(almost) 4 month check in

I know I haven't been posting as much as I ought to. There really is no excuse. Adjusting to new parenthood has been fun, but some of the typical stuff has been forgotten or not done as much because all we want to do is marvel at this wonder we call our son. We still take pictures every day, and I hope to soon have the 365 blog updated.

I thought I'd give an almost 4 month check in, and tell you a little about what's been going on with him. We do this in an online playgroup we are in =) . It's a great way to keep track of how he's growing!

Name: Mark Garrett

Nickname(s): Sweet Pea, Puppy (because he whines and squeaks), The Boy

Birthday: December 25, 2007

Weight- birth: 6lbs 14 oz
now: guessing about 14.5 lbs

Height- birth: 20 inches
now: guessing about 25 inches

Clothing Size: solidly in 3-6 mo

Diaper Size: 2 in seventh generations, 3 in natures babycare

Breast or Bottle?: bottle (born free bottles - he uses the larger ones now)

How are they Sleeping?: He's been a sleeper since week 1.5. Goes to bed about 930, 10 (though he naps in the evening with Daddy while watching tv) and typically wakes up around 10.

Health: No issues at all. He had a little cradle cap, but it wasn't too bad and now it's gone. He's acting like he's teething, everything (especially his hands) go into his mouth. We have his 4 month shots the first week of May.

Milestones?: He loves to blow kisses and raspberries. He learned how to turn off and on the crocodile tears to work Mommy and Daddy. Holds his bottle, always tries to sit up, plays with toys (grasps to make noises, rattle, etc)

Favorite activities: he loves to "talk" and hear his voice, he's starting to like tummy time, cracking himself up while staring at himself in the swing, everything goes in his mouth

How is Mommy feeling: fine. I finally feel "almost" caught up. It's a lot different when you adopt, and you adjust differently. This past week is the first time I haven't had adoption/mommy brain quite as bad.

Anything else: we've been "in the system" since March 8, so we should get a court date for finalization any time now - they are waiting on our home study

PICTURES: (first born,Dec,Jan,Feb,March, and Now!)

first born (the first time we saw him and held him, he was about an hour old) :





December:





January - the 2nd pic is when he FINALLY made it to Texas:





February:





March:





April:

CHRISTENING DAY!

Mark was baptised this evening. It was a wonderful event. I'll post pictures tomorrow, one of my friends used my camera to capture some shots. Also, my brother in law took lots of pictures- he was the "official family photographer" this time :)

My parents and my brother are his Godparents, and we are so pleased. The service was performed by my brother in law's father, which was extra special to us.

It's been a long day- time to get the boy to bed!

Bluebonnets

My sister Holly took pictures of Mark in the bluebonnets today. Click on the picture to see a slide show.


Mark in Bluebonnets April 2008

Video/photo shoot

I got the pictures back and wanted to share them. I put them into a video montage and added some music -enjoy!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

It cut it off a bit. You can see a bigger version here:

Mark Garrett, Our Christmas Miracle

Sneak Peek

Here are some sneak peek pics of Mark....

I'll be adding more later and to the photo blog- we've been taking his picture every day!

Adoption Prayer

My aunt sent this to me this morning. It's the prayer of the day on Beliefnet.



Adoption Prayer


Father of the fatherless, you give your children a home in which to dwell; and like a loving mother you gather us into your household. We give you thanks for the child who has come to bless this family and for the parents who have taken this child to be their own. By the power of your Holy Spirit, fill (name(s) of parent or parents) with trust, understanding and affection; and, through this child in our midst, enable us better to know the mystery that we are all your children by adoption; through Jesus Christ our Lord."



Christian
source: “Occasional Services, A Companion to Lutheran Book of Worship"

Postplacement Homestudy tomorrow

So, we're getting ready for our post placement homestudy tomorrow. Think about us in the afternoon =)

We like our caseworker, and we can't wait for her to meet Mark!

Going private

I am going to make this blog private in a few days. If you are interested in continuing to follow along, please let me know! Either email me or post your email address and I'll be happy to add you!

3 months!

Wow, it's hard to believe that 3 months ago we were in Indiana with a newborn son.

Our newborn isn't a newborn anymore- he's a full fledge infant! And wow is he growing! We don't have a doctors appointment this month, but we measured him and it looks like he is 25 inches and 13.4 lbs! What a difference from our 20 inch 6 lb 14 oz little one we had 3 months ago! He is almost double his birthweight =)

We went to Windy Hill for Easter, and just got back today. Mark had a wonderful time hanging out with Mommy and Daddy. On Friday Mamacita and Papasito were also there, and Mark had a wonderful time with them.

The Easter bunny brought Mark some 9 oz bottles, and it's just in time! He's been eating on average 8 oz or more each time. Sometimes it's a bit less, but it's usually more. Mommy and Daddy are very thankful that they arent making 2 bottles each meal now :)

He also slept a lot. He would go to bed around 10 and wake up around 10. And take some cat naps throughout the day. The hill country fresh air was good for him.

Mark is an excellent road tripper - he loves to be in a moving car. He didn't cry at all the whole way there, it was a several hour trip. And he did very well coming back. We even went a longer route back and stopped to take some bluebonnet pictures. He slept through the pictures, but he sure was cute in the bluebonnets. He did very well and only got hungry right before we got home. It was a very sucessful trip.

He's currently sleeping in the swing we borrowed from my sister - he LOVEs that thing. So we're off to put him to bed!

Almost there

We have a home study date set now. We haven't figured out yet if it'll count for our finalization or not. We'll be talking to the lawyer next week, he was going to apply for finalization this past week. Here's to keeping fingers crossed!

We're getting into the swing of things. Parenthood is fantastic. I'm still behind in a few things (I promise thank you notes are coming soon!), but for the most part all is well.

We couldn't ask for a better little boy, he is such a sweetheart. We know we are blessed to have him as part of our family.

Visit With The Easter Bunny

Mark had a wonderful time visiting the Easter Bunny. We were at the mall, he was wearing his Easter sweater, and there was no line. So we went to take a picture with the Easter Bunny. He was so comfortable in the Easter Bunny's lap that he fell asleep! And the Easter Bunny was so in love with him, that (she) didn't want to give him up.

More Pictures

More pictures have been added to the photo blog :)

Today I kissed an angel

Someone posted this on an adoption message board I am on, and I wanted to share it. I've seen it before, but it's oh, so true about how I feel.

Today I Kissed an Angel

Today I kissed an angel.
I knew it from the start.
The first time my angel smiled at me;
I gave away my heart.

Today I kissed an angel;
This angel child of mine
Though not of my creation,
My child by God's design.

Today I kissed an angel.
My heart is dancing wild;
Our family, by a miracle;
Blessed by our angel child

Two Month Check Up!

Mark did well at his two month check up today!

He is now 11 lb 10 oz! Wow, it's hard to believe that just two months ago he was just 6 lb and 14 oz. And he's 22.50 inches long. 2.5 inches growth in the 2 months of his life.

He had shots, and did just fine with them. He loved the oral shot the best ;) And he was a bit surprised more than anything with the other 4 shots he had today.

He's been his usual happy self today, no major issues or complications from his shots. I've been doing extra cuddles with him, and he's been a bit more snuggly (though he's always a snuggly boy!). We're keeping an eye on him, but haven't had to give him any baby tylenol yet.

He had a great time at his Thank You BBQ. I'll write about that tomorrow ;)

Picture blog

I know I'm a bit behind on the picture blog. But I have still been taking daily pictures! After the Thank You BBQ and the post placement home study next week (fingers crossed)we should have some "down time".


Monday is his 2 month appointment, I can't wait to see how much he has grown!

Thank You BBQ

So we decided to have a Thank You BBQ to thank everyone who has been so helpful in our journey, praying for us, thinking about us, supporting us, or in other ways. We'd like to invite everyone, but realize that most likely only locals can come =)

Invites went out last week. The BBQ is Sat. If you are local and didn't get your invite yet, please let me know! I found out that some people didn't get theirs, so I am resending them :)

It's going to be fun, and a great time for Mark to get to meet everyone! We decided to wait until after he turned 2 months. This is the perfect age for a party!

2 Months!!

Our baby is two months old! Wow! Time sure does fly when you are having fun!

He is growing like a weed. Yesterday as I was doing laundry I pulled out the preemie and justborn clothes. He can't wear them anymore. I also checked the newborns and pulled the smaller ones out- they are too tight on him as well.

As Mike says, it's a good thing, that is what they are supposed to do. But my baby! I can't believe how fast he's growing! He chuckles, recognizes himself in the mirror (and can crack himself up for a good 30 min. sitting in his papasan chair watching himself in the mirror and laughing), kicks, uses his hands. Oh, and so much more. Every day it's something new with the little guy, and every day it's wonderful.

We are so thankful. He's brought so much joy and love into our lives. He is such a wonderful gift.

Poem for An Adoptive Mom

Someone sent this to me, and I wanted to share. It's unknown who the author is, but it's a wonderful poem.


There are women who become mothers without effort,
without thought,
without patience or loss,
and though they are good mothers and love their children,
I know that I will be better.

I will be better not because of genetics or money or because I have read more books,
but because I have struggled and toiled for this child.

I have longed and waited.
I have cried and prayed.
I have endured and planned over and over again.

Like most things in life, the people who truly have appreciation are those who have struggled to attain their dreams.

I will notice everything about my child.
I will take time to watch my child sleep,
explore,
and discover.
I will marvel at this miracle every day for the rest of my life.

I will be happy when I wake in the middle of the night to the sound of my child, knowing that I can comfort, hold, and feed him and that I am not waking to take another temperature, pop another pill, take another shot or cry tears of a broken dream.
My dream will be crying for me.

I count myself lucky in this sense; that God has given me this insight, this special vision with which I will look upon my child.

Whether I parent a child I actually give birth to or a child that God leads me to, I will not be careless with my love.

I will be a better mother for all that I have endured. I am a better wife, a better aunt, a better daughter, neighbor, friend, and sister because I have known pain.

I know disillusionment, as I have been betrayed by my own body. I have been tried by fire and hell that many never face, yet given time, I stood tall.

I have prevailed.
I have succeeded.
I have won.

So now, when others hurt around me, I do not run from their pain in order to save myself discomfort. I see it, mourn it, and join them in theirs.
I listen.
And even though I cannot make it better, I can make it less lonely.

I have learned the immense power of another hand holding tight to mine, of other eyes that moisten as they learn to accept the harsh truth when life is beyond hard.

I have learned a compassion that only comes by walking in those shoes. I have learned to appreciate life.

Yes, I will be a wonderful mother.

8 weeks!

Mark is 8 weeks today!!

WOW!

He is doing so much, showing such a personality. He uses his hands to grab things now. His taggie blanket, his "keys", and Daddy's leg hair are his favorite things to grab. He also like to help hold his bottle when you feed him.

Gone are the 3-4 oz bottles at a time. This little boy wants 6-8. And he lets you know he wants it NOW. He's pretty patient though, when you put the bib on him because he knows it is coming soon. We are working on signing for when he's hungry. While we know he probably doesn't get it, he still does sometimes put a hand in his face imitating Mommy or Daddy. He adjusted well to the Good Start formula and the Born Free bottles.

And boy can the little guy kick. That's one of his new tricks - to kick when he wants attention. It is so cute to see his little feet go.

He's always been a smiley boy, and that continues. Everyone always says "what a happy boy". And you know what, that's so true! He is a very happy boy :)

What a Sweet Boy

We hear that a lot ;)

We went out to dinner last night with my parents and quite a few folks said that. And you know what, he really is. We are so blessed to have this little boy in our lives. He's sweet, a charmer, and such a happy baby.

We're in the process of sending out our Christmas cards/birth announcements. We tried to remember everyone's address, but I am sure we forgot some! If you don't get yours by the end of next week, or think we don't have the right address for you, feel free to drop us an email with your address!

Plans are being made for the Thank You BBQ. We want to thank EVERYONE who has helped us, prayed for us, followed our story. While we know everyone can't come- if you are local, be on the lookout for an invite! Mark will have had his 2 month shots by then, and we can't wait for him to meet everyone who helped to bring him to our family.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, but in our case it takes a village to bring a child into our family! We are so appreciative of everyone, and we pinch ourselves that this little boy, this sweet boy, is ours. We are so in love with him!

7 weeks

He's 7 weeks old today!

Wow, time is flying. He's doing so well. It's amazing how much of a change occured in him between the 6th and 7th week. He holds his head up much longer, he has a little laugh that comes out every now and then, he "talks" a lot more, and he uses his hands and feet to help get his point across (yep, kicking Mommy or Daddy when he's super excited is becoming the norm around here). He can grab a thin toy. And he definately feels heavier! Comparing him to Precious, the feel like they weigh about the same. So I'm guessing he's around 10 lbs right now.

We switched him from Enfamil to Goodstart formula, and he's taking to it very well. We've even started a nap schedule - he likes to take an afternoon nap from around 1230 or 1 to 330 or 4. And sleeping through the night (well, that's nothing new ;) ). He's doing great and we are totally in love!

Fantastic weekend

I look back at some of my earlier posts about the weekends, and how there wasn't much to do. That certainly isn't the case now! Though not too terribly much has changed, we just have a few different types of things to do.

We have been having a very relaxing weekend. We're doing stuff around the house, still catching up from being gone for a while. We just have an extra little guy to snuggle with and look out for now too.

He's an absolute joy. He likes to "help" us watch tv, hang out or do whatever we do. His baby papasan is his favorite place in the house (though on Mommy is a close 2nd).

We had professional pictures taken yesterday morning, and I can't wait to see how they turned out!

Well, it's midmorning nap time- and the 4 of us (yes, Precious joins in too) are off to take naps =) It's nice to have our little family, and enjoy being with each other.

6 weeks

Wow, it's hard to believe he's 6 weeks old already! My how he is growing.

We are currently transitioning from Enfamil to Good Start, and it's going well. He can't use the little bottles all the time, as he often needs 6 oz or more at a feeding. He can't wear his preemie clothes anymore. He doesn't look so tiny or swallowed up in his 0-3 month clothes. He has discovered his lungs, and when he's hungry he tells you he wants food NOW. He typically sleeps at least 7 hours each night. He trys to hold the bottle. Recently he has discovered that he can pick up small/thin toys. He smiles big huge smiles for Mommy and Daddy. He likes to snuggle and touch, skin to skin contact is important to him. He moved to size 1 diapers, he leaks a lot in the newborns. He has found that he has a voice and coos. He likes to ride in the car, often falling asleep. He likes the stroller, especially when Mommy and Daddy take him for a walk. He loves tummy time.

I can go on and on, but you get the picture ;)

Oh how we are so in love with the little guy!

Hanging out

Mark likes to hang out with his daddy. Mike took the evening shift today and is taking care of the little guy while I add to this blog and the photo blog. The boys have a great time together.

It makes me smile to see my boys. MY BOYS, wow. My husband and my son, what wonderful guys. I am very lucky to have them both, and they mean so much to me. I am still pinching myself that Mike came into my life. Now, I have to pinch twice as hard in realizing that Mark is here too.

Mike has put Mark to bed, so I guess I should hit the sack now too (I'll take over the next feedings).

Growth Spurt!

Well, little guy has taken quite the growth spurt.

birth- 6 lbs 14 oz; 20"
2 days- 6 lb 12 oz
3 weeks 7 lb 14 oz 21.75"
1 month 9 lb 1 oz 22.25"

And he's going through one right now too! He's been eating like a pig today :) We are so in love with our little guy!

Home at last

We're finally home! Wow, it's a great feeling.

We introduced Mark to his cousins (it was so cute, the girls weren't so sure what to think of him at first), his aunts and two of his uncles. And he got to see Mamacita and Pappasito again (he'd grown a lot since they met him when he was one day old) as well as meet Grammy and his granddad (still deciding on what he wants to be called).

Mark also got to meet some friends of Mommy and Daddy's. They had a great time over brunch. Some even brought some of his playmates. He can't wait to be big enough to play with them.

Now, we are starting to get into a routine. The sleeping through the night has been replaced by getting up once during the night. Ah, I miss the hotel for that reason - he had a pretty good schedule going!

Anyway, that's life so far here! I will be adding some pics to the photoblog soon. I've been taking them everyday, just haven't done it yet!

You know you are an adoptive mother (or you should be) if

This was posted on a message board I am on- and I totally can relate.

You know you are an adoptive mother (or you should be!) if:
1. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has ever made you lose sleep.
2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love and family.
3. You can't watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing.
4. The fact that if 7% of Christians adopted 1 child, there would be no orphans in the world is convicting to you.
5. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who have experienced the blessing of adoption.
6. It drives you crazy when people ask you about your adopted child's "real" parents.
7. You have ever been "pregnant" with your adoptive child longer than it takes an elephant to give birth (2 years!)
8. You had no idea how you would afford to adopt but stepped out in faith anyway knowing where God calls you He will provide.
9. You have ever taken a airplane ride half way around the world with a child you just met.
10. You believe God's heart is for adoption.
11. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart and family is one of the most important legacy's you could ever leave on this earth.
12. You shudder when people say your child is so lucky that you adopted them, knowing full well you are the blessed one to have them in your life.
13. You know what the word Dossier means and you can actually pronounce it!
14. You have welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life.

dressing up

Valentine's Day is around the corner, and I'm on the hunt for something for my little guy to wear. I love holidays (all kinds) and poor kid -he's going to be dressed up for every one ;)

So far, I have found a few:

and the socks to go with them:

I have a feeling I'm going to have fun shopping around for him! I'll have to see what I can find on sale - so we don't go broke buying clothes for the little guy!

More snow, now cold

Little guy does NOT like the cold or the snow. It snowed again toward the end of the week. Enough to make a snowball. He touched it and screamed! He was cold and wanted to go inside.

The snow is gone, but the cold is still here. So we're keeping bundled up!

Snow

Mark got his first taste of snow this week. Well, not really taste, but you know what I mean ;)

He wasn't sure what to think when that cold stuff touched his hands. He just looked at it with a funny expression on his face.

It was just a little, but enough to stick on the ground and be considered a snowfall. It was mostly gone by the afternoon. But I did take a picture of him in his car seat in the snow.

First pedi appointment

Our little guy had a pedi appointment today. He's 2 weeks and 6 days (will be 3 weeks tomorrow). He got the all clear, he's good and healthy. And he gained exactly 1 lb (he's now 7 lbs 14 oz) and 1 & 3/4 inches (he's now 21 3/4 inches). He had his 3 week growth spurt a few days early. It happened this weekend, he ate a ton an slept a lot. Growing boys do that!

He still can fit into most of his preemie clothes (though not ones with feet) but he's a bit long. The newborn size clothes still swallow him sometimes, others fit well. And forget 0-3 months, he's not there yet ;)

But he's doing well, and right on track!

The perfect outfit

I mentioned that last week we took a road trip and met up with a friend of mine and her husband. They brought a gift for Mark. It's perfect for the son (! I love saying that) of Mike and I. We love to travel, and our children will be going on plenty of road trips too.

Here it is:




You can see why it's the perfect outfit for our little guy! It's got a sailboat for Mommy and a car for Daddy and a plane. Perfect for a traveller to be.

heaven is...

... lying on the couch with 7 lbs of pure love and joy snuggled against and on your chest sound asleep.

I love being a mom. I feel like he's been part of my life forever- it's hard to believe it's only been 2 weeks and 3 days!

And a bit of family

Ali, my sister's sister in law & best friend came over from St Louis today to meet Mark. It was so good to see her.

She is so good with children, and it was nice to see her play with Mark. She came bearing gifts too. She hand knit him a beautiful blue hat with a white rim. It is so soft, and she says it is machine washable. He looks so cute in it! I'll have to take a picture of it and post it. She also brought him the Baby Einstein Mirror Me book. I read it to him tonight, and am looking forward to reading more to him as he grows. He liked looking at the mirror.

We took her out to lunch, and it was nice to talk and bring up memories, while celebrating the little guy too. We chatted a bit about our niece and nephew, and exchanged stories about them growing up. It was nice to have a bit of our extended family here for a little visit. It really meant a lot.

A little bit of home

Saturday, my cell phone rang. A number I didn't recognize from an area code I didn't know. It was my friend Sharon. Funny story- we'd been trying to get ahold of Sharon.

See, she recently got married (Oct) and now lives in Lexington, KY. For some reason, my email address that I had for her wasn't getting to her (no response back and she is VERY good about responding to emails), and the phone # I had was her cell phone # was disconnected (it was a Houston #). So I couldn't reach her. Late last week Mike and I realized that Lexington isn't really all that far away- and maybe we could visit. So we'd been trying to track her down.

She was calling me to see if we could get together on Monday. In Houston. See, she and her husband were headed that way and would be in town (back home) for a few days. Perfect time to catch up.

So, we figured we'd see if we could get together when they were headed back and we were (hopefully) going home. Well, we are still here. That didn't work out.

Mike, Mark and I were at Babies R Us tonight purchasing a snap-n-go stroller when my phone rang. It was Sharon. She and her husband were headed back and realized it wouldn't be all that far out of the way to stop by. Could they stop by in a few hours if it wasn't too late?

Ask any parent of a newborn, 1000 PM is not too late. We have a bit of a schedule, but we're still working on it. Our little guy goes to bed in his pack n play after his 11PM/midnight feeding.

So they stopped by. It was SO good to see them. We visited for quite a while, catching up on things. She and I used to have dinner at least three times a month. We've been friends for a long time, and I miss her since she moved. It had been about seven months. Mark charmed them (until he fell asleep in Daddy's arms). We had a wonderful time catching up. And we are planning on (hopefully) getting together sometime this next week, halfway between our locations. That could be fun.

When they left, I told Mike it was like a little bit of home had been here. Even though they no longer live back home, friends are like home. It was nice. I miss home, but it's worth it- everything is progressing nicely and we will be home soon.

two weeks old

WOW, our little guy is two weeks old today! And what a big boy. He changes every day, it's interesting to watch him. I am working on a photo blog of pictures (it's going to be a password protected blog), I take pictures of him every day.

We made a two week appointment for him. It will be interesting to see how much he has grown. We are pretty certain that he is over seven pounds now. We can see his legs, arms, and face filling out a bit. And he sure likes his formula!

First road trip

Our first road trip was wonderful. We found out that Mark is an excellent traveller. He pretty much slept the whole way there, or sat contently smiling away. We stopped once to feed him (actually I sat in the back feeding him while he was in his car seat and Mike continued driving).

When we got there, he charmed our friends. He loved to snuggle with Joy, and give her smiles and lots of love. Hopefully the baby luck will rub off on her and she'll get the call soon! Joy and I let Jeremy hold him for a little while, and even Daddy got to hold him a tiny bit. He was so comfortable in Joy's arms, he fell asleep.

Joy and I taught the guys about the finer art of changing a wet diaper in the back of a car. There weren't any changing tables, so we improvised. Joy and Jeremy gave Mark the cutest layette set- he's going to take a picture in it soon. It has sailboats and cars (Mommy and Daddy's favorites) as well as planes. Perfect for the kid who is going to travel quite a bit!

When we left, I sat in the back of the car to give him a bottle again. By the time we got to a gas station to fill up, he was finished. And he slept the whole way home. He was a perfect little boy.

That's great to know, for when we take our long road trip! (hopefully soon!)

two weeks

We've been in this hotel room two weeks now. We sure are glad that we got a suite. That way we can have a little more room to move around and keep sleeping in one area and daytime activities in the other. Little Mark is doing well, we're teaching him between bedroom (pack n play) and living room (papasan) too :) His favorite place to sleep is on Mommy and one of his favorite places to just chill and hang out is in daddy's arms. He's a good little boy. Next week we will be taking him for a pedi appointment, and we suspect he probably has hit the 7lb mark by now. Tomorrow we are going on a little trip to meet a friend of mine and her husband. Mark can't wait to meet her!

Our good news for today.

Click to see our Our good news for today. Scroll down to see Mike and Elizabeth =)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Excel spreadsheets are wonderful

The nice thing about having a laptop is that we were able to set up a spreadsheet. Yep, we are now counting wet, poopy and combo diapers. Plus, we are also keeping track of feeding times and how much he eats. We'll take it in to our first pedi appointment when we see how much he has grown. It is interesting to see how he is sort of starting to get into a schedule, and he's also eating more.

A quick pic

Just wanted to drop this off. I am currently feeding him with one hand and typing with the other. Mommyhood is awesome =)

First night went well

Our first night "home" in our hotel room went well. He's such a doll. We're doing fine adjusting to parenthood. Both Mike and I feel like we've been a family of three forever!

The blog entries are going to be a little short for a while as we bond with our little guy. But I am keeping a journal for him, chronicling our first few days as a family together, our experiences, etc. And I promise to share it soon...

Things are going well

He's eating and sleeping like a champ! We're having fun with him and enjoying our bonding time with our little guy! It's hard to believe he is almost 2 days old!

Merry Christmas

Yep, that is three stockings you see hanging up in our hotel room. We are pleased to announce that Mark Garrett made his arrival this morning bright and early. He's doing well, as is his birthmother. From the get-go he's been hungry and eating like a champ. Both my boys are sleeping right now, and I do believe I'm off to join them!

Merry Christmas everyone! We sure do appreciate everything and everyone who has been following our journey.

Merry Christmas Eve

No baby yet, nothing new to report. But we wanted to say Merry Christmas Eve to everyone!

We're set!

We're set! We have representation here, and someone to help us navigate all the paperwork. Now, we just wait for the little guy to be born.

We're going to relax and enjoy today, tomorrow and Tuesday, spending time together and enjoying our time together. We bought some Christmas stockings and put them up in our room. And we bought some holiday treats, so we'll have a nice, low key Christmas here. There is talk that there might even be some snow flurries on Christmas eve or Christmas day. We're thinking of driving to Santa Claus, IN to check it out ;)

Happy holidays everyone! We'll let you know when the little guy is born!

*Sat Update*

So, no baby yet. We are however very close to having an agency represent us (as the lawyer) which should be ok. They'll take over from where our facilitator has been and do the Indiana part of the adoption. Once we are set with them, then it's just waiting for the little one to be born. Each state has its own way as to how they handle adoptions, so we need to make sure we do it correctly. In the meantime, Mike and I will try our best to enjoy our (hopefully) last weekend "child free".

Baby Pool

We thought it would be fun to do a baby pool, where people can guess what day the little guy is going to be born and his height and weight.



Have fun guessing!



As for us, we're settling in nicely, enjoying our last "child free" weekend. One thing I am super excited to do is fold all the little baby clothes. My friend Rosanna, and my sisters Penny and Holly were SO SWEET to bring us some newborn and preemie clothes so that our little guy would have something to wear. And my mom bought him the cutest little outfit! We washed them before we came, but didn't get to fold them nicely (we were kind of in a rush to pack ;) ). So I'm going to fold them today. Other than that, not much going on right now. That's ok- the excitement is going to start soon enough! (And we need some down time after the excitement and rush of this past week!) We'll update if anything else happens!

Appreciation

We want to take this time to thank EVERYONE who has been helping us as we try to find a lawyer who can represent us over the holidays. We believe we have found someone who is going to be able to help us. We're firm believers that everything happens for a reason, and that everything is going to work out.

Wow is all I can say. We have always appreciated our friends and family, and today made us realize even more how spectacular and awesome they are. We are very fortunate to have such a strong network of family and friends, what a perfect circle to bring our future son into.

From phone calls to internet searches, emails and more. Calls from all over the United States, one end to the other. Not to mention all the emails sent out. I'm so thankful for this day and age and the technology that is able to be used to get something so important done in such a quick amount of time.

The little one has not made an appearance yet. Hopefully he stays put over the weekend. We've taken up residence at a gotel and are settling in.

I've told Mike to look at it this way, we can enjoy the weekend realizing that it's our last "child" free weekend. Wow. Our last "child free" weekend.

Thank you EVERYONE for all that you have done, be it helping us today or keeping us in your thoughts, prayers or whatever. We appreciate it more than you can possibly know.

And thanks for following along with our journey!

"No one said it was going to be easy, they just said it would be worth the wait!"

No one said it was going to be easy, they just said it was going to be worth it.

That is a motto that we have been living by, and it is oh so true.

As for the road trip part, things are going well. We left a bit later than planned (but we wanted to tie up some loose ends, make sure the house was in ok enough order, and give Precious extra attention). We made it to West Memphis tonight, which is about 2/3 of the way. So we'll have a quick and easy day tomorrow.

Cell phone coverage was spotty sometimes, which didn't help much. We need to retain a lawyer in I for the ICPC (Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children) portion of the adoption. And it's not as easy as we thought it was going to be.

We fully expect to probably have to stay in I until the beginning of the new year. And we are prepared to do that, have the vacation time, etc. (Lucky for Mike, he was using 2 weeks for this year, then in January his vacation starts over again). We made arrangements for the mail, deliveries, care of Precious, etc. We figured we'd probably stay in the hotel with the baby, gazing at him and pinching ourselves that he is ours! (It's cold and flu season, so we are going to be a bit particular as to where we take our newborn. We're not going to be overly protective parents, but that's just common sense).

However, we haven't been able to find a lawyer to help us. We were referred to two of them, but they are about 200 miles away from where we are headed and are unable to do it right now. One is going out of town, and the other can't do 200 miles on such short notice during the holidays (totally understandable!). They both recommended us to another one in town, but he's got too much on his plate as he ties up his activities for the year.

So we have the call out to one more and are waiting to hear from him. He runs an international adoption agency, but is a family lawyer and is familiar with the ICPC. So hopefully he can either 1. help represent us or 2. recommend someone local who might be able to.

As we are here in the hotel, one major project we have tonight is researching and looking to see if we can find any lawyers in town or the surrounding areas that might be educated in and able to work the ICPC for us. We purposely drove further today so that we'd be able to go meet someone tomorrow if we need to.

Baby boy has not been born yet. Now, we find out that potentially some steps need to be done (and one of the three involves some paperwork going before a judge) before we can leave the hospital with our son. That's not even leaving the state, but being able to have custody of him and take him to the hotel. The courts are open on Friday, but not all of them are open on Monday (some only half a day!) and of course they are not open on Tuesday. So, if baby boy doesn't make an appearance tonight for sure, or possibly this weekend (and also if we don't find a lawyer who will represent us) ifi he is born before Christmas he will spend it in the hospital. We should be able to visit him, just not take him back to the hotel with us.

So, we're a bit unsure if we want him to be born now, or to wait until Christmas, (where it'll be easier to get through the legal stuff in order to bring him to the hotel with us!)

We're keeping faith, as we know that everything happens for a reason. As well, things happen in due time. So, we are confident that things will work out the way they are supposed to.

Anyway, that's the update! We're keeping positive and can't wait to meet our son! As I packed his luggage I brought an outfit over to Mike, and we gazed at it, realizing that OUR SON is going to fit in this tiny little outfit. OUR SON. WOW.

Thanks for following along with us!

The best road trip ever

As many people know, Mike and I love to travel two ways. One is cruise ships (I introduced him to that ;) ). And the 2nd way is to road trip. I've been road tripping all my life, it wasn't unusual for my parent to toss us in the back of the car on a weekend and take off to explore somewhere. We got to see tons of stuff, from Redwood trees to Plymouth Rock. And my love for road trips started there. As an adult in my twenties, I embarked on longer road trips, sometimes involving moves, once a trip to Clemson to see my sister play volleyball, sometimes trips to New Orleans to visit my other sister. I had to get away at least once every other month- even if it was just to go to a neighboring state, get out on the open road and stretch my "legs". I once went to visit a coworker in Dover, DE just because I wanted to hit the road. Mike is the same way. Before me, trips to Colorado were starting to become an annual event. He loved to get out on the open road in the miata. As we grew to know each other, we discovered we shared that love of road trips. And we've taken quite a few. In my quest to go to every state before I turn 40 (3 more to go!), we've taken several road trips (sometimes hitting 10 states in a week) where we drive all day. We jokingly call our 1st anniversary the Holiday Inn tour because we stayed at Holiday Inns in many different states.

Now, we are about to embark on the biggest road trip of our lives. The best road trip of our lives so far. The road trip where we go to meet our son. Wow. Our son. It's so wonderful to say that! We can't wait to meet him. So, as we head off for the first leg, we're hoping to hit Memphis in time for dinner. We're going to maximize our daylight as much as possible. Thanks for joining us on our journey, we're glad to have you along!

thoughts

While we are more than estatic and over the moon with our "Christmas miracle", there are a few people that we don't want to forget. We're sending lots of prayers to the birthmother (and her boyfriend) as she goes through the birth. I know some of her history (and won't divulge it) but even without knowing her I am proud she made the choice she did (not even to choose us, but to go through with the pregnancy and set up an adoption plan). I also am praying for the other couple that wasn't chosen that their little one arrives safely in their arms sometime soon. I know it's not easy to be the one not chosen.

We're hoping there's room at the (Holiday) Inn...

Yep, we're matched. We found out today. The birthmother is due tomorrow, and if the baby hasn't come by Christmas she'll be induced at 8 AM that day.

We're heading off on Thursday (we are driving) - because we need a day to get everything together. I suspect we'll be there longer than normal since there is a little thing called "the holidays" that may delay the ICPC (all the legal paperwork) and stuff.

The birthmother doesn't want us in the room, and that is ok with us. We'll be in the waiting room, then get to see our SON in the nursery =)

We hope to be back by the end of the year, though it might be 2008 by the time we bring our son home. For everyone local, be prepared for a cookout some weekend in January. We want EVERYONE to come meet our son and celebrate with us! We'll have more details when we get back.

Please send good thoughts and prayers, karma, whatever you can muster to our birthparents as they go through this, our son as he is born, and us as we travel to meet him.

We are cautiously optimistic (as sometimes things can go wrong) and will tell everyone (and shout it from the rooftops!) when the paperwork is done and we are headed home.

If we don't have your email address (or address for that matter) PLEASE send it to us at mikeandlizadopt @ yahoo.com . We want to make sure everyone is included!

Love, Mike and Liz

Tis the season

I was chatting with my adoption coordinator today, and she mentioned that they were in need of maternity jeans in all sizes for birthmothers. Now, we usually donate a portion of our profits from www.WorthTheWaitBoutique.com to an adoption related organization (usually them). So, I decided to spend that money on maternity jeans.

I'm now on the lookout for EUC, NWT or NWOT maternity jeans. I posted on several of my message boards, and am also bidding on some at ebay. On my message boards I told them that I'd be willing to pay (and have them ship to the office) or I'd be willing to trade some of my product we sell on our website. My goal is to get about 20 pairs of jeans. We'll see how that goes!

One of our favorite places, Dinner Creations, sent out in their weekly newsletter that they were doing the "adopt a family" for Christmas. They had a sibling set of 2 teenage boys and a preteen girl. Plus they are donating to the Friendswood police Blue Santa program and are doing "donate a dish" for a single mother with 4 children (she's expecting #5). We decided to get each of the kids a Walmart gift card and then donate a few Noah's Ark Animals (one to the preteen girl, one to the Blue Santa program). We'll donate a dish too.

It's something we want to do, and we are glad that we are able to help out in some small way this holiday season.

Better today

I want to send out these virtual flowers (carnations of course, my favorite ;) ). To thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers, and emails the last few days. I don't know what hit me, it just did. And it made me very sad. But today is another day, and I am feeling oh so much better.

As someone said "the best way to approach the holidays is to enjoy your family as it is now". And yes, Mike and I will be doing that. If something "extra" comes along, well that's just lagniappe. We are very fortunate that we are able to spend the Christmas holidays together.

Mike only has one full week of work left for this year. Because we'd been saving his vacation until we got "the call", and it's "use it or lose it", next Monday is his last day of work this year. It'll be nice to have him around the house. He plans on relaxing, catching up on tv- and boy does he deserve it. He works hard!

Of course I don't plan on being 100% as productive as I usually am (how could I be with my sweet hubby in the same house), but I'll still be able to keep things going ;)

Well, off to do some work. Lots to do!

And Thank you.

Some days are harder than others

And tonight is one of those "harder" nights.

I've been doing pretty well. I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact that it's another holiday season and Christmas without a kid.

But sometimes I wonder, what is wrong with me? Why haven't we been deemed "fit" to parent? Why hasn't anyone decided that I will be a good mother? People tell me "oh, you will be a good mom", "your child will be lucky to have you" etc. All I want is to know what I need to do to change so someone will pick us. What is wrong with me?

I was at a party last night, and a friend asked "not to get too personal, but what is it that is taking so long? You should be parents by now". And at the cookie party Mike, with the kids -melted my heart. And I had a blast playing with them all- from my 5 year old nephew to my 1 year old niece- I even wore her in a Moby to show how it works. She loved it, it was so much fun. A couple times when she cried I was closest to her and picked her up and comforted her, with her snuggling against me.

A little while after the party I started crying. Why? What is it about us that people read our profile or website and say "no. they aren't it". Why? What is wrong with me? I love kids, was born to be a mom, and mike was born to be a dad. Why do people think we aren't it?

Ok, I'm crying again.

What is wrong with us? It's been over 17 months. Why aren't we good enough, what do we have to do to be good enough to be parents?

I'll feel better tomorrow. Things will be ok. Mike comforted me, reminded me that I am a good person, we are a great family. And we will someday be blessed with a little one. He tells me not to be so hard on myself. He's frustrated too, but he makes sure that I am ok, that I don't beat up on myself too much. He says it's a supply issue- there are just too many people like us who are waiting to adopt, and not enough children to adopt. Someday...

Well, it's just a low on the roller coaster. There will be a high eventually, it's just not today. We will be blessed some day. For now. we just smile and enjoy life the way it is.

I am looking forward to Christmas with Mike. He's going to be Santa for our nieces and nephews. They will enjoy it. And he has a good time playing the role too. Though he can't wait until it's our little one, and our child who is discovering the wonders of a visit from Santa. The first year we have a child and our child is able to understand who Santa is, Mike is NOT going to play Santa- he'll get to enjoy our little one as he or she has their first visit with Santa.

It'll happen some day.

C is for cookie!

Ah, I love this time of year. It's time for the annual holiday cookie decorating party. Each year I make tons of cookies and invite friends and family (and the kids!) to come decorate them. I provide the cookies, decorations, a cookie tray and snacks. The kids even help decorate my tree (I bought plenty of shatterproof ornaments). It's a ton of fun.

The party is this weekend, Sat and Sun. It used to be just one day, but it's grown so much that I do it two days. I hope I got the evite to everyone local - I switched evite addresses recently and am afraid I might have missed some folks. So if you have been invited before (and you know who you are ;) ) or are local and didn't get an invite- please come!

I am looking forward to seeing everyone, and getting a baby fix ;) And everyone loves getting together and getting to see how much the babies grow, and have fun. It's a great time.

My house isn't 100% perfect- but it's ok. It's homey :) We have all our Christmas lights up, and a few decorations up. Mike is going to set up the tree in a bit so the kids can decorate it. I'll add the breakable ornaments after this weekend.

I planned to have all my Christmas gifts done and wrapped so I could give them to everyone this weekend when they come to the party, but I am not 100% sure I'll be done. We'll see!

Back to work!

Meet Up

Click here to check out
The Clear Lake Adoption Meetup Group!

So, I started this group on meetup.com. I figured it might be nice to meet some other folks who are adopting too. I haven't been a very good group leader yet, but that'll change. I am determined to get it going. I think it could be very beneficial to all of us to share our stories, experiences, etc.

December already?

Wow, where has this year gone? It seems to have just flown by. It hasn't turned out quite as we expected (we'd figured we would be parents by now) but then again, does life ever quite turn out the way you expect?

Overall, life is very good. We're missing one thing in our life, parenthood, but that is pretty much it. There is always a chance we could get the call sometime this month, but we're figuing it probably won't be until 2008 that we realize our dreams of parenthood.

You never know though, stranger things have happened. Here's to a happy and fun December for all, and that all dreams for everyone are realized this December.

17 months

Wow, it's been 17 months since we contracted out. I didn't even realize it until I was chatting with someone today and she asked how it was going. I realized it's the 29th. I need to do a check in. We've been waiting 17 months. Not quite a whole year and a half, but still.

We got our homestudy update and we sent it in. So now we are good to go. We are still needing to see if it is valid for 6 months or a year, but it's in and good right now- so that is the most important thing.

17 months

wow a lot has happened since then...

Donate: Make a Difference in the Life of a Child

In celebration of National Adoption Awareness Month, Lifetime Adoption Foundation is offering special gifts for donations to the Lifetime Adoption Foundation.

For a gift of $35 or more, you can receive the For a Lifetime pendant. It's a pretty pendant that reminds us that adoption is for a lifetime. As they say, adoption provides a lifetime of love, support and the opportunity for a future.

For a donation of $50 or more, you can receive both the Fora a Lifetime necklace and an adoption mug. The mugs are custom made for Lifetime Adoption.

For a donation of $100 or more, both the mug and the necklace are sent along with the book AdoptingOnline.com - that is a great book that Mardie Caldwell (founder of Lifetime Adoption) wrote, and we found it to be very helpful when we were starting our adoption journey.

We obviously are big supporters of Lifetime Adoption Foundation. In fact, they are the primary organization that we donate to with our Worth The Wait Boutique. For this month, 10% of all profits are going to the Lifetime Adoption Foundation and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. So far this month we have donated over $50! It's nice to be able to give back, and to help out where we can.

A little sad

It's hard NOT to be a little sad during the holidays. We love spending time with family, and it really means a lot to us that we get to spend time with out nieces and nephews. Those "baby fixes" help a lot. But then they leave, and it's back to the holidays and gearing up for most likely another childless holiday season.

It was the most AMAZING feeling when we pulled up to Windy Hill on Thanksgiving day and got out of the car. Our niece came running across the grass and jumped up into our arms. What a wonderful feeling to have a child be so excited to see you. Then, she took our hands and led us to her big brother and the rest of the family. He was super excited to see us too.

We were fortunate enough to get to take our niece and nephew to see Santa on Friday. It was SO MUCH FUN. We were in the historic town of Greune, and the Santa was a real Texas type Santa. We got to wait in line with the kids, and be there when it was their turn to see Santa. Our niece was not as enthusiastic, but she did come around and sat on a hay bale next to Santa. Our nephew loved it because he got to sit on a real saddle (there was a saddle on a haystack next to Santa). While we were waiting for our name to be called our niece sat on my lap and watched Santa. We kept talking about going up to visit him, where she was going to sit, etc. She was really excited to see him.

After that we went back to Greune Hall to meet up with my parents and sister (her kids we were with). While we listened to the band play all the little kids there ran around, played on the back stage, and had fun. I watched my niece, and Mike played with our nephew. It was fun to follow after them and spend time with them.

They left yesterday, we stayed on for a few more days. While it's nice to enjoy the quiet, and sleeping in, there is still that little bit of your heart that is sad. Knowing someday it's going to be your little ones (and you will be missing those quiet times!), but for now, not so much. It's nice to fix dinner whenever you are hungry (we ate dinner at 830 tonight), go to sleep whenever you want (most likely we'll be up until midnight or so), and sleep in or take a nap whenever you want to. But there still is that little sadness. And sometimes you just need to excuse yourself so you can go be by yourself for a little cry.

As Mike says- bring it on, we're more than ready to be parents. I love that man, he is my rock, my strength, and our little one is going to be one lucky kid to have such an amazing father.

Relaxing weekend

We've been enjoying our relaxing weekend. We went to Windy Hill to celebrate Thanksgiving with my parents, my sister and her family. Now, everyone is gone except Mike and I. We're still here, and will leave tomorrow. Mike has more vacation to use up, so he took Monday off. We'll have Thanksgiving dinner at his parent's place tomorrow night. We've enjoyed relaxing, spending time with family. It's been a nice holiday.

Thanksgiving

We just want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. We are oh so grateful for our support system and those who are following along in our adoption journey. You don't know how much your thoughts and prayers mean to us - more than you can imagine.

Thank you

Do not be anxious

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

We received this in a Thanksgiving greetings email. And how true it is, it makes you stop and think for a minute. Continuing on:

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

Basically, it says don't worry, but have faith. Ask for what you need, and give thanks for what you have been given. By doing this, your heart and mind will experience peace.

In other words "don't worry, be happy". By giving thanks, and doing so, you will achieve peace as you wait for important changes in your life.

It's hard to remember to do this sometimes. But it is important to step back and think about it sometimes. Anxiousness won't get us anywhere, we're still going to have to wait as long as we have to wait. But by praying and relaxing, staying at peace we'll have a better time waiting.

National Adoption Awareness Day

I am going to do a little bit of plugging here ;) Today is National Adoption Awareness Day and I decided to make a difference too. This is what I posted on our buisness website.


TODAY (Sat Nov 17) is National Adoption Awareness Day. Use code AdoptDay and receive free shipping on your order (no minimum). Also, an extra 5% of all profits today will go toward our two chosen charities for the month, Lifetime Foundation and Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption .


Today is an at home day for us. I'm working on the website, Mike is watching football. We're just relaxing, enjoying the day. Tonight we'll go out to dinner to celebrate the day. Hopefully next year we'll be celebrating National Adoption Awareness Day with a child or two.

Lots of babies come home this week

Quite a few of my friends and people I know who are adopting are lucky enough to bring their little ones home this week.

My friend Tracy and her husband Adam brought home Charlotte from China last night. And as I type this my friend Chrissy and her husband Gary are at the airport waiting for their son Garyt to arrive from Guatemala. The plane just landed a few minutes ago, and they will meet their son for the first time.

Cheryl's daughter Aubrey arrived home from Korea on Tuesday. And Annie and Greg are enroute right now to Guatemala to pick up thier son William.

Such exciting news, and such a great thing to see families coming together.

Escape

So, this week was a bit of a tough one for us. Physically, mentally, we're ok. It's just the ups and downs of adoption. We both felt it, the feeling of, "is it ever going to happen?" and "why can't it just happen already?" Not to mention the "we want to adopt more than one, but at the rate we are going, what are the chances?"

Just some of the low parts of the roller coaster ride of emotions. We're already putting into place (my business) the start to plan for adopting #2. We're going to have to move fast once we get our first, and as soon as we are able to we'll go ahead and start the process for #2. We'll be very lucky if we get to adopt #3 (it was in our plans) at the rate we are going, it might be doubtful.

But, anyway, on to happy things!

We decided to escape to Windy Hill for the weekend. We needed the break. We do have internet up here now, which is nice. Right now, as I type this, we are both on our laptops, but the doors are open and we are listening to the river rush by. It's a beautiful evening. The whole day has been wonderful. We truly are blessed. After sleeping in and getting some much deserved rest, we sat out on the balcony all day and enjoyed the weather, the river going by, and watching the kayakers.

It's hard to believe it's November already! It was 80 something degrees today, and tonight we have the a/c on. It sure doesn't feel like late fall!

We have to head back tomorrow, but we are going to enjoy as much of the day as we can before we head back. It truly is a nice relaxing, and well deserved weekend for us.

Tag

I was tagged earlier this week by Angie first, then Nia and LL. Thanks ladies :)

For those of you who are curious about tagging, this is how it goes:

Rules: Once tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you. Then post the rules before your list, and list 8 random things about yourself. At the end of the post, you must tag and link to 8 other people, visit their sites, and leave a comment letting them know they’ve been tagged.


SO, here goes :)

1. I am left handed.
2. I was not going to get into the whole stamping thing (just do scrapbooking) but have found I really like to stamp. So much I joined a stamp club!
3. I'm counting down the days until my next cruise. (6 months, 3 weeks and 1 day)
4. Of the 50 states, I only have 3 more to visit (Alaska, North Dakota and Montana)
5. I own a treadmill, and actually USE it.
6. I've been a subscriber to Entertainment Weekly since it first came out into circulation.
7. I listen to Christmas music 24/7 starting the day after Thanksgiving (it's because I used to work retail, and that was the only thing that kept me focused on the true meaning of Christmas. Working retail (especially toy stores!) management during Christmas can really get to you.)
8. My undergrad degree is in Recreation Park and Tourism Sciences, but my masters degree is a MBA. I actually found a job that tied both degrees together and enjoyed it while it lasted!

OK, a lot of my blog buddies have already been tagged, but I'moff to tag: Lawfrog, katd, Mae, Lani, Lesiw, Kim, Margaret, and Barely Sane . I can't wait to read more about them!

Busy week is over

Well, we have time to breathe a little now. We had a really busy week. But it sure was fun. It all ended last night with going out to dinner with both my sisters, Ella and Blake at Lupe Tortillas, a mexican place with a playground. Blake had so much fun on the playground! Ella did too - but then the draw of chips and salsa was too exciting for her.

I held a 1154Lill purse party. It was a lot of fun. While we "girls" were doing the party, Mike was in charge of the kids. Blake was easy, as he played video games and all Mike had to do was change games periodically for him on the super nintendo. Ella had free roam to check out the party, her brother, and Mike. Mike was on the computer and watching football.

When we got back home last night and were watching football, Mike mentioned how cute it was that Ella kept coming in to check up on him. She'd come in, play with him, bring him a cookie, or tickle him for a little while. Then she'd come back out to the "big girl" party. It was a cycle, and both he and Ella had a lot of fun.

It's so cute to hear him tell stories like that, and enjoy the kids.

November is Adoption Awareness Month

Every November is designated and recognized as National Adoption Awareness Month. It actually was started in and effort to primarily focus on children in foster care, but it also is a great way to help build awareness of adoption in general. By recognizing it and creating an awareness, we are able to promote positive perceptions, debunk myths, and overall explain to people who are uneduacated about the adoption process.

Saturday, Nov 17 is National Adoption Day. On that day, many (much more than usual) adoptions are finalized. It's a great way to raise awareness about adoption.

There are many different events and activities that will be taking place throughout the month. We decided to participate as well, and are donating a percentage of our profits from www.worth-the-wait.com / www.MyAdoptionShop.com and www.AdoptionTees.com to the Lifetime Foundation and to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

Martian Child

There is a new movie coming out on Nov 2. It's called Martian Child. The website is: http://www.martianchild.com/.

It's interesting, not your usual adoption story, or your typical movie. It's basically about a widowed science fiction writer who forms an unlikely family with a close friend and a young boy he adopts that claims to be from mars. As the tag line says, "It doesn't matter where you come from, as long as you discover where you belong".

It is in theaters this Friday, Nov 2nd.

Oops, we forgot- 16 months already!

Well, you can certainly tell that we've been busy! 16 months came and went, and we forgot to post and to email in our monthly check in (that's next on the list!). It's hard to believe it's been 16 months since our contract was signed, that our journey is still going on.

The little one will come when the timing is right..... just hope the right time comes soon!

What to Expect While You Are Waiting To Adopt (some good info)

A friend on a message board I frequent shared this article with me. It's on iVillage, and is about the adoption process. More specifically what to expect while you are waiting to adopt. For someone who is starting to think about adoption, or someone who wants to know more about how an adoptive parent feels, it can be a really good article. A lot of it rings true for us, and it's a great way to share with others what we go and have gone through as we journey through this process to build our family. Here's the article, it's written by a woman who has children both biologically and through adoption:

WHAT TO EXPECT WHILE YOU ARE WAITING TO ADOPT

When I found out I was pregnant with my first child, I ran out to buy a beautiful journal. In it, I tracked the growth of my belly, doctor's visits, countdown to the due date, and of course the details of my labor and delivery.

When my husband and I began talking about having another child, I knew I wanted to keep another pregnancy journal. Our second child, however, did not come as planned. After secondary infertility and nearly seven years of trying to conceive we made the decision to adopt a baby. This "pregnancy" did not last nine months; it came without any what-to-expect guidelines. I was "expecting" all right, but certainly not in the conventional way. I could not relate to any of the available nine-month countdown journals. So, I decided to create my own.

Through my journaling and sharing with others in similar situations, I found that there are indeed somewhat predictable stages of an adoption pregnancy.


Stage One: Asking Yourself Questions
The first trimester, so to speak, of an adoption expectancy may take a few minutes or several years. Some men and women say that they always knew they would adopt; it was just a matter of when. I have also met couples who have been, and still are, thinking about adoption for 10 years. Still others, like my husband and me, make the decision easily to have a child and to try fertility treatments when unable to become pregnant. Pursuing adoption, however, was not as instantaneous for us.

My biggest fear throughout pregnancy with my first child was, Would I be a good mother? My biggest fear in my adoption expectancy was, Will I feel like this child's mother? Could I bond with a child not born to me? Would I treat my birth child differently, and would my adopted child grow up feeling injustice in our family? Worst of all, could I handle my emotions if and when my child wanted to meet the birth family? I feared my role as a mother would be short-lived.

Ask yourself what matters, a pregnancy or a child? Will I feel like less of a person if I cannot make a baby? Have I mourned the child we cannot conceive? Is adoption our last resort, or do we want it regardless of our ability to conceive?


Stage Two: Who Will This Child Be?
The second trimester of your expectancy resembles a physical pregnancy's: You imagine LIFE. You don't grow a belly, rather a mound of paperwork. You're through with doctors poking at your body, but social workers poke around your home. No more research into medical miracles; now it's finding how to build your family. You start to imagine what kind of parent you will be. You wonder, Who will this child be?

You are moving into unknown territory, and it is natural to be filled with questions, fears and even doubts. You will be judged if your home and marriage are fit for a child, if you will be a fit parent. You will be asked about your feelings on issues that you may never before have given a second thought. You might have no idea what race your child will be, or his heritage or what she might look like. You'll probably stare at every child on the street and wonder, Will mine look like that?

You might have nightmares about your baby being born with two heads, seven toes or polka dots. You'll have to come to terms with heart-wrenching questions like, Can I parent a disabled child? What about a baby born with AIDS? A birth defect? Of all the children born in this world, which will be mine to love and raise?

Somewhere out there a child waits for you. You have taken a huge step toward that child; now feel the movement in the universe that will connect you.


Stage Three: The Waiting Game
Try to think of this stage as your last hurrah to prepare for the moment when you will get that phone call, when the agency or attorney will match you, when the birth mother will go into labor. IT WILL HAPPEN.

Compose a letter to your waiting child during this time. If you have little ones, encourage them to write to their future sibling. Ask your parents also to write to their coming grandchild.

Welcome the child into your life and family before s/he arrives, just as you would if you carried her in your womb. Throw yourself a baby shower. Ready your home for your new bundle. Buy diapers, sprinkle baby powder around the room, wash some baby clothes with extra gentle soap. Do whatever it takes to make it feel real.


Stage Four: It's a Boy, a Girl, a Miracle!
No matter how ready you think you are, you're not ready for this. As many times as you have answered the telephone before the first ring ended, and thought, "This could be the call," it will be the time that you grab it running out the door when the voice on the other end breaks the news you've been waiting for. It will be the day that the mail sits on your counter for hours before you remember it when a picture or video of your child appears. Even if you are in the delivery room, watching the birth of your baby, once he or she is placed in your arms, your heart will skip a beat and you will wonder, "How did I get here?!"

How you got there is nothing short of a miracle. The miracle of childbirth. The miracle of adoption. And it will take your breath away.


Stage Five: Joyful Beginnings, Bittersweet Endings
After childbirth, many women go through postpartum blues. Though it may be hard to imagine feeling anything other than pure joy once your long-awaited adopted child is in your arms, don't be surprised when you shed tears the first few weeks. Hormones may not be causing the tears, but you will nonetheless feel mixed up.

The first time I saw my daughter, she was two days old, sleeping in a car seat, her two pink feet sticking out beneath a blanket. Sitting next to her, lovingly stroking those precious feet, was her birth mother. My heart went out not at first to this dear infant but to the incredibly courageous and loving woman who had just given birth. I was truly paralyzed for a moment at the magnitude of love surrounding the three of us, this adoption triad.

Don't be afraid to feel the loss and sadness for your child and the birth parents. Cry for joyful beginnings. And cry for bittersweet endings.

An adoption pregnancy is not obvious to everyone. Often without a due date, it is a pregnancy of the heart and soul. I hope that my book, Till There Was You: An Adoption Expectancy Journal, will inspire you to explore your own time of waiting that you will share one day with the child who grew in your heart.

--By Rebecca Lyn Gold

3 years yesterday

3 years ago on Oct 23 Mike and I got married :) It's been a fun 3 years, and we know there will be many more to come.

We took a mini vacation, headed up to Windy Hill, and had dinner at The Gristmill last night. They literally gave us the best seat in the house, we had the best view of the river. It was wonderful.

Now, we are relaxing, enjoying the beautiful day. We're watching the river go by, and enjoying spending time together.

Life is perfect. It can't get much better than this (except for the few little things we can't wait to have join our family), and we really are enjoying ourselves.

Unconditional love

Nothing melts your heart more than when a child shows you unconditional love. We've seen it quite a bit this weekend. It shows in her eyes as Mike changes her diaper. It's there in her smile when I walk in to the room to get her out of her crib from her nap. It's there as we sit at the table and eat a meal. And as she gives us a sneaky smile before trying to sneak a cookie.

So sweet.

Someday we'll see that unconditional love from our children too. How exciting.

The Upside

The upside to not having any kids yet- we can have a niece or nephew over for the weekend and spend the whole weekend doting on them.

Today is our youngest niece's birthday. She's 1 today- wow, time sure does fly! We are going to dinner at Carlton Woods to celebrate her special day.

Our older niece is going to come home with us tonight. She's going to stay through Sunday, we'll take her home Sunday evening. We are looking forward to it. She's a sweetheart. She has the biggest crush on Unka Mike, it's cute =) We know we are going to have a great time with her this weekend.

Now of course we'll have the nieces and nephews over when we have kids, they'll come to play with their cousins. But for now, we'll enjoy this special time we get with the kiddos and cherish their visits.

Baby fix

I got to have a baby fix today. My friend had several doctors appointments today. She has a 6 week old, and knew most likely he'd not cooperate the whole time. So, I went with her to hang out, and watched him while she was doing her appointments.

It was nice to visit with her. New parenthood is stressful, but she looks great. I was glad to get to visit with her, and I know she probably felt the same way. We went to lunch after the appointments and then each headed home.

Her little guy is so cute! I hadn't seen him since the day he was born, in the hospital. He sure has grown a lot! And such a sweet little guy. He had his moments, but we (and sometimes it was I while she was in with the DR) got him calmed down. Nothing that couldn't be managed.

The poor little guy is lactose intolerant, and colicky as well. So he sure does give Mom and Dad a run for their money. Sometimes though, he just wants to be held, or just wants his pacifier. But you'd think he was super hungry or had a dirty diaper or something with all the hollering :) It was so sweet!

I really enjoyed spending time with her and getting to help with him. I needed that baby fix.

Mike hasn't seen him since the hospital either- and asked me to take pictures with my camera phone. My friend remarked, and I totally agree, it's so neat to see Mike so genuinely interested in babies and kids, even when they aren't his own. Mike really does care about the kids of our friends, and it's really a special to see.

I know he's going to be a great daddy when the timing is right! I just wish the time was soon!

slow week full of emotions

This week has been a slow adoption week. But it's been full of emotions. All of a sudden, a few days ago, it hit. Sadness that nothing has happened yet. It's common to have it happen. Adoption is a roller coaster of emotions. Some days are better than others. You just roll with it and know that the positives are coming soon. Just about all adoptive parents go through this, every so often you wonder "what is wrong with us, why haven't we been chosen yet?"

But then we remember to have faith, and know that everything happens for a reason. Our little one(s) will be here when they are supposed to join our family. It's just a matter of waiting for the right time.

Nothing new to report

Well, our profiles are being printed up (they will be done on Friday!), and that's about it. Nothing new to report. We're keeping busy trying to enjoy our "quiet" time while we have it. But that is about it. Thank goodness we have start up businesses and work to keep us busy. It helps.

They need more profiles!

We received an email tonight. They need 20 more profiles by Oct 22! Yay! So we're going to get them printed off asap and mailed out! How exciting!

Adoption prayer

A friend on a message board I am on shared this prayer with me. Yesterday was Respect Life Sunday at her church, and they had this prayer to share. I thought it was beautiful and wanted to share it.

Prayer to Conceive or Adopt

Lord God, my desire for a child grows stronger every day.
Cradle me in your love and calm all my anxieties.
I look to you for insight to make the dream of parenthood a reality.
Stir in my heart the desire to follow your will in all my decisions.

Give me courage to trust your guiding presence.
Deepen my faith in your plan for our family.
Shine your divine mercy and compassion upon me.
Amen

Call Intercept

The positives and negatives of caller ID. It's great, because you can tell you is calling you. Unfortunately, some of those calls show up as "call intercept", not telling you who they are. You have to pick up the phone and it tells you who it is.

Lifetime comes up as call intercept. So every time we get a call intercept, a quick fleeting thought goes through my mind that "this could be it!" It happened again today, around 1045 AM. The phone rang. I checked the caller ID, and it said "call intercept". But no. It was just a recorded message from the post office, with an offer of some business products and services they want me to try.

Why can't that call intercept be someone we want to talk to? Why can't it be Lifetime with the call that our baby is being born, come pick him/her up? Why must it be the post office?

Ah, well. Someday that call intercept WILL be Lifetime with the news of our little one to be. For now, we'll just keep looking at caller ID and hoping the call will come soon!

We learned something about websites tonight

Apparently, if you take a domain name and forward it to another; if you mask it, then your shopping cart won't work!

UGH.

And we've had it that way for several weeks =(

It's working now though, and we taught the godaddy.com tech guy something!

We're back in business!

So if you've tried to buy something from www.worth-the-wait.com, the site works now!

An Awesome Baby Book

I was in Barnes and Noble using up some birthday gift cards when I stumbled across this book in the adoption part of the parenting section. It's called My Family, My Journey: A Baby Book for Adoptive Families.

It is possibly the closest to the baby books that we had as children that we can find. We are estatic to have found it, and can't wait to use it.


We have Our Chosen Child, and it's a great book too. We look forward to filling it out along with My Family, My Journey.

Most baby books we have found either are related to 1. a pregnancy or 2. international adoption. Since we are adopting domestically, neither fits for us. We had thought about making a scrapbook, and not having a baby book, but we really wanted to just find a baby book too.

We love that it has pages for all the special "adoption related" moments, including "Why we chose to adopt", "How we found you", "people who helped us find you", "waiting", "matched" (when, how we found out, how we celebrated), "Our Journey to you" (it includes where you were, how we got to you and joyful memories- so it can be used internationally or domestically), "our very first meeting", "all about your name", and then traditional things about coming home, family, showers, introductions and celebrations, announcements, firsts and favorites, month by month the first year (height, weight and milestones), etc. It even has a page for "what we know about your birth family and where you came from". That is so cool!

We are looking forward to filling it out (hopefully sooner rather than later!)

A nibble is better than nothing

For our check in this month, we did get some interesting news. Nothing major, but a nibble is nice.

We are busy here with birth mothers, adoptive families, projects, etc. Your name has come up a few times this past month regarding birth mother and their potential adoption plan. I hope that we call you soon with a great situation.

That's the first time we've had THAT happen, the first time it's been reported to us that someone is looking at or considering us. So that was cool!

Still Sick

Well, we're feeling a tad better. Mike had to call out another day today. Wow, he hasn't been this sick in a long time. Mostly, it's just feeling weak. I'm off to do a Girl Scout workshop in a little bit, and he'll stay and sleep.

He should be fine tomorrow. If not, he's going to the doctor!

Nothing new on the adoption front. We are hoping to hear about our update today, but that's about it. I hope everyone is having a great week!

Support

It's nice to find a group of friends who understand what you are going through, especially when your life or family building is a bit outside the "norm" of the "traditional" way of building a family.

I found this recently on an adoption related message board. I have my Lifetime specific yahoo group, and it's great. I also have been active on the adoption board on The Nest, and the adoption section of babies.ourlittleuniverse. All three of them are wonderful, and I'm enjoying the folks and friendships I have received from them, not to mention the wonderful information I have gained. And I would be wrong not to mention my blogging circle, and those who are going through the same experiences. They are wonderful!

I recently found another one, and it feels like home. It's been growing in leaps and bounds, which is wonderful to see. And the folks there are so sweet. It's the perfect mix with the others. I feel like between them I now have a group where I belong.

Often in the adoption community, there are message boards that are not quite as positive. Some are a fairly decent mix, and some are more negative. There really is something out there for everyone.

It's hard when you are trying to figure out where you belong. Who you can identify with, and who your true friends are, be them online or in real life. Through something like infertility or adoption into the mix, and it's even harder.

I am very fortunate in that I have wonderful "non-adoption" friends as well. We mesh really well, and all are smart enough to recognize that we bring differences into our friendships. Differences that make us all unique, yet all get along so well. We know that we can turn to each other for support. And it's those friends that I am thankful for, for keeping me "sane". That keep me from thinking about or focusing on adoption all the time. Yet I know they will be some of the most excited when we finally do get the call.

Some of my friends have kids. In fact, when we have little ones. we'll already have several "playgroups". Our kids already have lots of "aunts" and "uncles" and friends, they just don't know it yet!

As we grow through our experiences, our lives change. Friendships come and go, and you realize who your true friends are, who is there for the long run. You figure out who you can turn to for support, and who can turn to you for support. Those people, and family, are the most important part of life. And you need to do what is best for you, make the decisions that are right for you.

We want to thank our support system.

Thank you.

sharing bugs

One thing that we are going to have to get used to is the sickness factor. I know typically when a family member gets sick, the rest of the household gets sick too.

Mike and I are experiencing that right now. We went to a birthday party yesterday for my nephew. And tonight we went out with Mike's parents for dinner to celebrate my birthday. On the way home, my sister called and asked if we were sick. Apparently she had a stomach virus all day. Nope. We weren't sick.

Notice I say "weren't". We are now :( . Mike started to get sick not too long after we'd gotten home. After his parents left, he told me that dinner had not sit well with him. I started to feel ill about an hour and a half later.

We split up- him in one bathroom and I in another - luckily we can do that right now! And we've been sick since then. Mike called his work about 1 or so, to tell them that he'd most likely not be coming in to work. We're doing a self imposed quarantine so that we don't make anyone else sick.

We sure hope that we didn't end up making Mike's parent's sick. I'll call them in the morning to let them know about our experience. And hope they don't get it too!

Ah, the joys of family hood. When Mike and I first started dating, he used to get "sick" every time he saw our nephew. He wasn't used to the germs that kids bring, and didn't have much of an immunity for it. He's getting better now, as we get more and more nieces and nephews, and they grow.

I can imagine that when we have kids, his immunity system will get even better. But every so often, a real doozy of a bug comes, and knocks the whole family out.

Gotta love it!