Yes, we did! (and no- we haven't been matched yet, sorry to disappoint) So let's back up just a bit and unfold our comical crib-buying adventure. On Thursday, we had to go to the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services) office to complete our fingerprints for our immigration approval form, as it was time for renewal. (This is the form that approves us to adopt a foreign-born child) So yes, even though you know we've been fingerprinted with what probably sounds like a hundred times, off we were again to complete what should be our last set. When we arrived, unlike last time, the immigration office was packed with people and the wait was very long, so we had no other choice, but to sit it out. Well, not realizing that we couldn't work from our phones while we waited (apparently putting them on silence was not enough) we had a funny moment when we both "got in trouble" for working on our phones. Oops! It felt like being back in school again when the teacher catches you doing something you aren't supposed to do and reprimands you in front of the class (haha). We both kind of chuckled, finished our current email, and put them away.
It was at this point we really just sort of sat and took in the moment. It was quite amazing to take in all of the different nationalities & languages represented in the room. I commented that it felt a little like what Rev. 7:9 will be like when all nations, tribes, and tongues will be gathered in heaven (though I joked the USCIS office is far from heaven- mind you), but I think you get the point. Finally our numbers were called and we finished up our fingerprints and were then off to our next order of business-- going to check out and potentially buy a crib. (did I just type that?!?!) Yes, it is crib buying time.
Rewind about two days prior, I had come across an amazing sale on cribs (as I get random email offers emailed on different products) and upon seeing the ad, I thought, "Well, might as well see what they are offering because eventually we have to make this purchase." The great thing is that we just happened to also have a great discount coupon that had been emailed to us earlier so that was also in the back of my mind. Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE a bargain, a sale, buying/selling on craigslist, or that great deal at a yard sale. I'll pinch a penny anywhere that I can (Nate and my dad both have such wonderful stories of this "attribute" of mine...haha- don't ask) so seeing there was a crib sale AND a great coupon on top of it-- well, I couldn't resist at least "looking" (as I was convinced we'd buy another time).
We had researched this stuff earlier and had asked several people their opinions on the matter, so we felt like this one was the thing we would probably purchase new for the nursery- though we had no idea how many options/colors and prices there were for cribs-gracious-- reminiscent of that feeling of buying your first car all over again (so many options, prices, and things to know). I must say, though, there are some absolutely beautiful cribs out there (which of course come w/ a very pretty price tag too, that we just couldn't personally justify) so we concluded to keep it simple, safe & sturdy. The one that happened to be on sale was classic and simple, at about the lowest price out there for a crib and had great reviews. It was very well made and after asking some questions and doing some research, we had the store put one on hold for us while the sale was still going on & while we could still use our coupon-- "JUST IN CASE" we actually saw it in person and decided to purchase-- knowing of course that there was no way we were going to purchase this little piece of furniture yet. Well, if you are a lady and reading this, there is one thing you must know when taking your husband shopping, don't expect to spend very long in a baby store and just understand that they will probably just agree with anything you pick out as long as the price is right, just so they can quickly get out of the baby store. (haha!) So with a quick look at all of the cribs and the one that was on sale, we made our purchase in less than 15 minutes (minus the earlier research, which for me was a miracle in and of itself) and off we went to pick it up out back. (all the while both of us commenting how weird it felt to actually buy a crib)
One missing detail though- the sale clerk was a really young girl who had given us the dimensions by showing us hand motions of how long/wide the package would be and based on that, was convinced it would certainly fit in our car... OR NOT. She met us out back and wheels it out and the width of this thing was twice what she had expressed to us and I immediately laughed knowing this was going to be fun to figure out how to fit in our car. We have fit many ridiculously long and wide things through the trunk up and through our back seat before, but this one wasn't having it. We then attempted to put it in the backseat sideways and after some serious struggling to force the box in (or should I say Nate, as I was probably more in the way than anything) - we got it in and were relieved... only to find that one of the doors wouldn't close--seriously? It was SOOO close, but not close enough. (insert laughter here on my part, but not so much for Nate) So now we were left to try to figure out how to get it back out (which I cannot even begin to say how funny it was since it was not coming out no matter how hard we tried (mind you- the sales girl is just watching this whole fiasco unfold). Nate asks me to assist him so part of my job was to hold/balance part of this 70+lb box while he pushed, etc. (all the while I know the sales girl is looking at us and thinking "Why is your pregnant wife out in this heat assisting you with pushing/shoving/holding heavy boxes?" Ha--oh the things that probably ran through her head-this is when I needed a shirt that said "We're adopting-It's really ok")
Nate is finally successful and gets the box back out and we decide to check the weather (no chance of rain it said) to make sure we can just strap this thing in and have half of it stick out of our trunk on the 2 hour drive home. Thank goodness we keep bungee cords in our trunk-- they saved the day.
Off we went laughing at this whole drama (our day really would have made a funny episode of a sitcom) until we see some serious black clouds rolling in. Before we know it, we check the weather again and there is now a 100% chance of rain and strong storms coming our way (it is still a mystery how this storm was missed just minutes earlier) so instead of "storm chasers" we became "storm racers" and were tracking this storm and where it was every minute so we could outrun it. We carefully timed our drive home based on where the storm was along our route because now we have an unprotected baby crib sticking entirely out the back of our car and it's about to get drenched & ruined. So, the rest of our adventurous evening centered around how to avoid rain on our way home & our emergency action plan should we hit heavy rain- it was nothing short of hilarious. We don't have pictures yet to post of the crib (stay tuned for that later), but I'm sure that will make an equally funny post as we attempt to put it together in the weeks ahead.
En route, we stopped at one of our favorite quick bites- Pei Wei (because you can't do Chinese adoption tasks and buy a crib & not eat Chinese food to celebrate, right?)
I thought these fun little messages in both of our fortune cookies were applicable:
1. A dream you have will come true.
2. Soon you will be sitting on top of the world.
I don't believe in fortune cookies, of course, but I'll take these cute messages anyway as a sign that good things are to come, all in God's timing. We'll continue to post over the next few weeks as we begin working on the nursery & highlight what's been going in our lives the first half of 2013.
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