Monday, January 29, 2007

Seven Months



We hit seven months being contracted out today. We emailed in our monthly check in, but haven't heard anything yet. I guess we just wait and see. We made sure that all our contact numbers were there, that they have friend and family numbers as well. We want to be reachable when the timing is right :)

Thursday, January 25, 2007

another teleconference

We were invited to participate in another teleconference this week. It was interesting, some of the families were newly contracted, others had been around a while. They told us of some of the new and exciting things they are doing to help our process. One thing was a new website they've worked on. It's www.statebystateadoption.com . When you go on that site, they have one for each state. We are on the www.texasadoptivefamilies.com site. It's nice that our facilitating center is working hard to promote their families. They also suggested we write an article about a hobby, interest, or other characteristic that makes our family unique. They often put those on some of their marketing websites. So, we are going to see what we can come up with.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Fun weekend

We are getting a little parenting practice in this weekend. Our niece (she's 1) is here to visit. Some friends and I had a "babies on the brain, in the belly and on the hip" get together. We meet about once a month to visit, play with the babies, and socialize. Both my sisters came, bringing both my nieces and one of my nephews. The one year old niece came home with me, and is visiting for the weekend.

Mike did a great job adjusting the crib to it's lowest setting. We babyproofed the major rooms in the house (I'm sure she'll show us what else needs to be done ;) ). We're both having fun with her, she is such a sweetie pie. We took her out to dinner tonight, and she charmed everybody, customers and waiters alike.

We are going to have a busy day tomorrow, and she'll go home on Monday.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Starbucks, "The Way I See It"

Starbucks has started a campaign to get people talking. "The Way I See It" is a collection of thoughts, opinions, expressions, all printed on the Starbucks cups. Some quotes come from notable figures, some from customers.

I belong to a board that I joined a year ago, back when we were trying to conceive. It's for folks who are going through infertility issues, and have been trying 6 months plus. There are a few of us who have moved on to adoption, others who are still facing treatments. It's interesting to see how and what people will do to build their family, as well as how they view others.

We are completely comfortable with the path our family is following. We know it is the right way for us. Unfortunately for some of the folks on the board, they think that a biological child is the only way to build a family. They become bitter when it's not happening for them, and when treatments don't work. They also judge others who are seeking alternatives to building their families.


Anyway, back to Starbucks. One of the girls and her husband recently went to Starbucks, and got one of the cups with the quotes on it. This is the quote that was on her husband's cup:

"The Way I See It #208
I wish couples who desperately take every means to concieve a child would realize that adoption is a wonderful alternative. A child who becomes your child through adoption completes a family. Just as when you commit to your spouse or partner there are no biological ties, yet a family was formed. This child enters a family the same way! It is not blood and flesh that form a family, but the heart.
--Michele Johnson
Starbucks customer
from amego, Kansas."

Wow, did that cause a ruckus on the board. Many of the people on the board said that she was being judgemental. They called for a boycott of Starbucks. They started a letter writing campaign to complain about the quote on the cup.

Well, wasn't that the whole purpose of the program? To initiate conversation? I think they did a good job in getting conversation to flow.

I honestly am not offended by the comment, I thought it was well written. From the way I read it, "Michelle" was stating that adoption is a wonderful option, as it is. She wasn't telling them to stop trying to concieve, or to stop their treatments. She was just stating her opinion.

I applaud Starbucks for starting this program, and hope that they don't drop it.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

We did our audio

We just recorded our audio tonight. Here is what we finally ended up with:


Mike: Howdy from Texas!

Elizabeth: We’re Mike and Elizabeth and we’re excited to be building our family through adoption. We can’t wait to become parents and embrace our child, raising him or her with values, goals, and family traditions.

Mike: We love to travel and we typically spend at least one weekend each month at our family home in the Texas Hill Country, most often surrounded by lots of cousins and extended family. As children we both spent many weekends and summers on road trips with our families, exploring and creating many fond memories together. We can’t wait to continue that tradition with our children. We look forward to building a life with our children that’s full of fun, respect, love, education and travel.

Elizabeth: Our town is a friendly one and located halfway between a major city and the beach. We enjoy sailing and walking along the shore as well as picnics and flying kites. In the city, we love to spend our days at the zoo, sightseeing, or shopping.

Mike:We want you to know how much we would care for, love, and treasure your child. We’d love to talk with you and learn what your interests and goals are. If you want to contact us please call Lifetime anytime. Thank you and God bless!

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

shopping today


We picked up an infant carrier today. We went and looked at several of them at Babies R Us tonight, and liked this one best. Mike was particularly fond of the Z shaped handle, and how it is easy to carry. We tried several different ones, with various handles, and felt this was the most useful for us. We also had checked safety standards, and knew that this one was a good one. Of course, the $10 off coupon we had made it that much of a better deal. We had a two gift cards to Babies R Us (they always come in handy!), so we used that to apply toward the purchase of the infant carrier as well. We plan to eventually get another base (they are also sold on their own) so that we can keep one in both of our cars.


While we were there, we took a look at the bassinets too. We are still considering if we will need one or not, as we are not sure if we are going to start our little one immediately in the nursery or in our room for the first few months or so. We have always liked the Eddie Bauer wooden one, but not the fact that the only one available was light wood. Well, much to our surprise, tonight we saw they had it in a darker wood, that matches our high chair! I am so glad they have it in that color. They don't have it online at Babies R Us yet, just in the store. But they do have it online at Target.

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Sales

Sales are always good.

We received some coupons from Babies R Us. They are "Take an extra 15% off every clearance baby gear item" and "Save $10 on every car seat". We had other coupons too, but I gave them to a friend of ours- we already had the items that they were good for, or are not planning on getting the items they were good for.

So, we are going to go look at infant car seats. We were thinking originally of not getting an infant car seat, but now have decided it would probably be a good idea. Chances are very likely that we will end up with a little one who will need it. Worst case, we won't take it out of the box and we can eBay it if we never use it. But we figured, better safe than having to purchase it last minute! So, we are going to go look at them one day this week after work.

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Audio

When working on our profile, the profile coordinator asked us if we wanted to add audio to our lifetime webpage. Of course we said sure, we'd like to do it.

But, how do you put your whole life, etc into a minute? This should be interesting. And it's hard! We are also trying not to make it sound like a personal ad ;) though in a way, I guess it is....

We have to type up a script and have them approve it. Then they'll give us the number to call in and record it.

You can see an example of what they want us to do by clicking on here and looking at the people who have "Includes Audio Message" by their name.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Interesting fact

You hear a lot about international adoptions, especially when celebrities and famous people adopt (they tend to adopt overseas). But it's interesting to see the true facts.

In an article in Adoptive Families Magazine (Dec 2006), I found the following:

International adoptions make the news, but the annual number of infants adopted domestically (excluding foster and relative adoption) is estimated to be between 25000 and 30000 - more than all international adoptions combined.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

A thought shared by a friend

A friend posted this on a website (she had received it in an email), and it really does ring true for everyone. It's a good reminder to stop, smell the roses, and be happy at this point in your life. One of our goals this year is to enjoy life as it is until we get the call that a little one is about to enter our life. Right now is the time for us, and we plan on enjoying it as much as we can.

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are. After that we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire.

The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now.

Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. One of my favorite quotes comes from Alfred D Souza. He said, 'For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.'

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.

So, treasure every moment that you have.

Stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until you are off welfare, until the first or fifteenth, until your song comes on, until you've had a drink, until you've sobered up, until you die, until you are born again to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy stop waiting start today.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Celebrate adoption month by month: January

There is a magazine we like to read, Adoptive Families. In fact, we need to get a subscription to it, because it's hard to find in the book stores. Surprisingly, it's hard to find any adoptive magazines in bookstores. Believe me, we've looked. The book section (particularly geared toward children) is also a bit light.

Anyway, Adoptive Families magazine had a pull out in their Dec issue to Celebrate Adoption month by month. So, I'll post it each month :)


For January: Lean on Me: make a special effort to help someone who is warming up to the idea of adopting. If you're already a parent, tell them about the highs, the lows, the intense moments, the unforgettable ones. Tell them why you'd do it all again.

Happy New Year!

Well, it's the start of a new year. New beginnings. We are so excited, we hope that *this* year we will expand our family by one or two members. We can't wait :)