Hello...

Well, washing baby clothes was about all I accomplished in the baby room. I did get most of the girls toys out of there and cleaned out all their winter dresses. I have the clothes all ready to pack for the trip to Georgia. 7 weeks until her due date, 9 weeks until mine. Pray God will work it all out according to His plan. It would go so well if I went early and she went late but only God knows how long each of these babies will need to be the healthiest they need to be.

I looked up the town where the baby will be born and I found 115 Baptist Churches. I was looking for the same denomination as we are for ease of looking. I plan to contact them a week or two before birth mom's due date so they can see if there is anyone willing to house us for the time we are there. It would save us hotel costs anyway. Kevin does have a cousin a couple hours away in Atlanta so we may chose that option.

At a graduation yesterday we talked with another family starting the adoption journey. They are planning to adopt two boys in Ethiopia. They will attend the same training we went to in Spokane last summer. The agency they are using is run by the people who put on the training. She mostly had questions on fundraising. This is still a challenge for us. With daily life and the pregnancy I don't know what to do. My idea for July is a bake sale with baked goods, canned jams and jellies and Jordan's skirts she makes. Kevin would like to do a raffle but with what? I think the fair in Breckenridge is coming up so that could be a place to announce a winner. I can think of things but implementing them is not my strong point. I would attempt another rummage sale but I am moving slow on that basement. I don't even know if I have enough to have another one. Pray for God to work in this too. We have $7,000 for the adoption. We need $10,000 more to make it without any adoption debt. Pray for God's working in this. I only write the amounts so you can Praise God for what he has done and pray specifically for what we need. God Bless! Have a good week.

Anything cuter than baby clothes...

Well, maybe a baby:) We washed a bunch of baby boy clothes today and it is fun looking them over and remembering my first born boy in an outfit and finding my favorite sleeper when Gideon was a baby. We had to throw half the bucket away because of horrible stains. I didn't attempt to wash them all out. I think they were there for the last boy but not so bad then. I thought we would need onesies because I threw them all away but then Emily found a pile of them from some giving person at church. Also, God is so good. I was just thinking this week about needing another car seat and someone called and offered us theirs that was used only for one child. What a blessing! We have two now, since the one I used for the last child was only used for her too.

I called the agency in Georgia today and had a wonderful conversation with the director of the agency there. Wonderful person with a great accent. I had a couple questions about the birth and do we have any say in anything? We don't really but the case worker can tell our preferences and if it is an adoption friendly hospital they may honor our requests. Why I wonder wouldn't a hospital be adoption friendly? She said it is common. Hmmm? We may not be able to pick him up at the hospital if it isn't because they won't allow us there! I didn't think of that. But, she wasn't concerned, said we'll just meet somewhere close by when the baby is released. She did say a common thing was for the baby to enter a care home until the 10 day wait period it up and then we go get him but no way!!!! That is not an option for us. We need him to bond to his family. I guess it is in case you don't get to leave with him if the mom changes her mind in that 10 days and for expense reasons.

www.queenofmany.blogspot.com made it official in her home and finalized the adoption of her two boys. We are happy for her family and for those blessed boys to find a home like this. Praise God for raising up the workers in the field.

Everything is still going well

I received an email saying birth mom is still firm in her decision and would like to attend college after baby is born. We are still pursuing ideas for getting me down there to pick him up. We can't really make any decision until we know when she goes into labor and how I'm feeling around then. I did find some bottles that say they help encourage breastfeeding. I didn't buy them since I'll pick up what we need on the way. My goal this week is to empty the baby room of all the girls (junk) stuff and clean off the border. I'd like to get a crib or two set up too and some clothes in the dresser. We'll see if I actually do these things. I have been so tired Mon. and Tues. and could hardly do anything. I think it must be my thyroid. I ordered some herbals that are supposed to heal what's wrong with the thyroid. Pray they come soon and that they work. I had to pay quite a bit extra to ship UPS:(

Oh, and I called "Becky". She is the midwife many of my friends have used to have a home birth. We meet with her July 11th. We are planning for this baby to be born at home. Gideon was born at home quite by accident and it was the best birth ever. I was so relaxed and hardly knew I was in labor thus resulting in his being born in the bathroom:) I need prayers to keep eating the right way. I have slipped some and ate ice cream a couple times. I don't have gestational diabetes but with the thyroid problem sugar and carbs are still an ever present problem for me. The kids are going to buy me a large candy bar to eat after the baby is born (so they say). I said just make it a Reese's Peanut Butter cup. Mmmmm!

Have a good week and weekend.

Doctor's Appointment today

I had an appointment today. I did the sugar test where you drink the stuff. It turned out good! My thyroid stayed the same. Last time the doctor told me it would only get worse because it doesn't get better on it's own but I wonder about it staying the same. My T4 level was 0.85 and is only a little low. Does anyone know about this? If it is only a little low how does that affect you? Should I take the medication? I was going to take the medication if it didn't get better so now what? I am leaning towards taking it. Did my change in diet help it get better and would keeping on the diet improve it or keep it the same? I wish there were clear cut answers. I am 4 pounds less than last time! I was quite pleased with that and attribute it to eating better and getting more exercise. BUT, I measured 37 weeks along and I am only 29 weeks. That is not good! He wasn't too concerned because the baby might be sideways and I have a lot of amniotic fluid in there. He thought most airlines don't let you fly by 36 weeks which could cause a problem but we'll have to wait and see when she goes into labor. If we were adopting internationally we wouldn't get the baby within days of birth so this is just a part of it, I guess. I was wrong the other day when I said 10 weeks. This Monday she'll be 8 weeks away and I will be 10 weeks. I'm due Sept. 1-3 and hers is August 18th.

Busy Week

We've had Vacation Bible School all week and it is over today! One of the best parts was that they provided lunch each day. It really helped relieve the stress of running kids somewhere in the morning and then coming home and trying to figure out what to make for lunch. It was a good time for the kids. They saw some friends, learned some songs, saw some great puppet presentations and made a few crafts; all things they like to do. I am glad to be home again, until swim lessons start that is.

I haven't had much time to think on the upcoming adoption except when I wake up in the night I think about the little things. We had a great suggestion about getting down there and home when the time comes. When we get the call I might be able to fly if she goes early enough but staying 10 days will put me too near my due date so we will rent a car home. Not ideal to drive from Georgia to North Dakota 38-39 weeks along but it sure is better than me not being there to bond with my child. Kevin really thinks I need to be there. Someone else told me about supplemental nursers to feed the new baby with until I can try nursing him. I need to check that out.

We got the file on the birthmom today too. The only "hitch" that I can see is that birthdad probably won't sign but the agency down there believes he'll have his rights terminated for various reasons and they don't feel it will be an obstacle. Only about 10 weeks to go. 10 weeks can go pretty fast, in this case I hope so! :)

Thanks for all the comments

Thank you for checking in on us and for your words of encouragement and for the calls I've gotten and emails. I appreciate the support from so many, many of whom are where we are or have been. God be with you all.

I'm not sure where to begin?!? You must read though!

First of all, we have an amazing God! I am constantly amazed at His working in our life! A friend who is interested in adopting called me this morning to ask questions about the home study. She has 4 girls and I told her about the process and the wait and (many more things before this but) how we were warned that with more than 1 child many birth moms won't look at your profile but then I said but that doesn't really matter since God is in control and he'll make it happen when it is in His plan. I think that is what makes this whole insane process bearable. I am not in control! 20 minutes later our social worker at our adoption agency calls me with a strange "story". It seems when we called to say we were pregnant they had called in all of our profile books that were sent to some agencies around the United States but one was missed. A birth mom saw our profile recently and picked us!!! Yes, you read that correctly! She picked us! The downside at the moment was that they didn't know we were pregnant. I was really walking on air all day just because she picked us. She specifically liked our big family. So Lindsey called the agency and told them about our pregnancy, they called the birth mom and she still wants us! Wow! Our family is just so excited. She is due 12 days before my due date so things could get tricky around that time traveling and what if I was early and she was late, etc, etc. Right now none of that matters. God is so amazing and it will work out accordingly. Most of you are aware that it isn't final anyway until the baby is born, in our arms 10 days later on our way home but we won't dwell on that right now either. I had been hoping and praying some for a baby placement a month or two or three after our baby was born so I could nurse both and now it may still be possible. Please just pray for God's working in this and for His glory to be seen and for other's to be encouraged by this. I just want everyone who has a heart for it, to adopt! It will be pretty quiet now until we hear news of labor, (in more ways than one).

For that profile to still be out there and for her to pick us out for a particular reason is nothing short of a miracle to me! Praise be to God!

Oh, it's a boy!

I might as well...

I might as well blog again today since the computer is cooperating. I don't have much to report. We had a good day. It is supposed to be the only day without rain for awhile so we worked outside. I actually got the whole lawn mowed which hasn't happened yet this year. It always rains and then we have one half done and the other half not. The peas and onions look so good. They are enjoying this cool, wet weather. The kids made a nice supper tonight and Kevin was busy cleaning the horse pen with the tractor so had to eat later. It was so mushy and Midnight was slipping around. It was a good time to do it before the rain and then she'll have a real hard time walking around in there.

The baby is still being very active. I love feeling him or her moving around. It is probably my favorite part of being pregnant. NOT, the back-ache, tiredness and not being able to bend over too easily :) I'm not complaining though. It is all part of the process of an incredible blessing. I am looking forward to getting the baby room ready. I want a new crib because the two we have from rummage sales are looking tough and the last kid in a crib would sometimes wake up on the floor because the springy thing broke apart and they fell down. Kevin thinks he could fix it but doesn't that sound bad? It only happened as they got older and were heavy enough to push the corner of the crib down. We'll see what happens when we get them out. We have to wash off the border that kids ripped apart and then paint two walls. I just don't have the oomph to do it so when Kevin has a free day he'll have to initiate it. I'm not sure about having kids do it?! Well, have a good week all and enjoy the rain if you live in our area. I'd be happy if it missed us. God Bless!

More gardening

Jordan has decided to outline the walking paths in her herb garden with rocks. She needs a few more herbs. Not every garden store has a large variety so we have to check out different places. It looks quite neat. Towards the back she has Canna and Gladiola bulbs just starting to come up. I planted about 40 more of those bulbs in various gardens today so they are finally all planted. We got our bush beans planted today too. Just in time for another rain shower. I was mowing off my dandelions again when it hit. I am kind of a fanatic about those things. The spray we have didn't work so every two days I have this crop of just dandelions sometimes with no heads, lots of seeds though. I am not liking it. I like to work in my gardens with a nice mowed yard!:) Probably not a good thing to obsess about but there it is.

I have had a few ups and downs with feeling well. Yesterday, I was extremely tired and then got so emotional and felt like crying and then it was gone and I can't really explain why I felt that way. I'll have to think it was hormonal. I probably haven't eaten the very best that I could although I do eat mostly veggies and protein foods. I let myself have three bites of apple crisp last night but that was way after I wasn't feeling good. I have been snitching a spoon of peanut butter with a few chocolate chips on it some days. Not everyday and not very much, just something to stave off the sweet cravings. I rarely eat any sweets. We went to an anniversary and I had not one drop of punch, root beer from the keg or cake. Not even a taste! It was hard not to drink the punch. Mostly, I feel tired and worn out but I do usually have some energy each day to do something. I actually made breakfast today, Jordan has been getting up before 7:30 a.m. and making things like apple muffins, cornbread, banana bread, etc for the kids. I try not to eat anymore than a bite or two. Bless her though for being so thoughtful and helpful.

Here a chick, there a chick, everywhere a chick, chick

The chickens arrived! Yesterday, by mail the chicks were delivered right to our house. They are fun at the beginning. Here is a picture of the layers I ordered. ( OK, I tried over an hour to get the picture straight and it won't do it so I'll leave it like this.) There are 26 rare breed layers. They will grow into some beautiful birds. We also got 50 fluffy, yellow chicks which we will butcher. So far, there isn't a lot of work involved, water and feed and keep warm. The keep warm is a bit of a challenge since it is rainy and 50 degrees today. It does only say 70 in the coop and ideal for chicks is 90 but they are very active and alive.

When it gets warm my poor overworked husband needs to build another chicken run for the meat birds, one the dog can't get into as was the case two years ago. She got 20 some chickens by jumping the fence. Kevin could use your prayers right now. We have had a few mishaps and it is wearing him down. He's trying to work his regular job, his extra job and take care of this place. I hit a rock with the mower and broke the big window on the big van. With only liability ins. it was quite expensive to fix even with them getting a used piece of glass. The other van is in right now because the wind caught the passenger door and now it doesn't work. Last night he spent hours cutting pipe in the basement trying to find the clog. The drain-o stuff wasn't working so he called his plumber friend and Bill gave him some advice. It was solid packed with grease and egg shells and other matter I am sure. I do drain hamburger grease down the sink. It is seldom and not much so I thought it'd go down. Well, it wasn't a good idea. We put egg shells down the disposal because the dog makes a mess of them out in the garage in the bucket we use for garden like waste. Well, I guess we'll be taking it right out to the trees and she can eat them there. So, today we have to wash all dishes in the bathroom. We had a lot to do this morning so we'll be using lots of paper. Kevin is tired. Last week we had a leak in a bathroom, buckets of water in the basement. It proved to be the plumbing in the wall. We have a temporary fix on that.

What next? is all we can ask. These kind of things happen once in awhile in our life and I've learned to just laugh it off and know it will pass. Kevin does usually to. I'm sure you all can relate. Life just gets busier. His biggest feelings of anxiety would be that his children's lives are passing right in front of him and he seems too busy to do anything about it. Truly, I think he does an excellent job of making time for them and making them feel like it. He rarely shoes them away, he tries to include them. Thankfully, he loves the Lord and has that strength to lean on right now.