Merry Spring!

It only seemed like it! 

I couldn't handle baring my heart for awhile. 

Ok, it was a long while this time. 

I left you here mid 2013. So what's happened?

SO MANY THINGS. 

Not too long after my last post, things became dicey with our Dane girls. Kira was almost 8 years old, which is toward the higher end of average for Great Danes. We had been managing her discospondylosis, hip problems, and knee conditions for about two years. She was not only taking supplements, but Rimadyl and Tramadol for pain control. But she became more touchy, and was lashing out at Misha. There were a couple of fights, a couple of trips to be patched up. In the end, we had to make the heartbreaking decision to let Kira cross the Rainbow Bridge. She was our first 'baby,' a comfort while we were trying for a human baby. She was my very first dog to boot! It colored the rest of the year. 

We also made the decision for Monkey to attend public school, since we are in one of the best districts in our state. I couldn't keep up with his appetite for learning! We'd finish his work in just a couple of hours, and I had no idea how to fill our days so that he was learning and moving forward. He's had amazing teachers who helped him, pushed him, and let him keep progressing. This year that has changed, and we are reconsidering our decision if this trend continues. For now though, it works. 

2014

It was a good year! Monkey did well in school, Kevin and I were both very involved in the class room and I went on a couple of field trips. We just lived a normal life, whatever normal is. 

At some point, we decided to try a few more rounds of fertility treatment. Two rounds with my regular OB/GYN (while working with a Reproductive Endocrinologist) led to two extremely early pregnancy losses. We followed through with more intensive testing, which didn't reveal a lot, but did leave us taking a few months off of trying to conceive. 

Sometime in there, I started attending a FitSkate class with a local roller derby team! Tons of fun, even if it ended in a bruised tail bone a few times! I hadn't been on skates since I was a teenager, so there was a definite learning curve. However, I started having super strange symptoms at the end of the year (numbness, a foot drop, falls, weakness...just a host of weirdness). I saw my primary care physician for a work up, and a referral to a neurologist. I needed to see one anyway for following my migraines, so this wasn't cause for alarm at all. 

We had a good holiday season, my mom came near Thanksgiving and Christmas was great! 

2015

While following these issues, I ended up in the hospital for a few days in January. They found an ischemic event in my brain (either a stroke no one knew about, or tiny bleed from a concussion during a car wreck in 2012). It was old when found, so not a giant concern but it sounded scary! I was evaluated for Multiple Sclerosis. Since this is a diagnosis mostly made by exclusion, it involved lots of testing. At the same time, we working on another round of fertility treatment. We had to stop right when I was to start Femara again, so the cycle was interrupted.

To make things just slightly more fun, we knew Kevin was soon to leave for pre-deployment training and then for deployment to the Middle East. We decided then we'd try once more with the doctors help after he returned. I started occupational therapy to strengthen my left side, and kept up with that while Kevin was away for training. He left just after our wedding anniversary. I had a few tests with results that were only *slightly* out of normal, but my symptoms slowly faded, and it was determined I wouldn't need to come back for several months. A couple of weeks later, I noticed I hadn't had a cycle since the medicine I used to induce it for our aborted fertility cycle in January/February. Nothing unusual, especially considering my PCOS and endometriosis. I took a pregnancy test before I called the doctor. 

Imagine my shock when it was *POSITIVE.*

I'm sure I almost fell over. Talk about pins and needles! My first ultrasound was inconclusive, showing only an amniotic sac and yolk sac. Since we had no idea when I'd conceived, we weren't sure if this was a problem or not. The next week though, there was a tiny flicker of a heartbeat! Monkey found the pregnancy tests I'd inadvertently left on my bathroom counter, and me forgetting how smart he was, demanded to know "does dad know about this?!" He was fairly excited though. He got to come to the 13 week ultrasound, where baby looked like a baby instead of a blob. He announced this big news to my mom via video chat. Kevin was home for a few weeks between training and deploying, and got to see an ultrasound as well.

Kevin left just as school got out, and Monkey and I spent the summer playing at the splash pad downtown and took a trip to Colorado with Kevin's sister. We found out baby's gender, and used pictures of Monkey to announce our little girl! Monkey started 2nd grade in August, and Kevin returned home in October. I spent most of the summer and fall craving cheeseburgers and grapes, and watching my active belly bounce around. She was due Dec 10, but after a concerning biophysical profile on my birthday, we induced labor.

My little Owl was born on 20 Nov at 1018am. She was 6lbs, 15 oz and 19 inches long. (I'll be back soon with a proper birth story post and many pictures.)

Thanksgiving and Christmas were spent at home with our tiny new baby! In January, Kevin attended two weeks of training (and I survived my first TDY with 2 kids!).

2016

 

On this day in 2004,

(which was also the first day of Spring)

Kevin and I were married. 

Twelve years! 

Two babies! 

An almost 8 year old Monkey,

 and as of today, 

a 4 month old Owlet.

Life is awesome.

 

 

Updates and Plans

I took another long hiatus. 

Stress.

Retraining, preschool, church, finances, moving. 

In March, 

Kevin and I celebrated 9 years of marriage. 

I did my best not to fall apart into 

a puddle of mush on Baby Girl's 1st bithday.

I succeeded, even if my heart ached. 

Easter was awesome.

There were no hospital visits during it. 

We did have a wonderful dinner

with our friends

(Pony Princess, Minnie Mouse, and their baby brother).

In April, 

we went house hunting!

We drove to South Dakota.

Got stuck in Cheyenne, Wyoming for a few days.

Yay, snow storm! Ha.

This limited the number of days we had to look.

There was seriously a marathon of houses.

Billions, probably. 

In the end, the day before we left --

our offer was accepted on a house!

(Pictures forthcoming.)

May, 

we spent organizing, sorting, donating, selling.

Monkey finished up his last year of preschool.

My mind was blown when it was recommended that he be put in first grade.

We've decided to homeschool.

Our solution was to do kindergarten as fast as he needs or wants too,

and move on to first grade early if called for.

The movers packed.

They took our things.

We lived on air mattress.

We were named God-Parents of Pony & Minnie's brother.

We drove.

And drove.

And some more.

Roadtrip.

Two cars.

Three humans.

2 Great Danes. 

1 Cat.

1 Parrot. 

Lots of luggage. 

A luggage carrier whose keys got packed into boxes.

It was therefore left with friends.

After a couple of weeks of chaos -

hotels, boarding animals, etc

we got into our house.

And soon after, we finally closed! 

We've had our household goods for about two weeks.

Life is settling down. 

I have lots of projects that I plan to do and share here.

Decorating, re-doing, and freshening. 

I look forward to seeing you back here.

There will also be more to come on homeschooling,

family life, and plans for our family and future children. 

Another Month

Sorry about that. 

There's been a lot going on. 

Mostly good, though --

just BUSY.

Monkey is back in preschool, 

three days a week. 

Up until today,

he still had weekly swim lessons. 

Now he's also playing soccer! 

It's pretty funny to watch four year olds play any

"organized" sport! 

I also joined a MOPs group

(Mothers Of Preschoolers).

I've only attended one meeting, 

but I really liked it. 

I even won a raffle! 

(And I never win stuff like that!)

It was a ceramic travel coffee mug

and a book. 

Can't share too many details about it, 

I'm thinking it might be something 

that I buy for someone else for Christmas. 

But the biggest news. 

I OPENED UP A PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS!

You can find my website

(which is still slightly under construction)

here.

I hope all is well with you and yours, 

and I promise I will be back more often.

Back!

Monkey and I have been back from our trip 

to South Carolina for about a week and a half.

Kevin got back from training

last Friday. 

Our family is back in the same house! 

It's been awesome. 

Monkey is like a velcro leach onto

Daddy, but it's very cute 

(and annoying at times, I'm sure.)

However, I am not the leachee, 

so not my issue. 

We had fun in SC, 

got to see The Nana, 

go to the beach

(where everyone burned but Monkey, 

because he has awesome skin). 

Had fun with friends. 

And since we've been back, playing with Daddy has been number one. 

There was a Pampered Chef Part here tonight. 

A baby shower on Saturday 

for a friend here. 

Tomorrow is washing serving dishes, 

making pompoms, 

and baking biscuits. 

Her shower is going to be a tea. 

Was supposed to be a brunch, 

but that is a long, ugly story. 

Everything is going well this summer. 

Pictures here, Pictures there, Pictures Everywhere!

It's been awhile since I posted, 

but I can honestly say that's because

Monkey and I have been so busy! 

We had a week of summer camp,

a week of VBS,

a visit to the zoo in El Paso, 

a birthday party, 

free movie Tuesdays,

and swimming lessons going on! 

Kevin is still away for training,

but is doing amazing at it! 

And he'll be home in just a few more weeks! 

So, I thought I would catch you all up 

on some pictures that were long promised. 

 This is Monkey at Farm Day, holding a kid. (Baby goats are adorable, people!)

 Here he is being a silly guy at his 4th birthday! 

 The table of awesome at his party! 

Banner says Super Brandon. 

We had Yoshi Eggs, Toad Pops, Ice Power,

Fire Power, Star Power, Mario Mustaches, 

Wii-mote controls, and Power Up Water. 

And cupcakes. With ice cream.

Cupcakes are awesome. 

 Another view.

I should clarify that we also had

sub sandwiches and chips.

The stuff on the table was to take home. 

 Brandon and awesome Coach Austin after the 

Summer Gym Magic Recital. 

Monkey and his classed worked their moves

to the song, 

Moves Like Jagger. 

 Sneaky being a silly bird. 

He is on his back in my hand. 

And one more from Farm Day. He wasn't thrilled

about the horse ride so much. 

Not a lot going on in other news. 

I talked to R a little bit, 

and they are doing great! 

I am glad that we still talk. 

I hope you all are having great summers,

and those of you waiting for an adoption placement 

get a match soon. 

I still wish sometimes that things had turned out different, 

but financially it is just not possible. 

I dream of making a private match sometimes,

but that is pretty much a non-existant thing. 

One day though, 

we will grow our family -

somehow. 

 

Been Gone

Because sickness has been making it's rounds.

After Monkey got better, 

the universe apparently decided it was my turn.

Female issues that NO ONE wants to know about, 

(trust me). 

And then Monkey had a well visit -

but given his recent hospital stay, 

this traumatized him.

And now I am getting over the flu!

Yucky, yucky, yucky.

We were also slightly busy. 

The Nana came to visit. 

This was originally planned to meet 

Baby II,

but the tickets were already bought

and she had promised Monkey that she would be here

for his 

FOURTH 

birthday,

so she came anyway.

The party was awesome, but as you may imagine,

I haven't downloaded the pictures yet. 

 (I really should get better at that, no?

One day.)

Monkey is taking swimming lessons this summer.

We are only two lessons in,

but he seems to be doing well.

The first was hardest,

but after this last one,

he even asked to go back. 

We'll see on Monday. 

Kevin is leaving in two weeks.

Buy our guesstimation, 

he will be gone until early August. 

Luckily, only to Texas.

We'll still be able to talk frequently. 

However, I am glad that I am not going. 

I don't know that I would like to see

San Antonio again right now. 

Mentally, I had planned for a visit 

with R during this time. 

Clearly, not necessary. 

Still, would rather not think about it. 

On the adoption front, 

I need to update our profiles.

Lifetime says they are running low. 

I might do that this week 

so that we can get them out 

before Kevin leaves. 

As a matter of fact,

that will be my goal.

 

A New Year! 2012

So far, the new year has been good to us.

Preschool just started back up this week. We also attended Pony Princess's birthday party at a pony ranch here! It was a lot of fun. I am very proud of myself, because part of our gift was a pettiskirt that I made for her to wear! It is purple, with a yellow ruffle. I had to fight my sewing machine, but I prevailed in the end.

 Mr Monkey, on a pony!

And the Birthday Girl herself, in her skirt! 

We are working on getting everything done for our home study update (we have to get Shaless fingerprinted and background checked since she will be staying with us during her first semester at college). We also have to get new statements from our physicians and some other minor things. I submitted the bulk of the paperwork in November, so it's just down to a few things.

December

December was VERY busy for us, but a lot of fun.

Kevin's sister graduated high school a semester early, and will be starting college soon. We continued to have practice for Advent Journey, which actually took place on the weekend before Christmas. Monkey had his gym recital.

We also attended the preschool Christmas performance!

(That's his best friend/girlfriend Pony Princess on the left.)

My mom came to visit us for a week at Christmas. That was an adventure in Delta losing baggage - fortunately, we got everything back and she was reimbursed the cost of the things she had to buy. Christmas was awesome. Monkey got the thing he wished for most from Santa (a LeapPad Explorer Tablet). He also got *lots* of clothes, and thank goodness because he just grew like a weed. He wears a 5T pant and a 5/6 boys shirt, simply because of his long torso and arms! He's just a bit over 43 inches tall now, which is crazy, seeing as he is only 3.5 years old. 

New Years eve was quiet here.

Also not much movement for the adoption during December. We were/are working on getting the last few things together for our home study update.

November

So, I took awhile off from blogging. Instead of one gigantor wall of text, I decided to just break it down into a couple of posts to catch you up!

The birth mother that was considering us (along with several other families) again, chose another family. We did hear why - and it was simply that she had more of a connection with another family. It was hard to hear, but with the holidays approaching it was easy(ish) to focus on other things.

I turned 28 Nov 19. Kevin and I started practice for our church's Advent Journey production. Kevin was a Roman Centurion leading tours from the village marketplace in Bethlehem, through several scenes (the prophet Isaiah, Mary speaking to Gabriel, Mary speaking to Elizabeth, meeting a Roman Citizen, stopping at the Inn, meeting the shepherds who saw the angels appear and finally in to the Sanctuary where the newborn King was with Joseph and Mary). I was a Bethlehem crowd person, as was our Monkey.

Thanksgiving was awesome! We cooked at home this year and had lots of yummy food. I attempted Black Friday shopping with a good friend for the first time ever. It was quite the experience, but lots of fun! I did get a few things, which helped Christmas turn out well.

Overall during the month of November, there wasn't much movement on the adoption front.

Disappeared Again

Many apologies. It's been busy here.

We decided to get another car, since we are now legal guardians to Kevin's younger sister. And since we hope that we will get a call about a baby soon, we decided to go with a Honda Odyssey. This way our horse of a dog plus our kidlets can still fit. :)

We also moved to a new house; I am working on getting pictures of it! It's wonderful - much bigger and 4 bedrooms, just waiting to be filled.

Our adoption facilitator, Lifetime Adoption, also contacted us. An expectant mother who was considering adoption  was interested in us! We got a lovely email from her and wrote back. A baby girl due in January! While we waited anxiously, we were so excited. I think I let myself get a bit too excited.

After doing some soul searching, the mother has decided to parent her baby since she felt that she was making her decision about adoption based on the baby's father, and not her own. I am very happy that she is strong enough to realize that, and to make the decision that is best for herself and for her daughter.

However, I am heartbroken for myself, for my husband and for my son. I've always wanted my babies to be close in age, and it's something that is very important to me. I find myself wondering if that's just not meant to be. Perhaps we are only supposed to have an only child. I couldn't ask for a better one than we've got. It is very hard to not compare our situation to that of others.

A couple of my closest friends started their families at a ridiculously young age. One now has five kids, another has six. Several others have 3, 4 or more in precarious family situations. I feel as if I've been forgotten about, left out. Why are others able to have kids so easily? Why should my wonderful husband and the best father I know, not be a father to many simply because I am broken and don't work? We have friends who started having kids AFTER us, have two or three or more...It's so HARD to understand.

Why are these BABIES being forgotten about, lost, murdered by their families? Clearly, I've been watching too much of the news. I hear about 600-1000 kids in my own community who are, or nearly are, homeless. Why didn't God give just a few of them to us?

Sometimes, this process of infertility and grieving, pregnancy and more infertility, pregnancy loss and MORE infertility and being led to adoption...it's brutal. I feel like this is what we are supposed to do, but it still isn't working. Maybe the answer is just: No More Kids.



But I will keep praying for my phone to ring, an email to come or a miracle to happen.

Crazy times!

Kevin's younger sister came to visit us for awhile in June. We went to Carlsbad Caverns! Super fun stuff.

 Please excuse my wonderful "look". Hiking around down there is hot! 

And amazingly - it actually feels awesomely cool in the caverns.

 This is Monkey refusing to take pictures.

And still angry about it, we see. 

Shaless (the younger sister) is going to be staying with us for her senior year! Should be much fun - Monkey loves having her around. She's already got a job here, and is settling in nicely. Registering for school tomorrow! 

Monkey's preschool open house was tonight! It was great to see his friends we haven't seen all summer, and meet his teachers. And he already knows one of them - she was his teacher last year. He will still be going twice a week. Also - Monkey was invited to join a boys only gymnastics class! This means he will start learning on men's skills and apparatus - down in the big gym! We won't be in the small one anymore. :(

The adoption front - no major movement. They've changed our check in procedures - it's no longer required. We have been participating in the webinars they offer. Still just a waiting game. I can't believe it is coming up on a year since we contracted.

To Thine Ownself Be True...

It's from Hamlet. I haven't ready many of the classics, but I think I should start. I believe I will plan on them making to my reading list!

Anyway, it's a phrase I've been contemplating. I've had a lot running through my head, and haven't been focused enough to write about much. My apologies on that; but from here on out, I am scheduling blogging time. I miss it!

So many things have been on my mind - crafts I want to start and/or finish. Getting back to my Homemaking Notebook and back on the cleaning schedule. Sorting through everything I can find and selling/trading/donating things I do not want around. Adopting a bird. Kevin's training. Planning a birthday party for Brandon. Friends, family. Going back to Charleston to visit. The adoption plan of our second child, and the things associated with that! And there are lots of things in that arena that concern me. Going to church, finding faith. Who am I on this blog? True to myself? Censoring myself? Do I unintentionally misrepresent who I am - who we are as a family?

Not sure why my mind has been so busy, but it has been. I don't even know where to start! This blog started as an outlet for me, but I have forgotten that as well. So this is me, finding out who I am, how I got here, what is important as I grow and change, and as our family grows and changes.

Our adoption plans have been first and foremost on my (and Kevin's) mind. As we check in with Lifetime each month, it is mostly the same things. What have we done for further our adoption plan? Well, as things are winding down with things we can accomplish, what are we supposed to do? The homestudy is finally, officially done - signed - and turned in. This means that we are open for last minute placements, which gives us some measure of relief. We found out during our February check in that a couple of prospective birth families asked about us in particular, and that Lifetime was waiting on their paperwork! It is sooo exciting! We kept waiting on pins and needles for the phone to ring - and jumped to answer it every time it did. So far though, we haven't heard from Lifetime.

I wonder if the letter in our profile is enough. Will it touch a prospective birth mother? Will it make her like us or curious enough to learn more about us? Just how are we supposed to touch a mother considering adoption with so few words? Do the pictures show us? It's been just about six months now. Shorter than a pregnancy, and just as stressful (in a different way). But no defined end date yet. It's hard to plan - and boy, do I like plans.

And when we do speak to a mother, just what do we say? What kind of life does she hope we can give her baby? Does she have feelings on names? Diapering? Breastfeeding? Formula feeding? We cloth diaper - it's better for the Earth, but also more comfortable (I mean, we don't wear paper underwear!) and economical. Will that bother her? I have considered inducing lactation to nurse our next child - it was such an amazing thing to do for Monkey, and such an awesome bond. No bottles to mix or lug around, no formula to measure or buy. But how do I bring the topic up to get her feelings on the matter? Because her feelings are important here as well. Do I even want to do the protocol to induce lactation?

There are just SO MANY things to wonder about! I like to have plans of action for all situations, but this is one that I just don't.

Another Catch Up

Apparently, I am a lot worse at blogging than I thought I would be. I think it will be my New Years Resolution to update the blog once a week. Not much consolation, but it's what I can do now.

November was National Adoption Awareness Month! It was a pretty good month here in the R house. Early in the month, Kevin bought tickets for us to see Dane Cook for my birthday! I was very excited, and wish I hadn't forgotten to take my camera. We've settled into a routine though, a new cleaning routine and one with regards to Monkey and his twice a week/half day school and once a week gymnastics class.

I turned 27 on November 19th. My mom got here to visit for Thanksgiving the day after. And the next day she watched Monkey so Kevin and I could go see Dane! SQUEE! He was funny as I don't know what and it felt good to be out and about without Monkey. It was a bit strange though. While Mom was here, we went to visit a nearby town a couple of times and White Sands National Monument. It's beautiful there. Monkey had tons of fun visiting his Nana.

On Thanksgiving, we had a couple from down the street and their son over. He's a few months younger than Monkey, and they have lots of fun playing. Mom stayed until the next Wednesday.

The next week was not as great - we found out that our beloved Great Dane, Kira, has some back, hip and knee issues. She is now on anti-inflammatory medication and such and seems to be moving around so much better.

Now it is December, which has mostly been un-eventful. Christmas is in just a few days! I am so very excited for Monkey to wake up Christmas morning. It was so magical as a child, and I can't wait to see his face. His big gifts this year are a train table and new bedroom furniture. The furniture is kind of a necessity, seeing as he is very tall like Mr Monkey and the toddler bed just isn't working anymore!

All in all, it has been very good. Next up: Adoption feelings and update.

The "My Laptop Died & Had To Be Sent Out For Repair" Post

So, bloggity bloggers, I am BACK! My laptop committed some type of laptopicide and wouldn't work. Fortunately, when sent back to Gateway, the repair was covered by warranty! WooHoo! Unfortunately,that meant I couldn't blog away.

I am a terrible project finisher. There, I have admitted it. I love my projects! And my crafts! I just do not find the time to finish what I start, or start the others I want to. I am working on this - this week I am GOING to finish that quilt for Monkey. And I plan to start cutting fabric for some gifts for Christmas. These things include - canvas shopping bags, plastic grocery bag holders, laptop covers and a few things that shouldn't - in theory - take too long. Pics to come to mark my progress and prove to you that I CAN do this!

Monkey is still loving school. There are no more tears in the mornings, just a bit of extra reassurance in the car on the way there. He even shoos me out of the room sometimes - and he cried once when he had to leave. That broke my Mommy heart. Monkey has been bringing things home left and right (a painted Moon, a Sun, a life sized tracing of himself, a mailman hat/bag, a rainbow, an umbrella...and on & on). So, I wonder...

What do I do with all of these things?!

I love them all, but surely I can't keep every scrap of paper and project from now until forever! He's TWO! I have at least 16 more years of projects to look forward to! But I feel terrible not keeping something.

I think that I have devised a plan. I am going to get a bin. Everything shall go into it. At the end of the year, I will choose a couple of things to keep and the rest can disappear. That way, he can help choose at the end of the year as he gets older and everything gets pared down regardless.

Moving on!

Our little family has been a bit busy the past weekends. Last weekend, we took Monkey to the Southern New Mexico State Fair. It was fun! He is too small for the rides, so we skipped that part until a later year. But we saw police cars, ambulances - Monkey pretended to drive a fire truck! We watched a horse trainer working with a horse. Monkey went on a pony ride and visited a petting zoo.

There was a camel. In a petting zoo. In NEW MEXICO. It was strange, but kind of cool. I've never seen a camel up close before. They also had a ZONKEY! I forgot my camera (grrrr), so no pictures.

This weekend was also fun. Today we went to a fall festival. We went on hayrides and visited a pumpkin patch! A real one, where you pick pumpkins off of their vines. Not like that place we went to in DC - they lined the pumpkins up on the ground and had them in giant boxes. That place was also expensive. Today we got EIGHT - yes folks, 8 - pumpkins of varying sizes and colors for $13. Thirteen dollars!

This means that I will be attempting to cook these pumpkins into pumpkin puree so that I can make pie. And bread. Muffins. Whatever other pumpkiny - things I can find. Maybe there is a copy cat recipe somewhere online for Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Frappucino?

We also rode giant slides, watched Monkey run through the kiddie maze and generally had a lot of fun. So much, that we forgot the main reason we went. That had been to go through the maze that was cut into a corn field! Oh well - next year we will tackle this.

I do have pictures from today, but I will have to post them at a later date. Next post will be adoption updates! :)

A Quick Update

Monkey has started preschool! He is going two days a week (Tuesday & Friday). Today was his first day! The drop off went fairly well, but he was a bit upset at pick up time. Mostly because other parents were picking up their kids and he was wondering where we were!

He calmed right down though, and showed me where they were putting their footprints in paint, told me that they played outside with sand and buckets, and inside with bubbles. On the car ride home, he told me about snack time and how one of the kids went to time out (but not him, he says)and that he does like school. He wants to go back, so that is a good sign!

Thursday we are also starting a gymnastics/tumbling class! It's a Mommy & Me class, so we are both very excited. This one is once a week for an hour - it's called TumbleBugs!

In other news, our new niece was born today! She is premature, but appears to be doing well and we are very excited to meet her next time we go home.

On the adoption front: we secured a loan, and overnighted that paper work in today! The funds should be released tomorrow or Thursday, and we will send in our contract with our Adoption Facilitator by the end of the week! I also contacted our home study provider and we are having our home interview next Wednesday evening! Things are moving right along!

Overall, I'd say it's been a productive day so far!

Update, Catch Up, Catch All

Late again, that's me! I have great plans though, what with my new laptop to begin posting more consistently. With that said, let the post begin!

We had Monkey's second birthday party at a farm in Maryland. It was great! He had tons of fun with his friends and the animals. He is still talking about it three months later, which seems to be a long time for a 2 year old.



At the end of April, we moved to New Mexico....It's very different here, but seems alright so far. I have some reservations about the house we were assigned, but we are doing our best to make it feel more like home. We have a great yard though, and that is wonderful for Monkey. In between it all, Monkey is 85% potty trained! Night time is the only questionable time. He also had his first and second hair cut. I miss the curls, and he looks like such a big boy now.



I have not caught up on my crafting, but I have plans to start doing that as well. I did knit a tiny gown for a twin lost to Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome. A sad thing to knit for, but I wanted her parents to have something she can where when she is finally born. I plan to finish the shorties I started (about ten rows left), and then probably post them and some longies for sale. There are no little ones in sight yet, and these are toddler sized, so I dont want to hang on to them for years. I also plan to start Christmas gifts soon, so that I can get them done and not feel rushed.