Update and Life!!!

Hello All!!

It has been quite awhile since I have posted!!!  Life has been crazy lately!  Going back to work has taken up a lot of my time LOL!!  As of right now, in reference to our adoption... I'm confident we are at least number......

But, there is a chance we are more than that, for just over the past week we know referrals were made!!  Sally, our representative is hopeful to have a referral to us before Christmas!  I'm hoping this happens as well!!  It is so weird to think that our second child is alive somewhere, and we don't even have a picture of their face yet!  Wild, I know LOL!!  It has been an anxious couple of months though, waiting to hear news!!  I will fill you in once I know something more!!!

Onto other things, Alexa is almost 2 and a half, and is a ball of FUN!!  Although she isn't interested in potty training yet, she is such a bright little girl.  She is talking in complete sentences now, and is in LOVE with Toy Story 3.  She knows all of her colors, can count to 12, and knows some of her shapes!  We like to 'play learn' as I call it!!!  My life wouldn't be complete without her!  NO matter what is happening in my life, having her and her daddy around ALWAYS brightens my day!!

Tomorrow, October 8th, is Brandon and I's 7th anniversary!  I cannot believe it has been 7 years!!!  The day we got married was ONE of the happiest days of my lives.  We had so many hopes and dreams, and they are all coming true now!  We have one beautiful little girl, and are awaiting our second child.  WE have a home we love, filled with laughter and love, and a wonderful family with great friends.  Who could want more?!  I am so happy!!!  God has truly blessed us!!!!  

Welp, that is all for now!!  I'll update later!!!

Love to All!!!!!!!!!!!!

NEW ADOPTION UPDATE

Well, we didn't move up THAT much...but there are 4-5 new referrals coming through very SOON!  That brings hope!!  Sally, our adoption consultant predicts about 4 months for us (so around Thanksgiving time)!  Here's to hoping :)

MOVING NUMBERS...............

The start of the month is always an exciting time...for until we get a referral we get updated on numbers!  This month was a little bit slower than May, but we still are making moves in the right direction!!! We are currently number

There is no telling when we will get a referral call...for some people are asking for different things (age, sex,etc) than we are..... So it could be as quickly as a month to as long as a few months from now!  BUT, I have things to keep me busy while we await our referral.  Currently it is BABY NAMES!  We are throwing out some we like, but are pretty sure on our names!  AS of today we are sold on Gia for a girl (Gabriel has always been our favorite boys name - that will never change LOL)!.

Keep the prayers coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Number......................

Our countdown continues!  YIPPEE!  We are now number 18 on the wait list.  Pray that the referrals keep coming the way they have been!

WOO

Alexa Turns Two – The Story of Her Life !!!!!!!!!

Brandon and I were thinking the other day.  We decided we wanted to retell the life story of Alexa.  It is and will always be etched into our memory, but as we all know, overtime small details can be forgotten.  Therefore, we will take this time to retell our story of Alexa so that someday when she wants details, she will always have them.  Note, this is quite long, but worth the read J

MY PREGNANCY:

 My entire pregnancy was extremely scary, for years prior I was told that I could lose a baby in my last trimester.  As you can imagine, that put a huge scare on us.  Especially considering that after 16 weeks I couldn’t walk well!  The fear of that coming true scared us every day of my pregnancy.  However, we were still able to enjoy ALL of the wonderful kicks and that exciting 20 week ultrasound, when we found out our little baby was a girl!

Brandon and I prayed every day, and every night for our baby girl to be born healthy!  Not many people know but I put holy water on my belly EVERY NIGHT and said a special prayer to God.  Every day, our little Alexa grew, and grew!  Towards the end of the pregnancy, I was on a leave from work.  My blood pressure started to rise.  I was told that I would probably have to be induced.  I kinda laid low for a week or two. Then came a Wednesday night, the 26^th of May to be exact.  We went to the hospital thinking Alexa might be on her way.  I remember when the midwife showed us a concerned face.  I remember her not believing my doctors on the position of the baby.  She at one point said, “I would be my life and my career that this baby is breech.”  We both got freaked out saying that it wasn’t possible because I had two doctors in my office tell me otherwise.  The midwife was so sure of herself she decided to do an ultrasound.  Low and behold, they found that Alexa was BREECH!  How was that possible?  The doctors told us two days prior she was head down and ready to go?  SCARY!  Due to the fact I was bordering pre-eclampsic AND she was breech I was told that I would have a c-section the NEXT DAY!   I will never forget it.  It was 11 oclock at night, and I could only thing of two things, 1. I NEED TO EAT FOOD BEFORE MIDNIGHT OR I’M NOT GONNA EAT FOR A DAY, and 2. OMG I AM GONNA MEET MY BABY, THE BABY I PRAYED SO HARD FOR.   We ate pizza and I drank about 10 glasses of water, in an hour, hahaha!

I didn’t sleep a WINK that night.  I was filled with emotion.  I was petrified to have a c-section, SUPER excited that I actually made it to delivery day and would meet my precious baby girl, happy and scared (for the unknown).  I kept Brandon up most of the night, either tossing and turning in my chair (for I hadn’t been able to sleep in bed for months) or by getting up to go to the bathroom (didn’t I say I drank like 10 glasses of water hahaha)!  FINALLY morning arrived! I got called from Oakwood saying to come early, for they had a cancellation.  My mouth was so dry from nerves, but we got our stuff together and left for the hospital!

ALEXA’S BIRTH!!!

PREP took FOREVER! I remember at one point the nurse making me read a 10 page document and signing it…as I read it I got spooked out… Brandon actually took the form, turned to the last page, made me sign it, and handed it back!  HA!  My mom and dad, and Brandons dad were present!   I remember being so excited to have them there!  Once they made them leave the room, I knew it was time!

When we finally entered the surgery room, I remember it being ICE cold!  They removed Brandon for a while, to give me my spinal.  I remember being so nervous, and wanting Alexa to be ok!  At one point my doctor almost forgot to go get Brandon!  She said, ‘We’re ready, let’s begin.”  I was like, “Umm no, where’s my husband.”  LOL!  They brought Brandon in, who did everything in his power to encourage me.  But I knew he was scared to!!  When the doctor started I remember repeating, over and over again, “Is she ok, is she ok, is she ok?”  The doctor kept telling me things would be fine!  The doctor even tried to crack me up, and distract me by talking about America Idol LOL!  Then at one point I got nervous, for the doctor kept repeating to the assistant “We HAVE to get her out..”  They pushed so hard on my rib cage I thought they were gonna break HAHA!  I remember having tears in my eyes, and being so scared!  THEN CAME THE BEST MOMENT IN OUR ENTIRE LIFE!  Dr. Robinson said: “Hi beauty, welcome to the world.”  Within a minute we heard her beautiful cry! Both Brandon and I got very emotional, it was a beautiful thing!  I remember telling Brandon, “Go, go to Alexa, see if she’s ok.”  He left me and told me “She’s beautiful…she’s got a lot of hair.”  Then the nurse brought her over to me.  I got to kiss her beautiful face!  FINALLY, my angel was here…and everything was fine!  PRAISE GOD!

                                       

 (BTW, we owe that midwife SO much, for if it wasn’t for her Alexa and I might not have made it.  Thankfully we were able to thank her personally, when she visited the baby after she was born)!

After she was born, I had a lot of complications (eclampsia came, heart problems, autoimmune issues etc that lead to the conclusion that Alexa would be our only biological child).  That was OK, for she was a MIRACLE in and of itself!

ALEXA TURNED ONE!

 Every moment of her life from the second she was born is remembered….every piece.  We remember the first time she smiled at us, her first laugh, the first time she held a toy, the first time she lifted her head, the first time she stood up, the first time she crawled, then how she walked.  When Alexa turned one, she was full of life and SO MUCH FUN!  She started walking at 9 months old, and would say SEVERAL words.  Her favorite words were: mama, dada, ball, hi, milo, bye, oh ho, no, and juice!  When Alexa was one she thought Santa was pretty cool, but the Easter bunny was scary LOL!  She loved her cats, and loved Mickey Mouse.  She LOVED her grandparents (and still does) and her cousins. 

Alexa is TWO!

 Fast forward another year…Alexa is now a beautiful, smart little girl.  She knows so many words (to many to count), and says phrases and short sentences. She will say things like “Momma eat dinner too”, or “Hi dada, where Milo?”  She can count to four.  She knows the colors: blue, yellow, red and white (most of the time)! She loves animals, balls, her cats, toys, Mickey mouse, Imagination movers, Berenstein Bears, her grandparents, Aunt Carrie, her Uncle Jesse (Justin haha) her cousins and SO MUCH MORE!  She knows how to turn on and off the tv.  She knows how to yield a pretend sword.  She knows how to play the ipad.  She knows how to turn the radio on and off.  She loves starfall.  She sleeps in a toddler bed. She likes to cuddle with us, dance (this kid has quite the moves) and sing!  She is a tomboy with a little bit of girliness to her.  She loves to be outside and play basketball, baseball or soccer…yet she also loves to get all frilly and dressed up.  She is a dare devil and will climb like no other, and go down big slides without being scared!  At two her favorite foods are mashed potatoes, raspberries, chicken and peas.  Her favorite toys are balls, books, playdough, purses, dolls and bubbles. She is our pride and joy.  She is everything we have always wanted in life.  She brings us such happiness!  We cannot wait to watch her continue to grow!~

Happy birthday to our beautiful daughter!  Mommy and Daddy love you!!!!

(Thanks for reading our story and recalling one of the best times in our lives)!

Being a Mother!

I thank God every day for him allowing me to be a mother!  Having my daughter Alexa has been the best thing that ever happened to me!!  She has taught me the true meaning of love, sacrafice, giving, kindness....the list goes on and on! I wake up every morning to see her shining face, and go to bed every night looking at her precious face!!  Lots of people know that I have had some rough patches in my life...some times when I was really scared or really blue....but having my daughter has taken away all of those moments and made me realize just how great God is!!

On this mothers day I also think of my soon to be child....one that God is watching over!  I pray for that baby, and her birth mother (who is having to make the toughest choice in her entire life).  No mother should have to face the daunting fact of: give up my baby, or watch my baby die!  I hope that that mother knows that someone  out there (ME and Brandon) are willing to give her child the life she cannot!!

Next year at this time, our family will be complete!!!!!  Brandon, me, Alexa and baby!!!!!!

THE WAIT LIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's OFFICIAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On my sisters birthday, May 10th, 2012 we were OFFICIALLY put on the wait list for our baby!  WE couldn't be more excited!  It should happen in approximately 6 months (give or take a few months)!

YAY!     We are number .......

The official countdown has begun!!!! :)

PREGNANCY VS ADOPTION!

Different Scenario, Same Feelings!

It is amazing to me just how similar being pregnant and adopting are!!!  I remember back when my sister was pregnant with my niece Jasmine, and she was adopting Isabel, she told me countless times that it was such a similar feeling!  I always wondered if that was true, and I am here to tell you IT IS!  It really is!

When I was pregnant with Alexa, the entire time I prayed, and was scared that something would go wrong.  I was always so worried (for I knew I had medical issues that could cause problems).  During this adoption, I pray constantly and hope and pray that nothing goes wrong!

When I was pregnant I was SO excited!  I thought of what the baby would look like, what she would act like, how I would feel when I first saw her!  During this adoption I wonder the exact same things!  I sit back and try to imagine my life with the baby here!

A baby is a baby...and yes the process might be different (along with less pressure on my body), but the love, excitement and feelings are all the same!!!

Cannot wait to see my baby, and for Alexa to have a sibling :)

FINAL APPROVAL AND SEND OFF!!!!!!!!!!

Brandon dropped off our papers today to get authenticated, and within a week they will be SENT OFF to ETHIOPIA!!!!!!!  SO excited!!!  We should (God Willing) be on the wait list for our second child very soon!!!!

Below is my conversation with Alexa:
me - Alexa, we are going to have another baby.
Alexa - Yes!
Me - Do you want a baby sister or brother?
Alexa - Yes, Baby!

Awwwwwwwwww, I love 2 year olds (well, she's ALMOST 2)!!!  I cannot wait till our baby comes home and Alexa will have a forever friend!!

THE SIGNS!!!!!!!!

Many people ask me ‘why did you guys decide to adopt’ and ‘why did you chose Ethiopia.”  I am here to share my story!  It all started about 9 months ago!!  At this point in my life Brandon and I were in talks of adding another child into our life!  We wanted to give Alexa a sibling!  Knowing how difficult my first pregnancy was and how strongly we felt about adoption in the first place, the decision of WHAT to do came easy – adopt!  However, even though our hearts and souls were telling us to adopt, we still considered getting pregnant again!  Every TIME the talk came up, and we were serious about it, something DRASTIC would happen (major sicknesses) that demonstrated it was NOT what God wanted us to do!  The NEXT day, after making the decision to not get pregnant, guess what came in the mail?  An adoption letter about why to adopt!!!  

This letter lead to our MANY talks about adoption!  WHEW – this was a HUGE topic!  Hundreds of countries, hundreds of agencies = STRESS!!  We decided to ‘sit on it.”  I watched my sister get super excited about adopting from Haiti!  As she proceeded to tell me about her signs, I told her I wasn’t getting any – so I must not be meant to adopt!  She told me “Ask God, listen and wait patiently.”  I laughed at her (literally), but decided to do this!  Slowly, little things started happening – things that in time convinced me to adopt from Ethiopia!  It started with a co-workers fiancé working with adoption agencies, leading to me opening magazines that had articles about people adopting from Ethiopia.  However, we still persued other countries….and as we did we realized we did not qualify for most (signs?!?) .  We were still unsure until the next HUGE sign happened!    I was walking to my car, from my house and noticed a crumbled piece of paper.  When I picked it up, I almost fell over!  It said, “Why you should adopt from Ethiopia.”  This was like God slapping me in the face saying “Kristen, COME ON, I am giving you signs if you would just LISTEN.”  HAHA!

That was the last sign we needed.  We prayed, watched TONS of videos, and decided to jump in without looking back!!  And the coolest thing is that my sister is doing it right along with us!!!!!!  

In less than a year we will be visiting the land of coffee and waterfalls, getting our baby (God willing)!  :)

ALEXA IS IN A BIG GIRL BED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She is NOT even two yet, and she is in a big girl bed!!!!!  We are so proud of her!  She got into a phase where she didn't like her crib anymore and she ALWAYS wanted to be in bed with us!  Considering this isn't the best for her (we loved snuggling though) - we decided to try it out!!  And the first official night was a success!!!  I will post a picture soon!!!!!!!!!!!

I totally want to get one of these!!!  We are THRILLED to announce that we have been approved by the US to adopt a baby!!!  We cannot wait to share our excitement, as we add a beautiful child into our life, and give Alexa a sibling to play with!!!  I think she will be just as excited as we are!!!

Alexa is pretty spiffy here!!