New full-time job

This is a picture of one happy mama and her, as normal, sleepy baby boy. Asleep again. My mom took this picture when I returned home from work today. Today was my final day of work and I kind of squealed as I drove off the center. Not because I hated the job. I had a great job and worked with some wonderful people. It was a great place for me and I can see why God’s hand led me to it. And I feel that job has made a huge financial impact in us being able to adopt right now. It has been a huge blessing! And I will miss the people dearly! And so I drove away today feeling so blessed. So blessed to have a husband that has the faith to say we can make it fine with me at home. A husband that is so encouraging and supportive of this dream. And I know that not all women are cut out to stay home with their children. But I feel like I will finally be doing what I truly love. Sitting on the couch eating bon-bons and watching soap operas. Just kidding, I have no interest in soap operas, but the bon-bons sound pretty good right now. No, really, I am just looking forward to raising children. Just my children – not everyone else’s. :) And so we begin a new and fun adventure!

When it Rains, it Pours

Jeremy and I work with an amazing group of people. I don’t just say that because they showered us with gifts today. I say that because I have witnessed their generosity for the past 2+ years while working with this bunch. At Christmas, my birthday, Secretaries Day, they always go above and beyond. And yesterday was no exception. We had a wonderful baby shower and received so many of the necessities that we have been needing since the arrival of Holden. You know, normally you have the baby showers before the arrival of the baby. That must be so convenient! We knew that with adoption it would be different and the baby showers would come later. But our co-workers immediately got on the ball and started planning so that we wouldn’t be in need for long.

So yesterday was an exciting event! Holden went to his first baby shower. And like most other things, he slept through the entire shower while he was passed from person to person. Everyone wanted to love on our little guy which was so nice. We were once again overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends and co-workers. They were too good to us. Thank you all for being so kind! Holden received some adorable clothes and he will be such a stylin’ boy for months to come. I have to say that my most exciting gift was my jogging stroller! Ok, you may have noticed over there on the right that the “logging my jogging” has come to a HAULT! Hear my excuse: we learned of Holden at last minute and I had promised my job 2 weeks notice before I flew the coup for good. So I have been working full-time (or a little less) the past 2 weeks and today (Friday) is my final day at work. After that I will be a full-time stay at home mommy! So lately, my evenings have been spent bonding with my Holden, NOT hitting the pavement. And to think I was up to 4 miles 2 weeks ago. But now I have a jogging stroller. This is so exciting to me! I know I need to wait several more weeks before I jostle him around in that thing. But won’t that thing be great motivation for me!! What a wonderful gift! I can’t say thank you enough.

We also received our pack-n-play which means we are ready for a road trip. He’ll have a place to sleep when we travel to see our families. Which should be very soon! I can’t list everything that we received. There were so many wonderful things. We loaded up the trunk of my car and the bed of Jeremy’s truck. These thoughtful people made our very first baby shower such a special one that we will never forget. A huge thank you to all of our friends at the FAA! You people have been a blessing to work with! And I will miss you all!

3 Outfits in One Day

3 outfits today and the night is still young. We are lucky in that mister Holden has not spit up a single time. So normally one outfit really does lasts all day long. But today with church, we have had to do some changing, which he is still not too fond of. So after church, we put him in this. I believe this was his cousin Cameron's onesie last summer. And during a diaper change he tinkled all over his onesie, his own face and the wood floors of his room. No I didn’t use the wee block during this change because I didn’t want to get poo on it. I know, I know. My mistake, because instead we ended up with tinkle everywhere.

And so then we changed him to this. I think this was also Cameron's. At last minute notice of Holden coming, Aunt Amy saved the day with all of Cameron's 0-3 month clothes from last year. But I do have to say a love that dark skin in yellow!

Showered with Gifts

Today Holden slept through his first Bible Fellowship class. We are new to this and didn’t plan very well. So he was due for a feeding right in the middle of class. And he is a pretty noisy eater and gets noisily excited about his bottle. So I wondered where I would go to feed him when this happened. (Just so the classroom wouldn’t have to be disrupted by my babies gulping and loud heavy breathing as he drinks it down in a dramatic performance.) We still have to laugh every time he takes his bottle. Wish you all could experience it first hand. But instead of waking up hungry, he slept through the whole thing and we were able to feed him once we got home. This weekend, he worked his way up to taking a full 3oz at a time and is now going 3-4 hours between feedings. Though sometimes after 2 hours he thinks he is hungry. We can usually trick him with a passy. Since this is my first baby, I don’t even know what is normal. But it’s an increase from last week, so that seems good.

Our Bible Fellowship class had a necessities shower for us today and they were so generous! We received lots of fun things like onesies, clothes and blankies. And then of course the helpful necessities like diapers, wipes, baby wash and lotion. Thank you so much Young Married Life!!

I tried to get Jeremy to take this picture with Holden. I’m sure you are tired of seeing me all over this blog. You’re thinking - where is Jeremy? Well, here he is. Trying to catch up on some much needed sleep. Notice the new blankie from Kendra’s shop. Thanks Kendra and Melissa (and Tommy and Rudi)! I absolutely love it!! And Holden does too!

Bath Time! (not yet a fan)

So here was our first bath experience. A sponge bath of course (still waiting on that ambilical cord to completely come off). I think that is why he hated it so - since it was just a sponge bath. They can leave you feeling kind of cold, you know. But after a few cuddles with mama in his warm bath towel, he was in much better spirits. This is one of my favorite pictures of our little guy.

2 Gifts for Mother's Day

Sunday was a very special day for this new mama. 11 day old Holden MADE Mother's Day for me!

Gift #1 - Baby Holden, our gift from God, received just 2 days before this special occasion. Gift #2 - the bib was a gift from Jeremy. Jeremy made my first Mother's Day a very special one - with flowers and balloons (and several uncomplaining trips to Babies R Us for all of the necessities that we were needing).

Beautiful Blessing

Before you were conceived, I wanted you.
Before you were born, I loved you.
Before you were here an hour, I would give my life for you.

All About Holden

I know this post is long overdue, as we have had Holden in our home for 6 days now. But we have been too busy staring at him, cuddling with him, kissing on him and so on. He quickly captured our hearts. We learned about our baby boy on Tuesday, May 6th and I think that is when my heart began to love him. I could feel it that night as I lay in bed trying to fall asleep. There were so many what if’s about the situation, that we only shared the possibility of him with family. On Thursday we received a phone call that was very promising and then we met him Thursday evening. It was amazing!! This was such a unique experience that I know most people will never truly understand. It was that moment that I have longed for, the immediate rush and excitement and how our hearts immediately opened up to the child that God had promised us. And now I am trying to savor every moment with my boy.

Holden Wayne Jeremiah was born on May 1st at 11:18am. He was named Jeremiah Allen by his birth mother. When we found out that he was going to be our son, we decided that we wanted to keep Jeremiah in his name so that he could always have that part of his history. Wayne is Jeremy’s middle name, his dad’s middle name and his grandfather’s middle name. So of course, it is now Holden’s middle name. And we picked the name Holden simply because we liked it. Back to May 1st. He weighed in at 7lbs and 1oz and was 20.5 inches long. And there you have it. He is a healthy baby boy! I am so thankful for his birth mother that had big hopes and dreams for our Holden. And what a gift she has given to Jeremy and I! It’s overwhelming!

Sometimes, it feels like I have been interrogated with questions about his history, mainly information about his birth parents. And each time it seems to catch me off guard. So what I stated above is all that I am going to share about Holden’s history. I feel like the why’s and who’s of the matter are not important (to outsiders). And I know people are just curious and adoption is so unfamiliar to those that have not experienced it in some way. But I just want his story to be exactly that - HIS. And if he wants to share the details one day, that will be his option to do so. Not mine or Jeremy’s.

Back to Holden. We are learning so much and having so much fun. Here are some observations we have made in the last 6 days.
1) Everyone should stand back during a diaper change. It could come a-sprayin’ from either end. Luckily, when I’m in the room, I’m changing the diaper. Never just observing. So I have yet to be initiated into the Gross Club.
2) He does not like to have his clothes removed and will let you know it. He can be quite the fusser when he is a naked boy.
3) It took us 3 days to hear a cry from him and that was during his sponge bath. See observation #2. Clothes were removed for the bath.
4) He kind of squeals like a girl (instead of crying) right before a feeding. And normally falls asleep on us before the bottle is emptied. Such a hungry boy, but 2.5 ounces is alot for that little belly!
5) The past 2 days, his most awake time has been between 12-2am. Nice!

And I will post new pictures tonight. I promise! He is one studly little boy that we are enjoying showing him off. Thank you God for your wonderful gift!!

"For this child I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him." 1 Samuel 1:27

Introducing . . .

Holden Wayne Jeremiah

You guessed it. This is our baby boy. It has been a whirlwind of a couple of days. And we are going to pick him up and bring him home this afternoon. We couldn’t be more excited! This is the child that God had planned to bless us with and it finally all makes perfect sense. The last 2 years suddenly seem completely worth the struggles and waiting. Because what a precious gift! There will be more details to come. Right now I have many things to do before we go to pick him up.

Design on a Dime

So I found a little design idea online and decided it would be perfect for our nursery. So I definitely can’t claim the creativity of this project. This is the wall that the dresser sits on. I bought all of the frames from a local thrift store. So the project cost roughly $12. I threw out everything except the wooden portion of the frame. I painted most of them and covered 2 of them in leftover material from the bedding mom made. And here is the finished product.

Speaking of the bedding mom made, did I ever show off her completed handiwork? I don’t think that I did. So shame on me! Here is the finished blanket and the 2 pillows she made. I know, babies don’t need pillows. But aren’t they cute! Oh! And there’s a diaper stacker too . . . it’s hanging in the closet for now. Maybe another time. She really did an amazing job on everything. And we are grateful!

We’re ready for you baby!!

What helpful friends!

Your comments were ever so helpful. And so on Friday evening, I downloaded most of the suggestions mentioned. And on Saturday morning I went for a jog outside the neighborhood. And I jogged and jogged and jogged while listening to a little Fergie, Beyonce, Justin, Simpson gals (Jessica and Ashlee) and many many others. Let me mention that one of my favorites that I thought up all by myself is, Eye of the Tiger by Survivor. Oh the memories come flooding back of aerobics in elementary PE class. Some of you remember very well. “Elevator down, bomp, bomp, bomp. And up . . . . Scissor arms.” Anyways, once I was back to my house, I got in the car to track the mileage I had run. And you know what I found? 2.9 miles – that is what the car pedometer read. Had I known where I was in the distance, I would have kept going. But I was back to my house and very much tired, so I had stopped. So I think I am ready for a 5k. And I will be running in one on Saturday. Stay tuned for race pictures. Well, let’s not call it a race . . . just a leisurely, timed, crowded, jog through a zoo. It really is at the zoo. Is that strange to anyone else? The race is in support of clean air. Zoo air (or at least the smell) is some of the raunchiest in my opinion. Just a little bit of irony, I think.

So originally, this blog was going to revolve around our adoption and us growing our family. It is becoming more about me and running and other mindless topics. Sorry there are no adoption updates. We are just waiting . . . very patiently, I might add.

What's your personality type?

I am an INFJ

The Protector You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity. Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is. You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience. You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them. In love, you truly see relationships as an opportunity to connect and grow. You enjoy relationships as long as they are improving and changing. You can't stand stagnation. At work, you stay motivated and happy... as long as you are working toward a dream you support. You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher. How you see yourself: Hardworking, ethical, and helpful When other people don't get you, they see you as: Manipulative, weak, and unstable

A little Myers-Briggs test for ya. And here are the letter guides:
E/I - Extrovert/Introvert
S/N – Sensory/Intuitive (concrete thinker/abstract thinker)
F/T – Feeling/Thinking (which are you more inclined towards?)
P/J – Perceiving/Judging (impulsive/scheduling)

The strange thing about all of this is that some point in the last 10 years, my personality has changed. And I can completely see it and have noticed the change, especially since leaving college life 6 years ago. Which is, in part, why I did the test. Just to see what I actually was on paper. I remember doing this test my senior year of high school and I was an ESFJ. Definitely more social and outgoing back then, but in recent years the extrovert in me has dwindled and I am definitely more introverted now. I thrive on deep, close relationships rather than having lots of casual friends. Small talk is not my forte. And now I am an abstract thinker? Really? Interesting. So which one are you? I’m interested. Here is the link to test:

What's your personality type?