Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Happy Halloween!




We are staying home and passing out candy this year. It's Mike's first year to get to do it, as he is usually on call. He's excited.

He went yesterday to buy the candy to pass out. He got tons of stuff! He wants to pass out good stuff, and be very generous to the kids who come by.

I know he's going to be a great dad :)

Sunday, October 29, 2006

4 months

It's been 4 months since we contracted out with our facilitator. Four months since we began this exciting journey. A lot has happened in those 4 months. We've prepared a nursery, made a profile, had a home study, found a lawyer. Time sure has flown by!

Friday, October 27, 2006

Monthly Check In with Coordinator

I sent in an email today for our monthly check in. We asked if profiles were ok, and what was listed as our preferences. The check in was brief, and I guess she's considering it for the month of November too....


Hi Elizabeth and Mike,

Thanks for checking in (let’s say for the month of November :) ); we are good with your profile count—no additional ones are needed at this time. Listed below is your preference range that we have you listed as:

Age Range, Twins, Sibling Group, Race, Gender, Contact with Birthmom, Substance Usage, Birthmother Expenses.

Let me know if you have any changes. Have a great weekend.



For the most part it was right, we are interested in up to age two, would love to be considered for twins and sibling groups, etc. But the birthmothers expenses we had written negotiable (we are not limited to what was listed), and the substance usage (the hard stuff) we want to take on a case by case basis. So I emailed her back to ask a few questions.

I guess we don't get to talk to her until December now. It sure can be discouraging sometimes.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Revising profiles

We are going to revise our profiles a bit. There have been lots of changes in our lives recently, and we thought, why not? Also, I want to make it a little easier (and hopefully cost less) to print. The last ones we loved, but it's so expensive to print them on 11x17 paper and then cut them down. So, that's the next big project.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

new pictures

We sent in some pictures from our road trip, more "action shots". We also sent in pictures of the nursery, they say that some birthmoms like to see the nursery and where the little one will end up. Lifetime added one of the nursery pictures to our profile. It can be found here: Lifetime Profile .

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Kisses in the Wind, a poem

I found this poem, it's sweet... our future child may or may not be born yet, but it's nice to know that at some point there will be a child for us... This is a great poem for all who are adopting, be it domestic, international, a baby or an older child...

KISSES IN THE WIND

I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams.
You are here each day with me, at least that's how it seems.

I know you wonder where we are... what's taking us so long.
But remember child, I love you so and God will keep you strong.

Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin...
Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God hold you in His hand until I can be with you.
I promise you, my darling, I'm doing all that I can do.

Very soon, you'll have a family for real, not just pretend.
But for tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God wrap you in His arms and hold you very tight.
And let the angels bring the kisses that I send to you each night.

--- Unknown

Monday, October 23, 2006

two years

Two years ago we married our best friends, each other. We took vows to love, honor, cherish each other, and when the timing was right, to start a family. We had no clue of the journey we'd be on to build our family, but we eagerly looked forward to it. It's been an interesting ride, but one we'd gladly do all over again. As each day goes by, our love, our friendship, our committment grows stronger. And we look forward to being awesome role models for our little ones.....

Sunday, October 22, 2006

checklists

Mike is great at making lists. Especially for travel. The one he (and I) are working on now is a list for what we will need when we get the call. It's a very good idea. Especially since we will need to travel possibly at a moment's notice.

So, lists he makes. There are two of them. One is for us, things we will need. And one is for what we will need for baby. It's great to be prepared. He's looking for a guideline, and found one through one of our adoption books. Now, he'll get it together for us.

My job will be getting the stuff together from his lists. We make a great team :)

Waiting... Waiting... Waiting

This is the worst part. Nothing new to report, it's like we are at a stand still. Our profiles are out, it's just time to wait. Someday (not soon enough for us) we will get that call.

Yesterday, we went to a gala with my sister and brother in law. The (at least 16 year old) babysitter was referencing her "old" dad, and we found out he is 37! Just a year older than us, and here we are, waiting for our first.....

Some folks say, "don't think about it" and "when you are not thinking about it the call will come". That's pretty similar to telling someone who is trying to concieve to "relax, it'll happen". Very frustrating, because you don't know how or when it will happen, and you can't not help but think about it. Your hands are tied, you want something so bad, yet can't get it, don't know when you will get it, when the call will come....

Friday, October 20, 2006

We have a new niece

Our newest neice, Kathleen Elaine, was born on Wednesday morning. She is such a sweet baby. Her older brother Ryan (2) isn't quite sure what to think of her yet, but her cousin Blake (4) was excited to meet her. Her cousin Ella (10 months) didn't understand much either when she met her, but Ella smiled big at Kathleen.

We can't wait until we are able to add to the cousins! Hopefully the call will come someday soon....

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

We are back

Well, we made it through our trip, and no phone calls.... We had the home phone forwarded to my cell, just in case, but didn't get any phone calls from Lifetime. It's ok. We had a great time, and didn't have to stress about having to find an airport, getting stuff together, etc.

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Always be prepared

So, we are about to embark on a ten day road trip. My cousin is getting married in San Diego on the 14th. So, we decided since Mike has two weeks of vacation left that we'd take off and wander around on our way. (And hopefully knock off a few more states of my list). We don't have but a few set in stone plans, so it's going to work out well for us.

We emailed the adoption coordinator to tell her of our road trip, and when we'd be back. We forwarded our home phone to the cell phone. And we are always going to be within a decent drive of an airport. So, if the call comes, we can go park our car at the airport, and go wherever we need to go. We'll stay as long as we need to, then fly back to get our car. Then drive home (with baby) from there.

You never know, so it's best to always be prepared!

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Action Shots

So, one thing they recommended on the conference call was to have more actions shots. Showing your life as you go day to day. Have the camera ready all the time, just take pictures of yourself in your every day life. We had a friend over for dinner tonight, and had her take a picture of us at the dining room table. We made sure to include the high chair in there, as they also recommend showing stuff like that you already have around the house. They say that pictures of nurseries, baby stuff around the house, etc all help show the birthparents that you are ready and able to take a baby at any time....

Monday, October 02, 2006

Teleconference

So, we have our first teleconference with our adoption facilitator tonight. The founder of Lifetime will be leading it. We are looking forward to it. It's a "New Family Orientation" teleconference and will cover topics such as:
* The importance of being available to be presented to every birthmother that matches your preference.
* How you can ensure you will not miss out on a situation.
* The 3 things you MUST have to be successful with Lifetime.
* How to be sure you are ready to adopt.

It's supposed to help us understand Lifetime, adoption, and what to expect. It should also have some great tips for us.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Definitions

Natural Child: Any child who is not artificial.
Real Parent: Any parent who is not imaginary.
Your Own Child: Any child who is not someone else's child.
Adopted Child: A natural child, with a real parent, who is all my own.

--- Rita Laws, PhD

I came across this quote as I was looking for some other quotes to share with a friend. How true it is.