Happenings

Hi there,

I can't believe how slow I am to post again sometimes!  It has been quiet on the adoption front, as we continue to try to find the perfect adoption situation.  Please continue to keep us in mind, and to share our story with others! :)

So what has been going on in our lives?

This summer we...

Saw Coldplay in concert-  Amazing amazing amazing show!

Crowd shot, everyone was given neon sticks that went to the music

Celebrated our sixth anniversary!

Nice glass of wine before a DELISH dinner!

Celebrated Matt's 29th birthday!

He loves some lobstah!

We also recently checked out another Panthers home game.  Check out the awesome photobomb by the couple sitting behind us:

And with Halloween coming up tomorrow, we are ready to welcome some Trick or Treaters.  Can't wait to take our kids out someday :)  My mom is a decorating freak when it comes to the holidays, and it is safe to say I inherited that gene!

Homemade, thank you very much!
 

 We also have been doing some projects at the house.  The biggest one?  Getting rid of a 6 person hot tub that was fun, but probably not kid-friendly.  It hadn't been used much in the past year, due to a small leak.  We tried to give it away on Craigslist and SalVal/Good Will/Habitat for Humanity/etc, but when that didn't work, it was time to get busy!

My handy man!

Much better!  And bigger!

So that's what we have been up to!  Just enjoying life before we have a newborn to take care of :)  But can't wait til that time comes.

Just checking in

Hi blog world,

Not too much to report today.  We have started talking to more potential adoption situations recently, but most have not yet made the decision of if they want to place at all, or raise the baby themselves. We totally respect that, and are trying to share our story, but also give them info about adoption in general. I've mentioned before how hard it is to find out real info on adoption, and apparently it can be just as hard for the expectant parents.  Hopefully we are earning some adoption karma points by helping others out! :)

Other than that, we are pumped for FOOTBALL. SEASON!!! It's not just the games, it is fall, cooler weather (thank God!), decorating the house for the season, etc. I'll have to post a pic later of the Cookies n Cream Cheese Ball Football I'm making for the game today. Yum!

Hope to return someday soon with an awesome adoption update!

Suggestion Box

With this post, I am (yet again) reaching out for help from anyone who may read this blog from time to time.  We want to leave no stone unturned in regards to getting the word out.  So if you were in our shoes, what would you do to share your story?

Some places we have tried, and continue to try, are:
-www.parentprofiles.com
-www.adoption.com (forums)
-Newsap
-Craigslist (very cautious with this, as we know the risk of scam is high)
-Other free advertising sites (Beta.com, Creativeloafing.com, etc)
-Letter sent out to over 100 obstetricians in NC
-Email sent out (yesterday) to 25 area churches so far.  Will continue to send out in waves to more churches throughout the state
-Facebook page
-Facebook updates on our own pages, so that our network sees it
-emails to family and friends
-YouTube video
-Flyers posted around NC and NY (Thanks Irons fam :) )
-Hopingtoadopt.org
-Business cards
-Posting on sites such as thebump.com, babycenter.com, pregnancy-info.com
-Working with adoption attorney

Working with an agency is out for us, for several reasons listed here. But do you have any ideas of people we could reach out to, or other places we should advertise?

Thanks as always for all of the support! :)

No news is... no news

The wait is pretty killer, and it has only been 5 or 6 weeks since we got our home study back.  Bleh!  Adoption is certainly not easy.  It takes its toll on every relationship you have... 

We are trying to think of ways to keep busy, while waiting for 'the call.'  What are some things we should try before summer ends?  I need to make a summer bucket list, so that once it is over, I don't feel like I worked the whole summer away ;)

Our 6 year anniversary is coming up in early September, it is amazing how time flies!  The Democratic National Convention will be here that first week of September, so I am hoping Matt will get some time off from work to avoid all of the craziness.  I've already been told we get the whole week off at my office!

Oh, and Matt's 29th birthday was August 2nd.  We went out to dinner that night to Red Lobster, yum!  He has great memories of going there when he was younger, with his mom.  I am glad we got to pig out and honor memories at the same time!  I got him a helmet video camera for his motorcycle helmet or mountain biking helmet.  It can also be attached to the handle bars.  He's loved taking videos of the ride around town.  He can even turn the camera around to face him as he drives, which leads to some pretty funny footage.  I'll have to see if I can upload a small video on here!

Keep praying for us, and keeping us in mind if you hear anything!

Practice

Thank you to our fur-babies for giving us practice on being up all night with an infant!

In the past 12 hours,
1) Seamus and Skylar dug into the cat litterboxes like it was Old Country Buffet (GAG)


2) Skylar horked at 3am due to upset stomach from their buffet

3) Seamus had an accident at 4:30am due to medicine he's on.

4) Cats sat on each side of us and meowed at 5:30am because they were hungry.

Oh ma God!

Acting innocent

Luckily, this is not a normal occurrence.  We normally have very chill pets.  Last night, they were just ganging up on us!

Parenting class

This past Sunday, hubster and I went to Infant CPR and Taking Care of Baby classes.

Do most first-time parents normally take classes like this?

We're not sure, but with so many question marks in the air, it felt nice to do something constructive during this process.

We did feel a bit out of place.  I was sized up by all of the pregnant mom's to be as they entered the room.  (They were all 29 to 36 weeks, so I definitely stood out.)  They were either thinking, "Lucky B, how's she still so small this far along?" or "Are they in the wrong class?"  haha

But the instructor was awesome, and went out of her way to make us feel at ease.  While there was some information about going into labor, labor partners, etc, the classes really did focus on what to do once the baby is here.  And that is what we needed!

I had taken Infant CPR in November as part of a training class for work.  But Matt never has, and he's the calm one during emergencies.  I am the one running around like a mad woman, or frozen in place.  So I NEEDED him to take the class, for peace of mind.  Phew!  Check that off the list.

The parenting portion was good too.  Back in the day, I helped out with Maddie when she was a baby.  But she is now going on 12 years old.  And Matt has never babysat, never really been alone with an infant.  So it was worth it.  Bathing, sleeping, diapering, dressing, babyproofing, etc were all covered, and then some.

The best part, for us- the nurse leading the class said that the hospital system is very adoption friendly.  That was great to hear.  Obviously, we don't know what hospital our baby will be born in, nor what state.  But hearing how the system here in town allows adoptive parents there own room while the baby is in the hospital, and is open with the birth family and the adoptive family the whole time was great to hear!

No updates on the 'matching' front.  We have not spoken to any women this week yet.  But we did just mail out the packet for Parent Profiles, and I sent out another batch of OB/GYN letters yesterday.  Just got to keep getting the word out!

As always, keep us in mind! :)

On to the next!

Just needed to nurse our wounds a bit Friday and yesterday.

I wanted to clarify the last statement in yesterday's post about being less enthusiastic. That is just in regards to the process itself. Our desire to be parents someday is stronger than ever. Why else would we continue to subject ourselves to infertility treatments, invasive home studies, and the terrible wait we've dealt with for the past 5+ years?

Someday, this will all be worth it.

Meanwhile, our next steps are a mass mailer that I am sending out soon to all obstetricians in NC with a letter about us and our adoption "business cards.". We are also signing up for another website, www.parentprofiles.com. This site is one of the more well-known sites in the adoptive world, it just is tougher to join (legal paperwork needed) and there is a monthly cost to be listed.

We are trying to steel ourselves a bit more, as the wait could be months or years, and the risks continue even after matching with an expectant mother. But how do you get to know someone without letting your guard down?

We have Infant CPR training and parenting class from 9-12 today. Excited and also a little nervous, as all of the other couples signed up are pregnant with their own child. Praying that the course really focuses on parenting, and not on the pregnancy that everyone they are all enjoying.