Prayer Request & Weekend Update

My friend, Suzanne, who is pregnant with twins (I wrote about her here ... and yes, I'm over it) is due to be induced tomorrow morning.  If you could spare a prayer for her, she is going to try and have both babies the good old-fashioned-way and try not to go for a c-section unless she has to.  If you could pray for a safe delivery and health of both her baby girls and herself, I would be so grateful!

In other news, we had a great weekend with family on Saturday, when everyone got together at our house.  Luke's cousin, J, is 2 months older than Luke, so they are kind of at the fun age where they still like each other, but don't know why.  I took a few shots of them both and enjoyed babysitting both of them, by myself, on Saturday morning.  It was super easy for about 15 minutes, about 8 am, when they both were asleep, then it got tougher as I had to feed one while entertaining the other and vice versa.  And the icing on the cake was Luke having a 15 minute cry-fest when I was feeding J (who is a big guy) and I couldn't hold Luke ... so I learned to make use of the boppy pillow for J with a bottle and I knelt on the floor beside J and held Luke.  It. Was. Awesome!  (kind of kidding)  Lets just say that I thought outside the box on that one.  I'm not sure how to handle two kids, but I guess other people survive, so I probably would too.  :-)

We started out the day well ... both playing on our play mats.

Then, Luke decided to fuss while I was giving Baby J his bottle.  

After putting Baby J in the boppy pillow & feeding him, I could hold Luke & he would decide to fall asleep ... for about 30 minutes.

The boys then helped me make chocolate chip cookies for the guests who were coming over that day.  I told them all the secrets of making some amazing cookies ... from a package mix!  :-)

Then it was nap time for Baby J.  Luke got to play in his crib and watch his mobile (the best $15 we ever spent!)  Baby J naps for 30 minutes.

Then hubby's mom & brother showed up, so they had to take pictures with the boys.  I don't think Luke quite had Baby J figured out yet ... 

Yay!  Lukie found his toes!  He just stared ... and stared ... and stared.  So cute!!!

Taking both boys to the mall to go shopping!  So much fun to be out and about!  People kept thinking my BIL and I were the ones married and had both babies ... we weren't even sitting close together ... the babies look like visibly (I think) different ages ... some people need to know when to keep their mouths shut!  There isn't a filter on what comes out of their mouths!  :-)

The cutest little K-State-er around!  Love this pic!  

The most unintentional picture ever turned out to be the funniest and cutest thing in the whole world!  Ok, I'm biased ... but how can you have a bad day looking at this lil' guy?

It was hard being so cute ... Luke fell asleep in his carrier.   

Before Cousin J left ... we had to get another shot of them playing ... and holding hands.  :)

Sunday afternoon we played Aggravation with Uncle J (Hubby's bro) who stayed over.  

No, Luke didn't win that game.  :(

Sunday, we were a GREAT napper!  Our festivities on Saturday just plain tuckered us out!

Luke loves to be photographed, videotaped and then look at himself and coo back to himself.  We were just goofing around with the camera.  I think he's trying to say something ...  :)

Luke is SOOOO Big!!!

I am seriously overdue for a post.  I am SO SORRY!  Work has been crazy ... life has been crazy ... and I have not had a chance to sit down, go through photos and type out what's been running through my head these last four(!) weeks ... although I did discover my phone has a "record" device, so I've recorded some little gems on that and will back-post my thoughts.  To catch you up on Luke and so you can see how big he's getting ... enjoy these weekly photo shots.  I'll be back really soon with more Luke-info and updates and questions for you all.  :-)

As my bib says, ladies, I'm THE BOSS!!  I am keeping mommy busy and away from the computer.  All I have to do is smile at her ...  :-)

One Lovely Blog Award

Kristen over at Lucky as Sunshine, has awarded me with the One Lovely Blog Award.  Thanks, Kristen!
I love reading Kristen's blog!  She is on the journey to become a mom and writes about all things that go along with it.  She has married her high-school sweetheart, is beginning NaPro treatments, teaches CCD, & is a godmother to many lucky children ... plus, she has done an amazing job becoming healthier & has lost 40 lbs so far!  

Here are the steps to follow after receiving this award:

• Share who gave it to you with a link back to their blog. (See above)
• Write down seven random facts about yourself.
• Give this award to fifteen other bloggers.
• Let them know they've won.
• Pop the award on your blog.

7 Random Facts about Me:

1.  Met my hubby on a blind-date on New Years' Eve.  We were set up by my best friend and her boyfriend at the time.  They didn't last long after we met.  

2.  I have 4 cats.  My younger sister has 2 cats.  My youngest sister has 2 cats.  My parents have 5 cats.  That's a total of 13 cats.  :-)  We were never allowed to have pets bigger than a hamster or fish when we were little.  I moved out, got a cat, had to move to a different town for college, sent my 2 cats (at the time) to my parents ... and the cat-acquiring began!  

3. I love watching The Office.  I will watch the seasons over-and-over-and-over again and laugh EVERY time!

4.  I'm 6'1.  I am totally uncoordinated.  I cannot play basketball.  But I get asked if I played basketball all.the.time.

5. Love to procrastinate!  (Ummm, hello, I sat on this award for a month before posting about it!!)

6.  Just bought a minivan and LOVE IT!  If you are debating on getting the sliding/power doors on both sides, just DO IT!

7.  I love shopping the clearance aisle!  It's the first place I head to when I go into stores.  

Bloggers I Nominate (I'm picking nine in honor of my upcoming birthday in a few days):

• Novie *and* Jan @ Women for All Seasons
• Morgan @ Life as We Know It ... Robbins' Style
• Polkadot @ Making God Laugh
• Jess @ With Love for Africa
• Sissy @ Two plus One equals Three
• Lena @ Eucharist Always
• Sarah @ A Child to call me Mama
• Julie @ Andrew & Julie's Adoption Story
• Karen @ Small Things with Great Love

Adoption Finalization!!!

An EXCITING Announcement:
Luke "officially" became a member of our family today!

We had to be at court at 9 am and by 9:30 am, were in front of the judge.  Our attorney asked us several questions about our intentions for the record:  ... did we want to adopt him? ... did we understand this was forever? ... are we sure?  The answers were:  ... Yes!  ... Yes!  &  ... Absolutely!

Then the judge signed the paper ...
... and Luke legally became OUR SON!  Forever and for always.
He is the baby we have dreamed of ... longed for ... prayed for ...
... it was an emotional morning.

There were two other families adopting children today.  Both were adopting as step-parents, now taking legal guardianship with a biological parent (ex:  new wife, etc), but it was special and emotional none-the-less.  Even though I didn't know any of these people, my heart & eyes were overflowing for this special moment in their lives.

Adoption is beautiful.

Here is a shot with the judge (who is an adoptive father of a 33 years old):
(Unfortunately, the only photos we have are blurry!  The nice gentleman who took the pictures for us must have shaken the camera each time he took a picture.  (EEK!! So frustrating!!!)  ... so squint your eyes and we'll look perfect!  BTW, did you know you cannot take a camera into court?  Or the hallway outside the courtroom?  At least in our small town, it is not allowed.  They only let us because we were adopting today.

"Officially" a Family of Three!  Thank you, St. Joseph!  

And THANK YOU blog ladies!  Your prayers have made this Adoption happen!!!

5 & 6 Week Pics + Update

I'm behind on posting any 5 and 6 week pictures of Luke ... we're almost at 7 weeks on Monday!  He's growing so fast!  I hardly recognize the little newborn we *just* had a few days ago!  Luckily I take several hundred pictures each week.  We'll have to get a new computer hard drive soon.  :-)

5 weeks old

6 weeks old

After Bath Time ... Luke really likes his baths!

Hanging out with the kitties ... soon he'll think he's a cat.  

Mommy decided to do a cute photo op.  Daddy wasn't happy about it.  He thought Luke would get scratched, but Mommy knows her kitties.  :-)

Luke (1-1/2 months) & cousin Jayden (3-1/2 months)

Babies are fed and happy .. for the moment!

Hubby facilitating the cousins hanging out ... so much to see!  (Who's this kid again?)

This last week (since Monday the 14th), I've been back at work full time and hubby has been at home.  He took a week's vacation.  Next week Luke starts daycare.  Gulp.  It's not my hearts desire to have him in daycare at all, but we aren't able to go down to just one salary. 

I guess we could, but it would mean selling a lot of things and prevent any future infertility treatments or adoptions, so back to work I go.  I have a company that is depending on me to be back so they can operate, otherwise 2 other people are out of a job as well.  It was nice for the last seven years how everyone depended on me to get things done, but there are downsides as well, as I can see now ... I am now invaluable ... literally.  Of course, who knows what the future will bring, as the owner is having failing health and episodes with his heart, which may cause total heart failure and then we would be out of a job as a result.  I was filled in on the owner's health on Monday when I got back to work.

It was definitely surreal going in on Monday.  It felt a little like "normal", where I kind of forgot that we adopted Luke and I wasn't gone for 6 weeks, but other things, like operating a mouse and keyboard, were so unfamiliar and felt weird.  I missed Luke like crazy those first few hours, as I LOVED lots of time every day with him for the last six weeks and then I had to go cold turkey and deal with grownups.  Ugh.  Luckily, my hubby sent me pics all day of what they were doing and recorded Luke's cute breathing so I could hear him sigh and wheeze like he does.  I'm so thankful for smart phones.  What would I do without them?  

We met the day care lady a few weeks ago, who will take care of Luke next week.  She is nice and has been working with kids for over 20 years.  She has the nicest home and it is bright with lots of fun kid things to do. Out of all the options, she was the best.  And let me tell you ... there were some CRAZY day care people / homes out there!  I had one lady with both eyebrows pierced and I think her tongue pierced too.  And she said she wouldn't tell the kids she loved them if they said it to her.  Some unusual reason, I guess.  She was the first one crossed off!  A lot of the rest of them had smaller, older, dark homes and cramped quarters.  Most were single moms, so I understand that they don't have the easiest time sprucing up their home, but some were just dirty.   I'm not sure how some people would trust their kids to their care.  It would make me feel so uneasy. I like the socialization factor but hate the germs.  Any crazy day care stories out there?

I'm just worried about how she'll care for Luke and how much she'll hold him and interact with him.  She had several other kids there when I visited and they were very well mannered and polite, so I'm sure that she takes good care of them, it just must be mommy nerves.  I'm worried about Luke being too cold and what to dress him in as they can't have blankets in their playpens.  I guess I'll give her the swaddler onesie we have and maybe dress him in a long sleeved onesie for daily wear.  I'm sure as he gets older he can dress in lighter clothes since he'll be moving around a lot.  Advice?

I have yet to get pictures to Luke's birth parents.  I've been "trying" for the last six weeks, but you can see how far I've gotten ... nowhere!  I've been trying to load them onto an iPhoto journal that they could access (hubby will have to tell me how to do it), but I'm not sure if there is a better way.  I'm hoping to load lots of photos and add captions below some of them, so they know who is in the picture, besides Luke.  Also, they can print out any photos they want.  Any good suggestions for sites for sharing photos?   I think doing a separate blog wouldn't have enough room for all the pictures I want.

In more exciting news, on Monday, we will be going to court at 9 am to finalize Luke's adoption in the court!  Then he will be ours "officially"!!!!  Pictures to follow!

4 Week Pics, Baptism & Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Jenny @ All Things for winning the Blog-o-versary Giveaway I held last week!  Thanks so much for entering and of course, reading along!



Here are some of Luke's 4 week old pictures from last Monday ... tomorrow he will be 5 weeks old.  Agh!  Where has the time gone?  I go back to work next Monday.  Seven days left ... the countdown begins ...

<3   His little smiles make me melt.   <3

After our bath in our bear towel

Today, May 6th, we welcomed Luke into the Catholic Church!  We celebrated the Baptism after the 10:30 am Mass with my parents, sisters, brothers-in-law, brother & hubby's parents.  My best friend (pregnant with twins), her hubby and two-and-a-half year old boy also were down for the weekend and celebrated with us.  

It was a wonderful ceremony, but we didn't feed Luke during Mass, and the baptism was at the time he should have eaten, so ... he was fussy.  So much for the godparents holding him.  Mama got to hold him and shush him and pat his bottom and didn't get the "full effect" of the day.  Oh well.  It still counts, right?  Not to mention the full diapers of warm, messy poop he made right.as.we.were.getting.him.dressed!  And then he wouldn't stop!  Ahh, memories!

Buttoning up the Baptismal Gown that has been worn by all of my mom's side since 1949.  Her older brother, herself, her two youngest siblings, all of their kids and now all the grandkids are privileged to wear this heirloom.

Outside prayer at the start of the baptism before processing into the church.  Little J, my friend's 2-1/2 year old, was such a cutie ... he kept walking closer and closer to Father, all the while listening so intently ... then ran off.  :-)

After the water was poured ... little Luke didn't cry WHEN the water was poured on his head ... just before and after.  Go figure.  :-)

Hubby with the Baptismal Candle and me keeping Luke pacified.  

Hubby, I, Father Frank, and Luke's Godparents

Hubby and I with Luke

Godparents B and N ... my sister and her hubby

My BFF (due in July), her hubby and 2-1/2 year old with Luke

My side of the family with our star attraction!

Hubby's parents and us.  We are so grateful they came to support us.  They are not Catholic (neither is hubby), yet came to Mass and the Baptism today regardless.

A good shot of Luke & my dad ... enjoying Grandpa-hood.  

Luke is his first grand-child. 

My sister making faces with her godson.  He studied her like no other. 

Congrats to another blogger Mama!

Perfect Power in Weakness just welcomed her baby girl yesterday!!! Stop by her blog (see my sidebar) and send her some love!!! She has waited so long for this blessing.

Congrats PPIW!!!!!

Darn Cat!

So Luke & I get home from our walk today and what do we see???

Someone thinks he's a baby!!!
Of course I took a picture first, then made him get out. :-)

Help Catching Up

My two boy cats (Brother (sitting) & Biker (standing)), who helped me "read" blogs today ... all the while scooting them away from the computer screen, so I could actually "see" it ... nevermind being able to type and comment on the keyboard.  :-)  

I love me some kitties!!!

Congrats to Matching Moonheads!!!

Congrats to Alison @ Matching Moonheads on the birth of her baby boy, Samuel!

Please head over to congratulate her!!!

Alison, I am SO happy for you!