Happy 2011!

Time has gone into warped speed this past month and, while I absolutely love the holidays, I'm very relieved they've come and gone. S. and I have taken some quiet time in the midst of the chaos to reflect on our goals for this new year and begin coming up with game plans with regards to Baby.

I'm also wanting to update my blog - give it a fresh face ready for our growing family. So if you know any aspiring graphic designers looking to grow their portfolio and can design me an awesome template for cheap or FREE (I'll advertise) contact me either on facebook or via my email.

Lastly, I'd love to get involved with doing some homemade craft giveaways this year. Contact me if you know of anyone who'd love to donate items.

Here's to a happy and prosperous 2011!!

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.