Giveaway!

My friend Erin over at Worthy of the Prize is hosting a giveaway for the cutest printable and necklace from TheAdoptShoppe!  Does that name sound familiar?  If it does, it's because I gave away one of her cute bracelets this summer when I hit 20 followers.

My 2011 resolution?  To find joy in the journey... yeah, I really want to win this!

Different

Edited to add: This was supposed to post yesterday... not sure what happened.

"Not alike in character or quality; differing."  I'm rejoicing in the fact that the holiday season is different this year.  There's the obvious growth from a couple to a family of four that has taken place.  There's the excitement of seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child who talks about Santa and signs Jingle Bells non-stop as well as the innocence of the season through the eyes of a child who trusts you so completely to care for their every need.  There's the closing of the chapter of Christmases past where I told myself "This year will be our last Christmas without a child..."  There's the keeping of traditions and creating new ones as we celebrate our first Christmas together.  It has all been so wonderful, the feeling of contentment and satisfaction so overwhelming that, at times, I've been brought to tears as I rest in the newness of it all.

It doesn't take much to make me tear up these days... seeing our set of four stockings that a friend's mother made for us.  Picking out and purchasing our tree together and watching A help D- the happiness in the eyes of both as they wheeled the cart around together in the cool night air.  The basket of Christmas books A chooses from each night before bedtime- a new tradition we've started.  The sock monkey ornaments with the names of A and H hanging on our tree.  Adding two new people to my Christmas shopping list- getting them something they want, something they need, something to play with, something to read.  Picking out a book for each was so special; writing a note inside the cover to A and H made me cry as well.  I love these two more than words can say so trying to write a note to convey that love was difficult.  I wanted to just squeeze the book as close to my heart as possible and say, "There- did you feel that?  I love you so much my heart hurts."

We'll be spending time with both families over the holidays and just returned today from spending a few days with the foster grandparents.  They are such a special presence in our lives- we love them dearly.  We'll go to our church's Christmas Eve service and then eat dinner with a friend's family before coming home to let A and H open a gift (Christmas pjs).  Christmas morning will be celebrated with just the four of us and I'm so looking forward to having the morning to ourselves, to open gifts together and to rejoice in the birth of our Savior.  D's family will come later that day.  We all live relatively close to each other so we do see each other more often, but it will be so fun to just hang out without having to be anywhere.  Plus A and H love their aunts and uncles so I know it's a treat for the little ones, too! 

Merry Christmas!

Tiny

I know we're not supposed to post pictures of A or H (to protect their privacy), but I figure pictures of little feet are fine, right?  H has the tiniest, most petite little feet- so tiny that at 7 1/2 months old, we are finally fitting into 0-3 month shoes.  She was sporting these little shoes yesterday and I just had to take a picture:

 

We are so excited to be celebrating our first Thanksgiving as a family of four- we have so much to be thankful for!   

Friday Night (Lights)

My school's football team made it to the play-offs, so last night I bundled up and went to the game.  The game was predicted to be a blow-out (in our favor), but when I left at half-time, we were only up two points.  It was only 8:45 so I made a trip to Target where I walked the brightly lit aisles, looking for pajamas, toothbrush and toothpaste, a teddy bear, fleece blanket, clothing for a two year-old boy, a nightlight, a Bible for children, socks and underwear. 


No, we're not going camping.

So many children (and teens) come into the foster care system with very few belongings.  Since the circumstances surrounding why they have been removed from their homes are never good, they often leave quickly, with only a trash bag to hold the few things they have brought with them.  This is where Project Care Case comes in: they provide suitcases filled with the essentials to help make this transition a little more bearable for these hurting kids.  A and H have both been on the receiving end of PCC, and while A came with many belongings and a heart of love, H came only with the clothes on her back. 

Project Care Case is making a difference in the lives of these kids, so when we sent out invitations for A's birthday, we asked that guests bring a new/gently used suitcase to give to PCC.  The response was great- and it came at a needed time!  PCC was/is facing a suitcase shortage, as well as a depleted supply of the items that go inside each case.  Yesterday, a plea was sent out on facebook, asking for people to sponsor a case for one of eleven children who are coming into care for the first time.  I called D to see if we could take care of one- there was a need listed for a 2 year-old boy so I thought that was right up our alley- which led me to Target last night, searching the aisles for the items on my list. 

When A and H came into our lives, we were overwhelmed with the outpouring of love, donations of clothing, toys, diapers, formula, gift cards and meals that we were blessed with.  Many things came to us anonymously so we have no idea where to begin in thanking those who gave.  Giving back in this way is our way of showing our thanks to all who gave so freely to us. 

Do you know of an organization like this in your area?  What are your favorite non-profits to support? 

Oh, and for those wondering about the football game... we won 68-36.  Yes, that's a football score, not a basketball score.  We play 6-man which often means high scoring games. 

Quick Update

• Nothing has changed in H's case- which in this situation, no news is good news!
• Started filling out paperwork for A's adoption
• Decided on what his new name will be
• Wanted to keep the name his mom gave him to honor her, while also giving him a name that connects him to our family so in the end, he'll have the same first name but different middle name
• Paperwork keeps me busy
• Paperwork increases when both get sick and are prescribed medicine
• I'm not the best at turning my paperwork in by the monthly deadline- so thankful for our sweet, understanding AFS
• I should do a post sometime on the amount of foster paperwork we fill out each month for our little ones...
• We went trick-or-treating Monday night: A dressed as a monkey and H as a banana... or that was the plan, at least.  Then we discovered that the banana costume was not Baby Bjorn-friendly, so she went costume-less, but had fun all the same chewing/drooling on the carrier.
• H is almost 7 months old!  She's not crawling yet, but she's getting up on her knees more and more each day.  She's still a petite little thing- petite in height, but filling out in weight.  
• A surprises us each day with the words he's saying!  He's able to express his needs in more complete sentences and loves to ask questions.  Over.  And.  Over.  Most of the time, it's pretty funny.  Sometimes I have to stop the endless cycle of questions by asking him the question he's asking me.  He loves to come up to me and ask, "What, Mama?"  He also loves to count- anything and everything!  Whether he's knocking on a wall, banging a drumstick on the floor, or putting his cars in his bucket, he counts and counts and counts!  And lately, he's been a major Mama's boy!  Hugs and kisses, holding my hand, taking my face between his hands and giving me the most contagious smile- I'm loving the extra attention!  Poor Daddy... ;)

Monday Musings

Side-note: The verse I'm sharing today was prayed over us by family and friends this past week as we found out that H's case might not be as smooth and easy of a road as we once thought.  We knew bumps in the road were inevitable when trying to adopt a child from the foster care system; our fairy tale foster story has had a bit of a reality check.  And that's okay.  Because we know that if it's God's will for H to stay in our home forever, nothing can be done to change that.  And if she doesn't stay with us, then we know that's God's will, too. 

That's where I choose to keep my thoughts.  (The alternative isn't very pretty.)

Monday Musings