Motherhood Month - 3

Progress:  We have been waiting 7 months and 1 day since being approved.

Mood:  A little down.  Non-adoption related, I'm in PMS and for me that is really bad.  Hopefully AF will come and leave before Christmas yet.  But if not, I'd rather have AF than PMS over Christmas!  Adoption-related, someone I know got chosen to adopt.  This is the first person I know personally who got chosen to adopt.  They were approved after us and waited an incredibly short time.  I'm surprised how difficult of a time I'm having with it.  Also adoption-related, I'm still feeling let down that no one's thrown me a baby shower yet.  I realize that makes me sound selfish, but it's something I've made clear to my husband that I want, and he knows how important gifts are to me, and it would make me feel more like an expectant mother and that others are viewing me that way, and I just expected a baby shower shortly after we got approved and it's been seven freaking months!!  Ah well, maybe there's something in the plans and I don't know about it.  I know it won't be til at least early-January, though, because one of the people I want to be there is gone til then.  I am starting to regret saying I want it to be a surprise though, because it would be nice if I knew something was happening or not.  Another adoption-related thing has me thinking about our future child and their birthfamily and feeling emotional lately but won't talk about it at this point.    

Cravings:  Something with a lot of melted cheese.  Grilled cheese sandwich.  Chicken Spinach Lasagna.  Seven-Cheese Ravioli in Alfredo Sauce baked with cheese.  You get the idea.

Thoughts About Our Child:  Curious if you exist yet.  You exist in God's eye and my heart.

Thoughts About Our Child's Expectant Mom:  Wondering if you will remain in your child's life or if you will disappear and our child will have to search for you.

Most Recent Baby Purchase/Gift:  I may or may not have bought something for Hubby ;) like I do every Christmas.  Curious if I'll get any baby-related gifts from anyone this Christmas, as it is the first year I have put any on my wishlists.  I don't really think so.

This Month God:  Taught me through His Word that He is the God of encouragement, the God of hope, and the God of endurance.  (Romans 15:4-5)  I found the latter particularly encouraging, for when I run out of hope and feel I can no longer endure in this long adoption journey, He will continue to endure!    

Praising God in the Pain

This has got to be one of the best articles I've read in a while: 

http://www.naturalfertilityandwellness.com/survive-infertility-holidays/#comment-25784

"What to Respect" Project

A little while ago I heard about this "What to Respect When Not Expecting" project via this post on Kristen's Adoption Love blog. 

For those of us who are in the world of adoption and/or infant loss and/or infertility, we hear a lot from people.  People we know well, people we know only a little, people we don't know at all.  They say encouraging things, strange things, mean things.  Most everybody says something, and hardly anything they say doesn't have some affect on us.  After all, adoption, loss, and infertility are pretty major things, so we'll probably be pretty sensitive to anything you say.  Please choose your words as wisely as you can.

There is a lady named Rebekah and she is working on compiling a book with all the things people say.  To quote her, the purpose of the book is "to give those going through fertility challenges an assurance that there are people out there who get it, and to give friends and relatives of people going through it a gauge on what not to say".

Here is the link so you can learn more about it and so that you can contribute your hilarious, awful, sad, wonderful stories to the book as well! 

Adoption "Maternity" Pictures!

On September 19 Hubby & I had an adoption "maternity" photoshoot done by an amazing photographer, Charmaine Toews.  There are a lot of excellent ideas out there on Pinterest and on other adoption blogs for photos and signs to use for this type of photoshoot.  I gathered together my favourite ideas and made some signs, as well as told our photographer about the ideas and she did some research on her own and came up with more ideas.  Then she took us to some random field, lol, and took these amazing pictures!  Sorry it's taken me so long to post them!  I was waiting on a number of things and now the time is right to share them with you!  Somehow I've managed to pair down all the wonderful photographs to just 10 of my favourites to show you: (click on the photos to make them bigger if you want)