A Rare Moment

When you're a mother and a wife and you work full time, moments alone are rare.  I'm currently enjoying just such a moment.  My husband is teaching the youth tonight at church.  Munchkin and I stayed home for a scheduled visit with his CPS case worker (LOVE her and how hard she's worked for our Munchkin!!).  Munchkin passed out about 30 minutes ago.  When its bedtime for this little guy, he doesn't mess around.  Give him his binkie and his blankie and he's out without a fuss.  We're not really looking forward to phasing out the binkie...  Dear Lord help us all.

So, what am I doing with this precious time I've been given this evening?  I thought I would give you all an update and ask for your prayers on a few things.

I'm 32 weeks pregnant now, almost 33 weeks.  Some women breeze through all of this, and then some of us, myself included, are quite uncomfortable most of the time.  I can't eat a full meal (or I might throw up), I can't eat sushi or have a glass of wine (for obvious reasons), I can't sleep flat (indigestion), I can't sleep on my back (blood flow to the baby), I can't bend over to pick up things (I am likely the most awkward moving person I know at the moment, and you don't realize how often you bend over until you can't), I have a hard time putting on my own socks or clipping my toenails (can't reach them because of this massive belly), I get out of breath walking from one room to another (lung capacity diminishing by the second), holding Munchkin is interesting (my lap is disappearing as well and he's not super gentle, what toddler is), I have to wear dresses now (even maternity jeans at this point are super uncomfortable), I now have lovely kankles...  There are actually much more unpleasant side effects that I won't go into because it could get arguably inappropriate, potentially hilarious, but inappropriate.  

All that said, I'm glad to have this experience.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.  We've had a rough and emotional process with Munchkin, which has been more than worth it.  Now we're having a rough and emotional, though different, process with Jackson, and again, I know it will be more than worth it.  I can't wait to meet him face to face.  I wonder often what he'll look like and who's traits he will have, mine or Jeremy's or a mixture of both.  Its like a real life science experiment!

On the Munchkin front.  Things are still moving in the adoption direction.  I just had a good visit with his CPS case worker and everything seems to be going really well.  Praise God!!!  He's going to let us keep our little man!!!  He's walking confidently now and trying to run and keep up with the big kids.  He says words like "uh oh, wow, ball, whoa, more, bye bye, mama, dada..."  That's all I can remember at the moment.  He's learning to feed himself pretty well.  He knows where his belly button and his nose are and he wants to show you all the time.  Be careful though, if he shows you his belly button, he'll want to see yours too.  Its amazing to watch him grow and see his personality develop.

There's a sad side to this story at the moment though.  Munchkin's biological mom has run away from her foster home.  We don't know exactly where she is or if they're going to be able to find her any time soon.  She has been gone now for 2 1/2 weeks.  I worry about her, she's just a kid.  I hope and pray that she's safe.  If she doesn't re-surface before we finalize the adoption, an open adoption is obviously not going to happen, which makes me very sad.  We've set up a picture sharing site for her, and if we can get an email address for her, we'll still try to share pictures with her.  If you're the praying kind, please pray for her.  I would really like for her to get her life in order and actually become a positive part of Munchkin's life.  That is still my hope and will continue to be.

She carried him inside of her for 9 months, the same way I'm carrying Jackson.  She loves this little guy, even if she doesn't know how to show it in the proper way.  Having this pregnancy experience gives me even more compassion for her.

Ok, I only have about 20-30 minutes left of solitude...  time to enjoy one of my addictions that I'm allowing myself because I'm pregnant... rootbeer float!!

A Year in Review

2014 will always be remembered in our family for sure.  Here are a few notable moments:

-January-

We had a racially charged (from their side, not ours) confrontation with Munchkin's biological family via CPS conference call.  A few of them were not happy in the beginning about the fact that we're very pasty white in complexion.  It made us a little uneasy about future dealings with them, but it turned out not to be a huge problem after all, thank goodness.  http://adoptedbythedavisfamily.blogspot.com/2014/01/up-down-and-round-and-round.html

-February-

We did respite care for a couple of toddler girls...  which made us really re-think our family planning goals.  Wow...  we thought we wanted a sibling group of 2 or 3 dropped on us all at once...  in addition to Munchkin...  God knew better what we could handle of course and closed all doors that could have potentially led to that scenario.
http://adoptedbythedavisfamily.blogspot.com/2014/02/life-happens-perspectives-change.html

Jeremy got his college ring!!

-May-

We were asked to seriously consider taking in Munchkin's mom as a co-placement in our home when it was looking like she was likely to get him back.  Our agency advised against it and CPS came to a point where they agreed with our agency.  In retrospect, the right choice was made, it very likely would not have gone well.  Again, God knew better was was best for Munchkin and what was best for us.
http://adoptedbythedavisfamily.blogspot.com/2014/05/fork-in-road.html

Munchkin took swimming lessons and loved it!!

-June-

I attended the matching picnic for adoptive families and children eligible for adoption...  very awkward.  We didn't end up submitting a home study on any of the kids there, but it sure opened my eyes to the need and has significantly influenced our plans for the somewhat distant future.
http://adoptedbythedavisfamily.blogspot.com/2014/06/awkward-sad-and-inspiring-all-in-one.html

-July-

We found out that we're pregnant!!!  Morning sickness among other first trimester symptoms immediately came into full effect, which is one reason there was a rather large gap between blog posts at this time.  Life is beautiful, right? :)  My inability to function sealed Munchkin's selection of Jeremy as his favorite, which on the plus side I know will be helpful come March.  Poor Jeremy though... he's a trooper and took very good care of both me and Munchkin.

-October-

Munchkin's mom was given a 6 month extension on the case, but in the same day the topic of an open adoption was laid on the table and gears on both sides started shifting.  Her lawyer changing gears was the most significant and future altering piece of the puzzle.
http://adoptedbythedavisfamily.blogspot.com/2014/10/hopeful-anticipation.html

Munchkin had a birthday and took his first steps!!

We welcomed a new pastor and his family to our church.  I'm really looking forward to seeing how God is going to use him to lead our church family and guide us in reaching out to our community.

-November-

Munchkin's mom verbally agreed to an open adoption and we found out that we're having a boy!!!
http://adoptedbythedavisfamily.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-ball-is-rolling.html

We celebrated having Munchkin in our home for a full year.

Jeremy got to go hunting with his dad for the first time, who shot his first dear, and we now have a freezer full enough to last us all year long.

I began sleeping on the couch...  oh indigestion exaggerated by pregnancy, and seasonal allergies, how I loath you.

-December-

Both of Munchkin's parents signed relinquishment papers!!!  CPS and our agency told us it was safe to get excited.  :)
http://adoptedbythedavisfamily.blogspot.com/2014/12/lots-and-lots-of-happy-news.html

Jeremy and I celebrated 3 years of marriage!!

Deep breath...  Here we come 2015!  We'll welcome Jackson into our family in March and hopefully finalize the adoption of Munchkin by May.  Jeremy will graduate in May as well.  We have a lot to look forward to and a lot to be excited about.  We might not get to sleep for much of it, but 2015 should be another memorable year.  God only knows what all lies in store for us and our growing family.