So today was my last day of work until February. It will be hard to let go, however I know that it is what we need to do for important bonding time with Sarah. It is a blessing that I will be able to take January off and Jay gets 2 paid weeks so he will be having those in January also! We plan to play a lot, maybe do a trip up to VA and do some fun things around town. I am so looking forward to this fun time!
We met with our social worker regarding our home study this week. It looks like everything is a go to get things rolling by the beginning of January. Timing couldn't be better. We begin our first meetings the first week of January and if things go as planned (which I never hold my breath on that idea) we should get everything done and the adoption will be final by the end of January. The finality of the process will be a huge relief. I knew this would be stressful, but I guess until you are in the throws of it you don't really know. It is probably similar to having a birth for the first time. You think you know how it will be by reading the books, talking to other moms, etc. but until you have that child you really don't really know.
Sarah will be with her Nanna and Great Grandma over the holiday weekend. Originally we were going to have her Christmas morning, but her Aunt (who she has always lived with) was very sad over the fact that she was not going to be there. Nanna asked if they could do one last Christmas morning with her. I figure we have the rest of her life to have Christmas morning, we can give them this one. We will have her most of this week, though which will be nice.
Unfortunately when I got her today she seemed a bit feverish and not feeling very well. Realized we didn't have an appropriate thermometer to check her for fever. Oops! The only Children's Tylenol we had expired in 2005. Oops again! See, these are the things that we forget about when our kids get older. That and toddler speak. I have had to try and become an expert at that again too! After a quick trip to the drug store, we have discovered that she has a low grade fever and a trip to the doctor is in our plan for tomorrow. Poor Sarah!
What more have we relearned from being with Sarah? Bath time is FUN! Dora the Explorer shouldn't be watched with the sarcastic 16 year old (though very comical). Sometimes you NEED Choc-o-late at 9 o'clock in the morning and sometimes cookies make your tummy feel better. Buddy (the dog) can't play with the i-pod. Waking up to a 2 year old singing and "reading" her books is joyful. Looking at dresses online is addicting. Hearing the words "mamma Cindy" and "Daddy Jay" can be the sweetest words on the planet. Yep - we are making ONE MORE STEP.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
I sure hope we don't screw her up!
So we have spent a lot of time with Sarah over the last week! It has been truly wonderful. We found out that Jay's parents (grandma and grandpa Dietrich) were coming in town this past weekend to meet Sarah and spend time with their first grand daughter! They ended up being the first of our families to make it down to meet Miss Sarah. Grandma brought all of the fixins to make cookies with Sarah - cookie cutters, icing, colored sugar sprinkles, etc. They also came with some cute clothes for her as well (wouldn't have expected anything less from Grandma!). They were ready for some quality time for sure!
Jay and I were thrown an adoption shower from our dear friends Michelle Lyons and Donna Heinz on Saturday as well. We had some fabulous friends come and celebrate the best Christmas gift ever given. They showered us with delicious food, cute items for the bath and play time and special things to hang on the wall in her room. The best part, however, was just having the amazing company of some really great people.
Sunday we went to Church and did our regular Sunday routine. We enjoyed the weekend tremendously. We knew we had some extra time that would be spent with Sarah this week due to the fact that we had to set up alternative child care for her (her daycare was closed this week). We have wonderful friends who were willing to jump in and help with her care for the week. Donna Heinz had her on Monday and she was like, "This child is the closest thing to Jesus I have ever met!" She said that she was polite, sweet, not whiny, listened and did what she was asked, etc. She even said that if she could dial up another child and it would look like Sarah she would do it in a heartbeat! Her visit with Katie today was much of the same. Katie couldn't believe that she was as "easy" as she was today. Katie babysits A LOT and she said that Sarah by far was the best little one she has ever watched.
This, then, begs the question - Do we think that we have what it takes not to mess her up? It is clear that her grandmother and great grandmother have done a fabulous job raising her to this point. She is smart, has impeccable manners, a sweet personality, very helpful, and overall a special angel. I sure hope what we have to offer continues her journey in this manner and not turns her into a negative direction! Our prayer is that we will continue her on this amazing journey of life with solid parenting, a great deal of love, and positive discipline.
All I know is, I sure hope we don't screw her up!
Jay and I were thrown an adoption shower from our dear friends Michelle Lyons and Donna Heinz on Saturday as well. We had some fabulous friends come and celebrate the best Christmas gift ever given. They showered us with delicious food, cute items for the bath and play time and special things to hang on the wall in her room. The best part, however, was just having the amazing company of some really great people.
Sunday we went to Church and did our regular Sunday routine. We enjoyed the weekend tremendously. We knew we had some extra time that would be spent with Sarah this week due to the fact that we had to set up alternative child care for her (her daycare was closed this week). We have wonderful friends who were willing to jump in and help with her care for the week. Donna Heinz had her on Monday and she was like, "This child is the closest thing to Jesus I have ever met!" She said that she was polite, sweet, not whiny, listened and did what she was asked, etc. She even said that if she could dial up another child and it would look like Sarah she would do it in a heartbeat! Her visit with Katie today was much of the same. Katie couldn't believe that she was as "easy" as she was today. Katie babysits A LOT and she said that Sarah by far was the best little one she has ever watched.
This, then, begs the question - Do we think that we have what it takes not to mess her up? It is clear that her grandmother and great grandmother have done a fabulous job raising her to this point. She is smart, has impeccable manners, a sweet personality, very helpful, and overall a special angel. I sure hope what we have to offer continues her journey in this manner and not turns her into a negative direction! Our prayer is that we will continue her on this amazing journey of life with solid parenting, a great deal of love, and positive discipline.
All I know is, I sure hope we don't screw her up!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Today was a big step!
We went to the lawyer's office today to sign the petition to adopt forms. Jay and I just looked at one another in awe like, THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING!!! So hard to believe. The icing on the cake was that we picked up Sarah from daycare today because her nanna had a late meeting. We got to hang out together tonight, she "helped" Jay make dinner. Her laughter, her excited reaction to seeing us, her zest for life, her cute facial expressions...all of this just makes our day. What a great day it will be when we get to have that EVERY day of the week!
What does this mean next? Well, we are going with a place called Love Links to do our home study. The director, Joy, and I have spoken briefly about what her needs are to complete the study and we will set our first appointment soon and get the required documentation to her. She let us know that there will be a required 4 visits (2 together with her and one with me alone and one with Jay alone). The lawyers office was hopeful that we could possibly try and fit these in very quickly and still get it done and through the courts by the end of the year but that is not a realistic goal and we are OK with it not officially happening until 2012. We are very aware that all of this is on God's time not our time anyway!
The lawyers plan to file the Petition to Adopt paperwork tomorrow. At that time things will get into motion with the home study. Then once that is complete we can file the finalization paperwork. Potentially we can be officially Sarah's parents by the end of January. What a great New year's kick off! In the mean time we have some important things coming up on the horizon. My very dear friends are throwing us an "adoption shower" to bless us with things that Sarah may need once she is here with us full time. I have to say that this idea is a very uncomfortable one for me. I receive so much more joy when I am the GIVER and not the RECEIVER. It is difficult for me! We have been super blessed though by so many and for that I am extremely grateful.
Also, we will be having the big "move in" with Sarah over the holiday break. Sometime through the weekend prior to Christmas weekend. She is going to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at Nannas - the family just really wants this last Christmas morning together. We will then get her full time and do a trip to VA to see family. Jay and I will also both be taking FMLA during the month of January. With all that I have read it is very important to spend lots of time together in order for the bonding process to happen successfully and to also establish new roles and routines. I am getting very excited about spending all of this time together!
For those of you who have not seen pictures on facebook, here is a link of some photos of Sarah and the family:
https://picasaweb.google.com/TJMSTrekkers/Sarah
So - today marks an important day :D Truly another example of ONE MORE STEP...
What does this mean next? Well, we are going with a place called Love Links to do our home study. The director, Joy, and I have spoken briefly about what her needs are to complete the study and we will set our first appointment soon and get the required documentation to her. She let us know that there will be a required 4 visits (2 together with her and one with me alone and one with Jay alone). The lawyers office was hopeful that we could possibly try and fit these in very quickly and still get it done and through the courts by the end of the year but that is not a realistic goal and we are OK with it not officially happening until 2012. We are very aware that all of this is on God's time not our time anyway!
The lawyers plan to file the Petition to Adopt paperwork tomorrow. At that time things will get into motion with the home study. Then once that is complete we can file the finalization paperwork. Potentially we can be officially Sarah's parents by the end of January. What a great New year's kick off! In the mean time we have some important things coming up on the horizon. My very dear friends are throwing us an "adoption shower" to bless us with things that Sarah may need once she is here with us full time. I have to say that this idea is a very uncomfortable one for me. I receive so much more joy when I am the GIVER and not the RECEIVER. It is difficult for me! We have been super blessed though by so many and for that I am extremely grateful.
Also, we will be having the big "move in" with Sarah over the holiday break. Sometime through the weekend prior to Christmas weekend. She is going to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at Nannas - the family just really wants this last Christmas morning together. We will then get her full time and do a trip to VA to see family. Jay and I will also both be taking FMLA during the month of January. With all that I have read it is very important to spend lots of time together in order for the bonding process to happen successfully and to also establish new roles and routines. I am getting very excited about spending all of this time together!
For those of you who have not seen pictures on facebook, here is a link of some photos of Sarah and the family:
https://picasaweb.google.com/TJMSTrekkers/Sarah
So - today marks an important day :D Truly another example of ONE MORE STEP...
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Adventures Part II
We had a great next couple of visits. We did the "lunch" thing, hung out at the house and played. Lots of fun! We were blessed by a friend of ours Donna Heinz who gave us an adorable Dora the Explorer kitchen with accessories, baby dolls with a doll high chair, doll bassinet, doll bathtub, and a variety of other items. We also have a friend Laura LeMay who was so kind to give us some items like a child's table and chairs, a cute vanity, and a doll house. All of these toys were a big hit with Sarah and she loves playing with them every time she is here. We are not used to doing all of that "girl play" but we are certainly getting used to it!
We also were able to put together her bed for her new room. We decided to use Evan's top bunk and painting it white. It works perfectly because it already has a rail (due to it being the top bunk) so she is safe to sleep in it. I then was excited to go out and pick out some bedding and some necessities for her room. I ended up finding a great quilt that is a beautiful pink and light green with flowers and butterflies (pink AND butterflies...I am in heaven) as well as sheets, a cute hamper, baskets for some toys, and a lamp. It is really looking like HER room! Just this evening we had another friend Susan Scott who offered to give us a dresser, desk, and shelf unit of white whicker to use in her room. Wow!
We were so excited at this point to have Sarah's family over for Thanksgiving. When I asked Nanna if she were interested in coming for Thanksgiving I wasn't quite sure what she would say. I suspected that it may be a little much to try and merge our families so early. However, it ended up working out just perfect. Nanna came with her daughter (who is our 16 year old son's age), her significant other "Paw Paw," GG and her significant other "Herb." So along with Sarah we had a full house! It was so nice to host this year and we were a little concerned about making the main course as we hadn't "done" Thanksgiving before as the host, however everything turned out great. Nanna and GG also brought pies and side dishes and it turned out to be a great meal!
Sarah ended up staying the night with us that night. She loved her NEW ROOM. She slept like a champ (as usual) and was very enamored with her "letters" which are the foam puzzle pieces that we have assembled like a rug on her floor. She didn't miss a beat the entire time she was with us during this overnight stay.
Since then we have done several other day visits that were much like the others. We were able to spend a day in the mountains with some friends getting their Christmas tree. We loved going out to lunch, doing a little shopping (for some new sunglasses...LOL), and ice cream in Blowing Rock with a romp in the park. Sarah was happy to see the "giant mountains." What a great day.
Finally, this past weekend, we began our full weekend visits. We picked her up on Friday and she didn't go back until Sunday. We had a very busy weekend planned! Saturday for lunch we did a special "lunch with Santa" program through the Piedmont Club. GG had set up the event for all of us to attend. We dressed up and took pictures. GG, Nanna, Jay, Sarah and myself all were in attendance. Lunch was delicious, and Sarah managed to acquiesce and sit on Santa's lap although we were not getting a smile out of her no matter what! At least she sat for us. We then got a babysitter (yes, it has been quite awhile since we have had to do THAT) so Jay and I could attend the youth leader Christmas party. She loved having Jordan play with her for the night and didn't miss a beat. Then we did our normal Sunday routine with church, lunch, etc. It is nice to know we are getting into some routines!
So, these have been our adventures to date. My hope is that I can continue to keep this blog current so we can share all of our blessings with our family and friends. We know this is not going to be an easy ride. We know we are going to face challenges. We know there will be some feelings of loss by Sarah as she adjusts to her new normal. She has asked about her mommy several times - saying she can't find her and that she is lost. It breaks our hearts to hear those words from her, however we know it is completely normal. We vow to be honest with her "Your mommy is in Missouri and can't be with you now but she loves you!" but not to make this adoption the center of her life - defining who she is. She is a gift of God and she will bless everyone she comes into contact with. We are humbled and delighted that we get to be part of HER STORY! One more step...
We also were able to put together her bed for her new room. We decided to use Evan's top bunk and painting it white. It works perfectly because it already has a rail (due to it being the top bunk) so she is safe to sleep in it. I then was excited to go out and pick out some bedding and some necessities for her room. I ended up finding a great quilt that is a beautiful pink and light green with flowers and butterflies (pink AND butterflies...I am in heaven) as well as sheets, a cute hamper, baskets for some toys, and a lamp. It is really looking like HER room! Just this evening we had another friend Susan Scott who offered to give us a dresser, desk, and shelf unit of white whicker to use in her room. Wow!
We were so excited at this point to have Sarah's family over for Thanksgiving. When I asked Nanna if she were interested in coming for Thanksgiving I wasn't quite sure what she would say. I suspected that it may be a little much to try and merge our families so early. However, it ended up working out just perfect. Nanna came with her daughter (who is our 16 year old son's age), her significant other "Paw Paw," GG and her significant other "Herb." So along with Sarah we had a full house! It was so nice to host this year and we were a little concerned about making the main course as we hadn't "done" Thanksgiving before as the host, however everything turned out great. Nanna and GG also brought pies and side dishes and it turned out to be a great meal!
Sarah ended up staying the night with us that night. She loved her NEW ROOM. She slept like a champ (as usual) and was very enamored with her "letters" which are the foam puzzle pieces that we have assembled like a rug on her floor. She didn't miss a beat the entire time she was with us during this overnight stay.
Since then we have done several other day visits that were much like the others. We were able to spend a day in the mountains with some friends getting their Christmas tree. We loved going out to lunch, doing a little shopping (for some new sunglasses...LOL), and ice cream in Blowing Rock with a romp in the park. Sarah was happy to see the "giant mountains." What a great day.
Finally, this past weekend, we began our full weekend visits. We picked her up on Friday and she didn't go back until Sunday. We had a very busy weekend planned! Saturday for lunch we did a special "lunch with Santa" program through the Piedmont Club. GG had set up the event for all of us to attend. We dressed up and took pictures. GG, Nanna, Jay, Sarah and myself all were in attendance. Lunch was delicious, and Sarah managed to acquiesce and sit on Santa's lap although we were not getting a smile out of her no matter what! At least she sat for us. We then got a babysitter (yes, it has been quite awhile since we have had to do THAT) so Jay and I could attend the youth leader Christmas party. She loved having Jordan play with her for the night and didn't miss a beat. Then we did our normal Sunday routine with church, lunch, etc. It is nice to know we are getting into some routines!
So, these have been our adventures to date. My hope is that I can continue to keep this blog current so we can share all of our blessings with our family and friends. We know this is not going to be an easy ride. We know we are going to face challenges. We know there will be some feelings of loss by Sarah as she adjusts to her new normal. She has asked about her mommy several times - saying she can't find her and that she is lost. It breaks our hearts to hear those words from her, however we know it is completely normal. We vow to be honest with her "Your mommy is in Missouri and can't be with you now but she loves you!" but not to make this adoption the center of her life - defining who she is. She is a gift of God and she will bless everyone she comes into contact with. We are humbled and delighted that we get to be part of HER STORY! One more step...
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Our adventures to date with Sarah and family Part I
We have been able to spend lots of time together lately which has been awesome. Every resource I have read (and if you know me, I have made it a research project) says that a gradual transition for kids at this age is best when you are adopting so that is the method we all agreed to take with Sarah. We started off with day visits. They have mostly come on Sundays as we love taking Sarah to church with us. We would get her Sunday mornings, go to church, sometimes out to lunch afterwards, home for play and a nap, then back to nanna before youth group. Makes for quite a busy Sunday but we don't mind a bit!
Our first Sunday together resulted in lunch out with Sarah, Jay, Evan and myself. We went to an old standby of Applebee's. We ordered Sarah her own meal and gave her choices. Nanna told us that she has no problem knowing what she wants so if you give her choices, she gladly makes the decision. What was so funny during the lunch is that she and Jay just were like 2 peas in a pod. She decided about mid-way through lunch that she would prefer to eat Jay's steak and veggies than her chicken and french fries. She found her way into his lap and gladly ate off of his plate. Jay didn't mind sharing :)
When we put Sarah down for her nap we realized what a great sleeper she was as well as how obedient she is. We discovered that when you put her in her bed and tell her to stay, she does what you ask. We realized at that point that we may not know how to raise THAT kind of kid! LOL. Our boys were always pushing the boundaries and staying in bed was not something they were very good at. I guess that some of our experience with our boys won't necessarily translate into raising Sarah - and that's just fine with us!
We also realized at this time that the boys would be just as "goo-like" as their father when it comes to Sarah. She has no problem bossing them (or the dog buddy) around. She tells them where to sit, what to play with along side her, and what she needs. They do pretty much everything she says because as Evan put it, "I just can't resist the cuteness!" We all kind of feel that way - can't resist the cuteness most of the time. Jacob is very involved with the busy life that many teenagers live. He has school, a job, and transportation available to him to see friends so he isn't around quite as much. He did realize very early on though the magnitude of the age difference between he and Sarah - his first thought was, "I will be 30 when she goes to prom!" Jay said, "That is alright because you can sit on the front porch with me and our shotguns to meet the poor lad who decides to try and date her!" They all think that is hilarious!
We ended up able to keep her on the holiday on the Friday following (president's day I think) and we got to hang out for the entire day. We went shopping at Goodwill (where we got a few toys to have around the house), played outside for awhile, met a new "friend" Alaina (one of the youth kids at church) and napped. Sarah stayed with us through dinner so that Jay could have some time with her also. Sarah has easily adapted to our household and seems to really enjoy her time here. In fact, that evening we were saying, "time to go back to nanna's house" and she was like, "NO I stay here!" Knowing that she feels comfortable and safe here in our home means the world to us. She finally went home that Friday night and spent the Sunday of that weekend with us again for the day.
So, our first couple of weeks worth of day visits with Sarah went swimmingly! We feel so blessed to know this little angel and we feel God's hand is on this entire situation for sure. She never once acted uncomfortable around our family. She seems genuinely excited to see us every time we get her. She is full of smiles and giggles whenever we see her and that brings us so much joy. I will continue with more adventures in the next installment of the blog - didn't want to write a novel on this one! One more step!
Our first Sunday together resulted in lunch out with Sarah, Jay, Evan and myself. We went to an old standby of Applebee's. We ordered Sarah her own meal and gave her choices. Nanna told us that she has no problem knowing what she wants so if you give her choices, she gladly makes the decision. What was so funny during the lunch is that she and Jay just were like 2 peas in a pod. She decided about mid-way through lunch that she would prefer to eat Jay's steak and veggies than her chicken and french fries. She found her way into his lap and gladly ate off of his plate. Jay didn't mind sharing :)
When we put Sarah down for her nap we realized what a great sleeper she was as well as how obedient she is. We discovered that when you put her in her bed and tell her to stay, she does what you ask. We realized at that point that we may not know how to raise THAT kind of kid! LOL. Our boys were always pushing the boundaries and staying in bed was not something they were very good at. I guess that some of our experience with our boys won't necessarily translate into raising Sarah - and that's just fine with us!
We also realized at this time that the boys would be just as "goo-like" as their father when it comes to Sarah. She has no problem bossing them (or the dog buddy) around. She tells them where to sit, what to play with along side her, and what she needs. They do pretty much everything she says because as Evan put it, "I just can't resist the cuteness!" We all kind of feel that way - can't resist the cuteness most of the time. Jacob is very involved with the busy life that many teenagers live. He has school, a job, and transportation available to him to see friends so he isn't around quite as much. He did realize very early on though the magnitude of the age difference between he and Sarah - his first thought was, "I will be 30 when she goes to prom!" Jay said, "That is alright because you can sit on the front porch with me and our shotguns to meet the poor lad who decides to try and date her!" They all think that is hilarious!
We ended up able to keep her on the holiday on the Friday following (president's day I think) and we got to hang out for the entire day. We went shopping at Goodwill (where we got a few toys to have around the house), played outside for awhile, met a new "friend" Alaina (one of the youth kids at church) and napped. Sarah stayed with us through dinner so that Jay could have some time with her also. Sarah has easily adapted to our household and seems to really enjoy her time here. In fact, that evening we were saying, "time to go back to nanna's house" and she was like, "NO I stay here!" Knowing that she feels comfortable and safe here in our home means the world to us. She finally went home that Friday night and spent the Sunday of that weekend with us again for the day.
So, our first couple of weeks worth of day visits with Sarah went swimmingly! We feel so blessed to know this little angel and we feel God's hand is on this entire situation for sure. She never once acted uncomfortable around our family. She seems genuinely excited to see us every time we get her. She is full of smiles and giggles whenever we see her and that brings us so much joy. I will continue with more adventures in the next installment of the blog - didn't want to write a novel on this one! One more step!
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