Making Home

Hold on, to me as we go

As we roll down this unfamiliar road

Did you ever end a relationship with someone and notice that every time you turned on the radio all you heard was horrible break up songs?  Music is the back drop of our lives.  Those of you who know me, know you will never get me to sing in front of people, but if you know me really well, you know that I'm always singing!  When I was a camp counselor, my name was Jukebox :) Because, whatever we were doing, it always reminded me of a song, and because it's easier to make a fool of yourself in front of kids, I would always start singing it!  Fast forward (whoosh!) to now, when every song I hear, seems to be about adoption.  The odds of that are pretty slim, especially since I mostly listen to pop music.  But there are three songs that are played constantly right now and they all speak so strongly to my heart.  One is the Mumford and Sons song that I quoted in a previous blog. (See it here)  Another is Phillip Phillips.

And although this wave is stringing us along

Just know you're not alone

Cause I'm going to make this place your home

The theme for my week has been creating a place for our baby, which has ran parallel to making our home-and my mind-ready for our first social worker visit.  We had finished the painting and put out the main items. All that was left was little details such as setting up his bedding and hanging his special vest-brought back from Kazakhstan.  The room, and baby's area was finally done.  Just looking at it made me smile. But it also made me sad.  It's hard not knowing when there will be a little one sleeping that bed.  And it's hard not knowing when Kazakhstan will officially open, to make that little one a possibility.

Settle down, it'll all be clear

Don't pay no mind to the demons

They fill you with fear

The trouble it might drag you down

If you get lost, you can always be found

So we keep moving forward.  Not really knowing what we are walking through, just what we are walking to.  And even though I was nervous, it was still a great step, another obstacle tackled, to have the social worker come visit last week. She was very nice and I thought the visit went really well. We have our second visit this Saturday and the report should be filed within a few weeks.  Mostly we went over questions that Bard and I have already answered, in one of the 7 jillion forms we've turned in to our agency.  But some questions were new, and some information was new as well-this woman has done hundreds of these visits and has a great perspective on both the adoption process and adopted children.  And to make my house a home for our baby brother, I need to rely on people, resources, like her, as we face challenges ahead.

Just know you're not alone

Cause I'm going to make this place your home

And now our home welcomes you with a little bit of Kazakhstan from the moment you walk up to our front door.  When we bought our house, the previous owners told us that for years it has been referred to as The Apple House.   He didn't know if that was due to the green color o because of the apple tree in the back yard, but we liked it, so it stuck.  While reading up on Kazakh history, we learned that apples first came from Kazakhstan and there are acres of orchards outside the first capital city, Almaty.  Apples grew quite big and were considered a delicacy.  During tsarist and Soviet times the sweet and grape fruit sized apple, the Aport, was hugely popular and shipped all over the continent.  But after the fall and with the ensuing economic difficulties, orchards have been left untended and today's version of the Aport is less impressive.  Interesting to think of an apple no longer being in its glory days, but a little love goes a long way, perhaps the trees could be grafted to create a new orchard.  And, interesting enough, Washington is known as the Apple State, also famous for our many orchards, particularly in the eastern part of the state.  So Bard and I thought we should have a little plaque, by our front door, The Apple House.  Which got me thinking.  We really are combining families, histories, cultures. Melodies and harmonies, different instruments composed into one song. How could all the pieces move together? Bard spent his summers growing up in New Hampshire and his family there has always been an important part of who he is, who he wants to be.  The lake in New Hampshire is family, sanctuary, peace. Home.  What if I brought a bit of it here?  With the help of (my now favorite!) cousin who lives on the family property, I was able to get a small piece of lake driftwood, just in time for Valentine's Day.  I rushed out and bought a little wood carving kit.  I am far from craftsy, but the meaning behind the method comes through.  Grafting families.  Growing together.  A new song.

Just know you're not alone

Cause I'm going to make this place your home