Oh, Christmas Tree

I put up our Christmas tree last Friday and lets just say, it's going to be quite the process trying to keep two very busy little hands away from it. I decorated it when Avery went down for a nap and when she woke up and came down stairs she kept saying, "WOW" and "Pretty". At first she just stood in front of it and stared and then she tried to eat the branches and ornaments. I followed her around the tree to see every ornament she touched, and moved each of them up higher. After I had moved all the ornaments she could reach, Dustin said "Wow honey, two thirds of the tree looks great!" HA HA! Oh well, it was either have two thirds decorated or not decorate the tree at all.

Giving Thanks

I have so much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving.

My husband and daughter
My Health
My Family & Friends
Food & Shelter
Adoption
The Gospel
and the list goes on and on......


Happy Thanksgiving from our house to yours!

Holiday Traditions

As I gear up for Thanksgiving and Christmas, I've been trying to come up with some traditions to start with Avery. I am interested to learn what holiday traditions you have at your house. What have you done every year that you just LOVE and couldn't do without?

My little shadow

Avery has become my little shadow during the day. She follows me everywhere I go. She even tries to follow me into the bathroom.

She puts her cute little fingers under the door and says over and over again, "Hi mommy."

She sits patiently by the door and waits for me to come out.

It makes me laugh every time.

Stay-at-Home Moms

I started reading this book a couple weeks ago and am really enjoying it. This book has shown me time and time again the importance of being a Stay-at-Home Mom. I understand it may not work for everyone to stay home with their children, but I'm so glad it works for us. I think it's so important for children to have someone there when they get home from school, to check up on them and talk about how their day went.

I married a pretty amazing man. He is truly my better half in so many ways. He is loving, kind, patient, and very hard working. He is an incredible father and husband. I am so grateful he saw the importance of having me stay home and raise our beautiful daughter. I have never loved a job more than I love being a mom, and that is the honest truth.

Ready or not....

winter is here!

We pulled out Avery's winter coat this weekend and she LOVED it! Can you tell? She started running around in circles and laughing. Frankly, Dustin and I couldn't stop laughing either. Don't you think she looks like a little Eskimo?

Hoping to Adopt

I created an adoption blog. Check it out below or on my sidebar!

In an effort to help connect adoptive couples with their birth families, I have decided to make a post featuring us along with three other adoptive couples who are "waiting" to find their child. Having been in this situation once before and now finding ourselves in this "finding" stage again, I know how critical it is that we speak up. Check out their adoption blogs to learn more about these great couples!

We sent an email to all our family and friends when we were approved for adoption last time and a close family friend of ours had a very strong impression that she should call her sisters best friend and tell her she knew a couple who was hoping to adopt. Her sisters best friend had a daughter who was single and pregnant. Her daughters name was Andee.

Below is an excerpt from what Andee recounted on her blog about the phone call. Andee had just gone through the thousands of profiles online and had narrowed her list down to 5 couples she was most interested in. After this phone call, Andee said it was just another confirmation that we were the right couple.

About 2 days after I wrote my list, my mom received a phone call from one of her close friends sisters, Lisa. Lisa told her that she knew a couple that was trying to adopt and that she felt impressed to tell us. My mom received calls like this every day, so she didn't think much of it. But when Lisa told her that I could look up their profile on itsaboutlove.org, and that their names were Dustin & Andrea, it caught her attention.

My mom had heard their names before. After getting off of the phone with Lisa, she went to look at my list. Dustin & Andrea were my number 2. My mom couldn't believe it.

When I arrived home from work that day my mom told me the story. The second she said Dustin & Andrea I became excited. I knew I liked them.

If any of you know someone who is pregnant and considering adoption, please have them check out these couples.

Bottle vs. Sippy

VS



At Avery's last doctor appointment, her pediatrician recommended we begin the transition from a bottle to a sippy cup. I still think she's young and am a little hesitant to eliminate a bottle altogether.

We first introduced a sippy cup to her around 7 months so she could try and get the hang of it. At first she had no idea what to do with it and now it usually ends up being thrown across the room, dropped from her high chair, or used as a toy.

Dustin said when he was little his mom told him the Easter Bunny took his bottle as a way to say it was never going to return, to which he replied, "Dumb bunny." His response leads me to believe he was a lot older than 1 year old.

I know the day will come when she will be off a bottle, but for now, is it really that big of a deal to keep using it? At what age did you make the switch?

Any suggestions??

Old vs. New Thinking about Adoption

*The OLD way of thinking is in WHITE, the NEW way of thinking is in BLACK.

If I find myself unexpectedly pregnant, abortion and single parenting are my only choices.

There is a third choice, one that has proven to be a success for birth mothers and children–the adoption option.

I would never consider adoption–it would be too hard.

Which ever choice you make will present many hardships–adoption may be no more difficult than abortion or single parenting.

My friends and family will think I'm terrible giving up my own flesh and blood.

Adoption is not "giving up," it is giving to–a decision you have carefully made out of love for the future of your child and yourself.

I'll never know what happened to my baby. I simply couldn't live that way.

The old way of doing adoptions (secrecy and no control) is out. The new way–open adoption–allows you to make the decisions regarding the future of your child and yourself.

Why adoption? Isn't it just for people who can't have their own kids?

Not necessarily true. Yes, some people cannot biologically conceive, but adoption provides a family for a child, not a child for a family.

Kids who are adopted have lots of problems.

Not founded in fact. Refer to the Search Institute Study. Children who are adopted have, among other characteristics, high self-esteem and positive identity concerns at rates as high or higher than their peers.

What about me? I feel it's my responsibility to raise my child.

Your responsibility is to make the very best and informed decision that you can for your child. Studies show that birth mothers who make an adoption plan typically move on with their life, finish their education, have a career, and eventually marry.

From the Adoption Option Committee, Inc.

Going Private

NOT!!

I'm not really going private, I just can't think of anything to post about right now. I guess you could say, I'm feeling in a rut. I have so much on my mind, but nothing to write about. Does that make sense?

On a side note, I'm so tired of my blog. The layout, the look, the name, everything. I've even contemplated quitting blogging altogether, but I won't.

I guess I'm just having one of those days, or weeks rather. Until I can gather my thoughts, you can stare at this cute face.