Waking up before the crack of dawn and running 6.2 miles is a funny way to celebrate Halloween. But, that's what we will be doing in a few short hours. We will be running our first ever 10K race tomorrow-the Wicked 10K in Virginia Beach. We have spent the afternoon and evening carbo-loading. Now I'm listening to the waves from our hotel.
We can't stop talking about baby. We talked to baby's birth mother last night. She is doing great. She was so excited to tell us about the ultrasound she had on Thursday. She is about 16 weeks pregnant and she wanted so much to find out for us if the baby is a boy or a girl. In the end, they couldn't be 100% sure. So we will have to wait for that news. In the meantime, she says she and baby are doing just fine. She is sending us the ultrasound pictures.
Thank you for all the well wishes. I'm still having trouble typing without crying!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
This Is It!
It's been a long, hard road. And there have been many tears shed along the way. But we pray now that we will only experience tears of joy.
After all the years of wishing and praying, Hunter and I will no longer only be called husband and wife, son and daughter or aunt and uncle. Hopefully, this spring we will also be called Mom and Dad. We have made a match with a birth mother!
Thank you everyone for your prayers throughout this journey of ours. Looks like we are just getting started. Check back here for more news later. I'm sure at some point I'll be able to type without crying!!
After all the years of wishing and praying, Hunter and I will no longer only be called husband and wife, son and daughter or aunt and uncle. Hopefully, this spring we will also be called Mom and Dad. We have made a match with a birth mother!
Thank you everyone for your prayers throughout this journey of ours. Looks like we are just getting started. Check back here for more news later. I'm sure at some point I'll be able to type without crying!!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
The Year of Giving-update
It appears my well-intentioned year of giving certainly has derailed a bit. Looks like I missed July through September. I have no excuse other than not really applying myself. When I decided to try this back in January, it was my hope I would not only give money to charities, but give of myself. But working a 40 hour week doesn't exactly lend a person much chance to volunteer. I have been asked 2 years in a row to help the YMCA with their back to school program in which they take kids to Wal-Mart shopping for school supplies. Alas, it is always scheduled for the middle of a workday in August. I work for a Heating and A/C company. August in Virginia is very hot and therefore we are very busy. But that's not a good excuse. I need to try harder. There has to be something out there. In the meantime, we're less that 2 months away from Christmas. I got a letter from Toys for Tots recently. So that's my charity for this month. If you would like to make a donation, click on this link to the website.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Be Prepared
A couple of weekends ago we got an adoption lead for a child that was to be born in less than 48 hours. It was a situation, as our attorney explained, that anybody prepared to adopt the child basically needed to get in the car the next day. We talked about it but decided it was not the right situation for us.
The next day I remembered at message board topic from over a year ago. The topic was what prospective adoptive parents should buy and have on hand for when they got "the call". One woman listed all the items she had stored in a diaper bag that would be ready to go at any moment. I actually took the time to type up a list and then promptly forgot about it.
Well, in light of that swift placement, I decided maybe I should be more prepared. So I went to Wal Mart and bought a few things off the list. Nothing extravagant. Some diapers, baby wipes, onesies and receiving blankets. I already had this great bag that I wasn't sure what to use it for. It makes an excellent make-shift diaper bag. I guess I'll keep adding to it. Gives me a little project while we wait for the call. Just another exercise in PMA!
The next day I remembered at message board topic from over a year ago. The topic was what prospective adoptive parents should buy and have on hand for when they got "the call". One woman listed all the items she had stored in a diaper bag that would be ready to go at any moment. I actually took the time to type up a list and then promptly forgot about it.
Well, in light of that swift placement, I decided maybe I should be more prepared. So I went to Wal Mart and bought a few things off the list. Nothing extravagant. Some diapers, baby wipes, onesies and receiving blankets. I already had this great bag that I wasn't sure what to use it for. It makes an excellent make-shift diaper bag. I guess I'll keep adding to it. Gives me a little project while we wait for the call. Just another exercise in PMA!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Modern Life
Last night's episode of "Modern Family" was hilarious. Especially the part about the family with the 3 kids who made a contest out of going cold turkey from any kind of electronic gadgets. You know, like cell phones and texting, IPads, video games, etc. One kid complained to her parents that she wound up with a B instead of an A on her school report because she had to use the family's (somewhat) complete set of encyclopedias instead of the Internet to do her research.
On Facebook, I notice more and more of my friends are posting from their IPhones or Droid phones. They are posting almost every move they make during the day including pictures of funny things that happen, when they actually happen. Frankly, I'm a little jealous. While I am not necessarily technology challenged. I'm definitely travelling in the slow lane. We just got a laptop last year. And my phone doesn't have those qwerty keypads for easy texting, so I have to do it the old fashioned, slow way.
But it is enough for me. We finally got the laptop because we hated not getting emails, etc. when we were on vacation or away from home for the weekend. I was so excited on our vacation in May to be able to post pics from Disney World for family and friends.
Then we decided to get into camping this summer. That's when the laptop really became a superstar for me. I could keep up with emails and Facebook. I could watch DVDs or access my instant queue on Netflix. The possibilities were (almost) endless. On our first trip it helped pass time after dark before bedtime.
But on the second trip, I discovered around dinnertime on the first night that I had forgotten to pack the little connector cable for the MiFi thing we have from Verizon. I really started to freak out. Lord, what would I do after dark? I would have to resort to simple, non-Internet Solitaire. Horrors! No Facebook. No Netflix. I would be bored out of my mind. I vowed to go get another cable the very next morning. Surely there was a Verizon store somewhere. But then I realized we were on the Eastern Shore. Not exactly a bustling metropolis. I knew it would be hopeless to find what we needed. Sigh...
But then, like the Grinch finally getting what Christmas is all about, I realized I had a great CANDACE BUSHNELL BOOK with me. So after dinner and after dark, I borrowed Hunter's head lamp, fixed a cocktail and situated myself on the air mattress to read. And amazingly, I survived the night. And actually had a very relaxing evening listening to the sounds coming from around the campground. Between the book, the nightcap and the peaceful location, I drifted into a very relaxed sleep.
However, the next morning I woke to find Hunter fiddling with the laptop. He excitedly announced that he had gotten the Internet thingy to work without the cable. Oh joy! Oh joy! I was back in action! So there it is, I'm guilty as charged and hopelessly hooked on all this technology as the next person. And, by the way, I'm looking into one of them Droid phones.
On Facebook, I notice more and more of my friends are posting from their IPhones or Droid phones. They are posting almost every move they make during the day including pictures of funny things that happen, when they actually happen. Frankly, I'm a little jealous. While I am not necessarily technology challenged. I'm definitely travelling in the slow lane. We just got a laptop last year. And my phone doesn't have those qwerty keypads for easy texting, so I have to do it the old fashioned, slow way.
But it is enough for me. We finally got the laptop because we hated not getting emails, etc. when we were on vacation or away from home for the weekend. I was so excited on our vacation in May to be able to post pics from Disney World for family and friends.
Then we decided to get into camping this summer. That's when the laptop really became a superstar for me. I could keep up with emails and Facebook. I could watch DVDs or access my instant queue on Netflix. The possibilities were (almost) endless. On our first trip it helped pass time after dark before bedtime.
But on the second trip, I discovered around dinnertime on the first night that I had forgotten to pack the little connector cable for the MiFi thing we have from Verizon. I really started to freak out. Lord, what would I do after dark? I would have to resort to simple, non-Internet Solitaire. Horrors! No Facebook. No Netflix. I would be bored out of my mind. I vowed to go get another cable the very next morning. Surely there was a Verizon store somewhere. But then I realized we were on the Eastern Shore. Not exactly a bustling metropolis. I knew it would be hopeless to find what we needed. Sigh...
But then, like the Grinch finally getting what Christmas is all about, I realized I had a great CANDACE BUSHNELL BOOK with me. So after dinner and after dark, I borrowed Hunter's head lamp, fixed a cocktail and situated myself on the air mattress to read. And amazingly, I survived the night. And actually had a very relaxing evening listening to the sounds coming from around the campground. Between the book, the nightcap and the peaceful location, I drifted into a very relaxed sleep.
However, the next morning I woke to find Hunter fiddling with the laptop. He excitedly announced that he had gotten the Internet thingy to work without the cable. Oh joy! Oh joy! I was back in action! So there it is, I'm guilty as charged and hopelessly hooked on all this technology as the next person. And, by the way, I'm looking into one of them Droid phones.
Friday, October 15, 2010
16 going on 17
We've had a few blips on the adoption radar this week. We have sent out several parent profiles for various prospective placements. Nothing to report so far. So, back to the waiting.
In other news, I will be celebrating my birthday this weekend. We will be busy. This evening we loaded up firewood to take over to my alma mater's annual oyster roast. Tomorrow we are training for our 10K debut by running/walking 5 miles. We are almost there! Getting excited about October 30th. Then we have to haul another load of wood over to the oyster roast. But tomorrow night we will enjoy the fruits of our labors and eat roasted oysters, clam chowder and hot dogs. It's a good time.
Last weekend when we were driving to Richmond, I had the XM radio tuned to "The 80s on 8" channel. Every week the former MTV veejays pick a year and they play the top 40 tunes for that week. Last week they did the week leading up to my birthday in October 1983. What a blast! Hunter kept trying to turn the volume down. But I just said "NO" and continued singing along with the tunes. Who would have thought I still knew all the words to Men At Work's "Dr. Heckyll and Mr. Jive"?
All of the memories of being 16 going on 17 came back to me during that road trip. I had one of the best years of my life in 1983. I was 16. I had my driver's license. I had great friends to keep me laughing. The day I turned 17 I was a little sad. I even looked in the mirror that day and said, "Please let me stay 16 forever" Ha, now I'm looking at 44. I look older and don't move as fast. I am wiser and I'm thankful for that. I've had lots of great years and milestones since 16. But in my mind and in my heart, I wanna be 16 forever! Rock On!!!
David Bowie's "Modern Love" was a part of the countdown. It was one of my favs from back then and is probably responsible for my teenage obsession with Mr. Bowie!
In other news, I will be celebrating my birthday this weekend. We will be busy. This evening we loaded up firewood to take over to my alma mater's annual oyster roast. Tomorrow we are training for our 10K debut by running/walking 5 miles. We are almost there! Getting excited about October 30th. Then we have to haul another load of wood over to the oyster roast. But tomorrow night we will enjoy the fruits of our labors and eat roasted oysters, clam chowder and hot dogs. It's a good time.
Last weekend when we were driving to Richmond, I had the XM radio tuned to "The 80s on 8" channel. Every week the former MTV veejays pick a year and they play the top 40 tunes for that week. Last week they did the week leading up to my birthday in October 1983. What a blast! Hunter kept trying to turn the volume down. But I just said "NO" and continued singing along with the tunes. Who would have thought I still knew all the words to Men At Work's "Dr. Heckyll and Mr. Jive"?
All of the memories of being 16 going on 17 came back to me during that road trip. I had one of the best years of my life in 1983. I was 16. I had my driver's license. I had great friends to keep me laughing. The day I turned 17 I was a little sad. I even looked in the mirror that day and said, "Please let me stay 16 forever" Ha, now I'm looking at 44. I look older and don't move as fast. I am wiser and I'm thankful for that. I've had lots of great years and milestones since 16. But in my mind and in my heart, I wanna be 16 forever! Rock On!!!
David Bowie's "Modern Love" was a part of the countdown. It was one of my favs from back then and is probably responsible for my teenage obsession with Mr. Bowie!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Back to Business as Usual
Well, we survived the flood. In 36 hours we recorded 13.5 inches of rain. And then we had a more gentle rain on Sunday. Nice to see the grass greening up a bit. Afraid it won't be a very colorful fall due to the drought. Anyhow, we are now headed for fall fun. We have an oyster roast in a couple of weeks and we have been training for the Wicked 10K race in Virginia Beach on October 30th. We did 4.5 miles on Saturday and felt pretty good afterwards.
We had a bit of action on the adoption front in September. We sent out 3 parent profiles in early September. We didn't hear anything until I got an email from one of the agencies a couple of weeks ago. They had a mother who was interested in placing her child for adoption. It was a different one from the one we had responded to originally.
Later that night the social worker called my cell phone. I was a little leery after the last experience we had. But she just let us know that we could access the adoption info online and to let her know if we were interested the next day. After our last experience, I was amazed at the information this agency made available to us. There were plenty of pictures of the mother and a little more medical information than I felt comfortable with seeing. In the end, she needed more financial help than we were able to provide and we had to let the agency know. The social worker's response was very kind. And she said she would keep our profile on file.
I was so amazed and relieved. This experience has helped heal my faith in the adoption process and also made me know to trust my instinct more.
We also had an email from our agency announcing a waiting family town hall. Apparently they would discuss ways for waiting families to help themselves during the wait to be matched. We had discussed going, but Hunter already had a meeting he could not get out of, so we decided not to go. Today at work, he said one of his co-workers asked if we were attending the meeting. Hunter said he gave his co-worker a funny look. To which the co-worker explained that he and his wife had also signed with the same agency last March and they had decided to go tonight.
We were amazed to find out a couple we know are looking to adopt and using the same agency as us. I told Hunter that it's so nice to know we have another couple that we can compare notes with. I have said before that our story through infertility and now, adoption, is not any more remarkable than any other couple. But it can be a lonely time. Over the last year and a half I have been comforted by so many in the blogger world sharing their experiences of adoption. But it has been especially nice over the last year to have found a few other couples close to home in different stages of the adoption process to share our experiences with.
We had a bit of action on the adoption front in September. We sent out 3 parent profiles in early September. We didn't hear anything until I got an email from one of the agencies a couple of weeks ago. They had a mother who was interested in placing her child for adoption. It was a different one from the one we had responded to originally.
Later that night the social worker called my cell phone. I was a little leery after the last experience we had. But she just let us know that we could access the adoption info online and to let her know if we were interested the next day. After our last experience, I was amazed at the information this agency made available to us. There were plenty of pictures of the mother and a little more medical information than I felt comfortable with seeing. In the end, she needed more financial help than we were able to provide and we had to let the agency know. The social worker's response was very kind. And she said she would keep our profile on file.
I was so amazed and relieved. This experience has helped heal my faith in the adoption process and also made me know to trust my instinct more.
We also had an email from our agency announcing a waiting family town hall. Apparently they would discuss ways for waiting families to help themselves during the wait to be matched. We had discussed going, but Hunter already had a meeting he could not get out of, so we decided not to go. Today at work, he said one of his co-workers asked if we were attending the meeting. Hunter said he gave his co-worker a funny look. To which the co-worker explained that he and his wife had also signed with the same agency last March and they had decided to go tonight.
We were amazed to find out a couple we know are looking to adopt and using the same agency as us. I told Hunter that it's so nice to know we have another couple that we can compare notes with. I have said before that our story through infertility and now, adoption, is not any more remarkable than any other couple. But it can be a lonely time. Over the last year and a half I have been comforted by so many in the blogger world sharing their experiences of adoption. But it has been especially nice over the last year to have found a few other couples close to home in different stages of the adoption process to share our experiences with.
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