Chaos...

Right now, we're kind of living in chaos. It hasn't been too bad so far, but I have to be honest... I get a little bit freaked out when we take on projects like this one! And, this is a big one! We recently had our floor in the kitchen replaced with new linoleum by a store that I used to like... I won't name names (but it rhymes with Schmoes...) We spent a lot of money on this floor because we have a rather large kitchen. The new floor dimpled really badly when chairs were put on it for just a short period of time. These dimples hung around and our floor was really starting to look bad. SO, after dealing with Schmoes for 6+ months, we finally got word that we'd be getting 1/2 of our money back due to an installation error. Basically, they advised we could install the new floor over the old floor and this was causing the dimples. Long story short, we used the credit at Schmoes to buy a tile floor that Greg and my Dad will be putting down.

And, because this linoleum also goes into the laundry/bathroom area, we thought we'd open up the laundry area as well! It was really getting claustrophobic doing laundry, so our solution was to make this a half wall. We'll be putting in a narrow countertop for me to fold clothes and new drywall throughout that area. In order to open it up even more, we may completely remove that door, or we may put in a pocket door. Where the studs are right now used to be a pantry. So, imagine that entire area all closed up. Claustrophobic, right?

So, enough about the home improvements for a while... We had a great day today. We went down to St. Louis to speak on an adoption agency panel for adoptive parents in waiting. It was such a great experience and it brought back a lot from Gabe's adoption. I couldn't wait to get home to hug and love on him. I missed him so much today! What was really cool is we got to see some of the panel guests from the conference we attended when we were waiting to adopt. It was awesome to hear updates on their stories. It was also very cool to be able to tell them how much their stories impacted our decision to have an open adoption. We left that conference and that day -in the parking lot- decided we would have an open adoption for our child. I can't say enough, that the decision to have an open adoption with Gabe's birth family is the best decision we've ever made. Greg and I couldn't be more blessed - not just with our child, but with more extended family to share him with. He's one blessed kid to have so many people who love him so much.

And, how could you not???