Three Months

"The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."  Zephaniah 3:17

Skiing and Shopping

Remember this post?  The boys love many of the same activities their daddy loves.  This weekend Jason took the boys downhill skiing.  Jason has been taking Jack for the past few years, and this year it was time to take Samuel along as well.  The boys had a blast, and I'm happy to report no injuries!

Jack and Jason on the lift when Jack was 6

(I love this picture and still have it up at work)

The Boys this Weekend

And, what did us girls do while the boys were away?  Why, we went shopping!  Aside from my internet shopping, namely Etsy, I have not done any "real" shopping since having Lydia.  We decided today was the day so we packed up the stroller, picked up Grandma and headed North to a "real" mall to shop clearance for next year.  While we did not find many clearance items, we found some sale items (and some splurges).  Wow, shopping for girls is so fun (but dangerous!). 

While Lydia is too young to remember this outing, it did bring back memories of my childhood.  You could often find my Mom and I shopping at "real" malls on a given Saturday.  Lydia was SO good!  Mom and I are looking forward to future outings with Miss Liddybug!

Grandma and Lydia

Ready to go!

Maizey Girl

It's been a while since I've posted about last year's addition to our family.  Maizey is seven months old now.  She is spunky and still has some bad puppy behaviors that we are working on breaking (like thinking plastic toys are a delicacy).   But she is sweet as well, and she makes us laugh.  Although, on occasion (some days more than others), we do find ourselves questioning the decision we made to get a pooch before baby, we do enjoy the dynamic that Maizey brings to our family.

Here she is ... 60 pounds of love and craziness ...

Come Together

Profound.

Amazing.

Beautiful.

Be sure to pause music at bottom of blog page.

Two Months

"We prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted us what we asked of him."

1 Samuel 1:27

Our Little Valentines

"Above all, love each other deeply ..."  1 Peter 4:8

Pouty Lip

Meet Lydia's pouty lip:

This cracks me up for a couple of reasons - first, because Lydia looks so darn cute sporting a pouty lip and second, really, what does she have to be pouty about???  But really, what do I have to be pouty about???  Yet, how many times do I catch myself (or does someone else catch me, ahem, my husband) pouting or complaining needlessly?  Too often, way too often. 

God clearly commands us that we ought not complain -

"Do everything without complaining or arguing."  Philippians 2:14

Ouch!  I'm so guilty of this ... praying that I can refocus my complaints into praises of gratitude for the abundance of blessings that we have been given.

Bittersweet

Two years ago today we sat in a dimly lit ultrasound room and heard three words that have forever changed us - "incompatible with life."  Today marks the two year anniversary of Owen's diagnosis.  Over the course of the past two years there have been so many occasions, so many things that have caused us to use the descriptor "bittersweet".  Again, as we approach the day, the two year anniversary of Owen's diagnosis, bittersweet is once again the most appropriate descriptor.

Bittersweet:  pleasure alloyed with pain (Merriam-Webster)

This accurately describes many of the feelings we have had over the past two years.  Some feelings definitely are either bitter and painful or clearly sweet and pleasurable.  For example, hearing the words "incompatible with life" burned, it was beyond painful.  But seeing Owen full of life, via ultrasound, at 19 weeks and again at 33 weeks was so, so sweet. 

There are some things which, depending on the day, can cause these emotions to blur.  For example, seeing toddlers the same age that Owen would be (20 months) and wondering if Owen would be at a similar development stage, imagining what his giggle would have sounded like ... would he be babbling?  How big would he be?  Would he have Jack's coarse, brown hair or Samuel's out of control blonde hair?  These ponderings bring us pleasure, but they also burn at times as we question "why Owen?"  But then we are often brought to our knees reminded "why not Owen?"  What we do know is that God is faithful and we have been reminded time and time again, that although we may not understand, God does not make mistakes.

We have grown these past two years.  We have developed an increased trust in God despite not completely understanding God's plan in losing Owen. 

Although our hearts still ache over the loss of Owen, we know that our God is sovereign, we know that we have hope, and we know that losing Owen has also brought us many amazing blessings.

We love you sweet baby Owen!

Side profile of Owen, full of life, sucking on his hand at 33 weeks, via 3D ultrasound.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."  Psalm 139: 13-16

One Month

"Every good and perfect gift is from above."  James 1:17

China Girl

Some have asked, and we are suspecting that others are wondering but are not sure how to ask - now that Lydia is here, does that alter our plans to adopt a little girl from China?  Without hesitation, our plan to expand our family with the addition of "China girl" has absolutely not changed, this is something that God has placed on our hearts.

We are still in the "waiting" phase of the adoption process.  The current wait time for a healthy little girl under the age of two is 44 months and increasing.  We are hoping that the wait time will actually start decreasing once the China Center of Adoption Affairs gets to the applications logged in starting in mid-2007.  This is when the requirements for China adoption changed (became more strict) and it is suspected that the number of applications is lower than in previous years.  The following are the things that impact the wait time: 

• the number of infants/children that will be available for adoption and paper ready
• the number of domestic adoptions that will occur within China
• the number of families from around the world who have login dates
• the number of families who will withdraw from the China adoption process due to the increased wait time
• the number of families who will adopt through the Waiting Children program and will no longer have their dossier waiting in the non-special needs line
• the number of families who will switch programs during their process and no longer adopt from China

Before we found out we were expecting, we were in the China Waiting Child program as well.  This is the program to adopt a child with special needs.  While we are waiting on a "healthy" referral, we also have the option to review referrals for children with special needs.  The special needs range from emotional to physical, minor to major.  We could not continue in this program while expecting another child, but we can re-enter into this program, to review waiting child referrals, anytime after Liddybug is 6 months old.  

This year we will also need to update our home study (to include Lydia) and we will need to update our fingerprints (you know, just in case our ones from last year changed - ha ha - there are a "few" things about this process that it's best to just accept and not question).  

While we still affectionately refer to our daughter as China Girl, we are thinking that China Girl will be Sophia Jane, but this will be confirmed once we meet her. 

So, here we are, waiting on God's perfect timing to further expand our family.