transitions are normal!
November 6, 2009
Apparently almost every new parent - regarless of how they become parents - goes through a difficult transition period. We have had Baby V now for 6 weeks, and she's almost sleeping through the night! She usually wakes up once. She's trying to crawl and loves to eat solids (she says formula is for babies! lol)
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meet the parents
October 15, 2009
Today we met Baby V's birth parents and grandma. Good people. We don't know how long we'll have her for - at the very least until end of next week, likely until the end of the year. It makes all the difference to know the family and understand our part in the bigger picture.
Baby V is doing well as we continue to get to know each other. She LOVES the outdoors, dancing, and naked time! lol! She also enjoys watching herself in the mirror, eating solids from a spoon, and spending time in her bouncy (though she has a short attention span, so we must keep her highness's activities rotating regularly! :)
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Baby V is here!
October 4, 2009
Last week we picked up our baby foster daughter! Baby V is turning 7 months this week. She is precious!
In our first week of fostering, we've had quite a few firsts:
1. first doctor's visit with a baby
2. first shots
3. first recall (children's Tylenol)
4. first roadtrip with a baby (weekend in VA Beach!)
5. baby's first solids (applesauce, banana, and a little sweet potato)
Tags:
firsts, foster care
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what we've been up to
August 26, 2009
We have been working on our back yard to make it more famiy-friendly. We got a fence, and Oscar put in a patio (I helped!). Now we can let the doggies out back throughout the day. Hunter likes to hang out there a lot; Bigos not as much. I think she's afraid that we'll stop walking her if she tinkles out back!
We've also started composting, which makes me feel real good about trying to eliminate as much waste as possible. Between composting and recycling, our weekly trash is much smaller than it used to be.
We still can't get the furry monkeys (aka our doggies) to pitch in around the house, though. They sleep here, eat here, play here, expect us to walk them, but they don't lift a finger -er. claw- to help clean up! (lol)
Tags:
chores, home projects, pets
Posted at: 07:32 PM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink
not "one of those" people, but...
July 24, 2009
It's been over a year since we began our adoption journey, and we are still looking for our forever child. It has been very trying on our patience, frustrating, and disheartening. However, the time has not been wasted. God has been using this time to draw me closer to Him.
I used to not talk much about religion except with close friends. This was my attempt at "religious freedom". Except, I wasn't honoring MY religious freedom TO believe or share that belief. I still think that everyone has the right to believe whatever they want, as long as their beliefs do not harm others and as long as they do not impose their beliefs on others. But now, my faith has a deeper meaning to me.
I think God wants to make sure that I recognize His graces in my daily life before He allows me to raise a child to do the same. I want my children to have a deep love for God, a sense of gratitude, a passion for making a difference. And I think I cannot raise a child this way unless I myself do not let a day go by without being aware of God's love,...
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Tags:
closeness, god, patience, preparation
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why do I really want to adopt?
May 18, 2009
I've thought about adoption long before Oscar and I were ready to start a family. I recently watched a movie about Blessed Mother Theresa, and in one scene she was trying to get help for some sick children, and the man told her they weren't his concern. She replied, "children are everyone's responsibility".
And so, I am taken back to when I first started musing over what it would be like to adopt. Of course I'd be blessed multifold by being able to raise, teach, and love a child. But I also wanted to do so as a way to make a difference, to help.
Then we started the real-life adoption planning, considering the different paths to adoption, and after numerous questionaires asking us about our "preferences" (a most unnatural query), we fell into the all-too-common "desire for a newborn".
Many couples, unable to conceive or carry and birth a biological child, don't want to miss out on any more than absolutely necessary in raising a family. I started to think this same way. I had envisioned my "ideal birth" scenario, and after that bubble was burst, I wanted to hold on to various other aspects of parenting a baby: breastfeeding,...
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Tags:
gods will, preschooler, toddler, why adopt
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Longest "pregnancy" ever!
April 23, 2009
Well, our foster care training is coming to an end, though there's still a few hoops to jump through.
We're going to be interviewing pediatricians in the next couple of weeks. We want to have that decided for when our baby comes.
We're also planning Oscar's mother's 50th bday celebration next year. It will involve a trip, so we hope we'll have our baby by then so we can all go and have something extra to celebrate, and show our baby to family that isn't close by.
After that, our next trip will be to Poland, with the baby. I haven't visited in 7 years, and I want my grandmother to meet her first great-grandchild :)
They call adoption a paper-pregnancy. Perhaps that makes me an elephant (they stay pregnant for 2 years!), because this is the longest "pregnancy" ever! But it is bringing me closer to God - a nice and unexpected side benefit of our adoption journey :)
Tags:
foster care, paper pregnancy, pediatrician, trips
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Foster Care Training and Progress
April 9, 2009
Our social worker from the social services office just left our home. Our foster care training is well underway, and now our home has gotten a second OK for kids! (1st our adoption homestudy, and now our foster care homestudy)
I was a bit more nervous this time, even though it was the second time we had a social worker in our home. Perhaps because this time I was alone (Oscar was at work), and our two furry monkeys (term of endearment for our beagles) were causing a racket.
The social worker commented that they must not shed because it does not smell like dog! (What a compliment! Since the little guy is shedding like crazy now with Spring upon us, and we've been brushing him and vacuuming non-stop!)
I'm actually enjoying the foster care training quite a bit, learning a lot about attachment and positive discipline. And I don't care what people say, having a dog - especially more than one - IS good practice for parenting! We're learning patience, positive discipline, adjusting to the different needs of each dog, and appreciating their unique quirks and habits!
We can't wait to add to our mix a baby that doesn't...
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Tags:
foster care, furry, training
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Getting ready for my spiritual retreat
March 25, 2009
Tonight is our foster care orientation. I'm looking forward to it and hope that even if this is not the route to our child, we will learn a lot from the training.
This weekend I am going away for a spritual retreat. I made my first retreat last year, and it was immensely satisfying. It's 48 hours of mostly silence, at a beautiful and secluded location, with spiritual direction and the sacraments of Reconciliation (Confession) and Eucharist (Communion).
After 10 months of pursuing adoption, I think it's time that I live according to my most recent realization and decision - that our adoption journey is in God's hands. I do not control it, and I cannot make it happen sooner than it is meant to be.
I highly recommend to anyone to go on a similar retreat, where you step back from your everyday life and reconnect to what is most important in life. I was amazed last year at how much my daily life distracts me from my relationship with God. I'd go every month if I could, to try to keep that peace and tranquility with me throughout the year.
God's blessings to you and yours :)
Tags:
foster care, gods hands, silence, spiritual retreat
Posted at: 10:40 AM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink
Turning it over to God.
March 19, 2009
Well, we have decided to look into foster care. Our orientation is next week, and our training will be done by the end of April.
It's so easy to get wrapped up in our side of the adoption journey, and to forget about what a pregnant woman considering adoption faces, or what a child growing up adopted goes through.
I pray that God's grace will continue to strengthen and lead us to the child He has ordained for us. All in His perfect timing!
Tags:
faith, foster care
Posted at: 11:33 PM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink