And We're Off . .

To Chicago!

(Some very sweet ladies in NW Iowa made the blankets for each of the kids. Such a fabulous idea since the three kids are going to be FREEZING going from 90 degree weather to 50.)

Dear Abram:

Your little world is about to come to an end as you've known it.

And while I know Superhero ice cream from Hickory Park will not make it all better next week when you realize your toys now belong to three other little humans and your mommy and daddy can't spend all of our time with just you . . . know that daddy and mommy had fun taking you on a special date on the last night of the Lee Three era.

We love you, little monkey. It is going to be a painful next few weeks, but God will use it for your good and His glory!

For the Love

. . . of HOOKS!

I started this post this morning when I was killing time waiting to hear if Isaiah's approval made it into the right hands. I have since heard - and seen a copy with my own eyes - that the approval made it and Isaiah is coming home in two days with the girls!!

PRAISE. THE. LORD. I need to say it again, PRAISE THE LORD!!

Meanwhile I am trying not bawl my way through the afternoon, thinking about this being my last day home with (only) Abram. I never imagined I would have two and a half years alone with my boy (we were in the domestic adoption process back before the C---- adoption got started, hoping to get another baby right away). I am so thankful for all of this time God gave me with Abram - it has been wonderful! But thinking about our lives all being altered forever by three new gifts from God makes me feel like I am going to miss Abram terribly in about a week or two. God is good. He will get us through and He has many blessings waiting for us on the other side!

Onto my obsession with hooks. Really, it is more my obsession with organization and things functioning efficiently in my home that make me love hooks so much. I worked on these projects the last couple weeks.

First, I wanted some hooks in our bedroom so I could hang my sweatshirts on them instead of hanging them on a hanger in my closet every time. I found a wooden sign (it said something about "Teachers . . .") at Goodwill for 99 cents. I painted it and then put three hooks that I already had on it. It didn't have anything on the back to hang it on the wall, so I walked to my mom's house and got two pop can tabs, screwed them into the back and WA-LAA!

A set of hooks for 99 cents!
And I am loving how this thing helps the function of my sweatshirts in my room.
Second up was the boys' room. Their dresser is too small to hold their sweatshirts now that the weather is colder and there was a perfect spot on their wall for some hooks. I found a set of (ugly) hooks at Goodwill that I was going to doctor up, but it was going to take a lot of work. I was at Hobby Lobby and happened to look at their "sports" section and found this set of hooks for $10 (because it was 50% off, of course!).
It is just perfect for their room.

This last hook idea I came up with is a little crazy, but I LOVE it! I was tired of all of my reusable sacks (I primarily shop at Aldi and need them for my groceries) lying all over the floor of the back of my van. There are little hooks back there, but none would fit even one bag. I had another extra hook (all of my extra hooks came from our old house) and I thought about hot gluing it onto the hard plastic in the back of the van. My mom came over when I was in the middle of this project and she suggested screwing the hook into the hard plastic. Although Jason was a little leery of this idea at first, he finally agreed since we plan to have this van for the duration of it's life.

I love looking at the back of my van . . .

in its organized beauty!And yes, I know I am weird!