The B4 Bunch

1st Birthday!

2010-05-24T21:23:00.000-07:00

Our cute 9 month old!

2010-03-01T19:00:00.000-08:00

I know, I have missed a few months. I plan to catch up this summer, but I have been keeping notes, stats and lots of pictures. Really hard to blog regularly working full time with two kiddos! Need to start blogging from the old iPhone I guess. :)

JP is growing in leaps and bounds and he is almost ready to start leaping and bounding! He is 22 lbs and 5 oz which is the 75%ile, he is 30 in tall which is the 90%ile. Nice when the height stays ahead of the weight for big boys. At least he has legs! JP has 6 teeth! 4 on top and 2 on bottom. He got the bottom ones first, then the lateral incisors on top came in and he looked a bit vampire like. The front teeth were quick to follow and it is all evened out.

JP has been crawling confidently for almost 3 weeks now and is more and more active and mobile every day. He is pulling up with a growl or a whine for help at times. Just the past few days he's started cruising from table to couch and back. He likes to stand on his own and balance and then he giggles when he falls down.

The boy is a joy at every stage, he remains the same calm and sweet baby he has always been. Hardly a peep during teething, he takes it all in stride.

Is he eating?! Oh yeah, anything and everything we feed him! Being the second child, we're a little more relaxed and he is often eating with us at dinner and enjoying all the new flavors and textures. I am making food like I did with Bug. We want our boys to have flexible palats and to enjoy many flavors and always be willing to try new things. So far, so good because Bug is a great eater. Hoping they are both that way! Of course we may not be able to go out to eat since our kids just can't order off a kids menu because they can't eat that junk! Bug is 6 and tosses it aside with disdain when we go out...can't help but be proud! :)

Me, I am surviving and working toward remembering to enjoy the journey! I don't know how families with more kids do it. Two is enough for me and I am still growing into feeling confident about them! I need to worry less and let God handle things more. Same things I am always striving for...

Bug is a 1st grader at my school and that has been an interesting journey. We knew it would be an adjustment with lower expectations and standards in public schools. Neither of us quite realized how low the standard had become. He loves school, loves his teacher and learns something once in a while. We're homeschooling and providing our own enrichment for now. He's a good kid and none too worse for wear so far. Next year he will be in an enrichment class for nurturing potential, I think it will be a much better match! Thankful he is close to mom and has a teacher who loves the Lord and loves him too. That will work for now. The rest can happen at home.

Back to piles of papers to grade and boys who need some reading time with momma! I'll try to check in more often! JB

2009-07-22T22:49:00.001-07:00

"Not flesh of my flesh, Nor bone of my bone, But still miraculously my own. Never forget for a single minute, You didn't grow under my heart - but in it"
Author: Fleur Conkling Heylinger

Ponderings...

2009-05-17T21:25:00.001-07:00

"God has his own schedule, and we need to follow it. When you find yourself in a hurry to get your own way, ask God to forgive you. Ask him for patience to wait on him. God's timing is always perfect and brings the greatest blessing."

May 28

I found this quote on Memorial Day weekend after more than a few frustrating conversations about our adoption process. I am still learning to let go and let God! Tuesday afternoon, on May 27th I got a call from Adoption Ministry. It was J sounding a bit urgent. I called her back as soon as I dismissed my class. She told me she had a baby boy who was born on the weekend and she wanted to talk with me about him. He was relinquished at the hospital by his birth mom and he needed as adoption plan by noon the next day to avoid being released to DSHS. Breathless I asked questions that came to mind and then told her CB was on jury duty and I couldn't call him until 4:30! It was 2:30 when we talked. This left me with two hours to kill and try to maintain some sanity...not easy! I had a wonderful friend pick up Bug at school, she cried with me and promised to pray for us. I called both our parents and they were ecstatic! Finally at 4:30 sitting on the side of the road in Sumner CB finally called me back. By this time I had dialed him at least 10 times and sent two somewhat cryptic texts. His simple reply was , "let's go get him"! :) That is my hubby, he's the rock and calm and cool one. He came to meet me and we got to tell Bug at our best friend's house. We told him we thought that God had found a baby for our family. He was very matter of fact, thrilled to hear it was a little brother!

From there we went to dinner and Babies R us, discussing baby names all the way! Of course that was all terribly overwhelming and we got two outfits and a mattress and sheet for our old cradle. The rest would come in time.

We looked over our name list and continued to debate. I began looking up the meanings of the names and we found that Jonathon means "Gift from God". It all seemed so simple to Bug because that is just what this baby is for our family! It also keeps the syllables the same for all of us. He is Jonathon Phillip after my dear Uncle who passed away this past winter as well as my grampy that died when I was 5.

Wednesday morning we dropped Bug at school and met our lawyer to go over the paperwork. By 10:30 we were at the hospital meeting our son. He was almost 3 days old and had been sent to the level 2 nursery since he had no none to care for him. He was the biggest and healthiest baby there! He got a lot of love from his nurses that seemed very happy to see us. Irina remarked to us that this baby who had no one suddenly had everyone. Eager grandparents from both sides had made the trek to meet the newest addition!

As the mom to a newborn who has adjusted a little each day, I must close this for now to get my boys to bed! Gods timing is perfect and His blessing amazes us each day. Our family is complete, but the adventure is just begun! Thanks for all the love and prayers!

Mexico Pictures!

2009-04-10T22:45:00.001-07:00

We had a great Spring Break this year. We got away on a Mexican Riviera Cruise with CB's whole family, it was great! Loved being in the sun after such a long, cold and wet winter. Check out our pictures! We flew to San Diego to spend a night and one sunny day in a beautiful pool. Our ship, the Carnival Spirit left on Saturday from SD Bay. We cruised to Acapulco, Zihuatanejo and Manzanillo. Zihuatanejo was by far our favorite stop. Our Bug had a great time dancing with his cousin, they are both only children and they got along great, we were thrilled. It was hard to come home after all that pampering!

First Violin Recital

2009-02-08T19:08:00.000-08:00

Our Bug played "Mississippi Hotdog" in his first violin recital. He was so cute and so serious! It was tough for mom and dad, we were as nervous as he was! He is learning with the Suzuki method and it is a great fit for him. I love to watch and listen. He really likes it so far! He's mastered Twinkle, Twinkle since this recital. Too cute!

Our Adoption Story, Part 1

2009-02-02T20:32:00.000-08:00

People asked about our adoption timeline and I thought it would be good to share a bit about how we got to this point. Our son, "Bug" is our biological miracle! I am a cancer survivor that had been told I most likely wouldn't be able to have my own children. Of course when you are a medical anomaly...they really don't know for certain. We got married knowing we wanted a couple kids. We started later in life so we didn't have time to waste. After about 6 months of marriage it was time to start praying and hoping for the best. We'd been told that conceiving could take up to a year and not to be discouraged so we had prepared ourselves. It took one cycle off my BC and I was late...not sure what that meant. I put off a test, afraid of the outcome. Finally I picked a few up, but still was afraid to check! One morning two full weeks late I had to know. I took the test and got in the shower. When I stepped out I took a cautious peek...I saw two clear lines...what did that mean? I looked and confirmed my greatest hope. I was pregnant! Now what? I hadn't even pondered how to tell CB. I stepped quietly into our room where he was still sleeping and simply whispered..."you were right, I am pregnant!". Poor guy about had a heart attack. He isn't a morning person at all and this was a shocker! Needless to say, I had to get in to the doctor to confirm it. They gave me confirmation and a heart beat! I was almost 8 weeks along at that point...we even got pics of our little "bug".

I had a great pregnancy, no problems no complaints. I actually enjoyed most days! We elected to have a C-section because I wasn't keen on the idea of labor or birth trouble. My doctor was very supportive and we set our date and made our plans. Delivery was a breeze. Took minutes to be looking at my son, all 7 lbs and 13 ounces of him...beautiful! When you have had major surgery a C-section is nothing. Other than some slight nausea afterward it was great. I was so annoyed to be grounded to my bed for 12 hours! We had Bug in our room and got to learn together how to care for this new little life. He had a bit of jaundice so we stayed an extra day to be pampered. Being mid November it was fairly cold and stormy, we stayed in a lot those first few weeks. CB had 6 weeks off and I had taken a 3 month leave...it was paradise! Those days went too fast...

I had a tough time getting my energy back. I went to the doctor and was treated for anemia and a persistent cough. I couldn't walk up stairs or run without getting totally winded and coughing. I took antibiotics and even used an inhaler to try to improve my symptoms. I ended up in the ER late one night and got sent home with a diagnosis of viral bronchitis. Eventually my GP decided to do some tests and I found out I had gall stones and needed to get my gall bladder removed. Simple scope surgery, out patient...should be easy. By this time my Bug was almost 18 months old and he needed a energetic momma to keep up with him! Surgery went well, my dear mom came over to help out when I got home. Hubby went back to work, Bug to his caregiver and I had a few days off to recover. Sadly, I began to feel worse instead of better. Short of breath and having gained almost 10 lbs, I called my doctor. Something wasn't right, I wasn't even eating anything. He examined me and sent me home telling me this was "normal" following abdominal surgery.

Two sleepless nights of panic because I couldn't lay flat and my heart was racing finally sent us to Urgent Care thinking perhaps I was bleeding internally. They did respond, My BP was 180/115 and heart rate was over 120. I knew I didn't feel good and I was fighting to stay conscious by this point. They told my dear hubby that he could take me to the ER or they would call for an ambulance. I begged him to take me. We called my parents and they met us there to take Bug. I also called my sister on the way who was in Medical school and a great advocate and support to me.

No waiting at the ER. I was in a hooked to machines before I really knew what was happening. Lots of tests, no one really talking to me directly other than to ask the same questions over and over. Chest x-ray showed an enlarged heart and pulmonary edema. Next came an Echocardiogram that showed an EF of 20%. Not good. Here I was a new momma only in my 30's in full heart failure. Off to the ICU I went. I was terrified, cried a lot just kept thinking over and over that I needed to be here for my son. We had never even been apart and they were admitting me to the ICU. I knew enough to know that wasn't good. After all, the heart is one thing we can't live without.

What a week...

2009-01-16T23:25:00.000-08:00

Had a bit of a scare with our Bug this week. He randomly had blood in his urine Wednesday night, like lots of it...bright red. We calmly left dinner dishes on the table and took him to urgent care trying not to alarm him along the way. They did some tests and gave us the option of going to the hospital or going home and returning in the morning for further tests. Thankfully Auntie Em helped us out and consulted via phone from her post at Children's hospital. We did go home with her blessing. I did sub plans and we had Bug sleep with us to keep a close eye on him. Tests the next day ruled out anything serious and left us to believe he has a post strep inflammation in his kidneys that will run its course in a few days. Whew...just a little stressful! God is good and it was a great lesson to Bug because he has this great child's faith where he just knows God healed him!

Another big item today was a call from our Adoption agency asking about our racial and gender preferences. When I confirmed that we don't have specific exclusions, they asked if they could show our family profile to two birth moms this weekend! Might be worse knowing this information. At the very least it is totally distracting! Nice to know something is happening at least. They will call if there is interest and we'll go from there. The next step would be discussing specifics of our adoption plan to see if it would be the right fit. We really want to meet he birth mom and have a chance to get a sense of her. We both feel like this is very important to knowing if it is the right situation for us. For now we pray and trust that God already knows and has it all in His perfect plan. Bug is quite excited, although he does run hot and cold on the issue. Tonight he wants a baby brother...we'll see, stay tuned!

2008-12-22T13:28:00.000-08:00

My boys playing in the snow! We live on a wonderful sledding hill too. We had our first white Christmas, it was perfect!

Snow days and time to ponder life...

2008-12-19T10:24:00.000-08:00

We are in day #3 of "Snow days"! In the Pacific NW, that is pretty rare. In our family it is great fun because we're both educators and it means we all three get to stay home and play in the snow! We've had these insane cold temperatures, 20 and even lower which is also unusual! Right now we have about 5 inches of beautiful white snow and a high of 22 today. Brrrr....thus I am enjoying the fire and catching up on my favorite blogs. My Bug has some sort of kid crud and is stuffy and coughing so he is inside too.

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is though everything is a miracle." Albert Einstein

I found this quote on a blog I enjoy reading and it really summed up a lot of what I have been pondering lately. I have various friends and loved ones who have weathered some amazing storms this year, losing babies, sick children and spouses, health issues. I pray for them and with them, asking for God's healing touch. The results are good and bad and can only been seen through my human filter, left wondering why some prayers seem to be answered and others feel unheard. This quote helps me to remember that God is bigger than any of these needs and His timing and will are not always to be understood by me. Miracles cannot be custom ordered. Outcomes can only be viewed from our earthly perspective, God has the whole picture in His will. This is so convicting to me to be thankful in all things and wait upon the Lord as I overcome my impatience.

Miracles are a part of me. I was healed of cancer in my adolescence. I grew up to marry my amazing best friend and have a beautiful, healthy, perfect baby boy in spite of doctor's insistence that it couldn't happen. I am being healed of a heart condition that developed from that pregnancy or maybe the chemo in my younger years. The price of course is no more miracle babies, at least not biologically. Geez, who am I to ask for more at this point? What is the quota on miracles? God has been so good to me, faithful beyond compare. I am forever thankful when I sit here in the warmth of my home and look at my sweet hubby and Bug all cuddled at my side holding his kitty.

The epiphany I have come to and wanted to share is that God is answering our prayers every single day. All of these needs we bring to Him matter. We just have to learn to look beyond our own earthly limitations and strive to see the bigger picture. As this year wraps up I have seen miracles performed all around me, babies saved and healed...Mamas rejoicing. On the other hand, I have seen my uncle pass suddenly leaving his soulmate alone for the holidays, a son taken unexpectedly from my best friend last January. My siblings losing sight of their faith, getting mired in the world. The election...Lord help me to see You in these situations, help me to pray without ceasing knowing Your ways are bigger and better. Help me to be faithful to intercede and lift these every day.

Back to the snow and my wonderful little family...my favorite miracle!

Rebel For a Cause!

2008-12-02T21:39:00.000-08:00

If you haven't heard about "McMama", you have to go check her out! There is also a great raffle opportunity for a sweet camera package and it benefits 3 great causes. Please check it out! Press the camera button on your right and take a minute to read about the raffle and about the amazing things God has done in the life of a precious new baby boy and his family.

2008-11-25T21:44:00.000-08:00

Some pages from our photo profile for a birthmom...

Random ponderings

2008-11-25T21:28:00.000-08:00

I am sitting here waiting for CB who is a saint...out helping my parents move into their new home! It has been a crazily busy week and it is only Tuesday. Bug and I were on our own this evening. We made pizza and oatmeal cookies. No worries, we worked in a spinach salad too! Bug cried himself to sleep, trying to hide the tears from me missing his daddy. He's such a little man. CB left for work at 6:15 and neither of us have seen him today. I should be doing report cards, but I am instead adding new backgrounds to my blog and pondering life!

I woke up this morning with a really unsettled feeling. I had this concern about a heart, perhaps a heart attack. I prayed for my parents knowing they would be moving today and hoping they wouldn't over do it until we got off work to help. No sooner had I prayed that prayer and the phone rang. My mom called to tell me that my Uncle had suffered a ruptured heart valve while hiking in the Sierras. He's in critical condition and they are trying hard to stabilize him for surgery. Funny how these things come to mind when God is there. My Uncle is not a believer. Even so, God is watching over him and his family.

I did say random...our adoption files are complete. Even our photo profile is signed and sealed. Now to wait and wonder and answer endless questions as people mean well. I saw a shirt the other day that said, "We're adding to our family through adoption...no, we haven't heard anything yet!" Might not be a bad idea. The annoying thing is they always apologize as they ask! No reason to apologize, we're as impatient and out of control as they are. At this point spring would be ideal since I will have to take unpaid time away from school. No adoption benefits in our district...to say the least!

I'd better return to my Thanksgiving recipes and shopping list. Waiting for my honey and looking in on my sweet Bug...

Happy 5th Birthday to my Bug!

2008-11-12T21:13:00.000-08:00

My son, my beloved miracle child turned 5 today. I am not sure where time has gone. Today we went on a Kindergarten field trip with Bug, both of us enjoying a rare "sick" day together. It was to a Pioneer Farm up near the mountain. It was raining sideways...all day! We coffee'd up and donned our best rain gear. The tour was a lot of fun, Bug loved every minute and every experience. He got to milk a real cow, pet a pig "Bacon Bits", and collect eggs from the hen house. There were pioneer chores, a Blacksmith shop and even some time practicing in a real Pioneer school house it was great. The whole time slogging through the mud and trying to convince 15 Kindergartners to "try" to stay dry! ( As IF that was possible!) CB and I could only marvel at how our son has grown and how he savors knowledge. He was mesmerized at every experience eagerly listening. On the way home he told us it was in fact the best field trip he's ever been on!
We dropped him back at school and went to lunch by ourselves. Of course we ended up reminiscing about the past 5 years and marveling at God's gift to us. This will be a big year with our anticipated addition arriving sometime along the way. We prepared a Gingerbread cake and Chicken Marsala with fresh french bread...at Bug's request of course! We even added some Gelato and enjoyed our family celebration. He eagerly opened his presents and was most thrilled with his new Bible and a real watch. He also got a Leapster, which was a much debated decision. The educational value finally won us. The idea he could do something else on longer car rides than play tic tac toe on our iPhones worked for us!
Tonight as we tucked Bug into bed he wanted to hear the story of his birth. It was fun to tell him all about it. My favorite part was laying awake most of that first night with him sleeping softly on my chest. I was too excited to sleep...it was the best feeling, nothing greater. Tonight I smoothed his hair while we listened to lullabies. He's still my baby for now.
God is so good and I am so thankful I can be Bug's momma, it is the best job I could ever have! Happy Birthday my son. I love you more than words can say... Momma.

2008-11-10T22:47:00.000-08:00

2008-11-10T20:44:00.000-08:00

New pictures of us taken the end of October. We had a great run of weather and the colors were amazing! My sis did a quick photo shoot one day to give us recent pics for our adoption profile. We are at the end of the process now, done with home study and all the hours of classes. Now to wait for God's plan and God's timing.

2008-11-10T20:18:00.000-08:00

February 21, 2008 We officially finished our adoption application on Friday with finger printing in Tacoma. Took almost two hours in the same line as gun permits...crazy world we live in! We got a nice lady who even let Bug view his prints on the computer. Kind of a cool new system. Dropped everything in the mail and the adventure began! Now we wait to hear from our agency. As we understand the process...next is an interview and our pastoral call. From there we are accepted or rejected. Will be nice to get beyond this point! Bug is already asking how many days until our baby is here. Wish is was that easy!

March 11, 2008 We have our big adoption interview scheduled for March 19th. They said to allow 2+ hours! Kind of daunting really. We don't know what to expect as this point, I guess ignorance is bliss. Hopefully it will answer some questions we're collecting as far as timing and all. It is a weird experience not know what the future holds and learning to trust in God to guide the outcomes of all of this. Being such a control freak, it is even more challenging. At least when you get pregnant, you know you only have 40 weeks to endure!
As hard as it is for us, it is even more so for Bug! He is so excited to think of having a little sister or brother. He keeps asking how man y more days and we just have no idea at all.
One day at a time...

April 4, 2008 We've moved on to getting certified as a foster family through YFC in Tacoma now. Another lengthy process of paperwork and hoops to jump through! This one, run by the state is a bit ridiculous. We'll be adding fire ladders, first aid kits on every floor and ipecac...whatever! We keep reminding ourselves it is a means to an end. This will enable us to take in an emergency adoption which is something our agency is seeing more and more of. Babies surrendered at the hospital...prepping for our newborn with a few hours notice! Exciting, huh?
Still hard to decide how we feel. It is a little like being pregnant and still a lot surreal. When we're doing paper work and checking off tasks at least it feels like we have some control over the process.
We've given Bug the choice of sharing his room and making a toy room...staying in his room and helping to make over the spare for a nursery or moving there himself and doing an "Extreme Makeover". He's still deciding. Not knowing gender of our addition does make that a little more challenging. Either way you look at it, Auntie has lost her extra bed room here!
We'll keep you posted on progress...