Adoption Update

It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update about our adoption.

We have so many people who have been so faithfully praying for us for literally years so I wanted to give a little update and let you all know how you can be praying for us.

As I’ve posted on here previously, back in June we closed our Ethiopia adoption and began the process to adopt a waiting special needs child from China.

I have not disclosed anything else that has happened regarding our adoption since then.

I think I’m finally ready to share some of it… so here goes.

Just 3 weeks after we started the paperwork for our China adoption, we saw pictures of a beautiful little girl that would be coming available for adoption through our agency. We told our caseworker right away that we were very interested in her. Her profile had not yet been completed, so we had to wait for that to be completed before we would know more about her medical history. We knew very general information about her at the time. In essence, as soon as her profile was received by our agency, we would be the first to be able to review her profile and decide if we wanted to move forward with becoming her family.

We thought we would wait 2-3 weeks for the profile, but you know how those timelines go with us… :)… so 8 weeks later, we finally received her profile. We received it via email late on a Friday afternoon and we had the weekend to review it, talk to doctors and make our decision. We did consult 2 doctors with her profile info and we were able to weigh the information we had, which wasn’t as much as we had hoped for. In essence, no medical testing had been done on her. We only had the doctors reports and reports about her development to go off of. Of course, we had been praying and seeking God’s guidance since the moment we saw her picture. After reviewing her profile we felt sure that we were supposed to pursue adopting her.

We could hardly wait until that Monday to let our agency know that we definitely were saying Yes! Long story short--- when we called on Monday, we received some news that wasn’t expected. Our agency director had also looked at her profile over the weekend and wanted to inform us that he wasn’t certain that the adoption officials in China would approve her for the special needs program. Even though her orphanage had declared her special needs, due to the nature of her special need (which was believed to be very mild although there were no diagnostic tests done) he believed that the decision could go either way.

We were pretty crushed. We didn’t even know this could be a possibility. We thought it was a done deal so to speak. Apparently usually it is… but again…  you know how things don’t usually go as planned for us Kennetts…. :) (We later found out that this was only like the 2nd time this had happened--- to which I replied—“well, you know, we seem to bring good luck with us wherever we go…” :)

So….. the next 6 weeks were very emotional. Especially for Mamma. Finally the day came where we received an answer from the officials in China. We had waited over 2 1/2 months since seeing her little face and falling in love with her—we were so ready to have an answer.

Unfortunately it was not the news we had hoped for. Indeed, the officials made the decision that she was too healthy for the special needs program. We were obviously heartbroken. Crushed is also a good word. But as sad as it was, we did immediately have a sense that it was ok. God is in control. He has a plan for us that we could never even imagine. Everything is going to be ok. And the number one thing that we found comfort in… was that this darling, sweet little one will get a family. She was approved to be adopted through the healthy child program. She will get a family! And that is truly our heart for all of these children waiting for families. That they would get forever families! She was meant for another family and not ours. It took some time, but we are ok with that now. We know that there is a little one out there that is supposed to be in our family and soon God will bring us together.

Our dossier took some extra time to complete, but it finally arrived in China and we received our log in date! So, what’s the next step? Now that we have the log in date (LID), we are able to participate in the shared list matching process. Each month, there is 1 day that the shared list of all of the children available for special needs adoption is updated and published for adoption service providers to look at. When the list is published, our case worker will be able to look at the list and try to find our child for us! Obviously there are certain special needs and a certain age range that we are approved for, so there is no guarantee that in any given month we will be matched to a child. If we are not matched that month, we will have to wait until the list comes out again the next month, etc.

At this point, I’m choosing to be a bit more transparent because I’ve come to a new point with my feelings and emotions in this adoption process.

I’ve only recently realized what the change is and I feel like I need to share it. I’ve been trying for years to come to terms with all of this. The extreme roller coasters of emotion that I’ve experienced became so frustrating for me. One minute I was mad because no one was asking me about our adoption and the next minute I was made because everyone was asking me about it. And so on and so on. I mean, seriously… I was becoming sick of myself. So… after this situation with losing this little one happened, I began to sense change and have been trying to put my finger on it.

It was just last night as I sat in church that I was able to put it in words.

The difference now is that I can now TRULY say that no matter what happens, it’ll be ok. Not in a trivial, “every little thing is gonna be alright” way. But on a deep, emotional and spiritual level I truly believe with all my heart and soul that no matter what happens with our adoption process I’m going to be ok. I’ve said that before, but I didn’t really believe it before. I still had so many fears and anxieties. At this point, I have experienced “my worst fear” in having “lost” the little one that we thought would be ours and experiencing the grief, anger and sadness that came along with it in those early days. And you know what, here I am. I’m still here. Still living. Life is good and God is good. I’m blessed. Time heals wounds. I know God is here. He’s never left me and never will. After experiencing my worst fear and realizing that life really does go on and I’m ok has taught me more than I could’ve ever learned without this painful experience.

So what’s my next “worst fear”? That I wouldn’t ever be given the privilege of being a Mommy to a little one again. That that dream and call would never come to fruition in my life. That is now my worst fear.

BUT—knowing what I know now—I can now actually say that if my worst fear happens, I’ll be ok. It would be beyond painful, yes. But I know with all my heart that life would go on and I would somehow find my new normal. That I could still live a full and happy life enjoying the blessings that God has already given me and that I would still be able to praise Him with my whole heart.

So there you go! That’s what’s different. And I must say… FINALLY having that peace I’ve longed for is amazing.

Please be in prayer for us! We’d love if you’d pray that God would lead us to our daughter. That the two of us as well as our caseworker would have wisdom and discernment and we would know what decisions need to be made at every turn.

I hope to have another update very soon! Thank you all so much for your love and support and your prayers. It means more to us that you will ever know.

Kitchen Remodel

I have been wanting to completely remodel our kitchen since we bought our home in 2009. We had been tentatively planning on beginning the project after the new year. Then the family agreed to let us host our family Thanksgiving gathering. Jason and I looked at each other and had to speak no words. (We’ve been together so long, we can read each other’s minds!) We each knew that the other was counting the weeks that we had to be able to pull off a complete kitchen remodel BEFORE Thanksgiving. Turns out we had about 6 weeks.

We work well under pressure and thrive on deadlines. So even though we were hot and heavy into the busiest part of B’s soccer season and J was really busy at work, we decided to bite the bullet and go for it!!

One of the deciding factors came when we were browsing materials at our fav store (Lowes) and discovered that they had quartz countertops on sale for a limited time. There were only 4 colors to chose from on the sale, but one of the sale items was exactly what I wanted! (Thank you Lord!) Without the sale, we wouldn’t have been able to afford what we wanted and we may have just continued to wait to begin the project. After finding out we could make it fit into the budget, that’s when we made the final decision to begin the project.

Here’s the painting table all set up in the garage and ready to go.

No turning back now!!

Primer applied!

Welcome to the Kennett Cabinet Shop!

Drawing on the countertops before they were removed. Fun!

Removing countertops and tile. It must be noted that Jason had pneumonia for 3 weeks and was really, really sick. At one point, we even ended up in the ER :( In almost 17 years of being together, I’ve never seen him so sick! As a matter of fact, in this photo, he was still running fever and could barely hold his head up. He was taking meds and doing breathing treatments during work breaks that night. But the new countertops were coming the next morning at 7am, so we had no choice but to get it done. What a guy I’m married to!!!

We decided not the paint the island cabinets. Instead, we stained them darker.

Here’s a pic of what happens when you don’t wear a glove under the sock you are staining with… :)

Papa came to help one Saturday. He helped Jason get started on installing the new tile backsplash.

Working on the backsplash

1 last sneak peak before it was finally complete

Now for the big reveal!!!

First—the before pictures!

Here’s what our kitchen looked like when we first moved in.

Here is a more recent pic from before we started the remodel. We got new appliances a few months after we bought the house and since then we added the curtains, the tv, new bar stools and some new decor.

Before:

After:

Without further ado…. Here’s the big reveal!!

Here’s a night view. We installed some under cabinet lighting and you can see it here in this pic.

There you have it! We absolutely LOVE the new kitchen! I’m feeling so incredibly blessed to have this done after years of dreaming about it and planning it!

It was an insane amount of work to tackle a project like this ourselves, but our budget just barely covered the materials, so we had nothing left for labor costs! We had to use the free labor… ourselves!!

It took us the full 6 weeks to get the project done, but I must note that we were out of town 2 entire weekends for soccer tournaments during that time and Jason was sick for a few weeks, so very little got done during those times.

However, note that if you wanted to tackle your own kitchen remodel, there are certain things that can’t be rushed. You’d likely need at least a few weeks.

Here’s some tips and tricks that we learned and used along the way:

1. On the cabinet frames—after we removed the drawers, doors and hinges
** I used a paintbrush to cut in the angles and a Whizz 4” Styrofoam roller (made for doors and cabinets)
A. I sanded the wood with a 150 sanding block really well.
B. Then I used wet painter’s cheesecloth to wipe down the entire surface to rid it of all dust.
C. Next, a coat of Kilz oil based primer.
D. You need to wait at least 36-48 hours between coats of oil based paints.
E. After sufficient drying time, the next step is sanding with a 220 or 320 sanding block.
F. Wipe down entire surface with wet cheesecloth
G. Coat of oil based paint.
H. After sufficient drying time, the next step is sanding with a 320 sanding block. (Yes, Again!)
I. Wipe down entire surface with wet cheesecloth (Yes, Again!)
J. Coat of oil based paint.
K. After sufficient drying time, the next step is sanding with a 320 sanding block. (Yes, Again!)
L. Wipe down entire surface with wet cheesecloth (Yes, Again!)
M. Coat of CLEAR polyurethane.
N. After sufficient drying time (the poly is water based and can be used on top of oil based paints and stains. Drying time is stated to be 6-8 hours. I waited a minimum of 12 hours between coats to ensure that it was completely dry.)
O. the next step is sanding with a 320 sanding block. (Yes, Again!)
P. Wipe down entire surface with wet cheesecloth (Yes, Again!)
Q. Coat of CLEAR polyurethane.
Then you’re done!!
See, I told you this wasn’t for the faint of heart!! Or the lazy do it yourselfer, I might add. When working on a project like a kitchen, using the right materials and methods are of utmost importance to ensure a lasting finish as well as something that’s done in a professional looking manner. Remodeled kitchens can add a lot to the value of your home if done properly! If not done properly, it can hurt the value and/or hurt the future resale potential. And who wants that?!?! Unless you’re planning to stay in your home forever and never sell it, I guess. :)

2. On the cabinet doors
** We used a GRACO paint sprayer for all coats on the cabinet doors. It is WONDERFUL for getting a light even coat of paint. But BE WARNED--- you MUST thoroughly clean the sprayer between each and EVERY time you use it. And when using oil based paint, you must clean with mineral spirits and then with water. It has to be completely taken apart and every little piece cleaned. It takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to clean it sufficiently each time. If you try to short cut this cleaning step, you will RUIN your expensive paint sprayer and then there’s nothing you can do about it. **
A. We set up makeshift tables in our garage made from sawhorses and 2x4’s. (See picture of Jason working in garage above.) Don’t forget to cover the entire floor with drop cloths. We used the disposable plastic ones.)
B. Sand the entire surface of both sides of doors with 150 sanding block.
C. Wipe down one side with wet cheesecloth.
D. Coat of Kilz oil based primer on one side.
E. After sufficient drying time (36-48 hours), I flipped the doors and sanded with a 220 or 320 sanding block.
F. Wipe down with wet cheesecloth.
G. Coat of Kilz oil based primer on one side.
H. After sufficient drying time (36-48 hours), I flipped the doors and sanded with a 220 or 320 sanding block.
I. Wipe down with wet cheesecloth.
J. Coat of oil based paint
Then lots of repeating…
Between each coat, it must be sanded and wiped down. I alternated and flipped from side to side after each coat.
** On the doors, we did 2 coats of primer, 2 coats of paint and 2 coats of the clear polyurethane in a glossy/satin finish. Multiplied by 2 sides, that’s 12 uses of the paint sprayer. 
** I will repeat…. this is not a project for the faint of heart or the lazy diy-er! :)

3. On the island- drawers need to be taken out and cabinet doors and hardware taken off first.
A. Sand with 150 sanding block
B. Wipe down with wet cheesecloth
C. Using a soft, clean cloth or a thick sock (with a plastic glove on your hand under the cloth/sock! See above picture of what happens if you omit this step!) apply an even coat of your stain. I used Minwax Gel Stain in Hickory. It was the darkest color I could find. The Gel stain is thick and will not run. Highly recommend.
D. I chose not to sand between coats because the stain has a different texture than the paint. It wasn’t recommend to stain between coats, so I did not. I did use wet cheesecloth to wipe it down after sufficient drying time. (I waited 12-24 hours between coats)
E. I did a 2nd coat of stain. You can do as many coats as it takes to achieve the color that you want.
F. After the 2nd coat dried, I wiped down with wet cheesecloth and then applied 2 coats of the clear polyurethane—the same that I used on the white cabinets and doors.

4. The countertops we chose is a quartz solid surface countertop. We purchased it from Lowes and they installed it. We were extremely satisfied with their prices as well as their customer service throughout the process.
5. The sink is a brown granite composite sink that we purchased from Lowes.
6. The backsplash is Travertine. To remove the existing tile, the sheet rock was getting badly damaged and it was taking a very long time. It was recommended that we just cut down all of the existing sheet rock and then install new concrete backer board before installing the new tile. That’s what Jason did. It seemed like it was a much easier and faster process than ripping down all the existing tile and then repairing sheet rock would’ve been.

So there you have it, Kitchen Remodel 101 according to the Kennetts!!

We are pretty darn proud of ourselves for tackling this project and doing such a good job on it :)

Big B’s bday party

Last month, we had Big B’s Bday bash. Started with his buddies coming over to the house. Then we loaded up and headed to Modern Mission for some fun!

Here he is with a few of his friends that came

After that, we came home and the boys enjoyed an outdoor campout that Jason had set up for them.

We grilled hot dogs and had lots of snack foods and drinks out there for them.

We were going to do smores also, but after all the other snacks and the late night hot chocolate plus this delicious Maggie Moo’s ice cream cake—no more sugar was needed ;)

 

Making cinnamon rolls for them the next morning. What a FUN day and night.

Happy Birthday B! We love you SOOO much! We are having fun watching you grow up into such a wonderful, sweet, fun young man!

Oklahoma Tournament

2 weekends ago, we spent the weekend in Oklahoma for a soccer tourney. It was a great weekend and B’s team ended up getting Runner up out of 16 teams!! We are SOOOO proud of the boys!

Here’s lots of pictures !!

The first game was Saturday morning- he had to be on the field at 7am- before sunrise- and it was 30 degrees! Brrrr! It was FREEZING!

Game 2

Warming up for Game 3

Daddy helping B to get warmed up and stretched out

I love these next 2 pictures. No, they didn’t have a happy ending for my boy. But, hey, when you’re 1 on 1 with a huge goal to defend (yes, they’re playing 11 v 11 on the big goals now), you’ve got a 50/50 shot at it.

I was proud of him because he came out from the goal and gave his best effort

And this one shows how much he cares and how hard he tried. He turned and watched the goal to completion. Of course, there was some grass kicking, and ground stomping after they scored on him :)

After 5 long, hard, close games in the cold—they ended up tournament runners up. They lost the last game by 1 goal in the last 30 seconds of the game. It was so sad :( Not because they lost, because winning isn’t everything. There’s so much more to soccer and life than just winning. BUT it was sad because we were underdogs and they had fought so hard and left it all out on the field. I would’ve loved to have seen them reach the top!

Here’s my boy getting his runner-up medal.

Admiring the trophy with a few teammates (and 1 little brother)

 

Way to go COMETS!!!!!

We are so proud of you Big B!

And we can’t forget about this little brother. He was there the whole time, often watching out for lots of the other little brothers that are littler than him. He gets the best little brother award :)

Since we went to the last game, we were LATE getting home on Sunday. It was pretty hard to get up on Monday morning!

Looking forward to the next tournament! We’re going much farther next time…. hoping we can make it to the last game again!! The kids can sleep in the car on the long ride home :)

Pumpkin Carving

A couple weeks ago we had our annual pumpkin carving party at my brother and sister in law’s house.  It was a beautiful day spent with family, friends and food. It’s a very fun tradition that we have!

Picture overload ahead :)

I opted for a more traditional jack-o-lantern

When we got home, we took a few pictures of the finished products!

Gracie’s

Rhett’s

Braden’s