We had our one-year update on April 29, Tuesday.
Basically we went in to our agency and met with an adoption counselor. It was very relaxed and the three of us talked about where we were at in our lives now (no huge changes). We gave her our criminal record checks (she already had our medical reports). I had updated our Dear Birthparent letters so I gave her those, as well as new photos of us (just the main, nice photo that goes together with our letter). This year our agency had changed one of their forms, which we had completed earlier, so we gave her that as well. There was a little bit of other paperwork that we did there; nothing major.
We had not been shown in the last year. I think that is fairly common for the first year, so we were not surprised. We did end up making one change to our requirements that will open us up a lot more to being shown. That is exciting! Also, a year has passed, so we are now half way through the "average" waiting time, making things feel more hopeful.
We just continue to wait, seeing what God has in store for us. This is an area where I am just starting to learn to be content with His will. Ultimately, I want what He wants, and He knows best!
We found out we had a credit on our account which was awesome - we walked out of there without paying a dime of the $300 required for annual updates!
So now we are good to go for another year.
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Friday, April 18, 2014
Motherhood Month - 7
Progress: 11 months and 4 days. Working on our one-year update.
How I'm feeling: Tired. I really should get off the computer and go get ready for bed.
Craving: Nothing, surprisingly. Perhaps because I just finished guacamole & tortilla chips.
Thoughts about our child: I miss you and wish you were here.
Thoughts about our child's expectant mom: Wondering if you are expecting already. And hoping this journey will lead you to Christ if you don't already believe in Him.
Most recent baby purchase/gift: Hubby bought me a tiny pink onesie that says "I love you to the moon and back" (something I say to him frequently) for our anniversary 2 days ago.
This month God: Has been teaching me about the book of Hebrews, and how He has me eternally secure :)
How I'm feeling: Tired. I really should get off the computer and go get ready for bed.
Craving: Nothing, surprisingly. Perhaps because I just finished guacamole & tortilla chips.
Thoughts about our child: I miss you and wish you were here.
Thoughts about our child's expectant mom: Wondering if you are expecting already. And hoping this journey will lead you to Christ if you don't already believe in Him.
Most recent baby purchase/gift: Hubby bought me a tiny pink onesie that says "I love you to the moon and back" (something I say to him frequently) for our anniversary 2 days ago.
This month God: Has been teaching me about the book of Hebrews, and how He has me eternally secure :)
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Epilepsy & Contentment
I have epilepsy.
Most people know this, as I've had it for the last 14 or so years and I don't mind talking about it. Most of the time it is not a huge part of my life. Yes, I am restricted in some areas of my life. But I have adjusted to these restrictions and they are just a part of my life. Only occasionally do I get frustrated or sad about it all.
But sometimes...sometimes I just get really mad at epilepsy.
I get angry at the limitations Hubby & I have to impose on myself in order to keep me safe and to keep him from feeling worried.
Yesterday was one of those days. I won't get into details. But it was a bad day for me epilepsy-wise, and to make matters worse, Hubby and I were not seeing eye-to-eye about it all.
Anyway, by the end of the day, when things were better both epilepsy-wise and relationship-wise, we were reading in my Bible before bed. And there was this verse:
"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He [God] has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."" Hebrews 13:5
Now usually I would take this verse in context and understand it to be saying to be content with the possessions and money that I do have, and not to wish for more, because God is all I need and He will never abandon or reject me. But this time just the one line jumped out at me:
"...be content with what you have..."
With what I have? I have epilepsy. I really felt the Holy Spirit was directing me to give up my anger towards epilepsy, and all its restrictions and limitations and "unfairness", and be content with it.
Be content with epilepsy.
Most people know this, as I've had it for the last 14 or so years and I don't mind talking about it. Most of the time it is not a huge part of my life. Yes, I am restricted in some areas of my life. But I have adjusted to these restrictions and they are just a part of my life. Only occasionally do I get frustrated or sad about it all.
But sometimes...sometimes I just get really mad at epilepsy.
I get angry at the limitations Hubby & I have to impose on myself in order to keep me safe and to keep him from feeling worried.
Yesterday was one of those days. I won't get into details. But it was a bad day for me epilepsy-wise, and to make matters worse, Hubby and I were not seeing eye-to-eye about it all.
Anyway, by the end of the day, when things were better both epilepsy-wise and relationship-wise, we were reading in my Bible before bed. And there was this verse:
"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He [God] has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."" Hebrews 13:5
Now usually I would take this verse in context and understand it to be saying to be content with the possessions and money that I do have, and not to wish for more, because God is all I need and He will never abandon or reject me. But this time just the one line jumped out at me:
"...be content with what you have..."
With what I have? I have epilepsy. I really felt the Holy Spirit was directing me to give up my anger towards epilepsy, and all its restrictions and limitations and "unfairness", and be content with it.
Be content with epilepsy.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Lists with Friends - 4
Here's a list of US states I've been to in my lifetime, whether just driven through or actually stayed in for a number of days.
(alphabetical, cuz that's how I roll!) :)
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Minnesota
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Friday, March 14, 2014
Motherhood Month - 6
I got this idea from Kristen over at Adoption Love who does Motherhood Mondays - well, I should say she did. Her and her husband have since been blessed with their little "Squeaks" :) Recently I came across someone else who documents time passing as a hopeful adoptive parent - Becca at Milk & Honey Living, who created Waiting Questionnaires. So I might take a few ideas from her as well :) The whole idea is that women who are pg sometimes document how their bodies, moods, etc are changing and this is a similar way for hopeful adoptive parents to document their journey.
Progress: Today is 10 months since we started waiting for The Call. The time has gone by faster than I thought it would which is good since we still have another 14 months before we hit our agency's average waiting time. Of course we could get matched before then...like tomorrow!...or it could be 5 more years from now!
How I'm feeling: We are contemplating moving again (we've only lived here just over a year) and it kinda breaks my heart that most likely Baby will never be in the room I had painted a perfect soft yellow just for him or her. But on the other hand, that room is the only other room we have besides our bedroom, so it is currently a scrapbooking/storage room. So the idea of moving to a house with more bedrooms so that we can dedicate one solely to being a nursery is pretty exciting!
I've also had the feeling that comes over me on occasion, which is do you ever get the feeling we're just playing a big game? that we'll never get a baby? that all this "wishin', hopin', thinkin', prayin', plannin', dreamin'" is for nothing? I guess it can just feel so not real at times. Oddly enough I'm looking forward to updating our profile at the one-year mark, though, because it will make it feel as if something is happening again.
Cravings: Pizza!! I have it almost ready to go into the oven but I am waiting for Hubby to come home with some cheese!
Thoughts about our child: Mostly just curious about your looks and personality like usual. And always wondering how to raise you in this crazy world!
Thoughts about our child's expectant mom: I guess there is just always that torn feeling that someone else's grief is going to be the cause of our joy - and that is such a hard pill to swallow.
Most recent baby purchase/gift: I spur of the moment bought a lift-the-flap animal shadow book that was on sale at the grocery store. Both Hubby & I love reading and we hope our child(ren) will, too.
This month God: has been teaching me about being content & thankful and to desire His will (read my post about that here), about how I spend my time here on earth and what heaven will be like according to that, and how to love my husband better!
Progress: Today is 10 months since we started waiting for The Call. The time has gone by faster than I thought it would which is good since we still have another 14 months before we hit our agency's average waiting time. Of course we could get matched before then...like tomorrow!...or it could be 5 more years from now!
How I'm feeling: We are contemplating moving again (we've only lived here just over a year) and it kinda breaks my heart that most likely Baby will never be in the room I had painted a perfect soft yellow just for him or her. But on the other hand, that room is the only other room we have besides our bedroom, so it is currently a scrapbooking/storage room. So the idea of moving to a house with more bedrooms so that we can dedicate one solely to being a nursery is pretty exciting!
I've also had the feeling that comes over me on occasion, which is do you ever get the feeling we're just playing a big game? that we'll never get a baby? that all this "wishin', hopin', thinkin', prayin', plannin', dreamin'" is for nothing? I guess it can just feel so not real at times. Oddly enough I'm looking forward to updating our profile at the one-year mark, though, because it will make it feel as if something is happening again.
Cravings: Pizza!! I have it almost ready to go into the oven but I am waiting for Hubby to come home with some cheese!
Thoughts about our child: Mostly just curious about your looks and personality like usual. And always wondering how to raise you in this crazy world!
Thoughts about our child's expectant mom: I guess there is just always that torn feeling that someone else's grief is going to be the cause of our joy - and that is such a hard pill to swallow.
Most recent baby purchase/gift: I spur of the moment bought a lift-the-flap animal shadow book that was on sale at the grocery store. Both Hubby & I love reading and we hope our child(ren) will, too.
 |
| Me reading as a child! I believe this book was about Bambi and Thumper :) |
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Parking Sign
One of these days I am just going to pull into one of these stalls and confidently park:
Yeah, I know technically I have the ability to walk unaided from far across the parking lot without difficulty, but...technically I am an expectant mother, right? ;)
Don't take me too seriously :) But everytime I go to the grocery store this sign stares at me, and sometimes...I just want to park there!
 | |
| Can you read it? It says "Courtesy Parking - Reserved for Parents with Little Ones & Expectant Mothers" |
Don't take me too seriously :) But everytime I go to the grocery store this sign stares at me, and sometimes...I just want to park there!
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Chicken Nachos
Here is the recipe I mentioned. This is how I make chicken nachos and I think it is soooo yummy!!
1 frozen chicken breast
1/8 red onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 jalapeno, seeded & deveined, minced
1 Tbsp. minced fresh cilantro
salt & pepper to taste
1 avocado (ripe but not stringy)
1 Roma tomato, seeded, diced
1/2 - 1 tsp. lime juice
about 1/2 a small small log plain soft goat cheese
a few Tbsp. goat milk
small round low-sodium tortilla chips
shredded goat mozzarella
Place the chicken breast in a pot, cover with water and a lid, and set to high. Once it boils, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until done. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, combine the red onion, garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, and salt & pepper in a bowl. Using the back of a heavy spoon, attempt to combine the ingredients until they start mushing together slightly. Cut the avocado in half, remove seed, and scoop out the avocado in chunks with a spoon. Mash slightly together with the first ingredients but still keep the avocado chunky! Gently stir in the tomato and lime juice. Set aside.
Place the soft goat cheese in a bowl; work with spatula til it is smooth. Add goat milk bit by bit, mixing with spatula and/or whisk, until it reaches the consistency of sour cream. Set aside.
Dice chicken breast. Place a layer or two of tortilla chips in a small pan. Sprinkle with chicken breast. Top with shredded goat mozzarella. Broil in oven til cheese is melted. Take out and top with guacamole and "sour cream". Enjoy!!
1 frozen chicken breast
1/8 red onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 jalapeno, seeded & deveined, minced
1 Tbsp. minced fresh cilantro
salt & pepper to taste
1 avocado (ripe but not stringy)
1 Roma tomato, seeded, diced
1/2 - 1 tsp. lime juice
about 1/2 a small small log plain soft goat cheese
a few Tbsp. goat milk
small round low-sodium tortilla chips
shredded goat mozzarella
Place the chicken breast in a pot, cover with water and a lid, and set to high. Once it boils, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until done. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, combine the red onion, garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, and salt & pepper in a bowl. Using the back of a heavy spoon, attempt to combine the ingredients until they start mushing together slightly. Cut the avocado in half, remove seed, and scoop out the avocado in chunks with a spoon. Mash slightly together with the first ingredients but still keep the avocado chunky! Gently stir in the tomato and lime juice. Set aside.
Place the soft goat cheese in a bowl; work with spatula til it is smooth. Add goat milk bit by bit, mixing with spatula and/or whisk, until it reaches the consistency of sour cream. Set aside.
Dice chicken breast. Place a layer or two of tortilla chips in a small pan. Sprinkle with chicken breast. Top with shredded goat mozzarella. Broil in oven til cheese is melted. Take out and top with guacamole and "sour cream". Enjoy!!
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