Happiness

   My Family: David is in the top row on the left I'm back again because today is my brother David's Birthday!! Happy Birthday, David! We love you and are so happy that you are in our family!   We've been picking up things here and there for our foster baby. Mostly gender neutral things as well. We haven't set up our crib, as the baby will sleep in our pack n play for the first few days and we're not sure if a baby boy can sleep in the same room as Elizabeth (because of opposite genders). Here is a stuffed Koala (which will travel with baby in they are reunited with their Parents/ new family)and a new fitted sheet (ours are old, stretched out and stained since we used them until they were 3 in a toddler bed). They have such cute things since Asher was a baby almost 7 years ago!  New cloth diapers to be used as burp rags- especially since we'll be using formula the whole time (a completely new thing for me), new washcloths and soap, binkies (age nb-...

  We've been paying the kids for odd jobs around the house and Asher is thrilled!     Looking out our front window. - I have had/will have 6 sub jobs this week and last week. I'm making up for the fact that next week is Fall Break (no school for the kiddos!) and thus no work for me! My hardest assignment was 6th grade last Thursday. I don't do 6th grade, but I know the teacher, so I said yes. I was delighted to be greeted by a student teacher when I walked in and he did most of the teaching while I held down the fort. A tender mercy! My easiest job is as an aide for 2nd graders with intermediate autism. I make sure 1 or 2 are doing their work and it's pretty basic. Love it! -We have been put on a 6 month health hold for foster care. I called in to schedule our final interviews and when case worker mentioned that he was worried about my health condition I knew something was up so I was prepared for it. We had asked him if my health issue was okay...

It feels as though I am pregnant, due with a baby sometime this October or even November maybe? But, I am not uncomfortable- my insides are not squished like a rotten banana in my 3rd graders backpack begging for release from the strain. My feet are not swollen. My belly is not swollen. There is no heartburn, no insomnia, no food cravings that pull me to the store like there is no tomorrow. There are no outwards signs of this expectancy except for the car seat and stroller, the swing and new IKEA crib that are stacking up in the warm Garage. We try to speak of it often, as we would if we were pregnant. "We're planning to foster this Fall." we'll say to new friends and neighbors. "Oh, really?" they reply. "Wow. That's great." And often we get "How are the fostering plans coming?", just as one would ask "How is the baby doing?" And so things go, from day to day. Two Dr. visits for me, one for Josh and that's i...

Our road to Foster Care has been Amazing. It's been long and it will be longer still. It's had it's bumps and twists: when babysitters couldn't make it or when Josh had a business meeting during the adoption class. We started on this road with a desire to adopt . I had been thinking adoption for a while, but at some point, during the orientation, the speaker spoke on foster care and my heart told me yes! It took awhile to get Josh on board, and we didn't even have a job when we took the orientation class. But it all (the job and Josh and my desire) finally lined up. Oh, how I hope we can foster. It's been a little touch and go. Elizabeth got diagnosed with Depression and started therapy and Dr. visits. I have my own issues to deal with. We've wondered if we have too much on our plate as it is. But, I oh so hope this can happen. I want to be there for someone. I want to make a difference. It's more than just having a baby in the home (although that is n...

flashback- June 2006, pregnant with Asher In past posts I have written fragments here and there, there and here, about the baby hunger pains I have felt for the past 4 years. Ever since Asher started sleeping through the night, I've wanted another baby. They are beautiful. They are sweet, soft, tender, gentle and they smell so Heavenly. There is a peace about them that just exudes a Heaven sent scent. And as we embark on this foster to adopt journey, it will be different. It won't be the same getting pregnant, feeling sick, going to the Dr. every month or twice a month, feeling huge and hot, going to the Hospital and giving birth. Instead someone else will have done that very same thing and I will be asked to be that child's Mother for a short time, and Josh his Father. It's sacred ground. And I want to tread on it lightly. I've never been on this path before, but Heavenly Father knows where we are going. This is my blog. My name is Megan Abbott.