Baby Update

Good news so far.....the birth mother's cervix is holding strong right now.  She will have a growth scan at the end of the week to see how big the baby is getting.  Both attorneys are retained so the ball is rolling on the legal side as well.

I'm starting to gather up all the baby items we will need to take with us to Michigan.  So far I have one tote full - but that doesn't include the bigger items like the pack-n-play.  I'm trying hard to get it all ready before our Grand Canyon trip "just in case".

We are all getting so excited to hold this little one - to complete our family.  Mark and I find it hard to believe that it will be in about 6-8 more weeks.  Time is flying for us....but the boys think that still sounds like forever!

Dominic has decided that if the baby is a boy, that Luke and the baby should share a room from the beginning.  I told him that no matter what, he and Luke will be sharing a room for a while - unless he wants to go downstairs (just a little secret....my boys put on a brave face but are both a little too scared to do that just yet.....which is just fine with me too!).

And our official boy name......Isaac Matthew.

Happy Easter!

We ventured today to see Miss A and Big B and dye eggs.  The 3 older kids had a great (messy) time.  I was also able to try my hand in babywearing Big B.  I loved it and so did he!  I showed my sister how to use the wrap and left it with her.  I was planning on just getting a soft sided carrier (like Ergo) from birth.  But since we will probably be welcoming a baby sooner rather than later, all the baby wearing gurus recommended a stretchy wrap first.

Luke hasn't played soccer in 2 weeks because of the wet weather.  But the boys have started baseball practice. Dominic is doing awesome and his physical development really shows this year.  He is almost able to throw the ball from 3rd to 1st accurately.  Right now he throws it with one hop....pretty good for a 6yr old!  Luke is great for being the youngest on the team and most people find it hard to believe he just turned 4yrs.

Hard to believe the end of the school year is quickly approaching.  Dominic is now doing the Accelerated Reader program at school.  Apparently this is typically meant for 1st grade and up but Dominic is extremely bored and needs some motivation now.  Dominic will also take the evaluation for the gifted program soon.

Speaking of Dominic and Easter weekend......we got home from my sister's house and Dominic got very sick.  I'm blogging at this hour because I'm up with him in between trips to the bathroom.  It is going to be a long night.  So much for Dominic and me going to grandma's house tomorrow.  I'm hoping he feels considerably better by morning and we can just take it easy so we can enjoy Sunday.  Why is it that kids get sick at night?  Why can't the vomiting start at 9am instead of 9pm?

Adoption Update.....birthmother is hanging in there.  Her cervix has shortened but has remained essentially unchanged for 2 weeks or so.  We are keeping fingers and toes crossed that she can make another 6-8 weeks.

Picture Post

 Luke had another soccer game yesterday.  He is doing great.  Look at him...4 years old and using the inside of his foot!  Way to go Luke!

Luke loves playing goalie...and he is great at it!  Here is a picture of an awesome stop.  I was so proud of him.

 After the game, we went to Miss A's birthday party.  It was such a great day.  She loves blowing bubbles!

 And she loves making funny faces!  Her tongue is purple from the icing on her "Tinker Bell" cake.

 This is her fish face!

 She was showing me her tongue again.  Actually I think she had just tried to lick the bubble wand....yuck!

 Dominic and Luke love Miss A's play set and large yard!  Of course sunscreen was not even a thought of mine in April.  Now we all have pink arms and cheeks.

 

Big Mr. B update

We spent some time with Miss A and Big B.  I forget how quickly babies change!

She's back.....

We opened the blinds this morning and discovered the mamma robin is back again this year.  She is busy building her nest on our deck chair again.  Maybe she learned that last year, the deck steps were not a good idea!

Lenten Questions

Every year as Lent approaches,  I promise myself I'm going to make "this" Lent a time of faith and spiritual reflection for me and hopefully my family.  Every year, Easter comes so quickly, and I realize we (I) haven't done anything I was hoping to do.  This year has been no different.  Last night, something changed for me and I hope it continues.

I was standing outside the classroom in the Catholic school, waiting to pick the boys up from CCD.  I was looking around at all the children's artwork lining the hall and glanced down at a table.  On the table, there was a Lenten Reflections booklet.  I picked it up and opened it.  What was the very first passage I read:

Start where you are and follow where it leads you.

I'm going to do just that.  Start today.   There may only be about 3 weeks left in this Lenten season, but I'm going to make the best of what's left of that time.  I'm going to try my best to post daily (ok that may be stretching it - but often) the reflection quote from the booklet and give my thoughts about it.

Here it goes:

 I pray to move with intention past my own sense of importance and control, past my ideas about life, into the Spirit's presence.

This devotion really hit home with me.  Through the years, I have posted about our infertility and our feelings of loss of control.  Then God does what He does best.  He smacks me upside the head during Mass with a passage about His divine plan - not ours - that I never had control in the first place.  I still laugh about Mark and I just a few months ago.  We held on to all those baby things for 3 long agonizing years.  Struggling physically and emotionally to have another child - enduring 4 more heartbreaking IVF failures and the devastating loss of a pregnancy.  Then one day, we decided enough was enough.  I told Mark I was not only packing away all the baby items, but it was all leaving the house.  We shed some tears as we packed away baby blankets, hats, little socks and onies, and the occasional pacifier found stuffed in a couch cushion.  Most where happy tears - filled with memories of the boys as infants and toddlers.  But yes, some were sad - filled with the reality of our infertility battle scars caused by so many losses along the way.

God said, "Come to me, and I will give you rest."  When the last box left the house......we let it go.  All the pain and burden of our infertility was gone.  We both felt lighter than we had in years.  We are the Mommy and Daddy to the most amazing children on the planet and that is/was enough.

Then God did what He does best.  A phone call on a random Tuesday.  "How would you like to be Mommy and Daddy again next summer?" 

This is where our infertility story ends......and our adoption journey begins.

We have learned that we must reach out to God with intention.  Not hoping He will hear our prayers, but knowing.

Our Little Rocker