Kind of like dating?

She hasn't received his file....sigh......

Our meeting with Suzanne went really well. She is a very kind, compassionate and enthusiastic woman. Before becoming an adoption worker she worked for a Christian service as a therapist for sexually assaulted women and children. I can imagine that she cried every day while in that profession. That is her level of compassion. I can see where that job would have been very hard for her. She said she enjoys being a "family matchmaker" so much more!

Suzanne heard yesterday about a 6 year old boy who may be available for adoption soon. She wanted to know what ages we were willing to accept. I told her ages 5 or 6 would be about the oldest I feel comfortable starting out with. E said up to 10.

Suzanne is going to gather some files of children that are available. I think she feels one child would be a good start for us at this time. We have plenty of time to add more to the mix!

We should be able to start talking or e-mailing children's social workers and foster parents soon and then actually start meeting with children. Suzanne said most people know at the first meeting whether they "click" or not with a certain child. She said it's kind of like that first date. The ones where you either feel it or you don't. She reinforced that we can say no at any time to any child and we won't feel any pressure. They'll just keep looking for the right match for us.

It feels so strange talking about a child this way. How will I not imagine a connection? I have dreamed of being a mother my whole life. I have imagined my life with a child in it for years. My chest has hurt so many times looking at that empty little bedroom. Please God, give us wisdom in the choice we will be making. Guide our heads and our hearts equally so we choose the right child to give a bright and wonderful future to.

We all need friends....especially saintly ones!

While rifling through my jewelry box this morning I found a little box of my grandma's jewelry. These were some "junk" things she had given me years and years ago. I decided to take a peak as I had not opened this little box in a long, long time. Her ID bracelet was there, old and tarnished. There was a stick-pin that I will never wear. There was a little box with a bar of soap in it, a souvenir from a trip to Germany. There was a pendant with a broken chain that I had never paid any attention to before. Wait....hold on.....I had never taken a close look at the pendant. I could not believe my eyes! This is what I saw!








It is tiny and I had to use a magnifying glass to be sure that it truly was St. Gerard. I put a new jump ring on it and put it on a different chain and I am wearing it right now!

My grandma had 9 healthy pregnancies. Her 9 children survived her and my grandpa. 8 of them went on to marry and have children and grand-children of their own. Grandpa told me when we first found out we were infertile that Grandma prayed to St. Gerard every night for the health and safety of her children. He said maybe it would help us, too.


I found this today for a reason. Tonight we have a meeting in our home with our case worker. She is bringing us the file of a 2 year old boy. I know Grandma will in attendance at this meeting and she'll be cheering us on. Hopefully she'll have a word with St. Gerard on our behalf, too. They seem to be good friends.....

UPDATE!!!

This is my mom's FB status! So wonderful! Praise GOD!!!


We just got back from GR..GOOD NEWS finally!!!!He woke up while we were there and started communicating..He is off the ventilator and is holding his own..The docs and nurses can't believe how fast it happened and so far no brain damage..Yeh!!!! Thanks to all the prayers Keep them coming but this is a big hurdle he had to get through..All looks good!!!!



Amazing:)

You take the good, you take the bad

This has been a tough week. Starting last Wednesday it has been so up and down my head and heart are spinning!

Liam is much, much better. Thank you so much for all your prayers! They have worked wonderfully!

My step-nephew, on the other hand, is in a real bad spot. Still unconscious, still on a ventilator. They were going to try to bring him around yesterday but they decided to hold off. They have no way of knowing how long he was without oxygen so they cannot even guess as to the extent of brain damage. He does have some brain function but they cannot accurately measure until he is conscious.

Then yesterday, the other shoe fell. A friend of ours committed suicide. He was terminal with a very rare form of cancer. Treatments could have extended his life but because of the rarity of his cancer the cost monthly was almost $10,000. He decided to end his life and leave something for his wife rather than wipe out their life savings.

My heart is so heavy today. I have experienced a strange mix of sadness and happiness simultaneously. Two of my co-workers announced their pregnancies and a friend died. My step-nephew is in a coma and we have found a potential child.

There is no sun without some rain.

The battle rages on!

Thank you so much for praying for Liam. He is doing better. He went into surgery last night and they lanced and drained another spot, this time on his leg. It seems this spot was caused by the lancing on the initial spot and something they did with a saline injection. I don't know all the details but the surgeon is pleased that he now has two lesions draining. Lian had another round of IV antibiotics and he has oral antibiotics to take as well. His temp is staying down and he is doing well at this time. That being said, he does still have a staph infection and they are very unpredictable infections. His parents and my MIL are keeping a close eye on him and they live only minutes away from one of the best children's hospitals in Michigan.

Now we have another crisis happening, this time with my step-nephew. Jaime, pronounced HI-ME (his dad is Hispanic), is my step-sister's 16 year old son. He is a very talented long distance runner and he runs cross-country and track. He metaled at state as a freshman. This morning, while out for his daily run, he collapsed and lost consciousness. He was taken by ambulance to our local hospital and then air-lifted to the same hospital Liam was at yesterday. When I talked to my mom and step-dad, Jaime was in full cardiac arrest and had been put on a ventilator.

My parents were partway through the 3 hour drive home from vacation when they got the call about Jaime. They called us to get directions to the hospital, dropped off their camped, and headed out again. We had barely walked in the door when Mom called us.

I just don't know what to think! They say these things come in three's and I am praying nothing else happens to our loved ones. I am not close at all with my two step-sisters but I can't stand the thought of anything happening to any of their children. I feel so bad and so helpless! I am asking that you join me in prayer that Jaime will come out of this okay. Your prayers were amazing for Liam and I know God is listening to the prayer warriors!!

Gosh but I feel bad for my prayer buddy! Two crisis', two days apart. Sorry, buddy! I promise to return the prayers!

I need you now more than ever!!

Prayer warriors, we need you!! Our 11 month old nephew, Liam, has been taken in for emergency surgery tonight. He had a sore develop earlier this week from diaper friction. He started running a fever and the sore swelled up. Wednesday a surgeon lanced and drained the sore. They tested the infection to see what type it was. They ruled out MERSA but it is a staph infection. Today his fever shot up. He was going back in for surgery but we aren't sure what for. We are still up north and my brother and sister-in-law are about 5 hours south of us. My MIL is there taking care of their two girls while Liam and his parents are at the hospital. That is really all we know at this point. I am praying to God that this little guy is not septic. Sepsis can lead to organ failure and death. Please pray with us for our only nephew and his family! May God watch over Liam and heal him. May He give my brother and sister-in-law strength during this trial. Thanks to you all for your prayers! I believe there is strength in numbers and we need to storm Heaven for our little Liam!!

"The Big Race" and other bits......

So, today is the "Big Race". That's what my family keeps calling it. E, are you ready for the "Big Race"? W, have you been training for the "Big Race"? They trained yesterday. Rode all of 2.5 miles up to Topinabee to Breakers Bar for a beer. This is gonna be fun! Starts at 9am and they both planning on finishing in 1 hour and 15 minutes or less. I'll post their results later today!

I have taken a total of 2 pictures on this trip. I forogot to charge my batteries before we left and kept forgetting until Friday night. I took my 2 pictures last night. I'll take more today at the race.

Not much has been going up here that is photo-worthy. Just family hanging around the campground talking and eating and laughing. I did play a horrible game of corn-hole last night that my 4 year old cousin Wyatt captured on his dad's camera. Great. E and I lost our first game 21 to 18 and the second one 21 to 6, I think. My stellar athleticism. I can't even throw a little corn bag into a hole! Based on the score though, hubby didn't do much better!

Today wraps up Indian River's summerfest. We went into town Friday and Saturday and walked the art fair, farmer's market and car show. Friday my aunt and I did a little shopping in the stores, too. We had to go into the stores just to cool off a little. Friday was really hot. Yesterday was quite nice and today looks like rain with temp's in the 70's. It looks like the rain may hold off until after the race is done.

On the fertility front, tell me how I can have fertile CM on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week and by Sunday still not have ovulated? Stupid body of mine!

In adoption news, I got an e-mail from our CW and our next meeting will be with a different CW. We'll be dealing with the agency's "waiting child adoption specialist" from now on. Her name is Suzanne and in our first meeting we'll start looking at children's profiles. Wait, what? I can start already? Before we get our foster license? I seriously love our agency! This entire process has been just awesome! I'm just sure I'll be a momma before Christmas!

Vacation's all I ever wanted......

Well, we made it to Indian River yesterday at about 1:15. We made terrific time on the freeway. Just over 3 hours to get here.

It is so hot up here! I am used to living pretty close to Lake Michigan and the lake keeps it a bit cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Humidity is usually the only discomfort in the summer living near the lake. Up here though? Hot!Hot!Hot! We set up our campsites as quick as we could and headed for the pool. I think we were in the pool by 2:30. That is a new record for us. We swam and played in the water for about 2 hours. Even me, which I rarely do!

About suppertime we noticed it was starting to cloud up. Being the hard-core campers we are, we decided to check out the weather on our laptops, notebooks and cell phones. Huge storm headed our way! Huge! My Uncle Jeff, who's coming up Friday, called and told us to batten down the hatches. He said this storm would be packing winds of 50 to 60 mph. Ye-Ikes! That is not a cool thing when staying in a camper! So we folded up chairs, cleared the clothes lines and moved everything under cover. The storm was supposed to hit around 9pm so everyone piled into our camper to watch a movie. Family movie night included Bruce Almighty and popcorn! Since everyone was in our camper, I went over to my aunt and uncle's site to hang out with my aunt Melissa. She and my uncle adopted from China so we talked adoption stuff. She's an awesome resource!

So, we were ready! And, the storm never came! It broke up as it hit the lakeshore about 50 miles west. We got a little rain this morning and there is little more rain on the radar but it amounted to nothing. Oh, well. I guess if we hadn't been prepared it would have hit us hard. Murphy's law!

So today I think will be pretty quiet. Once this rain moves out it is supposed to be hot and humid. It will probably be a beach or pool day or maybe a read in the shade day.
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My Max is being so bad! Daddy went up to the showers and Max is crying like Daddy is never returning!
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Oooh, Bristol and Levi are getting married! Who cares?!?!
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I should make this a quick-takes post! Maybe tomorrow......

Vacation with a side of guilt

I'm spending the weekend getting ready for our 10 day camping trip up north. We stay in Indian River at a wonderful campground. I absolutely love northern Michigan! We've done this trip 5 years in a row and it never gets old. We don't do or see the same things every year but we do like to revisit a few of our favorites. There is so much to do! And there are festivals and rivers and lakes....one cannot get bored up north.

My favorite place to go, a place that is so beautiful and so peaceful is The Cross in the Woods. I love to go there and sit in front of the cross or walk among the many sculptures. There is also a meditation nature walkway and sculptures of the stations of the cross. The mass is always very nice, too. The Cross in the Woods is staffed by Franciscan Friars of the Sacred Heart, St. Louis, MO. The Friars are always so wonderful to talk to! They have a great gift shop, too. One of the best Christian stores I have ever seen. The Cross in the Woods website does not do it justice!

I think we are going to drive east this year over to Lake Huron. We have never went sight-seeing on the east side of the state. It's always the west and north sides. I have heard there are some waterfalls up near Onaway and some lighthouses and a maritime museum over by Rogers City. I think we'll check those things out.

We'll be cheering E and my Uncle W on as they compete in a biathlon next Sunday during Indian River Summer Fest. The biathlon is 3 miles of kayaking and 14 miles of biking. We are also going to, as a group, rent pontoon boats and spend the day on the inland waterway.

I cannot wait to get out of Dodge! Work is a little wild with the conversion less than 3 weeks away. We start our classroom training tomorrow. That means every day 1 and a few times 2 employees will have to drive to the main office 2 hours away for hands on training. Monday our boss goes and Tuesday, I go. Then my vacation starts. My training is being compacted into 2 days instead of 3 like everyone else's. I go the day before and the day after vacation. I am feeling some major guilt for having vacation during this crucial time but I'm sure I'll get over it about the time the wheels hit the highway! How was I to know last year when we made our reservation and put money down that we'd be going through this major conversion? It's not like they tell us anything until we "need to know". It would have been helpful to know last year that they were going to be blocking vacations for a 6 week span this summer. Then I would have made different plans. Like maybe go see JBTC in the late summer or early fall!!

One last thing: Can I borrow some prayers from you gals? My friend Karen is searching for clarity. She is the friend who is so instrumental in our local Haiti outreach. She is the one that I rolled all the bandages for. He husband Roger is all set to go to Haiti in 15 days. Karen's boss does not want to give her the time off. She works at a farmer's market during the summer and fall. She pretty much works to give. They support a family in Africa and they are currently trying to get the daughter over here for school. They have applied for a student Visa for her and hope it will come through very soon. Every penny Karen makes goes either to their African family or to Haiti. The trouble is, the people who were supposed to go with Roger have all backed out. Now he has to go alone and that is not recommended. Karen wants to go so bad but she will loose her job. She is searching for the sign to tell her to go. I cannot tell her what to do even though she asked me to. I told her I would pray that God would give her the sign whether to stay or go. She is such a good soul! Please pray with me that she will get a clear answer very soon. And, please pray that her boss will soften her heart and not fire Karen for going. I'm sure Karen could find another part-time job but she enjoys working at the farmer's market as much as she loves giving! Thanks in advance for her prayers and I cannot wait to see what she decides to do.

Have a great weekend, everyone, and I'll be posting from vacation! I'll have more time, I hope!

P.S. Still waiting on our foster license!

Happy 4th and all that jazz!

When I saw this morning that I hadn't posted in two weeks I thought I had better step up to the plate!! Sorry, but know I haven't abandoned any of you. I'm still reading and commenting a little. Know that I am praying for you all as well! It's just that it's SUMMER!!! And summer is Michigan is so very short! Plus, my niece is here for just a few days more. She's headed back with her grandma on the 5th. Boy, I'm gonna miss her!

We are having awesome weather here this weekend, perfect for all the family activities we have going on! There are several of us camping at the family homestead this entire weekend. We came out Thursday night to set up and I ended up staying in my camper alone. E had to work Friday morning so he and the boys went home to sleep. I worked all day yesterday. My nieces, D and K, are staying with my mom in her camper and my niece from Memphis got a surprise yesterday when her sister showed up as well! Tennessee Grandma came up for a week and brought little M up too! My mom has the joy of two eleven year olds and a nine year old, all girls, staying with her. Our camper only sleeps four but Mom's sleeps six so she has the room. It looks like a pink hurricane hit in there!

We have been doing this 4th of July camping thing for several years now. We're only about 15 miles from home but it's so much easier to stay than drive back and forth.
Way cheaper, too, than putting all that gas in our cars!

So, on to the serious stuff. I'm sure you've just skimmed this post looking for adoption info so here it is! We received our home study in the mail Thursday to review, sign and return. It went back to them yesterday. We are approved to adopt 2 children ages 0 to 10, boy or girl. We listed our impairments as mild physical, mild mental, moderate emotional and moderate learning. It was hard to put moderate on that sheet. It's just scary not knowing which end of the spectrum moderate can be. I am hoping for mild-moderate rather than severe-moderate. Now we are waiting again. We are waiting for our license from the state of Michigan. That can take 2 to 4 weeks. Then we will start locking at profiles. Rather, our case-worker will start looking at profiles and when she sees a possible match, she'll forward the info to us. Then she will send our info to the child's case-worker to review. If he or she deems we may be a good fit for the child then we'll talk with the case-worker and possibly the foster parents. We may be able to meet the child at this point.

We are preparing ourselves for a lengthy transition period. Our CW said it could take as long as 3 months. We'll have to do a lot of driving I'm sure! We'll start of with some play dates and then do some day trips. After a while we'll be able to bring the child to our home for overnight visits. Depending on the strength of the attachment he or she may be able to stay several days. As of right now, I'm hoping to be a mom by Christmas. Given that Christmas is less than six months away I think it is very feasible!

Other than that not much is happening! I love everything about summer and since it is so short here in the Great Lakes tundra I soak up every minute of it! Work has been crazy. We're dealing with all of our training for the core-processor change-over the end of July. The only thing that will be the same about my job are the members and how to turn a computer on. Everything else will be changing. I joked that I'm going to make "teller in training" signs for all our windows! It's been super-stressful and our new CEO drops the F-bomb every chance he gets! No, not that F word but the "you're fired" F word! A 15 year branch manager was let go last week. We about died! And my boss, I'd never seen her so pale in all the years I've worked with her! We've all been just minding our P's and Q's and doing our job. Hopefully we'll be able to come through this change-over with the rest of our staff intact!

Well, I think that's all for now. I need to get ready to head into town for a hair-cut. After, I'm meeting my aunts to go to the arts and crafts fair in town. Everyone have a happy 4th!



P.S. If there are typos, ignore them! I'm typing this post on my little netbook!