Silly Girl

As much fun as we had celebrating this journey at our dinner a few weeks ago, it’s been a huge relief to be past the bulk of the fundraising. No news yet. So far, we’ve only been able to put our names in for 1 baby. And the birthmom told the agency she preferred a family that wasn’t “too religious.” We weren’t sure exactly what that meant, but weren’t surprised to hear that we were not chosen.

Meanwhile, we’ve been trying to take a little step back and enjoy some family time this summer. I just can’t get over how hilarious our girl is. Here are just a few examples of her silly antics:

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Me: Elise, I have the day off! What should we do today?

Elise: Ummm… DISHES!!!!

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At a friends house:

Me: Elise, go get some play dough from your bag.

Elise: Oh yeah!!!

(runs her head right into their dining room table like you’d see on America’s Funniest Home Videos)

Elise: (crying) Maaamaaa, hold you!!! Blanket!!!!

Me: Come here, baby. (kissing her head) Here, you can borrow Piper’s blanket.

Elise: Oh-kay *sniff* (10 more seconds of crying) All done.

Me: All done with the blanket?

Elise: No. Crying. (runs to get her play dough)

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At the Family Christian Bookstore

Me: I don’t have my wallet. Tyler, I can take Elise from you if you’ll pay for the books.

Tyler: Sure.

Elise: (spreads her arms wide to gather us all together mid-pass-off) Family Hug!!!!!!

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Also at our friends’ house

Elise: (Rolling around on the floor in her dress) Change? Change?

Me: No, I think you’re ok. We just changed you before we came over.

Elise: Change? Please, change?

Tyler: Ok, here, let’s go back to the room and I’ll change you.

Later on the drive home:

Tyler: So… was Elise playing in your drawers today?

Me: Yeah, why?

Tyler: (laughing) She had 2 pairs of your underwear around her waist.

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I seriously can’t get enough of this silly girl.

 

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Raffle Closing Soon! Drawing on Saturday

Last Chance! Our Fundraising dinner is tomorrow, and the Raffle is closing to online submissions at 12:00 noon on Saturday. Check out all the prizes!

(Not pictured are 2 months of weekly piano lessons with Jen Barr [$10 donation] and a Scentsy Wax Warmer Gift Set from Laura Hess [$5 donation])

To donate and enter the raffle just Click on the image below and leave a message with your donation stating which prize you’d like. 

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We would love to have you come grill out with us, but attendance is not required to win. It’s from 5-6:30 Open-House Style (come-whenever-leave-whenever). We have Gluten Free and Vegan options as well!

I’m seriously considering breaking into those essential oils right now… I could use a little “Stress Relief” and “Tranquility”!

Though I’m not sure why I’m stressing when we bought enough food for 200 people for less than $400. And that includes tablecloths/decorations/plastic-ware. And we have plenty of people helping, so we should be all set.

I think my 2 biggest fears are (1) that no one will be able to come and (2) that we will have TOO much help and people will be bored.

Oh wait, make that 3: that we should probably make some kind of short thank-you speech and I will get all choked up before I can even get a word out.

But then I think about the real focus of this dinner: our baby.

Our baby who may very well be kicking around in his mama’s womb right now. Our baby who is very-much loved by this woman who is making such a difficult choice for her child. Our baby that will only be ours because so many people have contributed to help make it possible for us to bring this little person home someday.

We finally had the chance to put our names in for a baby this week. The baby is due in October, and while chances are slim that we would be chosen on our first opportunity, my heart goes out to this baby and its mama and to the couple it who will be its parents.

Thank you all again so much for your support – both financially and emotionally. Please continue to pray for our family, our baby, and for their birth-parents.

And we hope to see you at the grill-out! 6950 Peace Church, Middleville, MI 49333

First News of a Birthmom

It’s been a long two-and-a-half weeks since getting approved to adopt. On average, our agency has 3 birth-moms a month looking for a families for their babies. Probability was not high we would have received news of a birth-mom before now, but with adoption you never know.

So of course I’ve been as attached to my phone as a 6th grade girl.

I was counting this week out and getting ready to jump in the shower after digging in the dirt (aka assisting my father-in-law with converting the whole front of our house into lovely flower beds. And by “assisting”, I mean my father-in-law probably did 95% of the work.)

*hangs head in shame*

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And then my phone ding-ed.

It was an email from our adoption worker about a birth-mom due in September.

And guess what else?

Twins!

*faint*

 Twins… a lot to consider. When we were first asked about our openness to adopting twins we said, “Sure, bring it on.” But the reality is that twins AND a 2 year old AND working full-time just sounds a bit overwhelming. Elise still needs so much attention, and both of us being occupied with a baby may not be a very easy transition for her.

But on the other hand, who gets to choose what’s easy? 

Also weighing-in on our decision are the preferences this birth-mom is looking for: Monthly visits, more if possible; a stay-at-home-mom situation; and a family that doesn’t yet have a child. None of these “preferences” are set in stone; birth parents will read all about us and our preferences for openness and make an informed decision.

 

We have until June to give our official answer, but surprisingly we both haven’t felt any “nudge” like these could be our babies. It’s especially surprising to me, because I’m usually the idealistic, rescuer type who would be open to taking any baby. Without a doubt though, there is some couple ready and excited about these babies and we still pray for a beautiful future for them.

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Meanwhile, we are revving-up for our garage sale that’s happening June 4-6. We have TONS of stuff that has been donated to us:

Clothing in all sizes

Furniture

Lamps

A Car

Yes, seriously, A CAR. I posted on facebook asking if anyone wanted to donate their “yacht, car, or house” for our sale – totally in jest. And then one of our good friends texted me saying they just bought a new car and wanted to donate their old one anyway. I just can’t believe you people… ❤

We will also have baked goods – basically every-flavor-cookie imaginable as well as some pies, barbecue sauce, vegan energy balls… the list keeps growing!

I realized today that Lakewood’s last day is June 4, so I hope to draw some people to the bake sale since the sale is adjacent to the school parking lot. So if your kids go to West El, come stop by for some Last-Day-of-School Treats!

Hope to have more news soon of other birth-moms looking for families, but for now we’ll keep busy while we wait!