No New News

That pretty much says it all. We have nothing new to report. There are no scheduled doctors appointments or another c-section date. We've had no direct contact (laying low until the social worker makes contact), and we're just waiting. Baby girl could come any day. The next sceduled c-section date will be after Christmas, but it's always possible that she'll go into labor before then (her due date is Dec. 28). Right now, we're just waiting and working on getting baby girl's room ready.

Getting the room ready is proving to be a bigger challenge than we anticipated. Last year we cleaned out the little buddy's room and moved most of the items into what will now be baby buddy's room. This room was packed with everything imaginable and also served as our office and guest room. Now, we're slowly moving everything out, trying to figure out where we should put it. The computer is staying in there for now, but when she gets to be Steven's age, we'll have to move it out too.

This room has always been the coldest in the house, so we're working on fixing that. We've discovered that at least part of the problem is gaps in the floor boards, so Mark's been taking care of that. As it is right now, this room is way too cold for a baby. (Our room is cold too, but it's not as bad, and we warm it up with the space heater before going to bed.) One of our long term plans is to buy more insulation, but that's not in the budget quite yet.

One nice thing is that the paint perfectly matches the bedding, so that saves us both time and money. It would be nice to do some touch up work, but I don't know if we have any paint left over. (This was one of the rooms we painted when we moved in 5 years ago.) By the time the crib is put up and different things are hung on the wall, no one will really be able to tell, so it's not that big of a deal.

I do have all her clothes hung in her closet, along with a pack of diapers and her bebe pod seat. Her top dresser drawer has a basket of her many socks, her onesies, hair bows, tights, and cloth diapers (pink!). We're to the point where we have pretty much everything we need for her. I've been hitting Craig's List and freecycle.org and have been finding some great deals. Most of what I've been picking up has been for her birthfamily, but I've gotten some things for her as well. This is my first time using either website, and I've been fairly impressed. I've saved so much money that way--esp. on the bedding, bebe pod seat (a little luxury item!), and the BumGenius diapers. If you haven't used either of these sites before, check them out!

In the midst of everything, I'm also starting a new job. I'm going to be working for a tutoring company and doing live online tutoring starting in January. For the first two months, I'll be working one-on-one with students to get them ready for the PSAT. After that, I'll be doing regular tutoring on whatever the student needs help with. It's going to be a challenge with two little ones, but I'm going to schedule it for either early morning or during nap time, at least that's the plan right now :) The company is very flexible, and we set our own hours, which is really nice!

Well, I had better run if I want to get anything done before the little buddy wakes up. I'm trying to cram in as much as I can before the baby comes since I know I won't want to be leaving the house too much then. After Steven wakes up, we're going to be running here, there, and everywhere getting errands taken care of. What fun!

Not Today

Well, I think it's safe to say that we won't be having a baby today :( There was an operating room available, but their birthmother didn't go. We're obviously disappointed, and it means that it may end up being an emergency c-section, but it wasn't our decision to make. (And it wasn't one that we saw coming at all.)

We'd still love for it to be in the next few days since that's when Mark can get off work, but we'll just keep praying and waiting.

In other news, the little buddy isn't feeling too hot. (The only redeeming benefit of not having a new baby today.) He got shots about a week and a half ago, and at the time, the doctor told us that he may get a reaction in about 10 days. I had forgotten about it until this evening, but the timing all fits. He's spent most of the day laying on Mark's chest, and he has a fever. He's not acting himself/is very lethargic, but no other symptoms of being sick (vomiting, runny nose, coughing, etc.). Hopefully he feels better very soon!

It could also be that he's embarrassed by his new haircut. (It is rather dreadful looking.) Mark said that it might help if I stop talking about how bad it looks every time I look at him. I just feel bad for the poor little boy, but I know if I try to trim it up, he'll get really upset. It was not a fun experience cutting his hair last night, and I'll give him a few days before touching it again.

I've posted pictures on Facebook, but you can't see the after all that well. It's considerably shorter than it was, and with some trimming and shaping, it should look a lot better. One of these days I might feel up to posting them on here.

Please keep praying for our baby and the birthmother. We all appreciate it, and I'll keep you updated on the situation.

It's looking unlikely. . .

but it's still possible. I'll let you know as soon as I find out anything!

Adoption Update

I took Steven and Abigail's birthmother to her doctor's appointment today. (I go up every Thursday.) The last appointment didn't end on the best note since the doctor told us about the change of date for the c-section at the end of the visit, even though it had been determined the week before. We were both unhappy since that meant she would be in the hospital during Christmas (her oldest cried when she heard this).

The doctor immediately sensed that we weren't too thrilled as soon as he came in the room. However, we left much happier :) The c-section with either be Saturday (as in less than two days!!) or after Christmas. We won't find out until Saturday morning (between 9:00 and 10:00) if they will be able to do it that day.

We're praying for it to be Saturday for a lot of reasons, some more important than others.

1. It's sooner :)
2. Mark already has permission to take next week off, and he won't be able to do that after Christmas.
3. It reduces the chance that she will go into labor and have to have an emergency c-section.
4. She wouldn't be stressing over the idea of "being cut open" during Christmas.

Obviously, God has everything already planned out, and Abigail will come when He wants her to. But, we're still hoping and praying for Saturday!

P.S. Please also pray that our homestudy is approved by Monday. Everything is now in our file, and we're just waiting for the report. We obviously can't bring Abigail home until it's approved, and we can't apply for grants before it's approved or after she comes home.

One Year Ago Today. . .

we brought Steven James home!

Happy Little Boy!

Can you tell he loves balls?!

Belated Congratulations!

My sister Lauren is now engaged! Lauren and Rob got engaged shortly after their one year anniversary. I can't wait to see her ring when she comes home!

New Basketball Fan

Today Steven and Mark watched basketball together, and Steven was really getting into the game. Mark said that he stood by the tv and kept pointing at the ball and saying, "ball! ball!" Everytime someone slam dunked the ball, he would clap and get excited. I wish I had been there to see it!

Baby Girl Update

I went back up to Flint this morning to take Steven's birthmother to the hospital for a non-stress test and ultrasound, both of which looked pretty good. We then went to the doctor's office, and at the end of the visit, he mentioned that the date of the c-section was the 23rd. That completely through us both for a loop, and it was rather upsetting to her because that means she won't be home for Christmas. Apparently, he changed the date the week before but never told us. We're praying that it gets moved up because it doesn't really make sense to have it then, plus that is only one day before her due date.

She thinks that she will have the baby before then, which could mean another emergency c-section. Please pray for all the details to work out and for a safe delivery and a healthy baby!

Getting Closer and Chipin

Tonight we had the last of our doctors' appointments, and this one was an in-home follow up to last year's pych. eval. You will be pleased to know that we passed :) It was the first time the doctor met Steven, and aside from his initial shy act, Steven showed off his little personality for him. (Hard to believe, right??) A very nice thing is that the doctor didn't charge us anything and insisted that it was just an update from last year's eval. Mark insisted on paying him something, so we wrote the check for $25. The doctor insisted that if he wrote it for anything more he wouldn't cash it. That was so nice of him, and we thoroughly appreciate it. This also means that we have every piece of paperwork finished! Finally!!

As you may have noticed, I've added a Chipin link on the side. A friend suggested this to me, and I decided to do it, esp. after I've been contacted by several people who want to help out but don't read magazines. I do want to say a huge THANK YOU to those who have ordered magazines. It has been amazing to see who has ordered them, including people that I haven't seen or really even talked to for years. What a blessing!

I spent a good bit of last night working on grant applications and would love to know what organizations some of you other adoptive moms have used. We're praying that we don't have to take out a loan for Abigail's adoption so we can concentrate on paying Steven's loan off as soon as possible.

I put Steven in the bassinet tonight and he though it was fun being rocked back and forth. Of course, by the time I got the camera and stopped rocking him long enough to take a picture, he wasn't enjoying himself quite so much. I can't wait to compare his picture with Abigail's!