It's raining, it's pouring...

It is raining like crazy here.  I love a good summer downpour.  It's been hot all day, and then all of the sudden--BOOM--clap of thunder and it starts to pour.  I love it.

I stood on our porch for a few minutes and watched the rain coming down in sheets, and then I came inside and discovered that our livingroom windows leak.  Lovely.  The arm of our new (to us) couch is now soaking.  I'm guessing it will leave a nice ring on the fabric when it dries.  This is why we shop Craigslist.

Speaking of, I've had a few requests for photos of our new apartment.  Our apartment is nothing fancy to blog about or photograph, but we did find a couple of pieces of furniture that I am pretty excited about.  I stumbled into an antique shop a few weeks ago, and I thought I had died and gone to Anthropologie Heaven (i.e. Anthro style but way cheaper).

I got a few cute things:

Tile Coffee Table

Look at the funky details!

Fun, bright kitchen chairs!

Unfortunately, there were only two of these, so I have to figure out how to get two more that somewhat match.

I love this hook for my aprons.
Also, please note the location of the electrical outlet.  That will become important later.

Isn't this jewelry thing cool?  It's just an old painted frame with chicken wire behind it.

I really like this banner.  Not sure where to hang it yet.

Old chest of drawers thing (I think there's a name for it)

 And here is the baby's $1 garage sale globe:

Lest you think our house is cuter than it actually is, allow me to show you our amazing kitchen cupboards:

Elegant.

Very posh.

Despite the crappy cupboards, we feel like we are really moving up in the apartment world.  Our first married apartment was an attic in Provo, Utah that we rented for $400 a month.  It was tiny, and the shower was under the slant of the roof, so we had to sit down or hunch over while we bathed.  I wish I had more photos of that place.  I think it was kind of charming.

Our next apartment was the upstairs of a little house in Buffalo, New York.  One bedroom; interesting neighborhood (i.e. robbed once and mugged once); the outlets were all in odd places, so it was a production to plug in any of our appliances; no AC for the humid summers and no insulation for the cold winters; living room painted "sunset pink" (no, we did not get to choose our paint colors).  We loved it.

We are now in a two bedroom apartment with leaky windows in Aurora, Colorado.  The kitchen is narrow and the cupboards are ugly, but at least the outlets are all in the right places, we have air conditioning, and we have our own washer and dryer right in our hallway closet.  The other day, Ryan was making himself a protein shake, and he said, "I love this place.  It is so easy to plug in the blender."  Life is good.

We haven't even attempted to decorate the baby's room yet--I think that is next week's project.  But adoption paperwork is coming along, and we are getting more and more excited.  We did receive fingerprint clearance (thanks for the prayers), so now we are just waiting for our new health insurance cards, Ryan's first paycheck, and a reference from our new Bishop.   I can't believe that this 1.5 year+ adoption journey is almost over.  I also can't believe that most married couples in the world just get to enjoy a romantic evening together in order to get a baby.  As Napoleon Dynamite would say, "Luuckyyy!"

Katie is doing well.  I believe she is 36 weeks along, and she looks great and is healthy.  The baby is due August 11, but I am going to visit her for five days at the end of July while her parents are out of town.  I can't wait to see her and to feel the baby kick.  We are going to have fun (I'm thinking shopping, movies, massages, restaurants), and we'll also meet with her caseworker to talk through adoption logistics and take a tour of the hospital where she will be delivering.  I'll also go with her to a doctor appointment. :)

I'll come back home to Colorado on July 29th, only to return to Utah a week later (August 5th) to await the baby's arrival.  Katie has invited us to be at the hospital when the baby is born, so we can be a part of his first few minutes of life.   I can't believe this is all really happening, and I am so grateful to Katie.  I love her.  Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers during these last few weeks of her pregnancy and in the weeks after the baby's placement with us.

The rain has let up, and I expect Ryan will be home from work any minute with lots of stories to tell me (he is really loving his job), so I better run.

Love you all.