Today is our 8th Wedding Anniversary! If you would have asked me where we would be in 8 years on our wedding day, this is definitely not what I would have said. But somehow I don't believe, if everything I would have said 8 years ago today came true, life would be as meaningful as it is for us today. Our marriage and love for one another is much deeper than where they would be if everything "fell into place" for us. I know Gus loves me. How could I doubt it after everything we have been through?
My present to myself is that I will not look back at my blog from last year. Yes, it is all on my mind, but I'm not going to torture myself today. Here is my prayer instead:
God,
Thank you for blessing me with Gus as my husband for the past 8 years. Thank you for giving me his hand to hold through sickness and surgeries, infertility and adoption, house fires and the loss of loved ones, vacations and new jobs, holidays and every other day. He makes me smile. He makes me laugh. He lets me dream but gives me perspective. He lessens my pain and lightens my load. He loves me for who I am and not who he wants me to be. He is a great Pappy to our fur babies and will make a great Daddy to our future child(ren). I promise to continue to love, encourage and respect him to the best of my abilities for all of the additional (and hopefully many) years you allow us to have together. Amen.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
"Welcome to Walmart!"
Both Gus and I now have part time jobs! I will be working at Walmart in the apparel department, making sure everything look tidy and returns and fitting room rejects are put away, and occasionally put out new stock.
Gus will be a part time janitor at our church. His designated area will be the children's wing.
We both start on Tuesday, the 31st! We better enjoy our weekend, 'cause the craziness is about to begin! ;)
Gus will be a part time janitor at our church. His designated area will be the children's wing.
We both start on Tuesday, the 31st! We better enjoy our weekend, 'cause the craziness is about to begin! ;)
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Training
We headed down to St. Louis on Saturday morning for our full day of adoption training and it was...awesome! There were so many good portions throughout the day. We really enjoyed the video of Karyn Purvis talking about points from her book The Connected Child. We learned so much in the hour video that we have already signed up to go to her conference in September. (And thanks to Focus on the Family, Gus and I will be attending the two day seminar for $25!!! And I finally get to go to Nashville.) Did you know that ALL adopted children go through trauma? Even if you take your adoptive child home from the hospital, all of the time spent in utero with the birth mother while she was stressing about her decision to place the child for adoption is enough trauma to cause issues down the road. I didn't know that. She teaches techniques on how to build a relationship with your child that builds trust instead of just focusing on disciplining the child when behavior becomes an issue.
There were all kinds of panels too, which were awesome. There was an adult adoptee, an adoptive family whose children were in high school and college now, an adoptive family who just adopted this past year, and a birth mother panel. The birth mother panel was by far our favorite part, but they were all really good. And eye OPENING!!! The birth mothers talked about their adoption story, what they liked, what they didn't like, what they wish they had done differently, and we could pretty much ask any questions we wanted. (The asking questions part was true for the whole day, we got a lot of answers, not just for the birth mother panel.) There were so many things that came up that we hadn't even thought of yet.
There was also a whole section devoted to multi cultural and trans racial adoptions. That was very well done and brought forth some points we hadn't examined yet as well. All in all, it was a very good and informative day and I'm so glad they require it. We also got to meet the social worker we will be dealing with, which was really nice.
Gus and I both have interviews later this week for part time jobs. We both feel we need to be doing everything we possibly can if we are going to be asking other people to help us out financially. I'm pretty excited about my opportunity because it would be a lot of extra hours and the discount would be really nice, but I'm just worried that it might be too many extra hours. It would put me at working 70 hours a week total, which would be awesome for our little adoption fund, but I would be scarce from the world and may get burnt out too quickly. Decisions, decisions. Winning the lottery would be a good alternative, but since I never play the lottery, that isn't going to happen. :)
WE HAVE RECEIVED OUR FIRST DONATIONS!!!!! We received a donation through our pay pal account and friends of ours who are moving are selling some of their personal items and they have pledged the profits from one of their items to our fund! So if you know of anyone looking for a vespa scooter, let me know. :) I'm hoping to have our fundraising plan out to family and friends soon so they can decide if they want to help out and in what capacity, if they even can. God is definitely working on our pride in this area. Neither of us have personalities that like to ask for help. We understand that our problems do not belong to anyone else. And we also understand that we can not afford to adopt on our own. I've already gone through hell and back to become a Momma, and I would do anything to hold our baby in my arms. We are willing to make sacrifices and if it means working 70 hours a week and swallowing our pride and asking for help until we meet our goal, then so be it. It will all be worth it when we bring Baby Martin home!
There were all kinds of panels too, which were awesome. There was an adult adoptee, an adoptive family whose children were in high school and college now, an adoptive family who just adopted this past year, and a birth mother panel. The birth mother panel was by far our favorite part, but they were all really good. And eye OPENING!!! The birth mothers talked about their adoption story, what they liked, what they didn't like, what they wish they had done differently, and we could pretty much ask any questions we wanted. (The asking questions part was true for the whole day, we got a lot of answers, not just for the birth mother panel.) There were so many things that came up that we hadn't even thought of yet.
There was also a whole section devoted to multi cultural and trans racial adoptions. That was very well done and brought forth some points we hadn't examined yet as well. All in all, it was a very good and informative day and I'm so glad they require it. We also got to meet the social worker we will be dealing with, which was really nice.
Gus and I both have interviews later this week for part time jobs. We both feel we need to be doing everything we possibly can if we are going to be asking other people to help us out financially. I'm pretty excited about my opportunity because it would be a lot of extra hours and the discount would be really nice, but I'm just worried that it might be too many extra hours. It would put me at working 70 hours a week total, which would be awesome for our little adoption fund, but I would be scarce from the world and may get burnt out too quickly. Decisions, decisions. Winning the lottery would be a good alternative, but since I never play the lottery, that isn't going to happen. :)
WE HAVE RECEIVED OUR FIRST DONATIONS!!!!! We received a donation through our pay pal account and friends of ours who are moving are selling some of their personal items and they have pledged the profits from one of their items to our fund! So if you know of anyone looking for a vespa scooter, let me know. :) I'm hoping to have our fundraising plan out to family and friends soon so they can decide if they want to help out and in what capacity, if they even can. God is definitely working on our pride in this area. Neither of us have personalities that like to ask for help. We understand that our problems do not belong to anyone else. And we also understand that we can not afford to adopt on our own. I've already gone through hell and back to become a Momma, and I would do anything to hold our baby in my arms. We are willing to make sacrifices and if it means working 70 hours a week and swallowing our pride and asking for help until we meet our goal, then so be it. It will all be worth it when we bring Baby Martin home!
Hope in the City!
Thursday, May 12, 2011
"Along the way, Plan B becomes the best plan because it leads you to the children meant for you." ~ Melanie Thernstrom
I was reading our latest issue (okay, so I just subscribed about 2 months ago, but it is my second issue received) of Adoptive Families and I saw the quote above as one of the headers of an article and I couldn't agree more. For us, we are on Plan C. But Plan C is the best plan so far. And we are a third of the way through the steps!
I stopped by the old stomping grounds (IVF Clinic) yesterday to drop off my unused supplies. I figured they could find better uses for unused needles/syringes and progesterone suppositories than I could. It was bitter sweet walking in there. I will miss most of the contacts we have made there. Some of them have become almost like family to us. We saw them on a regular basis and they walked with us during our lowest lows and some of our highest highs. They have touched our lives with their compassion and passion for their jobs.
I survived Mother's Day. I don't really have anything nicer to say about it than that. Let's just say that the ugly jealousy monster is alive and well on this day for myself and others in my shoes. Once again, I found myself saying, "there is always next year." And then I thought back to this time last year. We were getting ready to start our first IVF cycle and I was extremely optimistic that there wouldn't have to be another "there is always next year" muttered. Some day I won't have to mutter this again, but I know there will be someone out there who is and I hope I can be a source of encouragement and strength for her.
As I mentioned above, we are a third of the way through the adoption process! Wow, that was fast! But trust me, the next 6 steps aren't nearly as easy or fast as the first 3 were. Our formal application has been approved and paid for. Next step, not counting the training next Saturday, is the home study.
We are on the lookout for fundraising ideas. So if you are reading this, and you have any, PLEASE let me know what they are. We have some ideas in the works, but we would always entertain more. I will not allow money to stand in my way of me becoming a Mommy. I even applied for a part time job yesterday to help fund our adventure. You have to do what you have to do. :)
I will leave you with another excerpt from a beautiful song that has touched my heart:
And in God's time
You'll finally get the chance to hold your baby girl
And all of the sudden everything will make sense in this crazy world
In God's time
Oh, but no one knows
Not you or me
It might be tomorrow or it might never be
Oh, but don't lose faith
Put it in His hands
'Cause it might be that He might have a bigger plan
Than you had in mind
Miracles happen
In God's time
I stopped by the old stomping grounds (IVF Clinic) yesterday to drop off my unused supplies. I figured they could find better uses for unused needles/syringes and progesterone suppositories than I could. It was bitter sweet walking in there. I will miss most of the contacts we have made there. Some of them have become almost like family to us. We saw them on a regular basis and they walked with us during our lowest lows and some of our highest highs. They have touched our lives with their compassion and passion for their jobs.
I survived Mother's Day. I don't really have anything nicer to say about it than that. Let's just say that the ugly jealousy monster is alive and well on this day for myself and others in my shoes. Once again, I found myself saying, "there is always next year." And then I thought back to this time last year. We were getting ready to start our first IVF cycle and I was extremely optimistic that there wouldn't have to be another "there is always next year" muttered. Some day I won't have to mutter this again, but I know there will be someone out there who is and I hope I can be a source of encouragement and strength for her.
As I mentioned above, we are a third of the way through the adoption process! Wow, that was fast! But trust me, the next 6 steps aren't nearly as easy or fast as the first 3 were. Our formal application has been approved and paid for. Next step, not counting the training next Saturday, is the home study.
We are on the lookout for fundraising ideas. So if you are reading this, and you have any, PLEASE let me know what they are. We have some ideas in the works, but we would always entertain more. I will not allow money to stand in my way of me becoming a Mommy. I even applied for a part time job yesterday to help fund our adventure. You have to do what you have to do. :)
I will leave you with another excerpt from a beautiful song that has touched my heart:
And in God's time
You'll finally get the chance to hold your baby girl
And all of the sudden everything will make sense in this crazy world
In God's time
Oh, but no one knows
Not you or me
It might be tomorrow or it might never be
Oh, but don't lose faith
Put it in His hands
'Cause it might be that He might have a bigger plan
Than you had in mind
Miracles happen
In God's time
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Donations Now Accepted!
We just added a Donation Button on the left hand side of this blog if you are interested in donating to our adoption journey. Thank you sooooooooooo much for your support!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Moving Right Along...For Now
Our adoption process is in motion! Our initial applicaiton has been approved. We just submitted our formal applicaiton, and we are signed up for the educational seminar/training on May 21st in St. Louis. After the training, we will start working on the home study. Which is where the process may slow down a little. I'm sure we will find out more about it on the 21st, but I plan on having to spend some time working on the information that will be requested. Plus, we need our home to be done before we can complete the process obviously, since it is called a home study.
Speaking of our home, the demo/clean up is officially done!!!! And we have passed the rough in electrical inspection. So hopefully, the contractors will get over there and make some progress now. We have new windows in most of the first floor but that is all of the progress that we have seen since the roof and siding were done back in January. We have started doing a little bit of furniture shopping, but I think we are both extremely trigger shy now that we have some major expenses coming our way. And on our latest trip to Lowe's we started picking out some paint colors. No more boring white walls for us!
I've made a decision about school too, and for now, I will not be going through with my plan to work on my Master's degree. Maybe someday it will work into our plans, but for now it is on hold. I just can't add that debt to the debt we will probably be going into for the adoption and feel okay about it. Plus, once our little bundle of joy does arrive, the last thing I will want to do is walk away a couple of evenings a week instead of spending time with him/her. After all we have been through, I just can't imagine missing out on anything. I know I would regret not being there to tuck him/her into bed or listening to Gus read a bedtime story.
Well, that is it for now. Here's hoping we see lots of progress on the house and we keep checking things off of our adoption "to do" list!
Speaking of our home, the demo/clean up is officially done!!!! And we have passed the rough in electrical inspection. So hopefully, the contractors will get over there and make some progress now. We have new windows in most of the first floor but that is all of the progress that we have seen since the roof and siding were done back in January. We have started doing a little bit of furniture shopping, but I think we are both extremely trigger shy now that we have some major expenses coming our way. And on our latest trip to Lowe's we started picking out some paint colors. No more boring white walls for us!
I've made a decision about school too, and for now, I will not be going through with my plan to work on my Master's degree. Maybe someday it will work into our plans, but for now it is on hold. I just can't add that debt to the debt we will probably be going into for the adoption and feel okay about it. Plus, once our little bundle of joy does arrive, the last thing I will want to do is walk away a couple of evenings a week instead of spending time with him/her. After all we have been through, I just can't imagine missing out on anything. I know I would regret not being there to tuck him/her into bed or listening to Gus read a bedtime story.
Well, that is it for now. Here's hoping we see lots of progress on the house and we keep checking things off of our adoption "to do" list!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
