I just need to share that this week I have watched two adoptive mamma's take one more step towards bringing their children home through International adoption and I could not be happier for them and for their children.
There is a lot of talk and discussion going on right now regarding adoption ethics and how we can care for the orphan outside of adoption because adoption is not the only way to do this. Many children are unadoptable and many children still have family that could care for them given a better set of circumstances. I am ALL FOR THIS but I also can't help but take a moment to step away from that messy conversation and focus on the real life joining of children with their families. Every child deserves to go to bed with a story, a kiss goodnight, fuzzy blankets and nightlights :)
Congratulations to these two mamma's.
Alison - just got their referral for their sweet girl after 3 years! There have been many prayers said for this sweet family and their little girl and I cannot wait to watch this last leg of the journey home unfold for them.
Andrea - is in China RIGHT NOW to bring their sweet son Zeke home.
This is real life people, fighting through the messy and the loss of adoption and finding the joy and the redemption in it. Makes me feel good and gives me hope for our own journey one day.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
The Pug who Dug in the Trash
So this past weekend was a lot of fun and then Monday morning came and it took a turn for the worse for our little pug Ellie Mae. (She is almost 9, I have had her since college, she and I go back before I dated Matt and before I even knew I wanted to be a mom)
She likes to dig in the trash at a certain time of month (I will leave it there, ladies you get my drift) and unfortunately Friday afternoon while we were out of the house for work we came home to signs of multiple bouts of sickness from her. We decided to give it 48 hours in case it was just a bug in her system. Monday morning came around and she looked frail and pale (she's getting gray but she was white and her skin in her ears was white) we knew it was bad so I took her to the Emergency Vet, I usually try and stay away because they have to mark up their prices so much.
She had blood work and x-rays to identify what the problem was although I was pretty sure I knew by that time. She stayed there and had surgery, I'm glad we decided to do it then because it was a lot more extensive then they though having to go into the stomach and into the intestine. I thought I would get to pick her up and bring her home Tuesday morning but they made me take her to our regular vet for fluids and observation. She was so sad when I picked her up that morning, it was breaking my heart I just wanted to stay home from work and hope the vet let me stay in the back with her.
She got to come home Tuesday night and although she's still kind of slow, she's on a special diet for a week and multiple meds a day she seemed much more herself. She even went straight for the highchair to see if there were crumbs underneath. It's going to be hard to keep her on her special diet.
We have always said our dogs are just that...dogs and in the end we would not dump money into a chronic illness especially now that we have children but luckily this was a one time deal (I went out and bough trash cans with lids) and now she will have a chance to heal and give us a few more obnoxious and love filled years.
Oh the joys of dog ownership.
She likes to dig in the trash at a certain time of month (I will leave it there, ladies you get my drift) and unfortunately Friday afternoon while we were out of the house for work we came home to signs of multiple bouts of sickness from her. We decided to give it 48 hours in case it was just a bug in her system. Monday morning came around and she looked frail and pale (she's getting gray but she was white and her skin in her ears was white) we knew it was bad so I took her to the Emergency Vet, I usually try and stay away because they have to mark up their prices so much.
She had blood work and x-rays to identify what the problem was although I was pretty sure I knew by that time. She stayed there and had surgery, I'm glad we decided to do it then because it was a lot more extensive then they though having to go into the stomach and into the intestine. I thought I would get to pick her up and bring her home Tuesday morning but they made me take her to our regular vet for fluids and observation. She was so sad when I picked her up that morning, it was breaking my heart I just wanted to stay home from work and hope the vet let me stay in the back with her.
She got to come home Tuesday night and although she's still kind of slow, she's on a special diet for a week and multiple meds a day she seemed much more herself. She even went straight for the highchair to see if there were crumbs underneath. It's going to be hard to keep her on her special diet.
We have always said our dogs are just that...dogs and in the end we would not dump money into a chronic illness especially now that we have children but luckily this was a one time deal (I went out and bough trash cans with lids) and now she will have a chance to heal and give us a few more obnoxious and love filled years.
Oh the joys of dog ownership.
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| home and resting finally |
Friday, May 24, 2013
InstaFriday
I haven't taken part in an InstaFriday in a long time and have some sweet gems off my instagram feed to share with you all today!
Happy Friday and loooong weekend. It is a fun one here in Indy with the Indy 500 on Sunday, I love the race and can't wait to spend the day out at the Speedway with my in-laws. We are also heading to Cincinnati for the Cubs v. Reds game, gooo Cubbies!!
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| my heart this boy is so stinkin cute and full of joy! (this was after sitting through almost 2 hours of a graduation mass and ceremony!) |
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| The new anthro mug my sister got me for Mothers Day and the amazing windows in our new kitchen |
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| First trip to the zoo for the season and the photographer taught her to give the peace sign while taking pictures |
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| Said goodbye to our first home |
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| My cute kiddos happy playing on the kitchen floor |
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| a glimpse into our home {our entryway} |
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| my beautiful "little cleo" at her dance pictures |
Happy Friday and loooong weekend. It is a fun one here in Indy with the Indy 500 on Sunday, I love the race and can't wait to spend the day out at the Speedway with my in-laws. We are also heading to Cincinnati for the Cubs v. Reds game, gooo Cubbies!!
Monday, May 20, 2013
That time we moved...
So, it's been a crazy couple months in our world. As you know we recently moved into a new home, it's beautiful, it's big enough for all of us and our family and friends to come visit. We decided to make that jump without selling our other home first, my brother moved in and was ready to settle in for a few months while our home inevitably sat on the market for months like every other house in our neighborhood.
Fast Forward to the week before our house was supposed to be listed (about 3 weeks after we moved into our new house), our realtor says he thinks he has a buyer for our house. We hand over the key for the lock box and sign all our papers in case the buyer falls through and our house goes on the market that Friday. The day we are supposed to list our house the day after the showing we didn't hear anything and by the time I got home I figured our realtor went and put a sign up in our yard and the buyer fell through.
We went to pick up a table that evening off craigslist and on the way there I receive an email with the offer on our house. A pretty decent offer considering the comps from our neighborhood. We counter back with what we wanted to get out of the house (this was on a Friday so we had to wait until Monday to hear back) Monday we hear back they accepted!!
Then starts the stressful whirlwind of inspection, hiring a contractor and fixing the annoying little problems that come with having original everything in a 22 year old house - everything is discontinued and we can't find parts anywhere. It drove us nuts and stressed us out that we came this far and now we can't fix a toilet tank lid and two faucet handle covers (which were like that when we moved in and we survived just fine)
In the end it was all complete, Matt and I high fived in the driveway of our first home, I got a little teary eyed on the drive back and thanked God for continuously opening doors for this to happen so quickly. It truly was a gift from him that this all worked out that we only had 1 month of double house payments and 1 month of cutting two lawns and cleaning two houses. It was enough time to realize we had bit off way more than we could chew in trying to list one and live in another BUT God knew it would be too much and he took care of it. He provided and all we had to do was believe and keep walking through those doors.
Fast Forward to the week before our house was supposed to be listed (about 3 weeks after we moved into our new house), our realtor says he thinks he has a buyer for our house. We hand over the key for the lock box and sign all our papers in case the buyer falls through and our house goes on the market that Friday. The day we are supposed to list our house the day after the showing we didn't hear anything and by the time I got home I figured our realtor went and put a sign up in our yard and the buyer fell through.
We went to pick up a table that evening off craigslist and on the way there I receive an email with the offer on our house. A pretty decent offer considering the comps from our neighborhood. We counter back with what we wanted to get out of the house (this was on a Friday so we had to wait until Monday to hear back) Monday we hear back they accepted!!
Then starts the stressful whirlwind of inspection, hiring a contractor and fixing the annoying little problems that come with having original everything in a 22 year old house - everything is discontinued and we can't find parts anywhere. It drove us nuts and stressed us out that we came this far and now we can't fix a toilet tank lid and two faucet handle covers (which were like that when we moved in and we survived just fine)
In the end it was all complete, Matt and I high fived in the driveway of our first home, I got a little teary eyed on the drive back and thanked God for continuously opening doors for this to happen so quickly. It truly was a gift from him that this all worked out that we only had 1 month of double house payments and 1 month of cutting two lawns and cleaning two houses. It was enough time to realize we had bit off way more than we could chew in trying to list one and live in another BUT God knew it would be too much and he took care of it. He provided and all we had to do was believe and keep walking through those doors.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
She turned 3, we had a party, you won't find it on pinterest
So our baby girl just turned 3 years old, where has time gone why do I feel like my baby will soon be leaving me although I know she is far from it, milestones have a way of sneaking up on you and throwing you off balance.
We had a get together with family for pizza, ice cream and cupcakes on her actual birthday a Friday night after a long work week. Our girl is a ham when it's a small group of her people, people she sees all the time and loves and is comfortable with. Having a bunch of our friends over that she only sees once every month or so was not going to be her thing. We kept it close and comfortable.
We had papa johns pizza, coolers of beer for the adults who put up with her 3 year old antics and just fought through a long work week, we had lemonade for the kids, veggies, spinach artichoke dip (thanks to my amazing sister) and cupcakes and ice cream (cupcakes compliments of my very talented cousin)
We used leftover decorations from the last two birthday parties and I picked up a couple balloons on my way home, because I'm pretty certain every birthday needs balloons!
You won't find her birthday party on pinterest but it felt kind of good to just soak up her and her big day without worrying about all the small details this time. She had a blast and that's all that matters.
My girl is 3 and she is magnificent!!
We had a get together with family for pizza, ice cream and cupcakes on her actual birthday a Friday night after a long work week. Our girl is a ham when it's a small group of her people, people she sees all the time and loves and is comfortable with. Having a bunch of our friends over that she only sees once every month or so was not going to be her thing. We kept it close and comfortable.
We had papa johns pizza, coolers of beer for the adults who put up with her 3 year old antics and just fought through a long work week, we had lemonade for the kids, veggies, spinach artichoke dip (thanks to my amazing sister) and cupcakes and ice cream (cupcakes compliments of my very talented cousin)
You won't find her birthday party on pinterest but it felt kind of good to just soak up her and her big day without worrying about all the small details this time. She had a blast and that's all that matters.
My girl is 3 and she is magnificent!!
Monday, May 13, 2013
9 Months
Garrett,
My sweet 9 month old, you are something else. You are so smiley and snuggly and wiggly and fussy and cute and hungry and frusturated and lovely lovely little boy.
You will be a lot more happy once these 3 teeth come in, yes three teeth at one time is causing much fussiness in our house but they have cut the skin and just need to move their way down now. It will make it easier to eat all the yummy big kid food you seem to like so much. You eat pretty much anything I put in front of you: avacados, bananas, blueberries, strawberries, green beans, sweet potatoes, scrambeled eggs, mashed potatoes, yogurt, mac and cheese, cheese quesadilla and your yummy puffs.
You are still not officially crawling although I'm pretty sure you are in fact moving somehow just very slowly because all of a sudden you've moved the 3 feet to the couch or the door and trying to pull yourself up. You can get yourself up on your knees and with help can stand for a long period of time. I think you don't like the idea of crawling you would rather work on your walking skills and get to work that way.
You now roll all over your bed at night and I walk in to find you pulling down your bumper and peaking at me with that big smile of yours. Or my favorite if you are still sleeping in the morning when I come in to get you ready for the day and you on your tummy with your little diaper butt in the air. You are officially in 12 month clothes and I'm loving the little cargo shorts and t-shirts for summer.
You actually really love playing on the kitchen floor while I clean up from meals, you like to chew on a spatula or scoot around on the floor because it's easy to slide around.
You have curls, beautiful sweet blonde curls that come out when it's humid and they are so lovely. You smile and everyone in the room watches you because it's the most joyful expression I have ever witnessed. I love that smile especially when it's aimed my way or your sisters way because seeing you two interact makes my mamma heart soar!!
You are in 12 month clothes, size 4 diapers and kids hats!
You sweet boy are so special and have taught me so much by being my son. I only hope you can continue to learn and discover and feel safe and loved every day.
Love you sweet boy, feel free to stop growing whenever you feel like it. I will miss your baby goodness when it's gone and want to hold on and soak it up as long as I can.
Love you sooooooooooooooooooooo much,
Mommy
My sweet 9 month old, you are something else. You are so smiley and snuggly and wiggly and fussy and cute and hungry and frusturated and lovely lovely little boy.
You will be a lot more happy once these 3 teeth come in, yes three teeth at one time is causing much fussiness in our house but they have cut the skin and just need to move their way down now. It will make it easier to eat all the yummy big kid food you seem to like so much. You eat pretty much anything I put in front of you: avacados, bananas, blueberries, strawberries, green beans, sweet potatoes, scrambeled eggs, mashed potatoes, yogurt, mac and cheese, cheese quesadilla and your yummy puffs.
You are still not officially crawling although I'm pretty sure you are in fact moving somehow just very slowly because all of a sudden you've moved the 3 feet to the couch or the door and trying to pull yourself up. You can get yourself up on your knees and with help can stand for a long period of time. I think you don't like the idea of crawling you would rather work on your walking skills and get to work that way.
You now roll all over your bed at night and I walk in to find you pulling down your bumper and peaking at me with that big smile of yours. Or my favorite if you are still sleeping in the morning when I come in to get you ready for the day and you on your tummy with your little diaper butt in the air. You are officially in 12 month clothes and I'm loving the little cargo shorts and t-shirts for summer.
You actually really love playing on the kitchen floor while I clean up from meals, you like to chew on a spatula or scoot around on the floor because it's easy to slide around.
You have curls, beautiful sweet blonde curls that come out when it's humid and they are so lovely. You smile and everyone in the room watches you because it's the most joyful expression I have ever witnessed. I love that smile especially when it's aimed my way or your sisters way because seeing you two interact makes my mamma heart soar!!
You are in 12 month clothes, size 4 diapers and kids hats!
21 lbs 6 oz
28 in.
You sweet boy are so special and have taught me so much by being my son. I only hope you can continue to learn and discover and feel safe and loved every day.
Love you sweet boy, feel free to stop growing whenever you feel like it. I will miss your baby goodness when it's gone and want to hold on and soak it up as long as I can.
Love you sooooooooooooooooooooo much,
Mommy
Friday, May 3, 2013
3 Years
Lydia Rose,
Today you are 3 years old. I cannot believe that you sweet girl who made me a mommy are now a Big Sister and a 3 year old. I still remember the exciting and exhausting day that I spent trying to get you into this world. I remember the struggle after and the heartache as I healed a part from you and left you in the care of your grandma's and aunt Laura. The pain is a little fuzzy but the emotion is still clear as day. I don't think as a mom you ever forget the feeling of those first moments and days with your baby. I was just so in awe of you and still am to this day.
My sweet girl you are so smart, so beautiful, so funny and so loving. (mix in some stubborn and feisty in there while we are at it) You speak so well and amaze me everyday by the conversations we have. You can count, you know your colors, you know a lot of your letters, you can put your shoes on the right feet, you read us books and you are learning more and more everyday. You love to sing songs, especially the Veggie Tales theme song, John Jacob Jingleheimershcmidt, Wheels on the Bus, and some Lady A "Downtown". You love icees, anything sweet, apples, pizza, spaghetti, and nuggets; you are still my picky eater. You love going to Mexico City Grill and having our Friday dinners with our family. You can navigate a kindle and an iphone like nobody's business.
You are becoming the good big sister I knew you would be, you check on Garrett if he is fussy or crying to help him sit back up or give him more puffs, you are one of his biggest cheerleaders putting something just out of reach and encouraging him to crawl for it. You don't like it when we leave him behind because you want it to be all 4 of us.
You are doing so well in your dance class and cannot wait to dance in your recital at the big school on the big stage.You are so brave and continue to conquere your nerves and fears. I love the way you look to me after you are done to see if I am proud and sweet girl I will always be proud of you!
This past year you moved out of the only home you have ever known and moved into your new house and have done so well. We keep your sleeping bag close by in our room in case you come in in the middle of the night. You are always putting two and two together and never forget a thing. You have such a memory and we can't ever hope that you will forget anything...so we better not let anything slip.
Lydia Rose I love your spirit, I love your everyday antics and the hugs you give me on a daily basis. I love that you help me put on my makeup in the morning, I love that you whisper "I love you mom" when you see me walk by your bedroom and you aren't asleep yet, I love when you can't sleep so you sing your songs, I love that you love having me paint your nails while wearing your ball cap.
I could keep going and going because I don't want to forget a thing but I'll wrap it up...
You my sweet girl are everything I never knew I wanted or needed in my life. You are an answer to a prayer that I never knew I prayed, you are a gift and a treasure, I hope you feel loved everyday of your life.
Love you more and more with every passing day,
Your mommy
Today you are 3 years old. I cannot believe that you sweet girl who made me a mommy are now a Big Sister and a 3 year old. I still remember the exciting and exhausting day that I spent trying to get you into this world. I remember the struggle after and the heartache as I healed a part from you and left you in the care of your grandma's and aunt Laura. The pain is a little fuzzy but the emotion is still clear as day. I don't think as a mom you ever forget the feeling of those first moments and days with your baby. I was just so in awe of you and still am to this day.
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| squishy newborn in the hospital |
My sweet girl you are so smart, so beautiful, so funny and so loving. (mix in some stubborn and feisty in there while we are at it) You speak so well and amaze me everyday by the conversations we have. You can count, you know your colors, you know a lot of your letters, you can put your shoes on the right feet, you read us books and you are learning more and more everyday. You love to sing songs, especially the Veggie Tales theme song, John Jacob Jingleheimershcmidt, Wheels on the Bus, and some Lady A "Downtown". You love icees, anything sweet, apples, pizza, spaghetti, and nuggets; you are still my picky eater. You love going to Mexico City Grill and having our Friday dinners with our family. You can navigate a kindle and an iphone like nobody's business.
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| 6 months old |
You are becoming the good big sister I knew you would be, you check on Garrett if he is fussy or crying to help him sit back up or give him more puffs, you are one of his biggest cheerleaders putting something just out of reach and encouraging him to crawl for it. You don't like it when we leave him behind because you want it to be all 4 of us.
You are doing so well in your dance class and cannot wait to dance in your recital at the big school on the big stage.You are so brave and continue to conquere your nerves and fears. I love the way you look to me after you are done to see if I am proud and sweet girl I will always be proud of you!
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| 1 year old |
This past year you moved out of the only home you have ever known and moved into your new house and have done so well. We keep your sleeping bag close by in our room in case you come in in the middle of the night. You are always putting two and two together and never forget a thing. You have such a memory and we can't ever hope that you will forget anything...so we better not let anything slip.
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| 2nd Bday Party |
Lydia Rose I love your spirit, I love your everyday antics and the hugs you give me on a daily basis. I love that you help me put on my makeup in the morning, I love that you whisper "I love you mom" when you see me walk by your bedroom and you aren't asleep yet, I love when you can't sleep so you sing your songs, I love that you love having me paint your nails while wearing your ball cap.
I could keep going and going because I don't want to forget a thing but I'll wrap it up...
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| 2 1/2 years old |
Love you more and more with every passing day,
Your mommy
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