Thursday, July 28, 2011

Madelyn is two!



I seriously cannot believe that my little girl is two. She used to just lay in my arms and give me the squinty eyed smile. Now she pulls my hair, tells me "no" and is the most adorable thing I think I could ever have imagined. I am too tired to go into much detail, because I will cry. Already starting to tear up... Anyway, she has been the best part of the last two years of my life. I cannot WAIT to see more. I love her so much!

Some of the fun things she does now that she is two (cue tiny fingers trying to make the peace sign, and maybe using the other hand to keep the three unwanted fingers down):
- She loves her mammy: we kiss, we hug, we cuddle EVERY morning.
- She loves her daddy: she runs to him when he gets home and asks for him ALWAYS.
- She reads books, colors pictures, plays with dolls, puzzles and her kitchen.
- She can mostly entertain herself, but there are times when she definitely wants your attention. Usually the hitting to the chest and yelling of your name makes that pretty obvious.
- She has funny sayings. "Wha dat soun?" "Up, pease." "Tinkle, tinkle, ittle sta." "Bess you." "Tank you." "You're welcome." "Cuse me."
- She makes almost EVERY animal sound I can think of. The horse (neh), the alligator (snap), and the elephant (a sound she makes that I can't even write out) are my favorite.
- She is super friendly. She is strong and brave. She keeps her routine really well.
- Overall, she is just a great kiddo. Mu-ah!!

Here are some pictures of her birthday week. Grandma and Grandpa Thye visited as you will see.



Happy two years baby girl!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Cool New God Story

Okay. I keep feeling like God is putting people in my path. And it is not the I just happened to them at the grocery store and they said something odd that made me think kind of thing. It is the 5 million steps that have to all be perfectly in place for the outcome to work out kind of thing. Like the story I mentioned earlier about getting back in touch with Molly.

Anyway,Josh and I took a little break from the initial adoption hype to work out some details. And whoa, are there a lot of details... While on our little get away without Madelyn (the cruise and then a two week Europe trip with the AZ Ambassadors) we were able to get a clearer vision of what adopting looked like for us in the future. Really we just decided that we would start on our home study as soon as possible. So this week I pulled out some paperwork to read over and started making some calls.

Meanwhile I was also getting ready to go to Rockford, IL (where I am now) for a client's wedding. I did her older sister's wedding in Scottsdale last fall and fell in love with this family. Apparently they loved me too because they decided to treat me to four days in Illinois AND pay my fees instead of hiring someone from Chicago. I was super flattered, and very lucky to be here with them. Anyway, the two sisters/brides that I have worked with have an older sister in law named Sara Beth. She is a doll!! This is where the cool story come in...

I had a dream last week that had something to do with Sara Beth being pregnant. Now, those of you who know me well, know I have dreams. Some dreams are just dreams, but some are from God. And we all know when I have one of "those" dreams. They are so vivid I just can't let them go. I know they mean something. Some times it is crystal clear to me and sometimes it is foggy but I know I have to ask questions. That was how this dream about Sara Beth was. Not crystal clear, but I knew it had to do with a baby.

So today when I was with Noma (family friend who is helping me out for the weekend) I asked her if Sara Beth was pregnant. She asked me why. I told her about the dream. Luckily Noma believes in God and the power of dreams and didn't think I was a psyco weirdo. She said I should ask Phoebe (MOB) about it. It seemed like a sore issue and I didn't want to rain on Anna's parade by bringing something like that up. Nor did I know Sara Beth well enough to even feel comfortable asking about her. So I temporarily dropped it.

But tonight at the pizza party the whole family was there and I started to catch up with Ellen, bride number one. She asked about my daughter and I gushed over all the ridiculously adorable things she is doing right now. And then she asks the question EVERY single person asks. Are we going to have more. I love Ellen, so I tell her about Josh and I starting the adoption process. She mentions she has also thought about adopting. Then we get distracted by other people, as often happens at parties.

But later on in the evening Sara Beth finds me and says she would like to talk to me. Apparently Ellen mentioned off the cuff that I was thinking about adopting. So we sit and she tells me the they just got their papers to start their home study. She has a 3 year old, and went through some similar situations that I went through to have Madelyn. Honestly, I think ALL people who try as hard as Sara Beth and I have tried to have kids should be given a gold star on all adoption paperwork. Needless to say, she tried more fertility treatments than I would have had the heart for, and then was blessed with a non fertility related pregnancy that gave her sweet Charlotte. Since then however, things have not worked and she is looking forward to adoption. So that part of the conversation was just fun and encouraging. She is a very strong, REAL girl. Someone who loves Jesus but isn't afraid to tell him when she is mad about life. Someone who can scream, cry, and then laugh. A girl after my own heart. So I was feeling very encouraged by her story and happy that I have a new adoption friend to go on this journey with. (As you all know from my IVF story line, I collect people. I guess I have a big enough mouth that everyone knows my business. Luckily I am a good listener and confidant. Plus, I make friends easy. So I have lots of circles. Adoption is my new one. :o)

After talking about life as we knew it, I asked about the fun part. Where she is headed with all the adoption stuff. Then she dropped the real bomb. One I think was God ordained. The whole reason we were meant to talk this evening. She tells me that she is working with the amazing agency that has all these amazing qualities. She lists them, but I am too tired to get in to what they are, why they are attractive, and what not. But the point is, they are the same things I find attractive in an adoption agency. So now my interest is peaked. She tells me the biggest reason she feel in love with them though is because they are located in her home town, Fort Worth.

Those of you who know adoptions know that there is travel involved. The biggest trip being after the baby is born. You need to travel to that city and stay for two weeks until your paperwork is all approved. Plane tickets, hotel, food, all that stuff adds up. So you can imagine my thrill when I tell her that my in-laws live in Forth Worth and I had no idea there was an agency like the ones I had been looking at in other states, in a state where I would actually want to travel to. A place where I could bring my daughter. A place where I would have a house to stay in. With real food and appliances. And family to surround us. This is a HUGE DEAL. I was so thankful that I was there, in that house, making a friend of Sara Beth and learning one of the most comforting things I could have learned about.

So that is it. My story. I totally get excited about this stuff. I called my hubby right away. And of course my in-laws. I wanted to share my cool God story, but they should also know that I plan on using them for the above stated purpose. And of course, they are thrilled to pieces over it.

Thank you God for this night!