The 18 month tests are in! Both of the HIV tests have come back negative. As far as I know, there won't be a need to have any more testing done. Once they show negative for the virus, as well as the antibodies, they are in the clear. We're all very excited around here, though I didn't expect them to come back any differently. Maybe it was that mommy intuition, or just the fact that her health seemed completely normal, but I fully expected the tests to be negative.
So, with the announcement of these results, I plan to stop posting here. The adoption process is over and has blended into just life with the family. You can follow the family life at my other blog, dressesnmesses.com
Now, if we decide to adopt again in the future, we might revisit this blog.... :)
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Birthday Time
I cannot help but think back to this week in our lives in 2010. Then, the anticipation and nervousness was so painful that all we could do was keep ourselves busy while we waited and waited for a phone call. Now, I can look back on those diversions with fond memories.
I remember arriving at our bed and breakfast on March 4th, waiting all day just to find out we would not meet our birthmom before the baby was born. I remember waking up on March 5th knowing that we should get a call in the early afternoon letting us know the baby was born. So we drove downtown to the Tower City Mall and walked and walked. We went to see Alice In Wonderland in 3D. We had lunch. Finally, on our way back to the room we got a call that a healthy baby girl had been born. We were also told that we'd have to wait another day to meet her. So we started a game of Scrabble in our room and tried not to think about the fact that she was less than a mile away. We also decided then that we would name her Elsie, "consecrated to God". We were hopeful that March 6th would be the day, so we strolled through Wal-Mart looking at baby stuff. We ate lunch at Applebees, which is where we received our very first pictures of Elsie. The waitress also informed us that the building we were seeing out the window was her hospital. But today would not be the day. March 7th passed so very slowly. March 8th passed even more slowly.
But on March 9th, we got the call that we were to meet the birthmom at 3 PM. We'd talk with her for a while, then she personally wanted to hand baby Elsie over to us before we parted ways. We walked into the hospital with an empty carseat and sat down in the lobby. A few minutes later, our social worker met us there and escorted us to the birthmom's room. We chatted for about 45 minutes, both of us wanting to find out as much about the other one as possible. She was turning her baby over to us, and we wanted at least a few answers to the questions Elsie may one day ask. I can still remember every detail from the time I walked off the elevator onto the nursery floor. I remember it being very quiet...no babies crying. The lights were dim. I remember some puzzled looks from the nurses. But all happiness overcame us as we held her in our arms for the first time. I didn't want to let her go, but I politely passed her back to her birthmom to say goodbye. Then it was a buzz of paperwork before our trip home, all the while I held her and watched her sleep. The social worker kept having to prompt me to sign here and here. Finally, we walked out those hospital doors with a precious baby girl. The first night with a newborn is rarely full of sleep, but we tried. I remember wondering if she was a little frightened being in a new place with new people, new sounds, new smells. I couldn't wait for the day when she would feel comfortable in her bed and in our home.
A year later, I'm pretty sure I can say this is true. She knows her momma and daddy. She knows her crazy siblings. She even knows her slurpy little dogs.
This post may be too full of detail for some of you. I don't want to bore you, but I actually feel like this post is for Elsie herself. Someday I'll show her these posts and remind her how much we love her. Happy 1st Birthday Elsie!
I remember arriving at our bed and breakfast on March 4th, waiting all day just to find out we would not meet our birthmom before the baby was born. I remember waking up on March 5th knowing that we should get a call in the early afternoon letting us know the baby was born. So we drove downtown to the Tower City Mall and walked and walked. We went to see Alice In Wonderland in 3D. We had lunch. Finally, on our way back to the room we got a call that a healthy baby girl had been born. We were also told that we'd have to wait another day to meet her. So we started a game of Scrabble in our room and tried not to think about the fact that she was less than a mile away. We also decided then that we would name her Elsie, "consecrated to God". We were hopeful that March 6th would be the day, so we strolled through Wal-Mart looking at baby stuff. We ate lunch at Applebees, which is where we received our very first pictures of Elsie. The waitress also informed us that the building we were seeing out the window was her hospital. But today would not be the day. March 7th passed so very slowly. March 8th passed even more slowly.
But on March 9th, we got the call that we were to meet the birthmom at 3 PM. We'd talk with her for a while, then she personally wanted to hand baby Elsie over to us before we parted ways. We walked into the hospital with an empty carseat and sat down in the lobby. A few minutes later, our social worker met us there and escorted us to the birthmom's room. We chatted for about 45 minutes, both of us wanting to find out as much about the other one as possible. She was turning her baby over to us, and we wanted at least a few answers to the questions Elsie may one day ask. I can still remember every detail from the time I walked off the elevator onto the nursery floor. I remember it being very quiet...no babies crying. The lights were dim. I remember some puzzled looks from the nurses. But all happiness overcame us as we held her in our arms for the first time. I didn't want to let her go, but I politely passed her back to her birthmom to say goodbye. Then it was a buzz of paperwork before our trip home, all the while I held her and watched her sleep. The social worker kept having to prompt me to sign here and here. Finally, we walked out those hospital doors with a precious baby girl. The first night with a newborn is rarely full of sleep, but we tried. I remember wondering if she was a little frightened being in a new place with new people, new sounds, new smells. I couldn't wait for the day when she would feel comfortable in her bed and in our home.
A year later, I'm pretty sure I can say this is true. She knows her momma and daddy. She knows her crazy siblings. She even knows her slurpy little dogs.
This post may be too full of detail for some of you. I don't want to bore you, but I actually feel like this post is for Elsie herself. Someday I'll show her these posts and remind her how much we love her. Happy 1st Birthday Elsie!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Can She Be 10 Months Old Already?
I cannot fathom how fast time has passed since bringing home our 4 day old baby. Since the last post, we've had a few "firsts". First Thanksgiving, first Christmas, first UK hat...and the list goes on. :) As Elsie learns new things, like figuring out she can get places by placing one arm forward then using her toes to push her body a few inches forward (instead of just getting up on all fours and crawling), Mommy is also hobbling along with the lessons God is teaching. These lessons can sometimes be exhausting, but I'd rather be learning than not.
I know there are moms and ladies out there who just love babies. Any babies. They could walk right up to a stranger and want to hold their baby. Just because babies are babies. I'm not so easily smitten. I can remember being a teenager and wondering what the fuss was all about just to hold the newborn in the nursery. And since becoming a mom, I have discovered what that fuss is all about--for my own babies. And for my relatives and close friends' babies. It is kind of embarrassing to admit this here, but the Lord has had to nurture that affection between my Elsie and me. She was a stranger's baby. And while I knew and acted on my responsibility to take care of her, it hasn't always been easy to pour out sappy affection. And many times, frankly, it seemed that was the last thing she wanted. Elsie has a very independent personality, already. She fusses at the smallest sign of irritation or discomfort. She gets angry, extremely angry, about lots of things. And as a Mom searching for signs of approval from a baby (yes, I know that is as dumb as it sounds), I often felt/feel discouraged with my ability to mother her. There have been times I sat down to write a blog post only to erase it all and put my computer away. I honestly felt that I had no business sharing my experiences if I couldn't "get it together" myself. Lately, I have been very encouraged in this area. I think the "bonding" between myself and Elsie has taken huge steps over the last couple of months. The Lord has altered my natural thought processes to where I simply think of Elsie as one of "my own". I think it is finally sinking in that she really is mine and I won't have to give her back. She really is stuck with me. And I just have to figure out how to teach Elsie (and her character traits and personality), just like I still teach the other three. Even at the young age of 10 months, I have pegged several of her good traits, and several need-to-work-on traits. So, I have a piece of paper with four names on it. Below each name are some Scripture passages that we will quote over and over until some day they finally sink in. With the Lord's help, Miranda, Clare, Grant and Elsie will develop the individual personality He has given them to individually glorify Him.
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