!!

I am very, very behind in blogging.  My first excuse is that we only have one computer(Chad’s laptop) and he took it with him to Virginia/DC area when he went out there for two weeks.  My second excuse is that I worked and then he worked all of last week and he took the computer to work with him.  Someday, I dream, that I will have a computer, or we will have a computer in our home.  For the past 4-5 years whatever job I have been working has provided me with a computer, so it has not been a issue.  Not anymore!  Oh Well!!!!

On to updating!!!

Carter went to his mom for the first week of his two week fall break.  (His school district has 9 week quarters with a two week break in between each, so he has two weeks off in the fall, Christmas and spring.)  Since Chad had time off, and his grandparents are aging nicely we decided it would be a good chance for his to go out and spend some time with them, help out around their place and take a vacation.  The second week, Chad drove down to North Carolina, picked up Carter, ate at Bo Jangles and headed back to Virginia.  They then spent the next week experiencing D.C.  They had a great time and got to experience so much.

I was at home during this two week period.  When we originally began planning this trip, all three of us were going to go out for the second week.  But a change in jobs and life brought a change to our plans.  Because I needed to work and am to new to have any time off I stayed and worked.  This was the longest I have been alone or home by myself since we got married.  I am usually the one taking the trips and traveling, so it was very strange for me.  However, I really enjoyed it!  I enjoyed having craft time, going to a Partylite candle party and a Pampered Chef party, and just generally doing whatever I felt like and eating what I wanted!!!  It was refreshing for all of us, but it was very nice to have my family home too!

During the second week that the boys were gone I got a phone call from a friend of ours.  She works with Young Life in their young mothers group.  She was at group when she overheard a girl (Chelsea) talking to some other girls about adoption options.  Jenn contemplated whether she should interrupt this conversation or not.  She wavered and finally decided that she should.  She went and talked to Chelsea and told her that she knew a family that was looking to adopt, told her about our family and about Aubrey and told her she would talk to me if Chelsea was interested.  

Chelsea agreed that she would like to talk to me and meet with me.  Jenn told me what she knew about the situation and gave me Chelsea’s number.  It was after 9pm so I figured I would call her the next day.  

The next morning about 10 am I got a text message forwarded from Chelsea to Jenn to Me.  It said that Chelsea would really like to talk to me and she was ready for me to call her. 

So, I called Chelsea, we talked for a while and set up a lunch date at a park near her house for that same day.

Chelsea is a 19 year old sweet heart that (at the time) was 15 weeks pregnant with her second baby.  Due date is April 10.  She has a daughter, Lilly, who is 2 almost 3 years old (December 29).  Both of her children are from the same father, Travis.  They have been together off and on for the past 4 years.  Chelsea lives with her mother and sister and Travis lives with his mother.  They both come from broken homes with many broken relationships.  Neither of them have graduated from high school.  Travis has a job and his driver license, Chelsea has not gotten her driver’s license and is working towards getting day care assistance so that she can get a job.  She has to file for child support from Travis in order to apply for day care assistance.  Up to this point Travis has not been financially responsibly for Lilly at all.  He visits her a few times a week and his mom has started helping out by having Lilly spend the night at her house 2 times so far.  

Chelsea is very torn and has not made a decision yet about whether she will raise the baby or have us adopt the baby.  She plans to make her decision at the latest by January.  She has a few significant factors that she is considering.  

1. Financially supporting herself and two kids.  She would like to not have to rely completely on her mother.
2. She has a strained relationship with her mother and feels that it will pass on to her and she will not be able to love 2 children at the same time.
3. She has struggled with raising Lilly and is not sure that she wants to have that much weight to carry with a second child.

Chelsea’s mom would like her to raise the baby, Travis would like her to raise the baby but is understanding and will support whatever decision she chooses to make.  Chelsea’s grandparents are very supportive of her adopting, Travis’s mom is supportive of whichever decision Chelsea chooses to make.

Chelsea and I have spent a lot of time talking, I have answered every question that she can think of and she has had a chance to hang around our house as well.  She has thought out everything that either her or I can think of that may come up.

She would like an open adoption if that is what she chooses, but as we discussed there is no way to know how she will feel as far as how involved she will want to be after the baby is born.

She has been constantly struggling with connecting this baby.  She thought that after she saw the first ultrasound and heard the heartbeat she might be excited, then she thought maybe if she knew the sex and felt the baby kick.  Up until now she has still felt very little to no connection.  I believe that part of this is her own protective instinct because she is battling with whether she will raise this baby or allow us to adopt and raise this baby.

She had an ultrasound on Friday and the baby had his/her little legs crossed.  The tech said they could not see any “parts” but they suspect it is a boy.  How does that work????

She had to have an amniocentesis done because of an abnormal test result, so the definitive chromosomal test will reveal the sex of the baby by Tuesday of this week!

Regardless of what Chelsea does decide to do with this baby, we have made a new friend that has reached out to our family!

We have told her that we will walk through this with her, no matter what her decision.  

Chelsea and Lilly came over and carved pumpkins with us that we had gotten from the pumpkin patch!

Carter, Lilly and Chelsea

All in all, this whole encounter and relationship with all of the details is an amazing miracle for all involved.

My pumpkin design with leaves.

Please keep both our family and Chelsea and her family in your prayers. 

October 2010

October is here and it feels........Strange.  October is always a strange month for our family.  We have Chad’s birthday on the 5th and then Carter has fall break.  

A few little notes that have happened since my last blog.

Thank you craigslist.org for helping us find a great bed for Carter for a great price.  WE bought him a double bed for $100.  It is in great condition and he loves it!  We have now moved his twin bed into the spare bedroom. 

Our home study was finalized and sent to our contacts in Alaska, as well as Jill is ready to go here.  Now for the waiting and waiting and waiting. And LOTS of praying.  For jobs, blessings, grace, prepared hearts and children. 

 I am so glad that I don’t have to do this in my own strength.  My own strength quickly shows how weak I am.  I start thinking and trying to plan and can’t make any sense of it. 

Ever since Aubrey was diagnosed at our ultrasound, I have held to the belief that if God showed us His plans and purpose ahead of time it would kill me.  I am never ready before His perfect time.  So I choose to trust Him.  I never would have imagined that I could walk down this path.  Looking back I am amazed and so grateful for His strength and guiding hand.  Knowing this, I look forward to the future, one step and one day at a time.  “Give me today, my daily bread”, just enough to get through today because you have fresh bread for me tomorrow!!

Chad has been working odd shifts, picking up anything he can get, so our first weekend in October, Carter and I made a trip up to the Boulder area to visit with Chad’s sister, Teri, her husband, Nick and the kiddos, Morgan and Justin.  Morgan had a soccer game, so we went and cheered for her and then had a picnic lunch and played at their house.

Justin loved having Carter around because he suddenly had a boy on his side and the girls didn’t have the upper hand advantage anymore.  Carter may have warped the sense of pixie dust in fairy land, however.  Carter wanted to throw grenades instead of sprinkle pixie dust and since Justin wanted to do whatever Carter did, pixie grenades it was!  

Carter and I had a date at Cheesecake factory on our way home.  This was, of course, under the guise of needing to pick up a cheesecake for Chad’s birthday celebration the next day.  I wasn’t going to have time to make one and this was deemed a suitable alternative.

For Carter’s school district they do 9 week quarters with a 2 week break.  For fall break Carter spends one week with his mom and one week with us.  This year we made plans (albeit tentative) to go visit Chad’s grandparents in Virginia for our week with Carter.  These plans were created back when I had a different job and things were very different in our lives.  Wow, a lot can change quickly. 

We decided it was still very important for Chad to spend time with his grandparents and Carter is at a great age to experience the D.C. area and all that it offers.  Because I am the newbie and have no PTO, I will be holding down the fort here and taking care of the beauties. 

Carter left today to head to N. Carolina and will spend a week.  Chad will fly out tomorrow (Sunday) and spend the week with his grandparents and seeing a few friends that Facebook has brought him into contact with again!  Chad will drive down to N. Carolina next weekend and pick Carter up and they will begin their grand adventures of the D.C. region.  

Can I tell you how proud of them I am, they made plans and have a tentative schedule for what they want to accomplish on what days!  I expect them to come back with great stories of great adventures and wonderful pictures! 

Training ....

This has been a busy week for us in so many aspects and I am exhausted.  Which, is why I am at home, sitting on the couch in my pajamas, blogging, while my son and husband are at a friend's house watching the UFC fight. 
I am a homebody.  I love to be out and about and doing projects, but I love and need downtime at home, relaxing.  I have always been this way and have to work it into the schedule.  Tomorrow will be another very busy, away from home day, so I greatly appreciate my husband encouraging me to take some downtime.


Now for the info on this last week.  We finished our home study on Wednesday.  We wrapped up all the questions, answer, info and reviews.  Jill now just has to type it all up and everyone has to review it and sign off on it.  Friday night and all day Saturday were spent becoming educated on the foster system, foster kids and all the special challenges that they present.  Most of the information was review (pretty much all of it is covered in paramedic school at one time or another).  We met another couple that is preparing for foster care as well and learned about the support system that is available.  I am looking forward to making some great friends through the support groups and training.  


A lot of the information makes you realize how intense foster parenting can be.  There can be a lot of running around to appointments.  We have no idea how we would make this work, so this is an area that God gets to show us how He wants to work.


When children are placed in our home, it can be any time of day or night with any amount or lack of information and belongings.  There are specific guidelines of what you must be able to provide for them immediately, including but not limited to an entire wardrobe of brand new clothes.  Here is another area that God will get to show us how amazing He is.  In July our family income was cut by more than half, it has been a challenge to meet our monthly needs and we have been downsizing and cutting out anything and everything that we can.  As you can imagine we do not have any money sitting around to be able to buy new wardrobes, but God promises He will provide.  So we choose to trust Him.


Jill told us today (Saturday) that our CBI (Colorado Bureau of Investigation) background checks came in.  FBI background checks take 2 weeks from the time that CBI come in.  Once our background checks are in our license will be complete. 


So, we will be eligible for placement in possibly 2 weeks.


I am determined to allow God to work miracles in our lives.  This is a huge mindset change for me and a huge challenge of surrender.  I will trust and will not stress because that is the evidence of being controlling.


I believe that God is getting ready to change what we know and our expectations and I want to be ready for Him to move me and change me and reshape our family.


Please join Chad and I in praying for direction, wisdom and understanding.  Please pray that God will bring an amazing job to either Chad or I so that we will be able to better support our family.


Thank you for walking this journey with us!!!

Paintball Adventures

Because Carter spends his actual birthday at his mom's house he get's two birthdays at our house.  We celebrate with the family before he leaves and then he gets to celebrate with his friends when he gets back. This year we celebrated in Encinitas while we there before he left and today we celebrated with friends by playing paintball.

This was my first time ever experiencing the wars of paintball.  The boys were geared up like G.I.Joe, I was much more limited in my attire.  We headed out to Dragon Man's out east because that way if we need to rent any gear, get bottles filled, etc, it is all conveniently right there. 

Dragon Man's has 5 huge paint ball courses with all sorts of obstacles to hide behind and run around.  There 6 of us total that were playing today. Chad, Carter, Cole (next door neighbor and Carter's best friend) John and Shane Santos (next door neighbors from a previous house we lived in) and of course, ME!

We sweated under the sun in 80 degree weather on the prairie.

We played for about 5 hours, went through about 4,000 paintballs and had a blast!

We played some games by ourselves and a couple of games other people joined us.

We all walked away with at least one decent welt, I walked away with 5 decent welts, skinned knees and elbows.

Carter ended up with paint in his ear, we all had paint and dirt ground into our clothes.

Lots of cleaning when we got home!

Showing off our painted clothes

I kicked some serious paintball butt and had a blast doing it.  I am now tired, sore and aching, but it was so worth it!

Home Study Update

I am a little behind in blogging.  We have now had two of our three home study appointments. Let me back up a week and a half.  Our first home study was the individual interview with Chad and Carter.  I had to work that day, but that's OK because we all have to do our own interviews anyway.  I really cannot write much about their interviews because, well, for those of you who know my husband, he is a man of few words.  Let's just say that their interviews stayed within the one hour time frame we had planned.  Chad told me that I would have to "find out when it was my turn" when I asked him what she asked.


Fast forward one week to this past Wednesday.  My turn.  Can I just tell you how much I admire Jill and enjoy her bubbly personality and character.  She is amazing and I feel so comfortable with her, well as comfortable as I can feel sharing every little detail of my life.  We again had an hour scheduled this time with me, Chad was at work and Carter was at school.  My interview lasted two hours and we have to use another hour next week because we didn't have time to go into some of the questions and events that she needed more details.  A lot has gone on in my life, but I am lady of many details, and she did not tell me "short version" as Chad is so fond of saying.  When I did elude to events she would hone in and ask me to expound anyway, so it really was not totally my fault.


With this process you have to fill out different surveys before the "interview" and then Jill flags issues, details, events that show up on them, she also has to have a good feel for who you are and what helped shape who you are today.  Needless to say, there were lots of flags in my survey and interview.  She says that I am a well-rounded person today, but she needs to truly understand how I became who I am today so that it can be portrayed accurately when she writes up our home study.  


I was also able to ask her questions.  There is so much unknown about this whole process but she does a great job of trying to help me work through all of this in such a caring and compassionate way.

Jill says that we are great candidates for placement, which is exciting, she said that with our medical background and somewhat workable schedules as well as all that she knows about us, all the case managers are going to want to place kids with us.  It will be her job to make sure that we get children that will fit well with our family.


I am trying not to jump the gun, but also hate sitting and doing nothing.  So, I put up a crib.  Chad's mom had Chad's crib and had held onto it for us, so Carter and I went and picked it up and I set it up in the bedroom.  We have no way of knowing if we will use or need it, but now we have a bed in the room.  Something that we have to have to prove we are ready.  We have access to twin beds if needed for older children.  Candy also gave us some crib linens in an amazing beautiful pink, which I did not put on the bed because I felt that it was jumping the gun.  I have refrained from bringing up all the other baby stuff that I collected when I was pregnant with Aubrey.  Because I have it stored in the basement, I will leave it there for the time being.  Teri, Chad's sister has a variety of stuff for us as well.  Illa and some of the girls at work are excited for us and have boys and girls toys and clothes of different sizes that are available whenever we know what we might need!  


We are so blessed to have supportive people around us.  They are supporting us emotionally as well as with tangible gifts as needed.
There is no way to explain how much it warms my heart to have others excited for us and want to know how things are going!!!!


This Wednesday is the final home study, Chad and I together and the rest of my individual.  Jill says she will have the home study complete on Friday.  Friday evening and Saturday we have our adoption training.  At that point we will be waiting on fingerprints to complete our license!  Jill will be able to send out our home study even without our license!


Things are happening so fast and yet so slow.  I am trying to prepare my heart for the amazing things that God is bringing into our lives!!!!

Ready, Set, Paint

I have come to the realization that I have control issues--between Me and God mostly, but in general.  I like to be in the "know", to make decisions, to have all the facts and information ahead of time so that I can make an informed, educated decision.  Well, my life does not work like that.  
My job is to trust God when I don't have the options or information or choices that I would like, because after all, He sees the big picture and understands where I am going and why.
This is why I live a walk of faith.  
So, I do not have the luxury of knowing that I am preparing for a little bitty baby and all that it entails, I do not know that we need to be ready for a toddler or a pre-schooler or an elementary age child.  I don't have the luxury of a due date or even an approximate date.  We may not have any more notice than a few hours or we may have longer.  We don't know if we will get 1, 2 or maybe more children at the same time.  We may not ever have children.  We don't know if they will be boys or girls.  


We don't know what will happen come May when our lease is up! Our landlords want to sell the house but we are not necessarily in a position where we can finance the house, especially in the current economy and the status of our jobs.


Are you beginning to understand how difficult this situation can be for a person who likes a well ordered, organized life?  Yes, this is my life.


So, that said, the areas that I can prepare for, I will and I will trust and lean completely on the amazing grace of God as He has gotten me this far!


We know that all children need a bedroom!  That is something that we can work on.


So, Carter and I went on a quest yesterday.  A quest unrelated to much of anything that ended on a different path.  (I actually was looking for a shelf for my nail polish so that I can see them, but I am rather particular and never found what I was looking for.) 
We found ourselves at Lowe's and is my habit when I am at any store, I look at the clearance rack for anything that I can't live without.  Well, this time is was the paint clearance rack.  Most of my recent decorating and painting has been done off of this rack.  There are a broad spectrum of colors on the "mess up" rack and it was no different this time.  In my mind I wanted the paint the room a "khaki" color.  I consider this a neutral color that will go with almost any theme that I can come up with and can easily be adapted to pink or blue as necessary.  My ever so wise husband suggested that we paint a neutral color and wait for decorations until we have a child and then put up a border, curtains etc with an appropriate theme.  (I really don't like it when he is so smart and wise at moments that I am so motivated, but mostly just because it means that I was focused on something and my rock hard head didn't want to change paths.) 
So Carter and I found a gallon of paint that had potential.  It was a nice creamy shade of brown that Carter declared much too dark.  but it was only $5.00.  So away my brain goes, he is probably correct, but right next to this gallon was a quart of creamy paint for $2.60.  I ask the paint guy if i lighten this will it have a yellow base?  I am not a fan of yellow bases, I prefer red or blue.  He assured me that if it did anything it would be a red base.  For $20, we purchased the necessary supplies and the paint and headed home to create a warm and inviting space.  
Carter decided we should not tell Chad, but instead keep it a surprise.  (He was at work for the weekend.)  Paint away we did, Carter was very excited about getting to paint and be involved, so we turned on music and got started.  We eventually evolved to Adventures in Odyssey which we both enjoy.  
Initially, when we smeared the paint on the wall to check the color in our own lighting Carter declared it was "monkey poop color", obviously this was not appropriate.  We mixed in our quart of paint and tried again, now we had "monkey diarrhea", still not an appropriate color, add some more white that we found in the garage and we came up with "hot chocolate".  A color we were both happy with.  Life is always entertaining when you have a combination of a 13 year old and my imagination.  I would like all of you to know that we mixed our own color and painted the whole room with no disastrous stories or escapades to share.  Disappointing, isn't it?

Hot Chocolate and Marshmallows 

We transformed the yellow, very feminine room into a warm, albeit very empty room.


Carter eventually went out to play with friends while I worked on the edging and the trim and listened to Anne of Green Gables.


We successfully painted the room finishing up for dinner at 9 pm.  Ok, a little focused and lost in my own little world, we ended up staying up until midnight but we had such a good time together that it was worth it.  And today is Labor Day so we didn't have a specific agenda or schedule for the day.  

Finished Product (and a new hair cut)

Carter took care of all of the outlet covers and light switch plate covers himself.  
Chad was impressed with our hard work and liked the color.  


Now we begin to look for other necessary items, a bed, dresser, etc. 


We start our home study this week.  Chad and Carter have their individual interviews and we turn in copies of all sorts of things. 


Step by step we are getting there.  Focusing on the little things helps keep me sane. 

The Beginning

This is my first "real" attempt at a blog.  I follow a couple of friends blogs and they are inspiring and intriguing and motivating and so here I am tonight, sitting on my couch, creating this blog.   Please bear with me as my blog site grows and becomes more creative over time!!!

My hope it that this will help chronicle our journey of a growing family.

We have turned the page and started a new chapter.  

We met with Jill from Bethany Christian Services yesterday to understand our adoption options as well as know, "where do we go from here".  

Jill is amazing!!!  She laid out all the options, was very honest with us, very up front about all the risks, benefits and options.  Just my kind of person!  I like to know everything possible up front, and with as many details as you can give me.  

We are still hoping to work through Alaska to adopt, primarily because they have more children available or closer to being available than Colorado does.  

Jill is going to be working with us to finish our paperwork, most of which is already complete, she scheduled our three days of home study appointments as well as our "education" weekend that we have to have.  Our fingerprint cards have been sent off.  SO.........  By the end of September, everything that we can do will be done.  We will then be waiting on our fingerprint background checks to come back in order to have our license number.

At that point we will be eligible for foster-adopt child placement.  Quite Literally, only God knows what will happen after that.  We could have children placed with us immediately or it could be an unknown length of time.

We have requested children 0-6 years of age, we are open to sibling groups.  Carter would like a 6 or 7 year old brother to play with, I would like a baby, we are praying that God will "bring the right children into our family."  

Today, I moved everything out of the "Creative Room" upstairs (spare bedroom) down two flights of stairs into the basement and designed and set up a new "Creative Room".  This creative room is much more spread out with more organization and space to move around and work.    

This picture was taken part way through the organization process. 

I finally get to use my gorgeous curtains that I got when I was in Haiti.  They look beautiful and cover the unfinished walls, giving me a beautiful space for creativity to flow. 

We now have a mostly empty extra room that is painted very feminine.  It was painted this way when we moved in.

So, we are on the journey of deciding what theme we want to decorate our "nursery".  Because of the broad possibility of ages and unknown gender, we need a neutral theme.

We will start by painting the walls a neutral color and putting in the necessary furniture, bed, dresser, etc.

How exciting and scary and nerve-wracking all at the same time.