Hurry Up and Wait

That seems to be the theme of adoption paperwork....  You hustle and sweat through seemingly endless pieces of paperwork- it is truly incredible the amount of documentation required!  You write, you research, you request information, you write checks- a lot of checks- and then, ultimately, you wait on someone, to do their job and mail you ___ (fill in the blank with a large number of documentation needs- driving records, medical records for you and your children, child protective services records for every state you have ever lived in, you get the picture!).  The Agency we are working with has been great- it's just a LOT of documentation!

If you know me, you know that patience is NOT a virtue I was blessed with.  I am a tunnel-vision-driven individual.  I lock my eyes on a finish line and very little can distract me.  Waiting to finish paperwork- not an option in this household!  A project is given- I will have it done in days.  I don't wait around. Procrastination killed Hamlet after all.

Back to patience.  I am learning in this process that I have to do my part- and wait- with a good attitude, none-the-less.  God is in control of this process.  He will bring the right children into our home at His perfect timing.

We still need to get our part done in a timely fashion- thank goodness for Al and his seemingly endless amount of patience!  We still need to DO all kinds of things.  We are not called to sit and just pray for a child- we are called to DO.  It's just hard when our turn is done and we are waiting on someone else to feel a sense of urgency to do their part- all so our part can go to the next step.

So- for now, we fill out paperwork, file for forms to be sent in, and pray.  We pray for our children on the other side of the world.  We pray as we act- doing our part to bring them home as soon as possible.  We pray for our hearts to be at peace with His timing, which is perfect.

Now- we will hurry up and be patient!

Learning to Speak European

Yes, our family is going to need to speak European.  At least that is how Adeline thinks...  In her mind, in America, one hunk of the world, we all speak English.  So, in Europe, they all speak European!  She is most excited to learn this language- but is a little irritated that she can't just get lessons from her beloved Aunty Becca, who lives in Europe.  The fact that all these various countries speak different languages baffles her.

Why does she even want to learn European?  I hope you are sitting down for his....

We Are Adopting!!

Yes.  You read that correctly!

We are knee deep in the international adoption process.

Over the last few months God has been working on both my heart and Al's heart.  We have been given so much - and that as Christians, we are instructed to take care of the "least."  One group that in consistently mentioned are the orphans.  In an amazing book 7, the author states that there are seven Christians for every orphan.  That is a humbling statistic.  That is something we feel called to be a part of.  It isn't going to be easy, but we know that this is what we are called to do, and we are excited- and also killing a small forest due to the mountains of paperwork.

There are still lots of unknowns- we have just started the homestudy process.  For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of this- it is where you account for just about every action you have ever taken and any person you have called a friend.  It is seriously a daunting process but aren't most things worth having?

Right now we have a few details we think we may be certain of...  We are looking in Eastern Europe for a young girl (2-7years old).  Most children eligible for adoption have special needs- and we are prayerfully considering what we will be able to handle.

So there you have it- the Perreca family will hopefully, by the end of the summer or even the fall, have an additional member!  Stay tuned for more details.  Until then, we covet your prayers as we maneuver through the sea of Adoption Paper Work!

7- better late than never

I still can't believe my Adeline is SEVEN!!  Every year I try to get a picture of just her with the number block- so I don't have to try and remember how old she was.  Given that her actual birthday is in December- I have learned to not even try to get a birthday picture taken then- it's just too crazy.  This year, I decided to err on the side of after her birthday- secretly hoping she would loose another tooth or two- but no such luck!  Here my girl is, looking so grown-up and sophisticated!!  We all love you Miss Adeline Rose!!  

SNOW!

The weathermen started using the "s" word at the beginning of the week- and I refused to get excited.  As the week progressed, it looked more and more like the weatherman could just, possibly be correct!  Sure enough- Thursday, all evening activities were canceled and 6pm on the dot, it started to SNOW!  In true southern fashion, school was canceled by 10pm- and our first official Snow Day was underway!

The kids woke-up to white stuff all over and were SO excited!  Granted, it wasn't the 3"-5" that was forecast, and it was already melting at 7am, so we quickly donned snow pants (purchased during the heatwave in July at a consignment sale), new snow boots (thank you, Target for putting them on sale days before the snow!), and headed out to enjoy the snow before it all melted away!  It's a good thing we did- by 9am, it was mostly ice, and I strongly suspect that it will all be gone before the sun sets.

But all this makes it the perfect snow-day- no school, fun stuff to play in, and roads perfectly safe to travel on!

Snow Happy!

Attempting to make a snowball...

Sharing

Showing off his Spiderman boots

She literally rolled around in it, laughing and loving it all!

We worked together and made a snowman!

Fun with friends!!

It was short-lived, but it was wonderful!!  And the best part- it made our long weekend actually a 4 day weekend!  I am coming to love this Southern style of snow!!

The Yearly Work Meeting/Get-a-Way

Each year, the company that Al works for hosts a meeting for the managers and directors, and all are allowed to bring a "guest".  The last two years have been oodles of fun for me (all kinds of free Atlanta fun and then a Disney Cruise!) and the kids have loved getting to spend a Thursday the night with a friend and then having all weekend with MarMar and PopPop, who graciously come down watch the kiddos.  Each year I enjoyed getting to place the right name with the right face and getting to know the 50-some managers and directors.

This year's meeting was a little different from the last two years- ALL employees were invited- all 152 of them!  It was neat to get to meet the various warehouse guys and coordinators (secretaries)- lots of whom I had heard stories about, and finally be able to put a face with the stories.  Added to that, Al's company recently acquired a remodeling company- one that Al has been working extensively with- so getting to meet the people who had spent just as much time with Al as I had since September, that was neat as well.

I am always so grateful to have a weekend away with my hubby- and I truly treasure the fact that this company loves Al and appreciates all the hard work and time he puts into doing a job well.  Literally everyone we spoke with told me how much they love working with him- what a hard worker he is, how much he loves his family (and they all knew our kids by name and asked specifically about them), how they admired him as a friend and co-worker.  It is so amazing to have your husband loved and admired by all that work with him- from the warehouse guy who has multiple gold teeth, down to the owner and founder of the company.  I love this company that not only encourages a family atmosphere, but one that is willing to invest in the employees so that they feel like family as well!

This year's meeting was called a Reunion since literally ALL employees were there.

The Grove Park Inn

Our luxurious room

We had a perfect view of the 17th hole

Al giving his part of the presentation

Doug and Aaron- the two head honchos

All ready for Eras night- we went for the 70s...

Saturday we went Zip Lining- what fun!

View- breath taking!

So great to spend time with my Man!

The new company car!

We arrived in a rental and left in Al's new company car- another perk to him now being a Director!  

It was a great time this year- and it couldn't have been possible without my friend, Kerianne, for picking up my kids on Thursday, feeding and loving on them until she dropped them off at Goddard Friday morning, and for MarMar and PopPop who spoiled them all weekend long!

We are SO blessed!

Sports!

Once the hub-bub of Christmas died down, we jumped into something new for Alden and continued on for Addie.  Alden started basketball- he was SO excited!  I am thankful that it meets at the high school that is 1mile from our house, and I am super thankful for i9 that runs the program.  Alden is learning how the game is played AND he is learning about winning and losing- a rarity in children's leagues.  Addie, while she is not playing or cheering, enjoys watching him play and getting to spend time with 2 of Alden's teammates younger sister!

Look at those skills!!

I couldn't get a single non-fuzzy shot of him he was ALWAYS on the move!

Addie continued with her gymnastics- and sad to say, I didn't realize until I went to put this post together, that I don't have any other pics of her other than this one!  She loves her class and that her friend, B, is in her class.  She is doing a really great job at cartwheeling, flipping, balance beam walking, and hand springing- please forgive me for using what I am sure is totally non gymnastics vocabulary!

So while the weather may be cold and dreary, at least we have 1 activity inside that will keep us busy, happy and active!

New Years, Beach Style

We have been blessed with some amazing friends- truly amazing.  And one of these amazing friends invited us to spend a few days at his Gigi's beach house in Duck, NC.  What a fun opportunity- so we accepted, super grateful and excited!  That was several weeks ago- and once we go close to the time, and told the kids, they were wildly excited and slightly confused as to why we weren't packing swimsuits, towels, beach chairs, etc....  Once they got out of the car, they quickly realized why!  

We headed down to Duck Saturday morning and happily fell into "Beach Time" where we spent lots of time eating, playing with our friends, exploring the beach, playing games, coloring, etc.  It was wonderfulllllly relaxing!

The house that our friend's grandpa designed and built in the 80s

Our little engineer...  He collected a ton of shells, cleaned them and then dried them- all with a set system.

Yummmmmy donuts (aka "lunch" at the beach)

Enjoying some time with my Man

There were 7 kids with us- and these 4 played beautifully together!  Here they are all dolled-up- one Mom fixed their hair and put make-up on them!

We all stayed up to midnight and watched the ball drop- and toasted the year with yummy champagne!

Addie hunting for shells for all her classmates and friends

Cheer Camp!  Two of the moms were amazing cheerleaders and lead cheer camp at night- Addie thought she had died and gone to heaven!

Family pic!

I love these two!

Chasing waves

 It was an amazing time of encouragement, laughter, food, and memories.  What a perfect way to end one year and launch into a new one- surrounded by amazing friends!