Thanksgiving for our Girls

I will not smile, no matter what you do.

As previously stated, I am abstaining smiling for pictures today

because I can.

Aw, come on Lily, give the poor woman a smile!




I said "a" smile Mom, not multiple!






For Our Children

We give thanks for our children.
May we continue to be blessed
by their simple wonder
so that we might not take
for granted one single moment
of this miracle to which
we've been born.

-Steve Myrvang



So very thankful to have our girls and the hope that is Gracie. Still a bit superstitious when it comes to our adoption process, no new word.
So very, very grateful this Thanksgiving for our girls.
Here's hoping that you all spend your Thanksgiving with the people you cherish most.
Love, Mel

Our Flower Children

Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl,

with yellow feathers in her hair....

Sweet Lily Caroline, good times never seemed so good!

Every little girl needs a big flower hat on a cold November day!

Love, Mel

Carole

Today, we remember with heavy hearts the passing of Don's sister Carole. She died last year after a brave fight with breast cancer.

Carole touched us all in special ways. She was a dedicated nurse. Carole was a wonderful sister and daughter. She was a great friend. For me, I will remember Carole most as an extraordinary mother to her two children. She parented with grace, humor and patience. I think the greatest legacy a person has in this life must be their children. What a wonderful legacy Carole left in Todd and Lindsey.
We were all lucky to have Carole in our lives. We continue to be blessed with her memory in our hearts forever.

Say not in grief that she is no more
but say in thankfulness that she was
A death is not the extinguishing of a light,
but the putting out of the lamp
because dawn has come.
-Tagore

Love, Mel

Happy Five Month Birthday Lily and Lola!

Hello world!

Make sure you get this angle too.

Lovies!

Can you tell we're related?


The weight of our cheeks is.. just.. tooo much.. Must lie...down!

Hello Guatemala? We want our big sister now please!!!





Matilda:
Your kidding? They let you go to the bathroom IN the house?

Lola:
Yeah, it's no problem at all. Try it again, maybe it's okay now.

Our sweetie pies turn 5 months old today and we sure think they are something special.

Love, Mel

Sign the petition!

We were very lucky to have excellent preemie care for our baby girls. However, many are not. If you feel compelled to do so, sign the above petition to bring attention to the needs of babies born prematurely. Thanks. Love, Mel

Our Little Pumpkin Pies

Miss Lola looked down all day at her psychedelic pants.

Mom, why must you dress me in horizontal stripes around my midsection?
I feel like everyone is looking at my stomach.

Guess who has rolled in every direction! Hooray!

I feel like such a big girl sitting in my Bumbo.

Love, Mel

Thankful Thursday

Here are my Top Ten Thankful Things for this week:

10. I am thankful for blogging as it makes me feel like I am having an adult conversation in the midst of babies

9. I am thankful for my little girls sleeping SOOO well the past few nights (from 1130 pm-last feeding, until 7 am)

8. I am thankful for the 2 solid hours I had last night of alone time

7. I am thankful for coffee and chocolate (sorry, had to be said)

6. I am thankful for internet shopping, since I cannot get out much, it has helped me get ready for Gracie

5. I am thankful for my wonderful friends and family

4. Of course, thankful for Don and especially seeing his excitement and eagerness to be an involved Dad (to include late feedings)

3. I am thankful for the privilege of being a mother

2. I am thankful for the blessings of Lily and Lola and the hope of Gracie ( I am still superstitious at feeling like her adoption is a done deal :)

1. I am thankful for the journey of faith. I would have never said that a year ago, as I spent much time questioning our journey to parenthood. Somehow all the pain melts away now and I feel so incredibly lucky to be living what I consider an extraordinary life.

Love, Mel

When Exactly Did I Become Judge and Jury of Poop?

My husband came home the other day and asked how my day went. I opened with "L had a good poop" (names shall be held confidential to protect the innocent). When did this become appropriate conversation? And just exactly when did I become the judge of what "good poop" is? I mean I am an educated women, with other interests. I do watch CNN. And I do know the difference between Iraq and Iran.
However, all seems to pale in comparison to what these little ones do during the day. Every moment is absolutely precious to me. Okay, sometimes the crying in stereo (X 2 babies) can be nerve wracking. But seeing these little girls reveal their personalities and develop minute by minute is so very fun.
Lola has started to belly laugh and that just keeps us in permanent smiles. Lily is so hilarious to watch when she gets excited. Don says she is doing the running man, which is exactly what Lily's excitement looks like.
Both girls are starting to interact more with each other everyday. They get excited when they see each other. When they get close enough to love on the other, they close their eyes and have the sweetest expressions of sheer happiness.
Ah, little girls.... What else could be more precious?
Love, Mel

I Like Big Bows and I Can Not Lie

Our sweetie pies... Hope they will always endulge me dressing them up!

Love, Mel

Adoption Roller Coaster Twist No. 756

Just as is the case very often with our adoption process, we have a valley followed by a peak. Apparently, Friday night we got a message saying we were out of RENAP (the step we thought hadn't even been started until last week) and on to passport/birth certificate. Basically, this is a shockingly POSITIVE step forward in bringing Gracie home sooner than we thought possible Thursday.
Because of, oh I don't know, diapers and feedings and spit up and rocking and tummy time and laundry and bottle making and my Sat. trip to Norman to visit my niece, we didn't get the message until today.
This is very, very good.
Thanks to everyone for their support and prayers. The support helps more than you know and I have to believe this progress is an answer to prayer!
Love, Mel

Be Careful What You Wish For

Well, after publicly expressing my desire for a Gracie update, we got one. I am not going to go into a big drawn out explanation of the steps of an adoption in Guatemala because it is just too exhausting and depressing after THREE YEARS of this. Basically, what we learned yesterday is that the next step after our PGN approval did not take place until last week. Our PGN approval was dated the last week in Sept., so basically over a month has gone by with no action. Our agency is trying to get information on why this happened and if this is indeed accurate. I am not going to assign blame on this blog, but I will tell you this is NOT the fault of our agency.
Basically, if this is true we will be very hard pressed to have Gracie Sofia home by her birthday (December) or Christmas, which was my secret hope.
Also, doing business in Guatemala in December will be a wash, so it really lengthens out the timeline to bring her home.
I guess the thing to hope for at this time is that the information was inaccurate, which is possible.
I am trying not to get too upset. However, as I have mentioned before, riding the emotional rollercoaster of this adoption is draining me. What upsets me the most is thinking of her living through another birthday and Christmas without a family. We just want to be that family for her.

What I am going to try to do is:
1. Remember we have seen the PGN approval, which is huge for our case
2. Kiss the chubby cheeks of Lily and Lola several times more today
3. Pray that I will remember God's hand is in this adoption

Love, Mel

No News

Just because I am sure some of you are wondering and are afraid to ask, we don't have any more Gracie news at this time. I am feeling frustrated today with no news or timeline for travel, but you would think I would be used to it after everything we have been through.

Above picture was taken by Don when we went for our visit trip to Guatemala. Gracie was 8 months old at the time. This is my absolute favorite picture of that trip.

I have a friend who has a "Thankful Thursday" post and I am going to follow her lead.

Here are my week's Thankful Things:

10. That Don gladly (heehee) got up with Lily at 4 am to feed her when I was already up feeding Lola

9. That although we had a rough early morning, BOTH girls are presently ASLEEP and allowing me some recoup time

8. My wonderfully supportive family and friends

7. Don's job that allows me to stay home and fulfill a dream of mine

6. My experience voting this week

5. For Don, who loves me unconditionally, even through my moods

4. For the hope of Gracie and the miracle it will be when she comes home

3. For the miracles of Lily and Lola and what being their mother means to me

2. For baby girl smiles in our present (Lily and Lola) and in our past (Gracie) and in our future (Gracie, Lily and Lola)

1. My faith in God that sustains me

Love, Mel

Election Day

To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.
- Louis L'Amour

How to Put Off Doing Laundry for at Least 5 More Minutes

This post is serving as a justification for Mom to put off doing laundry this Monday morning. I am too tired to come up with snappy captions today, but maybe tomorrow.

I would like someone to answer just exactly how is it possible for us to have a million pink socks, with no mate? Every morning as I dress the girls, I look for matching socks. We must have every possible combination of pink socks - polka dots, stripes, hearts, ones with pink ankle trim, ones with white ankle trim and so on and so forth. Every morning, I find a sock that is seemingly without its mate. Thus is the bane of my existence. Endlessly searching for two pair of matching pink socks.
Maybe it has something to do with the timing of the caffeine absorption from my coffee:)

Happy Monday!

Love, Mel