A Sweet Surprise!

So, I suppose I should just write down the story of Mason.  It's been almost three weeks since bringing him home and we haven't really stopped to realize what has happened.  We have been going about the same routine and have just added this sweet boy to it all!  At least he's used to the noise and the dog noses in his face!

A lot of people I've talked to have commented on how quiet we've kept it and asked why we didn't tell anyone!  Well, we didn't have much time to tell anyone and weren't trying to keep it quiet, it all happened so quickly this time around (which is what we wanted, yes, Chad)!!  Sorry if this ends up being longer than I think it is in my head.

So, we were notified of an expectant mom (they are not birth moms at this point, by the way) on a Thursday night.  She had come into the Bethany office to try to find a family for her baby boy, which was due a week later.  We were asked if we wanted to have our profile book shown to her.  Um, YES!  So, she took five profiles home over the weekend to consider, ours was one.  On Friday, we were told she wanted to meet us and another couple on Monday night.  Ok, so we spent the weekend excitedly figuring out if we needed to be ready for next week, but tried not to be too sure, so we didn't really get anything ready.

On Saturday night, I was working at the spaghetti dinner at the clubhouse in our subdivision, having fun with all the neighborhood ladies, serving 3 meatballs and 2 pieces of bread per customer (plus our yummy Oreo cheesecakes Bella & I made for dessert, I should really post the recipe, super easy)!!  They had a raffle for some baskets and this beautiful handmade afghan, which I put all my tickets into the bag for that blanket, just hoping it would be a sign.  Sure enough, they called my name!  Little did I know, that sweet Mason Alexander, was born about an hour before I won the blanket.  When we got home from the spaghetti dinner, there was an email that his mom went into labor (not the plan) and our meeting with her for Monday was cancelled.  I thought that may have been the end of it, since she would see him, hold him, feed him, and then decide she would take him home. It was ok, since we hadn't met and he wasn't ours to have.

 On Monday, we were told the meeting was rescheduled for Tuesday night, she still wanted to find a family for him.  They had both left the hospital Monday afternoon, but Mason went to a foster family's home, per her request. Chad, Bella, and I walked down to the pier to fish and I brought my camera to get some action shots (and in case we finally caught a big one with Bella's little pole)!  While we fished, the sky was cloudy, but the sun's rays were hitting the water so peacefully, and swans were swimming across the sunny part, as if to say, no matter what, it is ok, stay calm (I know, it's corny, but yet another good sign).

I ended up subbing for my 5th grade partner on Tuesday, which was already planned the month before.  It was perfect, since I didn't want to spend one more day waiting and wondering.  The kids were fun and it kept my mind off of it.  I drove back home, got ready, and we went to meet her and her parents.  We had a wonderful conversation, there were tears by all of us, talking about what we all wanted for Mason...there was some laughter too, since we kept calling him Nathan and they kept asking, "who's Nathan?" (the name was heard wrong by the social worker in her voicmail).  All in all, we thought it went well, but had to cut it short, since another couple was meeting with her afterward.  I figured we wouldn't hear anything that night, as it was close to 8:00 when our meeting was done.  So, we went to sleep, going over in our minds, what was said, and some pretty hopeful things in our favor, but we still weren't 100% sure.

On Wednesday, we woke up to a rainy, dark day (hmm, weird), and Chad had to go to court.  Bella had ballet and couldn't miss it, although we both could've slept all day!  As I was getting her ready to go, the phone rang.  I knew it was our social worker, as nobody ever calls that early (they know we aren't up)!  She asked me if we were ready to bring home a baby boy!!  She said that our meeting must've gone very well!  I was in shock.  We had nothing ready, especially for a boy, and we didn't want him to wear pink the 1st day!  I still had to take Bella to ballet, texted Chad that we were going to pick up our SON!  He walked out of court and called me.  After ballet, a stop at JCPenneys to grab every blue sleeper we could hold, and back home to pick up Chad, we were on our way to Bethany to sign papers, and to the foster mom's house by 2:00 to see Mason for the first time and bring him home!!

It still seems so crazy to think that we were all ready to update our home study, since it had been almost a year of waiting, and even consider having Bella as our only child, which we thought may have been the plan.
Now we have Mason, and he makes our family complete.  It was the best surprise ever and of course, we want the best for his family, to never be able to thank them for letting us raise this sweet boy, to be the best little man he can be. 

SO, that's the story!  Crazy. 

Wishes for Spring

Today is supposedly the first day of spring and I guess it IS raining (no more snow)!  Yesterday would have been more appropriate for the 1st day, as it was sunny and I think all of the snow piles in our yard have finally disappeared, and it just looked prettier! 

So our new goal (maybe not so new, just going to actually do it) for TOMORROW is to get our butts moving and be more active.  Not too difficult for the 4 year old girl and 7 month old pup, it's just the rest of us in this house that need to be kicked out of the house and off the couch! Starting tomorrow, the male of the house is embarking on a twelve week exercise and diet transformation, where he will be doing things to become healthier and be able to fit in some of his old clothes, instead of buying new (and have some army guy kick his butt)! So, I suppose the "wifely" thing to do is to join him and not just be a cheerleader, as that's never worked before!  It's a good thing that all the Girl Scout cookies have been eaten and that I haven't bought anything bad for awhile from the grocery store.  We've got our weights ready, the elliptical downstairs needs a little dusting, and some meals need to be planned, but we are ready to start! 

Another wish for this house was stated so sweetly last night by Arabella about how she keeps wishin' and wishin' for a real baby to come to our house.  She loves taking care of her doll, but really wants "my own baby".  I told her to keep on wishin'...and she said wishes always come true...must be all those princess movies we've been watching!

I love our little family but would love to be awaiting a new family member right about now!
Wish us luck (especially with our new way of life that starts soon)!!!

Introducing a new website designed by Bella's biological Mama...

http://hopesblessing.weebly.com/my-story.html

Beautifully done!

A new website (and it's free)!

I've found a new website (for me anyway) and it's free for families wanting to adopt.  It's very easy to set up and you can link your blog/website to it.  I have found it gets a lot of traffic, as you can track how many views you get.  The link below is our info, a work in progress, as I always find things I want to change.  We definitely need better pics of the three of us.

http://www.hopingtoadopt.org/index.php/family/letters/101

Waiting for the Blizzard of 2011...when's the lizard going to pop out?

We are waiting for the "storm of the decade" to hit our small town and all around us. We haven't really had a huge storm of any kind for awhile now, so this should be good!  Apparently, Bella thinks a lizard is going to pop out of a snow bank or something, since she keeps looking for one.  I keep telling her B-lizzard, but she wants to hear lizard, so be it.

I've come to realize that life is all about waiting...we hear things that are going to happen or COULD happen, and then we wait.  Sometimes it's fun to wait, but usually not so much.  Like when Mattie and I had to wait for a train to pass while on our walk.  Now that was fun to see her reaction, since she's never been that close to one before!  Waiting for the snow is fun too, but only if you're safe inside, with heat (a fireplace helps too), and plenty to do!  (No baking today, sorry, everyone!  Just some chicken tortilla soup in the crockpot and chili on the stove).  Waiting for some news of a baby isn't fun, although it is fun to know that a call could come any day to tell us we're the ones!

So, here's to waiting for the blizzard (it has started here), the plows, the chili to be done, good news, and the lizard! 
Be safe and stay home if you can!

Welcome To Our Blog

Welcome to our blog!
This is our first attempt at blogging, so bear with me please!!  As most of you know, our daughter, Arabella, is adopted.  She is the light of our lives and we really don't remember life before she came along!  Well, after four years of just the three of us (plus the two dogs), we are starting it all over again, and hoping to find someone out there who wants to join the craziness!  Luckily, he or she will be just a wee one, so they will have no way of knowing what's up until they get a little older! :)

Anyway, all joking aside, we are so blessed for what we have...just loving this beautiful angel who was sent just for us, and now awaiting another, is making it all worthwhile.  Adoption is definitely not the easy way, it's not always joyful, we're not the "lucky ones", or the fun ones.  We're parents just trying to do our best with what God has given us and have more love than we thought to give.  We aren't in any rush to find just any baby, we love having the "boss" of the house tell us what to do, but we know that the right situation will find us.  Please pray for our family and for anyone out there who has to make a decision for their family, that will be forever changed.
Thank you for reading my very 1st blog post!
Now...GO PACK GO!!!!!! (sorry)
Lisa