Oh, The Feels!

 This weekend some good friends of ours were blessed with the birth of their newest kiddo. Only this birth was a little different, as their newest addition is adopted. It was an amazing and crazy whirlwind of events that all worked out beautifully in the end. We visited them in the hospital and as I sat snuggling on their new bundle of joy I had to fight back the emotions. I think about our sweet little girl constantly. Every moment she is not here with us is a moment we could be making memories (however mundane they may be).

 As I held that brand new baby, I found myself envious of all the extra time our friends will have with their child.  Surely, our little girl knows nothing about the family that is missing her. Nor does she know about all the hours we put into the piles and piles of paperwork. I take some comfort in the fact that she has no idea of the suffering that I go through every day that we can't bring her home.

 As I held that little spirit so blessed to have  not just one family, but two families that love him so very much and want only the best for him, I am reminded of the miracle of adoption. I am so very grateful for the opportunity to, someday soon, hold our new child in my arms. To show her the love of not just one family but many. I will take comfort in the fact that at the end of this long, long process, there will be love and memories of our own to share.

Fundraiser frenzy!

 We have a thousand things going on right now trying to raise funds for our adoption! Yard sales, Bake sales, Bunco night, a paint night, Zumbathon, a concert... Yes we are crazy at our house. Fundraising is almost a full time job! Add in my actual full time job and teaching Zumba two nights a week and a very active 3 year old, you get one crazy schedule.

 I just wanted to take a few minutes to thank everyone for their support and help. I have so many people who have taken on various tasks of organizing events, advertising, brainstorming and allowing me to bounce ideas off of them. I truly appreciate all you have done and continue to do to help make this adoption a reality.

 Stay tuned as I will be updating with new events and fun things we have planned!

We are not Angels...

  I'm not sure why people say that kids with special needs are only given to 'special people'. As far as I know, my husband and I are not angels, nor are we saints. We are just two typical people who happen to have a child with Down syndrome.

  Don't get me wrong, we love our kiddo and try our very best to make sure all of his needs are met. Just as we have done with our other children. This is what a parent is supposed to do.  As parents our job is to make sure that those "needs", whatever they may be, are addressed.  If your child has bad vision, you get then glasses.  If your child has asthma you make sure they have medicine.  If your child struggles in school,  you make sure they get extra help. Sometimes this means you must learn certain skills to help your child.

 As a parent of a child with special needs we just learn what we need to to help or child.  If your child is nonverbal,  you learn sign language. If they are unable to to physical things you figure out a way to adapt.  This is what love is.

 Tait was not given to us because we were special to begin with.  Like any parent, having him has made us strive to be great patents. Our hope is that our adopted child can benefit from what we have learned so far in our journey. And that we can continue to learn through loving her.

We have been given permission to share a few pictures of Tait's new sister.  She is in Eastern Europe and she also has Down syndrome.  We are so excited!

Little man has been sick. The nights are long and he's needed lots of snuggles.  While laying awake with him one night I wondered to myself if I was truely ready and capable of caring for another child. But, just as I was beginning to run through the negatives, he snuggled up to me and put his arm around me. Tears welled in my tired eyes and my heart filed with enormous love.  All of the doubts washed away. I couldn't help longing, once again, to hold our little girl.  I wondered if there was anyone to comfort her when she is sick.  If anyone rubbed her back when she was unwell or unable to sleep. She needs us and we need her. I can't wait to hold her in my arms and share our love with her!

I saw this today and immediately thought about our sweet little girl on the other side of the world. In an instant we fell in love and now our whole world has begun to transform as we prepare to bring her home.  

More details (and pictures) to come as we continue to make progress!

https://www.youcaring.com/my-fundraisers.aspx