Addus aBaby

Potty Bag

2010-07-30T19:36:00.002-04:00

My pathetic first attempt at potty training Petros. Well, it's technically not pathetic yet since it just started. But I have my doubts about it's success. Because, well, I don't know what the higgety heck I'm doin' here folks!

Here is my thinking behind the Potty Bag...what's that? You want to know what it is? Sorry. I got ahead of myself. The potty bag is a ziploc bag with a string attached. The bag goes in his pants and the opening gets duct taped to his butt cheeks.

HA!!!! Just kidding. Cruel joke? I know. I'm awful aren't I. Oh well, I thought it was funny.

Okay. In all seriousness, the potty bag is a special plastic little tote that holds a hand towel (chosen by Petros) and some kiddie soap (also chosen by Petros). Whenever Petros asks to use the potty he gets to carry this little tote to the bathroom and after he sits on the potty, he gets to wash his hands and use the nice towel. Now, we have a kiddie potty in his room and in our living room. If he asks to use either of those we will go get the tote also.

I know I may be looking at a lot of trips to the potty. But, that's the point isn't it??? Because one of those times must be successful right? Right? Please say right!.........Whew, thanks.

I know I am still lacking pictures but I'm working on it.

Tata all!

Ya hear that?...

2010-07-19T22:35:00.002-04:00

...It's the sound millions of dust particles make as they're blown into the air off this ancient blog.

Oh where to begin, where to begin.

Well, our Petros is turning 2 on August 1st. That's pretty awesome. Sad. But awesome none the less. He's celebrating this momentous occasion by asserting his independence. He has just recently REALLY started saying words. That's right man, no rushing this kiddo. He'll do it in his own time. Now he throws out commands as if he's actually in charge of stuff around here. "Moooove!" "Read!" "Sit!" "More cheese!" The list of words and phrases is endless, and yes, the exclamation points are necessary. BECAUSE THAT'S HOW HE SAYS IT....!

He is full of love and we continue to be smitten.

So smitten in fact that we're now on the wait list for another infant boy. WOOHOO! Do you know how hard it is to get paper work done with a toddler running around???? Well, let me tell ya, it's HARD! We are currently #46 and are looking forward to our updated number in the beginning of August. We are using AGCI again. That was a no-brainer. Their heart for children is evident in every interaction we have with them and they have amazing programs that go beyond orphan care. We are privileged to have them as our partner for this next adoption.

Travis' job continues to do well, even in these difficult economic times. We are so thankful for his work. Don't get me wrong - we don't actually have money. But we are as happy as pigs, well, you get the point...gotta keep it family friendly folks.

I am so blessed and thankful to be home with Petros. I will leave you with a list of some of my most favorite things right now...please note that none of them have to do with money.....because....we don't have any, remember?

1. The closeness I feel when Travis and I sit down to pray together.
2. The sound of Petros' laughter as I chase him and he can hear my feet louder and louder behind him (side note: I often hear this laughter as I'm chasing him down the produce isle in the grocery store)
3. The incredible change God is making in my life, my heart, and my family (more on this later, some of it's a little scary but it's all good).
4. Walking to the library in the morning and stopping at every blade of grass, bush, and ant we see.
5. Watching Petros snuggle on the couch to read a book while I cook dinner.
6. "Slow dancing" - cheek to cheek with Petros. I taught him to nuzzle his cheek next to mine and we sway while I sing. Boy will I miss that when he moves out one day!

Okay, I PROMISE to have pics next time. There are so many to go through it'll take a while.

Talk to you soon!

One Year Old!

2009-08-03T14:33:00.003-04:00

Well, all the denial in the world couldn't stop time from ticking away and this past Friday my precious babe turned 1.

I'm not quite sure how to put into words just how much Petros has changed us and made us better people. He draws attention where ever he goes and we cannot go on one outing, no matter how small, without people stopping us to talk to him and tell us how beautiful he is.

We are blessed beyond words and are ready for number 2. That's right folks. Our adoption agency requires families to wait 9 months from the time they come home from the last adoption to start the process again and that's November for us. We are ecstatic with the family we have now and can't wait to see what God has for us on this next adventure. We are requesting a boy because I just can't get enough of the messes, energy, noise, and did I mention messes??

Anyway, here are 12 things we adore about you baby Petros (I'll try not to cry):

1. The way you wake up every morning babbling and talking up a storm.

2. The way you throw your arms around us when we lift you out of the crib and then suck on our faces with all your strength.

3. The way you say "mamma" and then smile and look me in the eyes while I'm rocking you to sleep.

4. Your kissy face:

5. The way you use your walking toy and then always turn around with a smile to get some applause.

6. Your one upper tooth (three more on the way...AT THE SAME TIME).

7. The way you laugh and fall face first into the carpet when I'm chasing you in the living room.

8. The way you smack your lips when you see your bottle coming towards your mouth.

9. The smell of your sweet baby breath.

10. The way you drop things on purpose and then lift your arms to say, "Where did it go?"

11. The way you race to my lap, panting, when I say, "Snuggle up for story time".

12. I love how you snort when you laugh, just like mommy (God really does have a sense of humor)

Thank you God, thank you for the blessing of our son.

Happy Birthday Petros!!

The Dance Of Love And Discipline

2009-07-14T09:26:00.003-04:00

I've only been a mom for about 6 months, but let me tell you. I've learned more in those 6 months than I think I ever did in 13 years of public school, 4 years of college, and 5 years of work experience.

Sometimes I imagine what it would be like to observe me and Petros doing the Mother/Baby dance. The one where we learn about each other's limitations, likes, dislikes, boundaries.

I can see in his eyes when he's testing me, that he wants to know what his limits are. He craves them. I can actually pinpoint the moment in time where he thinks in his baby mind, "will she let me do this?", "if I do it anyway will she still love me?". It sounds a bit advanced but I truly believe this is the dance we do throughout the day.

This morning Petros was going after our lap top keyboard. That is a "no, no" for him and he knows it. He looks at me, touches the keyboard and I say, "no" firmly. If he does it again I take him away from the computer. When I took him away from the computer this morning I had my "unhappy mommy" face. When I sat him down on the floor he came over and gave me a kiss and patted my face. I gave him the same love instantly, as if I were saying, "yes, I will always love you, no matter what choices you make".

He crawled right over to the computer again and the same dance occured. This happened about three times. Each time I was firm in my "discipline" but freely giving of my love. And each incident ended with a mommy/baby love moment.

This is the dance that will continue for years and years to come. There is something amazingly beautiful in this dance. I love showing him that no matter what, I will always have an overflowing, never ending love for him.

Even in the midst of the "no" moments.

Where The Heck Have We Been???!

2009-07-13T15:42:00.004-04:00

Actually, we haven't been anywhere. What have we been doing is probably a better question.

WE HAVE BEEN HAVING A BLAST WITH OUR AMAZING BABY!!!!

Sorry, I had to shout that because my heart can't even contain the love I feel for our baby boy. Petros is turning one in a couple of weeks and I am in complete denial. I'd like to stay there too thank you very much so don't remind me.

Well, I have some pictures to share because we've taken, oh, about 80 million or so...so, here they all are...(just kidding). I'm realizing that most of them are just Petros or Petros and daddy. I need more pics with me and my babe...don't worry professional ones are on the way!

This is the same picture every day around 6pm. Travis gets home from work and Petros practically jumps out of his skin crawling to his feet. He nuzzles his face into Travis' shoulder and I melt...every day!

Next we have Petros' favorite pass time: begging to be lifted up so he can pull the ceiling fan and light switch.

A while ago, we had some major yard work to do. So, we dressed Petros in overalls and brought him outside with us. He had a blast and I just had to take a picture of his farming cuteness.

This last picture was the one I used for his 1st Birthday invitations. I stamped the word PARTY in the corner at the top. I just had to use this picture because he is wearing plaid and stripes (so his personality) and he is on a mission to party!

Petros doing all his tricks at 10 months

2009-06-16T21:21:00.001-04:00

What An Incredible Gift...

2009-05-01T09:32:00.002-04:00

that I don't ever want to take for granted.

Staying home with my son.

It's all about what's right for each family, and working moms deserve every ounce of respect as stay at home moms do. What a huge blessing to love your job and your family! I enjoyed teaching very much. But when Petros came along, I knew in my heart that I wanted to be the one with him each and every day. To rock him to sleep for all his naps, to see him crawl for the first time, to teach him, to feed him. It felt like a calling to me.

And now, more than ever, I'm so thankful that I have the freedom to make that choice. It has taken lots of sacrifice, but worth every bit of it!

My heart is bursting with love for our little man and even on days that are trying, I don't want to take this gift of being a stay-at-home-mom for granted. EVER.

I realize there are people out there who would love to stay home but can't for one reason or another. I'm so thankful to God for this opportunity!

I heard a speaker one day talking about the struggle between moms who stay home and moms who work a 9-5. He spoke about how they sometimes judge one another for their decisions and situations. He then said, "let us build one another up!". If you are a mom who stays home, why not bring dinner to friends who both work on a busy night for them? Or, offer to babysit if they're in a pinch. Help each other when each one needs it.

How true this is! I desire to be that kind of friend.

This post was very rambly...just getting some thoughts down! =)

Some Way Overdue Pics And Quick Updates

2009-04-26T14:37:00.005-04:00

Petros loves to look at books and listen to stories. He goes over to the book basket in our living room and dumps it at least 5 times a day.

We read the book, "Hey, Wake Up!" by Sandra Boynton every morning after our first bottle. His eyes light up when I read the first page...my eyes don't necessarily light up until after my first cup of coffee. Petros likes to start his days at 5:30am sharp.

He is such a happy baby and smiles at us so much. He'll even stop his play and look for us in the room and then throw us a huge smile.

He talks so much. His favorite words right now are, "Ba-ba-ba-ba", "Muh-muh-muh", and a high pitched "Uh-uh-uh" (he imitates the dog).

He's doing the army crawl to get to toys and the other day he got up on both feet with his hands on the floor. Any minute now he'll be cruising the floor...I should probably vacuum then! =)

Our boy is such a gift! We are so very blessed. I'm so excited to get out all his summer clothes. He has so many cute outfits! Thanks friends and family!
I love the way his hands are folded in this next picture! So precious.

So cute!!!

A Riveting Scene From Petros' Screenwriting Debut

2009-04-16T07:13:00.003-04:00

Curtains open. Petros is lounging in his excersaucer. Sippy cup is sitting nearby by full of water.

Petros: Yo. What's up sippy cup?

Sippy Cup: Nuhin', just chillin'.

Petros: Sippy Cup, I'm gonna ask you a question.

Sippy Cup: Yeah?

Petros: How come, when I hold you to my mouth nuhin' comes out of you?

Sippy Cup: 'Cause you aint suckin'!

Petros: Oh man! How I do dat?

Sippy Cup: Don't ask me bro, I'm just the sippy cup.

Eleven Things I've Learned Since Becoming A Mom

2009-04-09T18:46:00.004-04:00

1. Always have a frozen pizza on hand because you never know when the fit's gonna hit the shan.

2. Never, and I mean never start the day out wearing a clean shirt and pants. They will inevitably be puked on, snotted on, and slobbered on. My advise is to dig the dirtiest ones out of the bottom of the hamper. Bonus? They can serve as burp cloths as well.

3. Don't give your husband "the eye" at 7pm because fatigue will overcome you and you'll be asleep by 7:01pm.

4. Do not underestimate the power of wiping stuff on your pants. Most of it dries clear and no one will know anyway - unless they saw you do it, in which case I suggest asking for the bill early. Bonus? See number 2.

5. No matter how long you think your outing will last, always take a bottle and at least 4 diapers. Especially if you've just given your son spinach for the first time.

6. Not all diaper pails are the same. Nuff said.

7. It is a fabulous idea to have a pet dog. They eat cheerios off the floor and can lick your child's face clean when you don't have a cloth handy.

8. Ahem...ALWAYS have a cloth handy.

9. Showering is OVERRATED! However, clean underwear is not. Don't question me about this one.

10. It is in fact possible to make it to 2pm and realize you haven't brushed your teeth yet.

11. And, last but not least, LET THE HOUSE GET DIRTY! Playing is much more fun! And, if you're in a pinch for dinner, please see number 1.

The Romance Is Not Gone My Friends!

2009-04-04T21:53:00.003-04:00

Tonight in the kitchen before our guests came over:

Me: Oooooo...you look pretty hot right now. What's different about you?

Travis: Um...I changed out of that snot covered sweatshirt.

Me: Sexy.

This Is The Real Me

2009-04-03T17:24:00.004-04:00

I lost interest in reading after the age of 11 I think. TV and other things were just much more interesting to me than the length in which it took to read a book.

Not until I was married for a few years did I fall in live with the wordy sport once again. It began with a couple classics, The Count Of Monty Cristo etc. and quickly moved to historical fiction ( I think my favorite thus far).

But now...oh glorious now...I'm reading Twilight. I can't put it down. I don't care if the author is a Mormon, (not that there's anything wrong with that) girl can WRITE! And did you know she wrote this book while her children were napping?? And then had her writer's club at the local Barnes and Noble edit it for her?? Amazing (thanks for the juicy tidbits Amanda).

I'm about to start Chapter 8, "Port Angeles". I'm such a naughty reader. I don't follow any of the rules. I skip ahead, gulping in important words that I can quickly scan on the next few pages. And then, I get mad at myself because I didn't take the time to sip it slowly, like a warm delicious cup of hot cocoa.

I love the passion in this book. The danger. I'm so glad there are others in the series because I have that many more hours to look forward to.

What Part Of The Chicken Was That?!

2009-04-02T15:16:00.005-04:00

So, we took Petros to the Dr. today because he's had three days of fever and he seemed pretty lethargic. Doc said he's okay and that a heavy duty cold will do that to ya.

We ended up grabbing lunch at McDonalds because it's on the way home from the office and is convenient. Also, watching "Supersize Me" just wasn't enough of a detterant to keep me away from fried yumminess.

I got nuggets, Travis got something from the dessert food group, and Petros; well, he just sucked on his drool.

This was the conversation as we ate and drove home:

Me: You couldn't pay me enough to live in ________. Well, maybe you could. Because I would just save up all the money and then move away.

Travis: You're a freak.

Me: (biting into a nugget) You know you love me. crunch, moosh, ugh Oh man, what part of the chicken was that?!

Travis: (laughing) The beak?

Me: Shutup.

Travis: No seriously. The ear?

Me: Do Chickens even have ears??

Travis: No, they hear out of their eyeballs.

Me: They do not!!....do they??

Travis: Yes they do.

Me: Seriously. What did I just bite on?

Travis: I don't know. That's why I got ice cream. Maybe it was a knee cap.

Me: You're a butt.

A Note From The Rookie Mom

2009-04-01T08:52:00.002-04:00

I know all you veteran moms and moms of more than one kid are going to kill me for this post.

But, here goes anyway:

Petros has an upper respiratory thingy that has given him a fever for the last couple of days. Doctor says it's fine and will run it's course but it's making ME batty. Petros doesn't cry too often - yesterday was bad and he just snuggled into me. Every time I put him down to...oh...let's say...pee, he screamed.

I've gotten roughly 4 1/2 hours of sleep for the last two nights and when I woke up this morning I poured my coffee into Petros' cereal and my creamer into an empty coffee mug.

On top of all that, last night I actually left the house in "lounge" pants and a shirt to pick up a pizza. Both were spotted with baby food, baby snot, and, well I'm not sure what that other thing was.

What a sex kitten I am.

Sorry all you pros out there, but I'm new to this and man is it hard!

ps. I've gotten into the habit of bringing Petros into bed with me in the mornings. He's just so cute. We sleep a little while longer and he usually wakes up first ;). But when he does, he touches my face and lifts his head to suck my chin. So adorable. Do I miss my sleep? Of course. Who wouldn't?? Do I miss being able to wear a clean shirt for more than an hour ? Of course. BUT IT IS ALL WORTH IT!!!

Super Quick Update...Because, Hey, We're Busy!

2009-03-22T16:31:00.002-04:00

Travis and Petros are napping upstairs and I have about 5 minutes to type before I go get the little guy.

Petros laughs. A lot. He laughs at funny sounds, me walking into the room, diaper changes. You name it, he'll laugh at it. I love his gummy smile. I acutally licked his head the other day because I can't get enough of him. Weird huh? Maybe not.

He is doing so well. Babbles and coos almost constantly and loves to listen to stories! Travis read about 5 books to him yesterday and he sat snuggled up to daddy through each of them.

Saturday morning, Petros woke up at 5:30 and Travis had left the house to give my dad a ride to the train station in Philly. I quickly realized the reason for his early wake up: a leaky diaper. His pjs were soaked through and so I changed him and put new ones on. Then I wanted to snuggle and sleep some more so I brought him downstairs and we slept together on the couch.

Now, you might not think this is such a big deal but let me tell you why you'd be wrong. Petros has been bonding to us just fine. The only thing I've been concerned about is eye contact while holding chest to chest and snuggling. He is almost 8 months old so he likes to move around quite a bit. But, I knew in my heart that his lap-restlessness was probably due to not quite cozying up to us yet. Well, he slep on my chest until 7am. I felt him move on me but didn't open my eyes. I wanted to see what he'd do. He reached out his hand and touched my face. Then smacked me ( I guess he wanted me to wake up) =). I opened my eyes and he began to kick his legs and wave his arms. He was ecstatic! I wondered what would happen if I rolled over and placed him between the couch cushion and me for some snuggle time. Well, he gazed into my eyes over and over again. He nuzzled into me and we connected more deeply than ever! He laid like that with me for about 15 minutes (pretty darn good for an almost 8 month old).

When Travis came home from taking my dad we both played with Petros and then Travis scooped him up and placed him next to his side. Petros immediately snuggled up to Travis and pushed his face into his side. PRECIOUS! He then stayed like that until Travis had read him about 4 or 5 stories.

Petros is dreamy. I call him my boyfriend. I lay with him. Kiss him. Snuggle with him. He has captured my heart and I personally hope he becomes quite the mama's boy. That would be just fine with me!

Time to go wake him up! Yay!!!

Family Bonding With Guns 'N' Roses

2009-03-07T09:36:00.003-05:00

We have our TV in our basement and usually do all our hanging out in the living room upstairs. I really like this set up because we rarely watch TV and enjoy each other with few distractions. Never mind the fact that I want Petros to watch as little TV as possible - at least for as long as we can maintain that.

So this morning we all got up, had coffee (not Petros), and breakfast. We were listening to XM radio on line - the 80's station. Travis and I some how got to talking about our favorite videos on MTV (when it was actually good). I told him that I love the wedding dress in the Guns 'N' Roses video, "November Rain". It just always stuck with me, the fact that you can see the garter on her leg. Isn't that supposed to be hidden under the dress??

Well, with all this talk we had to look the video up on YouTube and watch it. Petros was on my lap and had his first dose of TV.

Was it wholesome Dora? Veggie Tales?

Nope.

A Guns 'N' Roses video. Oh yeah, that's how we roll around here.

So, go ahead. Make your judgements. And while you're at it, anyone have a clue as to how she dies in the video? Travis' theory is that she was killed while everyone was running frantically from the rain (why??). I think she knew she was dying before they got married hence her forlorn look on their wedding day.

Please, go look at the video and tell me what you think.

Then go to church and ask for forgiveness.

He's Amazing

2009-02-28T08:16:00.004-05:00

I wanted to post a quick update to share a little about Petros' adjustment.

He is sleeping through the night for the most part now. He's had a couple of rough nights lately but don't we as adults have difficult nights of sleep for one reason or another? Maybe we become too warm and can't get back to sleep, maybe we have a nightmare and wake up out of sorts. So, I'm not concerned with him waking up occasionally.

He is changing so fast! When he came home he needed assistance sitting up but can now, for the most part, sit on his own. He also could only roll to one side but now is rolling both ways. He lifts his chest completely off the floor using his arms and can occasionally bring his one knee up. He turns his body 180 degrees if he wants a toy that is near him.

It amazes me how he studies things. HH told us that he is a very observant baby and concentrates a great deal. Does he ever?! He'll hold the same toy for about 10 - 15 minutes and look at it, talk to it, turn it around, and shift it from hand to hand. His head control amazes me and he turns to see where sounds come from.

He Has definitely found more of his voice too. He used to make this aaaahhhhh sound all the time and now he say uuummmm, oooohhhh, etc. He also makes tons of raspberries (which can be a little inconvenient during feeding time - but still way cute). I think this is really something given that he heard a completely different language for the first 6 months of his life.

We have also entered the world of solids! Yup. So far he has enjoyed the yummy taste of squash, oatmeal, applesauce, peas, pears, and sweet potatoes.

We see two little spots on his lower gums where I assume his teeth will come in. Let me tell you, he certainly lives up to his nickname "King Of The Droolids"!

He loves to look at books! He will study the pages and laugh at stories. His favorite books right now are "The Grapes Of Wrath", "Pride and Prejudice"....just kidding....he loves Barnyard Dance and The Nose Book.

I look at him everyday and am amazed at God's gift to us. I have never seen a more beautiful baby...honestly (no offense to you other moms out there) ;)

And now...Pictures!!!

Paper Towels: A Photo Essay By Petros Nelson

2009-02-24T10:45:00.004-05:00

I'm Too Quick To Do What People Tell Me

2009-02-23T20:10:00.003-05:00

So, I've been seeing on a couple of blogs that people are typing the phrase, "(your name here) needs" on Google's Search engine to see what comes up. The results seem pretty funny so I thought I'd give it a try.

Seriously. I did not "doctor" this in any way.

Here are the first 6 things that come up when I Google "Sunny needs":

1. Sunny needs...a foster home.
2. Sunny needs...a home. Google, I'm sensing a theme here. Do you or the bank know something I don't?
3. Sunny needs...help. Yup, accept not many people are licensed to give that kind of help.
4. Sunny needs...Oh my. We don't use that word in this house. If you dare go see for yourself, but I was repulsed and disgusted.
5. Sunny needs...ACL...Surgery, I assume? This one is very unlikely unless you can damage that part of your body carrying too much laundry ;)

And my personal favorite...

6. Sunny needs...a shave. That's right people. Google nailed that one. Hey, you try becoming a new mom and see how silky smooth your legs stay! Although, maybe 4 weeks is a bit too long going without. ;)

Your turn. Give it a try. I'm not responsible if anything absolutely vulgor comes up though.

Reality Check

2009-02-20T15:32:00.002-05:00

Today marks 3 weeks home. Wow. It feels like it was yesterday we were stepping off the plane in Allentown to meet my family.

I said to myself as we were preparing to become a family and more importantly, an adoptive family, "He may cry for no reason. I just have to hold him and love him." That has proved to be harder than I thought. Not because I don't love him or want him, but because IT'S REALLY HARD. It's difficult to hold a screaming baby, knowing he's been fed, diapered, and cleaned, and knowing there is nothing else you can do for him except hold him and try to comfort him.

It's even harder when he doesn't quite feel like yours yet. If I'm going to be honest with myself and the few people who read this blog then I need to say that I'm still learning to feel like Petros is my son. Not because I don't want him or feel like we made a mistake, just because it's reality. This little boy we prayed for for almost 2 years is finally here. Family bonds don't happen overnight and I hear they don't even happen overnight sometimes for biological children.

However challenging our adjustment has been (and it really hasn't been that bad), each day I feel closer to him and today I held him in my Moby with some worship music on and worshipped in my living room. I was singing and praising and thanking God for this little person and once in a while he would look at me and smile. It was magical. He's becoming my son. We make each other laugh, cry together sometimes, and sometimes I'm the one who's crying because it's his fourth time up in an hour and I've had no sleep (that's for you Whitney) =) I feel ya sister.

I believe that it is virtually impossible to understand joy without having experienced what pain and sadness is like. When I think about the circumstances my son had in his beginning days I cry in pain. Pain for his birth mother, pain for him. I imagine him in that moment and the ones after. But then I look at him. I look into his amazing eyes and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has placed him with us both as a gift and responsibility.

Then I'm struck with fear.

I'm not worthy. I'm impatient. I'm selfish. How could God give this gift to me knowing all those things? Without Him I'm doomed to failure, with Him I'm destined for glory.

As our adjustment continues, I'm getting to see a small glimpse of the adoption plan God has for us, His children. Adoption is painful and joyful at the same time. The loss of birth parents is nothing a child should have to endure. But God makes a way for these children to have families, just like he made a way for us. That's where the joy comes in.

Only, the hard work that Jesus did on the cross grossly overshadows any lack of sleep and temporary discomfort I may feel in this new way of life.

Thank you Father for sacrificing your son so that I may be adopted by you. Thank you for this amazing journey and making adoption not only possible, but ordained by you.

Thank you so much for Petros. He is just amazing.

He's Totally Our Son!

2009-02-18T17:51:00.005-05:00

Just now, when I was changing Petros' diaper, he farted.

Then laughed at himself.

Yup, he's our people.

His new nicknames are now Farty McFartsalot and King of the Droolids.

Here are some unrelated pics (I think farts are invisible anyway which would definitely make a photo difficult):

This one was taken our third day with Petros.

We have this next picture on Facebook, but just in case you're not on Facebook here it is! I don't know why the modeling agencies aren't calling us. ;)

Routine??....

2009-02-17T10:13:00.002-05:00

What routine?

I didn't mention anything about a routine in my previous post.

Nope. Not me.

I would never do that because I'd know better - that as soon as I'd say we have a routine, Petros would decide to sleep completely through the night and then go down for a 9:30 am nap the next morning.

BTW, kudos to the Pampers company. Who knew something that thin could hold that much pee for 10 1/2 hours without leaking. I'm not sure what kind of chemical allows that to be the case but I'm not asking any questions...AND I'M CERTAINLY NOT GOING TO SAY WE HAVEN'T HAD A PEE LEAK YET BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I SPEAK TOO SOON, DON'T WE?

Oh The Cuteness!

2009-02-15T21:43:00.006-05:00

I think we have a routine going here...I hesitate to let those words leave my mouth for fear the entire house will spontaneously combust. Here's how our days have been going:

Wake up: 7:30 (after a 4am wake up and then put back to sleep)
Bottle: 7:45
Oatmeal: 8:30
Nap: 10:30-11:30 or 12:00
Bottle: 11:45 or 12:00
Play and What Not: Until 3pm
Nap: 3:00-4:00
Bottle/Dinner (squash right now): 4:30
Play and What Not: 5:00-7:00
Bedtime Routine Begins: 7:00 (This includes bath, massage with lotion, pjs, bottle, then story...if he's still awake that is)
Sleepytime: 8:00

Who knows how long this feeling of finally being in control will last. I'm not holding my breath. The boy is pure joy and here is a picture of my favorite part of bedtime routine:

Now I'm off to bed to rest up for that 4am waking (hopefully these will not last long).

The Poster Woman For Glamour

2009-02-10T15:28:00.002-05:00

Don't have too much time to write right now because Petros has to go down for his afternoon nap. However, I did want to share what just happened.

My neighbor came over to say Hi unannounced and to see the baby (that's fine, we really like our neighbors a lot). I felt bad for her timing though because here's what happened from the time I went downstairs to when she left:

Petros was screaming his head off because he's been having terrible gas lately, his pants were off because I had just changed his diaper. I opened the door and greeted my neighbor. She asked me how things were going and I started crying. This was because Petros had been crying for 30 minutes straight and I could tell he was in pain from gas. So, I'm standing there with him in his onesie, me crying. And then he spued. Twice. All down the front of me and him. My house was a mess, I had no rag readily available. Then, he pooped and I could feel the warm ooze gushing through his diaper.

Oh yeah, I'm a major hottie today. Angelina eat your heart out.

Have I mentioned I love this child?? Even though I'm totally covered in vomit right now. This was the one thing All God's Children left out of their information packet. =)

A Greater Love

2009-02-05T19:14:00.002-05:00

We did infant massage with Petros tonight.

Travis did the massaging as I read the instructions softly. I cried as I watched Travis gently rub each finger and toe. I can't believe this amazing journey God has started us on. Petros looked up at us as we spoke softly to him and kissed his head. He lay still as Travis' big strong hands went down his sides and across his back. He was so calm. It was such a gift to watch Travis be a loving and gentle daddy. Thank you God for this incredible blessing.

Here is another picture of our sweet boy.

Petros with Hiccups

2009-02-04T11:19:00.001-05:00

Petros, fascinated by his own hands.

2009-02-04T11:16:00.001-05:00

Petros enjoying watching mommy play catch.

2009-02-01T12:05:00.001-05:00

We got home on Friday and about 3:00pm eastern standard time. We are just now feeling human again after being exhausted from jet lag and just being new parents. I plan on posting more about our days in Ethiopia but still need to rest and adjust to parenthood. For now, enjoy our first family photo (taken seconds after meeting Petros) and my favorite video of the sweet baby so far.

We Are...

2009-01-24T00:01:00.001-05:00

We are packed.
We are tired.
We are excited.
We are nervous.
WE ARE OUTA HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PETROS MOMMY AND DADDY ARE COMING!

Duh Sunny, The Time Change

2009-01-21T17:19:00.002-05:00

I was very firm when Travis left for work today (I stayed home sick). "Don't forget about the conference call at 12pm". "We can't sign in late.", I said. I was reminding him of course about the infant travel conference call we have with our adoption agency today to go over travel for this weekend. He murmured a response, kissed me, and left for work.

Halfway through the morning I e-mailed him another reminder. No, I'm not a naggy wife. Not at all.

Well at 5 of 12 I dialed in and heard the automated voice say, "You are the first caller". I secretly patted myself on the back to celebrate how responsible I was and sat back to enjoy the hold music.

Five minutes later I heard Travis' voice say hello. We greeted each other and giggled at being the first and only ones on the line yet. I know, we're dorks. Complete dorks.

It was now 5 after 12 and no other callers had joined us yet. I thought to myself, "Hmm. People must be running late". The next thing I know I hear Travis go, "Sunny! The time difference! We're supposed to call in at 6pm our time. Not 12pm. We're three hours ahead, not behind Oregon.

We hung up.

Yeah, it was pretty hysterical.

Adopt a Sea Kitten!

2009-01-19T12:03:00.005-05:00

Some friends last week informed us of a wacky, new ad campaign being run by some organization called PETA (Please Eat the Tasty Animals, I think) to try to convince everyone to refer to fish as "Sea Kittens".

The idea here is that fish have kind of a bad image, and that people would not eat them if they thought of them as being cute and cuddly like kittens, though it must be said that no fish has ever missed the litterbox and left his business on the bathroom floor, thankyouverymuch.

Far and away the best part of this ad campaign is the fact that you can create your own Sea Kitten, and even email it to friends or put it on your MySpace page. There are four different kinds of fish you can start with, and lots of clothes and accessories to put on or near your sea kitten, including a suit jacket, a ball of string and a unicorn horn.

Most of these of course do little more than obscure the obviously scaly, wet, non-cuddly nature of the fish, the cartoon of which has already been made unrealistically cute with things like eyelashes and pouty lips.

Here's my attempt:

Also you can name your Sea Kitten.

This is, as far as I can tell, the most you can possibly get on one Sea Kitten without him sinking to the bottom of the ocean and, well, not drowning. He has cat ears, a mohawk, a leather jacket, an elephant's nose,a fu manchu, Lennon specs, swimmies, and a ball of string, litterbox and water dish.

How the light blue water manages not to seep out into the regular, dark blue water is not clear. Perhaps it's water made with deuterium, i.e. radioactive "heavy water", in which case you should probably not eat this fish anyway. Also I hear the jacket is kind of tough.

In any case, Sunny and I thought that this premise could perhaps be built upon, that we might be able to think of other animals, normally thought of as edible, and give them names that evoked much cuter images. This might make people less prone to kill them, cut them into fillets, dip them in whisked egg and milk, coat them with seasoned breadcrumbs and then saute them in olive oil until golden brown. Mmmmmm...., er, I mean no, bad Travis. Sea Kittens. Sorry.

So we came up with a list of potential alternative names that might make up the next PETA ad campaign:

Old Name     New Name

Chickens     Pecking Bunnies

Cows         Milk Puppies

Shrimp       Tiny Sea Ferrets

Lobster      Giant Sea Cockroach Hamster

Lamb         Lamb

The theory kind of breaks down at the end there. I mean, what the heck can you do to make a lamb cuter than it already is?

They're innocent, fluffy little things that live on farms and drink milk and have big, black eyes and are generally as dumb as a bag full of hammers.

You don't even have to turn them into some kind of caricature to make them cute and adorable. Heck, one of the most famous puppet characters in history is a lamb! And yet even that character is named not after some cutesy aspect of the lamb's personality, not after its big eyes or soft fur, but after a dish you can make from the lamb after it's killed.

People know this. They are already aware of how cute lambs can be before they order them, and yet they do so anyway. And if that kind of cuteness cannot keep the cute, fluffy image above from turning into, well this:

Then fish (and cows and chickens, and especially lobsters) have little hope.

Nevertheless, it can be fun to try to think of other options that might work. Anybody have a suggestion (or an improvement) for the list?

Like I Have Time To Be Posting

2009-01-18T14:33:00.002-05:00

HOLY COW!! We leave in 6 days and here is what we haven't done yet:
1. Pack - minor detail
2. Did I mention pack??
3. Put the car seat in.
4. Ummm...pack
And last but not least...
5. That whole packing thing.

Oh, and did I mention that our house is A MESS??!! Well, it is.

We are so excited we're jumping out of our skin!!!

Update on "Fingernail" Cookies

2009-01-13T14:47:00.011-05:00

Well, folks, your friendly neighborhood Spider-Engineer here with some scientific-like examination-ness of the horrible gross thing my wife found in her cookie two nights ago. I know you all peed your pants awaiting this update.

I looked at this under a stereomicroscope and took this picture at about 30X magnification, since it's less than about 2 mm long.

It should be noted that the so-called "chocolate chips" in the late Mr. Newman's Own Chocolate Chip cookies were not much bigger than this. "Chocolate Speck Cookies" was more like it. Perhaps "Chocolate Molecule Cookies".

Also, they tasted like crap, and that was before we thought there were pieces of human tissue embedded in them. I think I just threw up in my mouth, a little.

Anyway, back to my impressions of the thingy from the cookie:

While it does look pretty gross, I think I can say with some confidence that it is definitely not Michael Jackson.

Or a fingernail, for that matter.

I found that when I used a pushpin to poke at the...um...Whatever, it kind of mushed out of the way of the pin point, easily deforming and coming apart wherever I pushed the pin into it, rather than along layered lines, as a fingernail would have. It crumbled easily in my hand, and you can see the results here:

This was done simply using the pushpin, gently I might add, and rolling the Whatever up in my own fingers.

Now I don't know about y'all, but I happen to be an avid and skilled fingernail biter, having practiced the art since I was about five. I know how fingernails look and feel, and what it takes to turn them into tiny little pieces like this, and no fingernail of mine has ever behaved like that. If they did I'd send them straight to bed, without any dinner or Nintendo. So there.

My suspicion then, was that this Whatever was really a piece of vanilla bean, which was listed among the cookies' ingredients (whereas "fingernails" were not).

Having never actually laid eyes on a piece of vanilla bean, however, I could not verify this, but our pals at Google helped on that front:

This is a picture of something called "vanilla extract meal" which comes to us from a UK website for a company that makes FISH BAIT. (Yet another reason I remain unconvinced on this whole "organic" thing.) The color and texture appear very similar to the images above, from my own camera, so that helps to answer our question.

Looking at it from another perspective, how different do real fingernails look compared to the alleged Whatever my wife discovered stuck between her teeth Sunday night?

Glad you asked:

This is a piece of one of my own fingernails, bitten off especially for the scientific purpose of proving that my wife did not almost eat some stranger's fingernail, which would be very nearly the Grossest Thing Ever. Don't try this at home, kiddies.

Anyway, this piece measures about 2 mm long and it was not easy to find. Since I was up for about 36 straight hours trying to get home from Korea on Saturday-urday (the day that would not end...), and I tend to bite my nails when I'm nervous/bored/watching a movie, I almost didn't have a fingernail to work with. Indeed, I was all the way down to my elbow on my left arm already, which is why this post is taking so long, as I can only type with my right.

Anywho, as you can see, it's much whiter, much more solid, and has the kind of layered structure you usually associate with fingernails. It looks nothing like the first two images from this post, which as you'll recall, were not Michael Jackson.

I hesitate to say this, but there is one, remaining possibility for the thing Sunny found in that cookie, but it's so disgusting, so heinous, I dare not even write it here, lest you all abandon us for less disgusting blogs, such as this one.

But alas, I must forge onward, for science!

Look at those first two pictures again. Look at the color, the kind of dark yellow, and the soft, mushy texture. Look familiar at all? Ever seen fingernails that have those attributes? (And if you can see where I'm going with this, and you're still reading, it's your own fault.)

That's right, folks: Fungus.

Fungus can make fingernails do exactly that. See:

Don't get me wrong, here. I am not saying that this actually was a piece of fungus-y nail in that cookie, just the there is a finite, non-zero probability that it could have been. There are two main reasons I actually don't think that this is the case, besides the quasi-scientific stuff noted above.

1) Leaving "Fungus-riddled bitten-off fingernail" off the ingredients list would have been an egregious omission, second only to failing to list "crunchy raw unboned real dead frog" off the list of ingredients on a box of Whizzo chocolates. Mr. Newman would never have stood for such a thing.

B) My wife's having had the fungus-infected fingernail of some total stranger in her mouth would make it necessary for me to never look at that mouth again, much less kiss it or whatever, and that's not gonna happen.

So it was not, I repeat, NOT a fingernail. Fungus-y or otherwise.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to run to the bathroom before I thr...

...oops.

Fingernail Cookies

2009-01-11T23:22:00.003-05:00

Travis got home from Korea Saturday, at 1am. Needless to say we took it easy today. We were downstairs watching some WWII spy movie and having some munchies.

I was enjoying some super yummy Paul Newman's organic chocolate chip cookies when all of a sudden I felt something weird in my mouth. I moved my tongue around to see if maybe it was just a bigger chunk of cookie that I hadn't chewed yet.

As my tongue brushed the shape of the object I knew at once what it was. A FINGERNAIL!!! Not lying folks. Would I lie to you??? It was the shape of a crescent moon and TOTALLY had the texture of nails. I know, because I have been known to chew my nails on occasion. Only, I hadn't been chewing them tonight!

Well, I am so distraught over this that Travis is taking the UCO (unidentified cookie object) to work tomorrow to examine it under a high tech microscope.

Hopefully tomorrow Travis will be able to nail down the object's identity...HA...no seriously this is totally disgusting. Don't even laugh.

eeeeeewwwwww.

I will keep you posted. Meanwhile, check your cookies!

Because I Just Can't Stand It Anymore

2009-01-05T21:07:00.003-05:00

I wanted to wait to post pictures of Petros until we got home so that we could be shown as a family. But, I just came from Autumn's blog and LOVED seeing her absolutely gorgeous son!

It got me itching to post a picture of our sweet boy! He is officially ours so there is no harm done. So, here he is...Petros Mitchell Nelson

Thanks for the idea Autumn!

Addus (Alotta) aBaby Expenses

2009-01-01T12:38:00.004-05:00

Sunny and I will be travelling soon, and have found that the money we expected to have to pay for adoption expenses has all but run out, and we still have several thousand dollars left to pay. Between travel expenses, legal fees for the re-adoption process, and fees we still owe to our Home Study agency, we think it may be as much as $9,000, which, on a scale of one to ten, is like, $9,000.

We've started a cause on FaceBook where you can sign up to help out (though there's no direct fundraising thing there, because we're not technically a non-profit organization). We have also added a button on the right where you can donate via PayPal, if you like.

Many of you who read this blog are also adoptive parents, or at least aspire to be adoptive parents, and so of course we understand that you're probably at least as strapped for cash as we are. We don't expect you guys to give, but your prayers are greatly appreciated.

Thanks for partnering with us in this journey.

WOOHOO!!!!! TRAVEL DATES!!!!

2008-12-30T16:04:00.001-05:00

I just got a call from our case worker and she told us to be in Ethiopia by Jan 25th in the evening and I said OKAY!!!!

I'll be seeing my baby's beautiful face in about 4 weeks! Praise God!!

Still Amazed

2008-12-29T09:53:00.002-05:00

I'm still in awe that we passed court the first time. I was seriously telling everyone, including myself not to expect anything until February. When we got the news on Tuesday all I could do was cry - it was pure disbelief.

We have been very busy preparing for baby "P". This past weekend we put the nursery furniture together. And by "we" I mean Travis. I just stood there and said things like, "I think that's on backwards", and "why does it look different on the other side?", and my personal favorite, "Why don't you just read the d*** instructions" - okay, I admit, that last one was at the very end of the day and we were both DONE with putting together furniture (don't worry, all has been forgiven). Hey, if our marriage can survive putting together 500 pieces of wood shipped in a 2 inch wide box from Babies R Us, we can handle the stress of a baby!! ;)

Ya Know How When....

2008-12-27T18:50:00.004-05:00

...you have to save money and you really budget for everything, fearing you won't have enough money to pay for the rest of your adoption?...So, you vow to buy only second hand items and things from Walmart (despite your frustration at the way they treat their employees)?...

...Then, you walk into Baby Gap and Macy's and leave about $150 poorer bearing bags that contain the most adorable Kenneth Cole outfit, Nike warm up suit, and a gazillion designer baby socks?

Sigh.

That's what happened to me and my husband. We've spent so much time shopping for other people's adorable kids and have used every ounce of restraint as we pass by the black corduroy overalls and the argyle sweater vests. Now that we know "P" is coming home around the end of January all caution has been thrown to the wind.

Thank goodness we used gift cards! ;)

Thanks a bunch Grandma Nelson and Grandma and Pa-Pa Ogden!

Unbelievable News

2008-12-23T18:14:00.002-05:00

PRAISE GOD, WE PASSED!!!!

What an incredible blessing on such a difficult day! My niece's funeral was today and Julie gave us the news between the service and the family meal at the restaurant.

I have no words to describe this feeling. Joy mixed with pain...only God would be gracious enough to allow this feeling. We can't wait to bring our boy home!

PRAISE BE TO GOD!

Court Date With Heavy Hearts

2008-12-22T20:52:00.005-05:00

I decided to post this after much prayer. Thank you Amy for praying for us. Now, I ask the same of all who read this.

Tomorrow is our court date but it's hard to be hopeful.

On Saturday morning, my brother's precious baby girl, Norah passed away unexpectedly.

She was 13 months old.

Her death was due to a rare yet undetectable birth defect that most routine medical tests would not even know to pick up on. We are devastated. She was the gem of our family and we will never be the same again.

Please pray for me and my family.

Tomorrow, the Ethiopian courts will decide whether or not our sweet boy will become officially ours. At the same time we'll be mourning the loss of another precious gift to our family.

God be with us. I love you Norah...

What's Under Your Bed???

2008-12-19T15:11:00.002-05:00

Time to confess. What's under your bed? I'll go first.

Under my bed I found:

1. 3 dirty socks
2. 1 Monty Python DVD
3. 1 flip flop
4. 1 pair of slippers
5. my old blankie - that requires a whole other post in and of itself...more on that later
6. feathers from our down comforter
7. 1 bra (black if you must know)
8. 1 book of which the title will remain unbeknownst to you ;)
9. lots of fuzz
AND...drum roll please...
10. part of an orange peel - not lying - oh please, like you've never found food under your bed.

Your turn. What's under your bed?????

It's Pouring Ice

2008-12-19T08:59:00.002-05:00

Ya know how sometimes it rains so hard that no matter how fast you run from the car to the store you're still soaked? Well, that's what's happening where we live...only it's ice.

No work for me, school's closed and hubby is working from home. I have many many things to do. The question is, will I use today wisely instead of sitting on the couch watching movies on my lap top?

Here is my list of "to dos" - because I know you're just dying to find out!

1. clean the kitchen
2. clean the bathroom
3. wrap Christmas presents
4. straighten the house and get ready for the carpet cleaner to come at 4pm. will he still come? who knows...he may be covered in ice by that point.
5. reorganize the dining room and linen closets.
6. finish making the thank you cards for my shower that was NOVEMBER 15TH. that should probably be number 1 actually. =)

Well, that's just a few of the things. Check back later to see if I got any of them done.

ps. please pray that we don't lose power!

OUCHIES!!!!!

2008-12-16T22:39:00.003-05:00

We had our travel shots tonight.

I had to lie down. Seriously, I don't do needles. Anywho, they took $382 from us and gave us each two sore arms.

I don't think they traded fairly.

Where's The Dessert And Why Does He Have A Plunger?

2008-12-14T21:22:00.003-05:00

I gotta tell ya. It didn't take me very long at all to come up with a title for this post because those are the exact words that came from my mouth at Travis' company's Christmas party on Saturday night. (Now, if that doesn't get your attention I don't know what will)

The party was held at the Blue Bell Country Club, which you need to say with your teeth clenched and your nose in the air. Go on and try it, I'll wait... ... ... ...good job.

I actually usually enjoy going to these parties because A) The food is out of this world, B) There is an open bar all night, and C) I really like the people Travis works with. This year however, only B & C were on my side as the food was ehhhh, and there was no dessert! To top it all off, there was a speaker this year. A speaker? At a Christmas party?

Now, in other years past, the firm always played company Jeopardy and me and the other wives (there are mostly men at this company - if you think that's sexist than tell some more women to get into engineering) ;) would cheer loudly and make obnoxious noises while our husbands answered questions. It was a blast. But this year, they hired a Psychologist to do some sort of stand up routine.

A psychologist.

And he had a plunger with him.

And we had all just eaten.

Ladies and gentlemen, this was a recipe for disaster.

He proceeded to tell us all about a bunch of guys who started some kind of league to develop other uses for the plunger. He then juggled with plungers, balanced a plunger on his chin, suctioned a plunger to the floor, and made all of us think of other uses for a plunger. Excuse me? Aren't all the uses for a plunger already funny and gross enough? Do we really need more uses for a plunger?

At this point, a server came over to our table to clear some dishes away. The woman next to me asked her what was for dessert. Now, this woman and I were really anticipating dessert. Can you blame us? The entertainment was some therapist playing with a pooh sucker!

This is what transpired next between the server and me and one the other woman at the table:
Server: I'm sorry ma'am. There is no dessert tonight.
Us in unison: WHAT!?
Server: Sorry, the planners didn't add any to the menu.
Us in unison: WHAT!?
Me: How can there be no dessert? It's a Christmas party! You must be joking...ha ha very funny (pause and look for a 'ya got me' look on the server's face...nothing)
Woman next to me: Look, go ask someone else. There must be ice cream or something sweet coming out.
Server: Nope. Sorry. Would you like some coffee or tea?
Us: NO!! WE WANT DESSERT!
Me: Can you at least put some whipped cream on top of my coffee? (I was half joking)
(Server gives blank stare)
Me: Okay. Sorry. Never mind, I think I have some peppermints in my purse.

At this point I figured it best to drop the whole dessert idea. I didn't want to embarrass Travis after all.

Who am I kidding, too late for that. Oh well.

Travis and I lasted about 10 more minutes at this party, then left and stopped at a Super Fresh for some Oreos.

Those were the best Oreos I've ever had in my whole plunger sucking life.

ps. There was an amazing jazz band that played before and after dinner. That was cool, but in no way made up for the lack of dessert and the plunger fiasco!

Emptying The Camera...

2008-12-13T11:00:00.008-05:00

This one's for you, Nell Ann

These are really random.

Oh, and on a side note, I wrote a pretty serious post about our journey to our adoption decision. I thought about it after a while and decided to take it off the site due to the nature of the post. I will however, be glad to send you the post via e-mail if you'd like to read it. It's more like a testimony to God's TOTAL AWESOMENESS more than it is anything else.

Anyway, on to the pictures. The captions are above each pic. =)
Here are some pictures of this year's Christmas tree. Travis and I are not really "theme" people per se, our style is a little more eclectic in nature. This is an ornament we bought on our trip to Disney World. It broke on the plane ride home (go figure with all those ceramic peaks on the castle) so we glued it back together. I LOVE Disney World. Travis could take it or leave it - I think he's from another planet.
We were given this next ornament as a gift for our first Christmas. We were married in '02 and that is painted on the back. Oh the sentimental cuteness...

This is Travis' ornament. I don't particularly like Baseball. I do however like my husband, and that's why this hangs on our tree.No Christmas tree is complete unless there is a plastic Elvis hanging on it. 'Nuff said. We used to have a mini bra hanging from his guitar that some crazy Barbie threw during a concert one night. But it had to be removed due to its inappropriate nature. Don't ever trust Barbie, she has no morals people. (I'll probably have to confess this part of the post in church on Sunday - can you believe I follow Jesus?)
I love this ornament the camera doesn't do it justice. It catches all the lights and shines so brightly.
McCartney says,"Merry Christmas Everyone! Now may I have my treat?"
The tree has taken our dog's favorite seat in the house. She's watching for Santa Paws.
This is my friend Kathryn. She is filled with complete and total coolness. I love her. This was taken at her house while we watched football, er, sat around and ate food.

This is a picture of Travis with Kathryn and Brently's daughter Ashlyn. She's just gorgeous. We came home from church a couple weeks ago and the wind had left us a present. A huge branch had fallen off the tree in front or our house and broke Travis' back window. Who needs a garage? Life is so much more interesting this way!
This is my niece, Norah. She is perfect in every way (until you tell her no-then her perfection takes on a slightly different sound somewhat resembling finger nails on a chalkboard).

Here is my mother in law with my nephew, Oliver. Oliver is so handsome it's not even funny. I'm not sure what my MIL is talking about in this picture, but I'm pretty sure Oliver is thinking, "Please don't take your hand away lady!"
This picture is dedicated to my hubby. What the heck is it you may ask? It's a truck frame, duh. My husband is a materials engineer. He's also a certified weld inspector. This is a picture he had to take on a business trip. I don't get this whole "weld" thing. In my opinion every single thing that exists on this planet can be fused to something else simply by using duct tape. He says it's a little more complicated than that. Maybe that's why I'm the third grade teacher and he's the one making sure your public transportation vehicles don't fall apart.Stay tuned for more pics...this is fun!

"We'll Just Stay Busy!"

2008-12-10T20:47:00.005-05:00

That's what we thought would be a good idea as we wait for our first court date to approach.

"We'll become the 'yes' people", we said.

Saying yes to this, yes to that etc. etc. "Sure, I'll tutor after school", "Sure, I'll take a meal to some new parents", "Sure, I'll lead Bible Study next week", "Sure, we'll host that Christmas party for our Bible Study", "Yes, I'd love to come to your house to make homemade Christmas cards", "Sure Dad, I can't wait to make Christmas cookies with you", "Yes, Travis, I'll come to your work's Christmas party".

Now our house looks like this:

No, I'm not kidding. When I get home from work I have to literally lift my leg up over the boxes to get to the light in the dining room.

We have baby stuff everywhere and have yet to put any of it away BECAUSE WE'RE TOO BUSY BEING BUSY!

How do I solve this you ask? BLOG, MY FRIEND! That's right, as long as there's a space on the couch that's free from clutter and big enough for my a**, I'm happy as a clam.

Who cares that the kitchen floor could pass for the latest addition to Area 51?!

The views expressed in this post are solely the thoughts of the author and in now way express the views and behaviors that will take place once THE BABE is actually here. (just in case our nice social worker would happen to stumble onto this post)

THAT'S IT...I QUIT!

2008-12-08T21:31:00.004-05:00

I'm done. Nothing is working.

I hate technology. I can't upload my photos on Facebook. I can't upload a video from Youtube. I can't change my blog template. AHHHHH!!! I can't make ANYTHING work!!

I quit.

Oh...and I have PMS.

Sweet Dreams

2008-12-02T23:04:00.002-05:00

Dear Sweet Baby Boy:

Last night I dreamed about you. They called us to come and meet you so fast that we didn't have time to put your crib together. When we got home with you it was so late at night that we couldn't possibly put it together before going to bed.

We slept with you in bed with us. In my dream I was holding you so close and looking into your eyes as you went in and out of sleep. I remember in my dream that I didn't want to sleep too deeply for fear of bumping you. I just laid there all night with you in my arms.

It was the sweetest dream I've ever had. Hands down. I don't ever want to forget it so I'm writing it here.

Your daddy and I love you so much we are dreaming about having you in our arms. We close our eyes and imagine you with us, laughing, snuggling, and holding. We love you so much words cannot describe.

I'll keep holding you in my dreams until God brings us together forever.

Love,
Mommy

I Can't Possibly Have That Many Friends, My Ode To Thanksgiving...

2008-12-01T22:17:00.005-05:00

Thanksgiving Checklist:

1. Eat way too much turkey...check
2. Eat way too much pie...check
3. Spend money I don't have on black Friday...check check
4. Climb up side of mountain with my crazy dog and equally crazy husband to cut the ~~Griswold~~

Nelson family Christmas tree down. (Seriously people, it's a GIANT BUSH)...check

5. Enjoy all the people who are tagged in photos on my Facebook page that I don't know. Who are these people? I certainly don't know them all. I can't possibly have that many friends...check

(Check back to read my next post entitled,"I'm Sure I Don't Have That Many Friends".)

Oh, What To Do...

2008-11-21T19:03:00.002-05:00

Well, it's Friday night. Dinner is in the oven and the hubby and I were planning on working in the *nursery tonight and tomorrow. That was before, however, we realized that the new James Bond movie is opening tonight.

Would it be completely irresponsible to skip out on house stuff and enjoy the movie?

Sure it would. Are we going to go see the movie anyway? Sure we are. Why? Because we never left our 20's and are so in denial about the amount of time we have until lil' Nelson is here. That's why!

*I should probably add that we haven't even started the nursery yet. Oh, there has been talk of it alright. But any action? Nope. That's how most every project in our house works. When we first bought the place we decided to redo the bedroom. How long did it take? Only a year and a half! Why? Because we mostly talked about it.

The Sauce Is Simmering And Tomorrow Is Friday

2008-11-20T21:57:00.003-05:00

It's been a while, I know.

I'm making homemade spaghetti sauce as we speak er write. Frozen it will be for those busy days after the babe is here. Talking like Yoda I am. But I digress - which is not hard for me to do!

Exciting things are happening! To see what one of them is take a look at the ticker to the right.

It almost sounds cliche to ask for people to pray for a successful court date the first time around. Kind of like "duh, of course we want to pass the first time". Who doesn't? So, would ya pray? Thanks.

Now that we got that taken care of, on to the baby goodies! My mom threw an adorable baby shower tea for me last weekend. The food was amazing, my friends and family were fabulous, and I was humbled by how generous everyone was. The shower was complete with updated photos of the precious little toots (grandma was surprised - she cried). The amazing part is that I actually kept it a secret. Those who know me know that keeping secrets is not my forte*.

*Isn't "forte" a funny word. It makes the worst personal attribute sound like a walk in the park. Like, instead of saying "Man, I just can't stop stealing my neighbor's lawn ornaments" you could say "Enjoying lawn ornaments from afar just isn't my forte".

I actually have nothing else to type, I can't stop laughing at the forte thing. My husband thinks I'm hysterical - not because I've got this great sense of humor - but because I write stuff like the forte thing above and lose it. I can't stop laughing. I have to go.

Maybe I'll write a more cohesive post tomorrow...writing through laughter just isn't my.........forte......hah, there I go again.

Oh my. Goodnight everyone.

Breaking News...

2008-11-15T21:50:00.002-05:00

We're gonna need a bigger house...

The Contents of an Envelope

2008-10-26T22:43:00.002-04:00

Well, it's been 6 days since we got the call and I still feel like it was yesterday. The past 6 days have been filled with joy, tears, and excitement.

Part of this excitement is due to the fact that I keep our boy's pictures in an envelope and never go anywhere without it. He is on our refrigerator, in our dining room, on our desktops, at our desks at work, and many other places.

I take his picture out about 500 times a day and stare at it in wonder. Wonder at the amazing love God has for him and for us. I can't believe that God would choose two people as imperfect as we are to be the stewards of this precious little boy he created.

It has brought me ever so closer in my walk with God.

Proud Mama...

2008-10-22T20:46:00.002-04:00

Here is the story of our phone call:

I teach third grade and never answer my phone or even have it on during the school day. I'm too busy running around with my students! Well, starting Monday morning my phone was in my hand while I was teaching, which made for some very funny looks from my third graders (not to mention difficulty with writing on the board).

I couldn't stand the suspense so I told them I was waiting for the most important call of my life. I didn't tell them anymore than that, and needless to say they were extremely curious. (update: I have since told my students what that phone call was and they are very excited for me)

Monday came and went with no call. I thought, "well, I can't very well teach with my phone in my hand if I'm number 1 for 6 weeks", so, Tuesday I just had it on and placed it on my desk.

I had programmed AGCI's phone number into my phone so that I would know if they called. Each time the phone rang I jumped until I saw who the screen said it was.

At approximately 2:30 eastern time on Tuesday I was teaching Math.

My phone rang. I looked at it. It didn't say AGCI so I thought, "not the call" and answered it anyway...don't ask me why...I don't know.

Well it was Julie (my fabulous case worker). I froze and thankfully my students were very quiet. Here is how our conversation went:

Me: hello?
Julie: Hi, is Sunny there?
Me: yes, this is she (knowing full well that it was Julie's voice because, come on, how many of you don't?)
Julie: Do you have a minute to talk?
Me: Yeeeeeeesssss.
Julie: Well, I have some exciting news for you.
Me: Oh my word! Are you serious? (insert incomprehensible noises here)
Julie: I have information on a very cute little boy for you! Would you like to call me back, or do you want the information now?
Me: Oh, ummm, slkdkldfeiewoifhhg, uhhh, Travis is at work...can I call you back?
Julie: (chuckle) Sure, I can conference him in too if you'd like...
Me: Okay, I'll call you back.

So, I got off the phone with Julie (mind you my students are still sitting there, staring at me, quiet as can be).

I completely went blank, as in, staring into space and frozen. Shock people, I'm telling you. I managed to make it to the phone in my classroom to call my teaching partner, Jo (who by the way is an angel sent from God, I'm sure of it).

I said, "Jo, I just got the call!" She screamed and told me she'd be right down while another teacher was in her room. She came bursting into my classroom and hugged me. Here's how our conversation went:

Jo: Oh! I'm so excited for you!
Me: Yeah, oh my word...(pause...more deer-caught-in-headlights look). What should I do now?
Jo: (half laughing, half screaming) Call Travis!!!
Me: Oh yeah, Travis, I'll call Travis, good idea...

So I left the room and called Travis.

Here's how our conversation went:

Me: Travis?
Travis: Yeah?
Me: You're a daddy!!
Travis: Huh?
Me: We just got the call!!
Travis: Oh, wow. Uhhhh. Holy cow! (I guess the Nelsons aren't that eloquent under pressure)
Travis: Okay. I'll catch the next train home and be there in about an hour maybe hour and a half.
Me: Okay. I'll go home and wait for you. (now, why I said this I'll never know...why did I have to go home if he wasn't going to be there for another hour and a half (shocked people, I'm telling you)

I told the secretary that I got the call (everyone in my school knows I'm adopting, we're a pretty close group of co-workers) and asked if my principal could get someone to cover my class (still don't know why I came home). Someone came in and took over and I left.

I got home and FINALLY realized that I was going to be alone for the next hour or so (duhh). So, not knowing what to do I called Travis again.

Here's how that conversation went:

Travis: Hello?
Me: Okay, I'm home.
Travis: Why did you go home? You could have finished the day. I'm not going to be there for at least an hour.
Me: Uhhhh, I don't know. I just asked and they sent me home. WHAT DO I DO NOW?
Travis: I don't know...ummm...why don't you clean?
Me: CLEAN! Yes, that's it. I'll clean! Okay, talk to you later.

I hung up and proceeded to pace the floor for the next half hour, updated our blog, and then I cleaned the kitchen, living room and dining room (not bad huh?).

Travis came home, we called Julie, and she gave us all the information on our cute little boy!

The End.

Okay, not really. We went out to eat, showed pictures to our family, called our friends. Ya know, normal new parent stuff.

So, ps., Getting the referral call is hard work! When we finally laid down to go to bed I was emotionally and physically exhausted. But I slept all night with my sweet babe's face going through my mind.

Stay posted for the travel call...3-5 months from now. =)

Humbled By A Phone Call...Continued

2008-10-21T17:26:00.001-04:00

Well,

Today our lives changed forever. We just received a referral for a beautiful (and I mean beautiful) baby boy. He is four and half months old.

I will post more later.

Humbled By A Phone Call...

2008-10-21T15:36:00.003-04:00

stay tuned...

A Love For Hans Zimmer and "The Holiday"...

2008-10-19T15:56:00.005-04:00

Today was Stewardship day at church.

The day when all of the congregation (approximately 1500 of us) pledges their tithing for the year 2009.

It came at the perfect time as hubby and I recently ran into a snag with our proposed "with-baby-budget". We have been a little stressed about student loans that still linger for me and were feeling the human pull to hold on to what belongs to us God.

Needless to say, that was short lived as we needed only to be reminded of how God supplies our every need (thank you Pastor Alf). Monetary tithing will look a little different for us after we go down to one income - but it's still a big way we feel called to live out the gospel.

Now on to Hans...

We came home from church and started in on our Sunday afternoon routine - a little laundry, a little cleaning. Travis sat down to do some studying at the dining room table and I got to work on the kitchen (ugh).

My laptop was next to the dishwasher and I made sure that my music selection was approved by the "student" in the next room. He agreed to listen to music if it was wordless and calming.

I immediately knew what my choice would be.

Hans Zimmer is a movie music composer (I'm sure there's a technical name for that, but I don't know what it is) who is responsible for the beauty that is "The Holiday" soundtrack.

I love the movie "The Holiday".

I love it so much in fact, the last time Travis had a significantly long business trip I watched it every night for 4 nights straight. Not kidding. I learned every line, every scene, and every note in the soundtrack.

So, today when the music began on my lap top, so did the movie in my head. I could see the characters embracing, laughing, arguing.

This was hysterical to Travis as he could hear me in the other room saying things like, "oh, this is the part where she takes her shoes off so she can run faster to the house where he's waiting", and "oh, that kiss was so romantic".

What can I say? I love Hans Zimmer and "The Holiday".

I'm sure you're just jumping out of your seat from excitement after reading this post. But, hey, what do you expect on a lazy Sunday afternoon?

Expecting God To Do Amazing Things...

2008-10-18T18:01:00.002-04:00

Well, rumor has it that we are unofficially #1 on our wait list.

It feels so surreal to know that we could be seeing who our baby is in the next week (or, ya know, in the next 5).

I'm actually not stressing being #1. I feel this amazing sense of peace in knowing that God's already got our baby chosen. He will give us this news when it is the perfect time.

However, talk to me if we're still number one in 5 weeks! =)

I gratefully lay the following things at the foot of the cross right now: my anxiety about being a new mom, my anxiety about finances, my fear of the unknowns of parenthood, my sadness for the birth mom of our baby...God may she sense you presence around her.

I thank Jesus for the following things right now: for being my savior - capable of carrying all my worries and fears, family members who love this baby so much already, friends who know just when to offer prayer, and a husband who desires to be the best dad he can be.

God, grant us peace this week as Travis and I wait on you.

More Than One Use For A Boppy Pillow

2008-10-12T21:34:00.012-04:00

Okay. So I need to send a super THANK YOU out to a friend of a friend who was kind enough to give us a whole bunch of baby boy stuff she doesn't need anymore.

I had a little too much on my hands this evening and thought, "what a perfect way to add some pictures to our blog!"

So, without further ado...here is me (while hubby sits at the dining room table studying for his engineering license exam, because, clearly I have nothing better to do) showing the many uses for a boppy pillow (kindly donated by Kathleen). They're not just for nursing you know.

Use #1: The Neck Pillow

Use #2: The Inner Tube

Use #3: The Telephone

Use #4: The Head Band

Use #5: The Magnet

And last but certainly not least, my personal favorite...

Use #6: The Saddle

NOTE: No animals were harmed in the making of this post (well, maybe their pride - just look at that pitiful face!)

Cheating

2008-10-02T17:22:00.002-04:00

We live in a city. Granted, it's a small city, but none the less it's a city. We love our city. It's diverse. It's got character. But most of all...it's got convenient stores. Ahhhh, the delicious smell of coffee made by someone else in the morning.

In fact we live extremely close to one of these stores in particular. In order to protect the names of the innocent I won't use its correct name, but it rhymes with Rah-Rah.

Now, for the longest time my husband and I have gone to the "Rah-Rah" that is located about 5 blocks from our house. Sure, it's in the opposite direction of both of our places of employment, but we've dealt with that minor inconvenience easily.

We've enjoyed getting to know the manager there and saying hi to him each time we go in for our morning coffee.

About 4 months ago the powers that be decided it would be a stellar idea to put another "Rah-Rah" approximately 5 blocks from our house in the other direction. This one is on the way to our places of employment and thus we've been using it instead of the other one.

For the last three days though this new "Rah-Rah" has been out of apples. Now that irks me. How hard is it to keep your supply of apples filled? Today I decided to go to the old "Rah-Rah" because I didn't want to deal with not getting my apple.

The manager we know was there and immediately he recognized me. He asked me where my husband and I have been. I didn't have the heart to tell him that we're "seeing someone els" so I made up this lame excuse...errr...lie about why we haven't been there.

Does he know about the "other one"? What if he loses business because people decide to go to the new "Rah-Rah"?

How will I face him when we need half and half on the weekends?

I feel so dirty.

Giving Praise

2008-09-28T19:58:00.003-04:00

My husband was playing the guitar on our worship team for church today so I was by myself during our musical worship. I was struck particularly with the first song we sang, a song which I have sung many times in our congregation.

The words really hit home to me and I had an amazing moment with God. I've decided to list the words here as a reminder to myself of God's promises.

Meet With Me

I'm here to meet with you, come and meet with me
I'm here to find you, reveal yourself to me.

As I wait, you make me strong
As I long, you draw me to your arms
As I Stand, and sing your praise you come, you come and you fill this place
Won't you come won't you come and fill this place.

Acrostic

2008-09-24T17:03:00.003-04:00

Ready to see my baby's face
Excited for courts to open
Finding out just how impatient I can be
Entering into parenthood
Registered at Babies R Us
Reading about bonding
Asking God to give me strength for the wait
Listening for the phone

Unbelievable Kindness

2008-09-22T22:08:00.002-04:00

So, we are UNOFFICIALLY # 5! Woohoo!!! I can't believe how fast this has all happened. Now, I know I need to temper my excitement because we could sit at #5 for 6-8 weeks OR we could hear something in the next 3 weeks. You just never know with adoption.

Nevertheless, we are ecstatic!

So ecstatic we keep forgetting that we're just about out of money on the adoption front. Up until now we have managed to save money and pay as it is due (although it's taken just about everything we have). Thinking we'd have more time than this (and we still might) we were prepared to scrimp and save as best we could for the rest.

We are now looking into doing a fundraiser. A baby bottle fundraiser to be exact.

This is where the title comes into play.

I went onto Craigslist to post a request to purchase used baby bottles from veteran parents. I simply explained that we are adopting from Ethiopia and that we were hoping to purchase cheap used bottles to send out to raise money.

Well, I got a couple of incredible responses! People e-mailed me back and asked if they could send me money! Can you believe it? I wasn't expecting that at all! What a huge blessing.

I wrote back to them and told them about our blog and our agency. Hopefully they check here tonight because I want to send them a HUGE thank you. You ladies are extremely special and were an incredible blessing to me today!

Praise God for generous people and the number 5!

I Had No Idea...

2008-09-14T12:11:00.002-04:00

I had no idea how much you could love someone the day I got married.

I had no idea what strength looked like.

I had no idea the gift that God had planned for me in my husband.

I had no idea just how thoughtful, caring, non-judging, talented, and loving my husband really was.

I had no idea my love would grow so much each day.

I had no idea just how thankful I could be for my best friend, my husband.

Holy cow! How amazing will it be when we have our baby!

Eulogy

2008-09-12T09:37:00.003-04:00

I lost a friend this week.

Anyone who knew us in high school knows that Billy Johnson was more than a friend to me. We were the best of friends, so far as such things can go with high school kids. I was at his house so often that I started referring to his mother Cynthia as “my other mom” and she called me her “other son”, something I appreciated more than she ever knew. For several years, the two of us were inseparable.

I used to joke that we shared the same brain. No, wait…now that I think of it, we used to make that joke about other people. But we did often finish each others’…well, you know.

We did everything together, including going off to volunteer at week-long camps for the handicapped in the Poconos, where we often got in trouble, as young boys do. We also spent a whole summer together in the Catskills working for Word of Life Inn, a summer I still count as the best of my young life. We got into some trouble up there, too, as you might expect.

Of course, Billy was proud of all the trouble he got into. It was just his nature. If you told him to go left, he’d go right. If you told him to crouch, he’d jump. He wasn’t maliciously spiteful, he just didn’t like being hemmed in. For example, punishment for “bad behavior” at Word of Life was to scrub the nasty pots and pans in the Dish Pit, but Billy wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of thinking they’d gotten to him. He would literally dive in, turning himself upside down in the huge sink, beating the caked on lasagna and sloppy Joes off the pots with a Brillo pad while the blood rushed to his head. He made it fun imself, and for everyone else.

Nearly every weekend for four or five years, I would walk or ride my bike over to Elmwood Park, or he’d come over to where I lived in Lodi. We’d spend the day playing pickup basketball and trying to scrape together enough change to go to Burger King and get a small soda, which could be refilled about 17 times before the paper cup got too soggy. Then we’d spend Saturday night playing chess or video games and inevitably staying up until 4 or 5 AM. If we ever seemed a little “spaced out” at church on Sunday morning, now you know why.

Billy was not the most punctual of people. He’s the only guy I ever knew who could somehow show up late to his own house when he had already been there. Trouble seemed to follow him around, like a neighborhood stray that kept expecting some milk, and Billy just embraced it. It was what made him so much fun to be around.

As is often the case when someone goes off to college, we lost touch after high school, or at least weren’t all that close for about four years, though Billy and his family came to my college graduation, and even took me and my mom out to dinner the night before. Despite having seen each other just a handful of times over the next few years, Billy came to my wedding as well, and was, not surprisingly, the life of the party. A few months later, when he was looking for a fresh start after a rough patch, he moved to Bethlehem, hoping I could help get him back on his feet. Not that I deserved such an honor, but I appreciated that he still felt such a connection. Or maybe our friendship was all he had left.

Billy’s troubles, like that darn stray neighborhood cat, followed him to Pennsylvania. He lived with me and my wife, on and off, for the better part of the next eight months. It was crowded in our small house, and challenging, with just one of us working. Sunny and I were still trying to figure out how to live as a married couple. Meanwhile, Billy was just trying to figure out how to live, and none of us was really having much success.

So we got a dog. “It was crowded…so we got a dog”? Well, that wasn’t really the reason, but that clumsy segue allows me to tell one of my favorite stories about Bill. He was home all day while I was at work and Sunny was taking classes, but we were trying to crate-train the puppy, McCartney, to get her used to being in there while we were away.

Well, McCartney was smart enough even at 15 weeks old to be able to tell when there was a person in the house, and she was not happy about being stuck in the crate while there was fun stuff like “napping” going on in other parts of the house. So Billy, unable to take said nap with the dog making all that noise, and unable to let her out for fear of what she would destroy when he did nod off, laid down next to her crate and promptly fell asleep that way: On the floor, halfway in the bedroom, half in the hallway, with one hand inside the bars so the puppy could touch him and be quieted. His excuse, when my wife found him that way (and woke him up with the camera flash) was, “She just wouldn’t stop barking.”

It was during this time that I realized how little I had known this man, whom I had referred to as my “best friend” so many hundreds of times. I learned about some of his deeper struggles, things we’d never discussed before. In high school our relationship had consisted mostly of sports and games, laughing at each other, and seeing who could punch the other one harder in the shoulder. He usually won those, of course.

But as adults, we had much deeper conversations, and he shared with me some of his struggles, some of the pains and trials that had marked the years we were apart, and really, most of his life. He opened up to Sunny even more than he did to me, partially because he got to spend a lot of time with her while I was working, and partially because she’s such a good listener. I admitted to him once that I never really understood why someone as cool as him would take so much interest in me as a friend, and to my great surprise, he said he had felt the same way about me. I got to know Billy better in those few months than I had in the 15 years we’d spent growing up together, and I treasure those memories now more than I ever thought I could.

I was sad to learn that he had a wife and two children I didn't know about, and I'm ashamed that I did so little to check up with him after he mved to New York. We all assumed that we had more time for that. We could always do it later.

There’s a hymn called “Jesus Paid it All” that talks about trusting God in our weakness, about God’s power being the only thing that alters anyone’s character, that softens anyone’s heart. Jesus’ blood covers all of our failings, and washes away all the myriad of ways in which we fail. My voice would fail to do this song justice, but those lyrics express our great hope for Billy, and for ourselves, that God’s grace and Jesus’ sacrifice will pay for our many sins.

I don’t pretend to understand this, to know why God would take someone so young, seemingly with so much life ahead of him, with a family to support and so much left undone. But I do know that God is ultimately in control of everything and everyone, and that nothing happens outside of his design and purposes. I’m not saying I agree with him on this one, but eventually we just have to admit that God knows a lot more than we do. He sees the whole of history at once, and he will not fail to accomplish his goals. One of those was bringing Billy home to be with him.

He must have heard how much fun Billy was.

Someting Positive?

2008-09-10T16:29:00.002-04:00

I feel like there is a lot of sadness and gloom 'n' doom out there in the adoption world. SO, I'm throwing some positive energy out there.

Come on folks.

It's not all that bad. ;)

Ethiopia is basically (without unusual circumstances) the fastest international adoption process out there.

Just think of all the people who were cut off from Vietnam, or who are still waiting in Guatemala limbo, or who are on waiting lists for babies from China (wait times for referral are surpassing 2 years).

So in an effort to kick all of us in the pants...drum roll please...

Here is a list of 25 things I am thankful for (I encourage others to follow):

1. God's love.
2. My husband.
3. My wonderful family.
4. Great health.
5. My adoption agency.
6. God's provision.
7. Friends who love me.
8. My job.
9. My dog.
10. Private time with my hubby (before the little cutie gets here).
11. How fast we have moved down the waiting list.
12. Almaz, the director of Hannah's Hope (our agency's in country director).
13. Strong Ethiopian parents and guardians who make the difficult and loving plan of adoption for their beautiful children.
14. My house.
15. My car.
16. Food to eat.
17. My small group.
18. My niece.
19. My bed.
20. Heat in the winter.
21. Air conditioning in the summer.
22. My church.
23. My salvation.
24. God's promises.
25. The burden of infertility. (What?! Did she just say what I think she said?)

Yup.

The struggles and pain of infertility have brought me closer to Jesus in ways I didn't know where possible. I have experienced amazing moments that have strengthened my faith and resolve to be a follower of Jesus. Moments that were spent flat out and face down on the floor in prayer, sobbing. My Father met me in those moments and comforted me in ways that he designed specifically for me.

I would not have chosen our journey to parenthood any other way.

I believe God designed me and Travis to be able to withstand the stresses and unknowns of adoption. Thank you Jesus.

So, there you are. 25 things I'm thankful for. How about you?

God is so good.

2008-09-04T21:59:00.000-04:00

We are now number 10. We are so excited!

Highlight of Sarah Palin's RNC Speech

2008-09-04T12:09:00.005-04:00

This is not a political blog, and don't worry, it's not going to become one.

However, Sunny and I watched some of the speeches at the Republican National Convention last night. As it happens, we watched it on C-Span, because that was the first channel I found that was carrying the convention, and I knew we wouldn't get any commentary we didn't want or lots of incessant "news" scrolling across the bottom of the screen like crap through a goose.

C-Span: We Film, You decide. Take that, FOX!

Anyway, after a bit of skepticism, Sunny and I have decided that we both like VP nominee Sarah Palin, for a number of reasons, not the least of which are her Christian background and strong Pro-Life stance. As Christians ourselves and hopeful parents-to-be, this makes us happy.

But the highlight of the speech had little to do with Palin herself. You see, while FOX was dutifully, oh, I dunno, filming the candidate, C-Span kept going back to Palin's family in the front row of the mezzanine. And it was for this reason that those of us watching the speech on C-Span were treated to a true gem in TV journalism. Nay, dare I say, one of the GREATEST MOMENTS IN TELEVISION HISTORY.

For while self-proclaimed "hockey mom" Sarah Palin was eloquently reading a speech (probably mostly written by others) on a huge stage in front of some decidedly American-looking image on an enormous screen behind her, in front of hundreds of cheering fans and delegates, one of the most carefully scripted moments on television this side of The Hills...

Palin's adorable seven year old daughter Piper was holding her infant brother...

...trying to fix his hair....

...with her own saliva.

Here's the money shot.

Needless to say, it was AWESOME.

This video contains only of part of the speech, but it contains the important stuff, namely a small child licking her hand and wiping it on her helpless baby brother's head while literally millions of people are watching it on national television.

How's Obama supposed to compete with that?

Fast forward to about 3:45 into this video, right after the "Hockey mom" joke, for the highlight of the speech.

2008-08-14T22:56:00.005-04:00

So, I was doing my usual net surfing this evening and I came across this.

It's beautiful.

It's hip.

It's a "shootie".

That's right folks, call the fashion industry leaders because your footwear follies have been corrected. Not quite shoe, not quite boot, it's "shootie".

And...it comes in purple. PURPLE for crying out loud! Not to mention the pleats.

Aren't you glad you didn't throw away those black stirrup pants and 9 inch wide belt? I'm sure glad I didn't.

Do you hear that? I think it's Pat Benetar...oh yeah, baby. I'm runin' with the shadows of the night...in my new shooties

Thank God for Wedding Dresses And Nurseries

2008-08-09T14:27:00.004-04:00

First off, let me say that we had the time of our lives at Yellowstone. It was by far the best trip we've been on, I think because we created our own "action". Rafting, hiking, horseback riding, etc., we were way active and having the time of our lives! We were not eaten by bears, although it was a close call during one hike...but, more on that later.

Now.

Today, we decided to make the best of a free Saturday and started clearing out the room that will be our nursery. I have been so excited to do this but have held off because adoption can be so unpredictable. I didn't want to get my hopes up and then have them dashed. But, now that we're number 12 and all the paper work is finished (for now) and we're just waiting to see our precious baby's face, I figured it was pretty safe to start getting ready. My hope is to have the nursery pretty much done by the end of September, save the personal touches.

It's amazing just how much "junk" two people can accumulate in six years.

At one point, Travis looked at me and I had 6, yes SIX canvas bags that pretty much looked all the same hanging in my hands.

When we got to the closet, we decided to transfer Travis' business suits to a closet in another room, since we don't have much closet space in our actual bedroom (the house was built in 1916 and is rather small).

We carried the last of the suits to the other closet and the only thing left was my wedding dress.

I LOVE my wedding dress.

My parents bought it for me the week that the twin towers were struck. It was a pretty emotional week and we had spent most of it glued to the television and in prayer for our country. I knew I needed my dress soon because alterations take a while and our wedding was to be late spring. So, that Saturday we went looking.

I was in the bridal dressing room and the attendant was bringing me gowns that just weren't my style. I'd try them on and think immediately, "yeah, this would look great with a big old poof of a head piece and one giant hoop skirt slip".

We knew our budget was about $1,000 but I just wasn't seeing something I liked.

Then, the attendant said that they had a rack of dresses that were half off because they were being discontinued. Meaning, we couldn't order a different size...just had to take what we could get. I told her she could bring me some and she disappeared behind the curtain.

She came back with a white bag and unzipped it. Immediately my eyes filled with tears because I knew that this was my gown. I tried it on and showed my mom and grandma. They started crying too and before we knew it, we were all bawling like babies - even the attendant.

There was just something about that moment of joy in the midst of so much pain around us from the terrorist attacks. In my heart and in my mind, that moment will be with me my whole life.

The dress turned out to fit perfectly with very few alterations and was right in our budget because of it being half off. Ever since my wedding day, I occasionally take the dress out to look at it and remember that so special time in my life.

So, now you know why I love my wedding dress. Back to the nursery.

Travis asked me if we want to try to squeeze my dress into the other room but I knew that there would be no space to make that possible, so, I asked him to carry it up to the attic and hang it in the wardrobe up there.

I watched him take my wedding dress, the dress that has so much meaning and so many beautiful memories slowly up the stairs and disappear at the top. I stood at the bottom of the stairs allowing tears to well in my eyes and roll down my cheeks.

The significance of that moment overwhelmed me. Six years ago, I walked down the isle and married a man that God had been preparing for me for 26 years. That dress hung in the closet and reminded me of the journey we began together that day. As it made its way up the stairs to it's new storage place it symbolized the beginning of a new journey for me and Travis. One that, like marriage was, is new territory. The opportunity to learn new things about each other and God. A journey to see the baby that God has been preparing for us and us for him for our entire lives.

The place where my wedding dress hung for the last six years will now be filled with little jumpers and shirts, and hopefully soon, laughter.

Thank God for wedding dresses and nurseries.

How To Overcome Your Fear of Bugs

2008-07-21T10:47:00.008-04:00

1. Locate bug, which will conveniently fly out from under your hand towel while you are washing your hands in the bathroom.

2. Scream.

3. Prepare to yell for husband to come and kill the small aircraft.

4. Realize husband is at work and you're on your own.

5. Call dog upstairs and try to get dog to eat said aircraft.

6. Dog laughs at you and lies down at top of stairs to watch the show.

7. Get brilliant idea to "contain" bug until loving husband comes home in 8 1/2 hours.

8. Retrieve plastic container from kitchen.

9. Give self a pep talk, which will include some minor profanities and more pleas for help from the dog.

10. Make inaudible war cry sound while lunging and cover bug with container.

11. Scream while trapped bug flutters around container and bangs into sides.

12. Slide container down wall and onto floor, whimpering the whole time.

13. Leave container on floor and pat self on back for a job well done.

Yeah, I'm gonna be an AWESOME mom.

How Quickly It Wears Off

2008-07-16T14:56:00.003-04:00

Well, the excitement of being number 12 has come and gone and the nervousness of how much longer it will be has set in. Don't get me wrong, I know I should still be excited to be this low on the list but I keep checking blogs every day and it's been over a week since we've seen any more movement.

The clouds of the court's annual two month closure are looming overhead and I'm wondering just how slow the referrals will be during this time. So far, I've passed the time by:

1. Painting our guest room with our friends (this will now be the office as our office will now be the nursery)
2. Reading books on exactly which baby gadgets we'll need and which ones we could live without.
3. Checking adoption blogs like a fiend...seriously, if you saw just how many times a day I did this you would call in the Straight Jacket People.
4. Calling my mom to tell her that we're still number 12 (yeah, she just loves that)
5. Teaching summer school
6. Telling my husband at the end of a long day of work that we're still number 12 (yeah, he too loves this)
7. Did I mention checking blogs?

Anyway, Travis and I are preparing our "babymoon" trip. We're going to Yellowstone for 9 days. The first 4 or 5, we'll spend in Cody, Wyoming and the rest of the time at a Bed & Breakfast just outside the park in Gardiner, Montana. I'm so excited about seeing this awesome place and just a little nervous about the grizzlies.

Seriously people...they kill.

Just to let you know how nervous I am (okay the "little nervous" part was not quite true), I have been reading up on the number of fatal attacks there were in 2007 and how many injuries there were that same year. Looks like the numbers are on our side.

Just to be safe, we're buying "bear bells" to wear on our back packs. These let the bears know that you're coming so they're not surprised...either that or they let them know that dinner's just arrived.

We're also purchasing (this is all news to my husband by the way) bear spray which will sting the bear and give you time to:

A. run away...which they say never actually works because these mammoths can run over 30mph.

B. run up trees, wait no, they can climb.

C. play dead, yes that's it, we'll play dead. I for one am killer at being completely still and silent while something that is 8 feet tall and weighs 1,000 lbs takes repeated blows at my head.

Ahhhhhhh, nature.

Are You Ready?!

2008-07-08T19:06:00.001-04:00

#12

Need I say more?

Do you like beans?

2008-07-03T17:41:00.003-04:00

ehem...

Here I sit broken-hearted
No update yet and the long weekend has started

The End

...still haven't gotten our monthly update...I'm really not upset just felt like being a little silly =)

Hubby's Home and I'm Happy

2008-06-20T14:38:00.002-04:00

Well, Travis came home on Tuesday night around 10:30. It's really good to have him home. It's just not the same with him gone. I wonder if the experience will be a little easier once we have our baby.

When Travis was offered this job we talked a lot about the traveling piece. We weighed the good and the bad. The good being that this job (which he has been at about 1 1/2 years) will allow me to stay home with our baby. The bad being he would have to travel occasionally.

Of course we ultimately decided that it would be better to have one of us home all the time. I have nothing against couples that each decide to work, we just feel that this would be the best option for our family. So, now we just have to deal with the travel aspect. It hasn't been too bad since the job started, except that he has had two int'l trips since February, both being at least two weeks.

On another note...today we got our FDL. I think I would be a lot more excited if we weren't already on the waiting list. But, none the less it is here and I'm glad to have that final piece in place.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. We're off to go hiking at a nearby bird sanctuary - should be very relaxing.

Sunny

Hair, Nails, And All Things Glamorous...For A Change

2008-06-10T10:28:00.003-04:00

Well, I'm going on week number two without my wonderful hubby around. His trip to Korea is to be for 2 1/2 weeks and now we're in the home stretch (I pick him up at the airport next Tuesday).

I can't say enough nice things about my friends and family. School is done for the summer and so my days are not filled with Math and Reading. I've had to be creative so as not to be bored out of my gourd. Everyone has been so nice with having me over for dinner, meeting me for lunch, etc.

However, today I'm on my own. Absolutely everyone is busy with work and other commitments, so, I have a plan.

I'm going to have a day of glamor.

I'm going for a pedicure in just a few minutes and a hair appointment at 1pm. I may just top it all off with purchasing a nice black clutch to wear with the killer dress I bought at the mall last night (don't worry, it's wholesome - it's just a really funky dress).

Not that I have anywhere fancy to go on a Tuesday evening mind you. But I am planning this outfit for when I go pick up The Man =)

BTW, in case any of you wives or hubbies travel for business and don't know about Skype, you should. It virtually free to talk long distance and the sound is great. When Travis calls it's like he's in the next room. Find it online folks =)

I highly recommend it.

Well, that's it for now...I'm off to be pampered...

New Official Number

2008-06-05T16:44:00.001-04:00

Be prepared for possibly the shortest blog post ever, here it goes...

We are now officially #22.

Yay!

Why I Adore children...

2008-06-04T16:35:00.002-04:00

I teach third grade at a public school in our city. I love my job. Mostly because I love seeing students come in so young and leave so much bigger and wiser. They are precious to me.

I didn't want to tell my students this year that Travis and I are adopting because we probably won't even have a referral until December of next school year. It seemed silly to tell them due to that long time frame.

However, I did tell my co-workers and one of them came in my room a while ago and asked how our adoption was going in front of my students (not the best of judgement calls). Immediately my students had tons of questions. So, I turned it into a mini-lesson about Ethiopia and we looked at the map and then we put the subject to rest.

Not one of my students has asked anything about the adoption since then and I haven't brought it up.

A couple days ago, one of my girls (very cute, and very astute) came up to me during some independent work time and our conversation went like this:

Student: Mrs. Nelson, when are you getting your baby?

Me: Probably next year some time.

Student: Oh. Will it be a boy or girl?

Me: A baby boy

Student: Oh. Doesn't he already have a mommy?

Me: He has a mommy who loves him so very much.

Student: Oh. Well, why doesn't she take care of him?

Me: Well, she might be too sick to take care of him or may not have enough money to buy food so that he'll get big and strong. She loves him so much but might be afraid that she can't give him the things he needs. That makes her very sad.

Student: Oh. So will he have two mommmies then?

Me: Yes. His first mommmy will live in Ethiopia and then when I adopt him, he'll live here with me and I'll be the mommmy who takes care of him so that he gets big and strong. I will love him for the rest of his life. His first mommy will never forget him and love him forever too.

Student: Oh. That's good. (pauses) When is recess?

I just love that last part. She was so sweet to ask those questions and it was a good experience for me to answer them. It just shows you how fast children can switch attention.

ps. We had recess at 2pm.

So Much Fun (anniversery recap)

2008-06-02T16:48:00.003-04:00

We had a blast together in NYC! Here's a small recap....don't want to bore. We took pictures but Travis has them in his camera and he is on his way to Korea for the next 2 weeks (company trip), so, I'll have to post them later.

Friday Evening:
We went to a Newark Bears game and had so much fun. We ate dinner there and enjoyed 12 innings of pretty good baseball (it was tied). Since it was Friday, they had fireworks afterwards and we saw a little of it. It was just so much fun being together.

Saturday:
We had breakfast at our hotel and then went to Ellis Island. We took the ferry from Liberty Center and got a great view of the Statue of Liberty.

Ellis Island was soooo cool. Lots of historical facts and tidbits of information (we love stuff like that). We even got our picture taken as immigrants (will follow in later post).

We had to rush a little bit when we got back to our hotel because we spent so much time at Ellis Island. We changed and hopped on the subway to our show.

Spamalot was HYSTERICAL! I laughed so hard I snorted...more than once...
They did a great job of including the audience and the music was WONDERFUL! Well worth the money.

After the show we went to the Queen of Sheba restaurant. It was amazing - near Broadway and very small. The food was sooooo good. I had eaten Ethiopian before because I spent the summer there 8 years ago on a mission trip. Travis had eaten it too but this was the best I've eaten in the states. If you're ever in NYC I highly recommend it.

Got back to our hotel around 1:30am. (That won't happen when we have the little one) =)

Sunday:
Had room service for breakfast (woo-woo) and went back into the city to walk around Manhattan. We had ice cream from a truck and just enjoyed each other's company.

Sunday I had to leave Travis to come back had school today. I miss him so much.

Travis if you see this post, please know that God blessed me beyond words when he brought you into my life. You are an amazing husband and I can't wait to see what an awesome father you are.

Last Piece of the Puzzle...

2008-05-29T10:54:00.002-04:00

It just occurred to me that our housemate is going to get her fingerprinting done right now.

I mean, it didn't just occur to me. I knew about it a week and a half ago when her notice arrived in the mail. And we talked about how to get there last night when she got home.

But I just looked at my watch and relaized that it's 10:56 AM, and she should be there by now, as her appointment was scheduled for 11:00 AM. I haven't heard from her, so I assume she foud the place with no trouble and time to spare, or she would have called asking for directions or advice. I hope.

This is the third appointment she's had to do this. The first one was scheduled, of course, for the same time that Sunny and I had to go, but she was flying to California that day, and couldn't go. I had forgotten to mention on the cover letter that Fridays were no good for her, so that was my fault.

The next one, however, was not. We sent her notice back with another cover letter, explaining the dates she would not be available, including the week of May 9th to 16th. They scheduled her for the 15th, which means that they either

1) Didn't read the cover letter, or

B) Didn't care.

So we sent them the appointment notice back again, with another cover letter, saying something to the effect of "No, really, we mean it this time..." and then we waited.

And waited.

And then a week and a half later, the new notice finally arrived. Sunny opened it, as she typically arrives home first and anyway, our housemate was (surprise!) out of town that day. It was for today, the 29th, 11AM.

So it's no small thing that she's actually going to get this done, at long last.

This is the last item for our dossier. Getting her clearances should take about a month, and if the USCIS has in fact reviewed our application, then they can approve it and send us a Favorable Determination Letter as soon as they get all three fingerprint clearances back. However, as government offices don't really have any incentive to do work in advance of when it's really required, it's possible that they won't even start reviewing our application until they get all the fingerprinting back.

Anybody have any insight for us on what to expect with this?

Anniversary Excitement

2008-05-22T16:59:00.002-04:00

Well, Travis and I will be married for 6 years on June 1st and to celebrate what will probably be our last anniversary without kiddos we are going away for the weekend.

On Friday, the 30th of May we will leave to spend the weekend in New York City complete with dinner and a Broadway show on Saturday night! Last year we went to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, but, since funds are a little tight with the little one on the way we opted for a long weekend in the city.

We are going to see SPAMALOT!

We only live about 2 hours outside NYC so the travel won't be bad and we are both huge Monty Python fans (in fact, for our anniversary last year, Travis' mom bought us every episode of Monty Python on DVD - we LOVE it).

So...we will spend the day in the city and probably go to Ellis Island (I've never been) and have a nice dinner before the show.

We'd better live it up...next year we'll probably be lucky if we get out for dinner. Trust me though, I can't wait until our house is filled with the sounds of our baby.

I'll write again and let you all know how the weekend went!

ps. Okay, I'm ready for some more news on referrals... =)

Holy Cow!

2008-05-16T23:31:00.002-04:00

All I have to say is, I hope those referrals keep coming like they did this week! I'm so excited for the families who were matched. Heaven is rejoicing because of God's awesome plan of adoption!

WOOHOO!!!

2008-05-13T17:34:00.003-04:00

Yay! Referrals! I'm so excited to see the numbers come down! Week two was a bit long but the news today about referrals was quite a pick-me-up. This is so exciting.

Nothing huge happened this week, accept that Travis had to teach a class in Long Island yesterday and I was home to languish alone (but not without the help of some chic-flicks). Yes, I miss my husband dearly when he travels, however, I use that time to catch up on some real girly movies that I wouldn't make him suffer through....last night it was Becoming Jane. Oh man! Was it good! I love English period films (favorite is Sense and Sensiblity).

Anyway, that's about it for us for now.

Referrals (yes I'm talking to you), keep comin'!

Some Thoughts on this Mother's Day...

2008-05-11T16:22:00.002-04:00

I thought earlier today how excited I am to become a mom, and that by this time next year I probably will be. I've been having sweet dreams about what our cute little babe might look like and I'm so excited to see how this next year pans out.

As I was driving to the store for our final ingredient for my own mother's special day dinner, it occurred to me that somewhere half way around the world there is a woman who has yet to face or is forced to face the reality that she is or will be unable to care for her little one. That knowledge will require her to make a decision that I can't even bare to fathom for myself.

I don't know if the decision will be made out of desperation, or unknowingly due to illness, but God does.

As I drove in my car, I was overcome with grief on behalf of this woman I don't know. What is her situation on this Mother's Day? Is she hungry? Does she have shelter? Does she know that there is a God who created her in his own image, and made a way for her to have a deep relationship with Him?

I am so thankful to God that he has made a way for Travis and me to become parents. This journey however, goes far beyond our desire to have children. It's about God's passion for adoption and his love for our child's birth mother and the baby she is carrying.

May I remember to pray for her on a daily basis.

one week down.....and ? to go

2008-05-06T17:07:00.002-04:00

Well, week number one is behind us.

It was a cray busy week.

I was in a play one of my students wrote and had rehearsal twice, and then a performance on Saturday evening. Travis and I were also on schedule to sing/play on our church's worship team. We had rehearsal Thursday night, and then had to be at church by 7am Sunday morning to be ready for two back to back services. AND, to top it all off, Saturday I went to my sister-in-law's baby shower an hour and a half away (had to leave early in order to get back for the play's performance). WHEW! Boy was I glad when the work week started, at least I knew the craziness was over.

I feel surprisingly calm about the road ahead (even though our agency hasn't had any referrals in over 6 weeks). Maybe it's because there are so many people waiting ahead of us. I'm gearing myself up for a long wait.

It seems like there is so much to do before then...choose a pediatrician, complete the nursery, clean out the house, etc. An acquaintance who just completed an Ethiopian adoption was sharing with me about how during the wait, she struggled between wanting the time to fly by and living in the now. That makes such sense to me.

When our baby comes home, our lives will be completely different. We won't be able to just pick up and go on a whim, or have alone time whenever we want. I really want to enjoy the time ahead of us as a couple. Travis is such a wonderful husband and I don't want to wish away time with him. Don't get me wrong, I would be ecstatic if our wait only ended being 4 months long. But, I also want to see the beauty and enjoy the gifts God has for me/us now.

Travis and I won't get this time back ever again and I want to look back and remember how much we enjoyed the relationship God gave us. Soon enough we'll be marveling at the beauty of our baby and embarking on a new adventure.

Fingerprinting Done

2008-05-02T14:37:00.005-04:00

Sunny and I went to Philadelphia today to get our fingerprinting done. They scheduled us for 8AM, and we were half an hour early, though this was mostly for Sunny's sake. She always wants to be early for this stuff, if at all possible. Hard to blame her.

I had expected an official looking government building, like what I saw when I went to get our power of attorney authenticated in Harrisburg, but the fingerprinting facility in Philadelphia is actually on the northern outskirts of the city, in a big, nondescript building in an industrial park. There was a graphic arts business, a snack food distributor, and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services office. Not what I expected.

We got there pretty early, as I mentioned, and though we could go into the building, we were not allowed to do anything until the offices officially opened at 7:45AM. No fingerprinting, no forms, not even the bathroom. I wasn't even allowed to stand to stretch my legs after spending an hour and a half driving there. Had to take a seat, lest Big Brother see this creepy looking guy milling around the offices, plotting to...steal the fingerprinting machines? I'm not sure what exactly, but I sat down.

After filling out our forms, we got on line for the receptionist, who had a sign that said:

STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Do not proceed until
the receptionist calls you.

Apparently this sign was not effective with only ten exclamation points after STOP, so they had to up the ante. Just so you knew they were serious.

When we did proceed, she looked at our forms and our identification, stamped our forms and stapled a numbered ticket to them, right off of one of those red plastic reels like they have at the supermarket deli.

"Yes, thanks. I'd like a half a pound of the low-salt Swiss, a pound of the Genoa salami, and one Ethiopian baby boy, 0-12 months old. No, make it half a pound of salami."

We were eventually called (I was first) and the fingerprints were taken. I think the technician thought I was intentionally pushing down on the glass plate while she was trying to get my prints. It's really just that I'm very tall and not terribly flexible, so the angle from which my fingers approach the plate makes it necessary for me to crouch down so the fingers can lay flat, otherwise I can't help but press down. In any case, she was pretty nice about it, and the whole ordeal was over in ten minutes.

We had to fill out a little customer service form, rating them on their courtesy, promptness and overall experience. They were, of course, excellent on all counts. Neither of us any any special comments to offer.

We both finally got to use the bathroom when we were done, and while everything was nice and clean (that had just opened) the air dryer left a little to be desired. The instructions read as follows:

1. Shake hands thoroughly.
2. Turn on dryer.
3. Wipe hands on pants.

They wisely had already had us fill out the customer satisfaction survey.

We Are Actually on the List!

2008-04-29T18:23:00.002-04:00

Hello to the few people who are kind enough to read our blog. I have big news. We are officially on the waiting list for a baby boy with our adoption agency. We are #27 on the infant boy's list and #50 overall. I know those sound like huge numbers but they are oh so beautiful to our ears.

God is so good, and I'm hoping to handle the coming months with patience and poise (anyone who knows me knows that's a shot in the dark). Anyway, will write more later.

Peace!

Hope in the Midst of Horror

2007-12-17T11:05:00.000-05:00

Newsweek online has an article today in which they detail some of the horror stories of international adoption. "Horror" doesn't begin to describe it, as the first story is that of a woman in Virginia who actually killed her 2-year old daughter, who was adopted from Russia. Shook her and kicked her and beat her to death. Absolutely unimaginable.

Obviously, this is a magazine article, and therefore sensationalist in its very nature, but that doesn't make it untrue. They share some tips toward the end of the article for avoiding this woman's fate, but naturally reading one magazine article barely scrapes the surface.

As you continue reading, it seems that the Russian authorities did a "bait and switch" with the woman and her husband, inviting them to Russia to adopt two sisters, then telling them that those two were not available and offering them two others instead. The older of those two was very nice, but when they went to sign the final papers, shee, too, was "off the table". Only the younger one, whom they had seen only once, reportedly because she "had a bad cold", was available. Take her or leave her. They took her, without realizing all her emotional problems, and when they got her home, they couldn't handle her. Reactive Attachment Disorder, and probably a littany of other problems.

The mother, of course, is (justifiably) the one in the wrong here, more so than the allegedly double-dealing Russian authorities. She's the one who became an alcoholic. She's the one who hid her problems, even from her own husband (who eventually divorced her). She's the one who let things spiral out of control, and ultimately, she's the one who chose to beat the child instead of seeking help. A tragic case, indeed. She's serving 19 years for 2nd degree murder. No plea bargain. No excuses. She owns it.

Granted, it's possible that everything the Russian authorities said was absolutely true, that this was just a series of remarkable coincidences that led to a horrifying end. Me, personally, I'm kind of a cynic, so I tend to believe that there was some conspiracy here, but Hanlon's Razor suggests that incompetence could be equally to blame. In either case, the parents failed to do their homework, and are therefore ultimately to blame. Also, I probably just ruined my chances of ever adopting from Russia, if I had wanted to.

It turns out that as many as 14 children adopted from Russia have actually been killed by their adoptive parents since the early 1990's. (No mention was made in the Newsweek article about those from other countries, and no reference was made to other injuries that stopped short of death, or other failures to adjust and adapt.) Partly for this reason, Russia halted all international adoptions to see if they could figure out what the problem was. If the allegations in the Newsweek article have any truth to them, it seems they should be looking at their own policies and procedures, not at what's wrong with the Americans and others who've been adoting their orphaned children.

Yep. Definitely won't be adopting from Russia.

The neglect and abuse of Romanian and other Eastern European children in orphanages, first publicized when the Iron Curtain came down in the late '80s and early '90s, spurred many people to try to help, but few were prepared for the trials and tribulations that would follow with these severely traumatized children. Well-meaning but naive people have jumped into the adoption pool with both feet, when what they really needed was a canoe and a few paddles. And a life vest, and some food stuffs, and probably flares, you know, just in case.

Well, you get the point.

You can hardly be too prepared, right? Any Boy Scout will tell you that. And while such occurrences are not impossible, they are extremely rare. Any international adoption agency worth its salt puts its prospective adoptive parents through hours and hours of training, recommends (or even requires) reading of books and other resources, and talks with you about the challenges you may face when you adopt a child from a different country. In addition, if you have a separate Home Study agency (as Sunny and I do) you've got additional hours preparing you for parenting, both general and adoption-specific. In our case, we plan to adopt an infant, which should help minimize any institutional trauma, and as we understand it, the orphanage in Ethiopia with which our adoption agency works is an excellent one.

Still, we would be fools if we thought that everything would be fine just because we think we're smarter or better prepared or more loving than anyone else who's ever adopted a child, or because our child will come from a different country and culture. Sure, we want to have a little boy we can love and play with, read books to and dress him up. (We're particularly excited about seeing him in overalls and little bitty, completely unnecessary, construction boots, like he's got to go to work in the world's smallest construction site. Maybe a 1/8th scale skyscraper or something.) But mostly we want to love a child, and for him to love us. To raise a kid we'll be proud of and who will appreciate us. For that matter, we want him to be proud of us, and we want to appreciate him, too. It should be mutual, you know?

So we're doing everything we have to do and then some. Meeting with social workers and other adoptive parents. Talking with our adoption agency. Reading books and websites and (soon) magazines. My wife just found out that there were magazines about international adoption this weekend, while we were taking one of the requisite online adoption courses, and she practically exploded with excitement. (We're open to recommendations, if the half-dozen or so people who still read this blog have any.)

And we're praying. Probably not as much as we should, but we are, because ultimately it's all in God's hands anyway.

"...the joy of the Lord is your strength."

2007-10-31T12:02:00.000-04:00

I grew up in a Baptist church in New Jersey, an independent church in a conservative denomination, and if there's one thing that Baptists value, it's memorizing scripture. Turns out I was pretty good at it, so I fit right in, and yet for all the Bible verses I memorized as a kid, for all the Bible study I did in high school and college and in the decade since, I had no idea where the above quote came from until last night.

Of course, I have heard the quote lots of times. I'd seen it on little plaques and bookmarks and posters with kittens on them in Bible book stores. Probably on a Thomas Kinkade painting somewhere, I would imagine. I even remember a song, which, if memory serves, consisted entirely of that phrase repeated over and over again. The quote was emminently familiar to me. Only its source was obscure.

But as it happens, our weekly Bible study is now working its way through the book of Nehemiah. We chose it collectively, having never studied any of the Old Testament prophets before, excepting Jonah, which contains no prophecy for anyone but Jonah and the city of Nineveh, and that only during a weekend retreat.

Nehemiah is about the re-building of the wall around the city of Jerusalem in the 5th century BC, when the exiled Jews began to return en force from Persia, which had recently conquered the Jews' conquerors, the Babylonians. I had looked over Nehemiah about a year and a half ago, when it was suggested as possible study material for a misison trip my wife and I had planned to take to Kentucky to work on (appropriately enough) building the infrastructure for a ministry to disenfranchised Native Americans. Unfortunately, that trip didn't work out for us, but the research I had done on Nehemiah helped to get it in the cue for our weekly group to study, and last night was the first one I'd been to in a long while. (Travel for work had kept me away for the last two weeks.)

We skipped most of chapter seven, with the lists of the people who returned from Persia once the walls were finished, a chapter only slightly more exciting than watching Wite-Out dry. On your tax return. While watching Vanity Fair.

Instead, we studied Nehemiah 7:73 to 8:12, which is kind of a climax of the book, even though it happens more or less right in the middle of it. It takes place shortly after the Wall is finished, which took an astonishingly short 52 days to complete. (By contrast, my last home improvement project, "Cleaning the Back~~yard~~ Slab" has taken about four months!) The people, perhaps as many as the 42,000+ mentioned in chapter 7, all gather near one of the newly finished city gates and the priest/scribe Ezra reads them the Book of the Law to them, while other scribes explain and interpret it for the people. They all begin to weep and mourn, but the priests tell them not to do this, because the day is holy to God, and that they should rejoice. They say, "And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

So, what does that mean? I mean, sure, it makes a nice plaque/bookmark/kitten poster, and works as a catchy (if overly repetitive) set of lyrics, but what does it mean?

Something that helped me last night was thinking about ways in which it could be rephrased. I came up with:

"God's joy is your strength"

"Because God is joyful, you can be strong"

"God is happy with you, why should you be sad?"

"When God is pleased with your actions, you can move ahead boldly"

That last one is a bit of a stretch, but I think it still works.

The point in the Nehemiah text was that God was happy with the Israelites because they had been faithful and done his bidding in re-building the walls of Jerusalem. The day of the reading of the Law should therefore be a happy one, a celebration of God's goodness, faithfulness and forgiveness, not a time of mourning and weeping.

Naturally, much of what I hear and study these days is interpreted through the lens of this international adoption, and last night's Bible study was no different. It occurred to me that my wife and I have been kind of stressed out and worried about our status as potential adoptive parents, about whether our chosen adoption agency will accept us, and ultimately whether or not the government of Ethiopia will consider us sufficiently capable parent material, not to mention whether or not we'll actually be good parents.

We've spent a lot of time fretting and crying and criticizing each other in the process, without realizing that we should be forging ahead boldly, hoping and trusting in God to take care of those things, realizing that he rewards the faithful choices of his people. What could be more faithful than adopting a child from another race and culture and raising it to love God and serve him? God will give us the needed strength as we try to follow his leading, which gives him joy.

Sounds like a good trade to me.

Hoarding Muddy Tennis Balls...

2007-10-14T17:33:00.000-04:00

I returned home Friday afternoon after two long days of business on the road in New York and New Jersey to find that somebody was burning my house down.

OK, that's a lie.

What I actually found was that a couple of college students were feverishly working to prepare some food, a big pile of crispy bacon, a key ingredient in one of our housemate's favorite pasta dishes. It has other ingredients, I believe. Round, off-white objects she calls "pasta" and some green things, too. Potatoes, too, I think. But the bacon, in my mind, is the main ingredient. Maybe that's just me. Maybe that's why I'm so pudgy.

Anyway, our housemate and these two students were getting things ready to make a big pot of this dish for several freshmen from the local college, my own alma mater, who were attending the Christian fellowship's freshman retreat. Naturally, the bacon needed to be readied in advance, and these two students, upperclassmen, were giving up some of their time and energy to get things ready for the retreat, and would actually attend it to help serve the freshmen for whom it was intended.

And so our house, being the most logical place to cook said Key Ingredient, had become more than a little innundated with smoke. The picture above was a little late in the process, after I had opened a window, turned on the ceiling fan, and called the Fire Department, so it doesn't do justice to how much smoke was in the room. Ten minutes earlier it had looked like this:

To their credit, though, they got it all cleaned up with only minimal damage to the house, and relatively few casualties. Mostly the bacon, which of course was already dead.

They left for the freshman retreat shortly and as I understand it, a good time was had by all, and there was much rejoicing. (Yay.) And they didn't even have to eat Sir Robin's Minstrels!

So What's With All This "Housemate" Stuff?

My wife and I decided last spring to invite our friend Liz to come live with us for the year. She's a relatively recent college graduate who works on the campus of Lehigh University with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, which means that she needed a place to live so she could work at Lehigh, and after much discussion, we agreed to rent her a room in our house. Since, you know, you usually can't rent someone a room in someone else's house. This, naturally, means that she uses a lot of the rest of the house as well, as you might imagine. It's only fair.

A lot of married couples wouldn't dream of something like this, allowing a non-family member to live with them for such a length of time. And I can understand that. Having privacy and free reign of your own abode is part of the American Dream, or something like that, and I don't disparrage anyone who says that they wouldn't want such an arrangement for themseves.

We, however, have known lots of people who have done this, many of them somehow connected to InterVarsity, and it usually seems to be a pretty good deal for all involved. It's a great way to build relationship with someone you would otherwise only see on a social basis, and it allows you to see and support an important ministry for God's Kingdom in ways you never could if you didn't have access to both the students and the staff, as we do. What I don't think we realized, however, was how much more connected we would each become with the fellowship itself, and how frequently we would have students over here for various reasons. Neither of these is a bad thing, far from it. Just unexpected.

The only trade off is that sometimes you fear that someone's burning down your house.

The temptation, when you get a Thing, is to hold onto that Thing, to protect it, to keep it from getting scratched or dinged or cracked or, indeed, burned down. You hold that Thing close to your heart, thinking that this Thing, if it is preserved well enough, will make you happy in the long run, or at the very least, help you to buy a Bigger Thing, some years down the road. And the Bigger Thing will make you happy.

Our new pastor's sermon this morning, on Luke 12, reminded us that we have only a short time here on earth, and that planning long-term for ourselves only, without regard to the Kingdom of God, is a fool's errand. We're like this Laborador I saw at the Bethlehem dog park yesterday: Feverishly trying to protect three different muddy tennis balls simultaneously, growling at anyone who approaches any of them, trying to keep them all from rolling down the hill. Someone manages to get one of them and throw it across the park (which is all muddy tennis balls are good for anyway, if you're a a Retriever), and you go running after it, with another tennis ball in your mouth, not realizing that there's no way you can possibly bring them both back, leaving the third one for someone else. And not really enjoying any of them the way a Retriever should.

In truth, there are way more muddy tennis balls at that dog park than even the greediest dog could ever use, just as the Earth contains everything we need, and a loving God needs only to be asked to provide for us. Hoarding the meager resources we acquire serves only to make us feel that they are not enough, while we never truly enjoy the good things we have.

As we embark on this adoption journey, we hope to receive the help and support of friends and family whom God has also blessed, just as others have been blessed by the stuff and things, like our house, that we have been able to share. We are neither so wealthy that we do not need it, nor so proud that we would not accept it. And we hope that they will be blessed by partnering with us in this process.

How many doctors does it take?...

2007-10-10T15:27:00.000-04:00

It took three doctors to tell me I have the flu today. Three. The first one said it might be an ear infection but he wanted to check with someone else. Then the second one came in, said I probably have the flu but that she wanted another opinion. Then the third one came in and within about 5 minutes she said I had the flu. "It's early in the season", she said, "but not impossible". I'm the first case they've seen yet this year.

Congratulations to me.

I have a fever of 102, chills, no appetite, aches, and a headache that makes me want to sever off my cranium with anything I can find in the kitchen.

On a lighter note, since I had to go to the doctor because of being near death's door, I was able to give them a form needed for our adoption agency. Woo hoo! Check that off the list. Hopefully it doesn't take the entire practice to fill it out...I'm not holding my breath though.

Is this normal?

2007-10-08T20:58:00.000-04:00

I feel like I spent the entire day on the phone with our soon to be adoption agency and our soon to be home study agency. Is it normal to have 5 million questions? Just when I think I've got information under control I think of something else to ask. I have a notebook that I keep in front of me when I'm on the phone with people and the thing is becoming fuller than my geometry notebook from the 10th grade!

After the plethera of phone conversations (the agency workers were amazingly helpful, patient, and kind), Travis and I spent some time answering questions from our home study agency that will help us prepare to become a transracial family. The questions were thought provoking and some of them Travis and I have already discussed. It was cool to each answer a question on our own and then share our answers with each other.

After about 2 hours of questions we decided some dinner could be helpful. It was so awesome to just take some time and cook together, to take a break from adoption stuff. I love Travis more every day and starting the adoption process is letting me see a new, cool side to him. Hearing him talk about being a daddy warms my heart.

Well, enough rambling for now. I leave you with a video that makes me laugh hysterically no matter how many times I see it...enjoy!

"Can I have a biscuit? Pleeeeaaaaase?"...

2007-10-07T12:26:00.001-04:00

This was the scene while we were making our morning coffee (let alone that just to the right of this picture was a brimming bowl of Purina Beneful dog food). How can you say "no" to that cute face?

Cupcake Success!!

2007-10-06T16:21:00.000-04:00

The cupcakes were a wonderful success. They were pink, cute, buttery, and plentiful; so plentiful in fact that we donated the left overs to the Sunday school classes that will meet in the church tomorrow. I can see it now. Swarms of children streaming from the classroom doorways with their felt craft in one hand and my delicately iced cupcake clutched in the other. I wonder if they'll stop to appreciate the 3 1/2 hours it took me to load and reload my cake decorators, mix more icing because I ran out, mix more icing because I then dropped it on the floor, and the fact that I still can't see my counter tops because of all the bowls and spoons.

Oh well, my sister-in-law loved them and that's enough for me.

Yes. I'm going to be an aunt. It feels weird. My brother is five years younger than me and I can still remember shoving him face down in the snow and then helping him up only to shove him down again. Ahhhh, sibling affection. He is a man now and an awesome one at that, let alone the wonderful woman he married whom I adore. Their journey into parenthood is just beginning (7 1/2 weeks from now to be exact) and so is mine. The means to that end will look very different for Travis and me though.

It was about a year ago when I was praying on a Saturday morning in our living room. I felt a strong pull on my heart to go and talk to Travis about adopting from Ethiopia. We had talked about adoption before. Travis has a sister who was adopted and I have been to Ethiopia, so it seemed right that we would be moving in this direction. A couple of hours, days and then weeks later we decided to apply for adoption before trying for children biologically. Days and weeks followed and it turned out that the timing wasn't quite right, so we moved forward with biological baby plans.

Fast forward about a year. Our plans for biological children came to a grinding halt when the Dr. said there was nothing we could do. We were infertile. I still remember walking out to the car with Travis, neither of us speaking, feeling oddly okay. Shouldn't I be sobbing? Shouldn't I be angry? Little did I know that those feelings would come soon (at the most inconvenient times - like at work, baby showers etc.). Still, there was/is this joy inside of me. The hope promised to us through Jesus. God is in charge of creating our family, and it will be in his timing and with his provisions, and it will be amazing!

So here we are, applying the second time, feeling overwhelmed, scared, excited, and joyful. God has an amazing journey for us and has set us apart for adoption. I wonder what our baby will look like. What will make him laugh? How will he make us laugh? I pray for his mother even though I don't know her.

We are taking the first steps in this long journey. The application is filled out and will hopefully be mailed on Monday. And the journey begins...maybe soon someone will be making cupcakes for my baby shower.

Why my Wife is a Teacher and NOT a Pastry Chef...

2007-10-05T21:09:00.000-04:00

My sister-in-law (my wife's brother's wife) is having her baby shower tomorrow, and for some reason, instead of soap and towels, my wife is bringing her cupcakes. Lots and lots of cupcakes. And because cupcakes tend to deteriorate rapidly when they're more than a day old (except Hostess cupcakes, most of which are both older and in better condition than anything made by Datsun), she had to make them all tonight. All 72 of them.

Here's one now:

Extra points if you can figure out what that's supposed to be. They tell me it's a flower, and I'm inclined to believe them, though I'm not sure the evidence is stacked in their favor on that. Them being my wife and our friend, Amanda. Amanda came over to "help out" which is to say that she made the buttercream icing and then came downstairs to watch me bite off all my fingernails as I watch the Yankee game. (Tied at 1 in the 11th, and all our best relievers already used.)

They let me eat one, only because its icing was so beyond any reasonable resemblance of a flower that it would not have looked terribly appetizing at the shower tomorrow, and it tasted pretty good. If men generally went to baby showers, there would be little reason to worry about the appearance of the cupcakes, or of any of the other foodstuffs for that matter, only the taste. However, as we all know, it's usually women who attend these things, not men, and chicks dig that sorta stuff. And the long ball.

My father in law has come over to help out as well, though from what I've overheard, he doesn't seem to think they're all that bad. Unlike most men, my father in law is keenly interested in decorating, so much so that he actually takes days off of work around the holidays to decorate their house. Which is not that big a house.

So anyway, he would know if the cupcakes were Un-Servably Ugly, and he doesn't seem to think so. In any case, I think I know my sister in law well enough to say that she'll be happy with them regardless. Besides, after they're eaten, you can't tell how pretty the decoration was anyway, right? (Eeewwww....)

Enough about cupcakes.

I'm really excited about being an uncle. I've always been very fond of children, but the closest I've come to being an uncle was when my older cousins had kids, though these I only got to see a couple of times a year. First they were babies and then they were spelling and then they were driving and now I think they're all retired. Time sure flies when you're exaggerating.

But my sister and brother in law, and hence my soon-to-be-born niece, will live just around the corner! I'll see them all the time! Every week if I want! They'll be so sick of me they could spit! The baby, it should be noted, will probably do this whether she's tired of seeing me or not. Babies do that, I'm told.

Should be several months of good practice for our own child, which likely will arrive about a year from now, give or take a month or two. Of course, from everything we've read, it seems unlikely that the adopted child we actually bring home from Ethiopia will be much younger than about 10 months, so much of whatever I learn won't be of much use for my own kid. Starting from scratch again, as they say.

At least he won't care what the cupcakes look like.

Money Matters...

2007-10-04T20:42:00.000-04:00

Adoption is almost ridiculously expensive. There is a Federal Tax Credit, sure, which is just over $10,000, but that's probably less than half of what it will cost us to adopt one child from Ethiopia, which means we've still got to find another $12K from somewhere. (There's no state benefit in PA, where we live.) My wife and I both make a good living, but seriously, who has twelve thousand dollars burning a hole in their pocket, much less the $22 grand we'll need to actually accomplish the deed?

We've contacted our church, but they don't have anything in place at the moment to help adoptive families. However, our Bible Study discussed it some and we're thinking we might try to establish something there, at our church, some kind of fund for helping people adopt. Even if it takes long enough that we can't take advantage of it this time around, we plan to adopt two or three kids in total anyway, so it could help us down the road, not to mention others as well.

I have also contacted my employer about establishing an adoption benefit, and found some info on this online today.

This is a list of other companies in PA that offer some kind of adoption benefits.

And here’s a national list.

Some general info on why/how such a thing can benefit the company.

One of the best reasons, in my mind, is that the company's medical benefits would cover a biological birth through our health insurance, but the company’s insurance will never have to pay for a biological birth for us, so there’s a net-zero effect there. Sort of.

Take the Gluestick Out of your Mouth!!!

2007-10-03T21:18:00.001-04:00

The line above escaped my wife's lips rather unexpectedly today. She had earlier had to admonish the same child not to eat his test paper, either, something most of us would never expect to have to do. But then, she's a school teacher, and such is her life. It was today anyway. Kind of a rough one.

But she pushed through, looking forward to coming home and sitting with me to fill out our application form for an Ethiopian Adoption. We've been talking about this for years, and even looked into it pretty seriously about a year ago, but delayed our plans when we were (erroneously, it now appears) informed that you need to actually have money to adopt a child. More accuately, we were told that our debt outweighed our assets by a bit too much, and that we should go back to our room and think about what we'd done.

So we did. And here we are, 12 months and hundreds of blessings later, ready to start the long, arduous process of adopting a child from another country. God has put it on our hearts that we should pursue a baby from Ethiopia for what will be our first child, and we are following his leading in as much as we know how.

This Blog, we hope, will be a venue through which we can share our feelings, thoughts, emotions and other experiences with family, friends and many, many complete strangers. Hopefully, many of those will not seem so strange to us, nor we to them, by the time this process comes to fruition.