A Dialogue...

This was a simple but fun conversation between Brian and me today:

Brian: Did you no I was double-jointed?
Denise: No, that's cool!
Brian: Are you double-jointed?
Denise: No...
Brian: What does it mean to be double-jointed?
Denise: I'm not sure exactly, except that you can do strange things with your bones that us single-jointed people can't.
Brian: Well, aren't you glad that at least you have a son who is double-jointed?
Denise: Oh, absolutely!!! :-)

Finally! ;-)

Well, I cannot even begin to describe with words how happy I am right now! This is early in the morning of Day 3 as a mom and I love it more than I even thought I would... :-) Our little boy (you can't put much information on the Internet) has had a full weekend so far!

On Saturday, we picked him up at our agency's office. He was with two of his social workers and they had us all sign several forms. He said his hand was hurting. They said, "Well, hopefully you won't ever have to sign these forms again." He said, "What are you talking about? This is my permanent family!" :-) One of the first questions he asked us was if he could play football. We told him yes and that he'd be excited when he saw his room.

About an hour later, he was in his new room, as happy as a clam--smiling from ear to ear. And his smile is the most precious one in the universe!!! At least to me it is! :-)

Then we went to IHOP for our "Welcome Home Celebration". We had a good time there. We came home, played some video games, and went through his 12 bags of clothes, toys, and shoes! (He's got more clothes than I've ever seen! LOL!) :-)

Yesterday we visited Matt's family in Elizabeth. Matt's mom greeted him with some new toys (which he loved)--a matchbox car race track and a nerf football. Then Nathan, Matt's brother, brought him some matchbox cars, an outside game set, and (his favorite) Matt's old super soaker! He proceeded to shoot us all with air from the super soaker for the next few hours. :-)

We came home and basically crashed; we had had a big day!

Tomorrow, he is going to church with us, but he's most excited to meet Sarah and Logan, his new cousins. He's hoping that the weather is nice so he can swim with them. But if it isn't, I'm sure we can find something fun to do with them. :-)

I'd like to thank all of you for your prayers, support, and friendship during this time. We are so blessed! I know that it won't all be sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows, but I'm excited for the ride! :-)

A Drumroll, Please!!!!

Don't even TRY to tell me you didn't at least make a little drumroll in your head! :-) Seriously, there is big news on the adoption front! We will have a 10 year old boy placed in our home tomorrow! I can't tell much more information on the Internet for obvious reasons, but let me just say this: HOOOOORAAAAAYYYYY!!!

I made a little "Welcome to Our Home" bag and got a balloon for his room that says "WELCOME HOME"! There are Marshall comforters and green sheets on the bed. I'm taking off tomorrow to get this home ready for our new addition! I just cannot wait!

Thanks for all of your prayers and support!!! :-) More later, I'm sure!

Update...

Okay, blog police! Censure me! I deserve it!!! I know it's been FOREVER since I've updated the blog. That's for good reason, though. I've been crazy busy. That's a good thing in some ways, I guess.

Anyway, here's an adoption news report!!!

We have one more class on May 29, then we'll have a homestudy the week of June 17, then (presuming the FBI fingerprints come back in that time) we will hopefully have some kids placed in our home...

I can't wait for that day! :-)

Since my goal was "by Christmas", it sounds like we will (hopefully) make that goal! Maybe even before school starting!!!

Okay, so you've been updated. Are you happy???!!!! LOL! I'm just kidding. I am just happy some people are interested! :-)

Have a great day!
Denise

Bahama Mama!

Okay...as you might guess from the title of today's blog, we are about to set forth on vacation. We're taking a cruise to the Bahamas. I can't wait; I won't speak for Matt, but he's being a good sport! ;-)

Anyway, we had a meeting yesterday that indicates that it's entirely possible that this vacation will be our last vacation without kids. (Well, I should restate that last part--"without kids of our own"--my niece and nephew and their friend Madison will be there and we are looking forward to spending time with them and their mothers!) We met with a lady who told us that the average estimate to when we would have children in our home would be THREE MONTHS! That's not a misprint, folks, THREE MONTHS! AVERAGE!!! All I can say to that is "WOW"!

My plan is to enjoy myself on this vacation...to get some much-needed relaxation, some much-loved time with my husband and to look forward to the days when family vacations will include the special people we're more than ready to welcome into our home...and our lives. But until that time, I'll be laying by the pool on the Carnival Pride, listening to the Beach Boys (or a good audiobook) and soaking up the sun!

BON VOYAGE!!! (And thanks for reading...)

Okay...all classes are completed!!! We are now waiting on the background check and the home study! Matt's best optimistic guess on a timeframe is June. Mine is less optimistic, but I think that any time this calendar year will be good! :-)

We're so excited...the room is completely ready! We're doing little things to get the house ready. Matt has turned into Bob Vila and is doing a really great job.

This week, I found some very inspiring songs by Steven Curtis Chapman about adoption. I have to say that when I heard the one called "All I Really Want" (a song from a foster child's perspective when talking to Santa Claus), I sat in my office and bawled my eyes out. I know that God already knows which child or children we will bring into our home...I just hope He will give them a little glimmer of hope in their hearts. And I hope they're in our house by Christmas; I want to give them the best Christmas of their lives!!!

Anyway, here's the video--grab the Kleenex first, though! :-)




So, I'll try to keep you updated, but please keep us in your thoughts and prayers...and if you have any thoughts or prayers to spare, please pray for the kids that are out there that need a permanent home! And now, to quote the Golden Girls, "Thank you for being a friend!" ;-)

The Wait...

Well, classes are over, our application is complete...now we just have to wait! More later (this is on my BlackBerry)... :-)

A Preview?

Anyone who knows me well knows that I adore my dog Vivienne... She's a German shorthaired pointer that we rescued 7 years ago or so. She's stubborn and willful and she likes to eat garbage way more than she likes to eat dog food. I could list the things that drive me crazy about her for a long time: she attacks my feet when I wear house slippers, she likes to sleep smack dab in the middle of the bed and will kick me out of the way to do it, and she is sassier than a teenager. But the things about her that outweigh all of those few things I named above are these: she loves me and I love her. That's it...simple as that.

Tonight, I'm at what I hope is the tail end of a pretty bad sinus infection. Unfortunately, Vivienne is sick, too. So she's giving me a fair preview, I think, of what I can expect out of parenthood... I warn you now that the story that I could write here would not be for the weak-stomached. Let's just say that I had to clean up messes from both ends of my poor little puppy. Now she's laying sweetly on the couch and I have to wonder if she's thankful that I cleaned up for her. I have to wonder if she even understands how much I hate that, but that for her I would do it as often as necessary. But then I wonder why she should have these thought processes...after all, she knows I'm her mom and isn't that a mom's job?

I am blessed to have had a wonderful mom and grandma who both would have sacrificed anything in the world for me. I still rely on both of their love on a daily basis, as I'm so lucky that they're both still in my life. They cleaned up after me, both physically and metaphorically when things when wrong in my life... And that's the kind of mom I want to be. I want my kids to know that I will do anything in the world for them...just like Vivienne knows I'd do for her. So, thanks for the practice, Vivster! But we don't have to repeat it any time soon! ;-)

So, to get back to why this post belongs on this blog--surely you've figured it out by now. I know that I won't be a perfect mother...I know my kids won't be perfect by any means. (I hope they won't try to bite my feet if I'm wearing slippers, but you just never know. ;-)) But I will do what my mom and grandma did for me and what I do for Vivienne. I will love them anyway...

Only One More Class to Go!

I can hardly believe that we only have one week of classes left! I'm exhausted today...and getting ready to go to bed even though it's not even 9:30 yet. My sinuses have been acting up (a sure sign that spring is just around the corner) and I had to wake up early today to clean and cook before class for a jewelry party I had tonight...

The party was a lot of fun (how could it not be with jewelry???) but now I just want to crash and I think that's what I'm going to do right after I submit this blog! :-)

I'm getting more excited every day. We still have a lot to do, but Matt has made such strides with the room we are getting ready for the boys (if there is a girl in the mix, there is already a room for her). He has painted, wallpapered, and re-floored it. It looks phenomenal... Some friends of ours are giving us a set of bunk beds, so we'll add them to it and it will be kid-ready!!!

Thanks for reading (if you do) and keeping us in your thoughts and prayers during this process! And now...GOOD NIGHT!

Scrapbooking...

Okay, yes, this might seem I'm getting ahead of myself, but the other day a friend suggested to me that I should start documenting our adoption journey by a scrapbook that would eventually lead to the day we get to officially adopt our child or children. I thought this was a wonderful idea, so I went looking for adoption scrapbooking supplies on e-bay. I found a sheet that has the sayings below. They're so sweet, I just had to share them. (I left out the ones about babies, but they were sweet, too!)

• Definition: ADOPT: a. to take by choice into a relationship; b. to take voluntarily; c. to choose.
• Families are about how you feel on the inside.
• Always remember...this was not a chance meeting.
• We looked far and wide and it was love at first sight.

But the one that struck me the most is probably the simplest...it still brought a quick tear to my eye and a lump in my throat, though..."Me and My Family". Wow. Just wow. Have a great day!

Quick Update

Our classes went great on Saturday...we're getting to know some of the other families a little bit better and for that reason I kind of wish we were in the classes for longer! :-)


But anyway, we saw a video of a perfect foster family (with the cutest little boy, Vernon) but time just seemed to fly by!!!


Our instructor is such a wonderful man; he shoveled a HUGE path through the snow so that we didn't track snow through the church! Even though it was cold that warmed my heart...that and just thinking forward to the day when we'll have two children in what Dr. Burjay (sp?) calls our "healing home".

Matt is working hard at getting the room ready for the homestudy and it just makes me smile every time I think about it... Peace out. ;-)

May I Take Your Order???

As excited as I am to be a mother, I have to say that I absolutely LOVE being an aunt! This weekend I was showing my niece (Sarah) and nephew (Logan) some of the kids that were available for adoption through some of the online photolistings.

Logan, in all seriousness (though he is inclined to clown around), said, "I like those two. Order them!" :-) Oh, I only wish it was going to be that easy!!! But it will definitely be worth it!

Class, and Forms, and Homework--OH MY! :-)

Well, we had our first class today. It was very interesting! We got fingerprinted in the morning and learned all about the foster/adoption process in West Virginia... There were definitely some things I didn't know about! There were 23 people in our morning class; some were kinship adoptions and some were a lot like us. The one difference in us and most other people there is that when they asked who in the room was willing to foster and/or adopt older children, we were the only ones to say that we were. The others were either getting relatives or hoping for an infant.

Anyway, Matt and I went to Graziano's on our lunch hour for the buffet, which was a bit of a challenge, since I am giving up pizza for Lent. LOL! Then when we returned, we talked a little bit to some of the other couples, which was really interesting. And our instructor, Dr. Berhie (a Marshall professor) began Session 1, which was basically an outline of what we would be learning.

And, as it turns out, it seems like our sessions might only last FOUR WEEKS. We found out that the homestudy can then take 1-3 months to complete, but we have started the process and that is just plain exciting!!!

Enjoy your Sunday! I'll be doing paperwork and homework from class after church! :-)

First post...an explanation

Well, there is exciting news on our end of things! Matt and I will begin classes on Saturday that will (hopefully) lead to us adopting a child or children!!! I'm pretty sure that it's going to be an interesting journey and all of your prayers and friendship will be greatly appreciated along the way... This blog will be hard for me, because I'm not really great at writing serious blogs. But I'll give it a shot! :-)

I've always been interested in adoption--probably because I've always loved kids. And I have a cousin who my aunt and uncle adopted as a baby when I was about 12 or 13 and I've always just loved her (Valerie) so much! Honestly, when I was about 21 years old, there was a little boy at my Aunt Paula's school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania that I wanted to adopt (his parents were both dying of AIDS and he actually asked me to adopt him). I didn't have a "real job" and couldn't have supported him. But it still broke my heart to leave him that week. I cried the whole way back to West Virginia...

And now my husband Matt has said the four best words since he said, "Will you marry me?": "Let's think about adopting." In spite of the fact that we haven't given up on having our own children, this is something that we're so excited and passionate about!!!

So our classes start on Saturday--they're meant to show people the "worst case scenario". And I do realize that things won't always be sunshine and roses, but I'm ready for whatever this exciting road has to offer. And for now, I kind of get misty-eyed when I think of "Somewhere Out There", the song from An American Tail. This is the song I dedicate to the children who we will be blessed to have one day:

Somewhere out there,

Beneath the pale moonlight,

Someone's thinking of me,

And loving me tonight.

Somewhere out there,

Someone's saying a prayer,

That we'll find one another,

In that big somewhere out there.

And even though I know how very far apart we are,

It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star,

And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby,

It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky!

Somewhere out there,

If love can see us through,

Then we'll be together,

Somewhere out there,

Out where dreams,

Come true