Thursday, November 19, 2009
Still Alive
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
In Memory of Angel
Monday marked a year since the day we received the call that Melissa, the birthmom who chose us, had complications and that the baby girl had been stillborn. I will never forget that moment, standing in my kitchen, trying to maintain composure long enough to finish the call with the attorney and call Mike who was at the port ministry that day. It was a few days later when I was talking and crying with Melissa that she told me that she had named the baby girl Angel. She said she was beautiful and perfect. A daughter. We hadn't known she was a girl until she was already gone. I remember crying. A lot. Even now, I'm barely into this post and already crying.
You know how they say that hindsight is 20/20? Well, during those days, I had no idea what God was planning. I knew He had a plan. I knew I could trust Him, but I also knew that I was hurting. Everywhere I looked life didn't seem fair. In my limited vision, I saw people with children and it seemed like it was so easy for them and I didn't understand why God would take Angel away from us. As I look back now with hindsight on this past year, I'm once again overwhelmed by God's love and His perfect plan.
On October 17, 2008, God blessed our family with Jonathan David. He has been such a joy and I have loved the past 11 months of being his mommy. In fact, I can't imagine our life without him. Long before I knew that Mike and I would struggle with having biological kids, God had already planned that we would lose Angel but get to keep Jonathan.
Not only was God's plan perfect, but His timing was perfect as well. We were introduced to the possibility of Jonathan only 8 days after finding out about Angel passing. Had the complications with Melissa's pregnancy not happened when they did, we would have been still waiting on that adoption and missed the chance to meet Jonathan's birthmom.
These past few days I've thought of and prayed for Melissa. Our only contact with her had been through the attorney's office, and we only spoke to her a few times afterwards. I wonder how she is doing and if this week has been rough for her. I've thought of Diana, Jonathan's birthmom, and prayed for her. We send her pictures each month, but she stopped replying to the emails after just a few months. I wonder how she is doing and if we'll ever hear from her again.
Above all, I praise God for His wisdom and for knowing that Jonathan was the perfect fit for our home. I praise Him for giving us the strength to go through each step of the process. I praise Him for the hope that someday I will meet Angel in heaven. God truly is good all the time.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Jonathan, Casey, Cody and the Nursery...
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Help! How Do You Do It?
1. Struggling with balancing volleyball practices which include a jv team, a varsity team and a 10 month old who is mobile. The gym air hasn't been cooling well and they brought in a big floor fan, so I can't just let Jonathan crawl or even run around in his walker because I don't want him to lose a hand in the fan. It is very difficult to keep both teams working effectively at the level they are at and keep up with Jonathan at the same time with no other adult in the gym. I told Mr. Redmon again today that I really need an assistant. What I didn't tell him is that I'm so frustrated and discouraged with the whole process that if things don't change, you can count on this being my last year coaching. With status quo, I'm not the coach the jv team deserves, I'm not the coach the varsity team deserves, and I'm not the mommy that Jonathan deserves. I just CAN'T do it all. He told me he would ask in the meeting tomorrow if there are any volunteers who would like to come help. I'm not holding my breath.
2. Struggling with keeping up with my responsibilities at home. I admit it. I'm not the best housekeeper in the world. I tend to let things somehow always get to the point where it takes more work to clean up in a hurry if I need to. I try to stay on top of stuff - you know, the preventative cleaning where if, for example, you straighten the kitchen every evening after supper then it never gets a pileup of dishes or abstract junk that ended up getting put on the counter space. However, a few nights of coming home exhausted and "I'll take care of that later" takes over. Added on to all of this is the fact that Jonathan is loving his newfound mobileness. He can crawl all over and is starting to climb on stuff. I don't feel like I can leave him in the middle of the living room playing and go do some cleaning in another room because I'm worried about what he'll get into while I'm gone. He used to be a maniac sleeper (yes, I know I was spoiled), but this last week he has been working himself into only taking about 15-20 minute naps at a time and then screaming and kneeling in his crib with his face against the bars like a prison inmate.
3. Struggling with my weight. I don't know about you, but this is a battle I've faced since I was in 7th grade. If you look at photos yearly of my life since then, you'll see the pendulum swing. I lose the weight and feel great and then previous habits kick back in and I start putting the weight back on. I get discouraged about that, which somehow only seems to make it worse and the saga continues. Mountain Dew is a serious "comfort food" for me. For instance, I convinced myself that I needed a one liter bottle of Mountain Dew each afternoon of basketball and volleyball camp to get me through the day. Yeah. Probably not so healthy, huh? I like to joke that I haven't lost my pregnancy weight yet, but that really isn't funny since I never was pregnant. :(
I could probably go on and on with the list, but I'll leave my confessions at this point right now. So my big question is, how do YOU do it? I know I have a bunch of super moms out there as friends who will have great ideas for how I can do better. How do you multi-task? Any brilliant ideas that might help me survive volleyball season followed by basketball season? For those of you who have been there, how do you keep everything organized at home while chasing down a 10 month old and trying to protect him from as many bumps and bruises as possible? Any good ideas, other than shutting my mouth and not putting the food in, for how to work on the weight issue? Beyond all these, what Scripture do you use to encourage you and lift you up when you just feel like you are failing and you feel discouraged?
Thanks, my friends.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Stepping Up On The Soapbox To Remind...
Okay, if you know me or have read this blog for long, you know that my husband and I have gone through infertility and the inability to bear a child physically. So yes, I am probably a little biased on this issue.
With that history in perspective, I struggle with the assumptions and expectations out there as well as sometimes seeing what seems like people taking for granted the incredible gift of God to have babies "the natural way".
As I was in college, I watched two of my older sisters struggle with infertility. People would regularly ask, "So, when are you going to start having kids?" without realizing that they were desperately praying and trying. Long before I experienced it firsthand, I learned that this isn't a "kosher" question to ask. You don't know what is going on personally in the lives of that couple. Most often you will be better off to simply not ask the question. If you are burdened about them having a baby, pray for them. Don't ask.
By the way, since those years, one sister adopted two kids and the other miraculously had a son followed by another son followed by a daughter.
If you are privileged to have children that God has given you, recognize it as a gift. The Bible refers to children many times and includesnaming them a treasure and saying basically that blessed is the man who has his "quiver" full of them. Whether you have one child (as we do) or 8 children (as some friends of mine have) or anywhere in the middle, look at them as a blessing. Yes, I recognize that there are days of frustration and that kids can drive you crazy, but each one is a blessing and a gift. People who choose to have 52 children (okay, so exaggerating a little) and have been blessed by God with all the correct working body parts and the ability to have that many should not complain about how their lives have been drastically changed or their dreams have been cut short because of this.
I'll step back down off the soapbox with a sigh, mainly because I still regularly find myself crying at the computer when I come across blogs or comments that seem insensitive to the fact that everyone can't just schedule when and how many children they are going to have.
I love my son beyond belief. I wouldn't trade one moment with him and I'm striving to cherish each and every step of growth in his life. Would I love to have had the privilege of having him grow in my womb? Absolutely. Would I have loved to have the bonding experience of breast feeding him from birth? Definitely. Do I sometimes struggle when I'm in groups of ladies and the topic of pregnancy stories and birth stories comes up? Yep.
God is good. I'm not bitter with the situation God has placed us in. He knew that I would grow through this process. All I'm saying is please be sensitive to those around you.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Monday, June 08, 2009
Works of God - Providing Through Friends
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Works of God - Providing $400 through 41 Monitors
You see, Walgreens was selling blood glucose monitors for $10.00. They were also giving $10.00 in Walgreens Register Rewards (basically Walgreens money) for each one. I managed to get my hands on 41 coupons that would make the monitors completely free. So, I would go into Walgreens, get a monitor, take it to the register and hand them the coupon. They would ring it through bringing the balance to $0. I would pay nothing. They would hand me the monitor, a receipt and a $10.00 Register Reward that I can spend on anything in the store (except cigarettes and alcohol, but I think I'm okay with that). :)
Here is the picture from my first day. I was excited because baby formula was on sale for $9.99. I always had to add filler to get to $10.00 in order to use the Register Reward they just gave me free. So, I added a .39 package of pudding and payed .38 cents using my Walgreens gift card to get a package of pudding and formula that will last Jonathan about a week.
So the grand total came to 41 monitors procured during the course of the week. One of the Register Rewards didn't print, so I "only" got 40 of the $10.00 Register Rewards. For those of you doing math, that is $400.00 in Walgreens money. I'm down to about $250.00 now after stocking up on toilet paper and formula (of which I was able to pick up 11 cans and I think that will be enough to get me through to the end of Jonathan needing formula - WHOHOO).
Venturing Out Again
Thanks for your patience with all the changes. :)
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Jonathan's Finalization Hearing
Julie came with us, which was AWESOME! She took video and pictures for us and that was great, but more than that, it was nice to share it with a friend. We went out to eat afterwards to celebrate and had a great time of fellowship. Since she has been there through all of my meltdowns in the past year, it was fitting that she could be there through this exciting moment.
Monday, May 11, 2009
I Never Knew
I never knew that the ache to have a child could be this strong.
Nine months ago we received the call from our adoption attorney that we had been matched with a birthmom due in January. Could it be true? Was someone actually willing to make that ultimate sacrifice of love and give us the opportunity, privilege and responsibility to rear her baby? We were on cloud nine. I was trying to be cautiously optimistic, but I admit that I was getting more and more excited by the day. Then on September 21st, I received the call from our adoption attorney. Our birthmom had had complications. Our baby was stillborn. She told that it was a girl. Later when I spoke to the birthmom she told me that she named the girl Angel. We wept. We ached. Friends consoled, people prayed, but the loss was still overwhelming. She was never a part of my body, but my heart already loved her.
I never knew that losing a baby would hurt this much.
On September 29th, our attorney called and asked if we would be willing to have our profile shown again. They had another birthmom and she was due in just about a month. We decided to have them show our profile. I thanked God at the time knowing that even if she didn't choose us, the HOPE that there could be another baby was very encouraging when before that call I really just wanted to lie in bed for 2 weeks and cry it out. She picked us. We had hope that we would have a baby of our own in just about a month. I was pessimistic. I was prepared that something would go wrong. I was nervous when we met her because I was sure she wouldn't like me. I was sure she would change her mind. She didn't. On October 17th, we got the phone call that she went to the hospital (10 days earlier than the scheduled C-section).
I never knew that the anticipation could be so intense and the waiting so nerve-wracking.
The birthmom's mother called Mike. She said "you have a beautiful baby boy." I cried. A lot. We told our family and friends. We named him Jonathan David. 48 hours began. They let us see him when he was just two hours old. He was tiny. We couldn't hold him since he was under the warmer. I rubbed him lightly with my finger. I cried. Again. We prayed that she wouldn't change her mind. We spent Saturday taking care of him in the nursery of the hospital and Sunday praying that he would truly be ours.I never knew that he would instantly change our lives forever.We took him home. We survived the middle-of-the-night feedings, the gag me 50 wipes needed gross diapers and the adjustments of being new parents. He ate, he slept, he filled his diapers. We took pictures upon pictures.
I never knew that I would love Mike even more once I saw him in the role of Daddy.
He grew. Little by little our baby was becoming a little boy. He started looking around intentionally. Then one day, he smiled. And again, and again and again he smiled. Now he giggles. He sees his Daddy and sometimes explodes in giggles.
I never knew the smile of my little one would light up my whole world and make even a bad day good.
As I sat in church this Mother's Day, I relished in the fact that I am now a Mommy. But as I sat there I began thinking of others. Having walked the road before, I prayed for any in that service who might be feeling as I did last year. I thought of a few friends who would have a rough day today and prayed for them. I thanked God for the gift of Jonathan David. I prayed that nothing will get in the way of the finalization that is scheduled for 16 days from today. I praise God for what He has done in and through us this past year. I praise Him for providing for us so we could pay adoption fees and I know that He will continue to provide for us until the day it is paid off. I thank God for friends who have been there and have been an amazing source of encouragement over the past few years.
I never knew that being a Mommy would be one of the best things in the world to happen to me.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Sad Day
Monday, April 20, 2009
Jonathan's Finalization Hearing
I just saw the paralegal who is working on our case. We had to return to them a bunch of paperwork that we needed to have corrected so they could fix it and then we can go get it notarized. Among the errors we corrected were my age, the spelling of our last name, the city he was born in, the hospital he was born in, the date he was born and the date we brought him home. Seriously, they were having some issues when they typed up that one! As I was giving her the forms to fix, she emphasized that when we receive the corrected ones we need to get them back right away because she already scheduled the finalization and technically she isn't supposed to do that until the papers were signed.
Imagine long quiet pause. Then I clarified, "So you already scheduled the finalization?" She told me yes. I asked if we could know the date. So then she had to go back to her computer and shift through everything to find it for me. Now wouldn't you imagine that when you have news this big you would tell right away? I would say I was amazed that they hadn't called us as soon as it was scheduled, but...I'm not amazed. Let's just say that after the finalization, we will be celebrating not only having Jonathan, but also being done with that adoption attorney forever. So anyway...
Drumroll please... Jonathan's finalization hearing in which everything is official and unchangeable will be held on May 26th at 11:15 a.m. in Tampa, Florida. Until that date, we will continue to pray that God prevents any circumstance that would hinder or delay the finalization. We have been blessed to have this precious little man and cannot wait for the day when he is officially ours and no human being can take him away from us.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Our Total Money Makeover
A few members of our family have recently started reading and following the Dave Ramsey book, Total Money Makeover. They found some success and suggested we go borrow the book from the library.
I like to think that I have a fairly good financial brain due to great teaching and leading by my mother as well as a great class in college by Mrs. Janke. Thankfully, Mike and I grew up in the same type of environment, so we have been likeminded on financial issues (which I know is a huge blessing). However, this book was kind of an eye-opener to me. We've lived on a budget before. We do work to keep our expenses down. Still the book and principles therein have really been a source of inspiration to us.
His entire theme (in fact it is watermarked on the bottom of every page of the book) is "Live like no one else so that one day you can live like no one else." He does also point out that it gives you the freedom to give, which should be a goal. His point is that you should count pennies, save in every area and work to accomplish a series of baby steps. You start with building a $1000 emergency fund. The goal is never to borrow on credit again, so the emergency fund is there so that when Murphy's Law comes along, you don't have to use a credit card to deal with it.
Once done with that baby step, you work to pay off all debt other than your mortgage and home equity line if it is more than half of your annual salary.
I get fuzzy on the next because we aren't done with the first two yet, but they include setting aside for retirement, college fund, paying off the mortgage and etc. There is also so much more, but you have to read the book to get the full effect and to avoid my misquoting anything.
Anyway, how this has helped us:
1. We have a goal. We have a plan. We are working on it together, so it becomes a bonding thing. We rejoice together over the slightest victory.
2. We are officially on a tight budget and watching where every penny goes right now. Little things that add up normally are not adding up because we are working to avoid them. It is exciting to see the potential to scrimp and make progress towards our baby step. One of our decisions was to ditch the cable television and save that money each month. That will save us time and money, so we are happy about that.
3. One of his statements was to sell things you have now that you don't really need, in an effort to get your debt paid off and not have that burden. He said you should be so aggressive about it that your kids start to wonder if they are going next. In that light, we've been putting stuff on Craigslist and Ebay and Amazon as well as planning a garage sale soon. We are using that money first to pay for our vacation and if there is any left over, to apply it to our debt. It is actually fun and exciting to get rid of stuff and see how it adds up quickly towards your goal.
4. We are using his envelope system successfully. I can testify that it is true that if you are scrimping and saving and then pay for your groceries in cash, you pay much more attention to what you are getting and the value thereof than you do when you put it on a credit or debit card. We set our grocery budget for the month. After receiving Mike's check, we took that amount out in cash and once that money is gone, we will have fun eating out of the pantry until his next check when we can re-fund the envelope.
I'm sure there will be many more posts regarding this in the future, but I hope it is an inspiration to you that if you need some guidance about money, or even if you think you don't, it is a good book to read.
Moving On
Monday, April 06, 2009
Reasons for the Change
1. Jonathan's Adoption. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I didn't like the fact that at one point you could put all three of our first names into a search engine and up would pop our blog, which just happened to have our last name. One more quick search and you could have our address. Once I realized that, I kept envisioning walking outside the house to find Jonathan's birth dad there to take him away. So...I was wanting a URL that didn't include our last name and that's why I'm asking that you not put our last name on your blog connected to this link. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
2. A bitter anti-adoption blogger ran across our blog back just before Jonathan was born and has sent us several messages as well as written several rude posts about us on her blog, stating that we stole another woman's baby, that whenever Jonathan cries it is because he is crying for his real mom and etc. Frankly, she has gotten my blood pressure up one too many times and the last one chose to link us on her post so that all of her other adoption hating friends could find our blog and share their own great comments. She also made the statement "hey, adopted kids are replaceable, right?" in relation to the pictures of Jonathan in his Bumbo. That one really sent me over the edge. And for the record, he is only in that on the counter when we are there next to him. He also does not yet have the strength to jump out of it, but if he did, again, we are there. She doesn't know us. She hasn't seen how we care for him and yet she has chosen to judge us. So, we decided to make the change to avoid more of all of that mess.
Thanks for your understanding and patience with our switch.
Oh yeah, one more thing. If you have a blog and don't see your blog listed on the right hand side under our friends, will you make sure to leave a comment so that I can link to your blog again? When we changed the URL it got rid of all my links to friends. Thanks!
Friday, April 03, 2009
Jehovah Jireh - God Does Provide
1. Mike and I are trying to save to be able to go on vacation this summer up in Michigan with my family. The cost includes airfare as well as cabin rental. With things being tight everywhere in the economy, as well as having some recent hurdles pop up in front of us, we can't plan on money from regular income to do this. We considered not going this year, but really feel it is an important family time and we don't want to miss it. So, we've been praying that God will allow us to have extra income to cover that. We listed a bunch of stuff on Craiglist that we don't actually need. I've put a bunch of CVS & Walgreens freebies (things that I've gotten free or made money to take off their hands using coupons and etc) up on Amazon. We are planning that any extra hours that I end up working for my sister to put towards it as well since that is not normally planned into our budget. Well, in just the last three days, I've sold over 10 items on Amazon and some of them have been things that have been sitting there for months. WHOHOO! Praise the Lord for the extra provision towards this goal. It gives me hope that we can make it...He will provide.
2. Okay, you are probably going to find this ridiculous, but here goes. I LOVE using Skintimate shaving cream when shaving my legs because it feels better than soap, smells better than soap and works better than soap. I don't know why this little thing brings me so much pleasure, but it does. I HATE buying it when I know I could use soap that will last much longer for much cheaper. So, I haven't had any in several years. Well, you can imagine my delight when Money Saving Mom's website said that you could get it free after register rewards this week. WHOHOO WHOHOO!!! It wasn't advertised in my paper, so I was kind of nervous going through the first time. I paid for the purchase using my Walgreens gift card, so no money out of pocket. At the end, out popped $3.00 towards my next Walgreens purchase, making it free! WHOHOO. Two more times this week, I've been able to snag a bottle, so now I have one in my shower and two in reserve. Seriously, I cannot tell you how excited this makes me. So this week, I am also seeing Jehovah Jireh in a Walgreens deal that totally makes my week and gives me a joyful spirit. :)
Sunday, March 15, 2009
You Have to Love It When
Instead, I was able to bring home this: