Christmas 2013

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National Adoption Month

( I stole this graphic from another blog...unfortunately I didn't copy the site...will try to find it...)

Happy National Adoption Month to everyone involved in the adoption triad, including those waiting!!!
Ode to Gracie's birthmom, as well as all the birthmoms out there!  We absolutely LOVE "our" birthmom! She's family to us. We see her as another daughter of ours, though she lives out of state.  We seriously wish she lived closer.  If it weren't for her, we wouldn't have our precious blessing of a second miracle.  Thanks to her, we do. We are ever so grateful.
To Gracie's BM-- Thank you for trusting us to love her forever.  Thank you for giving us this precious gift of a lifetime with such a precious soul.  Thank you for coming into our lives and blessing us with YOU.  Our lives are much richer and meaningful with you.  We mean that from the bottom of our hearts.  Thank you.  You are a blessing from God.

She's One!

I should have posted this on October 31, 2013.  Unfortunately, life gets in the way, so I'm just now posting...Happy Birthday, Gracie!  A year ago, we were sitting in a PA hospital anxiously yet prayerfully awaiting your arrival.  Soooo many emotions that day!  I remember it snowing lightly as we made our way there from VA.  The snow stopped while BM was in labor.  Then while she was in the ER prepping for C-section surgery, the snow lightly started falling again.  You are our fall/ "winter weather" baby!
I love seeing our girls together everyday.  Our oldest daughter seriously thinks Gracie was created for her.  She hasn't been jealous once.  (There have been other "acting out" behaviors for DH and my benefit, but never jealousy or any wrong kind of behavior with her sister....That's okay.  We can handle it.  ;-)  ).

"Real Mom"

What does that mean?  Does that mean she's "real" because she birthed my baby?  I'm fake because I didn't?  I do parent the baby, but I'm not real?

I never thought about adoption language before going through the adoption process.  Even when we took our education class on adoption and we were discussing negative adoption language, I never "thought it would happen to me."  That people would just understand.  But they don't.  They are ignorant.  It's not their fault, but they are just not educated on adoption or the language to use.

However, I can't help myself from thinking.."Really?  The "real" mom?  That just doesn't even sound right!"  I mean, did you listen to yourself before commenting?

I know if I were to have a conversation with Gracie's birthmom about this, she would absolutely agree with the fact that I am her Mom.  100%.  Does that take away from the fact that she unselfishly carried our daughter for 9 months and trusted us to parent her for the rest of her life?  Absolutely not!  We have the utmost respect and love for Gracie's birthmom.  Without a doubt.  She is family.  All it means is that we are both "real" moms.  The only difference is that one "real" mom gave birth to her and one "real" mom is parenting.  And they are both wonderful roles.

Pumpkin Patch 2013

We had our annual visit to the pumpkin patch!  It was Gracie's first time.  We had a great time picking out pumpkins and enjoying as a family.

I love my sweet girls.  I love being able to dress them alike on occasions like these.  It's the best!

These Shoes Were Made for WALKING!

Well, she didn't keep us guessing too long after those first tentative steps.  Here are some pics of Pop Pop and YaYa buying Gracie's first pair of shoes (a tradition for all of their grandchildren) and spending some quality Pop Pop and YaYa time in their garden and backyard.

Picking tomatoes with YaYa

It's Hard to Believe

It's hard to believe that a year ago, September 2012, we had no idea that our sweet daughter was on her way to us, that just a few short weeks later, our next miracle would be born.
A year ago we had no idea that at this time the following year, we would have a healthy, happy, thriving 10 month old joy of a baby girl who loves to eat, crawl like crazy, and is SO close to walking, you just can't blink every day for fear of missing it.  A baby with 8 teeth, 4 top and 4 bottom, who has taken 3 tentative steps and wants to keep us all guessing.  A sweet gift from God that loves to be held, even in the wee hours of the morning (!!!), and loves to hold her pink kitty cat lovey close when she's dreaming.  Sweet girl.

It's hard to believe that a year ago, we were thinking that it would be so wonderful to have another bundle of joy to love, but that we were okay with being a family of 3 if that is what was meant to be. 
Now? We can't imagine our lives without her.  All 21 lbs. 3 oz. of her!  We love every little crawl with her left leg out, willing herself to stand and walk and every blood curdling cry at 4:30 A.M. (!!!) when she can't sleep any longer and just wants to see us and know we are there and she is safe.  We know that this time shall pass all too soon and that eventually she will sleep soundly through the night without any reassurances or binky retrieving.  And then when we finally realize that time has passed, we will wonder where the time went.  So we are enjoying!  Every moment and every stage.  And it's wonderful!

Finalization!

The day finally came for Gracie's finalization! 

 July 31, 2013 we became a forever family.  One of the best days of our lives.  Without a doubt.

Standing with the attorney and two social workers

Standing with my parents and the judge

We Leave Tomorrow!

We leave tomorrow morning for our big trip!  We're going to PA to finalize the adoption for Gracie.  We are extremely excited and can't wait to become a forever family!  (Although we already are in our hearts.)  My parents are traveling to PA as well, so it will be fun to experience this exciting time in our lives with them.  They will go on to vacation in Gettysburg afterwards and we will travel to Delaware and Maryland after the AFTH reunion.  DE to see DH's Grandmom and to MD to see the girls' new cousin, which is DH's sister's 3 month old baby.  Please pray that everything goes smoothly in court and for safe travels.  Oh, and we just received our "Adopted" family t-shirts in the mail that we plan to wear after finalization.  Talk about appropriate timing!  Thank you, Lord!

Finalization is Finally Set

Our date for finalization has finally been set!  Praise God!  We will become a forever family on July 31st at 11:30 in PA!  That date is extra special because it's the 31st...and Gracie was born on the 31st of October, so she will be 9 months old on that very day.  We will also be able to be there for the agency's annual reunion a couple days later and to see Gracie's wonderful BM.  Off to find a cute outfit for my girls and plan our trip!

Another Hoop

Breathe.  Patience.  We have our baby and that's all that matters.  I have to keep reminding myself of those things.  There is yet another hoop to jump through.  Because it's taking so long to finalize, we now have to have another post placement visit because so much time has passed since the last one.  The agency doesn't want it to be a problem in court.  I know they are looking out for us, but that's another $350!  Craziness.  I'm just trying to breathe and trust in God.  He is in control, not I.  I am constantly being reminded of that.  When will I start to listen?

News on Finalization

So...finalization keeps getting pushed back.  It's so frustrating!  Even though it's already finalized in our hearts and minds, there is just something about making it official and having our last name be hers as well on that birth certificate!  First, we were waiting on a court hearing because BF is not responding to anything.  He didn't show up to the hearing, either (surprise, surprise) so they said finalization would be within 30 days, which would have been end of June.  DH just heard from the attorney today and the judge can't fit it into his schedule until either July 17 or 30, not sure which yet.  I know I need to be patient.  It won't help to be angry because we're not in control.  It will happen when it's supposed to happen.  (I just wish it were yesterday.  Or last month.)  Something to look forward to, I guess.....

On a positive note, she's off and moving!  Life will never be the same.  :-)  

Milestones and Mother's Day

Sweet DD has met so many milestones lately.  She is absolutely thriving!  I am loving every second.  I also can't believe she is 6 months old!  Half a year has gone by...unbelievable!  In another short 6 months we will be celebrating her first birthday!  Wow.  And with 6 months comes new milestones....

6 month old cutie

Playing in her exersaucer 

 Sitting up!!!

She's so adorable, she takes my breath away.

 Mother's Day is bittersweet for many reasons...those who have lost their Moms, including my parents with my Grannie and MeMe, but also for those who's dreams of becoming Moms hasn't yet or did not come true.  This is, however, the year my wish came true.  This was the first Mother's Day I celebrated as a Mom of two.  I am so blessed and thankful for that, yet still mourn for those who don't have.  My heart aches for them.  That being said, although I am truly thankful and am in the place I've wanted to be for so long and I love my own Mom/best friend dearly, Mother's Day will still always be bittersweet.

On another note...it's May, the weather is starting to warm, and I am looking forward to spending the summer with my girls!

Beautiful Testimony and Adoption Story

Community Testimony: Johanna Price | Bloom

I just wanted to share the testimony after reading it this morning in She Reads Truth, the online tool I use for devotions.  It's a beautiful testimony and adoption story.  Although our stories are not the same, our hearts are.  Enjoy.

My Easter Girls

DD#1 loves to wear matching outfits with her baby sister...so I'm going along with it for as long as they will let me.

Almost a week late, but Happy Easter/ Resurrection Day from my sweet girls!

First St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Just wanted to post a cute pic of the girls on DD#2's first  St. Patrick's Day.

Shamrock girls

(Hopefully) the last paperwork was turned in for finalization.  We had to do our fingerprints again because PA will only accept it within the past year and since the last prints we did were in 2011, we had to do them again.  We submitted our paperwork, last post placement meeting is done, now we are just waiting on a finalization date.  The attorney said it's looking like June... Can't wait!

One More Hoop

Our third and final post placement meeting took place on Monday.  The only thing left was contacting the attorney in PA to make plans for finalization.  DH called and it looks like we will be ready for finalization by mid to late June.  We thought it would be April, but the attorney explained that he needs to submit everything to the courts and they are at the mercy of the court system, so the earliest time would be April.  By the way, the attorney we are working with is an adoptive father himself, so not only are his prices cheaper than all the others the agency deals with, but he gets it...so he's not going to pull our legs or make us wait longer than anticipated if it's not necessary.
Also, we heard from our SW today that we have to not only do a PA clearance but also redo our VA clearance (fingerprints and such) because PA requires it to be less than a year, even though VA's requirements are every 3 years.  That really sucks, for lack of a better word....but, it could be worse, so what option do we have but to do it?!  It is what it is.  We hope we can get it taken care of ASAP and it won't effect the finalization that will (hopefully) happen in June.

Special Baptism

DD was baptized Sunday, February 17th. It was a special day for obvious reasons, but also because snow had settled to the ground from the night before and we also saw some flurries Sunday morning. This is special to us because it was snowing lightly the day DD was born. It was as if God was sending his "shower" of blessings upon DD.

Gracie smiling up at Pastor Rob after being baptized

DD's big sister had the special job of holding the towel for her baby sister and drying off her head after the baptism.  She did such a great job!  After the service, the family came back to our house to celebrate with a brunch.  Praise the Lord for this beautiful baptismal service and for a welcoming, supportive church to it's newest and youngest member.

Two Down, One to Go

After placement, our agency requires three post-placement visits.  One in the home with everyone present and the other two meetings only require one parent with DD.  This is perfect because as I have had to return back to work, DH was able to take DD with him to the second meeting.
The meetings just consist of questions asking us how DD is adjusting to our family.  How much she is taking in at every feeding, what her sleeping pattern is like, her milestones, etc.  We have a wonderful social worker and everything has gone smoothly.  We have one more visit to go and then hopefully they will give us a date for finalization.  Initially, they said finalization would happen in 6-8 months, so that means we have 4-6 months to go.  Even though DD is ours now, we will be so happy for the day that she is ours legally.  The day she can take on our last name and have our names on her birth certificate as her parents.
DD's BM and I still text a lot and I love it.  I love that we can communicate whenever we want to.  I love that in a few minute's time, we can hear from each other.  She is family to us and always will be.  I wouldn't want it any other way.  Some people think that is strange or weird, but a lot of people surprise me with how open they are to open adoption, even if they don't have any experience with it.  I am so thankful for my family and friends who have all been so supportive.  I appreciate the fact that they want to be educated and learn more about it.