Chapman Journey to a Baby

Feet

2012-02-14T19:35:00.004-05:00

Never thought I'd do a post about feet. But my baby girl does not like her feet covered. We have to donate/return several pairs of footed PJs because my baby girl likes her feet free. Several times we have put her in these types of PJs and she screams until it comes off. We had to go out and buy PJs in which the feet were open. Let me tell you that is very difficult to find. We found some and as we find them for future years we buy them.

When we put her in her bouncer for naps and cover her up she usually kicks the blanket off of her feet. It is the cutest thing. Here are some pictures of the proof:)

Aren't those the cutest feet you've ever seen! Baby girl knows what she wants! Love kissing those little feet!

3 weeks old

2012-02-10T16:44:00.002-05:00

Baby girl is 3 weeks old today. She had a visit to the pediatrician yesterday due to the formula issues and she is up to 9lbs. Our little chunky monkey.

Eating: Faithe is a very good eater. She loves her food. Right now she eats about 3.5 to 4oz of formula every 3-4 hours. Last night she actually skipped a feed...but this morning she ate 5oz in a matter of an hour and a half. The pediatrician changed her back to Enfamil Newborn due to the poop issues we were having on the Prosobee. We are working to find out if it is reflux or over eating. She said that babies appetite is bigger than their stomach so they tend to over eat and spit up what their stomachs can't hold. So we are journaling how much she eats, when she spits up, how much and then we'll follow up in a week or so. They said that will help determine if it reflux.

Sleeping: Faithe is a pretty good sleeper. She still only sleeps at night in her Rock and Play sleeper. Best money ever spent. For naps she'll sleep in her bouncer or in the Pack n play. At night we feed her and change her mostly in the dark. During the day regular noise and lots of light.

Awake Time: She is having more awake time. She likes tummy time and actually I just found out she likes to kind of sit between my legs and lean over the other leg. So cute.

Development: Her neck control is really good. During tummy time she lifts her neck up, looks in all directions, and isn't all over the place. When she is on the shoulder she does have a little uncontrolled movement but not much. It is getting much better.

Stimulation: We noticed when she has too much stimulation that she doesn't sleep very well. Meaning too many visitors or activities in a day she'll have some restless sleep. So we'll be working to control that.

Bath Time: She really likes her baths on the warmer side. I tried to use the duck that tells you if it is too Hot and when I made the water so it wouldn't say hot she screamed. When I make it warmer she sits there calmly and lets me pour water all over her. So I really think as long as we have warm water she'll love her baths. She is still figuring out the lotion massages after bath.

Clothing: She is still in newborn clothes. While she isn't swimming in them anymore, they are starting to fit better. With her weight gain we probably only have about 1-2 weeks left in Newborn clothes. She still hates sleepers with feet. We thought it was just the "onesie" type ones but we put a pair of pants on her the other night with footies and she was not having it. As soon as her feet were free she calmed down. She even kicks her blanket off her feet when in the car seat or in her sleeper. This girl loves her feet free.

My Poor Baby

2012-02-05T14:44:00.002-05:00

Faithe is a happy and content baby usually. Literally she eats, sleeps and poops. Until this weekend.

Part is in the Formula change post below.

Well last night she seemed to do okay. She grunted for about 45min after each feed while falling back to sleep. Then she woke up at about 7ish which was 3hrs after her last feed. She's been awake since. She only slept maybe 30min in the Moby Wrap. Since she's been awake she has cried off and on. We keep feeding her and I fear that is making the problem worse.

Her stool also changed since the formula switch. Today it has become harder and gets stuck to her.

So far we've fed her:

7am- 3.5 oz
10am - 3.5 oz
11am- 2oz
130- 2oz
230- 4oz

I feel like we are feeding her too much and too often but I don't know what else to do. It makes her calm down.

I'm one tired momma!

Formula Change

2012-02-04T19:55:00.002-05:00

When we were in the hospital with Faithe they asked us what formula we wanted. We chose Enfamil Newborn. All was going good and she was eating like a champ. In the hospital they tried to switch her to gentlease after 1 rough night. When we tried that she spit up what she ate and then refused the bottle. So we went back to Newborn.

When we got home, the first night was horrible. She was almost unconsolable. She slept best on my chest or laying in the cradle of my arm. She didn't want to be swaddled. That night Cart went to CVS about 4am to get gripe water and mylecon drops. We added the gripe to her very next bottle and she seemed to do better. We did that for a few days and then at the recommendation of the pediatrician we switched to the mylecon drops. She fed fine, burped, had bowel movements etc. She even gained weight.

Then over the last few days she has had more spit ups, grunting, and fussiness. Then last night she had spit ups, would arch her back, and had trouble sleeping. I actually had to lay her on my chest to get her to sleep and then move her to the Sleeper. It was a rough night.

I should mention at her 2-week checkup I mentioned dry heaves to the doc and he said it's normal, could be reflux but since she was gaining weight and had no projectile spit up she would be fine.

So after last night I put a call into the nurse. She suggested gentlease and I mentioned the hospital incident. So she said we could try Enfamil Prosobee. They left some samples at the front desk and Cart went to pick it up. We started with 2 ounces and she went to sleep after wards. She also drank that entire two ounces with no grunting. After about 30min she was hungry again and we fed her another 2 ounces. She did fine again and went to sleep right after. About 30 min later she was fussy again and took about another ounce and a half. She then slept for her 3hours and drank about 3 1/2 ounces. So far she seems to be doing okay on this new formula.

If she still has issues come Monday the Pediatrician will want to see her to determine if it is reflux. I sure hope this new formula does the trick.

2 Weeks

2012-02-03T14:45:00.003-05:00

Today baby girl is 2weeks old. We had a check up at the doctors office today. She's still healthy and a growing girl.

Weight: 8lbs 3oz
Length: 20.5 inches.

Since her visit on the 23rd she has gained 1lb 1oz and she has grown .5inches since birth.

Eating: Faithe eats about every 3hrs right now and it is usually 3oz. Sometimes between a feed she'll eat an ounce or 2. She was growing this week so the extra feedings were a little unexpected.

Sleeping: Faithe sleeps a lot. At night she sleeps in the Fisher Price Rock N Play sleeper. This thing is the best money I could have spent on her. She goes to bed around 8-9 depending on when that feed happens. She sleeps until 10-11 wakes up feeds and diaper changed then back to bed this cycle repeats until she wakes up at 8-9 in the morning and we get her up and bring her to the daylight. Cart actually researched the day/night sleeping and we decided that for night time sleeping it is dark and quiet with a little white noise(the fan). At night all her feeds happen in the dark and a small light for diaper changes. During the day naps happen in full sun light with whatever noise is happening in the house.

Awake times: She is awake for a few hours a day. Usually after her morning bottle she is awake for about an hour and a half. In the evening hours she is awake about the same time. Other than that she's sleeping.

Schedule:

8-9 am wake up eat, change diaper, get dressed.

9-1030- awake time. face to face with momma or daddy. diaper change in there somewhere.

1030-1100 - sleep

1100-1200 - eat, diaper change

1200-300 - sleep

300-400 eat, diaper change

400-530 awake time, diaper change, face to face with momma or daddy.

530-600 sleep

600-700 eat, diaper change

700-900 awake time, sleep, and some nights bath

900-1100 sleep in sleeper.

Week 1

2012-01-30T11:20:00.002-05:00

I really want to try to document by baby girl weekly and then monthly eventually. I don't want to forget about anything my baby girl does.

This past Friday my baby girl was 1 week old.

Sleeping: The first week we learned she doesn't like to be swaddled. She would only sleep on me, next to me or in her bouncer with two receiving blankets on either side. But she would sleep so we all got a little sleep. For naps she does sleep in her pack n play or bouncer.

Eating: She started eating in the first hours after birth. By Saturday the 21st she was eating 2 ounces about every 3-4hrs. By Friday night the 27th she was eating close to 3 ounces every 3-4 hours. Some days she would eat 2 ounces every 2 hours.

Awake time: She hasn't had much but when she is awake she just stares and stares. It is so precious.

Clothing: She is swimming in newborn clothes. She hates PJs that are footed, she doesn't cry but she doesn't sleep well when she is wearing them. So we had to go buy some that have open feet. Let's just say that was difficult. She doesn't really like head bows. When I put them on her she turns her head from side to side to pop them off.

The story

2012-01-25T16:27:00.004-05:00

I figured I should get this written before I forget. Faithe's birth day story.

On Thursday afternoon Cart picked me up from school with the car packed and we headed down south. It was a long drive and I was tired. When we arrived at our hotel I let Rebecca know we were there and told her we would get to the hospital early and if she wanted to see us she could let the nurse know and we would come see her.

Friday morning we woke up and got ready. While I'm sitting on the potty (yes totally need that detail) Rebecca texts me and asks if we are there yet that she needed to see us. Crap we hadn't even left yet. So I rush and we practically run out the door. We get to the Birth hospital and get through security and head to triage where she is on the monitors. We talked for a few, met the nurses, and then it was time. They told us where to wait and the nurse who would be taking care of Faithe said she would come get us as soon as she could. Well she came and called us over. She had just wheeled Faithe out of the OR. I was looking at her and she just couldn't help herself and let me hold her in the hallway and walk a little bit down the hallway with her(totally against rules). We went up the elevator with her and straight to the nursery with Faithe. We stayed with her while she was under the heat laps and while she got the Vitamin K shot and eye oitment. We were even there for her first bath. Just a few hours after birth I gave her her first feeding of about .5 oz. She was hungry.

We were able to stay in the nursery with her all weekend. The OR nurse who took care of her accidentally gave both of us the bracelets so we walked in and out of the nursery for a few days before they took Cart's bracelet away. Then he had to check in with security everyday. While we were there we would go visit Rebecca in her room every so often. If she wanted to see Faithe she would text me to bring her down. This happened 3 times and we only stayed about 10-15min each time. She came to the nursery once she was able to walk a few times as well. She only held Faithe once and that was on Saturday night after we had gone to the hotel to sleep.

On Sunday morning Rebecca told us that she was ready to go home and had asked to be discharged. So things on Sunday happened quickly and slowly. I knew the agency had appointments at 1 and 2 so signing the papers would have to happen before or after. Rebecca was discharged around 1ish and the cab took her home. At about 3pm the agency went to her house and the papers were signed. The agency came to the hospital and Faithe was discharged by 4pm. While we were waiting for paper signing and such Cart went to the hotel and packed us up. We decided instead of staying over night we would just head home. We were so glad we did. Faithe had a very rough night on Sunday and we didn't get much sleep.

I can say that the nursing staff at the hospital was wonderful! They took good care of our little Faithe when we weren't there and offered advice and coaching as needed. They were a great support to have there while our family was hours away.

Faithe

2012-01-24T20:25:00.003-05:00

Little Miss arrived Friday January 20th at 734 am. She weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 20inches long. She has a head full of hair and is gorgeous. Here are some pics from the first day.

I'm working on getting her birthday story typed up so hopefully in the next few days.

Faithe is Here!

2012-01-21T22:01:00.001-05:00

Little Miss Faithe is here and very healthy!. We have spent the last 2 days with her only leaving to eat and sleep. Otherwise we are with her or visiting Rebecca in her room. More after consents are signed.

Saying Goodbye

2012-01-17T18:27:00.002-05:00

It is so hard to say goodbye to loved ones. When I found out my dad was gone I sobbed and sobbed for the rest of the day. Then I woke up planned his funeral and went back to work.

Saturday the 14th was the service to remember his life. My dad had a wonderful life and touched so many lives. It was truly evident how many lives he touched by the over packed church. My dad was always seeking peace, always searching for more. But he never needed to search because he talked to everyone, and helped so many. During the service I knew my dad was there. I heard him singing and then he really let us know he was there when a cell phone went off. You see my dads phone was ALWAYS going off. Someone was always trying to reach him. Saturday he was saying he was there.

Today we put my dad to rest at the local National Cemetary. He truly deserved a proper military burial for all the service to our country. The active duty Navy Honor guard presented the flag, played taps, and did the gun salute. Then we went to the grave site and I was able to put a scoop of dirt on his cremation box. We watched as the grounds crew finished setting his final resting spot. While we were watching him be interned 4 Navy jets flew over the cemetary. Once again I believe it was dad letting us know he was there. I just thought how fitting it was for those jets to fly over. During dads service he worked on the flight deck of the Aircraft carriers. So he was around jets everyday. So he was there. I was one of the last to leave the cemetary, so I was able to say my goodbyes privately.

My dad is at peace! The coming weeks will be hard as we welcome Rileigh to the family and I'll want to call him. I can't wait to take her to see her grandfather.

Weight Loss

2012-01-15T18:19:00.002-05:00

I haven't been really trying to lose weight in the past few months but really just trying not to gain the 10lbs I lost when I started internship. I was very successful with the holidays to not gain any weight. I've been really good at staying at a certain weight.

Well that all changed when dad passed. I've discovered I'm not an emotional eater but a bored eater. So since I've been staying busy all week keeping my mind occupied on other things I have not eaten out of boredom. So since that is the case I've actually lost about 3lbs. I've been told it is anxiety, depression, and other things. But I've eaten my 3 meals a day and nothing else. I eat till I feel full and I'm done. I'm so tired at the end of the night that I don't sit in front of the TV and eat. I actually go to bed. I'm hoping this trend continues as we bring Faithe home.

I'm in a wedding in June and when I bought my dress I ordered it one size smaller knowing I would lose the weight. I'm on the right path. Soon I'll be taking nightly walks with my baby girl and telling her all about her grandpa on our walks. :) Can't wait to hold her.

Two Days and One Week

2012-01-13T06:41:00.002-05:00

In just two days we will memorialize my dad at his home church. Then 3 days later we will put him to rest at the cemetary.

But one week from today we will be holding our little Faithe.

It truly is going to be an emotional week. One day saddened by the loss of my father the next day excited and blessed with the birth of our daughter.

My Daddy

2012-01-10T06:34:00.002-05:00

This is me and my dad dancing at my wedding. I was looking for pictures last night for the memorial service and found this one.

My dad golfing the morning of my wedding. He LOVED to golf. I can see him in heaven golfing everyday. I love this picture of him because it shows him enjoying what he loved to do.

27 1/2 years ago I was my Dad's birthday present. I have not gone one birthday without spending time with my dad (unless he was out to sea). That I think was our special bond. I would get annoyed that anytime we went out to eat for our birthday he would tell the server that it was our birthday and I was his 27th present. But now I know he was just so proud to share that special day with me.

He is heaven right now looking down on us. I know he passed happy and proud of me. He knew his daughter graduated and he knew that he was going to be a grandpa.

Love you Dad! I miss you so much!

So Sad

2012-01-08T21:10:00.002-05:00

I had started a post this morning to post some of my favorite waiting pictures we had done. While I was working on posting those pictures my step-mother called with some sad tragic news.

At about 230 this morning my dad was driving to his home (they are separated) and he over corrected a turn it seems and flipped his vehicle. He was ejected from the car which is the likely cause of his death.

My father was a wonderful father and would do anything for me. I'm so happy to know that he has gone to a better place and know I will be with him one day. I'm still struggling with some of the information and just not being able to call him. I miss him so much already! I'm glad he passed knowing that he was going to be a grandpa. Love you dad!

2012 Goals

2012-01-02T09:28:00.002-05:00

I'm going to call this goals rather than resolutions...because Goals are usually completed:)

First and foremost goal is to Love on my baby girl all the time!

We have a goal to be more organized with our bills and how we organize them. Currently the ENTIRE year 2011 is sitting on top of the filing cabinet and not filed in it. So we found a new system through pinterest and once I have it up and going I'll do a post about it. I need to find the original link.

From September through December last year we completed the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University. Our goal is to pay off at least half of our debt this year. I'm sure this can be done with a lot of gazelle intensity.

Keep our house clean. So far we are off to a good start. Our house has mostly stayed clean from November till now with just some minor picking up as needed. I can't believe I found the time to do that.

We are also working toward saving money to redo our kitchen. I have a basic idea of a DIY for my kitchen. I'm thinking black or white cabinets adding beadboard to the middle of the cabinets, IKEA stained butcher block counters and tiled wood floors.

Health wise I just want to be healthier. However, I do need to lose some weight as I preordered my dress for Eri's wedding and well I do so 1 size smaller than the size I really needed. So I need to lose a few inches from the hips area.

I am hoping to be more crafty this year. I finally learned how to use my sewing machine just before Christmas (yes the sewing machine Cart got me 2 years ago Christmas). On the list for sewing right now is diaper inserts for the Gdiapers, more burp clothes, and a baby blanket. Of course Faithe's scrapbook!

2011 Rewind

2011-12-31T09:38:00.002-05:00

With 2012 about to be a fantastic year I wanted to rewind and review 2011.

We had a good year and it started in January with our homestudy visits. We cleaned our house like crazy and had good visits.
February was pretty uneventful except we found out we were approved for adoption.

March was our 5yr wedding anniversary. We celebrated by going to the Melting Pot and the to movie theater where we had our first date. Unfortunately by the time we got to dinner I was so sick. Turns out I got strep throat from the little kiddos I was teaching. I spent the rest of the weekend in bed.

At the end of April through June Cart was away for work for CAT duty. I had to fend for myself and it really showed me how much Cart does for our home. During those months I was super busy with school. At the end of May I went on a cruise with mom for my 30th. When Cart got home he threw me a surprise party.

July was the month of frustration with our agency. We decided to put our profile out with another agency.

August I started my final semester in college with my internship. I was definitely busy from August to December.

In October we were matched with Rebecca and were excited to be expecting our first child.

In November we were super busy every weekend. We also found out on the 8th that we were expecting a baby GIRL! I was thrilled. We also took a drive down to meet Rebecca and Ben. It was a great visit.

December was super busy for us and we had a great Christmas. We spent the month preparing the nursery for our baby girl. I also graduated from college and was Hired to start a new job in January.

While we had a wonderful 2011, we are looking forward to the amazing year 2012 is going to be!

NST appt today

2011-12-30T13:48:00.003-05:00

Rebecca has a 3hr NST monitoring appt today at 3pm. The doctor is doing this because Faithe is measuring big (19.5 inches and 5.5lbs at 34.6wks). After her cramping and slight leaking she didn't go to the hospital or the doctors to make sure everything is okay. I hope at her appointment today reveals that the baby is okay.

Now we just wait to hear how this appointment goes. I keep wondering if at this appointment they decide to do the c-section. I'm ready to meet baby girl, but want her to be healthy.

Could be any day

2011-12-28T16:48:00.002-05:00

Our anxiety level rose today after hearing from both Rebecca and the agency. Rebecca has been having pain all day (went down some when she took a bath). She is waiting to see if the pain stays or gets worse before she goes to the hospital. If and when she goes to the hospital, if she is admitted we'll be heading down there.

Right now we are in a state of standstill. It is nerve racking and just hard. I think baby girl might be here this week. I'll be updating everyday with the happenings. And when it is time I'll definitely be posting. Please keep us all in your prayers as we wait the arrival of our baby girl!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T09:35:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas to all of you! This Christmas we are very grateful and blessed! And today is the birthday of the one who made it all possible. Happy Birthday Jesus! We thank you for all of the blessings you have bestowed upon us.

Merry Christmas!

Faithe Update

2011-12-21T20:12:00.002-05:00

Looks like baby girl will be here much earlier than expected. Her due date is officially the 27th of January. However, they were planning on doing her c-section a week prior around the 20th of January.

Rebecca went to the doctor today and Faithe weighs approximately 5lbs 8oz and is about 19 1/2 inches long. She is only 34 1/2 weeks. Faithe is already very low. Rebecca will start getting monitored on the 30th for 3hrs and then her next appt is on Jan 3rd. The doctor told her that Faithe could come either by the end of December or beginning of January.

We are a bit shocked we could have her in the next few weeks instead of another 4wks togo.

Waiting

2011-12-20T23:05:00.002-05:00

My friend Jenn who is an amazing and talented photographer came over this weekend to take pictures of our nursery and of us "waiting". I've always admired maternity photos and that is one thing that saddens me about not being pregnant. So I wanted pictures of us waiting and she was more than happy to do it for us. This picture is a sneak peek of one she took.

5 wks and Fear

2011-12-19T11:20:00.002-05:00

I've been meaning to get up pictures from our first 2 baby showers. But I need to get them off the camera first. Ha! So it may be a while on those.

We have about 5wks until Faithe is suppose to be here. I'm so excited and nervous at the same time. But I'm also very fearful...more on that in a bit. With 5 wks left to go we have 2 more showers but mostly have everything we need. Except for the bath tub thingy, the rest of our gdiapers, more bottles, our first aide kit thingy, no thermometer, and I'm sure there are other things. However, her room is set up. We are waiting on her name to be made for above the crib and some more shelves to go up and her nursery will be all complete.

Now fear. With 5 wks left to go I'm fearful. I'm afraid that we'll go down for the birth and be with Faithe in the nursery and then Rebecca won't sign. Yes there is always the possibility that she wouldn't sign. That is something I truly try not to think about and put my faith in God that he's got this under control. Then I think of Rebecca's circumstances and think there is no way she wouldn't sign. Fear is a normal feeling in the adoption world. You are not certain that you will walk away from the hospital with your baby. She technically won't be "ours" until Rebecca signs. And then she won't be officially ours until finalization with the courts. So Fear, I'm fearful and hopeful all in the same breath. I just pray for Rebecca as she enters these last weeks with a baby growing in side her that she has chosen a life for. I pray that God gives her peace with her decision and lays a healing hand on her heart as I know her heart will be breaking as she signs the papers. Please pray for all of us in these final weeks.

In other exciting news my friend Jenn from Jenn Guthrie Photography came over yesterday and did a photoshoot of us "waiting" and our nursery. She is a truly amazing photographer and I'm so glad she is my friend. She will also be shooting Faithe's newborn pictures.

College Graduate!

2011-12-11T18:16:00.002-05:00

It's almost official! I'm almost a college graduate. Yesterday I turned in my final teaching portfolio that will go to the state and the college will keep on file. The end of the semester officially ends On Dec 16th so that is my official graduation date. But with the last piece being done I feel like I'm officially done!

I have graduate college! It only took me 13yrs after graduating high school. Better late than never. I will walk in graduation as well but that won't take place until next May. My college only does 1 graduation per year. So in May. I'll have my baby girl there watching her momma walk with pride across the stage!

Overwhelming post Update

2011-11-26T16:33:00.003-05:00

Remember the post talking about how overwhelmed I am. I should say we but Cart always says things will work out. They tend to always work out. Since it has been a few weeks I thought I would post about how things are going. This is the original list and I'll put in red what has transpired.

School to do:

•Finish portfolio.Um...still working on this...Must be done by Dec 12

•Finish all assignments (mainly journal) Still working on this too...must be done by Dec 12

•Study for and take another certification exam Done times 3.

Job to do:

•Pass extra certification exam to qualify for job. Totally done and passed. Praise the Lord!

•Sub at current school so that I can keep my face seen for new job Hopefully I'll find out if I'm getting a long term sub job (basically a full time teacher without benefits) for the rest of the school year sometime in Dec. I keep praying that I get this job.

•Pick up shifts at restaurant to make extra money If I get above said job then this won't need to happen. However I'll be working at the restaurant over Christmas break.

Baby to do:

•3 baby showers: Dec 3rd, Dec 4th or 11th, Jan 7th Yes Dec 3rd, Dec 11th and Jan 7th still happening.

•Wash all baby clothes received. I've decided that I'll wash her clothes the week before she wears them. I think this will help if she doesn't wear some clothes, then I can resell as new with tags. We'll see what happens.

•Wash all diapers received. This will still need to happen. There is a special wash process to all g-diapers before using.

•Pack bag for baby, for trip south for birth I've started my mental list of what we will need. I'm going to start writing it down.

•Buy baskets for babies room Still need to do this but decided to wait until after showers in December

•Buy curtain rod and hang curtains Bought the curtain rod and Cart will hang it and the curtains tomorrow.

Random House Stuff:

•Clean and organize the scrap room (gotta have that ready for all the pictures I'll be taking) Done and done. I'm so glad this room no longer looks like a bomb went off in it.

•Paint the Kitchen buying the paint tomorrow and Cart will start painting this week.

•Clean and organize our bedroom and make room for pack n play This will be happening this weekend.

Overall we don't have much to do. I'm just glad we are getting the house in order. The last room to really tackle is our bedroom. I'm so excited to get the kitchen painted as well. Right now the most important thing that I need to get done is my school work. Feels good to have accomplished some things on our list and to have a plan for the rest.

Thanksgiving Thankfuls

2011-11-24T09:31:00.003-05:00

I've seen lots of people on facebook do x number of days of thankful. I thought about doing that but to me I'm equally thankful for things in my life. I have a lot to be thankful for this year. So here is my list one bullet point at a time :)

I am thankful for my husband, who over the last few years has kept things going in our house while I've been busy with school and working.
I am thankful for my in-laws who are there anytime we need them.
I am thankful for my mom who talks about nothing important when I need to.
I am thankful for my dad who supplies me computers when I'm desperate.
I am thankful that I have passed all 3 of my certification exams!
I am thankful for Rebecca and Ben who chose life for Faithe.
I am thankful for Rebecca and Ben for choosing us to raise and love Faithe forever.
I am thankful that I have a high possibility for a job in January.

Sometimes I think we have too many blessings this year but it has just been God's plan all along!

We wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving!

We Met Rebecca and Ben

2011-11-21T14:05:00.001-05:00

We went this weekend to Naples to meet Rebecca and Ben and their family. We had a wonderful visit at the zoo on Saturday and then we went to dinner that night.

We talked a lot about the future and what the openness of our relationship will be. We talked about some things that we'll just have to see how things are going when it comes up. We talked about where Faithe will be going to school etc. Rebecca's two children are adorable and her 2yr old is so smart. Rebecca has such a wonderful heart and truly wants what is best for Faithe and her two kids. She is wonderful and I can't wait to see where the relationship we will have goes over the years. We also received an ultrasound photo from the gender scan and it looks like Faithe will have chubby cheeks. Can't wait until she is in my arms.

Here I am with the whole family.

Here I am with Rebecca and her oldest child.

We look forward to seeing them in January!

Cloth Diapers

2011-11-14T17:05:00.003-05:00

Yes we are doing cloth Diapers. There are a few reasons why we are doing cloth. #1 reason is money, diapering a baby is expensive. Then to think of that cost after you spend $20,000+ on the adoption. The pocket book would take a big hit. So we are doing cloth. One expense we can't avoid is formula, because I can't breast feed. The #2 reason we are doing cloth diapers is because that is how I learned to diaper a baby. My younger brother was cloth diapered and I learned how to change diapers when he was a baby. Now cloth diapering has come a long way since then. You no longer have to use pins and can now use velcro.

The other reason that is very minor is that the cloth diapers we found are so cute. LOL.... which diapers are we using? gdia.pers. I love that you can reuse the pants without having to wash after each use. The liners come out and if you need to you can use disposable inserts which are totally biodegradable.

When Rileigh goes to Grandma and Grandpa's during the day they will use the disposable inserts and might use the cloth if they are comfortable with that.

Overwhelmed

2011-11-11T19:29:00.002-05:00

Tonight a realized how much we have to do before baby which will be here in 10-11wks (I say that time frame because baby is coming c-section). Thinking about all the things we need to do is overwhelming. At this time it looks as if we only have 2 free weekends between now and the time baby comes. Here is the overwhelming list of which I know if I ask for help, help will arrive. :)

School to do:

Finish portfolio.

Finish all assignments (mainly journal)

Study for and take another certification exam

Job to do:

Pass extra certification exam to qualify for job.

Sub at current school so that I can keep my face seen for new job

Pick up shifts at restaurant to make extra money

Baby to do:

3 baby showers: Dec 3rd, Dec 4th or 11th, Jan 7th

Wash all baby clothes received.

Wash all diapers received.

Pack bag for baby, for trip south for birth

Buy baskets for babies room

Buy curtain rod and hang curtains

Random House Stuff:

Clean and organize the scrap room (gotta have that ready for all the pictures I'll be taking)

Paint the Kitchen

Clean and organize our bedroom and make room for pack n play

Now you ask what am I doing every weekend between now and baby's birth:

This weekend I have a baby shower I'm hosting for my friend, a jewelry party(Work), church and a lunch with the adoptive momma support group I started

Next weekend we are going down to Naples to meet Rebecca

The following weekend is the free weekend.

Then Baby shower #1 and possibly #2

The following weekend is another free weekend, however the extended family Christmas will probably be that weekend.

That brings us to De 16 and that weekend is a jewelry party (work)

Christmas weekend

New Years weekend

Jan 7th - Baby shower

Jan 14th is open At this point though the baby could come any time.

So it will be busy and crazy between now and baby. But I don't know how to do anything easy. I am always on the go and we always have something planned. We'll get it done and make it through.

and The Rest of the Ultrasound

2011-11-09T06:39:00.002-05:00

In all the excitement of finding out we are having a little girl and forgot to post her stats. Rebecca is 28wks and at the ultrasound yesterday Rileigh weighed approx 2lbs 11oz and was about 14inches long. The doc said she is healthy! We are totally excited and can't wait till she is here.

In other news we've had so many people tell us they have clothes for us and want to give us showers. As of right now we will have 3 baby showers.

IT'S A.....

2011-11-08T16:03:00.001-05:00

GIRL! Rileigh Ann will be here in January!

Just 2 days

2011-11-07T06:03:00.002-05:00

We have just 2 days until we find out boy or girl. I say 2 days because I have to make it through 2 full days of school before we find out. Her appointment is tomorrow at 230-300, so I should hopefully find out afterwards.

So excited to finall give this baby a name, instead of always saying the baby.

And Congrats to my friend J who helped us get matched with Rebecca. J was recently matched with a birthmom in her state. I'm so excited for them and it just shows God knows exactly what he is doing. Congrats J!

Meeting Rebecca

2011-11-02T16:59:00.002-04:00

We are so excited that we will be meeting Rebecca and her family on November 19th! We'll be going to the zoo to meet her so her children will have something fun to do while we meet. I love texting with her during this time because we are building a good relationship that I really hope continues after the baby arrives.

And in just 6days we'll be finding out what the sex is!

It's Unofficially Official.....I PASSED!

2011-10-31T16:19:00.003-04:00

I have spent the last 2 years finishing my bachelors degree in Early Childhood Education. I have spent the last 3 months interning in a 1st grade classroom. I have made all A's except the 1 B that I did make.

The culmination of all this hard work was to take the State certification exams. The first exam I had to take was the Professional Educators Test (affectionately called PET). I took this exam a week ago on a Saturday. They give you your unofficial score report and it said PASS. While I don't know my official score at this point...I don't care because it said I PASSED!

This past Saturday I took the PK-3 exam. This exam the subject area exam. It was all about grades PK through 3rd. They once again give you your unofficial score report and it said PASS. So once again I PASSED!

Once I graduate I'll be able to apply to the state for my Teaching Certificate. All I have to do is finish internship and my portfolio. Once that is done I send my transcripts to the state and officially apply.

The next major hurdle after that will be to get a JOB!

I PASSED I PASSED I PASSED!!!!! WOOHOOO! YIPPY!

So Much to do

2011-10-25T11:55:00.002-04:00

and only 2 1/2 months to do it.

As I sit here sick today, I keep thinking about all the things we have to do before baby arrives and all the things we already have planned. When I think about it in weekend increments I keep thinking we don't have enough time.

For my mental sanity here is what is already planned for the comming months:

This weekend is my final certification exam, as well as Florida/Georgia weekend. Plus our house really needs to be cleaned.

The following weekend is homecoming in Gainesville...so to the Florida/Vanderbilt game.

After that weekend I am throwing my friend a baby shower. Her baby is due the end of December (I'm so excited because our babies will be close in age). I also have a jewelry show planned for that weekend.

The following weekend we are hoping to go meet Rebecca and her kiddos.

Then it is Thanksgiving weekend (and since it is my week off from school I'll be working at the restaurant).

That brings us to the first weekend in December. We are thinking that will be baby shower weekend.

The next two weekends are pretty much open and we usually do the extended family Christmas gathering. So it will most likely be one of those weekends. I also have a jewelry party scheduled for then as well.

Then is Christmas and following New Years.

Then we are in January and baby could come any time but scheduled for c-section a week before due date.

Mixed in with all that I have to continue to write lesson plans, finish my portfolio and put my schooling to rest on Dec 16th. Not to mention keep the house clean and finish the nursery.

Good news is the next 3 months will fly by. :)

Here is the news Finally

2011-10-22T22:07:00.003-04:00

Thank you for waiting for a week for this news. But it is well worth the wait.

Here is the quick version. We have been MATCHED! Baby is coming via scheduled csection on January 21st.

Here is the detailed version:

On Wednesday October 12th I messaged my friend J who had mentioned she was helping a birthmom (whom she was previously matched) find another adoptive family. At first I wasn't going to message her but I did and said/asked if we could be possible candidates. I knew that J and G are very similar to Cart and I so it seemed right. We talked that night, she told me about the birthmom, Rebecca and other pertinent details. Cart and I discussed it and I called J back and said we were interested.

Thursday October 13th J contacted the agency and talked with Rebecca about us. That afternoon after school I talked with the agency and they printed information off of our website to present to Rebecca.

Friday October 14 I hear from J that Rebecca chose us. I then speak with agency who said they heard from J that Rebecca chose us as well. However, at that point the agency had not spoken with Rebecca herself. That night texting with J, she tells me Rebecca has definitely chosen us.

Saturday and Sunday October 14th and 15th I text off and on with Rebecca. She is happy we will be parents!

Monday October 16th after school I call agency to let them know we mailed our old adoption book. At this point agency tells us that Rebecca wanted to see more profiles. My heart was crushed. Talking with J there was a lot of confusion and mixed information.

Tuesday October 17th I talk to agency again after school. Still no information. Still in a bit of panic. Still assured by J that Rebecca has chosen us and there is a mix up at the agency.

Wednesday October 18th I talk to the agency after school and hear that she herself talked with Rebecca and she definite chose us and we were officially matched. YAY! on and off texting with Rebecca resumes. :)

Thursday October 19th we go shopping for baby at babies r us.

Friday October 20th I spend the day off with my MIL, Peg, and Vic at the Southern Womens show. MIL and I don't speak all day about the match. AAHHHH! I even lie to Vic when she asks how the adoption is going and if we've heard anything yet.

Saturday October 21st I take my Professional Educators Test and PASS! What a relief. We then go to Zac's football game and hang again with the family. I keep myself from telling Michele, although I almost slip.

Today Sunday October 22nd we tell the rest of our extended family at a created "Souper" Sunday. We handed Peg a gift that is "perfect for her classroom" but is really a picture frame with the following inside:

A baby will make love stronger, days shorter,
nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier
clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and
the future worth living for.
Baby Chapman
January 21, 2012

The family was excited for us. We can't wait until we find out the sex on November 8th!

Thank you for being patient and if you saw a post similar that wasn't suppose to be posted it was user error :)

News Update

2011-10-19T06:24:00.001-04:00

I still can't reveal the news yet. Please keep praying. We are hoping things settle and we'll be able to reveal our news soon.

News

2011-10-15T16:28:00.001-04:00

There will be an update in the coming week. :)

GL.EE and P.S.A.

2011-10-11T21:51:00.004-04:00

I have to admit I've never ever watched the show Gl.ee. But that doesn't mean there aren't a gazillion teens aren't watching it either. The current and prevalent story line is that one of the characters is trying to get her baby back that she placed for adoption. This is a huge myth when it comes to adoption. There are other myths within the story line.

Another blogger started a pet.iti,on asking producers of Gl.ee to create a P.S.A to direct people to the truths abou adoption and where they can get more infomation on adoption. Please sign this pet.it.ion.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2011-10-01T21:59:00.003-04:00

The story of my life. September has completely flown by and now we are in October! Internship has completely consumed my brain and feel like I'm constantly working on something for school. I LOVE what I'm doing and can't wait to have my own classroom, with my own routines and set up. Hopefully I'll get offered a job next school year at the school I am at.

In other news:

We really like the new church we are going to. I joined one of the LifeGroups that meets every Tuesday around the corner. And the crazy part is that all the ladies are teachers either retired, teaching for several years or just starting. It's amazing because they totally understand why I look like I'm about to fall over when I arrive. :)

The Dave Ramsey class is going great. We are really learning a lot. And I'm ashamed to admit this but I'll be learning how to really balance the check book this week. I was never taught growing up as money wasn't "really" discussed. And with technology everything is online anyway. But we are going back to the basics.

In adoption news, because that is really why you are here, there isn't much to report. We finally finished the babies dresser and I really need to get pictures uploaded and posted on here. Cart did a great job on the refinish.

Life is super busy and I love what I'm doing. We wait patiently on the Lord as he puts his plan into place for us.

Pain of Loss

2011-09-18T14:04:00.003-04:00

Today at church was the 2nd part of the Pain.killer series called Pain of Loss. I looked forward to today's message because Cart and I have experienced loss in our lives. Many outside the infertility community won't understand this loss. However, it is very real to us.

Before the message there was a "drama" in which a couple acted out losing their home and how it made them feel. It touched on the man's pride being hurt.

The ultimate message today really stuck with us. We have experience the Loss of Fertility and the Loss of a child. One thing pastor said was that Grieving was necessary for your mental health.

One thing he said was that when someone is grieving many don't know what to say. He said you don't have to say anything. You just have to be there to listen and give a hug when needed. Just be there. He shared a verse with us Romans 12:15 "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." We are compelled to mourn with other's in their times of loss.

He said that when you suffer a Loss there are 3 ways to look at it.
1. Sometimes God is going to restore your loss. It doesn't mean he will bring that particular thing back. But he is going to work supernaturally to bring you to a better place.
2. Sometimes God will give you a new direction through your loss.
3. Sometimes you will learn to trust a Sovereign God. Romans 11:33-36 "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who had known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God that God should repay him? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen" Praising God who wisdom and knowledge bring about his plan for us.

After our losses we have grieved and mourned the loss. We could have let those losses destroy us and our marriage. We put our faith inGod and trusted in him. God could still restore our fertility, he has redirected us as we pursue adoption. Most of all we are trusting in him and his wisdom and knowledge.

We are both glad to have found a church where we feel the message and take it with us.

Financial Peace University

2011-09-14T21:34:00.003-04:00

Tonight Cart and I attended our first class of Financial Peace University with Dave Ramsey. We are so excited to get our financial affairs in order. Tonight was all about Super Saving. Baby step 1 is to have your emergency fund set up. Who plans for emergencies, the answer is basically no one. So the goal is to save up $1000 quickly. You plan for emergencies because Murphy is most likely going to come knocking. We are hoping to have this step completed soon as we have 2 TVs to sell and are going to sell our "kitchenette" becaue we NEVER use it. Hopefully selling that will have our emergency fund finished.

Check us out next week after we complete Class 2.

Pain of the Past

2011-09-11T13:29:00.004-04:00

Cart and I decided a few weeks back to try a new and different to us church. I was raised Lutheran and Cart Catholic. Two religions very close to each other. However, due to the "rules" within the Catholic church we couldn't be married there, so I didn't feel comfortable going to worship in a Catholic Church. We tried a Lutheran church near to us suggested by my home church paster during marriage counseling. After a long conversation with Cart about religion and what we wanted for us and our children we decided to try a non-denominational church.

Today at church they started a new series called "painkillers". It is a 4 weeks series and each week the message will be a different type of pain. Today was Pain of the Past. I think today was the first time in all my years of going to church in which the message really resonated with me. He spoke about how Parents have junk within them and they pass that junk to their children. It might not be the same junk but they still pass it along. He asked us to think about our parents and the junk they passed to us. This part spoke to me as I remembered my childhood and the junk my parents passed to me. Then as he spoke of the 7 ways to heal from the pain of the past I started to remember November of 2009.

November of 2009 was a time of upheavel and hurt for my family. It was also the month that our embryos didn't survive the thaw. Without going into too much detail people were accused of things and I defended the person being accused. My step-sister (whom I've never really had a connection with) attacked our infertility. She basically said in a FB message to us that "mother nature didn't want us to have a child because we weren't worth a squirt of ***" It was hurtful and in an emotionally hard time for us made me angry. I have not spoken to her since 2009.

While listening to the message today I realized the while I have put that time out of my memory, I have not forgiven her. Part of healing from the pain of the past is to let go of the desire for revenge. While I don't have the desire for revenge I do have nothing but hate for her. I usually don't hate anyone however I have no desire to be in the same room with her. The other part of healing is setting boundaries for toxic people. So I can forgive her, however part of the boundary is that I don't have to be in the same room with her or have conversations with her.

Part two next week is Pain of Loss. We are both looking forward to that message as we have both experienced loss in our life and in our marriage. While loss sometimes seperates marriages, our losses have brought us closer together. I look forward to sharing next weeks message with you.

7 months and ramblings

2011-09-06T19:30:00.003-04:00

This Friday we'll have been officially waiting 7 months. (I'm not sure why the ticker is so off). At this point we haven't heard much from our agency. Our homestudy hasn't been written up yet. Which at this point is of no surprise to me. I'm still working on our website, however with internship having started it's been slightly put on the back burner :( If you would like to see it you can go to http://www.carterandkebrina.net/ but please be warned it is still under construction.

So far internship is going great. I'm learning a lot and today I started teaching science. Next week will be Social Studies as well. I'm not sure what I'll be teaching after that.

Life has been busy and I don't have much time to do anything other than eat, sleep, internship, lesson planning and homework. While I love internship and being around the littles Dec 2nd can't come soon enough. Then Dec 16th is the magic day when my degree is conferred and I can apply for any open teaching positions or long term sub jobs.

Internship

2011-08-21T19:35:00.003-04:00

I start internship tomorrow unofficially! My college doesn't officially start until the 29th, thus my internship doesn't start officially until then as well. However, my directing teacher is awesome and I'm able to start tomorrow. The county where I'll be student-teaching start last Tuesday. I was able to go in before that and help my directing teacher set up her classroom.

I'll be working in a 1st grade classroom. Over the last several week I was sucked into pin.terest and have been pinning great ideas; some I'll save for my own classroom and others I should be able to apply while I'm student-teaching. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time.

My prayers for this time are that I will get through this with very little tears and that next school year I will have a job!

Are you a teacher? Do you have an tips of the trade to share? Wish me luck and say a prayer for me!

Cable Free!

2011-08-16T15:06:00.003-04:00

Yes my friends, my hubby and I have made our house cable free! While we were on vacation watching mindless TV during a thunderstorm (we were watching Law and Order reruns), I casually asked him what he thought about cancelling cable. He looked at me funny and then we decided to look online to see exactly how much we were paying for cable (we didn't really know because we have cable, internet, home phone, and cellphones all on one bill). To our amazement our cable bill was 1/3 of our total bill. Of course we could cancel cable.

As soon as we got home from vacay I called the cable company and scheduled the cancellation for yesterday. We hooked up the Amplified antenna deal, a VGA cable (for the computer) and were all set. We have a total of 17 channels (2 of them are spanish, 5 of them are Christian). The VGA cable hooks my laptop to the TV and we watch the shows we miss (no more DVR) online. Yes my friends you don't need to spend money on DVR, just wait a day and catch the latest episode online and watch it through your TV. AMAZING!

The day before we cancelled our cable I kept thinking do we really want to do this. Then I remembered that as a child we didn't have cable at my dad's house (our primary residence). We were not allowed to watch TV, we were told to read a book, play outside or do chores. At my mom's house however there was cable and we could watch cartoons and movies etc. After thinking of this I said we can totally cancel our cable. More will get done around our house and soon we'll forget what our "favorite" shows are (I kid you note we watch/DVR'd about 15-20 shows). We can live with out all that stuff.

So if you ever think to yourself, should we cancel cable? You should answer YES! Because you can live without cable! Read a book, go for a walk or clean your house! What a valuable lesson I learned as a child that well took me 20 yrs to realize what they were teaching us.

DR: FPU

2011-08-09T21:18:00.003-04:00

Cart and I are contemplating taking the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University. Have you taken the course?

Before we got married we had to do and wanted to do marriage counseling. It was required by the church before we could get married at the church. anyhow... the counseling talked about everything under the sun. Including Finances. Cart and I agreed on everything. Pastor M suggested that we read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover. So we bought the book and I read the book. Over the years I have made countless budgets. But what is a budget worth if you don't follow it? I also devised several cash envelope system. But what good is a cash envelope system that isn't followed?

I stumbled upon a blog that featured the Financial Peace University. I read through the different posts and some success stories. I went to his website found a class within a few miles of our house that starts in a few weeks. We have talked about this class and think it will be a good idea for us.

We have gotten into some financial strain, however I am happy to say that we communicate well about finances.

So have you been through the Financial Peace University? How has it impacted your life and finances?

Bullet Post

2011-08-01T15:37:00.003-04:00

I have varied topics to talk about today so I thought a bullet post was neccesary. Here goes:

I've been diligently working on the website. Building a website is harder then I thought it would be. However, It is a lot of fun minus the frustration. As soon as I think it is world worthy I will post it. I have bits and pieces live on the www however only select few have seen it to offer suggestions.

The nursery is still coming along. The closet is almost finished. He put in the base boards on Saturday and we'll be hanging the clothing rods in the coming weeks. We need to figure out how to house the modem in the room. We have U.ver.se with a.t.t however the modem and backup battery are housed in the babies room. I'll be visiting IK.EA while we are in Orlando to try to find something.

I did find these awesome book shelves on ik.ea's website, so I hope to purchase them when we are there.

The babies dresser is also coming along. It is completely sanded and we will start staining it shortly. I picked out drawer pulls but the holes need to be adjusted because modern pulls are not as wide as pulls from back then.

We are headed to Orlando for 4 days of relaxation in the coming weeks. We are excited to just chill out and lay by the pool. We may or may not go to a park. We are just going to go with the flow.

I start internship in a few weeks. This will be very similar to a full time job from Aug 25th to Dec 2nd. I will be at the school from 730 to 4pm working with 1st graders. I'm so excited to be near the end and so close to graduation and having my own classroom.

Website

2011-07-26T11:30:00.003-04:00

First a back story. Our agency has a website that features profiles of adoptive parents in waiting. We are still not on this site. I'm working on gettng our information to the agency so they can do this. Apparently our social worker didn't realize that she was the one who was suppose to request the information from us. So we've been waiting 5 months without this type of exposure. I have viewed some of the other families profiles and have noticed that some of them have included a link to other sites...i.e. blogs, photos hosting sites etc.

So Cart and I decided that we will be building a website for the world to see. It is mainly for the adoption and for networking on our end. After the site is up it will be included on our agency's site and we will also email it to all of our friends and family. I thought about putting it on our back window like another adoptive momma did, but I already have my business info on the back of the car.

The awesome thing is a friend from high school is going to help me with the building. She is going to show me how to build the site and to upload it to our hosting site. Then after that I should be able to maintain it myself. As soon as we are up and running I will post it here. To do that I will be telling you all my real name. Many of my readers already know, but the website address is basically mine and Cart's name. I know very creative :)

Until then, wish me luck and say a prayer I don't rip my hair out during the building process.

Week in Review

2011-07-25T16:05:00.004-04:00

Monday 7/18 we contacted another local agency about giving them our profile to be shown since we are homestudy approved. They tell me we need homestudy to them before they will show our profile. But go ahead and tell me about a birthmom due in August who has yet to be matched. I prayed for the birthmom and baby that evening. I email our agency and those events are in the post Rough Day.

Tuesday 7/19 more emails between current agency about homestudy etc.

Wednesday 7/20 Cart's birthday! We decide to go ahead and get information to new agency. In a quick couple of hours we prayed for a little boy who was born on Monday 7/18. This babies birthmom was the same birthmom we were told about on Monday. The receptionist at the agency wasn't sure if the attorney had matched him with a family yet and asked if we were interested. We filled out the application and emailed it to her immediately. An hour later we found out little boy was matched with a family. This family is a family whose blog I follow. :) He will be loved greatly. Please pray for this little boy and his family. Give them strength to get through the coming weeks and pray that he keeps getting healthier and stronger.

Thursday 7/21 I receive an email about a situation in California. My friend heard about it from a friend of the family. The birthmom is 17 and due with twins in November. I prayed for her and all involved. I called her friend to get more information but haven't heard anything. We did find out that our information was forwarded to the attorney working with the birthmom. Another adoptive momma's profile was being shown to a 17yrold birthmom on Friday. After a series of conversations we realized we were taking about the same birthmom. At this point I still don't know much about that situation. All I can do is pray for the birthmom and all involved.

I pray that God keeps opening these doors for us. Whether the babies are meant to be ours or not. I can pray for them.

Friday 7/22 not much happened. I worked and Cart and I relaxed at home that night.

Saturday 7/23 I had an amazing jewelry party that night. Cart despite his back pain from a workout injury did a lot around the house. I truly do have an amazing husband!

Sunday 7/24 Cart and I both worked quietly on our own little projects. It was so nice to work in quiet house. Our TV is usually on. Then we ran a few errands and I got a Kin.dle 3G! I downloaded some free books and I have been loving reading again!

Tonight I'm going to try to get a website up and running about Cart and I so that it can be posted on our agencies website under our profile.

Please pray for little man from Monday, and the birthmom and family from Thursday. Pray for our future birthmom as well and pray that God continues to give us strength as we continue to wait for the call.

He's Speaking

2011-07-21T15:12:00.003-04:00

God is speaking, I'm listening and praying. Pray with us.

Rough Few Days

2011-07-20T09:20:00.003-04:00

It has been a rough few days here around the Chapman house. I probably brought it on myself but with good reason. On Monday I mentioned to Cart about maybe calling a few other agencies to see if they would take our profile to show to prospective birth parents. He thought it was a good idea. So with a referral I call an agency/lawyer. Got some information from the receptionist and found out before I could speak with the attorney that I would need to get our homestudy from the agency.

That my friends is where things got crazy. We completed the final step to our homestudy in February which is 6months ago. However, in that 6 months the actual homestudy write up hasn't been completed. I called our agency to speak with our SW and get her voicemail. Instead of leaving her a voicemail that probably wouldn't be returned I sent her an email. I asked when our homestudy would be complete and explained that we would like to give it to an agency along with our profile.

On Tuesday morning, I received an email back that basically said that we agreed to not work with any other agency. That the homestudy was only to be used by them. Apparently the $1800 wasn't for the homestudy it was for their fee. Who knows. She also implied that I would leave a birthmom hanging that we had been matched with to accept a child from another agency that is already born. That comment floored me. Apparently she doesn't think to highly of me.

I responded that for her to think we would do something that selfish is troublesome. I explained that we felt that we have the right to show our profile and homestudy to other agencies if we felt they weren't getting us the best exposure possible. They've stated several times in their mass update emails that things were slow and for some reason they weren't getting calls from the local hospitals anymore. They also have yet to put our profile on their website. So 6 months of no exposure.

After all that I was just in a rough place and had to go to work. Over the last several years I've worked with several pregnant women. It is no secret at my job that we are adopting and that we can't have children of our own. A few months back a girl transferred back to our location and she was pregnant. This girl has absolutely no sensitivity what so ever. When she split from her fiance she told me that she was going to give her baby to me. Then she proceeded to tell other staff that I told her I wanted her baby. WTF! Who says stuff like that. As her pregnancy has progressed she complains about how fat she is and how annoying it is to be pregnant. Through all of her complaining I've remained strong and just let it roll off my back. Because I can't control the world and their insensitivity. Then last night happened. I found out that she told staff that if she was having a girl she would have a trash baby. Meaning she would throw the baby in the trash. Then her complaining started and all her talk about her pregnancy. I blew a gasket and had to go outside and cry. I almost went off on her. But I bit my toungue because it is me who has to understand that I can't control the world even if I am having a bad day.

Adoption and Infertility wise it has been a rough few days.

Cruising

2011-06-22T17:03:00.005-04:00

This year my mom took her yearly cruise. She usually takes my younger brother who has Aspergers. This year though I suggested taking me for my 30th birthday. She liked the idea. So on May 28th my mother and I set sail on the Carnival Dream. Our ports of call were Cozumel, Honduras, Belize, and Costa Maya. We had a great trip. Here are some pictures from our trip.

This picture was from our first formal night on the cruise.

Just a casual picture on the ship.

This was taken in a pretty courtyard in Cozumel.

This by far was the best thing. In Honduras we stopped at this Monkey "farm" and got to handle the monkies. This little baby thought down my shirt was interesting.

This was an adult monkey and it was so cute how they would lay on you like this.

More Baby Gear

2011-06-22T00:21:00.005-04:00

Besides the Sale we attended we have also purchased and received a few gifts. Here's more baby gear :)

The receiving blankets and bottles were from my mom for Christmas. This was our first baby gift.

This cute little Gator outfit was a donation for a yard sale we had. It was the first baby item we owned. The person who donated it said she was alright if we kept it for the baby :)
This cute little shirt we bought while we were in DC for the Marine Corp Marathon. I saw the shirt and couldn't put it back. So I bought it.

Can you tell we are Gator fans? A sports store was closing so I got this brand new shirt at a great price.

After the Whale of a Sale we went to BRU with my in-laws and the bought us the Pack N Play we registered for because we didn't find one at the sale. This was on our must have before baby list because it will go in our room for the first few months for the baby to sleep in.

That night my Mother-in-law bought us the super soft blanket, diaper stacker and mobile. Those boxes that the stuff is laying on would be the Crib and Changing table that I got on sale at Target around Christmas time.

That same night we bought our Crib set. We love this set because 1)it is gender neutral and 2)it's not your typical animals that are on bed sets.

Here is the room set up that is on the side of the bedding set. This isn't our nursery just the set up of all the matching stuff.

Baby Gear

2011-06-22T00:06:00.005-04:00

In February we went to the Whale of a Sale that is put on by the Junior League in our area. Basically the sale is a huge indoor yard sale. Loads of stuff for cheap. So we were able to get a bunch of baby stuff for pretty cheap. I finally uploaded the pics I took to the computer. I'm such a slacker when it comes to pictures.

Lot's of books for very cheap. Some I got to use in my classroom one day but most are for baby. I also was able to get What to expect the First Year.
This Baby on the go kit is neat. It has basically a travel eating utensils for baby. Then of course the dishwasher baskets are a must have. Do you see the price? $1

This is all of the clothing and blankets we bought. Of course it is all gender neutral. Below are close ups of the items.

Yup Good looks run in the family :)

This blanket is super soft.

Babies 1st Halloween! And a blanket.

Of course a onesie that says Best Gift Ever :)

Lawyer vs. Agency

2011-06-12T23:18:00.004-04:00

I'm questioning lawyer vs. agency when it comes to matches because lately it seems that more people are being matched through lawyers. A blog a follow who has a little girl recently started the process or #2 and are already matched. Don't get me wrong I'm totally happy for this family. However, this match is through a lawyer. That quickly!

So it makes me start to wonder if we should also be using a lawyer. I know our agency is working hard and we will get our match but should we be doing more on our end. Most days I'm too busy to be thinking about getting the call. But when I read other adoptive family stories I start to wonder when we will get the call and if we are doing enough.

Today I just need a hug.

What's new?

2011-06-08T16:01:00.003-04:00

It has been very busy since I last blogged. I've tried to catch up on my blog reading but haven't had much time. Since I last posted Cart was going to be home in a day. Well he was home for a week and during that week I was so busy with work and other things that we didn't get to spend much time together. Then he went back to work and got called back out for another 21days.

A week after he went out for 3 weeks I went on a cruise for a week. Since I've been back I had my birthday and I've been busy working.

At some point we had an update from our agency. Nothing to spectacular just that things are slow going. A couple though that started their adoption process the same time we did, had placement in March. So hopefully we'll have a match very soon. That would be a great belated birthday present.

I'm going to try to do a more detailed post soon.

One More Day

2011-05-15T11:12:00.003-04:00

Only one more day until my hubby comes home. It has been a rough but very busy 3 weeks. I have definitely kept myself very busy between all my jobs and attempting to keep up with the house. Let's just say I wonder where the last 3 weeks went. But I don't mind really because that is 3 weeks closer to our baby. :)

Can't wait to see my hubby!

My Poor Harley

2011-04-28T11:19:00.003-04:00

Our furbaby Harley had surgery last week to remove a growth on his tail and one on his throat. Before the surgery the doc said we had to do the surgery as soon as possible because his tail is so short and stubby that there wasn't much skin to use to stich it together. We did the surgery and the doc was able to stitch his tail and used regular and steel stitches to close it up. He used the steel stiches so that if Harley licked the steel would poke him and keep him from licking his tail.

Yesterday I took him to have his stitches removed. When they brought him back out to me they said there was a little blood and they put some gel on it and sprayed apple bitter on him. They said to make sure he doesn't lick and use the "cone" collar if needed. I came home with him and he layed next to me for an hour. When he got up I noticed his tail was all red. I looked at it and his tail opened up. I immediately called the vet and took him in. Unfortunately there was nothing the vet could do. He said at this point we need to let it heal from the inside out. He gave me some antibiotics for him and some of the gel to keep on his tail. When we got home and I got him out I noticed blood spots on my car seat. I got him out and in the house and realizd he was bleeding pretty bad. I got the bleeding to slow down and put the gel on it. I put towels all over the couches and he laid next to me all night.

He is so depressed and missing his daddy. I hope he feels better soon.

Here is a pic of his tail:

Three Weeks

2011-04-26T11:20:00.003-04:00

That is how long the hubby will be gone. Not sure what to do with myself since school will be out. My bullet list of the things I need to do is:

Work

Work on a friend wedding album

Go to a baby shower

Go to a friends daughters communion dinner

Go to a friends graduation party.

Clean my house

Work some more

PARTY!!!

That last one won't happen. I'll have plenty to keep myself busy though.

Quarterly Status Update #1

2011-04-19T17:42:00.003-04:00

We received an email today from our agency giving an update. First they gave congrats to a family who had been "in process" for 2 1/2yrs...I think in process means from start to placement. Not sure.

Then they told us that they are currently working with several birthmoms, but they aren't "straight forward" cases. They stated that these BMs would be due in late spring, early summer and they would start contacting when things with them became "simplier" So we could be chosen by one of these BMs or we'll wait a little longer. Pray for the social workers and the birthmoms as they work together.

You'll get Pregnant after...

2011-04-15T10:17:00.004-04:00

You'll get Pregnant after you adopt. I've heard that comment more recently than I care to hear. My Best Friend said that to me last night and I just had to politely remind her that I love her but that just isn't the case. It is a myth! I wasn't snarky with her or anything I was polite. Other people I might not be so kind the next time I hear that comment. Granted there are two blogs I follow in which they got pregnant after adopting. But that is just 2 out of the many Adoption blogs I read. I hate writing such downer blogposts but the comments are just getting annoying.

Questions

2011-04-14T12:00:00.003-04:00

When we were TTC and doing IVF we got all types of questions and comments. A lot of the time we were asked the same questions over and over. I didn't think with adoption we would be asked so many questions. A lot of my co-workers have asked lately so how's the adoption stuff going. I have been asked this stuff so much lately that it just keeps reminding me of the wait. I enjoy talking about the process and what is next with close friends and such but from random people it is getting old. I just wish I could wear a button that flashes we've been waiting x weeks. Really it gets that frustrating. I've tried coming up with witty things to say when I'm asked "how's the adoption stuff going?" but my sarcasm is all tapped out. Do you have any witty remarks to the question? In other news Cart put together the crib and changing table last night. It looks great...although it is just sitting in the middle of the room...We are still working on that darn closet...

Weird Dream

2011-04-11T10:20:00.003-04:00

Last night I had a dream that we got the call. However, the call came from Oklahoma. Yes a baby in Oklahoma. The only other part of the dream was that we were running around trying to decide to drive or get a plane ticket. While this is a cool dream to have it is not very realistic because our call would only come from our state. We could get matched out of state but it would be a situation that we discover.

Happy Anniversary

2011-04-06T09:15:00.004-04:00

March 18th was our 5th Anniversary. It was a Friday and I asked Cart to take the day off, which he did. The unfortunate part was that I woke up with a Sore Throat. But I proceeded on with the day.

Plans for the day:

See a Movie

Get Pictures done

Go to the Melting Pot

The day started off good. First we stopped by the in-laws and dropped off Harley. Then we headed to the theatre that we had our first date at and saw a movie. Then we did a little shopping at the town center. Afterwards we met our photographer at the hotel where we had our reception so that we could get pictures there and on the beach. The pictures came out amazing! Up Until that point I was feeling okay. As long as I kept my throat wet it was fine. We had time to kill before our dinner reservation so we went back to the town center. Unfortunately the drive from the beach to the town center I got worse and felt worse. So I called the Melting Pot to see if they could get us in sooner. They said they would try...so since they had just opened we headed over and they seated us right away. Throughout dinner I felt much worse. We headed home and took my temp...102! Apparently it wasn't just sinuses like I thought that morning. The sore throat got worse. By Saturday night I could barely swallow. We headed to Solantic for a Strep Test and sure enough I had strep throat. The little kiddos at school gave it to me right before Spring Break! I spent the next 3 days in bed and Cart took care of me. He's such a good Hubby! We'll go do a redo Anniversary dinner soon!

Here are the pictures from our Photo Session.

PETA needs to rethink PR

2011-04-05T19:44:00.002-04:00

A fellow blogger pointed to this post that talks about PETA doing a contest to "Win a Vasectomy" if you spay/neuter your pet. All during The month in which National Infertility Awareness Week falls. If you have the time read the post because this blogger does an excellent job expressing her thoughts.

Killing Time

2011-04-04T10:23:00.004-04:00

Right about now I should be writing my very last paper that is due tonight. I'm a huge procrastinator. Not to mention I'm not thrilled with the topics we had to choose from. I'm having a really difficult time writing this paper. Maybe I'm psyching myself out. Maybe not. Class is at 6pm and I also have my mid term to do tonight. My topic for the paper is How Children Acquire Knowledge. It is for a Cognitive Development class. Like I said I'm not excited about this paper. I should be excited since it is my very last paper for college. Ack! Back to work!

Thank You

2011-04-01T13:39:00.002-04:00

Thank you for all your responses on having the shower. Cart and I talked about it last night and we still aren't sure. Well I should say I keep changing my mind. LOL! I'm a very indecisive person and can change my mind on a moments notice. I'm actually getting much better in the department though. The one thing about the friend wanting to give us a shower is that she is due in May. So I don't think we'll be having the shower before she is due. I was asked Which Agency are we Using? We went through Children's Home Society (CHS) here locally. They only work with other CHS's in our state. So we could get matched with a birthparent anywhere in our state. Also, it was commented about registering. We have definitely registered at Babies R Us it was quite easy to register since we don't know the gender. I even found that they sell the cloth diaper brand that we want to use and I added that to our registery last night :) Once again thank you!

Shower

2011-03-31T11:10:00.003-04:00

I'm pretty sure that I have posted on this subject in the past. But thought that I would bring it up as a friend of ours would like to give us a baby shower. I've wondered about having my own baby shower. I've been to so many and given showers for friends. I'm wondering when we should have a shower. Before we are even matched, wait until we are matched, or after the baby arrives. We are getting the nursery ready, so it would be neat to have it totally completed and not have to rush out and get things. I do know that after the baby arrives we will have a "sip-n-see" and allow friends and family to come over to meet the new baby. What would you do?

I broke down and ...

2011-03-30T14:27:00.003-04:00

... emailed our social worker. I emailed her to ask if our profile had been shown. I asked some other questions but I was just wondering if our profile had been shown in the last 4 1/2 weeks. I was going too try to wait until we had been waiting 2 months and then email but I decided I wanted to email today. This was her response: We have so many complex cases going on right now that we spend a lot of our time "troubleshooting" potential problems. We keep asking, "where are the nice, simple cases. She is working with several now, but they are just not ready in our viewpoint to consider families yet. We know that risks are sometimes part of this process, but we do want to minimize them as much as possible for our families before getttin you involved. Where there is an appropriate opportunity for you and Cart, I will let you know. This is the difficult phase...waiting. I was glad she got back to me so quickly. We are busy so I'm not worried we haven't been shown yet. It will happen In God's Time.

1 Month

2011-03-25T17:34:00.002-04:00

It's official we've been waiting one month today. I'm sitting here at Panera and should be working on some sort of homework before I head to my lia sophia show tonight. But instead I'm thinking today is 1 month of officially waiting.

We may have a few more months of waiting or 11 more months of waiting. It could even be a few days or weeks. Who knows ... only God knows really how long. But I can pray for a short wait.

Now I should get at least a discussion post done.

No Title

2011-03-22T10:10:00.002-04:00

I really don't have a title for this post. We've been waiting for a little over three weeks now but it certainly feels like forever. We will eventually get the call, but In God's Time. While we wait we've been slowly working on the babies room. All the ugly wire shelving is removed from the closet, all the wholes patched, room painted. Because we removed those horribly useless white wire shelving we need to put new shelving in. For this segment it would be Cart and his dad's building expertise. However, first we must stain all the wood to match the crib. Let me just say it takes about 4-5 coats of stain on each side. Not to mention we still haven't put the shinny sealing coat on yet. So that is where slowly comes into play.

While Cart has been working on staining the shelving (I did help with the first 3 coats on the oneside) I have been busy starting a new set of classes (only 2 this term). I've also been busy with work and trying to get my business where I want it to be.

This past Friday Cart and I celebrated 5 wonderful years of marriage. I celebrated this day by getting Strep Throat. I woke up Friday morning with a really bad sore throat. We went on with our plans to go see a movie, shop, get pictures done, and go to dinner. By the time dinner was over I was feeling awful. My throat hurt even worse and I had the chills. We got home and took my temp it was 102. I went straight to bed and stayed there for 2 days (except when we went to the urgent care clinic saturday night). So our anniversary celebration weekend was a total bust. I hear though that I'll get sick like this more with working around kiddos. Yay me!

As soon as I get the photos from the fabulous Jenn Guthrie Photography I'll post my faves here if I can choose. You could even see a sneak peek of some on her facebook page through that link.

Ah-Ha

2011-03-16T22:46:00.001-04:00

I think I figured out the adoption profile sharing I think....so it will go here on the blog. Let's see if this works.

| View Sample Photo Books | Create your own Photo Book

Almost 3 weeks

2011-03-16T16:44:00.002-04:00

We've been waiting almost 3weeks now and it feels like forever. I've been busy with the new school term and we have been working on building the shelving for the babies room. So far it has taken 5 coats of stain on just one side of the wood. We still have the other side to stain. I can't wait to see what it looks like.

On the profile book. I couldn't figure out how to email it so I'm sorry at this point I can't share it. Maybe when we get the book back I'll be able to take pictures of it and post those.

Harley=kid

2011-03-09T20:05:00.002-05:00

See that cute little thing on the right side of the blog. That would be our "son" Harley. We bought Harley 5 1/2 years ago as a puppy. He'll be 6 in July. Since the day we brought Harley home he's been a high maintnance. He's allergic to a number of things, Dust & Fleas being at the very top of the list. He also has a very sensitive digestive system. He'll actually go 3 days without eating. At that point he gets a Pepcid AC and then he eats. This digestive issue requires special food from the vet. He also has a thyroid problem and takes a 1/2 a pill twice a day.

Last year we discovered a growth on his neck. Turned out to be a cyst and it had to be surgically removed to the tune of almost $650. We had his teeth cleaned at the same time so that was in with some of the cost.

About a month ago we discovered a nodule on his "throat". We decided to watch it and see if it grows. The other day we were playing with Harley, more like rough housing and I touched his tail to get him to turn around and noticed a hard nodule on the tip of his tail. We calmed him down and I took a closer look. It was bleeding. Today I took him to see our amazing vet. He wasn't concerned with the throat nodule but the sore on the tip of his tail was very concerning because it had been bleeding. My poor Harley now has to have yet another surgery to remove the nodule on his tail. Say a prayer it turns out to be another benign growth.

Over the years Cart and I have joked about how Harley is preparing us for kids. He's high maintnance. Don't get me wrong we absolutely love Harley. The moment I saw him I knew he was our doggy. His Grandma and Grandpa also love him and he goes for visits to their house all the time.

Holden Uganda Fundraiser

2011-03-04T23:23:00.002-05:00

I'm doing a fundraiser for Holden Uganda through my business lia sophia. From now until the end of the month any jewelry ordered through under the Holden Uganda Fundraiser I will donate all my profits to Holden Uganda.

I learned about Holden Uganda through my sweet friend Charys. Holden is her nephew who was born to the Lord. You can read his story on the link above.

If you would like to order from me in support visit my website www.liasophia.com/kchapman Under 'Our Jewelry' under hostess look up put in First Name: Holden Last Name: Uganda. Then you are all set to place an order. When you pay with credit card your card won't be charged until the show closes at the end of March. Buy 2 Get 1 Half off (most expensive is half off).

If you have any questions feel free to email me.

In God's Time

2011-03-03T21:22:00.002-05:00

If I haven't mentioned before I love country music. In high school I really disliked country. It grew on my about 9yrs ago and now it is all I listen to. I have Sirius radio and listen to Highway Country all the time in the car. On my drive home tonight the DJ said to listen very carefully to the next song specifically to the lyrics not just the melody. I turned up the radio and my goodness the songs message was amazing. Take the time to listen to In God's Time by Randy Hauser

Random Stuff

2011-03-02T11:00:00.002-05:00

I feel like I've neglected the blog over the last week or so.

Here is a bullet update on things and life:

Our Whale of a Sale experience was okay we didn't get the big items like we hoped but we did get some stuff. I have pictures on the camera just need to upload.
For those that sent or commented with their email to look at the book. I'm still trying to figure that out. As soon as I figure it out I'll let you know.
One of my internet friends had a dream about me and my baby girl last night. My friend is currently preggo and is having very vivid dreams. She said she was hugely PG and saw me holding my "daughter" and that she had light brown hair. Crazy right. I think it's awesome.
My first set of 8wk classes for spring semester is coming to a close. I start another set next week.
I also go back to the restaurant Sunday :(
lia sophia is really kicking off and going great. I would like to do some fundraisers so if you are interested shoot me an email.

WOOHOO It's Official

2011-02-25T14:31:00.002-05:00

Took our book to the agency today and spoke with our social worker who is hard to get to on the phone. She loved our book! She even said she can't wait to show it to potential birth parents! Can you believe it!

I asked her how long before we are "approved" and waiting. She said now that she has our book we are officially waiting. If a situation arises they will present our book. I am so thrilled!

Tonight we are going shopping for the baby. I'll be posting pictures of our loot! (ever seen a post with so many exclamation points) :)

Have a fabulous weekend!

Security PSA

2011-02-25T10:48:00.002-05:00

This will be more of a PSA then an update about our Privacy issue. For the privacy issue, I have decided to get the proof I need that my account was breached and once I have that the Sheriff's office will take it from there.

Now for the PSA:
When you create passwords make sure that it isn't something with your birthdate, place of employment, dogs name, anniversary date, place of birth, parents name, sibling name. It should really be a combination of numbers and letters not associated with anything in your life. In both upper and lower case.

2. Make sure you don't use the same password for every account. Vary the passwords.

3. Change your password every 30 days. If you can't remember 30 days put it on your calendar so you remember.

4. Do this for all accounts: email, google, FB, bank accounts.

5. Double check your firewall protection. Make sure that your security on your computer is top notch.

Don't risk your security for anyone or anything. Having to go through getting the information you need to prosecute is a pain. So be safe and protect your information.

It Came!!!!

2011-02-24T13:00:00.002-05:00

It Came it came it came! Woohooo! It was actually here when I did the ABCs of Me post. I just didn't hear the knock at the door, as I was in the shower, when the UPS man came. And Harley is at Grandma's so he wasn't here to alert me.

So when I went to track the package it said Delivered and left at front door! I opended it and I am pleasantly surprised.

It is better than I expected. I left it very simple because on the screen it doesn't look as big as it does in the book. So I could have gone more elaborate but I think simple is better. If you'd like to see our book leave a comment with your email address or email it to me and I'll send it to you via email. Because I don't want to publish it for the world to see as I use our real names and because of the privacy issue we had.

BTW, for those of you who still need to make a book for adoption or just want to make a scrapbook mixbook is an amazing site and the quality is GREAT!

I'm taking the book to our agency tomorrow along with our final homestudy fee check (our agency splits the fee in half.) Tomorrow night we are headed to the Whale of a Sale to look for baby stuff. Gently used in great condition baby stuff at a huge discount. Got to save money where we can.

ABCs of Me

2011-02-24T11:18:00.002-05:00

While I wait for the UPS man to deliver our profile book I thought I'd do the ABCs of me.

(A) Age: 29 (I'll be 30 the beginning of June)

(B) Bed Size: Queen although we really need a King

(C) Chore you Hate: Dishes and Laundry.

(D) Dogs: 1 and his name is Harley

(E) Essential Start Your Day Item: Juice

(F) Favorite Color: Blue

(G) Gold or Silver: Silver

(H) Height: 5'8"

(I) Instruments you Play: In Elementary school I played the Viola

(J) Job Title: Substitute Teacher, Student, Bartender/Server, and I own my own business.

(K) Kids: Just my Harley for now

(L) Live: The Sunshine State and Home of the Jaguars

(M) Mom's Name: Ann

(N) Nickname: Breen

(O) Overnight Hospital Stays: once for a stomach virus after having an appendectomy.

(P) Pet Peeves: I have lots.

(Q) Quote from a Movie: I don't know any quotes from movies. We watch a lot of movies but I don't remember their lines.

(R) Right or Left Handed: Right

(S) Siblings: Older brother and younger brother. 1 sister-in-law

(T) Time you Wake up: Depends on the plans for the day

(U) Underwear: Bikini briefs

(V) Vegetable you Dislike: Brussel Sprouts, Asparagus

(W) What Makes you Run Late: I try to be on time or early. Usually it is the internet that distracts me.

(X) X-Rays: Too many to count. I'll just list body parts, chest, knee, ankle, back, neck, wrist

(Y) Yummy Food you Make: I make a very yummy home made Lasagna and Chili

(Z) Zoo, Favorite Animal: Giraffes and monkeys.

Now if that UPS man would get here soon so I could see my book.

profile book

2011-02-20T19:59:00.002-05:00

I have a post drafted right now in regards to my last post. However, hubby won't let me post it right now.

I did want to say that I ordered our Profile book! It should be here on Thursday. I will be making a special trip to the agency on Friday to turn it in and also deliver a check! Such an exciting step!

Can someone Help

2011-02-18T23:12:00.002-05:00

I really need to write a post but I really need just that post to be private. Do I have to make my whole blog private or can I just make certain posts private.

Basically we found something tonight that might suggest our privacy was compromised and I really need to vent about it.

I'm tempted to make our profile private but I don't want to lose followers or hinder others from following our journey.

Any opinions are greatly appreciated.

A Day Off!

2011-02-17T08:48:00.002-05:00

Finally a day off! I'm so excited to just sit on the couch! (Actually I'll be doing homework too). I've been going and going for for a few weeks. No restaurant work just substitute teaching. Which I think makes me more tired than working at the restaurant.

Yesterday I worked with Kindergarten and let me tell you they wore me slap out. I keep thinking about when we have kids and I'm working. I keep wondering if I'm going to be in a constant state of tired.

In adoption news: We have our book just about done. We are waiting on our SW to review our BP letter so we can add it to the book. Then we will have it printed. Once it is printed I'll post pictures here.

Valentine's Day

2011-02-13T21:14:00.002-05:00

On 2/14/2008 we learned that we would be miscarrying our IVF miracle. My first beta was on 2/8 which resulted in the first low number. Every 2 days we retested. It was on Valentines day that our numbers stopped rising. We stopped all medication that day. The numbers did rise over the 1000s but my body finally expelled the baby a month later after our 2nd wedding anniversary. It is amazing the things we remember.

Tomorrow as I celebrate Valentine's with a classroom of 1st graders I will remember our little one.

Adoption Board

2011-02-09T20:41:00.002-05:00

For several years I have been a member of pregnancy.org. When we started trying to conceive I found the message boards and have 'met' some amazing women. I've gone from the Trying To Conceive boards, to the IVF board, and now the Adoption Board. I am actually the moderator on the Adoption board and the IVF board. I'm hoping to get a bit more traffic through both boards for women who don't have blogs, or friends who understand. I'm reaching out to my readers...

If you have time and would like more support yourself or would like to support other women going through IVF or the adoption process please feel free to stop in there. If you wish to comment or post you will need to create an account.

Here is the link to the Adoption Board

Here is the link to the IVF Board

LOA

2011-02-02T16:14:00.002-05:00

Today I took the steps to take a Leave of Absence from the job that I spoke about yesterday.

Let's rewind a bit first.

After yesterday's events I realized just how stressed I am. While talking it over with Cart last night I became more stressed trying to figure out money stuff. I haven't been getting the sub jobs I need to make the money I need to make. Then today I was reminded that God always provides. First I did get a sub job for today. It was for the teacher I "intern" with on Monday's and Tuesday's (who is a very close friend of our family). Then this afternoon while the kiddo's were at resource I returned the phone call to another school to take a sub job for Friday. After that call I found out I'd be subbing the same place I was today. So 3 jobs for this week alone.

So after subbing today I stopped by the other job and put in my leave of absence. I'll return on March 10th. I think during that time I will be able to get our profile book done.

Rough Afternoon

2011-02-01T16:34:00.003-05:00

Today was going great. I was just a little tired, but I managed through working with the kiddos. Then I saw my schedule for my weekend job. They took away the shift that I've worked for several months. I went in to find out that the service manager felt that I wasn't strong enough for the shift. So basically he removed me from the shift before he gave me the opportunity to first tell me I was doing something wrong or second giving me chance to fix it. I'm livid with him. This is the job that we will get $7500 in adoption re-imbursement. I've gone from working there 30hrs to only 2 days a week. I'm starting to question whether it is time to leave this job or stay.

I know I'm already stressed with school and this job is so trivial that I'm not sure I should stay because it is stressing me out.

Kelly's Korner - Adoption Stories

2011-01-29T12:57:00.002-05:00

I'm participating this week in Kelly's Korner - Show us your life: Share your Adoption Stories. I think this is an amazing opportunity to meet other adoptive parents, waiting parents, and birthparents. I will share our journey thus far and try to keep it brief.

Our journey started about 6 1/2 years ago when Cart and I decided we were going to get married. We were not using protection and I couldn't take birth control (it had already messed up my cycle in a bad way). Shortly after we got married I went to my OB/GYN for my regular visit and mentioned we were officially trying but hadn't been preventing for the 2yrs prior. He thought it was odd that since I had been pregnant before in my previous marriage that we should of had an "oops" by now. So he had Cart tested and that is when it all changed.

Cart had a decent count, and they swam in the same direction however they were ALL the wrong shape. My doc referred us to the RE who suggest that we do IUI. We did 2 IUI's with no success. We then moved onto IVF. During my cycle I was on one of the highest dosages of stims he could put me on. The retrieved 4 eggs and of those four only 1 made it to a 3dt (January 2008). Our 1 embie implanted and grew for 6 weeks and then it all came crashing down. My numbers rose and dropped for another 5 weeks. My body finally expelled the pregnancy 5weeks after the first time they said I would miscarry(February 14, 2008).

I was heart broken and devasted. Cart was heartbroken as well. We took 2 days to ourselves and then right before the 5week mark went on our 2nd Anniversary trip. That was in March 2008.

In October 2008 we decided that we would pursue International Adoption. We submitted our initial application to the agency expressing our interest in the Philipines. The agency turned us down as that country frowned upon certain mental health problems (anxiety and depression). At that point we took a break.

Then June 2009, my best friend Sarah called me and asked if we had ever considered embryo adoption. I had actually put our profile on Miracles Waiting. Anyway, she called to say that a co-workers friend just had triplet girls and they had 2 embryos frozen. They were done building their family and wanted to donate those embies to another couple. We were totally interested and in July we spoke with B. We had already had a trip planned to visit Sarah and her family so while we were there in August we met with B and her husband. There was good chemistry between all of us and it was a good match. We got all the contracts done and signed before returning home.

October 2009 I started to prepare for the transfer in November. Everything was going wonderfully. Our new RE was great and my lining and numbers were looking good. The morning of the transfer I took my valium and went for a massage. I was nice and relaxed. Once we got there the nurse took us back and took me to the room. Then the IVF coordinator came in and said Doc wanted to see us. He told us that our embies didn't survive the thaw. We were heartbroken again. The very next day I went to visit Sarah in her new state for a week.

In March 2010 I started back to school. I was busy and enjoying life. We decided to pursue Domestic Infant adoption during the summer. In September 2010 we went for our first orientation. In October we submitted our initial application. Also in October I found out we won a FB contest through our bank and we won $5,000 to go towards our adoption. November was our adoption class. Then this past week we finished all the home visits, interviews, and now I just need to finish the profile book. After I submit our profile book we will be a waiting family! Right before our home visit we heard from a friend that they knew someone who just had twin girls and didn't want them. We still haven't heard on that situation and I'm not sure we will. I do know that we have amazing support from our friends and family.

Please feel free to follow us on our journey to our first child.

2011-01-26T11:54:00.001-05:00

I just had my interview with our SW and it went well. As soon as I get her our profile book we will be awaiting family! Now I just need to find time to finish the book.

SW Meeting and ...

2011-01-25T19:50:00.002-05:00

First I'll update about our meeting. Cart said his individual interview went fine. It was just going over the 55 question questionnaire that we each filled out in the beginning. Cart said no big deal which is a good thing.

When I got home we went over the "criteria" for a child we would be willing to accept. I'm not sure "criteria" is the right word I'm looking for. It was info like gender, age, race, and health issues. Then we gave her a tour of our home. She was jealous of my scraproom :)

Now the and... Last night on my drive home from school, one our friends called Cart about 4 times in the matter of minutes. When Cart finally called him back he asked us if we would be interested in maybe adopting twin girls. They are only about 3 days old. I don't want to get into specifics but we said yes. However, we are waiting to hear more information. They wanted to make sure we would be interested before mentioning anything to the birth mom. So we are currently waiting to hear more information. We have mentioned this situation to our social worker. Please pray for the birthmom and for us. Also we pray that God's will be done in this situation, whether or not these little girls are placed with us.

I will be meeting with our SW tomorrow morning for my individual interview.

Blog Award!

2011-01-22T20:05:00.002-05:00

I just received this Stylish Blogger Award from Kim.

I'm honored that she chose me for this award. While I don't think my blog is stylish I feel special receiving this award. Now here are the rules:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you the award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself
3. Award 15 other bloggers
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award

7 Things about me:

1. When I first met Cart, he and I would go to the movies alot. Our first date was to see Man on Fire. He only worked 3 days a week so every Thursday afternoon we would go see a movie. So that is our thing. We LOVE movies

2. A month after I met Cart I was hurt at work. He picked me up from work, my first of 3 surgeries was on his birthday. He took me to all my surgeries and was there for the whole healing process.

3. I love to scrapbook and make cards when I have time. I also love making awesome gifts for family and friends.

4. I'm a reality show junkie! I love the bachelor and bachelorette. Cart and I watch Amazing Race, Can't wait for the Allstar season. Every summer I watch Big Brother. I also watch Biggest Loser. Oh and I also got hooked on the Kardashians.

5. I watch one Soap Opera every weekday, The Young & the Restless. My mom watched it when I was a kid and I still watch it. Well I DVR it and watch it later.

6. I hate to cook and do dishes. I also hate laundry. Cart does most of the cooking, all the dishes and most of the laundry. I occasionally help with the laundry. My parents made us cook, clean and do our own laundry when I turned 5 so I've done it enough in my lifetime.

7. My absolute favorite show is Grey's Anatomy! It is my all time favorite show.

And now the Awards

1. Sarah @ Life Sweet Life
2. Heather @ Just Believe
3. Leah @ Life According to Leah
4. Kim @ NewlyWoodwards
5. Aly @ The Infertility Overachievers
6. Lisa @ Three Cats and a Baby
7. Amber @ Life in the Last Frontier
8. Amber @ A Life Uncommon
9. Jenny @ Anything Pretty
10. Mama J @ Her Womb, Our Hearts
11. Jim and April @ Immeasurably More...Our journey through Adoption, Life and Love!
12. Jennifer @ Our Journey to Our VBK Family
13. RELH @ Plans Change
14. Tammy @ Tammy's Journey
15. Elaine @ God's Faithfulness Through Infertility

Rescheduled....Again!

2011-01-21T16:35:00.002-05:00

It has been a very busy week here at the Chapman's. The week started out with a text from my dad that his brother had passed away. Uncle Ray was called to be with the Lord on Monday. He joined my Grandma to watch over us in heaven.

On Tuesday I did my pre-intern day at school and was scheduled for my one-on-one interview with the social worker. As I was at the library getting books for the lesson I am going to teach I received a call from our social worker. She called to let me know she needed to cancel not only my appointment but Cart's as well. She rescheduled me for Friday (today at 10am).

Wednesday I drove to P'cola for my Uncle's viewing that night and funeral on Thursday.

Yesterday was the funeral and then I drove back to make it to class by 6pm. Let me just say the drive from our city to P'cola is the most boring stretch of highway ever. I made it to class about an hour after it started. I came home and fell into bed.

Then today Cart called to wake me up early (I sleep in when he leaves for work). I shower, get dressed, and drive to the Southside of town for my meeting. I get there and our SW comes down and gives me this weird look. I question her look and she said she has our appointment on her calendar for NEXT Friday. I mention that we were talking about this Friday when we were speaking and she was looking at the next Friday on her calendar. All I can say is I'm just frustrated.

Now Cart is scheduled for his interview Tuesday at 2pm here at the house before our home visit. I'll still be at the school so I won't get home until 330. When I get home we'll do the home visit part. Then she rescheduled me for Wednesday morning.

Hopefully, there will be no need to reschedule any of our appointments next week. In other news I've had no time to scrap our profile book. I'm going to resort to a digital book. I'm a little bummed about it, but with school, interning, subbing, and lia sophia I just don't have the time.

Need a Blog Makeover

2011-01-18T16:43:00.002-05:00

If you need a blog Makeover like I do, then you should go check out Aly over at Infertility Overachievers. She designs blogs and is doing a fabulous giveaway. Check it out Here

Also check out her designs over here.

Here's to hoping I win. :)

School - AAAAHHHH

2011-01-12T22:30:00.002-05:00

School started this week for Spring semester. I'm taking 5 classes but not all at once, thank goodness. I am taking 3 classes the first 8 weeks and 2 the other 8 weeks. All while working and adoption meetings and cleaning the house. Thanks goodness my house doesn't have to be spotless but it needs to be cleaned.

I started thinking tonight while reading over my classwork for the classes, what if we are that miracle family that gets a baby right after approval. How the heck am I going to do everything I'm doing now and take care of a baby. Instant panic set in, are we doing this with the right timing. What if I have to finish school and take care of a baby. How will I juggle all that.

All along I've been thinking that we'd be matched sometime this spring/summer and have a baby sometime summer/fall. If our baby was born in the summer it would be perfect timing because I only have to take one class. Then I intern in Fall so it would be just like having a normal job so no worries there.

To think about all this I just need to remember God won't give us more than we can handle.

Fee Meeting with SW

2011-01-06T19:07:00.002-05:00

We had our fee meeting with our SW and Agency Director today. Basically we just went over all the fees what they mean, where they go, and when they are due. We also set up our meetings for the remainder of the home study.

My interview is on the 18th. Cart's interview is on the 19th and our home visit is on the 25th. Because I'm going to Chicago this weekend that leaves us only 2 weekends to get our house ready. On top of that I start school next week that takes 3 of my nights away. Wish us luck as we go through the process.

Fee Meeting Scheduled

2011-01-04T13:06:00.002-05:00

We finally have our fee meeting scheduled for Thursday at 3pm. I'm excited to get this out of the way and move onto our interviews and home visit. The only crappy part about the Thursday meeting is I'm sick.

I aquired the funk bug going around work. I'm glad it came this week before school starts but hoping it doesn't last long.

In other news, I'm heading to Chicago this weekend for Success Camp for my lia sophia business. I'm leaving my semi-warm locale to go experience snow and 30 degree temps. Good thing is once I'm in the hotel I won't need to leave.

Wish us luck with the fee meeting.

New Years Eve Eve

2010-12-30T11:29:00.002-05:00

I won't be around tomorrow as I am working and we are going to a dinner with the extended family. Nothing better than ringing in the New Year with family.

Last year I did a fun post of recaps and resolutions. I thought it only fitting to recap the year, see how we did on last years resolutions, and what resolutions we have for the New Year.

Here are the resolutions for 2010:

Family:
We Always hope for our miracle and we pray daily for one. But we always remember that we have each other and make the most of it. No Miracle yet. Although we started the adoption process.

Home:
We have a few projects lined up for this year:

Build Storage in the Garage Fail. This is now 4th on the list
Remodel the guest bathroom Success! Just need the built in closet done.

Our Resolutions as a couple:

Be better at the organization and clutter Sorta kinda Success. Although it has been better we haven't mastered it yet.
Note where every penny is spent Fail. While our spending did get a little better, I bet if I went through the bank statements I'd find frivilous spending.
Weekly Menu Plans This is an epic fail. We did lots of eating out this year.

My Resolutions/Goals:

Lose another 20lbs this year by making it to the gym 3x/week Total fail. I actually gained the Freshman 15.
Make a card for everything that requires a card....No store bought cards We did buy a few cards. But did use some hand made cards.
Try to make all gifts for the year I made quite a few Christmas gifts but others were store bought.
Do a least one scrapbook page a week Total fail. I think I did no scrapbooking in 2010
Learn how to sew Nope. That sewing machine I really wanted for Christmas last year and got, yeah still in the box.
Go back to School Total Success! Started in March 2010

Cart's Goals

Run 2 Marathons and the MS Mud Run Success! He did the Disney Marathon and the Marine Corp Marathon. He also did the MS Mud Run
More DIY house projects This year he remodeled the guest bathroom.

Now you are wondering what our exciting goals and resolutions are for the new year. Since you asked I will share.

Family:

We will be parents in 2011, well in our minds we will be. We are hoping that we'll be matched with a BM sooner in 2011 than later.

Home:

Do the closet for the guest bathroom
Closet for the babies room
Put table top above our washing machine as seen here.
Storage in the garage.
Price our the Master bath remodel

Our Resolutions as a couple

Pay off the major cards
Follow our budget to a T.
Spend time with each other when the opportunity arises.

My Goals/Resolutions:

Lose the Freshman 15 plus some. As a side note when I started back to school I was a Junior however I think Freshman 15 sounds better. But totally doesn't look better.
Actually Scrap this year.
Learn how to sew this summer while I only have 1 class.
Continue to make all A's.
Be a better wife. We can always do better and I need to learn the balancing game of school, work, husband.

Cart's Goals:

I don't know his goals so I will post those later.

I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year!

Christmas and New Years

2010-12-27T09:46:00.003-05:00

Christmas for us was good. Thursday before Christmas we had my dad, brother and his wife over for dinner. It was nice to catch up with my dad face to face. Christmas Eve both Carter and I had to work, he worked during the day and I worked the night shift. Which meant we didn't get to do anything with family on the Eve. We were able to make it to Midnight Mass at my in-laws church. Christmas morning we went over to the in-laws for Brunch, gifts, then we went to see Lit.tle Foc.kers. Afterwards we made dinner and enjoyed each other's company.

Gift wise we had a good Christmas. But the gifts aren't what matters to us. We got to spend time with our families and see our godsons. So it was a great Christmas. There was a gift of note that came from my mom, she bought us our first receiving blanket and bottles. With the hope that we would be matched sooner than later. :)

What's in store for the New Year?

Well I think 2011 is going to be the best year ever (except for the year we got married :) ) First will be our 5th wedding anniversary. Then I'll be turning 30 in June. I will graduate college in December. And the best thing to happen in 2011 is that We will become parents! It will be a busy great year and we can't wait. I've been so excited for 2011 that when I card patrons at the bar if their ID says it expires in any month in 2011 I say "I'm sorry your ID is expired I can't serve you." Of course I realize my mistake and serve them but it makes for some crazy looks.

Here is to 2011! Hope you all have a great New Year!

Thanks ~ Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T21:47:00.003-05:00

Thanks for the support about our agency issues. I would love to switch agencies but this is the only agency that got back with us so quickly when we first approached us. They were the only agency who would give us information up front without a fee for consultation. That is the reason we chose them. Go figure that they are doing the opposite now.

I did send an email yesterday requesting that they set up our fee meeting for the week immediately following the New Year. I mentioned in the email that I return to school on the 10th and my schedule becomes very hectic and hard to match up with Cart's so it would be best to schedule that meeting at that time. I am praying that she responds next week.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas. Have a blessed day and enjoy all the time with family and friends.

2011 is going to be a great year...find out why real soon!