The Mother Post

Sorry for the hiatus! My girl and I were out of town for 10 days and judging by her lack of a consistent sleep pattern and refusal to eat it was a few days too long. The daddy stayed home for the first week of our trip and he got a lot done around the house which is a relief but oh-my-word did she miss him. I would turn my cell on speaker phone so she could talk to him and henceforth whenever she would catch a glimpse of my phone she'd launch into a rythmic da-da-da, till I caved and gave her the phone to then attempt to shove in her mouth.

The week I spent in Ohio was family FILLED.
beginning with my grandfather's surprise 85th Birthday Party. There was a crowd and grandpa played along!



with a cousin 5 months older to her right and 9 months older to her left


Sunday before easter a bunch of us decided it would be a good idea to go to the zoo. The child to adult ratio was about 1:1 and I'm pretty sure that is a public place such as this 1:1 just isn't enough.

we chased and did head counts, traded responsibility and shared toys, wagons, and snacks. It was tiring, and there was drama, but it was fun!



The kid's were adorable and the animals were well, there; standing, laying, munching. It's an odd thing if you think about it, us all lined up peaking in at them in their faux habitats. But they were there and to my excitement there was a baby giraffe, and because I have declared giraffe's as being Addiston's favorite animal I have decided that she was excited as well.


Half way through our excursion it was my girls naptime and let's face it she's a firstborn and for the time being only child and poor Addiston's trying to sleep and her head keeps sliding until it gets so far, then she bobs, opens her eyes, cries, pulls her head up and starts the little repetition again.


Making memories is an investment.

I think about this a lot. The fact that making memories and getting out of the house and packing diaper bags and taking pictures of the smiles between the whines and pulling over to feed Addy in the middle of a 4-hour drive to a Family function in the middle of Cincinnati isn't ever easy. But it's worth it.


I got to spend back to back days with my siblings and their families. Most of which was perfect! Exciting and loud, story-filled and hyper. Thursday however was when the not perfect reared it's ugly head. I met two of my sister's for lunch then was going to stop by a store before heading back to one of their houses for a little longer visit. Well little did I know that the avoidances were all disabled on my GPS and the fastest way from the perfect Gap clearance store to my sister's house was across the Ohio river, and no my GPS didn't want me to swim across the river, there was a ferry a ghetto little tug-boat ferry that much to my chagrin didn't accept debit/credit cards and in true fashion of ME I had about 85 cents in cash on me. So I enabled the avoid ferry's option and was re-routed to the highway which, hey did you know was under construction and surprise it was rush hour meaning that it took me 40 minutes to move two exits when I wised up and enabled the avoid highways option, but hey to follow suit of all the dumb crap that had proceeded there was construction so I decided to pull a U-turn and the first thing I saw was a McDonald's sign and I make it a point not to frequent the golden arches but they had caffeine for a dollar so I broke my rule and indulged. In conclusion I made it to my sister's and it was good!


Friday we left bright and early except that it was late morning and dreary, but we went to go pick up the daddy from the airport and then we met up with his parents. It was so good to celebrate Kara's 21st birthday and the little girl was excited to have her daddy back but less than excited that she had to sit in a high chair after 2 hours in her car seat, but hey make shift toy-a straw and she was happy, till she dropped every straw at the table on the floor.




We enjoyed a night out for pizza later that night to celebrate my dad turning 60. I like nights out for pizza. I like that it feels vacationey in that most pizza nights are spent at home, and going out for it is out of the ordinary and therefore more appreciated. I like the vibe of a pizzeria--the framed signed pictures of celebreties swearing it's the world's best pizza, the grease-stained tablets the waiters use to pencil in your order, the pitchers of fountain Coke that tastes better than usual...fizzier and colder. I like to read the story on the back of the menu that tells how the pizzeria started...how some young guy had a good idea and a great recipe and poured his life savings into starting a chain some years ago. And I like the little black-and-white picture right next to the story...the one where that young guy is smiling, balancing a great big spatula with the famous pizza pie.
The party was a surprise and there were multiple lies told to get him there at the right time but it was good and fun was had by all


She loved her some balloons!


Notice the grandson who popped in right when it was time for cake!

On this roller coaster of life there are ups and downs and while last week had it's share of high points, there was inevitably the low. Vanya's situation became more urgent. He is currently living in a transition center where he will not be able to stay long. In fact, missionary friends in his country have lobbied the direct to hold him there. The government in the Ukrain will be shutting down on June 13th for an unknown amount of time for some unknown reason (Don't get me started) because of this situation, paperwork to adopt this sweet boy would need to be filled ASAP and in order to file international adoption papers there are about a thousand steps that need to come first. We are nowhere near step 1000 much less step 5 we were attempting to do everything in our power to speed up the process but there were just too many hoops to try and jump through and we were informed that we were no longer candidates to bring this little boy into our home. Another family has stepped forward who is in fact paper ready and they are setting up a time in the near future when they will go get him. I am relieved that this little boy will be saved from what I'm sure would have been a horrible future but at the same time am torn and heartbroken that we couldn't do more. In just 10 days $15,000 was raised to help his adoptive family cover the expenses needed to go get him and soon enough his prayers of having a family will be answered.

In the meantime we wait for the lord to open doors for our family to expand and enjoy the little blessing that we have!


Last night we celebrated Easter, a day late (and a dollar short-i don't know why i added that) but because of whatever reason we celebrated it and it was fun, The daddy and I got the candy, while Addy fell in love with yet another rubber duckie and loved her pink basket which surprise doubles as a dress up tu-tu.


Happy to be living anywhere but inside the box. Because Outside is where the party is.

Update

So reading back on some of my recent posts I've realized that I've left you hanging on a few things!

First things first

Our little one is up to 5 teeth, 3 on top and two on bottom.

My grandmother is doing well. She did NOT have a heart attack but we still don't know what did happen. For now she's still causing trouble and excited to see her great grand daughter this weekend.

This past weekend we traveled up the Amish country so Jared could be in his cousin Josh's wedding. It was beautiful, and as an added bonus we got to visit with friends and family.

Josh and Jared Now and Then (at our wedding 3 1/2 years ago)



He got her good!

Apparently boutineer fascination runs in the family............... (Jared last year)


Addiston loves the outdoors, and not to minimalize my feelings towards nature, I'm pretty sure she gets it from her father. I can enjoy the perfect spring day, with a cloudless sky, no humidity and a cool breeze but just you wait a month or so and when the temperature is tipping the upper 80's and the humidity makes your eyeballs sweat I'm a stay inside and look out the window kinda girl. But lately the weather has been ideal and so we've been outside more the usual and it feels so good to be free after feeling cooped up all winter, we swing and blow bubbles and sometimes we crawl around in the grass tasting sticks (well one of us does) Well the other day it was rainy and the little one kept crawling over to the door and banging on it as to say come on mom, it's time to go outside.

So I obliged!

We danced in the pouring down rain, for some time. At first she was so confused, looking at me with questioning eyes then eventually giving into laughter and head bobs, giggling while being tossed up into the falling rain.

I tired and we came in, but she wanted more.

Adoption; it's something that Jared and I have discussed since before marriage. We were unsure if we would be able to have "our own" children. It's something that is very near and dear to my heart and recently the opportunity presented itself. We are still looking into all of the options and talking to friends who know more than we do regarding the subject. There are A LOT of hoops to jump through and international adoption is EXPENSIVE. I will keep you updated as things progress or doors close but either way we are praying for sweet Vanya and the opportunity before us.

We have learned that we need to fill out about a hundred pages each of information about ourselves and that to adopt from the Ukraine you must be 25. As many of you know I am only 24 if things go through technically Jared would be adopting as a single parent with spouse consent. Meaning that he would have to be in the Ukraine for the entire legal process (4-6 weeks) Initially we thought he would only have to be there for 2-3 weeks then could come back home and just I would stay there for the remaining amount of time by myself, so he has to make sure he would still have a job after that whole process.

Leap of faith

Friends this post is hurried because I have a hungry impatient 10 month old sitting next to me hitting herself on the head with a plastic hanger.

I came across this story through a friend of a friend of a friend

Friends, meet Vanya. Beautiful, sweet, adorable, Vanya.

Isn't he just so sweet?

Vanya is eight years old, living in an Eastern European orphanage. I simply cannot read his story without getting teary. This young guy has endured more pain, more heartache, and more rejection than I have in all of my years.

His mother led an immoral life. She could not take care of her son, so Vanya was living without even the basic necessities of life and was removed from her care. I read that his father refuses to acknowledge his existence--he will not accept this little boy as his son and has chosen to leave him in the orphanage.

Vanya is a little ray of sunshine in his orphanage. He is a natural leader and loves the company of adults. He is always seeking out a hug and a cuddle. He loves people--and wants to be loved back.



Here's the thing. Not a day goes by without Vanya asking his caretakers if someone is coming for him yet? Has he been chosen? Will it be his turn next? He has seen countless young children being adopted all around him. Imagine if YOU were that caretaker, and you heard a sweet little voice ask you if there's a family who chose HIM yet. I know I would not be able to stand it, and I can imagine you wouldn't either.

Friends, a report from a missionary who knows Vanya states that he believes that one day someone will come for him. He believes that some day he will have a family to love him and he will get to live in a "real home." It's a dream he believes WILL come true.

Here's the reality--Vanya is on a list to be transferred from his current orphanage. Once an orphan reaches a certain age, they are usually transferred to a heinous mental institution for older children and adults. Vanya will be transferred any day now, and no one knows where he will be moved to. It is an undisclosed place from which he will never be able to be adopted. Vanya will live the rest of his childhood in this place and when he is old enough to be released, well, who knows what awaits him? I can't even think about that as an option.

My heart breaks for this little boy. He has waited for such a long time for a family. He has been overlooked and rejected his entire life. No child should ever have to go through that.

The story of this sweet boy broke my heart.

I typically read stories like these with an open mind and go on my merry way and although I wish I was more generous I typically don't do anything about the situation. This time was different I instantly donated (without consulting my husband first) thanks for the delayed ok hun!
When Jared read the story of this sweet boy he knew my heart and because he is who he is we have contacted the adoption agency about moving forward to adopt this sweet little one.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pray for us and for Vanya.

And if you are able:

Wake up call

Welcome back to reality!

I hope that all weekends can be like this one, a perfect blend of work and friends, leisure and sweat. The house was cleaned and then trashed and is now clean again, (except for a half dozen sweat shirts that smell like camp fire.) There was the perfect ying of motivation to get stuff done to the yang of hey I'm just gonna sit here for a while, because the perfect temperature with minimal humidity and a cloudless sky only aligns a hand full of times a year so when you get the chance to lay on a blanket in the yard or swing for an hour in the afternoon with your girl, you jump all over it. And I was itching to bust out some spring digs, so yesterday for church we embraced the warmth and even the daddy wore pink!

I wore my new killer 5 inch heals (Jessica Simpson may not be the most talented singer in the World but the girl can design some shoes!) I think in the last year I've forgotten how much I love heals and have decided they will return to my standard wardrobe!


And, the latest!

Addiston has this toy that has a hammer with it. She is less than amused with the apparatus that you hammer things into but totally digs the hammer, carries it around, banging on windows, cats, other toys, her head and sometimes her parents.

Jared makes witty puns about how she is some super-hero that has a hammer to help him fight evil-I'm pretty sure I'm suppose to know who this is but because my parents are who they are the only thing I think of when I see her banging things around the house is the Peter Paul and Mary song "If I had a Hammer" So thanks guys, I'm the only person under 50 who knows every word of that song, and for that matter every word of every song on their greatest hits album!

Last week was opening day for The Reds and even though we are 4 and a half hours away, we sported our reds gear and watched highlights on Sports Center.

They're undefeated...for now!


Sunday I got a call at 6:45. It was my dad on his cell phone and I knew before I answered that something was wrong. First of all he would never call me that early (I'm not even close to a morning person) and second of all if her were to call at that time he should be at home, not on his cell. My grandma was in the hospital having chest pains, she took an aspirin and was already doing ok, rapidly becoming impatient with slow paced hospital life but for now a stress test is coming up so please keep her in your prayers!

Addiston is so close to walking it's almost funny. She has perfected contorting her body in order to get wherever she wants in the mean time and the other day I had my back turned for less than 5 seconds and when I looked back she was here

(sorry for the terrible picture) but she had twisted to get through where the two couches meet, climbed over 2 different obstacles and was trapped under the coffee table-rotten!?!

This morning she grabbed my coffee cup right out of my hands and tipped it to her mouth, she knew what was up, that every morning mom has this thing that she keeps out of reach and seems to be in love with. Good thing it was empty or I'm pretty sure we would have had a very unhappy baby on our hands!


Happy Monday!