Adoption - Day 160

It's a new year and now is the time to launch into those New Year's Resolutions we have all made commitments to. I've made some resolutions of my own:

1) Begin the HCG Diet Program (through my chiropractor/nutritionist) and stick to it
2) Get back to Body Gospel
3) Get down to my pre-wedding weight of 125 lbs. by my birthday (May 26)
4) Finish the nursery as much as possible before knowing the gender by the end of March
5) Bring home Baby Ainley!!! This is not really in my control, but here's hoping!

So, I've got some goals. I decided to focus on the positive side of not being pregnant during this adoption process. No bodily changes. No severe mood swings, which if you think about it might not be a positive thing considering I can't blame my regular non-pregnant irritability on anything logical. "I'm sorry I'm so moody, it's the adoption hormones. They are skyrocketing." I'm not sure Tim will buy that. So, there are some really great parts of not being pregnant and becoming a mom all in one and so... Carpe Diem! I'm going to go for it. I'm determined to get myself in tip top shape, so that when baby comes I will have already established good eating and fitness habits.

Here's an update on where we are at. We just finished up our family profile book just last night. I have one more photo to drop in and we are running the book by our adoption agency program coordinator to ensure the book is exactly as it should be. Then all we need to do is print out 20 copies of the book, bind them up and ship them off to Georgia and badabing! We are officially on the waiting list. This is the point at which I will become much better at answering my phone. All those who are close to me can attest to just how horrible I am about answering my phone. I have a strong hatred (and love) for technology, especially when it constantly interrupts my daily life. I swear I was born to live in the 1800s on a farm in the middle of nowhere.

I thought it might be fun to let you all see the family book we've created, so I've attached a PDF to this posting. It's a snapshot of our lives, without going into locational specifics. This is the book that the prospective mothers will look through when considering a home for their baby. So, needless to say... it's only the most important piece. This is why it took us much longer to complete than we had originally anticipated. We wanted to be absolutely certain that we were representing ourselves truthfully and openly.

Well, that's pretty much all for now. I'm very excited about 2011. I think there are big big things in store for our family and I am excited about sharing it all with you as we experience it.

Happy 2011!


Check out our family book here. Be sure to select "View as Two-Up" in your Adobe PDF viewer.

Ainley Adoption Family Book