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.