The Holidays are HERE!

Since it's been a while since I last blogged, I figure I'll use this post as a general update. A lot has been going on - business is doing very well, all thanks to God - and that has been taking up our time.

I got a crafty bug up my rear and decided to make ornament Christmas cards to send out. I don't have any kind of pattern, so I apologize in advance if you get it and don't put it on the tree. :( I'll be working on them this whole weekend and should have them out by next week. (If they end up nice, though, I'll take pics and make a craft blog post.)

If you didn't already have a chance to see it, my father and lovely husband worked through Thanksgiving weekend to paint Baby G.'s room. It is adorable! We're just getting the finishing touches (a little rug, a fold out bed chair, and perhaps some shelves) and it should be done and ready for Baby G.'s arrival. I already sent the pics I took to our coordinator in Japan - hopefully it will tug at our Bio Mom's heart.

S. and I go through ups and downs in terms of our battle with food/healthy living/exercise. We hate the downs. We happen to be in one currently. Long story short (for now, as this will indeed be its own blog post later) we have been trying to find something that fit what we knew in our hearts to be the right way to health. Last night I began reading through all of the blogs I subscribe to and came to my Penniless Parenting blog. Anyway, we watched the documentary and we both said that this is what we were looking for. I'm just beginning research, but will report back with our progress. Here's to thriving for us and for BABY!

National Adoption Day, Hooray!

Although this day is to celebrate families created through the foster care system, I feel that families created through ANY kind of adoption (private, domestic, international, etc. etc. etc.) can celebrate today.

So with that, I wish all of the families that have been formed through adoption, all of the families waiting to adopt, and those thinking about adoption a very happy and joyous Adoption Day.

Featured Family: Caroline & Elizabeth

Our third featured family is also looking for a birth mother to select them to parent. Please, as always, forward this information on to anyone you may know who is looking for great parents.


Caroline & Elizabeth.

Caroline and Elizabeth met and began dating in college after meeting at a nonprofit conference. Caroline graduated and they lost touch for a couple of years. In April 2006, Caroline moved back to the area and they an across each other at the local Unitarian Church and have been together ever since. Their wedding was in 2008 (as pictured above). Caroline and Elizabeth currently reside in North Carolina.

The desire to be a mom and parent a child hit them hard in 2007. They began saving up for a child and after their wedding, they began a series of IUI procedures. After a year of intensive IUI's and a few chemical pregnancies, Caroline and Elizabeth began their journey towards adoption. While late 2009 and most of 2010 has been rocky in terms of IUIs and the adoption process, Caroline and Elizabeth continue on and still hold onto hope that a child to love is out there for them. They are open to any race or gender. While they prefer an infant, they are open to a sibling group of up to 2 kids age 5 and under.

If you would like to contact these wonderful women who are so inspiring with their dedication to each other as well as possessing an awesome amount of perseverance, please contact me at my email:
thrivingforbaby [at] gmail [dot[ com.

Featured Family: Simon & Christine

Please, please, please forward this info to anyone and everyone as the more eyes that see our Featured Families, the more likely they are to finally meet their child. Much love! Without further adieu, here is our second Featured Family of the month:

Simon & Christine:

They met seven years ago in London, England. Simon is from England and Christine was teaching primary school there. After their second date, Simon & Christine both knew we were meant for each other and, after seven months, we were engaged. While living in England, they got to travel all over Europe. They soon moved back to the USA and got married. They travel back to the UK each year to visit with Simon’s family and friends.

Christine works very close to the home as an Activities Director for an Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing home. She hopes to be a stay-at-home mom when they start their family. Simon works about an hour away in the insurance field but is home all weekend helping around the house. The house is in a quiet, friendly neighborhood with kids and close families. Simon and Christine have lived in this neighborhood for over five years and have no plans on moving.

They have wanted to be parents since they were married. Simon and Christine tried for a child naturally and with fertility treatments for five years with no luck. They both feel they would make wonderful parents to any child and cannot wait to share family traditions, their love of traveling, love of animals and their hearts with a child Simon and Christine will love unconditionally. Having a family is such a dream of theirs that they hope it comes sooner than later.

If you know someone looking to make an adoption plan, or even just want to pass this on to someone who may be able to help, please have them visit Simon & Christine's profile at:
http://www.decisiontomake.com/Who_s_Waiting_to_Adopt_/Simon_and_Christine

Featured Family: James & Jenny

All of these families I met in an adoption group I'm apart of online. Each couple touched me and so here I am sharing their stories in hopes that a bio mom is more able to find them. All of us share a common thread - we are all hoping to be first time parents through adoption.

The families are in no particular order and I start with
James and Jenny.

James,29, and Jenny, 26, are high school sweethearts. They started dating in 2000, went to college together, and got married in 2006. They started trying to conceive in 2008 but soon discovered that Jenny has premature ovarian failure, which means that she is no longer able to ovulate and can only get pregnant through IVF with donor eggs. Rather than undergo invasive fertility treatments, they moved straight to adoption in 2009.

They were very quickly matched with a birthmother for several months, but the placement was disrupted the day the baby was born. It has been over a year since then and they are still waiting to be matched with a new birthmother. James and Jenny hope to adopt a child from age birth to 24 months from within the United States. They are open to both genders, would prefer Caucasian but are open to mixed ethnicities, too.

James is in the military and Jenny is in nursing school. Together they love running, especially marathons and half-marathons, and going camping/hiking with their two dogs, Piper (chocolate lab) and Molly (Border Collie). James and Jenny are Episcopalian and find their faith to be a strong grounding force for their marriage and family. They are originally from North Carolina but currently live in Arkansas.

If you'd like to know more about these amazing people, you can visit their blog at: http://therunningyoginimom.blogspot.com

Featured Families in November

I have felt Jesus calling me to help out my fellow parents-to-be for some time now. Was it just a simple prayer they needed? A hug? To be a surrogate? I didn't know and was quite frustrated that He wouldn't tell me.

So I stayed ever faithful, praying for them and asking Him for direction. An idea came to mind a few weeks ago that I rolled around in the noggin for a while. I approached these families and they all loved and appreciated the idea. Lucky for all of us this month is Adoption Awareness month as the timing couldn't be more perfect.

This month I will feature 3 different families waiting to become first time parents through the miracle of adoption in hopes that this humble, loving blog may reach out to someone who may help their dreams come true.

Stay tuned in the coming days for our first Featured Family.

November is National Adoption Month

I know that we are inundated with awareness months, but this month means a lot to S., myself, and Baby G. The State Department has selected November as National Adoption Month.

Here's to the families created and made through the adoption process - whether it's domestic or international. Much, much love.

http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2010/11/150009.htm

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
November 1, 2010


Over the last ten years, American families have opened their hearts and homes to more than 200,000 children from other countries. They have given vulnerable children the opportunity to thrive. And families who adopt are enriched by the love of their new children, and the heritage they bring from their birth countries. This November, we celebrate National Adoption Month and join with groups across the nation to recognize these special families.

The State Department is committed to safeguarding the interests of children, birth parents and adoptive parents worldwide. Earlier this year, I was pleased to announce the appointment of Ambassador Susan Jacobs as Special Advisor for International Children’s Issues. Ambassador Jacobs’ office will work with our consulates and with foreign governments around the world to ensure that the child’s best interests are at the heart of every adoption. We will also encourage other nations to join us as parties to the Hague Adoption Convention which helps ensure ethical and transparent adoptions for everyone.

Every boy and girl deserves the chance to grow up safe, happy and loved. This month, we honor the great commitment of all families who embrace children through adoption—thank you. Thank you for changing a child’s life.

Vote vote vote! Baby G.'s Diaper Bag

Who doesn't like influencing other's decisions? In light of the upcoming elections, I thought it would be fun to put Baby G.'s diaper bag to vote. Which one deserves the job? What bag will hold up to the trials and tribulations of a baby?


SAMURAI.

myakachan's shop


WINNIE THE POOH.

Mishmash Design's shop


DUMBO.
(this is the pattern, but it will be in the same style as Pooh).
Mishmash Design's shop

Baby G.'s Diaper Bag Should Be...
	Samurai
	Winnie the Pooh
	Dumbo
	None of the Above
pollcode.com free polls

Recipe: Nana's Split Pea Crock Pot Soup

1 lb (or 16 oz) of split peas, washed/rinsed
3 large carrots
3 large sprigs of celery
2 medium russet taters
1 ham hock with ham on the bone
1 large yellow onion
6-7 cups of water
2 cloves of garlic
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper to taste



1.) Drop peas in crock pot
2.) Chop up carrots, celery, taters, and onion (not too big, not too small - medium pieces is just right)
3.) Drop 'em all in the crock pot
4.) Drop ham hock in the crock pot
5.) Chop up garlic - almost to the point of being minced
6.) Drop the garlic in the crock pot
7.) Add the water
8.) Drop in the bay leaf
9.) Add a little bit of salt (not too much as you already will have it salted with ham) and pepper to taste.
10.) Put your crock pot on either 6-8 hours (depending on how much time you have)
11.) Check soup - if you see its super thick - add more water (it's better to have not enough and add more than too much)
12.) ENJOY!

Devotionals: Matthew 1:18-25 Trusting God's Plan

As I mentioned earlier, I had a "moment" with God. I literally sat in the middle of my living room yelling and crying to God about who He is, what He wants with me, why I was feeling this way (that's another blog post - seriously, it's coming soon, I promise), and how was He going to make it 'better.'

I had the Bible in front of me, unopened, and as I sat there crying, I felt like He gave me a hug. He didn't say much but he gave me a few verses and then showed me the book of Matthew - the first book of the NT. The bible I am using is The MacArthur Study Bible, New King James Version. This is relevant because in the beginning of each book, John MacArthur gives the reader introductions to the books (the title, author and date, background and setting, historical and theological themes, and interpretive challenges) and he also gives an outline and dates.

I ended up reading this intro to Matthew and realized this book was the perfect book for me to start at. Matthew (also known and Levi the tax collector) wrote this book specifically to witness to the Jews. As MacArthur states, "the purpose [of Matthew] is somewhat narrower [than Luke's]: to demonstrate that Christ is King and Messiah of Israel. This gospel quotes more than 60 times from OT prophetic passages, emphasizing how Chris is the fulfillment of those promises."

Matthew begins with telling us Jesus' lineage then dives into His birth. Most people who aren't even Christian know the story of Mary and Joseph. However, through my study I realized that there was more to the story - more that made it raw, real, and more empowering - that spoke directly to me.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
Then Joseph her husband, being just a man, and not wanton to make her a public example was minded to put her away secretly. Matthew 1:18-19

In Jewish customs then, being betrothed to someone was as 'severe' as marriage. You'd need to go through legal channels, much like a divorce, to undo the arranged union. So in this case, Mary and Joseph were engaged, not yet married and Mary found out she was pregnant.

It seemed, especially to Joseph, that she had committed adultery, the punishment for the crime then was stoning. But as scripture suggests, he was a good man that instead decided to get a quiet divorce.

20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,”[d] which is translated, “God with us.”
24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son.[e] And he called His name JESUS. Matthew 1:20-25

After reading all of this (and what my study Bible had to say) I had this "Whoa!" moment (ala Joey Lawrence). Joseph trusts GOD with all of his heart - despite whatever he may have felt - and stays with Mary. Think about this - had he spoke with the temple leaders, what would have happened? Could you imagine if Joseph decided to do "what was right in the eyes of 'religion'" and stoned Mary? Where would we be?

I put myself into Joseph's shoes and wondered if I would have felt compelled to be so compassionate. I know I'd probably be mad, feel betrayed, and extremely upset. Would I give my betrothed a "second chance"? Would I be worried about what others would say? If an 'Angel of the Lord' came to me in a dream and tell me that this baby was God's and I needed to stay with my wife-to-be, would I believe and trust this 100%?

When were are pushed by God to follow His plan - are we truly ready? Do we have the utmost faith in Him?

MOMS for the 21st Century Act :: Update

So as I've blogged about before, there's an act out there called MOMS for the 21st Century Act.

As a reminder, here's the overview of the act:

Official Summary

7/21/2010--Introduced.Maximizing Optimal Maternity Services for the 21st Century or the MOMS for the 21st Century Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Office on Women's Health, to:
(1) establish the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Promotion of Optimal Maternity Outcomes; and
(2) develop and implement a consumer education campaign to promote understanding and acceptance of evidence-based maternity practices and models of care for optimal maternity outcomes among women of childbearing ages and families of such women. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, to make publicly available and update an online bibliographic database identifying systematic reviews for care of childbearing women and newborns. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to:
(1) designate maternity care health professional shortage areas under the National Health Service Corps program;
(2) establish a loan repayment program to alleviate critical shortages of maternal care professionals; and
(3) award planning and implementation grants to address workforce disparities for such professionals. Directs the Secretary to support the establishment of two additional Centers for Excellence on Optimal Maternity Outcomes to conduct research to improve maternity outcomes. Requires the Secretary to convene a Maternity Curriculum Commission to discuss and make recommendations for:
(1) a shared core maternity care curriculum;
(2) strategies to integrate and coordinate education across maternity care disciplines; and
(3) pilot demonstrations of interdisciplinary educational models. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover services provided by a supervised student midwife or an intern or resident-in-training under a teaching program under certain circumstances.

(www.opencongress.org, 2010)


After reading this morning's blog A Tale of Two Moms / ACOG Pulls a Fast One from theunnecesarean.com, I realized that the war has now begun.

According to the ACOG's May 2010 update, their new bill, Making Obstetrics and Maternity Safer (MOMS) Initiative, will:

ACOG’s MOMS Initiative is a multi‐pronged approach that will help the U.S. develop and implement evidence‐based interventions to improve maternal health.
1)Understand the Causes, Improve Interventions for, and Reduce the Prevalence of Premature Births.
2)Focus on Obesity Research, Treatment, and Prevention.
3)Improve Surveillance and Data Collection On Maternal and Infant Health.
4)Support Maternal/Infant Health Programs at HRSA.
5)Research Disparities in Maternal/Fetal Outcomes, to Eliminate Disparities.
6)Develop, Test and Implement Quality Improvement Measures and Initiatives.
7)Test an Obstetric Medical Home Model

ACOG is scrambling to gain ground - financial ground - that they are losing to home births and midwives. They have only been about the care of their Obstetricians, not their patients, and it now shows. I am both saddened yet joyous. I can only hope that by re-posting this (and see more people re-post) that it gets the word out there. There's only ONE MOMS Act and it's NOT the ACOG's.

The dreams are rolling in!

So last Wednesday, the 29th, I had this beautiful baby dream about my friend's baby. She's currently in the home stretch of her pregnancy, estimated to arrive around mid October, and apparently I'm WAY more excited than I let on. I had a dream that I got sent a text saying she had her baby girl with stats and a pic of her husband, her, and her baby. They named her Madeline Grace and were calling her Maddie.

I woke up with the most awesome feeling and so I talked to both of my friends, as they have been having a slight name crisis and they loved it! One can only hope my dream names her! ;)

Then on Thursday night, the 7th, I have a dream that this same friend and I were swimming in a pool. I watched this water bag float up and I tell her that her water is gone so we may need to get ready for baby. We almost make it to the hospital, because for some reason we were walking there (gotta love dreams), and my friend looks at me with this determined face and says "I've got to push!" and with one push she caught her little girl. The baby was healthy, beautiful, and latched right on to momma's breast. Obviously I really can not wait for this little one to make her entrance.

Now last night, the 8th, I had another dream - this time about Baby G! We got a call and I couldn't stop smiling but tears were rolling down my face. T. (our adoption coordinator) exclaimed in excitement "It's a BOY!". I immediately hung up and posted those words on Facebook (uh oh, it may be intervention time). We traveled to Japan around Thanksgiving and our little boy was so tiny and adorable and S. and I had never been more in love. I didn't want the dream to end.

<3

How it will all go down

I've actually been getting this question a LOT and thought I should make a blog post about it. It's a great question, just not one I want to repeat a thousand times. haha.

So here's how it will all go down when we get "the call":

1.) The bio mom will be in the hospital with the baby for about a week after the baby is born. Within that time she will decide if this is the right decision for her. If she decides to give up her parental rights, she has 3 days from the date she signs to the date it's "finalized".

2.) When it's finalized, the parents-to-be (PTB) get a phone call saying they have a baby.

3.) The agency in Japan then files paperwork with the Embassy to get a court date for the PTB to appear with the baby.

4.) A couple weeks later the court notifies the agency of a date (usually about 2-3 weeks from that notification).

5.) The agency notifies the PTB immediately, which gives them about a 2-3 week (give or take one or two) leeway to book travel and get out there.

6.) The PTB will then travel to Japan for a couple weeks. They welcome their baby into their family a couple days after their arrival and begin a whirlwind of appointments with doctors, the embassy, etc.

7.) The PTB then come home as a family.

:D

When the PTB see their baby for the first time the baby is anywhere from 5-10 weeks old. It really depends on many factors - when the bio mom chooses to sign over the child, when the agency submits paperwork to get an appointment, and when the Japanese government is able to get an appointment.

Now we just wait.

Yesterday afternoon I headed back to my desk to find an email from our agency coordinator.

Our photo book is approved.

I was shocked as I just had a breakdown about it earlier in the morning. The stars are aligning - God is watching over us.

I ran in to S.'s office yelling and clapping letting him know we're approved. He smiles and says "hooray! BABY!" I head back to my desk to respond to the email (as there was a question in there), I hit send and lose my mind. I begin crying and crying and S. comes over and gives me the biggest hug I've ever received from him. He whispers how much he loves me and how he's so excited that we are literally one step closer to our family.

I tell him I cry tears of happiness, tears of release - the past (almost) 9 months of paperwork, appointments, meetings, and waiting has all come to a head.

We are now a waiting family - waiting to be told a mother has chosen S. and I to parent their baby, waiting to meet our baby, waiting to be a family of 3.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.

Movie Review: Pregnant in America

I finally got "Pregnant in America" from Netflix. S. and I watched it Monday night and enjoyed it. It was a cute movie, made by a first time father to be who was outraged at the maternity system in America. It actually made S. feel better to know that he wasn't alone. ;)

One segment talked about how there is no oversight over the medical community with regards to what drugs can and can not be used for labor - specifically CYTOTEC. This one family interviewed has been petitioning the FDA for help in banning it's use in obstetric care, however their response was that they had no jurisdiction over that. Disgusting.

The rest of the movie, for me, was all info I'm very well aware of so it didn't have the punch power, but still had some great info nonetheless. And any one that rolls the great Ina May Gaskin, Mardsen Wagner, and some OBs pissed at the system into their film deserves an A+ in my book. ;)

My personal spiritual journey

Some of you may notice I took down my research on Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

The reason being is that I have had some amazing quiet time with God - He's allowed me to yell at Him, scream about things I'm confused about, and cry on His word and has still been faithful and loving. In this time, while I am very interested in learning more about other religions, God is calling me to lay at His feet and listen to His words.

As always, God is good to His children and I wish I would have opened the Good Book sooner.

I have been writing down notes on my daily devotional and have decided to make Sundays my "weekly devotional day" where I'll write down my readings for the week and share my notes.

Thank you to those that have been prayer warriors for me. Trust me, they were received and appreciated.

I pray the spirit of the Lord is upon you and gives you peace. Much love.

Acne be-gone!

About 3 years ago I got hit with adult acne. I thought I had missed the high school/teenaged acne bus and was home free. Ha! So I tried different creams, masks, cleansers and nothing worked. It felt like it was getting worse. I also started charting my cycles and noticed that when I got to my luteal phase I'd have even more acne.

So to a dermatologist I went. She ended up prescribing a low dose of antibiotics, a prescription-only cream, and then asked me to wash with La Roche Posay (2 different cleansers, one for night and one for morning). Just about $100 later, I noticed things were getting better.

Then we start trying for Baby G. Thankfully I had a follow up with my dermatologist as she yanks me off the pills and cream - not suitable for a growing baby in the womb. So within a month or two, the acne was back. Now I'm even more worried about getting pregnant because progesterone seems to have an ill-effect on my face and when pregnant your body surges with that hormone - oy vey!

Well, a year and a half passes and I'm at the end of my rope. I'm tired of masking the acne with layers of make-up; tired of not wanting to wash the make-up off my face as I'm too embarrassed even to let S. see my face; tired of walking around feeling so insecure with myself.

I finally decided to try the oil cleansing method. The oil cleansing method is easy - you take caster oil and sunflower oil, mix it together (proportions are in the link provided), rub it on your face, steam your face, and done! You only do this at night, no need to clean in the morning.

I wish I had taken before and after photos for your viewing pleasure, however the thought of having my acne-filled face on the internet forever makes me cringe. But take my word for it, I am SO SO SO happy with the results. S. even notices a HUGE difference. He's excited for me just because he knew how much it bothered me. He's even started cleansing his face with the mix and LOVES it. The cost is also amazing - $4 for sunflower oil and $6ish for caster oil and it LASTS! I love that it's all-natural, too.

So here I am, a week and change later, feeling like a new woman. I can go out of the house with just powder and blush and feel confident about my face.

Check Check One, One, Two

We are still here - breathing, working, thinking, sleeping. So bare with us as the reason for no recent posts is because:

* I have been researching Japan, as stated in many other posts, and wanted to put together a great post (or two) on my findings. So it's taking time stringing all my thoughts together. I never thought I'd actually want to write another research paper outside of college, but alas here I am doing just that.

* I am also going through an amazing spiritual journey that I definitely want to share. And just like my Japan post, it is taking time to put together.

Aside from that, all else is quiet on the Western Front. I have set up twitter and a facebook page (scroll down on the right hand side of the blog) to give quick, little updates so be sure to follow or like that!

Much love.

M. & S.

Adoption Super Mega Update

Well S. and I are *this* much closer to our family and we couldn't be more excited, frustrated, anxious, happy, etc.

Last week we met with our agency and got a lot of questions answered and even got the whole run down of how things will go once we get "the call."

We submitted our letter to the birth mother and are waiting to get the finalized version back. We are also waiting for the photo book to come in so I can send it to the agency to get approval. So, no, we're not on the waiting list yet and as soon as we are, you will all know. I'm sure those of you in the same state as us will hear our shrieks of delight.

So here's some answers to the many, many questions we have been getting:

Can you chose gender?

No. And we like it this way. We're adding to our family, not buying a car with certain "packages".

How old will the child you're adopting be?

It depends, but anywhere from 5-10 weeks old.

When will you know you've been chosen?

Also a "depends" answer. Some bio mothers know in the beginning of their pregnancy they want to adopt, so we may know sooner. Others may be in denial and not even seek the adoption agency's help until after the baby is born.

Will you ever meet the bio mom?

We technically could, but generally the bio mom doesn't want to.

Why?

Well let's take a step back and look at the differences of American and Japanese cultures. Japan is a very honorable and respectable culture. Many, if not all, of the women who go to our agency in Japan are there because of a "dishonorable" act - infidelity, out of wedlock, young mother - and the whole pregnancy would harm their reputation and their family's reputation. By adopting out the baby, they are able to remove the child from their Koseki - family registry and not be shamed. So by meeting us or keeping in touch with us, they are admitting to this and it undoes everything they are working against. (I'll be writing more extensive posts on the Japanese culture and the differences between the US and Japan throughout our wait.)

How long of a notice do you have before you travel?

We have about 2-3 weeks, generally, from the time we "get the call" to the time we need to be in Japan.

How long will you be in Japan for?

About 2 weeks, but we're thinking about staying an extra week just to account for jetlag and sightseeing.

How long after you arrive will you get your baby?

1-2 days (or it really depends on when we arrive. If we decide to come in earlier to get used to the time difference, it may be longer.

Here's some misc. questions we've been asked and the answers to go with:

How much is this costing you?

This is a personal question, thank you for playing.

Why did you decide to adopt?

S. and I want nothing more than to have a family - him, me, and little feet running around our house. When one door was closed, another was opened and God showed us the path He wanted us to take. :D

*****

I'll now open up the floor to answer any additional questions you may have of the process/adoption/etc.

We are so excited and can not wait for the totally awesome updates like 'we're on the list' or 'we got the call!'.

Much love!

Searching for something deeper

I struggled for a long time to write about this because I was worried it would be upsetting to some, that I'd get the never-ending advice and comments and just not something I wanted to deal with. But I decided that talking about this is more important than me worrying about what others will think.

I was born a non-denominational Christian. We were raised to believe that God created the earth, He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins, that He rose on the 3rd day, and will return again to bring us home. My God is an awesome God, He loves His children and we are taught to live as Jesus lived.

The past couple of years my heart has been telling me to live differently. Homosexuality is a sin in God's eyes, however many Christians have taken it upon themselves to be the judge and the jury and have treated them badly and not lovingly. I find it is not MY place to judge, just to love. God reserves that right.

Because of this, and many other minor differences, I've started wondering about what I truly believe and where I really belong. I have started looking outside of the known branches of Christianity to find people who love and cherish my God as much as I do and love everything and everyone He has created.

We have a date!

S. and I got "the email" from our agency giving us a few dates to come up and visit them. This is basically our last thing to do before we're 100% on the waiting list. We will have nothing left to do on our end! It's very exciting as they will have a small group session to possibly go over how it will go whenever we get to head to Japan, but then we break into single sessions and ask our questions, etc.

The only date that worked for us was the first one and it's coming up QUICK! For those of you that we know in the area - we will send you a message to hopefully be able to meet up!

Surrendering to His plan

I've been talking with my husband a lot lately (it's so refreshing) and the one thing that has come up so much is how much of a planner I am. Everything needs to be planned - I need to get school done by a certain time, I wanted to be single for a certain time, I wanted to have my baby by a certain age, etc. etc. etc.

The more I thought about all of these plans I had made and compared them with what actually happened, the more I'm realizing that I haven't been in tune with what Jesus wants.

Let's step back so you can see what I'm talking about:

I ended an engagement at the ripe ol' age of 18 years old. We weren't together very long, but it was long enough to get together, fall in love, move in, get engaged, and have it all end. It wasn't a great relationship - actually there wasn't any part of it that was good - and so I rebounded hard.

My plan was to go to college, be single, have fun, and enjoy life without any man interrupting it. Everything started off great, I was close to graduating from community college and was accepted into Colo State Fort Collins for the Fall 2003 semester. Life was great and grand and going according to "plan".

But in the end of summer 2002, I went to a friends wedding that changed everything. I met my husband and my world flipped upside down. From then on, my life was a series of "non-planned events". Our engagement and wedding were not as planned, my education didn't go as planned, and now growing our family is not going "as planned".

I do want to clarify, that I am not not grateful for these things happening, it's just something we have noticed.

So lead back in to our conversation...S. and I are finally coming to the realization that we are not here for our own edification. We are here for a bigger purpose and that is to let people know of Jesus' love and affection for us. We may think a husband with kids and a nice house is the path to happiness, but if it isn't what God wants out of your life, then all of that means nothing. I am at peace with life and am ready to surrender to His will.

I found a great site that has online devotionals and this one rang so true to what I was talking about that I thought I'd share it:
"Full Speed Ahead in the Wrong Direction."

MOMS for the 21st Century Act

The bill: http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.5807:

The video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtcQ2BOa8jY&feature=youtube_gdata

Track its progress: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-5807

Contact: ACNM asks for your support of the MOMS for the 21st Century Act. If you would
like more information, or to sign on as an original cosponsor, please contact
Debbie Jessup (debbie.jessup@mail.house.gov) in Rep. Roybal-Allard’s office. (From midwife.org)

more info: http://www.birthcenters.org/news/breaking-news/?id=95

M.'s One-Too-Many Turkey Meatloaf

As many of you loyal readers know, S. and I have gone super healthy with our eating and have been planning out our meals. I've been keeping a photo log, if you will, of what we've made and eaten on facebook, but want to bring the meals and the recipes here where they belong!

Now, as the name of this one suggests, I made this after having one-too-many drinks, so I unfortunately do not have pictures, but trust me this turkey meatloaf is legit.

Here's the recipe to M.'s One-Too-Many Turkey Meatloaf (keep in mind I didn't measure ANYTHING and just threw it all in a bowl...):

1 lb of ground turkey
2 farm fresh eggs
about 1/4 cup of panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
about 2-3 tbsp of minced onion
salt to taste
and lots of fresh ground pepper (I did like 8-10 grinds)
couple dashes of dried thyme
a few pinches of dried basil

1. Heat oven to about 375 deg.
2. Dump everything into a mixing bowl and mix ingredients with your fingers - it's fun!
3. Put everything into a bread loaf pan.
4. Drizzle a little bit of extra vir. olive oil, some salt/pepper and then lightly top with more panko.
5. Put in oven and bake at about 45 min. but check on it around the 35-40 min mark just in case.
6. Take out and enjoy!

Jesus has a plan

Every so often I'll get a thought in my head that seems much more like something Jesus would do than me. I usually chalk that up to Him banging something over my head to get me to listen.

Since we learned of our little complications, I had an idea pop in my head that I thought was mine. So I talked to S. and then we never spoke of it since then. We wanted to focus on bringing Baby G. home.

But then something happened and that thought popped up again and is even louder and more intense. Now I'm beginning to feel that this isn't "my" idea anymore and that Jesus is asking me to do something for Him and a couple of His children.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct[a] your paths."

Proverbs 3:5-6

Please keep us in your prayers.

Breastfeeding an adopted newborn

Through so much research (I really should think about getting paid for all that I do! haha) I found out that women can actually generate breast milk and therefore breastfeed a child even if they did not birth one.

S. and I are actually really excited at the thought of being able to breastfeed our baby as it will create a great bonding experience for us. (Not to mention the great health benefits derived from breastfeeding.)

I plan on switching to an all-Japanese food diet once we get our call to travel and will be taking the natural herbs and supplements to try and generate breast milk. All I can do is hope that all goes well.

For those interested in reading more here are my wonderful resources:

Le Leche League International: Adoptive Breastfeeding

kellymom.com::Adoptive Breastfeeding

asklenore.com - breastfeeding & induced lactation

Aus. Breastfeeding Assoc.: Breastfeeding the adopted child

Circumcision rates & MGM Bill

A day or two ago, I was on a website that had a discussion about circumcision rates in the states. Some of the info was surprisingly good and then there's some really bad things.

http://mgmbill.org/statistics.htm

Michigan & Ohio are numero uno on this list as having the HIGHEST circumcision rates at 85%.

Nevada has the lowest - at 12%.

Additionally, this site also explains whether or not the state still allows medicaid to fund circumcisions.

Out of all of the "red states" (those with 76-100% circ rates) only ONE does not allow circumcisions to be funded by medicaid and that is Missouri.

And of all of the "green states" (those with a 0%-25% circ rate) ALL do not accept medicaid for circumcisions. California was the first to stop in 9/1/82.

What can we do to lower these numbers?

Read the MGM Bill http://mgmbill.org/usmgmbill.htm

And take action! http://mgmbill.org/takeaction.htm

Alert the troops!

Apparently I'm the only one strong enough to keep news of our adoption from the world (that's actually supposed to be funny as I'm the blogger who has been doing nothing but 'alerting the world'). After a conversation with my mother and S. - I was made to feel like I'm making this bigger than it is and there's no reason to hold back from the world.

What were my reservations? Well after numerous adoption groups and blogs, it seems many adoptive parents got insanely overwhelmed because all their friends and families would constantly ask for updates. They would also get the occasional rude comment. Those were things I didn't feel ready for and felt content with keeping our little journey a secret to the immediate friends and family.

But, alas, my husband is getting anxious to spread the word and I know my mother is right behind him. We're 7 months into our journey and after August - it's anybody's guess as to when we'll be picked to adopt Baby G. from Japan.

So, dear trusted blog readers, friends, and family who have followed this journey with us - it is time to let the whole world know that we will be proud parents of a lovely child (or two! - God willing) from Japan.

We will call her Jackie

So S. and I did well on our yard sale yesterday (thank you, mom squared, for your donations as they helped!) and met a great and animated lady that made the morning so fun.

Her name is Jackie. She was so happy about us adopting, just bought as much as $9 could buy her. And through her shopping experience we got to know one another - she's a grandmother and just loves it. She also just lost about 150+ lbs and made me feel her hip bone! SHE HAS ONE! She was so proud of her accomplishment and so was I!

S. was put to job going through her massive coin purse to find the rest of her payment to us. It was hilarious. She even wanted to buy him at one point to do her windows!

As Jackie was leaving she yells out to us, "well I'm glad I could help! Be sure to name her Jackie for me." S. quips back, "we'll put it on the list and thank you!"

Thank you, Jackie, for bringing some light into our lives - even if it was for only a second.

Fundraising for Baby G!

S. and I are now in fund-raising mode to help with Baby G's arrival!

Aside from the yard sale to be hosted this weekend and our copious amounts of recyclables to be returned for cash, I reached out to 2 people (one being my sister from another set of parents) to help raise some funds through their direct-sales businesses.

These online shows will go from July 1st to July 22nd so you have plenty of time to shop, shop, shop. And PLEASE pass this post on to your friends (barring they aren't mutual friends of ours as there are still a lot of people who do not know about our awesome plans!).

AVON:

Simply visit http://mary-bethlawson.avonrepresentative.com/ to get your Avon shopping on.

Mary Beth will be donating 100% of the proceeds to help with the adoption. Simply use the code BabyG at checkout and viola!

If you have any questions, you can contact me at thrivingforbaby[at]gmail.com or Mary Beth directly at amazingavon[at]cox.net.

COOKIE LEE:

My old 'boss', Bonnie, (as I used to be a rep) is amazing and is donating all of her profits to our cause (and I couldn't be more humbled by her gracious heart).

Check out the catalog at her website: www.cookielee.biz/bonnieorona

Simply place your order with me by emailing thrivingforbaby[at]gmail.com by July 22nd and everything will be shipped to you.


PAYPAL

Quite honestly, this means so much more to us than an item from a registry. And we thank you from the bottom of our humbled and loving hearts.

Thank you,
Mr. & Mrs. G.

P.S. - If you're in our area and have junk that you need to get rid of and would like to donate it to our yard sale, we'd be totally honored to take it in by Friday. :D

And we're there!

Yesterday S. and I came home from a conference to find an awesome packet from the US Customs and Immigration services that held an I-171H - our Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition! haha

We filed this on 4/22 and it completed 6/16.

S. and I are also going to attempt to finish our photo album and our letter to the birth mother tonight so we can send out our packet by the end of this week.

We got a preliminary email from our agency saying that they will be booking meetings with the Japan coordinator at the end of August so we are more than excited for this. Once this is all done, we are then placed on the waiting list for our Japanese adoption.

Here's to August!

I was pregnant?!?

Yeah, my thoughts exactly! I woke up this morning with a vivid dream fresh in my mind and that was that I was pregnant and had an unassisted birth. Was that what I had planned? Actually, no.

The dream starts with me bending over in a little pain, much like an irritating PMS cramp, and then I get this urge to push. Viola! A baby. No warning, no actual labor. It was awesome and crazy. I immediately grab my little girl and assist her with nursing.

Then the dreams takes a wacky turn because I had been talking to S. about how I felt no cramps or contractions to get out the placenta. I then realize I need him to take me to the hospital where they give me pit to get that placenta out.

My dreams ends with me nursing my beautiful little girl...

Father's Day

I tip my hat to the men who have children to love and love them with all their heart;

I tip my hat to the men who don't yet have children and yet want one so desperately to love;

And I lower my hat to all of those who have lost their fathers.

Inner debate

I've been waffling on whether or not we should just "let the cat out of the bag", so to speak, and just update everyone or keep on trekkin' as planned and let our baby announcement do the talking after everything is said and done.

S. couldn't care less with what we do and supports whatever is done...I guess we'll just leave it be for now.

On another note - we're in another waiting game. We completed our last round of government fingerprints a week and change ago and are now waiting on our letter saying that we're super clear to head overseas to adopt.

This weekend S. and I are finishing up our photo book and our letter to a prospective birth mother. Once that and our letter is finished we then wait to head in to our Adoption agency in August to meet with everyone and go over our completed dossier. We then get put on a list! Hearing that we are finally prospective adoptive parents will just be one of our happiest days ever because at that point it is all out of our hands in the hands of Jesus and a birth mom.

While S. and I try to remain patient, it gets a little harder at each passing month that we do not have a baby to hold and love of our own. Your prayers and support help so much and for that, we sincerely thank you.

12 hours and counting!

I know it's just a simple appointment to get fingerprints, but it feels like such a HUGE milestone to us and we can't help but be excited and giddy.

I also recently "met" another mother who is adopting from Japan. She is a wealth of information and pointed me to some really great places where other adoptive parents gather and exchange info. I didn't know we needed it until I had it!!

Everything is slowly becoming more real. I visualize the day we get a call saying our baby's birth mother has picked us, I dream about holding Baby G. for the first time and crying, and I get goosebumps thinking about our "welcoming ceremony" for Baby G where everyone will get to meet him/her and dote upon our baby. And, if God sees it in His plan, hopefully we'll be coming home with 2 babies!!

Thank you all for your continued support. S. & I love you more than words can explain.

S. & M. + 8

Eh, doesn't have as nice of a ring to it like Jon & Kate Plus 8...although now it's sans Jon, whopeee!

Anyway, getting on topic - the longer we wait, and rather impatiently, for our Baby G. the more kids we end up wanting. It's a crazy cycle. And one I think Jesus is telling us we're to raise a village. HA!

S. and I have actually asked on our application to be considered for twins!! While it's a severe long shot (as Japan's multiple rates are very low) the possibility is still there. So with that being said, we'd LOVE your prayers that we somehow manage to get the one Japanese mother pregnant with twins.

Fingerprints

After a bizarre day yesterday, we came home to find we both had mail from the US Customs & Immigration Services dept! I rip it open like Charlie to his chocolate bar in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. TADA! We are scheduled to get our fingerprints done June 11th @10a!!! WOO!!!

Our to-do list is growing shorter and shorter and we can not wait for the day we're finally "waiting parents"!

Baby G, mommy and daddy are coming for you!!! <3

Get ready, July 1st, here we come

S. and I have had long conversations recently about children, trying to conceive, etc. and have decided to fill up our natural & wholesome guns to the brim and start firing away. Starting July 1st (we'd do it sooner, but unfortunately we have the wedding of a lifetime and a few major work commitments) we will be following a diet said to increase fertility.

Here's our do's and don'ts:

DO:
* Exercise and maintain ideal weight! While this sounds silly to add because it has that "duh" factor, it's something that S. and I struggle with.
* Eat natural foods consisting of fresh fruits, veggies, nuts, poultry, dairy, and lean red meats.
* Drink plenty of water per day.
* Make sure to add in the following vitamins and supplements:
- Zinc: Foods such as oysters, liver, lean red meat, nuts and grains.
- Selenium: Foods such as eggs, brewers yeast, brazil nuts, seafoods and garlic.
- Vitamin C: Foods such as any citrus.
- L-carnitin: Foods such as lean meat, and dairy products.
- Ginseng
- Saw Palmetto
- Ginkgo
- Nutmeg, to name a few.

DON'T:
* Consume any alcohol. S. and I are going dry. It'll be hard for me considering I LOVE my night cap to de-stress, but we're in this together.
* Drink coffee - completely. It's all or nothing for us and we will only be consuming some Japanese and Chinese teas. Caffeine has been shown to decrease sperm counts.
* Smoke the tabaccy. I'm okay with this one, however S. loves a cigar once and a while. Time to put them to rest for a bit.
* Eat crap food that has any refined carbs, additives, or saturated fats. Purity is key here.

Sounds easy enough...I'll post weekly updates when we get started - hopefully people watching/reading will be enough to keep us accountable.

Monday.

Today is Monday.
Took a 5 hour trip to Vegas yesterday.
Got our babywrap from loveyduds today.
Anxiously awaiting a letter/call/email from USCIS to get fingerprinted.
Wanting to lose 30 pounds.
Irritated that our DVR broke just as LOST season finale was going to get played.
Today is Monday.
Why couldn't I have finished school years ago when I wasn't helping my husband run a business or trying to have a baby?
Can we clone wine so this bottle never ends?
When will a house be able to clean itself?
Dinner sounds good about now.
Today is Monday.

And so continues on the baby purchases!

Last year, around March I think, I was feeling great about our 3rd or 4th month of actively trying for a baby. So much so that I asked my mom to go baby shopping with me. We headed to Pottery Barn Kids and I ended up buying the stork bedding collection (along with my mom). So now I have had, sitting in my closet, the whole set.

We, of course, had our ups and downs and then nothing else was purchased for a baby.

S. and I ventured to NY with my best friend and her boyfriend in February and then the baby purchases continue. I bought a little onsesie that said I <3 NY. Then came a few ADORABLE little organic cotton outfits. About a month and change ago, I ventured into West LA and stumbled upon a cute little children's boutique. I found this book called "Goodnight Hawaii" (in the same fashion as "Goodnight Moon") and added that to my collection of baby things.

My most recent (and super exciting) purchase came last week when I bought our baby wraps!!

We also just decided that we're heading to Ikea to get our baby crib and mattress (to be converted into a co-sleeper) in about a month! S. and I are just besides ourselves and so excited!!

Finding it hard

Recently I've been trying very hard to live more Christ-like. I want to be more loving towards people, accepting, and humbled. Instead of arguing my point, I just ignore it, don't say anything in response or give a loving side. It is not an easy task.

I'm also attempting to be less critical and judgmental of people because most of the time we don't know the full story. (Or as the old saying goes "don't judge a (wo)man unless you've walked a mile in their shoes".)

1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." Matthew 7:1-5

Just like everything in life that worth achieving - it's all hard. It's hard running a business, it's hard taking 5-6 classes a semester, it's hard to realize you may never be able to become pregnant, it's hard going through a process of adoption, and it's hard trying to be the good person that God calls me to be (and the person I want to lead an example for my children) - but as Philippians 4:13 reads, "I can do all things through Christ[a] who strengthens me."

Surely make you lose your mind

I'm talking about Life in the Fast Lane...

This semester is coming to a rapid close and I have 3 reports to get done within the next 2 weeks. I'm freaking out a lot.

S. and I finally cleaned the bejesus out of our house this passed Sunday. It felt awesome. We even invited friends over for a BBQ to relax afterwards. Hopefully we'll be able to stay on top of it so it doesn't get to the crazy out of hand mess we just had.

We are also in a huge project at work working on updating our marketing plan. I need to get a bunch of stuff done by the end of this week so we can have our site, collateral, and whatnot, live by the end of May. That's in 4 weeks and I'm having a heart attack just thinking about it. This coupled with my 3 reports is making me a gigantic mess.

I was going to take 4 classes over the summer, but after talking with S., and realizing that our quality of life right now is not a happy one, I decided to take the summer off and focus on our company. (And take a MUCH needed break.)

As for my future semesters, I'm going to stick with a 3-4 class load (much easier than my current 5) and just suck up the fact that I'll be graduating a year later than I anticipated. This makes me very sad and I begin to wonder if I should just suck it up now and bear a huge load...who knows, though. I just want to get this done before I have a child.

Guess who learned how to use tags!

After about a year of blogging, I finally learned how to use the freakin' tags. So I'm currently "cleaning house" to make sure everything is properly tagged and categorized.

It'll be like a REAL blog now!

Reasearching Japan

Because of my passion for natural birth, breastfeeding, etc, I have started researching Japan's views on all of this to see how our baby might enter in this world. Are they like China, with a 50% C-section rate? Do they only formula feed or do they encourage breast milk? What is their prenatal care like?


Breastfeeding
http://www.llli.org/NB/NBSepOct03p181.html

According to Le Leche Group, Japan seems to be more similar to the US (due to our influence from WW2) with regards to formula vs breast milk. They reintroduced the breast back in the 70's but there's still many who think the bottle is better.

I also found this table from Japan's Ministry of Health that shows a survey performed of women who exclusively breastfed, formula fed, and did a mixture of both:
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/database/db-hw/babies02/12.html

Surprisingly, in this 2005 study, it seems that more people did a mix, then breastfed, and formula fed exclusively last. But the difference between Breast feeding only and formula feeding only is large. (This makes me feel better.)

Infant Mortality
These numbers, collected again from the Ministry of Health, about infant mortality seem do have a direct correlation with Le Leche Group's historical account when Western Medicine came to Japan.

http://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/database/db-hw/report/3.html

Infant mortality was sky high in the 1950's and have since drastically decreased.

...

And in my research I came across this piece of a vital stat in the Ministry's website:
Table 2. Trends in live births and percent distribution by legitimate child and
illegitimate child, 1992-2006

http://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/database/db-hw/report/1.html

It then goes on to document the nationalities of these parents, which I thought was severely interesting... (hence why it wasn't put in it's own header).

...

My research isn't done, so come on back for more later!

Realizing that changes seriously need to be made

I can't beat myself up too much here because I am taking on a full load at school, working my rear off at the office, and trying to still be social and active, however our lives need some major spring cleaning if we're planning on a baby.

Our house needs a SERIOUS deep clean. Like scrubbed floors/walls/cabinets, windows, etc. Every crack and crevice needs to be attacked. We walk in the house and it smells gnarly. I know it doesn't help that we have 4 animals contributing to the chaos, but seriously ICK!

My allergies are suffering because of this, too, and it makes me cringe to think about a baby in here.

I'm surprised we don't have permanent residents in our kitchen (i.e. mice or other creepy crawlies).

If you walked into my house you probably wouldn't see things as I do. You'd say something like "Oh, pfsh! M. it's not as bad as you're making it out to be. It's fine!" But truth of the matter, it's not fine. It's disgusting and it makes me sad that I am not able to dedicate the time we need to this house that will be our first child's home.

On top of that, S. and I really need to start getting a schedule in order. We need to maximize our efficiency at work so he's not taking so much work home (as he's been doing), which opens up "family time." I'm having nightmares about this continuing on as I'm playing with our baby and he's on the computer working away our baby's childhood.

But as for good news, we've been through about a month+ of scheduling our meals (we had a rough week a little while back). We're cooking at home more and it's way healthier. We haven't brought in any red-meat to our house since then, either. It's either tofu, ground turkey, chicken, or some kind of fish. It's great!

Hellllllloooooooo home study!

So in the middle of our hectic Monday back in the office, S. says "hey you see we got our home study yet?" Me: "no, COOL!" So I did one read through, went back to work trying to calm the crazy, then I went back to it and did a happy dance in my chair.

IT'S HERE! We only have a couple more items to check off and we're ready to be chosen by a birth mother. :)

My best guesstimate is that we'll be 'available' as parents around end of August/beginning of September.

So excited! Now back to work I go. :)

Adoption in the news: Russian boy sent back alone

So I know there's probably a lot more to the story than we're being told, but given what we have, this woman has some serious issues. I can not get this story out of my head. My heart breaks for families waiting for their children from Russia, who won't be coming home now and my soul is angered that a woman would do this to her child.

Our food and what it means to our health

S. and I started our journey to eating better and more wisely about a year ago. Then, we watched Food Inc. (click for my review) and we really started to question things.

Our food is no longer food and it's disgusting.

A while back ago S. read an article (that we couldn't find, but I found others) stating that apples in a supermarket are normally kept in cold storage for up to a year. These apples are disgusting, grainy, mushy, and sealed with a waxy buildup so it looks pretty to the consumer. EW. Perfect Apple Pushed Growers Into DebtNY Times, Nov. 2000.


Today he found another article that discussed how "fresh squeezed OJ" from the store is no different than the cheap concentrated stuff. And more than realizing there isn't a difference (ew) this article, from Cook's Illustrated, goes into detail about how these juices are made. It's enough to make me make my own, thankyouverymuch. High-end orange juices claim to taste better and fresher than ordinary not-from-concentrates. At twice the price, are they a sweet deal?Cooks Illustrated, March 1, 2008.

Ready to get back on the train.

I finally had my moment. My moment of mourning and release. After 5 months of highs ad lows of struggling with no pregnancy, learning of infertility, and then to an amazing high of deciding to adopt, I finally cried. I actually bawled. I hadn't cried like that in a long time and it felt amazing.

I don't know why my body wouldn't let me mourn, wouldn't let me feel anything. "I'm fine", was all I ever said to anyone. I felt fine, but there was something brewing deep down that I didn't know about until recently.

Looking back on other difficult issues in my life, I realize that that is how I deal with things, I guess. I feel I need to be the one to help others, I have to be the strong one, they need to cry, they need to let it all out, they need the shoulder. And it isn't until months later that my moment is released.

Anyway, I took a break from conceiving. It was much needed. But now I'm feeling ready to get back on and get back at it. Our chances are incredibly slim, but with Jesus, all things are possible.

He Has Risen!

As I get older and fatter I love Easter less for the chocolates cream eggs and jelly beans, and more and more because this is the day Jesus rose from the grave to save our sins.

I love you, Jesus.

Matthew 28

He Is Risen

 ¹ Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. ² And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door,^[a] and sat on it. ³ His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. ⁴ And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
⁵ But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. ⁷ And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”
⁸ So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

The Women Worship the Risen Lord

  
⁹ And as they went to tell His disciples,^[b] behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

Calling all of you blog readers!!

S. and I are starting to get more serious about purchases for a baby. I managed to get him to okay our first clothing purchase - just a couple of organic onesies that I couldn't resist - only a couple weeks ago.

That leads me to our little conundrum - what necessary items do we need?

Last year I bought this super cute organic bedding set thinking I'd have a crib.
S. and I decided there's no reason to have a crib because we're going to have a co-sleeper bassinet and baby will be sleeping with or near us in our room.

I am also debating the need for a stroller because we will be wearing our baby.

So crunchy mamas, please help us figure out what's a need vs. cute but not useful?

Home study, where art thou?

I'm probably too antsy about it because it's spring break so I don't have school to keep my mind off of it, but I'm so ready for the first draft!

That being said I just can't believe how many steps it feels like we've taken already.

On another note, I made plans to sign up for like 5 classes this summer only to get smacked over the head by my reality check and so I signed up for 2! I probably won't be done by next Spring, but at this rate I'd rather be happy, healthy, and have less stress than what happened this semester. BLAH!

I guess I'll use this post as a general update...

I officially ended my "no poo" about a month ago as I ended up with some gnarly hair problems. I know what my issue was, and that was to tweak the water to baking soda and water to vinegar ratio (which I didn't do), because I had zero time and my patience had run out. But luckily I still had some shampoo around so I've been using that.

I have also not dyed my hair in, I think it's been, 2 months (at least). Back when I was a salonophile (I really don't think that's a word, but it sounds good), I'd be in the chair every 5 weeks - my gnarly grays are just that bad. But I've been trying to grow it out to see what it looks like, how bad it is, and also to give my poor chemically treated head and scalp a break. I told S. I'm trying to see if I can make it to not dye it until we head to Japan...we'll see if I can handle all those grays for so long.

Are any of you watching American Idol? If so, listen up and do yourselves a favor: VOTE OFF TIM URBAN AND AARON KELLY Thank you! My American Idol top pick is 100% Crystal Bowersox. No one is even CLOSE to her talent. Lee Dewyze is a distant 2nd. I hate the show, but they always get me swept into it, BOO! As for Didi, I thought she was good and had an amazing, quirky voice, but I think she let herself get in her way AND bad song choices...such is life.

We have been deemed "fit parents"

Or something like that. But the bottom line is we've got the 100% green light and now we go through home study revision phase.

Here's our checklist:

* Passport (because ours got stolen last August...still bitter about that. I lost my first 2 stamps from ever being outside the country! UGH!)

* Letter to our prospective birth mother. I'm both nervous as anything and excited to write this letter. This is our opportunity to reach out to a brave woman in another country, to tell her why S. and I will do our best to give that child everything she can't, and why we are so humbled at her strength. It's our brief connection that transcends race, culture, and religion.

* More Government Forms to fill out and send in.

* Visit to the Agency.

* Then we wait...

Our emotions are so indescribable right now.

Our friends melt our hearts

We are finishing up the last of our pre-adoption home study visits today. Another mile marker hit in this amazing, frustrating, exciting, nerve-wracking process to bring our baby home.

Our wonderful social worker went through and read the responses from our references and I teared up...our hearts melted and even if it takes a long time to get our child, this whole process is worth it just hearing how special we are to these people.

We love you guys and are the luckiest people alive because we get to call you friends. Thank you.

Learning

Apart of our process to become parents is to take 10 hours of education classes on topics such as "All About International Adoption" and "Conspicuous Families."

Initially we weren't too thrilled, but realized that some of these courses were actually insightful and will even be super helpful.

For example, Conspicuous Families is all about getting us to think about how we will not only integrate a baby who doesn't look like us into our family, but how we will promote their heritage and even thwart evil and rude comments from outsiders.

This wasn't something we thought much of - but after this course it really has us thinking and we feel more ready for the future.

This blog will lead me to my next which is more of a vent, I guess...Or maybe a "How to handle Yourself around an adopted family" post - yeah, I think that's better since I'm all about educating and being educated. :)

Disney freak

It started out innocent enough, we had an annual pass and enjoyed meeting friends at the park from time to time. Then we thought it would be fun to get married there. People thought we were crazy Disney fans, but really we weren't. But then, as time passed, the addiction started. I found myself in the Disney store buying all sorts of chotzkies and collectibles. I couldn't stop.

We then reunited with a friend of mine from High School whose passion and love for Disney are just out of this world awesome. His house didn't frighten us - it inspired us and from there there was no turning back.

Last summer Disney became our gym. When we needed motivation to work out and walk, we'd rush home for dinner (and eat a healthy meal to boot), then we'd book it over to the park where we'd walk for miles and miles. We never took the tram, either. I think we were at the park at least 3-4 times a week. It was therapeutic and effective! That summer we lost about 30 pounds each!

So CA residents know not to go near Disney when it's Christmas and New Years, so sad to say the last time I played in the park was a few months ago. I miss it, I love it, I crave it.

I think it's time we started back up our amazing Disney workout and visited the mouse.

News from the MAMA Campaign

While there may be things about the health bill I'm not in agreement with (and for the sake of staying neutral I'll end there with that statement) I did get this update email from the MAMA Campaign and wanted to share.

A Victory for Mothers and Babies!
Midwives and mothers, babies and families, are victors today! With the passage of the Senate health care reform bill in the U.S. House of Representatives on Sunday, March 21, and the signature of the President in the coming days, several provisions that will significantly benefit mothers and babies will now be the law of the land! These provisions will increase access to birth options for low-income women across the country, and will improve the quality of maternity care for all women in the years to come. The MAMA Campaign is proud to have had a role in improving conditions for midwives and mothers in this landmark legislation.

The following are now law:
MAMA Campaign’s “partial victory”: Senator Cantwell’s provision that will have the effect of requiring Medicaid reimbursement for licensed CPMs offering services in licensed birth centers

American Association of Birth Center’s provision that mandates Medicaid reimbursement of the birth center facility fee

Childbirth Connection’s provision requiring quality assessment and improvement measures specific to maternity care

American College of Nurse Midwives’ equitable reimbursement act for Certified Nurse Midwives

And: giving birth, having a cesarean section, or being the victim of domestic abuse will no longer be considered pre-existing conditions and used to deny insurance coverage to women!

What Happens Now With This Legislative Process?
Last night, the House of Representatives passed the Senate health care reform bill that contains the above provisions and the President will sign this bill into law in the coming days. The House also passed a companion reconciliation bill, popularly called a “side car" or "fix it”, to address the House’s concerns about the Senate bill. This companion bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. It is expected that debate will begin in the Senate on Tuesday, and that Republicans will introduce a number of amendments, with debate taking several days. The Senate will be considering this bill under the reconciliation process which requires a simple majority to pass, and Democrats appear confident that they have the votes to pass this bill in the Senate.

Thank You for Your Role in This Victory!
Thank you to each and every one of you who supported the MAMA Campaign and these provisions for women and families. Every letter that you wrote and every dollar that you gave made a difference! We look forward to working with you this year as the MAMA Campaign continues the effort to cover all CPM services in all settings in the Federal Medicaid program.

Moving Beyond Health Care Reform- MAMA Continues to Fight for CPMs
MAMA continues to be on the move for midwives and mothers in Washington, D.C! The MAMA Campaign Steering Committee met in Washington, D.C. two weeks ago, March 5th – 7th, to evaluate the campaign to date and to re-commit to working together to achieve our central goal: to amend the Social Security Act to require the reimbursement of all CPM services in the Federal Medicaid program. On March 5th, 8th & 9th, steering committee members met with 35 Congressional offices on behalf of midwives and mothers. It was clear in these visits that our policy gained significant support in 2009 in key offices and that this support can be leveraged as we move forward in 2010.

You will be hearing from us over the next weeks and months, asking for your input, your engagement and your support as MAMA continues to do our part to improve maternity care in the U.S. and to increase women’s access to Certified Professional Midwives.

Thank Your Legislators!
If your Senators and Congress Members voted for health care reform, including the provisions for women and families, please write to them to thank them. If your legislators voted against health care reform, please write to ask them to ensure in Federal legislation that women have access to Certified Professional Midwives, a high-quality, low-cost option. As always, your legislators need to hear from you on behalf of midwives and mothers!

Support Your MAMA
In celebration of the passage of our “partial victory” and in support of our on-going work to cover all CPM services in all settings in the Federal Medicaid program, please consider donating to the MAMA Campaign today!


If you have any questions, concerns or comments please contact the campaign at info@mamacampaign.org.

For more information on MAMA (Mothers and Midwives in Action) visit their website at http://www.mamacampaign.org

Is it really almost April??

This year is flying, and a little too fast for my comfort. At least the semester is about 6 weeks away from being over. (Although I dread the up coming weeks filled with papers, project, and finals!)

Even though my month of little to no technology is almost over, I caved in yesterday and went on to my sites. To my amazement I logged on to fb and realized it really isn't that fun and nothing I should be wasting my free time on. Don't get me wrong, I love socializing with my friends, but I'd prefer face-to-face or even an individual text or email over the public displays of "I'm a better friend than all of you."

I've hopped on twice since yesterday and really to only post on a networking site that I co-chair.

I did, however, miss the crap out of this blog. So, I'm back.

S. and I had our first home study visit a couple weeks ago and couldn't be more excited about this process. In our discussions with our social worker, we had this really therapeutic talk about privacy. Long story short, she put some things into perspective that made me realize I needed to change about this blog and our lives.

So with that being said, we're pulling back on the information strings here at Thriving for Baby, and sticking to generalities. :)

Week 1 of planning our meals

I felt like a broken record every time S. went shopping for groceries: "can you please plan meals out in advance so we don't waste money buying stuff we won't use and things we don't need?"

My pleas went unheard and every week we found ourselves throwing out produce and dairy and leftovers because we just weren't planning. Not to mention the gobs of money spent on eating out due to the fact that we got lazy.

After doc's bomb dropped on me a couple weeks ago, we decided we really needed to watch more of what went into our mouths. So I sat down and took matters into my own hands and I planned.

Last week I went through recipes on line using the search "healthy dinners" or "vegetarian recipes"(among the likes) and came up with a handful that piqued my interest. So I went through the lists and made a shopping list for the farmer's market and Henry's.

This is how our meals went:
Sunday, March 7: S. improvised and made this sweet potato and walnut ravioli that was yum!

(here's were I stepped in)
Monday, March 8: Szechuan Vegetable and Tofu Stir Fry.
I took the recipe from vegetariantimes.com and made a few tweaks. I should have gone with my better judgment because this recipe felt like something my Wisconsin-born grandmother would prefer rather than my China-born friend. The veggies weren't crisp and juicy, rather soggy and wilted. However, the taste was good. Next time, I'll go with my instincts.

Tuesday, March 9: Chili Sin Carne (but not really because instead of veggie crumbles, I used ground turkey).
Again, this recipe came from vegetariantimes.com, but I decided to make some changes. First, I sub'd the veggie crumbles (what the hell is that anyway?) and used lean ground turkey. I also didn't add nearly as much water as they suggested (thank GOD, too, because mine was perfect!) and I used canned corn instead of frozen. This was a super yummy meal. Steven was floored and we brought the leftovers to the office where our new agent basically gobbled this up. So good.

Wednesday, March 10: Chipotle Shrimp with Avocado Salsa Verde.
Also known as the night we sent ALL of our smoke detectors off, freaked out the animals, and realized that we shouldn't grill shrimp inside.
S. helped me a lot with this one because I wanted homemade tortillas and he's amazing at that. And because the smoke detectors were on full blast, I had to tend to the windows, fans, and making sure my animals didn't go psycho crazy. So he ended up grilling the shrimp. Everything else, though, was me and that avocado/tomatillo salsa verde rocked my socks.

Thursday, March 11: Eggplant Parmesan
S. didn't help one little bit with this one and I'm super proud of it. I made my own marinara sauce from scratch (that was probably the best I've ever done!) and I didn't use the skimpy grated mozzarella the recipe called for - no, I used the premium, whole milk mozzarella, which totally made a HUGE difference. Am I still patting myself on the back for this? Heck yes.

Friday, March 12: Our "one day out a week if we so chose to" night.
We ended up having steamed crab, shrimp, corn, and potatoes. YUM!

Saturday, March 13: Turkey Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries.
Now before I get to the dinner, let me start with lunch. We had been working in the garage trying to clean that sucker out and we both got super hungry. Enchilada House and Bonellos Pizza were on our "dude, we so should totally get that for lunch" menu. S. thought we were getting pizza until I went back inside and heard our fridge yelling at me to use food that was already in there.

So, I ended up making a thai-inspired chicken salad from my left over chicken and brown rice from Yard House (last weekend), snap peas, bean sprouts, cucumbers, and carrots. With a little help from S. we made this peanut butter dressing that just made this salad killer! Steve was bummed about the no pizza at first, but ended up devouring the salad and we both felt SO much better knowing we didn't blow it.

Ok, so back to dinner, the original recipe I had was from Food Network and it was actually a Jerk Turkey Burger with Mango Slaw dish. We couldn't find this mango chutney that it called for, so I improvised. I kinda read through the recipe and decided to just push it aside and "wing it." I ended up seasoning the turkey meat with salt, pepper, minced onions, and balsamic vinegar. I then took carrots and a green apple and julienned them into a bowl. Then I chopped up some green cabbage and cut up a couple green onions and put them in the bowl. I added some mayo and some apple cider vinegar and mixed it up. That coleslaw kicked butt. Seriously.

I then asked S. to cut up my sweet potatoes to look like fries and I baked them. S.is a master griller so he cooked the burgers. I put the coleslaw on the burger and tada! M.'s Turkey Burger. (I'll actually think of how to write up the recipe later because most of it was just eyeballin' and guesstimates.)
.....

We just went through the fridge and already have dinners for the next week planned AND didn't have to throw anything out this week - saving us TONS of cash. Highly recommend this and really wish we had started this sooner.

Unplugging from the technology leashes...

Within the past 3 months life has gone from a calm 70 mph to insane autobahn speeds of 160 mph. A lot of it stems from good things like a severe influx of business and our adoption, but these 5 classes I'm taking this semester are seriously harder than I anticipated. If I am gone for one class period I feel lost and behind.

At any rate, S. and I found ourselves overwhelmed and stressed to the max. Our relationship hasn't been 100% and we're feeling the effects.

Our whole goal in life is to lead a happy and healthy lifestyle that will positively impact our children and we needed to figure out how to wrangle our whirlwind life back to calm serenity before we completely lost it.

After a lot of thought, I realized that I was too "plugged in": I visited a few sites MULTIPLE times a day, which compromised my productivity at work and at school. So I asked S. to change my passwords (so I wouldn't be tempted to have a 'quick look') and am now on a month long (or perhaps longer if I wish) break. That being said, I already have found way more time during the day then I know what to do with. Homework here I come.

In addition, we realized we were unwinding at the end of the day with copious amounts of TV. We were using so much of our brain during the day that TV felt good as it offered a chance to completely veg. But one show turned into two, turned into 5. And before we knew it, we were up until 11:30-12 and not waking up at a decent time. It was a vicious cycle.

So, we have severely limited our TV and put ourselves on a strict bedtime policy. The past few night have been amazing. We were in bed by 10p and awoke naturally between 7-7:30a. We have also decided to let the sun wake us so we have been keeping the blinds cracked. It has been awesome and refreshing.

And this leads me to my blog - this will be my last active post for a month or so, as I really need this disconnect. I know many of you are actively following this to see what's going on with the adoption, so don't fret. This is actually a great time for a break because we're in a waiting period with not much going on.

Can't wait to come back with news and a refreshed soul. Much love and happiness.

Smacked in the face by the truth

S. and I, as many of you know, went on a mainstream diet back in June of last year. It was great, we lost a lot of weight, learned portion control and re-tuned our bodies to crave healthy things instead of french fries and cheeseburgers. We felt so good that we came off it early and did pretty well for the next month and change. Then the holidays hit and our schedules changed drastically - leaving us little time to prepare meals and snacks.

We fell.

We both have gained weight back - depending on the day I'm anywhere from 8-13 lbs heavier.

Then we go to our family doctor for our physical in mid February. We get our blood work done and S. passes everything with flying colors. Mine not so great. I have high bad cholesterol and apparently they tested my blood and I get a paper back saying "mixed hyperlipidemia." He wants to see if we can manage this with simple dietary changes: little to no red meat, use cheeses sparingly (or omit if possible), watch milk intake - only fat free (eww), and eat certain fish sparingly. He also mentioned eating more oatmeal in the morning.

Doc says we both are in desperate need to shed some weight. He wants S. to lose about 30 more pounds and for me to lose about 15-20. So he wants us to be active for 20-40 min 5-6 times per week and to make sure that there's a puddle under us (sweating a lot).

He also advised us on some personal life changes to try to prepare ourselves mentally and physically for a baby. The advice he gave wasn't remarkable, it wasn't something you've never heard, but it made sense and came right at a time we needed it. Basically he said to start getting these healthy eating, exercising, and living habits down pat now. We should also get healthier sleeping habits down to prepare ourselves for an early riser.

We've slowly started changing. I wish I could say we perked up and are doing everything to a T. We've started eating oatmeal (almost) every morning. It's yum! And I've cut wayyyyyy down on my red meat intake, which is really hard for a gal like me whose family raised her on meat and potatoes.

I'm glad that we had our physical because it really smacked us in the face with the need to make changes NOW rather than later.

Growing a baby in my heart

On Sunday we went to a fund raising event. I was seated next to this amazing couple who, although they were a few generations older, we had a lot in common. Anyway, we got to talking about kids and something compelled me to tell her about our plans. (I guess the fact that I may not see her again, nor do we run in the same social circles helped a lot!) She was happy for us, then got quiet, turned to me and then said the most amazing thing I've ever heard:

"You're growing a baby in your heart as opposed to your belly."

I love this so much.

Just thought I'd share.

:)

Baby Dream

Last night/this morning I had my first adoption-related dream and I didn't want it to end. I fell in love with this little one so hard, I thought my heart would burst. It was a boy and he was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life. He had thick, black hair and soft Japanese features. I had wondered if he was hapa, like his daddy. I, unfortunately, woke up and immediately turned over to see if S. was awake so I could share this with him...but he wasn't.

I'm glad I had this dream because a fear that started creeping into my recent thoughts has been "will I truly be able to love this baby as my own?" I'm sure this is something every adoptive parent has cross their mind at least once, (just like a pregnancy - we have so much fear and anxiety to deal with) but I didn't want to feel that.

I can not wait to meet our baby. I love you already.

Projects.

I wish there were more than 24 hours in a day and I wish I was better at time management so I could accomplish everything I need AND want.

Case in point: I like becoming more domesticated, however with the business taking a huge jump in business (GREAT news) and me acting like a crazy person taking 5 classes this semester, I have ZERO time to clean the house, let alone finish crafty projects I've been wanting to do.

I still can't believe that we were trying to get pregnant through this and, since we hit a snafu there, now going for adoption! There is SO MUCH PAPERWORK and Is to dot and Ts to cross.

I pray just about daily for strength from my maker to help get us through this.

We are yet one more step closer to meeting our child. It's definitely baby steps, but we couldn't be more excited.

Anyway, I really wanted this post to be my a reference point for me to be able to come back to and start tackling things when I do get a chance to do them. So, without further adieu, here are my crafty wishes to complete:

* Mothers' Wedding Album. S. and I have been married 3 years, going on 4, and have yet to get a smaller, more personal version of our wedding album to them.

* Wedding Party Photos. Following in line with the previous bullet point, I still have yet to get my little keepsakes together for our wedding party. :-/

* Blankets for Friends. Back in like 2004, I started a blanket for one of Steven's friends, finished it, gave it to him, then was asked by the other 3 guys in his group of friends to make one for them. A few years passed and then I was hassled by one of them reminding me that I was severely slacking on this blanket. I started it up only to mess it up and now it's sitting in my guest room unfinished.

* Etsy Preserved Lemons Shop. Steve started preserving lemons last year, they became a huge hit with our chef friends, and I would really like to start a cute little side business with them. I was going to ask my friends to submit recipes to use with them and I'd send that a long with a jar of lemons.

* Cooking & Baking Classes. I really want to start cooking at home WAY more. I love the idea of finding something new to cook ad enjoy, however I'm usually way too pooped to even think about it by the time I get home. I have also started diving into baking and would seriously learn to love proper techniques.

Travel Photo Collage. Steve and I had a great trip to Europe back in 2007 and then to Japan in 2008 and took some AMAZING photos. I wanted to make a collage and get it professionally matted and framed for the house. We started on the project, only to find that most of the original photos from Europe are gone (we only have the thumbnail size) and so it came to a halt.

I am hoping that I can update once a project is finished! Hopefully that will be motivation to continue to the next project.