Well, I fully intended on writing this post yesterday but I was busy. Doing absolutely nothing that is! Amy and I made, and kept, a pact that we would not leave the house yesterday and we stuck to it! Everyone in Drosche Land needed a day of rest and relaxation and I think we are the better for it. By the time evening had rolled around I just didn't have the energy to post. Funny how doing nothing all day can tire you out!
Yesterday though was a special day for us though. It marked Amy's 24th week of pregnancy! This may not mean much, but 24 Weeks is considered viability and for us that is a sigh of relief. I haven't mentioned it much here but this pregnancy has been a roller coaster for us, especially Amy. I will get further into detail in another post but between hormone supplements, blood pressure, nausea, and doctors it has definitely been an adventure. So, 24 weeks down is a big deal. We are nearing the end here on our road to Stella with somewhere between 10-12 weeks remaining if history has anything to say about it. With the gifts from last weekend's shower and continued gifts this week we are pretty well-prepared for Little Miss, well as prepared as we can be I should say. We are full-on in the exciting and hectic countdown to C (as in C-Section) Day!
However, viability was not the only special thing about yesterday. See, it was also Margaux's 4th birthday! Coincidence? I think not, HE doesn't really work through coincidences. Amy and I smiled and took a little time to talk about her yesterday. It never ceases to amaze us at how she pops up occasionally in our lives, and how she is somewhat tied to this pregnancy. Stella's middle name, Pearl, is a nod to her and now she shares a milestone with her. It's funny how God works. I've mentioned a lot about the verse Jeremiah 29:11 here and it is one of my (and Amy's) favorite verses. It started as a connection to the adoption process we were beginning so long ago, but over time it has developed into a motto/mantra/words to live by for our lives. Amy and I often, as I'm sure many of you do too, try to get our plans to work in what we consider to be the right time. Then HE comes and gently, sometimes not so gently, reminds us that it's HIS plan and HIS time that matters most. Margaux and Stella are both very clear reminders of this for us.
These two girls will never meet. They will never know each other. Margaux will never learn about any of us, although one day we will share the story with Stella. But these two girls will always be connected in some small way, at least in our hearts.
I was also going to post a Sunday Snapshot today as we got the pictures from our shower last weekend! However, it is getting late here and I haven't had a chance to look through the 190 photos! I'm super excited to though and will have the post up tomorrow.
All is well, with mini celebrations, in Drosche Land.
Showing posts with label Margaux. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Margaux. Show all posts
Sunday, March 04, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
2 Years
Well, I have to admit I'm a bit embarrassed dear readers. I did know that my 2-year Blogiversary was coming up, but I thought it was closer to the end of the month, like sometime this week. Imagine my surprise and chagrin when I just checked back and find it was last week Monday! Yikes. So, I'm a week and a day late in wishing y'all a Happy Blogiversary! Oops! I think it's alright though and hope you don't hold it against me. I mean, after all, I didn't receive any cards, candy, or flowers so I can assume that y'all forgot the date as well! :)
Last year we stood at a little more than 200 posts, today this post is #333! Last year we celebrated 3,000 visits to the website, today (as I type) we are at 8,911! The hot topics last year included Margaux, the adoption, the moving/not moving adventure, and Amy's Scentsy business. Wow, have things changed. The biggest being the halt to our adoption adventure. Margaux remains, and always will, in our hearts and minds as does adoption itself. The idea of moving has reared its head occasionally throughout the past year, but it never gained enough of a foothold to get us serious about it. Amy still sells Scentsy, just not as aggressively as before, we still love it though and are addicted to it.
This year we are excited about Stella's birth and the preparation for her, my photo challenges, the A to Z blogging challenge in April (more on this later), and a few recent random posts! We also celebrated the completion of both Amy's and my Masters degrees, which was a major accomplishment! Another highlight was my trip with Adam to Las Vegas. We loved it and still talk about making it a yearly tradition for us, we shall see though. Many other adventures have taken place in the last year (and 8 days). That's one of the things I love most about blogging. It's like a journal/scrapbook for us. Looking back is always fun. Seeing how far we've come, the fun we've had, the things we've done, and anticipating the future. I can only imagine what it will be like in 10 years to look back. I have dreams/plans/thoughts of making a book out of these posts one day to give the kids. Something for them to remember their childhood by as well to remember Amy and I by. Good idea? What do you think? I could totally see it as a graduation gift of some sort. I'm a bit sappy and sentimental like that so the project is right up my alley! We will see what develops, luckily I've got more than enough time to plan it!
Looking into the future, Year 3 promises to be just as adventuresome as Year 2 was. Obviously first and foremost because Stella will arrive. But Year 3 also brings Braeden in 1st Grade with me (yikes!), Jackson in Pre-K, and who knows what other harebrained schemes/projects/ideas we come up with! So, join with me now as we buckle up and ride right into Year 3, or at least the last 358 (remember this is a Leap Year!) days of it!
All is well, 2 years in, in Drosche Land.
Last year we stood at a little more than 200 posts, today this post is #333! Last year we celebrated 3,000 visits to the website, today (as I type) we are at 8,911! The hot topics last year included Margaux, the adoption, the moving/not moving adventure, and Amy's Scentsy business. Wow, have things changed. The biggest being the halt to our adoption adventure. Margaux remains, and always will, in our hearts and minds as does adoption itself. The idea of moving has reared its head occasionally throughout the past year, but it never gained enough of a foothold to get us serious about it. Amy still sells Scentsy, just not as aggressively as before, we still love it though and are addicted to it.
This year we are excited about Stella's birth and the preparation for her, my photo challenges, the A to Z blogging challenge in April (more on this later), and a few recent random posts! We also celebrated the completion of both Amy's and my Masters degrees, which was a major accomplishment! Another highlight was my trip with Adam to Las Vegas. We loved it and still talk about making it a yearly tradition for us, we shall see though. Many other adventures have taken place in the last year (and 8 days). That's one of the things I love most about blogging. It's like a journal/scrapbook for us. Looking back is always fun. Seeing how far we've come, the fun we've had, the things we've done, and anticipating the future. I can only imagine what it will be like in 10 years to look back. I have dreams/plans/thoughts of making a book out of these posts one day to give the kids. Something for them to remember their childhood by as well to remember Amy and I by. Good idea? What do you think? I could totally see it as a graduation gift of some sort. I'm a bit sappy and sentimental like that so the project is right up my alley! We will see what develops, luckily I've got more than enough time to plan it!
Looking into the future, Year 3 promises to be just as adventuresome as Year 2 was. Obviously first and foremost because Stella will arrive. But Year 3 also brings Braeden in 1st Grade with me (yikes!), Jackson in Pre-K, and who knows what other harebrained schemes/projects/ideas we come up with! So, join with me now as we buckle up and ride right into Year 3, or at least the last 358 (remember this is a Leap Year!) days of it!
All is well, 2 years in, in Drosche Land.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Gung Hay Fat Choy
Monday was Chinese New Year! Since it's a 15-day celebration my post is still timely! My how things have changed since the last Chinese New Year. This time last year we were smack in the middle of the adoption process with Margaux. We were busy gathering paperwork and preparing for our home study. We celebrated Chinese New Year by eating some spring rolls and pot stickers, along with a heart-shaped cookie cake (remember here). We spent our time thinking about Margaux and how she was ringing in the new year.
Flash forward a year and we are in a totally different place. This year we didn't really celebrate Chinese New Year here in Drosche Land. We mentioned it to the boys in the morning, Amy and I reminisced about last year, and we did talk about Margaux. She still is, and always will be, a part of us and she does arise in conversations occasionally. I know over time this will lessen but she will always be there. For whatever reason, we may never know, Margaux was placed in our lives, even if only for a short time. What I do know though is that God has a master plan, both for all of us here in Drosche Land and for Margaux. I trust that he has found her the perfect family and she is much-loved and well cared for.
Meanwhile here in Drosche Land we are eagerly awaiting another little girl, our Stella. An answer to our prayers, His answer in His (not our) time. We are nearly halfway through the pregnancy and each day I am more and more eager to meet her. To bring her into the nearly finished nursery and dress her in the pinks, purples, sparkles, and bows. I know that in the scheme of things it will fly by, but currently it seems to be trudging along!
2012 is the Year of the Dragon. Since our Stella will be born in this year I thought I'd research what people born in the Year of the Dragon were supposed to be like, what characteristics would they embody? What I found made us laugh and made me even more eager to meet her. Free spirited and uninhibited. Creative, colorful, flamboyant. Extroverted. Enthusiastic bundles of energy with big ideas and living on a grand scale! Oh my! If this holds true then Stella is sure to be one fired little girl. So far the pregnancy has played out somewhat like this. It has certainly been new and, at times, trying adventure. Research of the years each of the rest of us was born makes me think Stella will definitely keep us on our toes because we do follow the descriptions of our Chinese zodiac counterparts!
Well, I fear this email has become long and random and maybe that's ok. I've just been doing a lot of thinking about God's plans for us and all of the many blessings we've been given! I think our lives, and everything we've gne through and will go through, can be summed up by the Bible verse I've mentioned so many times here on this blog and one that we live by here in Drosche Land: Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Amen!
All is well, gung hay fat choy, in Drosche Land.
Flash forward a year and we are in a totally different place. This year we didn't really celebrate Chinese New Year here in Drosche Land. We mentioned it to the boys in the morning, Amy and I reminisced about last year, and we did talk about Margaux. She still is, and always will be, a part of us and she does arise in conversations occasionally. I know over time this will lessen but she will always be there. For whatever reason, we may never know, Margaux was placed in our lives, even if only for a short time. What I do know though is that God has a master plan, both for all of us here in Drosche Land and for Margaux. I trust that he has found her the perfect family and she is much-loved and well cared for.
Meanwhile here in Drosche Land we are eagerly awaiting another little girl, our Stella. An answer to our prayers, His answer in His (not our) time. We are nearly halfway through the pregnancy and each day I am more and more eager to meet her. To bring her into the nearly finished nursery and dress her in the pinks, purples, sparkles, and bows. I know that in the scheme of things it will fly by, but currently it seems to be trudging along!
2012 is the Year of the Dragon. Since our Stella will be born in this year I thought I'd research what people born in the Year of the Dragon were supposed to be like, what characteristics would they embody? What I found made us laugh and made me even more eager to meet her. Free spirited and uninhibited. Creative, colorful, flamboyant. Extroverted. Enthusiastic bundles of energy with big ideas and living on a grand scale! Oh my! If this holds true then Stella is sure to be one fired little girl. So far the pregnancy has played out somewhat like this. It has certainly been new and, at times, trying adventure. Research of the years each of the rest of us was born makes me think Stella will definitely keep us on our toes because we do follow the descriptions of our Chinese zodiac counterparts!
Well, I fear this email has become long and random and maybe that's ok. I've just been doing a lot of thinking about God's plans for us and all of the many blessings we've been given! I think our lives, and everything we've gne through and will go through, can be summed up by the Bible verse I've mentioned so many times here on this blog and one that we live by here in Drosche Land: Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Amen!
All is well, gung hay fat choy, in Drosche Land.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
The Name Game
So, now you know that #3 is a GIRL! You might be wondering about a name. Funny you should ask, we actually do already have one picked out. The funny thing is, we've had it picked out for a while and I am in love with it. But before I disclose that precious tidbit of information a bit of a back story on picking names in Drosche Land.
I'm not sure if I covered this or not with Margaux, but Amy and I kind of have a deal going on, or had one rather. See, she picked Braeden's name and I picked his middle name - Oliver. We did this because at the time it seemed fair, that and we could not come to an agreement (she didn't like) on any of the names I was coming up with. In the end it was a win-win, I love the name Braeden and I have always liked the name Oliver, so I got it worked in.
Jackson has a funnier story. This time it was my turn to pick the first name and Amy's turn for the middle name. Jack was a surprise for us and he continues to surprise us every day! Originally his name was to be Christopher Dallas. We loved it. I chose Christopher because at the time I had a dream of an alphabet theme for names in our family: Amy, Braeden, Christopher, Dusty, etc. Corny? Yes, but I was adamant. So we went through the pregnancy referring to him as Christopher. However, at the very end we both confessed to one another that we weren't feeling the name anymore! Gasp! So we changed it literally days before he came along. I chose Jackson instead, abandoning my alphabet quirk, because I've always loved that name and wanted a son with it. Amy chose Riley. It was destined though because I can't imagine him being a Christopher or anything other than a Jack!
The meanings of names mean a lot to us, if we don't like the meaning/derivative then the name never makes it further than the initial mention of it. So, this brings me to #3. With both of the boys we came up with the names very easily and in fact had a long lists of "boy names" but we never could become attached to a "girl name". This time though, call it foreshadowing or wishful thinking, we could not think of the perfect "boy name" for #3, but the "girl name" came very, and unusually, easy. Funny, huh? So, there's a little insight into our thought process when choosing names. Maybe slightly complicated but it works.
Well, I won't keep you with bated breath any longer so here goes! Her name is . . .
Stella Pearl!
Stella: Latin for "star". That she is, our star. A little bright and shining light in a time when we most needed it. Plus, how many times had we made wishes and prayers for the blessing of a daughter?
Pearl: This is our connection/nod/tribute to Margaux. Margaux as you know means pearl and we chose it because she lived in the Pearl River Valley in China. We love the name Pearl and think it is very fitting to link it to the journey that brought her to us.
So, there you have it. No longer do I need to refer to the baby as "her" or "#3", we can officially post and discuss Stella Pearl in all her greatness!
All is well, name-dropping, in Drosche Land.
I'm not sure if I covered this or not with Margaux, but Amy and I kind of have a deal going on, or had one rather. See, she picked Braeden's name and I picked his middle name - Oliver. We did this because at the time it seemed fair, that and we could not come to an agreement (she didn't like) on any of the names I was coming up with. In the end it was a win-win, I love the name Braeden and I have always liked the name Oliver, so I got it worked in.
Jackson has a funnier story. This time it was my turn to pick the first name and Amy's turn for the middle name. Jack was a surprise for us and he continues to surprise us every day! Originally his name was to be Christopher Dallas. We loved it. I chose Christopher because at the time I had a dream of an alphabet theme for names in our family: Amy, Braeden, Christopher, Dusty, etc. Corny? Yes, but I was adamant. So we went through the pregnancy referring to him as Christopher. However, at the very end we both confessed to one another that we weren't feeling the name anymore! Gasp! So we changed it literally days before he came along. I chose Jackson instead, abandoning my alphabet quirk, because I've always loved that name and wanted a son with it. Amy chose Riley. It was destined though because I can't imagine him being a Christopher or anything other than a Jack!
The meanings of names mean a lot to us, if we don't like the meaning/derivative then the name never makes it further than the initial mention of it. So, this brings me to #3. With both of the boys we came up with the names very easily and in fact had a long lists of "boy names" but we never could become attached to a "girl name". This time though, call it foreshadowing or wishful thinking, we could not think of the perfect "boy name" for #3, but the "girl name" came very, and unusually, easy. Funny, huh? So, there's a little insight into our thought process when choosing names. Maybe slightly complicated but it works.
Well, I won't keep you with bated breath any longer so here goes! Her name is . . .
Stella Pearl!
Stella: Latin for "star". That she is, our star. A little bright and shining light in a time when we most needed it. Plus, how many times had we made wishes and prayers for the blessing of a daughter?
Pearl: This is our connection/nod/tribute to Margaux. Margaux as you know means pearl and we chose it because she lived in the Pearl River Valley in China. We love the name Pearl and think it is very fitting to link it to the journey that brought her to us.
So, there you have it. No longer do I need to refer to the baby as "her" or "#3", we can officially post and discuss Stella Pearl in all her greatness!
All is well, name-dropping, in Drosche Land.
Sunday, January 01, 2012
Sunday Snapshot - 2011 in Review
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
So last night we rang in 2012 in low-key style at home. Jack made it to 8:00, Amy to 9:00, and Braeden to 9:30! After the kids were all tucked in I spent the time half watching New Year's TV and reading. The ridiculously large and spectacular fireworks show put on by various neighbors woke Amy up right at 12:00 so we did get to have our kiss and ring it in together. I don't know how much combined was spent by the neighbors we watched but I'm glad it was funded by their wallet and not mine! I totally plan on getting a "Resolutions" post out but I'm not sure if it will be today or not. 2012 has already kicked off busily as we finish tidying the house and knocking out the last of the laundry. We have been dog-sitting one of Amy's Mom's dogs so we have to return her and then pick her Mom up from the airport (Adam has gone off to Nebraska for college and she's on her way back from there). After dinner with her it will be time to rush home for baths, bedtime, and lunch prep so we can be as fresh and prepared for tomorrow as possible. Both Amy and Jack resume tomorrow and I have a half-day in-service so Braeden is coming along and will wind up somewhere while I'm in meetings, we go back on Tuesday. So we will see if there is time tonight before bed for another post but I wanted to get out this Sunday Snapshot because I have been looking forward to it for about a week as I reviewed 2011 in pictures! I originally planned on doing 12 shots (like I could stay at a limit that small!), one for each month. However that quickly proved impossible as I couldn't sum up every month and its activities in just one photo. So I'm hitting each month and including a picture for each of the major events in that month, some have a few more than others. But I'm pleased with the selections and will post them now before I add more! Looking back 2011 was a busy and fantastic year! I hope 2012 will be more of the same! Enjoy!
All is well, picture perfect, in Drosche Land.
So last night we rang in 2012 in low-key style at home. Jack made it to 8:00, Amy to 9:00, and Braeden to 9:30! After the kids were all tucked in I spent the time half watching New Year's TV and reading. The ridiculously large and spectacular fireworks show put on by various neighbors woke Amy up right at 12:00 so we did get to have our kiss and ring it in together. I don't know how much combined was spent by the neighbors we watched but I'm glad it was funded by their wallet and not mine! I totally plan on getting a "Resolutions" post out but I'm not sure if it will be today or not. 2012 has already kicked off busily as we finish tidying the house and knocking out the last of the laundry. We have been dog-sitting one of Amy's Mom's dogs so we have to return her and then pick her Mom up from the airport (Adam has gone off to Nebraska for college and she's on her way back from there). After dinner with her it will be time to rush home for baths, bedtime, and lunch prep so we can be as fresh and prepared for tomorrow as possible. Both Amy and Jack resume tomorrow and I have a half-day in-service so Braeden is coming along and will wind up somewhere while I'm in meetings, we go back on Tuesday. So we will see if there is time tonight before bed for another post but I wanted to get out this Sunday Snapshot because I have been looking forward to it for about a week as I reviewed 2011 in pictures! I originally planned on doing 12 shots (like I could stay at a limit that small!), one for each month. However that quickly proved impossible as I couldn't sum up every month and its activities in just one photo. So I'm hitting each month and including a picture for each of the major events in that month, some have a few more than others. But I'm pleased with the selections and will post them now before I add more! Looking back 2011 was a busy and fantastic year! I hope 2012 will be more of the same! Enjoy!
All is well, picture perfect, in Drosche Land.
January 2011
We began readying Margaux's room in mid-January. Yes I know the adoption has been called off, but it was a big part of the first half of 2011.
January also brought Braeden's first 100 Day homework! 100 thumbprints!
February 2011
Valentine's Day! The kids had been dying for Pillow Pets! They are still in love with them!
Ok, no big event here but I LOVE this picture of Jack from one of our trips to see our nephew Jared's basketball games!
March 2011
March saw the addition of Rex to our family! I can't believe how little he was or how much he's grown!
During Spring Break we did our annual home improvement project, the floors! It was hard but totally worth it and I am still in love with tile floors (especially now after getting a Dyson). I wonder what Spring Break 2012 will bring?
April 2011
In April sports came to Drosche Land as Braeden began playing soccer! Turns out he loved it and was pretty good!
Easter! I love Jack's face, he gets so much pleasure simply from hunting for eggs!
May 2011
Braeden turned 5! Wow!
May proved to be quite Braeden-centric as he also graduated from Pre-Kindergarten!
June 2011
June began with our trip with Amy's family to Beaver Lake, Arkansas! It was an excellent time and the kids still ask when we are going to Arkansas again!
I also put my mad deck-building skills to use in June! Granted a storm as since taken the canopy from us, but I am mentally working on a solution to do this spring/summer thanks to some clever spying on a neighbor whose canopy suffered the same fate as ours!
July 2011
Another vacation? Don't mind if we do! This time it was with my family to Galveston!
July also saw Amy start her own blog (find it here) about her love of cooking and the adventures of a busy mom feeding her family great food. I'm highly recommend checking it out!
August 2011
Amy turned 30! We took another fun trip to our favorite stop - San Antonio's Riverwalk to celebrate!
Another school year began! Braeden in Kindergarten (what?!) and Jack in Pre-School 3!
September 2011
More sports as Braeden started T-Ball and again not only loved it but was good!
Jack turned 4! Wow, 2 old kids in the house!
Braeden lost his first tooth! He lost another in November so they're just falling out now!
October 2011
The annual trip to Dewberry Farm to pick the perfect pumpkins!
I got my new iPhone 4S!
Between having a superhero and a Storm Trooper present on Halloween we were definitely safe from danger!
#3 is on their way!
November 2011
I turned 29 31! Happy Birthday to me!
Adam and I had an awesome trip to Las Vegas for his 21st birthday over Thanksgiving Break!
December 2011
Our annual Christmas Eve family photo! Love it!
Another blessed Christmas. Between Braeden's DS from his birthday and Jack's Christmas gift of a Leapster we rarely see them anymore! :) Gaming has entered Drosche Land full force!
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Complications
So, I've been a little MIA here for a while. I missed about a week. I missed a Sunday Snapshot. I've also missed blogging. But it has been crazy busy here with Amy's recovery, the end of the school year, and beginning summer plans. In addition to these things though something else has occurred that has taken over our time and thoughts. This post has been brewing in my head and I've debated over how and when to post but I think we are ready now.
Amy and I have had to stop our adoption process. We've had to release Margaux and her information back into the shared list. We recently contacted our agency so we could begin again on the work that we had left to do. This summer was to be the time when we finished up our paperwork and got everything in line for submission on Amy's birthday. However, we found out that we would need updated medical paperwork. Amy's recent surgery to treat her adhesions created a complication. One complication begets another. See, one of the many stringent rules in this process is the fact that neither parent can have had a surgery in the year prior to the adoption. This rule, like the age factor we have already become aware of, is not something that can not be bent or broken.
We really didn't have much of a choice in the matter, the decision was made for us. One year. That is how long we would have to wait before moving forward. That would just be until we could submit our paperwork. It would then be months more before receiving approval and traveling. The total time would be close to 2 years from now. It wasn't fair for us to allow Margaux to wait that long. We've had to come to the realization that it wasn't meant to be. She wasn't meant to be our daughter. We don't fully understand His plan, but we do trust it. We know that it is best.
A year. A lot can happen in a year. Who knows what will happen in a year? Who knows what He has in store for us in a year? True, we are sad. We are disappointed. We are grieving. But we are somewhat at peace as well. It's an odd mixture of feelings really. He definitely is at work in this process though, providing us with supportive family, friends, and each other. We did have to tell the boys. They were, understandably, upset. They too had become attached and were looking forward to Margaux joining our family. They too are sad and grieving. But the 4 of us are doing well, together.
What are the plans for us? Where do we stand on adoption? What will be do next? Pursue next? For the meantime we have decided on just being. On abiding with Him and reveling in the blessings and happiness that we have. Ironically the year that has now been assigned to us is not necessarily a punishment. Sure we could look at it that way. But it is also a chance to think. To pray. To plan. To abide. That's exactly what we intend to do.
So, things here in Drosche Land have yet again changed. But we will make it through this also. We will come out of it better, stronger, closer, and wiser. Because in the end we have each other. We have a wonderful network of family and friends. We have our faith. We have an abundance of blessings. We move forward.
All is well, adapting and changing, in Drosche Land.
Amy and I have had to stop our adoption process. We've had to release Margaux and her information back into the shared list. We recently contacted our agency so we could begin again on the work that we had left to do. This summer was to be the time when we finished up our paperwork and got everything in line for submission on Amy's birthday. However, we found out that we would need updated medical paperwork. Amy's recent surgery to treat her adhesions created a complication. One complication begets another. See, one of the many stringent rules in this process is the fact that neither parent can have had a surgery in the year prior to the adoption. This rule, like the age factor we have already become aware of, is not something that can not be bent or broken.
We really didn't have much of a choice in the matter, the decision was made for us. One year. That is how long we would have to wait before moving forward. That would just be until we could submit our paperwork. It would then be months more before receiving approval and traveling. The total time would be close to 2 years from now. It wasn't fair for us to allow Margaux to wait that long. We've had to come to the realization that it wasn't meant to be. She wasn't meant to be our daughter. We don't fully understand His plan, but we do trust it. We know that it is best.
A year. A lot can happen in a year. Who knows what will happen in a year? Who knows what He has in store for us in a year? True, we are sad. We are disappointed. We are grieving. But we are somewhat at peace as well. It's an odd mixture of feelings really. He definitely is at work in this process though, providing us with supportive family, friends, and each other. We did have to tell the boys. They were, understandably, upset. They too had become attached and were looking forward to Margaux joining our family. They too are sad and grieving. But the 4 of us are doing well, together.
What are the plans for us? Where do we stand on adoption? What will be do next? Pursue next? For the meantime we have decided on just being. On abiding with Him and reveling in the blessings and happiness that we have. Ironically the year that has now been assigned to us is not necessarily a punishment. Sure we could look at it that way. But it is also a chance to think. To pray. To plan. To abide. That's exactly what we intend to do.
So, things here in Drosche Land have yet again changed. But we will make it through this also. We will come out of it better, stronger, closer, and wiser. Because in the end we have each other. We have a wonderful network of family and friends. We have our faith. We have an abundance of blessings. We move forward.
All is well, adapting and changing, in Drosche Land.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Prayers
As you may know, if you follow our blog closely, we have somewhat of an adoption guru. She and her family are amazing and her blog can be found here. We have been following her blog for quite a while now and, although we don't actually know her, we feel as though we do know her very well. I've also linked to her site via the button at the top right on our blog. She is also the one I link to every Sunday via the Sunday Snapshot. So, it can be surmised that we admire her a lot. She has some awesome journeys and stories to tell about the children she has adopted from China. Her faith is also pretty inspirational. Well, the prayers I'm asking for via this post are for her and her family.
See, they have been on a roller coaster adventure as they work to bring home their next two daughters from China. All seemed to finally be working out, falling into place. However, they received some pretty devastating news on Monday. One of the girls they we in the process of adopting has passed away. You can read about it here. Just a few weeks ago they received the LOAs (Letters of Approval) for both girls and were looking forward to travelling to get them in the coming months. All of that has suddenly changed, their world has been turned upside down. Their daughter's name was Esther. She was a Waiting Child with some scary and intimidating heart defects. That didn't matter to them though. They saw the beautiful girl God had created, perfect in his image. Their daughter.
I can't even wrap my head around this event. I can't begin to imagine how they must feel or how they will begin to grieve for her. I know there is a greater plan, His greater plan. I'm not sure plans in situations like this are ever fully realized by us. They have been in our thoughts and prayers all along. This only intensifies now as they mourn their loss. So, I also ask, if you have a minute to spare, visit her site and/or say a prayer for them. They are going to need all the prayers they can get in the near, and far, future.
I'll be honest too, this has Amy and I thinking about Margaux. About the fact that she is waiting. We are waiting. Both for each other. It's scary. It also brings to mind the many orphans out there, both international and domestic, that are waiting. Waiting for their forever families. Waiting for the love they have yet to fully know. Waiting for the spiritual, emotional, physical, medical, and mental help they need. All of these children remain in our prayers as well, including our dear little Margaux.
People still ask, and will probably always ask, us why we chose to adopt. There is the easy answer about wanting more children but physically not being able to pursue that route. There is also the answer mentioned in the previous paragraph. There are so many children out there needing families. It has been placed upon our hearts to do this. He has called us to do this. That is honestly how we feel and is how many people in the same situation feel. It's both simple to understand, yet difficult to fully explain.
As I write this my mind wanders to Margaux. I'm ending my day today here at 9:34 pm CST. She has already begun her day tomorrow and it's 10:34 am there. Maybe she's eating a snack. Maybe she's playing with toys or with friends. Maybe her caregivers are reading her favorite story. Maybe she's outside enjoying the partly cloudy 64 degree weather. The one thing we do have in common is the fact that we are both waiting. For each other.
So, I close by asking once again for your prayers for the wonderful family I've mentioned in this post. Prayers also for their other daughter, Poppy (love that name!), who is also waiting for them while they wait for her. Stop by and check out her blog if you'd like. She's an incredible writer, photographer, Christian, and person.
All is well, saddened and praying, here in Drosche Land.
See, they have been on a roller coaster adventure as they work to bring home their next two daughters from China. All seemed to finally be working out, falling into place. However, they received some pretty devastating news on Monday. One of the girls they we in the process of adopting has passed away. You can read about it here. Just a few weeks ago they received the LOAs (Letters of Approval) for both girls and were looking forward to travelling to get them in the coming months. All of that has suddenly changed, their world has been turned upside down. Their daughter's name was Esther. She was a Waiting Child with some scary and intimidating heart defects. That didn't matter to them though. They saw the beautiful girl God had created, perfect in his image. Their daughter.
I can't even wrap my head around this event. I can't begin to imagine how they must feel or how they will begin to grieve for her. I know there is a greater plan, His greater plan. I'm not sure plans in situations like this are ever fully realized by us. They have been in our thoughts and prayers all along. This only intensifies now as they mourn their loss. So, I also ask, if you have a minute to spare, visit her site and/or say a prayer for them. They are going to need all the prayers they can get in the near, and far, future.
I'll be honest too, this has Amy and I thinking about Margaux. About the fact that she is waiting. We are waiting. Both for each other. It's scary. It also brings to mind the many orphans out there, both international and domestic, that are waiting. Waiting for their forever families. Waiting for the love they have yet to fully know. Waiting for the spiritual, emotional, physical, medical, and mental help they need. All of these children remain in our prayers as well, including our dear little Margaux.
People still ask, and will probably always ask, us why we chose to adopt. There is the easy answer about wanting more children but physically not being able to pursue that route. There is also the answer mentioned in the previous paragraph. There are so many children out there needing families. It has been placed upon our hearts to do this. He has called us to do this. That is honestly how we feel and is how many people in the same situation feel. It's both simple to understand, yet difficult to fully explain.
As I write this my mind wanders to Margaux. I'm ending my day today here at 9:34 pm CST. She has already begun her day tomorrow and it's 10:34 am there. Maybe she's eating a snack. Maybe she's playing with toys or with friends. Maybe her caregivers are reading her favorite story. Maybe she's outside enjoying the partly cloudy 64 degree weather. The one thing we do have in common is the fact that we are both waiting. For each other.
So, I close by asking once again for your prayers for the wonderful family I've mentioned in this post. Prayers also for their other daughter, Poppy (love that name!), who is also waiting for them while they wait for her. Stop by and check out her blog if you'd like. She's an incredible writer, photographer, Christian, and person.
All is well, saddened and praying, here in Drosche Land.
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Sunday Snapshot - Mother's Day
So, I'm pretty blessed. My boys are pretty blessed. With what you ask? More like with who? Amy! She is an amazing wife and an awesome mother. I'll be the first to admit that I don't always do her justice by acknowledging her awesomeness and just how lucky we are. But she is, and we are. Cooking, cleaning, budgeting, playing, laughing, loving. You name it, she does it, and does it well! Trust me, it's not easy being the only girl in the house with us three boys, and I'm sure she'll attest to that! Luckily she won't be alone for much longer. I can't wait to bring Margaux home, for many reasons. One of course we honor today, I'll get to see yet another wonderful mothering side of Amy as she loves, provides for, and takes care of another one of our beautiful children. This week's pictures are some I took of Amy and the boys and I think they're pretty fitting for today. I had to include the originals and the ones I played around with, I just couldn't decide!
All is well, thanks to a wonderful mother and wife, in Drosche Land.
All is well, thanks to a wonderful mother and wife, in Drosche Land.
My beautiful wife!
Amy & Braeden!
Amy & Jackson!
The originals, I think I'm partial to the B&W!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
iHere!
Well, as I'm sure you can guess from the title of this post, our iPad2 finally arrived! It came in the mail, as promised by FedEx, yesterday. Since we only bought the wifi version rather than the 3G one we weren't able to do much with it at school other that stare at it and admire its beauty! However, once we got home we were quickly personalizing, updating, organizing, synching, and downloading. And yes, I am currently posting from it right now!
We also got a wireless keyboard but that's downstairs and I am upstairs in bed (and clearly slightly lazy) so I am just typing away at the screen. I'm excited over the fact that, like my iPhone, it has spellcheck as I type! I'm hoping this well lead to fewer times where Amy reads the blog after I've posted it and brings to light a spelling/grammar error or two! I know it gives her pleasure to find those little mistakes so I may just have to throw some in every now and then to keep her happy and on her toes!
Back to the iPad! I LOVE it! It is totally AWESOME! I cannot wait to take it with us to China when we get Margaux! It'll be so fun fun being able to take video of her and send it back home to our families and even possible video chat with them! This was, after all, one of the reasons we decided to get it. I know want played a large role also but still, being able to connect our family to Margaux ASAP is a big part too! In fact, we had the back engraved with Jeremiah 29:11, For I know the plans I have for you. This has been a favorite verse of ours during this adoption process and has brought us much comfort and peace. :)
So, the wait has ended and now we sit back and enjoy it. Believe me, we have been enjoying it! Now the wait for this summer's release of the iPhone 5 begins! Conveniently enough we are due for an upgrade this summer! Ahhhh, I love me some Apple products and I love me some techie toys! So I think now I will post this and get back to playing around. I highly recommend getting one though if you have been thinking about it. You will not be disappointed! We haven't!
All is well, iPad in hand, in Drosche Land.
We also got a wireless keyboard but that's downstairs and I am upstairs in bed (and clearly slightly lazy) so I am just typing away at the screen. I'm excited over the fact that, like my iPhone, it has spellcheck as I type! I'm hoping this well lead to fewer times where Amy reads the blog after I've posted it and brings to light a spelling/grammar error or two! I know it gives her pleasure to find those little mistakes so I may just have to throw some in every now and then to keep her happy and on her toes!
Back to the iPad! I LOVE it! It is totally AWESOME! I cannot wait to take it with us to China when we get Margaux! It'll be so fun fun being able to take video of her and send it back home to our families and even possible video chat with them! This was, after all, one of the reasons we decided to get it. I know want played a large role also but still, being able to connect our family to Margaux ASAP is a big part too! In fact, we had the back engraved with Jeremiah 29:11, For I know the plans I have for you. This has been a favorite verse of ours during this adoption process and has brought us much comfort and peace. :)
So, the wait has ended and now we sit back and enjoy it. Believe me, we have been enjoying it! Now the wait for this summer's release of the iPhone 5 begins! Conveniently enough we are due for an upgrade this summer! Ahhhh, I love me some Apple products and I love me some techie toys! So I think now I will post this and get back to playing around. I highly recommend getting one though if you have been thinking about it. You will not be disappointed! We haven't!
All is well, iPad in hand, in Drosche Land.
Monday, March 07, 2011
A Little Bit More
So you might recall our frustrations and sadness regarding our inability to move forward with anything until Amy's 30th birthday. You might also recall our decision to request an update on Margaux. Well, today God gave us a "Yes" answer to that prayer. We got the email this afternoon from our agency that we were in fact able to receive an update! This is very quick as we had feared it would take weeks to get anything back, if we were even able to get anything period. Yet, lo and behold here it was today. Even better, there were pictures to accompany it! 4 in fact! While we still cannot share anything at this point, trust me when I say she is beautiful! Trust me when I say that we received good news about her and our questions were answered well! Who knows if we will be able to receive any other updates about her throughout the rest of this process? But for now this was just what we needed and just when we needed it.
It's amazing how God works and how he has this entire journey planned out. I cannot wait for the day when we are able to share more about her. Both information and pictures. But that too will come in due time. For now though we revel in the information we do have, which is positive, and the pictures we have which are amazing. These will help carry us through the coming weeks and months as we trudge through paperwork and pray. When we feel down or unhappy with the wait time, we have her pictures to look at, although they're memorized already, and details to pour over, for the umpteenth time. Tiding us over until that very special day when we no longer need a picture or paperwork to enjoy her and everything about her!
All is well, with a "Yes!", in Drosche Land.
It's amazing how God works and how he has this entire journey planned out. I cannot wait for the day when we are able to share more about her. Both information and pictures. But that too will come in due time. For now though we revel in the information we do have, which is positive, and the pictures we have which are amazing. These will help carry us through the coming weeks and months as we trudge through paperwork and pray. When we feel down or unhappy with the wait time, we have her pictures to look at, although they're memorized already, and details to pour over, for the umpteenth time. Tiding us over until that very special day when we no longer need a picture or paperwork to enjoy her and everything about her!
All is well, with a "Yes!", in Drosche Land.
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Bittersweet
Well, today was a special day for Margaux. I'm not going to go into too many details since we are not at the point where we can freely share information, but I am sure you can guess what today was. Which leads me to the title of this post. Happy? Yes we were. But also sad. It was another reminder that we are missing parts of her life and that she is not here with us. I'm not going to say it was easy because it wasn't, it is somewhat rough. However, there is not much we can do but continue to work on paperwork and get it all ready and organized. And pray of course, lots of that as well. Adding to the stress level is the crazy week we have been having. Last night was another late night and we ended up eating out yet again, despite having sworn it off as I mentioned earlier. We've been staying late as all the schedules and whatnot of the new building are worked out. So, due to several late nights in a row, fatigue has set in here in Drosche Land and that doesn't do much to help the feelings brought about by today.
In other adoption news, Amy had the great idea to contact our agency and see if we could get an update on Margaux. Technically we are really only supposed to get one in the process, but we figured that given our circumstances it wouldn't hurt to ask. Turns out we were told we could request one and it would be submitted. We thought up some questions to ask the caregivers at the orphanage and emailed them off. How long it will take is unknown. It could be a few days, weeks, or longer. So once again we wait. We were assured though by Cori, our super helpful and awesome contact at the agency, that they would stay on top of it if it seems to be taking a long time. So we are hopeful and prayerful that we will get an update on Margaux and how she is doing. Maybe this will help ease our emotions. We will see. Speaking of waiting there is a song that fits our (and I'm sure many other people's) situation perfectly. While I'm Waiting by John Waller. Awesome song. So true for us right now and I try to remember it and use it as guidance for our endless waiting. Check it out if you are not familiar with it!
On the bright side though, today we were reminded of how blessed we are and how He is looking out for us always. Remember we haven't been home a lot lately which means eating out which means frustrating. Well, today a friend/coworker made and brought us some meals so we would have food ready and prepared, regardless of when we got home. Amazing huh? Thanks so much Sean & Carol! Y'all are awesome! Also it was the first day this week we were able to leave early. So, we got home, enjoyed some delicious food, and were able to have some fun time together as a family. This served as a bit of medicine for the bittersweet day we'd had. Amy and the boys began a rousing game of soccer in the back yard after dinner and I was quick to stop doing the dishes and grab my camera. It was fun. After a while I joined in and Amy was kind enough to take some pictures of me with the boys! I smell a Sunday Snapshot! :)
So, it's been a long week but we push forward. It's not always easy but in the end everything seems to have a way of working out, or should I say He has a way of working things out! We just need to keep remembering that, while we're waiting.
All is well, bittersweet but blessed, in Drosche Land.
In other adoption news, Amy had the great idea to contact our agency and see if we could get an update on Margaux. Technically we are really only supposed to get one in the process, but we figured that given our circumstances it wouldn't hurt to ask. Turns out we were told we could request one and it would be submitted. We thought up some questions to ask the caregivers at the orphanage and emailed them off. How long it will take is unknown. It could be a few days, weeks, or longer. So once again we wait. We were assured though by Cori, our super helpful and awesome contact at the agency, that they would stay on top of it if it seems to be taking a long time. So we are hopeful and prayerful that we will get an update on Margaux and how she is doing. Maybe this will help ease our emotions. We will see. Speaking of waiting there is a song that fits our (and I'm sure many other people's) situation perfectly. While I'm Waiting by John Waller. Awesome song. So true for us right now and I try to remember it and use it as guidance for our endless waiting. Check it out if you are not familiar with it!
On the bright side though, today we were reminded of how blessed we are and how He is looking out for us always. Remember we haven't been home a lot lately which means eating out which means frustrating. Well, today a friend/coworker made and brought us some meals so we would have food ready and prepared, regardless of when we got home. Amazing huh? Thanks so much Sean & Carol! Y'all are awesome! Also it was the first day this week we were able to leave early. So, we got home, enjoyed some delicious food, and were able to have some fun time together as a family. This served as a bit of medicine for the bittersweet day we'd had. Amy and the boys began a rousing game of soccer in the back yard after dinner and I was quick to stop doing the dishes and grab my camera. It was fun. After a while I joined in and Amy was kind enough to take some pictures of me with the boys! I smell a Sunday Snapshot! :)
So, it's been a long week but we push forward. It's not always easy but in the end everything seems to have a way of working out, or should I say He has a way of working things out! We just need to keep remembering that, while we're waiting.
All is well, bittersweet but blessed, in Drosche Land.
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Deal!
So, on the way home tonight we had one simple errand to run. The boys needed new shoes and Braeden needed some shorts. Since he is perpetually in a phase where he only wants to wear athletic shorts we headed to Academy. Turns out, as I have been beginning to realize lately, we don't have babies anymore. Nope, we've officially got kids on our hands now. No matter how many times this fact rears its head, I am still taken by surprise. So, into the "Boys" section we headed. 6 pairs of shorts (5 for Braeden and 1 for Jack who of course had to try on and get his own!) later we were set. Braeden chose every color available in the soccer shorts and Amy and I talked him into some burnt orange basketball shorts! Hook 'Em! Then we headed into the shoes where Jack can still fit into toddler sizes but Braeden once again had to go to the "Boys" section as he now wears an 11. Jack was easy to please and quickly picked out a pair, Braeden on the other hand took his sweet time debating which shoes he wanted, walking up and down the same aisles. I have no clue where he gets it from! Ok ok ok, stop pointing at me, I give in, maybe he takes after me, a bit! :) So we finally picked out shoes for Braeden and headed home. But that is not the best part of the story (I know it has seemed routine and mundane up until now but I had to give you the whole story, you know me!). We were looking at the sale rack and I came across the cutest Longhorns dress! In a size 3T! I know Margaux will be adorable in it! The price? You will never guess. At first I thought it was a misprint, but a quick jaunt to the hand dandy price checker proved the tag to be correct. Scroll down and take a gander at the dress before I tell you the INCREDIBLY AWESOME deal we got. Go ahead, I'll wait . . . . . Ok, you ready! $.88! Yes folks, that decimal is in the right place, we're talking 88 cents, less than a dollar! Can you believe that?! I am still stunned honestly so of course I had to blog about my great deal. Amazing. So head to Academy if you are in search of a Longhorns dress and only have about a buck to spend, that or if you are looking for some deals.
The remainder of the night was crazy though as we ventured home from our eventful Academy experience. See, we've sworn off eating out. Last week was so crazy with the opening of the new building and all we were tired (I know, crazy concept) of eating out and were ready to eat at home. Well, the best laid plans. Turns out there was a streetlight out on Fry Rd (which seems to be the case far too often) so our trip home turned into a ridiculously long ordeal. By the time we were even near home there was no way we had the time, energy, or patience to get home cook, serve, and clean up after a meal. So we gave in (slightly grudgingly) and headed to our favorite stand-by - La Finca! You'd think they would know us there by now. So, better luck with eating at home tomorrow I guess. Seriously, we are swearing it off, if we could just make it home at a decent time! :)
All is well, can you believe my deal on Margaux's dress?!, in Drosche Land.
The remainder of the night was crazy though as we ventured home from our eventful Academy experience. See, we've sworn off eating out. Last week was so crazy with the opening of the new building and all we were tired (I know, crazy concept) of eating out and were ready to eat at home. Well, the best laid plans. Turns out there was a streetlight out on Fry Rd (which seems to be the case far too often) so our trip home turned into a ridiculously long ordeal. By the time we were even near home there was no way we had the time, energy, or patience to get home cook, serve, and clean up after a meal. So we gave in (slightly grudgingly) and headed to our favorite stand-by - La Finca! You'd think they would know us there by now. So, better luck with eating at home tomorrow I guess. Seriously, we are swearing it off, if we could just make it home at a decent time! :)
All is well, can you believe my deal on Margaux's dress?!, in Drosche Land.
LOVE IT! And just $.88!!!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Setback
When I was little I was taught, and still believe, that God answers questions in 3 ways. "Yes", "No", and "Not Right Now". Clearly the first is the one we desire most, the one we would have be the answer to all our requests, wants, and needs. The other two are not as pleasant to hear, mainly because they rarely are in line with what we feel/see/believe/want to happen. I'm not sure which is worse, the "No" or the "Not Right Now". With "No" there is disappointment, but at least there is also finality. With "Not Right Now" there isn't finality, but at least hope for the much-wanted "Yes" is still alive. So I guess it depends on the person, the situation, or the request.
Why do I bring this up you ask? Well today we got a healthy dose of the above pondering here in Drosche Land. See, you know we officially submitted our LOI last Monday. We are smack dab in the middle of the 2-4 week waiting period for our PA (Pre Approval) and anxiously waiting the word. So, today Amy received a phone call from our agency. It ended up being about the status of our LOI, but a far cry from the phone call we were hoping for. Turns out it wasn't good news at all, and at first it seemed quite the opposite. See, Great Wall (our awesome agency) very rarely deals with anyone as young as we are attempting to adopt from China. So I guess, we're special. Well, specialness aside, the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) initially declined our LOI because of this. However, we are blessed to have such a wonderful agency and people working on our behalf. Our agent was in talks with them over several days, informing them that Amy's birthday was in August, only 6 months away and that we had done our research and were serious and sincere about adopting Margaux. It also came out that we were the first ones to proceed further with her file, no one had gone any further than simply looking. This information breaks my heart, but at the same time encourages me. It makes me sad that no one had gone further, but makes me glad because since they hadn't we could. It gives me hope and strengthens my belief that she is in fact our daughter.
Well, after the discussions with our agency, the CCAA finally agreed to allow our file and Margaux's file to wait together. We however, can move no further until Amy's birthday. Who'd have thought that 30 would look so good? We can continue with our home study, the immigration paperwork, and everything else; but nothing can be submitted. On Amy's birthday our LOI can officially be re-submitted. We will then have to wait the 2-4 weeks again before receiving our PA. Upon that we can officially submit our dossier and then more waiting. So, basically what happens is that everything is pushed back. How long? Good question. It could be a month or slightly less, it could be 4-6 months longer than we have expected. There is no way to know now. Another hard part is that we will not be able to share her or any information about her until the fall. We will also not be able to send her packages until then either.
So, "Not Right Now" seems to be His answer for us right now. It's neither good, nor bad. Just wait. More waiting. You'd think we would be used to it by now, even in our relatively short experience with the process, but no. I don't think we ever will be and I don't think the waiting will ever be any easier. Amy and I are handling the news differently. We are worried. This means she has longer to wait. Longer without the love, care, and support we so want to give her. That is hard. We have though found some comforting verses from the Bible. Romans 8:25 -
Why do I bring this up you ask? Well today we got a healthy dose of the above pondering here in Drosche Land. See, you know we officially submitted our LOI last Monday. We are smack dab in the middle of the 2-4 week waiting period for our PA (Pre Approval) and anxiously waiting the word. So, today Amy received a phone call from our agency. It ended up being about the status of our LOI, but a far cry from the phone call we were hoping for. Turns out it wasn't good news at all, and at first it seemed quite the opposite. See, Great Wall (our awesome agency) very rarely deals with anyone as young as we are attempting to adopt from China. So I guess, we're special. Well, specialness aside, the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) initially declined our LOI because of this. However, we are blessed to have such a wonderful agency and people working on our behalf. Our agent was in talks with them over several days, informing them that Amy's birthday was in August, only 6 months away and that we had done our research and were serious and sincere about adopting Margaux. It also came out that we were the first ones to proceed further with her file, no one had gone any further than simply looking. This information breaks my heart, but at the same time encourages me. It makes me sad that no one had gone further, but makes me glad because since they hadn't we could. It gives me hope and strengthens my belief that she is in fact our daughter.
Well, after the discussions with our agency, the CCAA finally agreed to allow our file and Margaux's file to wait together. We however, can move no further until Amy's birthday. Who'd have thought that 30 would look so good? We can continue with our home study, the immigration paperwork, and everything else; but nothing can be submitted. On Amy's birthday our LOI can officially be re-submitted. We will then have to wait the 2-4 weeks again before receiving our PA. Upon that we can officially submit our dossier and then more waiting. So, basically what happens is that everything is pushed back. How long? Good question. It could be a month or slightly less, it could be 4-6 months longer than we have expected. There is no way to know now. Another hard part is that we will not be able to share her or any information about her until the fall. We will also not be able to send her packages until then either.
So, "Not Right Now" seems to be His answer for us right now. It's neither good, nor bad. Just wait. More waiting. You'd think we would be used to it by now, even in our relatively short experience with the process, but no. I don't think we ever will be and I don't think the waiting will ever be any easier. Amy and I are handling the news differently. We are worried. This means she has longer to wait. Longer without the love, care, and support we so want to give her. That is hard. We have though found some comforting verses from the Bible. Romans 8:25 -
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Home Study
Well, today was a big day for us here in Drosche Land. Today we met with our social worker to begin our home study for the adoption! For some reason, both Amy and I were quite nervous all day leading up to our 4:00 p.m. appointment. Maybe it was the worry that the social worker would say, "These crazies want to adopt? Are you kidding?" Maybe we were worried we would make a bad impression. Maybe we were worried the boys would be out of control. Maybe we were worried that the social worker would notice, and be unhappy, with the black eye Jack has from running into the wall. These thoughts, and tons more, swirled around in our heads all day.
Long story short - we had nothing to worry about. The appointment went very well. We went through the ridiculously long autobiographies we painstakingly filled out a few weeks ago. We also just talked with her. She met the boys and they were reasonably well behaved. She got to see them for themselves and didn't go running! All in all it was an easy and pleasant 2 hours. What now? I know you're dying to know. Well, more paperwork! She gave us a list of all kinds of stuff she needs copies of, think birth certificates and whatnot. Luckily we (and by we I mean my fabulous wife) have already begun to compile these documents. We should be able to finish obtaining and organizing all of this by the end of this coming week and can then get it to our social worker. We also have to begin taking some online training courses, 10 hours worth, which I just signed up for. We will begin knocking those out here too.
Luckily for us, since we are waiting for Amy to make the bug 3-0 we have the time to get the home study completed, there is no rush. So I guess God can work waiting into a blessing huh? :) So, we are very happy now and are one step closer to Margaux. We are still awaiting our pre-approval from China regarding our LOI that was submitted on Monday. We are about 1 week into the 2-4 week waiting period to hear back. You know what that means? More waiting! :)
All is well, one more hurdle down, in Drosche Land.
Long story short - we had nothing to worry about. The appointment went very well. We went through the ridiculously long autobiographies we painstakingly filled out a few weeks ago. We also just talked with her. She met the boys and they were reasonably well behaved. She got to see them for themselves and didn't go running! All in all it was an easy and pleasant 2 hours. What now? I know you're dying to know. Well, more paperwork! She gave us a list of all kinds of stuff she needs copies of, think birth certificates and whatnot. Luckily we (and by we I mean my fabulous wife) have already begun to compile these documents. We should be able to finish obtaining and organizing all of this by the end of this coming week and can then get it to our social worker. We also have to begin taking some online training courses, 10 hours worth, which I just signed up for. We will begin knocking those out here too.
Luckily for us, since we are waiting for Amy to make the bug 3-0 we have the time to get the home study completed, there is no rush. So I guess God can work waiting into a blessing huh? :) So, we are very happy now and are one step closer to Margaux. We are still awaiting our pre-approval from China regarding our LOI that was submitted on Monday. We are about 1 week into the 2-4 week waiting period to hear back. You know what that means? More waiting! :)
All is well, one more hurdle down, in Drosche Land.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Be Mine
This post comes a day late, but we got home later than usual last night and after the festivities of the day at school and the late night I was not up for blogging. So, one day late isn't so bad right? Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate love and romance and of course eating copious amounts of sweets. The fun began the night before, would that be Valentine's Eve? I guess so. Well, that's when the boys addressed their valentines. Transformers for Braeden and Iron Man for Jack. Amy and I split up this tedious fun activity and she took Jack and I worked with Braeden. I'm not sure who had the tougher job? Amy with Jack touching, folding, and handling every valentine, or myself with Braeden taking his painstakingly careful time in writing his friends' names. Either way, 40 minutes (yes 40!) later the task was done and everything was ready for the big day.
The morning of Valentine's Day the boys woke up knowing their was a special present awaiting them. This put a little bit of a quicker pace into their morning routine. The gift? Well, we finally gave in and bought the boys pillow pets. We debated getting them as Christmas gifts, but opted not to. Well, the fact that many friends received them for Christmas and the constant running of commercials wore us down and Jack received a frog and Braeden received a dog. They loved them, as you can see in the pictures below, and that made it totally worth it.
Adding to my joy of the day was the fact that I stumped Amy with her gift! She is impossible to surprise so on the rare (very rare) occasion that I do, it is a grand victory! I had roses delivered to her! Awwwww! We exchanged cards in the morning and I got my iTunes gift card (woo hoo new Lady Gaga CD here I come!). I told her she would have to wait to receive hers as I was giving it to her later. He He He! After some anxiety filled hours while I waited for the delivery (the confirmation email stated they deliver from 8 am - 7 pm, who's ate work on Valentine's Day at 7 pm?!?!) they finally arrived and once again it was totally worth it all for the look on her face. See, we don't do flowers very often. The last time I think (and I am far from sure) I had flowers delivered was for Valentine's Day when Amy was pregnant with Braeden. So, this was something super special! Can you tell I'm still proud of myself? :)
Lastly, this was an extra special Valentine's Day because, as previously blogged, our LOI for Margaux was officially delivered! How fitting this was for a day filled with love and the phrase "Be Mine". This was not something lost on us as we long to hear confirmation that she will in fact be ours! So, with the submission of this paperwork, we begin about a 2-week waiting period to hear the response from China. Fingers crossed, prayers ascended, hopes high. That's life in Drosche Land for the next couple of weeks.
All in all it was a great day. Special in so many ways, both usual and new! Oh, and of course we had a pillow pet for Margaux too! A ladybug, an easy choice with the symbolism of the ladybug in this whole process (good luck). It's in her room now, waiting with an adorable little doll for a very special little owner to come home to hug and love them!
All is well, filled with love and blessed, in Drosche Land.
The morning of Valentine's Day the boys woke up knowing their was a special present awaiting them. This put a little bit of a quicker pace into their morning routine. The gift? Well, we finally gave in and bought the boys pillow pets. We debated getting them as Christmas gifts, but opted not to. Well, the fact that many friends received them for Christmas and the constant running of commercials wore us down and Jack received a frog and Braeden received a dog. They loved them, as you can see in the pictures below, and that made it totally worth it.
Adding to my joy of the day was the fact that I stumped Amy with her gift! She is impossible to surprise so on the rare (very rare) occasion that I do, it is a grand victory! I had roses delivered to her! Awwwww! We exchanged cards in the morning and I got my iTunes gift card (woo hoo new Lady Gaga CD here I come!). I told her she would have to wait to receive hers as I was giving it to her later. He He He! After some anxiety filled hours while I waited for the delivery (the confirmation email stated they deliver from 8 am - 7 pm, who's ate work on Valentine's Day at 7 pm?!?!) they finally arrived and once again it was totally worth it all for the look on her face. See, we don't do flowers very often. The last time I think (and I am far from sure) I had flowers delivered was for Valentine's Day when Amy was pregnant with Braeden. So, this was something super special! Can you tell I'm still proud of myself? :)
Lastly, this was an extra special Valentine's Day because, as previously blogged, our LOI for Margaux was officially delivered! How fitting this was for a day filled with love and the phrase "Be Mine". This was not something lost on us as we long to hear confirmation that she will in fact be ours! So, with the submission of this paperwork, we begin about a 2-week waiting period to hear the response from China. Fingers crossed, prayers ascended, hopes high. That's life in Drosche Land for the next couple of weeks.
All in all it was a great day. Special in so many ways, both usual and new! Oh, and of course we had a pillow pet for Margaux too! A ladybug, an easy choice with the symbolism of the ladybug in this whole process (good luck). It's in her room now, waiting with an adorable little doll for a very special little owner to come home to hug and love them!
All is well, filled with love and blessed, in Drosche Land.
Amy working with Jack on his valentines
Braeden intently focused on addressing his valentines
The boys and their new pillow pets
Margaux's pillow pet!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Sunday Snapshot - Her Room
Today's post includes only two pictures. This past week was crazy busy and there was not much time to snap picture, nor was there much that was pic-worthy. However, we continue to make strides in decorating Margaux's room. The walls are done and so are some of our accent pieces, namely her name. I am in love with the color scheme that Amy picked and cannot wait for it to evolve into further awesomeness when she gets ahold of the perfect fabric for the curtains and blankets she will make. Lastly, a special gift for Margaux arrived in the mail this week. We saw this doll on one of our favorite adoption blogs and fell in love with it. We new our little girl just had to have one of these Niu Niu Dolls. Aside from the fact that they are beautiful, the owner of the website is incredibly helpful and was great to work with! You can visit her site for the dolls here, she has lots of beautiful things other than the dolls, we may be making additional purchases! So, not much this week, but enjoy! We will see what this coming week brings!
Although I am slightly partial I LOVE the way this turned out!
We will be taking this to Margaux when we travel to China to pick her up!
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