Ahhh Tuesday.

I'm not a fan of Tuesdays. With Monday I know what to expect-school,work, back to the routine. But Tuesday usually means that N is out of town, homework night, spelling words, reading, piano practicing, and scouts. Ok, that's most nights but on Tuesday we have scouts. This would be fine if it were summer because J-man could just walk across the street for scouts but it's winter. So, therefore, it's dark and cold. I have to drive him and drag the little man with us. Such a pain! It falls at the little man's bedtime. I have to bundle him up and drag him out into the cold and then keep him up for an hour so we can go pick-up J-man. Tonight was especially trying. He's been crying for about 2 hours. He's exhausted! I was actually wondering if I could put him to bed and the monitor would reach to the church. I didn't do it-I was just thinking about it.
It was a pretty nice day all in all. Little man & I went for a walk with a friend and her twins. They are darling! A little boy & girl. I don't know how she does it. I know how I feel at the end of a day and I only have one. Actually, I have a few friends with multiples. Another friend has a girl and 2 sets of twin boys! All under 6! She's a great mom also. It makes 2 boys 7 years apart seem like a piece of cake.

What a year!

It's been such a long time. I'd like to be better about posting this year. With today being Valentine's day, I thought I'd post a few pictures of the ones that I love.

Scub Scouts

Jayden started Cub Scouts when he turned 8. He's really been enjoying it. This week was his Blue & Gold banquet. I think we should have a banquet every day if it means that he'll wear a button shirt & nice pants. If they knew what a big deal that was he would probably get a merit badge for it. Anyway, he looked nice & I took a picture so I'll have something to remember it by.

I just can't get enough...

I can't seem to get enough of these boys!

The boys!

Miracles

I never cease to wonder at how amazing life is. We'd been looking into adopting again for about two years. Nothing had come of it. Either we backed out or the birth mother did for one reason or another. I had told Nikole time and again that when the situation was right it would all work out just how we needed it to. And it did!
Here's the short version:
I found out about a "situation" that was available through an agency in CA on Friday, Nov. 20. It was a bit unique-he was 4 months old and still in the care of his birth mother. The agency gave me the address to send our profile directly to the birth mother in TX. We sent it off on Friday to arrive on Monday. We heard nothing the entire week of Thanksgiving. We were pretty saddened by this because we had chosen that if this didn't work out we were done. Nikole, typical Nikole, was ready to be done by the time Sat. arrived. I kept telling her that I didn't think it was over yet. We needed to wait a bit longer.
Monday, Nov. 30th, Nikole came walking in the house sobbing! I truly thought someone had died. She showed me the text from the agency. It read "She chose you. We'll call her tomorrow." It was amazing. We called her on Tuesday and spoke with her. It went really well. Then, the fun started. We sent applications (we hadn't even done that yet) and money to the agency-got FBI clearance-and told Jayden he was going to be a big brother. He was so excited. He said "Can I tell everyone about the kid now?" We figured out a plan for Jayden for the next week with LOTS of help from friends & family and jumped on a plane for TX on Sat., Dec. 5.
It was all so crazy that I don't think we had time to think about it. We had dinner with the birth mother when we arrived. I was prepared for it to be pretty awkward and it was. But not in the way I had imagined. She was very nice but very detached. We met on Sunday afternoon and spent time with her. She signed the custody papers on Monday afternoon. It actually did go that smoothly. Then, we spent the rest of the week waiting for the ICPC clearance. We got the call of Friday that we could leave TX and were able to catch a plane that night. We got home in the early morning hours on Sat., Dec. 12.
Jayden was so excited to meet Lucas. He "presented" him to everyone who came over. He's so proud. He told me today that he wouldn't trade Luke even for a Ferrari! (If you know Jayden at all-that's BIG.)

My best day EVER!

Adoption day. It was five years ago today that I had the best day of my life. I didn't know it at the time it was happening-I knew it was big but I didn't understand how big. I suppose that's how it is with the best day of your life-you never realize until after the fact.

I don't remember much about that first year. It was such a crazy experience. We met him on a Tuesday. I hadn't even seen a picture of him prior to that moment. We spent a few hours with him each day & then brought him home forever on Saturday.
Jayden always asks me about the first time I met him. I tell him it was the best moment of my life. I remember watching him play on the playground. I recall thinking to myself "Don't forget this moment." Then, he came inside the building to meet us. We shared a peanut butter sandwich and a yogurt. He was quiet and sullen. He wouldn't let me get too close to him. It was hard for me to say goodbye to him knowing he had to stay in the group home again. He was the youngest child they had ever housed.

Day by day, he started looking forward to us coming to visit. I made a small book to show him pictures of his room, house, and Zoe. I can't even imagine what that must have been like for him-so much change, not knowing what's next, wondering where you were going. The first night we brought him home I don't think anyone slept. I was so worried about him all alone in his room in this new house. He wouldn't ever get out of bed back then. He had been too scared. The group home had had alarms on the floors so that they would know when children were up.

I think I cried almost every day that first year. I think he did too. We were both trying hard to figure this out. I don't remember much about that time. I guess it's like childbirth-best if you just remember the joy & not how painful it was. It's always been two steps forward-one step back with this little guy.

Funny, resilient, daring, tenacious, honest, strong, independent, amazing. Just a few words to describe who he is. He still amazes me each and every day. No one makes me laugh like he does. We still cry when we both need to. He's like air to me-there wouldn't be life without him. Thank-you Jayden for just being you!