It's the little things.

One of the things I was looking forward to about being pregnant was maternity photos. I mean, they are absolutely the cutest. I love pictures, at least once a year I make Jonathan get professional portraits done with me to include in our Christmas cards. Do my friends and family REALLY need a picture of Jonathan, Daisy and I every year? Probably not. But I still do it. 

When we were still researching adoption, well before I made the initial call, I stumbled across a pin on Pinterest that was basically the equivalent of maternity photos. And I was, (of course!) completely in love with the idea. 

We decided it was probably a good idea to wait until we were actually APPROVED to have pictures done. And when I say "we," I mean Jonathan said we couldn't do it right away and we needed to wait until we were approved. And it made sense. So I had to tell him he was right. Which isn't my favourite thing to do... ;-)

Anyways, long story short, a couple weeks ago I decided that things seemed like they were wrapping up and that September would be a great time to have some pictures done. So I did it, I booked a photographer. Someone I've never used before, but someone who came highly recommended and whose work I really like. 

I can't wait for the session, and I can't wait to share the pictures with you all. 

PS: You can check out the photographer I'm using here. :-)

One year later.

A year ago yesterday I made the call that started us on this journey.

In some ways it feels like just yesterday, and in others it feels like it was a lifetime ago.

For the most part, I feel like the process has moved quickly for us. Quicker than I thought it would actually. I expected to be waiting longer to begin our P.R.I.D.E training and then I expected to be waiting longer to begin our home assessments. And I expected the home assessments to take longer too. (They're not quite finished, but the end is in sight.)

Jonathan and I spent this weekend at a small cottage right on the Bay of Fundy. We went for a long walk along the beach yesterday and talked a lot about this past year and about how we see our future unfolding. There was a time a few years back when we stopped talking about the future. Not our whole futures, but the part that included children. And even though the picture in my head of our children is probably not exactly accurate, Jonathan and I are once again having discussions about bedroom furniture (we saw the cutest bunk beds at Wheatons last week!), schools, childcare and all the little things we want to teach our kids.

The next part of the adoption process will probably be the longest, and in some ways the toughest. Once the home assessment is finished we're essentially done. We'll keep reading, and keep doing projects around the house, but there's no more steps to take. It just becomes a wait. It could be two months (like a couple from our P.R.I.D.E training group) or it could be years and years. But someday our children are coming home to us. And until they do, we'll keep talking about our future as a family. And I'll keep pointing out all the really expensive children's furniture that I want to buy them. ;-)