Tonight was so fun! I got to hang out with Gretchen and her beautiful baby boy John. Gretchen is an awesome friend to all of us on the AGCI list serv, and I have to say, she is even more fun in real life! She had some things she wanted to donate to the orphanage, and we figured out that she lives just 40 minutes away, so she stopped by.
Her little John is just 2 days younger than my Harrison, but he came home in September. He is the same heritage (Mayan), same weight, same height and he is quite the cuddler! So I got a baby fix to help me to make it through the next 42 hours!
Holy cow 42 hours!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
PINK! PINK! PINK!
I was mean, I know, so...
We are pink!
For those of you who don't know the significance of being "pink", at the end of a Guatemalan adoption, the US Embassy issues a pink slip, which is your approval to travel to Guatemala to pick up your baby! We received notification that we are pink today.
We fly out at 6 am on Friday and Harrison will be in our arms by 2 pm. We will spend the weekend bonding, and have our Embassy appointment on Monday morning. Tuesday afternoon we will receive his visa, and we head home Wednesday morning.
I am so excited, I can hardly believe it is actually finally happening. Just 2 weeks shy of the 2 year anniversary of making the decision to adopt, our son will be home.
We are pink!
For those of you who don't know the significance of being "pink", at the end of a Guatemalan adoption, the US Embassy issues a pink slip, which is your approval to travel to Guatemala to pick up your baby! We received notification that we are pink today.
We fly out at 6 am on Friday and Harrison will be in our arms by 2 pm. We will spend the weekend bonding, and have our Embassy appointment on Monday morning. Tuesday afternoon we will receive his visa, and we head home Wednesday morning.
I am so excited, I can hardly believe it is actually finally happening. Just 2 weeks shy of the 2 year anniversary of making the decision to adopt, our son will be home.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Tagged!
So I was out of the blogging loop for like 5 days and I guess I missed the tagging sensation started by Sarah.
So here goes..... Six weird things about me...
1. I eat my pizza crust first.
2. I have a book buying addiction. I love owning books. The library has no appeal to me. The only problem: I consistently stop reading books in the fourth chapter.
3. I always sneeze in sevens. And most of my friends count whenever I sneeze.
4. I ate my first peanut butter and jelly sandwich at 29 years old.
5. I was once stoned (with rocks, not drugs!) On a mission trip to El Salvador when I was 16, I witnessed to the leader of a gang. He began to open up, and this really upset the other guys, so they all started throwing rocks at me. I blacked out when I got hit in the head. My friends carried me to safety, and I came out of it with only a few bruises and a headache.
6. And keeping with the cheese theme, I like my Mac & Cheese to be a soup. I keep adding milk until the cheese sauce is more like a broth.
So here goes..... Six weird things about me...
1. I eat my pizza crust first.
2. I have a book buying addiction. I love owning books. The library has no appeal to me. The only problem: I consistently stop reading books in the fourth chapter.
3. I always sneeze in sevens. And most of my friends count whenever I sneeze.
4. I ate my first peanut butter and jelly sandwich at 29 years old.
5. I was once stoned (with rocks, not drugs!) On a mission trip to El Salvador when I was 16, I witnessed to the leader of a gang. He began to open up, and this really upset the other guys, so they all started throwing rocks at me. I blacked out when I got hit in the head. My friends carried me to safety, and I came out of it with only a few bruises and a headache.
6. And keeping with the cheese theme, I like my Mac & Cheese to be a soup. I keep adding milk until the cheese sauce is more like a broth.
Thanks for the input
Thanks to all who chimed in on my cocooning post. I have quite a wise group of e-friends !
I haven't had a chance to check in lately. My house keeps calling to me, "Organize me, organize me." The baby's room is finally done and the living room and kitchen are much more kid friendly. Now all I need to do is finish up the office. Then there is obsession with getting everything I may want to do in the next 3 months done now. So my computer time has gone by the wayside a bit.
I haven't had a chance to check in lately. My house keeps calling to me, "Organize me, organize me." The baby's room is finally done and the living room and kitchen are much more kid friendly. Now all I need to do is finish up the office. Then there is obsession with getting everything I may want to do in the next 3 months done now. So my computer time has gone by the wayside a bit.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Cocooning?
Cocooning, in terms of adoption, is a subject that I have pretty much avoided. It involves setting boundaries, saying "No" a lot, and well, that makes me squirm.
The social workers, psychologists, etc. say you should really keep adopted babies home “cocooning” anywhere from 3 to 6 months, to give them time to understand that their little world is safe and isn’t going to turn upside down on them again. This cocooning involves rarely leaving the house, limiting visitors, and allowing no one but parents to care for babies basic needs. (So to everyone who was dying to change his poopie diaper: sorry, hate to disappoint you!)
I have never been a person who blindly follows psychobabble, but this concept seems logical, even if it isn't something most people would think of on their own. Most people see a 9 month old baby and think of every other 9 month of baby they have ever known. However, the only times my little boy has been out in the world were when his birth mother gave him up, to go to court, and to go to the hospital for his surgery. Not pleasant experiences. Now I will be stripping him of everything that is familiar, every person to whom he has formed any sort of attachment. Everything will sound different (language), feel different (climate), smell different (food, pollution, etc.)
I had planned to just see what happens. I figured once I had him home, I would be able feel him out. Gauge how he was adjusting and then make the necessary decisions.
But alas, I can't avoid the subject anymore. My baby shower is scheduled for about one week after Harrison arrives home. I think I am going to need to cancel it all together. With everything else I have had to miss out on in regards to babies, I didn’t want to miss that too. But I just don't think I can do it to Harry. He will have gone through so much, a party would be way too much on him.
Some "experts" go so far as to say, take the baby nowhere, not even church. I, of course, am not going to give up church for 3 to 6 months, but he sure isn’t going into the nursery. I don’t plan to take any trips, or go to any parties. For how long? I am not sure.
Any adoption friends have any thoughts on this? Or non-adoption friends?
The social workers, psychologists, etc. say you should really keep adopted babies home “cocooning” anywhere from 3 to 6 months, to give them time to understand that their little world is safe and isn’t going to turn upside down on them again. This cocooning involves rarely leaving the house, limiting visitors, and allowing no one but parents to care for babies basic needs. (So to everyone who was dying to change his poopie diaper: sorry, hate to disappoint you!)
I have never been a person who blindly follows psychobabble, but this concept seems logical, even if it isn't something most people would think of on their own. Most people see a 9 month old baby and think of every other 9 month of baby they have ever known. However, the only times my little boy has been out in the world were when his birth mother gave him up, to go to court, and to go to the hospital for his surgery. Not pleasant experiences. Now I will be stripping him of everything that is familiar, every person to whom he has formed any sort of attachment. Everything will sound different (language), feel different (climate), smell different (food, pollution, etc.)
I had planned to just see what happens. I figured once I had him home, I would be able feel him out. Gauge how he was adjusting and then make the necessary decisions.
But alas, I can't avoid the subject anymore. My baby shower is scheduled for about one week after Harrison arrives home. I think I am going to need to cancel it all together. With everything else I have had to miss out on in regards to babies, I didn’t want to miss that too. But I just don't think I can do it to Harry. He will have gone through so much, a party would be way too much on him.
Some "experts" go so far as to say, take the baby nowhere, not even church. I, of course, am not going to give up church for 3 to 6 months, but he sure isn’t going into the nursery. I don’t plan to take any trips, or go to any parties. For how long? I am not sure.
Any adoption friends have any thoughts on this? Or non-adoption friends?
Thursday, January 04, 2007
The Holidays
Once we received news that Harry is ours, life started moving about a hundred miles per minute. So here is a little update on us.
Christmas was a little hard without the baby, but we had to keep focused. Being with family is a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas, but Christmas isn't about family. It is about Christ. If I am focused on not having Harry with me for Christmas, I have missed the point. People in general are sad around the holidays, because they have taken their focus off Christ and have put it on themselves. Grandpa may have made the Christmas celebration a little more fun, but he doesn't make Christmas. And if he is in heaven now, he is having a much better Christmas than any of us. Okay, enough of that soapbox. :)
Tim had off the week between Christmas and New Year's, and we were planning to spend the week with his parents in Florida. The weather reports were less than promising and the prospect of two 18+ hours drives in 6 days was daunting. We opted to stay home and work on the baby's room and general home organization. Full nesting mode!
Two days, and 14 big black garbage bags later, the nursery was painted and most of what we wanted to accomplish was done. We decided we didn't want to miss out on the opportunity for one last baby-free trip. So packed the car and headed to Michigan to visit our very dear friends Henry and Renee and our 4 beautiful "nephews" and "nieces". We had a fantastic time in Michigan, although, sadly, we saw not one snowflake!
The trip was a blessing to me in so many ways. First of all, I got two 10 hours car rides with my dh... nothing to do but spend time together. Very exciting when you are very in love! One of our favorite past-times is to pick apart issues and look at them from every angle. Though we usually agree, we always pick opposing sides and have a good hearty debate. We almost always come out of it with a better understanding of the opposing side and a stronger ability to articulate our own viewpoint. Iron sharpens iron. So we listened to teaching tapes and parenting tapes and really dug into some meaty issues. We also made a New Year's resolution to pray together daily.
Once we got there, it was so wonderful. Henry and Nae are the kind of friends that we don't have to be anything for, they are family. Our times with them are always restful, relaxing and hilarious. And their children are truly a delight! Honestly, the kind of kids we hope we can raise.
Also, on this trip we got to spend time with our friend Sandy and her kiddos. Even though Sandy and her husband, Joe live close to us, we rarely get time to spend together. They had spent Christmas in Minnesota with her family. Joe flew home to get to work, and she and the kids stopped in Michigan for a day on their drive back. It was so fun to just hang out in the kitchen and have girl time!
We got home late on Monday. Tuesday, Tim headed back to work, and I ran errands and prepped for Harry's arrival. We found out the US Embassy will be closed most of this week due to the death of President Ford, which pushes his homecoming back about one week. I have been fighting getting sick for about 5 days and it finally got the better of me yesterday. So I have had plenty of time to catch up on all my favorite blogs.
So there is our holiday in a nutshell! (must be a big nut...maybe a coconut!)
Christmas was a little hard without the baby, but we had to keep focused. Being with family is a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas, but Christmas isn't about family. It is about Christ. If I am focused on not having Harry with me for Christmas, I have missed the point. People in general are sad around the holidays, because they have taken their focus off Christ and have put it on themselves. Grandpa may have made the Christmas celebration a little more fun, but he doesn't make Christmas. And if he is in heaven now, he is having a much better Christmas than any of us. Okay, enough of that soapbox. :)
Tim had off the week between Christmas and New Year's, and we were planning to spend the week with his parents in Florida. The weather reports were less than promising and the prospect of two 18+ hours drives in 6 days was daunting. We opted to stay home and work on the baby's room and general home organization. Full nesting mode!
Two days, and 14 big black garbage bags later, the nursery was painted and most of what we wanted to accomplish was done. We decided we didn't want to miss out on the opportunity for one last baby-free trip. So packed the car and headed to Michigan to visit our very dear friends Henry and Renee and our 4 beautiful "nephews" and "nieces". We had a fantastic time in Michigan, although, sadly, we saw not one snowflake!
The trip was a blessing to me in so many ways. First of all, I got two 10 hours car rides with my dh... nothing to do but spend time together. Very exciting when you are very in love! One of our favorite past-times is to pick apart issues and look at them from every angle. Though we usually agree, we always pick opposing sides and have a good hearty debate. We almost always come out of it with a better understanding of the opposing side and a stronger ability to articulate our own viewpoint. Iron sharpens iron. So we listened to teaching tapes and parenting tapes and really dug into some meaty issues. We also made a New Year's resolution to pray together daily.
Once we got there, it was so wonderful. Henry and Nae are the kind of friends that we don't have to be anything for, they are family. Our times with them are always restful, relaxing and hilarious. And their children are truly a delight! Honestly, the kind of kids we hope we can raise.
Also, on this trip we got to spend time with our friend Sandy and her kiddos. Even though Sandy and her husband, Joe live close to us, we rarely get time to spend together. They had spent Christmas in Minnesota with her family. Joe flew home to get to work, and she and the kids stopped in Michigan for a day on their drive back. It was so fun to just hang out in the kitchen and have girl time!
We got home late on Monday. Tuesday, Tim headed back to work, and I ran errands and prepped for Harry's arrival. We found out the US Embassy will be closed most of this week due to the death of President Ford, which pushes his homecoming back about one week. I have been fighting getting sick for about 5 days and it finally got the better of me yesterday. So I have had plenty of time to catch up on all my favorite blogs.
So there is our holiday in a nutshell! (must be a big nut...maybe a coconut!)
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