about a boy

Tomorrow is our first visit with Augie's birth mom since they said goodbye, back in February.  The excitement has been building and I was thrilled when my husband declared it was exciting.  I will be taking him by myself while DH watches the girls.  We are meeting at our favorite restaurant and I am crossing my fingers Augie will be well behaved.  I will update later...but for now, here the letter to the birth parents coming with us.  

It feels as if it has been forever.  We think of you daily.  I could write pages about Augie. 

Let me just tell you about this boy…he is the sweetest most challenging person I know.  He will go out of his way to give the sweetest kisses, and 5 minutes later be covered in ink, marker, diaper cream, etc.  We joke that he needs a water bottle attached to his hip to keep him hydrated.  When he is not happy at the dinner table he pushes (or throws) his  food and grunts.  He loves playing with Rosie and it is so much fun to watch them play games together.  And Airplanes…boy does he love airplanes.  We were on a walk recently when he saw an airplane.  He was just walking aimlessly with his arms out, making the sound, “flying” through his imagination.  Though he will not hear me call his name from 5 feet away, he manages to hear airplanes 5,000 feet away (selective hearing). 

He loves to sing itsy bitsy spider and twinkle twinkle little star.  He is starting to sing the alphabet song (just a bit) and become familiar with counting numbers. 

I have a theory that his head is magnetically drawn to the floor.  He still frequently has a bruisey forehead, but overall, he is wonderful. 

We are so excited for our visit and looking forward to creating more memories together in the future.  My hope is to get the kids together at some point for a visit together. 

We are just figuring out this whole adoption and open relationship thing, so bear with us…but we are grateful that you love him so much and we hope to foster your relationship with him as the years go by. 

With Love,Ua

Featured at Forever, For Always, No Matter What

Thanks to our lovely Jen for helping me share our story today at Forever, For Always, No Matter What: 
Adopting from Foster Care

And Jen just shared with me the story was picked up by The Foster Care Daily.  Scroll to the bottom of the page. 

The SPICE it up Challenge

For those out there who have learned Creighton, you know about SPICE. This stands for the Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Creative/Communicative and Emotional/psychological needs of your spouse.  The talking point is "while genital contact is to be avoided during the days of fertility, if your intention is to avoid pregnancy, "sexual" contact (SPICE - the broader concept of relationship) should never be avoided."  In other words, be extra willing to work on your marriage in other departments during times of abstinence.

One of my favorite parts of teaching CrM is facilitating the SPICE discussion. Probably about 90% of the time I end up recommending the book "The 5 Love Languages."  I will offer more on this in my next post.

When we first learned Creighton (and SPICE) it was the in midst of our struggle with infertility.  Avoiding pregnancy was not a concern.  In the wise words of my practitioner, couples dealing with infertility have to work just as hard, if not harder at their relationship. We were encouraged to make a list of 10 non-genital ways we could show love to our spouse, and then compare notes. At that time, we did all that we were asked, but I never fully brought SPICE into our marriage.

I am blogging this topic tonight as I am in need of a refresher course.  I am so blessed by my marriage of 9 years.  I could not ask for a better spouse or partner in life.  That said, is SO easy to be consumed by busyness, children, responsibilities...life, and forget the needs of your spouse.

Helpmate.  I am called to be a helpmate.  The etymology of the word, specifically points to Genesis 2:28, God's creation of woman to be a helper for man.  Most online dictionaries refer to helpmate as "specifically: wife". 

Spinning off from Magnify the Lord's Marriage Monday posts, for myself I am starting the SPICE it up challenge.  My prayer and goal this week is to have an understanding heart.  It is so easy to expect/demand help at the end of a long day.  Yet, at that time, I am the one called to be a helpmate (my love...if you are reading....I will do my best).

I am a fan of SPICE...but how has it impacted my marriage?  I can not ask others to do what I am not.

This week I shall:
 
S - pray for my husband daily
P - daily embrace initiated by me "just because"
I - 5 Love Language Assessment (more in a future post)
C - do the dishes joyfully
E - sit down with my husband when he arrives home & converse about the day

about that brokenness part

Today was a horrible day in my history of parenting.

I could be calling this "confessions of a horrible parent".  I could easily be sharing about how my family is being investigated by cps (we aren't).  I could be sharing how ____ child was injured by X, Y or Z.  Or worse.

There is truly no such thing as a perfect parent and I SWEAR it is only by the grace of God that our children survive their youth.  Today, I give thanks for guardian angels who work over time, especially protecting my children.  I give thanks for other guardian angels that intervene on their behalf.

But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Corinthians 12:9

Dear Blog, thank you for being my therapy today.

Blessed and Broken

Thanks for following me over here!  I have wanted to change the name of my blog and site address for a while.  I finally took the plunge.  When I started my blog (bringing home baby?), it was in anticipation of one day parenthood.  We have been so blessed to bring home not one, but three babies.  This new title more aptly suits where I am/we are today.

growing our family through foster care

In honor of National Adoption Month, Foster 2 Forever is sponsoring a blog hop.


When you google "National Adoption Month" the frist link that pops up is US Dept of Health & Human Services, Child Welfare Gateway.  In the first paragraph you read, it states over 100,000 children are waiting for permanent homes in the foster care system.  At the same time over 7 million women in the US are suffering infertility, or about 1 in 8 couples (resolve website).

As I said before, I wish I could cut through the red tape and start knocking on some of these doors with some of these beautiful kids.

Adoption through foster care is a tremendous blessing, one that I wish more people would take advantage of.  When I just wanted to be a mom, fostering seemed so big and intimidating.  Now, as a foster parent, I realize there is nothing to fear.  Fostering has taught me how to love deeper.  God has blessed me with two beautiful children as a result of stepping out in courage.  Our first adoption "Auggie" was finalized on July 14th.  We are looking forward to our second adoption of "Catie" possibly in the early spring.  Both of these beautiful children came to us as babies.  In the end, the process was far easier than anything we had previously looked into about international adoption.  Not to mention, 20,000 times more affordable.

Consider opening up your hearts and your home to the blessing of a  foster child (or children).  It will change your life (and theirs) forever.  

the most fun a Catholic mother can have...

is to dress her children up as little saints!  Sorry about the pic quality, my camera is dying.  And St Augustine has yet to be captured on film.

St Faustina

THE coolest snack!  St Cookies made by the lovely hostess.

St Therese of Liseux rose sandwiches

St Patrick fruit shamrock with pot of gold