Lots and Lots of Jasmine Cuteness Coming Your Way!!

We are in baby Heaven around here! But seeing that ALL the kids are in school for the morning and all Jasmine does is sleep and eat, I thought ya'll would appreciate more pictures! She is a tiny little thing and so velvetty brown with the softest hair! Yesterday, we could not get to the adoption agency fast enough. Billy took her from the caseworker who was holding her.

Then the kids met her.

We got her dressed in her preemie outfit which was to DIE for!! It was so cute. Vivi is upset because she is crying. When the baby cries, her sister cries. :) Proud Mommy of FOUR!

In 6 years, this is how far we have come!

Isaac wanted to hold her.

For a LONG time. I asked if he was done yet and he said no.

He wanted to stay home from school today, but that was not going to happen!

Then I took pictures, pictures, and MORE pictures!

It meant a lot to me that she still had on her hospital anklet.

We signed our papers, loaded her in her very girly carseat, and headed home!

Isaac was VERY preoccupied with the new baby. So sweet.

Brandi called in pizza for us and we had a surprise gift on the back porch!

I love this shot of my two youngest hanging out in the nursery!

Sisters

This photo was very popular on facebook!! :)

Mommy's helper!

We Got THE CALL!!!

Last week we got an email from our adoption agency, farely routine...telling us about an expectant mother. They had questions that they needed to run by us about her situation to see if we would want our profile shown. At that time she did not know what she was having and had just found out in January she was pregnant. We said, sure! Show it!! We were told in the following days that she found out the baby would be a boy and she was due April 22nd. We were also given the news that a total of 6 family profiles would be shown to her. I said "Wonderful that you all have that many families willing to parent an African American child" the most they have ever had at once! BUT I also said to Billy..."Well nevermind about this one honey- we won't get picked we have 3 kids already!" I wrote it on my prayer card at Life Group even though I said I did not expect to be chosen. My sweet Lifegroup friend prayed for me and this expectant Mom, that very night.

The next day (Monday) I get a call on my cell phone...it says "Generations". I started getting shaky in the legs because they don't call unless it is THE CALL. They email fairly regurally. I answered and the director whom we love, love, love says to me "Well...she picked you!" I said "What? She did?!! Why?" and they laughed (I was on speaker phone there). I said "She knows we have all these kids, right?" and they laughed again and said YES! That is what she loved about your family. She loved the story of how J came to be our son and she loved that we had experience and had African American kids already. But the BIG news came when Cathy said "Also, the baby is not a boy, it is a girl. And she was born last night at 36 weeks gestation, but is perfectly healthy!"

This is where I started balling and shouting "Vivi, you have a sister! You have a sister!!!"

So we rushed out that night in shock and excitement and purchased the car seat, diaper bag, diapers, bottles, preemie outfits, etc. Yesterday, the hours ticked away. And today...we had our homestudy update this morning. While we were waiting for the caseworker to come, UPS came to the door with a package. Isaac says "Is that the baby?!" We had a good laugh at that one. Once we finished our hoemstudy, we drove to Waco to meet our daughter.

Introducing... Jasmine Faith

Born March 27, 2011

at 10:51 p.m.

5 lbs. 15 oz.

The agency got her from the hospital and we met them at the office.

We are home and settled and ate pizza ordered by my sweet Brandi and opened gifts from my sweet friend Shelly and the ladies from our Lifegroup and have had the immense pleasure of weeding through over 120 Facebook comments and messages. Wow. We feel so very blessed this evening. The kids are on cloud 9! They fight over who gets to hold her and feed her her bottle. Isaac sang "Isaac's gonna give you a Mockingbird"- I didn't even know he knew that song!! She is SO tiny! Billy said he has eaten steaks bigger than her!!

More pictures and details that I can remember (after this whirlwind 48 hours!) will follow tomorrow!!

Book Review Monday

In the past month, we have been sent a few books by authors who desire that we read and review their books. I am going to spend the months leading up to Summer vacation using Mondays as a day to post about the books I have been reading. Some will be adult books, some will be children's books we were given or love, some may even be an article I read that I wanted to pass along. Today I am reviewing a book sent to us by author and adoptive mother Elisabeth O' Toole, titled In On It: What adoptive parents would like you to know about adoption. A Guide For Relatives and Friends. Copyright 2011.

This book is an easy read and at less than 200 pages, is small enough to not overwhelm even the least of your reading relatives. The topics cover an adoptive families decision to adopt, issues like Adoption and Loss, what the process and paperwork look like for an adoptive family all the way to what to do when the family's child comes home. Each chapter ends with "What you can do" and gives helpful tips to encourage and support your loved ones throughout their adoption process. I especially liked the suggestions to offer to host a shower, treat them like any new parents, and advice to "refrain from asking about the child's personal history". Ms. O'Toole also addresses what not to say to an adoptive family like "your child is so lucky to have you!" and "As soon as you adopt you will get pregnant". She then follows it up with suggestions of what would be appropriate to say: "How can I help" and " I would love to hear your adoption story!" She points out that adoption is wrought with stress and worry and insecurities, so to add to an adoptive families already swirling emotions by saying or asking annoying questions (albeit well meaning) does not help, but adds to the stress. She finishes up by encouraging friends and families to read and research adoption issues, positive adoption language, and the like to become an advocate for your loved ones and their adoptions. She makes a great point that you too will receive questions from strangers about the adoption.

I really liked this book! It was very thorough, covering many bases that I would have wanted all of our family and friends to know. She adds personal stories and humor to keep the reader moving along. I recommend this to anyone who desires for their circle of support to be "In on It!" On her website, www.InOnAdoption.com, Elisabeth O' Toole offers a way to order multiple copies to disperse out. I think it is also important to point out that she states a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book support national and international efforts of children awaiting adoption.

My Daughter

Thought I needed to share this cuteness with the world!
She has been enjoying her new bike.

We have had to have a lesson in breaking...yes we have had atleast one spill out.

Good thing for that helmet!

This is the Barbie she chooses to have ride with her.

So cute!

And I realized that I never posted that we got Vivi a bed! It was before Valentine's Day. The bedding was like 80% off! We wanted something simple that already matched her decor.

That way we can redecorate when she is in 1st or 2nd grade.

We are still on the hunt for a headboard.

Keeping It Real...Again

So sorry there have been no posts. I have been feeling stressed this week for many reasons, one of them being that i was going to post about the sidewalk chalk festival I took all 5 kids to last weekend and realized I must not have downloaded them and accidentaly deleted my memory card thinking that I had. Grrrr...In addition to this annoyance:

-I used up so much food feeding everyone last weekend, that for the past couple of days we have had nothing decent to eat. Have I mentioned before that the cousins eat ALOT? Can't do much with a frozen turkey and strawberries.

And the fridge is just as bad. If I need salsa or applesauce, I am good to go.

I did breakdown and go buy milk, wheat bread and PB and jam. That has gotten us through lunch, and eggs or oatmeal from the pantry has gotten the kids through breakfasts. But dinner...that has been a lesson in creativity. After school snacks are apples and cheesesticks. This is the bad side of living cash only. Billy gets paid tomorrow. Halelujah!

The third thing that has me in a "bad place" as we like to call it is that the house is a constant mess. Toys, shoes, dirty clothes, paperwork...it all threatens to choke me. And this week has been especially rough. Now of course I know that without my wonderful kids I could live in a relatively clean house. I would not change it for the world...but it is still hard to deal with it all sometimes.

Also Billy works two jobs, having him gone for about 55 hours a week. He is increasingly more important at work so we don't even talk much during the day. And now he is going to play a couple Sundays a month at church on the worship team. That is really a wonderful opportunity for him, but it takes up his Saturday mornings for 3 hours and Sunday mornings (5 hours).

Sometimes I feel like a single mom.

And finally, I have had some things in the works which require lots of emailing, paperwork, caseworker phone calls, along with trying to get our April schedule in order just has me a bit edgy.

So there ya have it. This is the place where I am right now. The cute kid posts will follow I am sure, when I get inspired to get out of my funk.

Spring Break Has Come And Gone!

Here is a picture sampling of how we spent our spring break...

Brandi and her girls stayed for two days after the party.

Vivi enjoyed modeling her Rapunzel dress and wig.

Lots of outdoor time.

On St. Patrick's Day, we went to inner city Dallas and did a Backyard Bible club with our Lifegroup. About 9 kids came to add to our dozen.

We had crafts!

And games!

And brought the kids lunch.

Some of the adults had conversations with the kids.

and we ended the time with decorating cookies.



Then the next day my kids and I drove back to Dallas to pick up the cousins.

So that was our Spring Break! Not much rest at all, but I did enjoy seeing my babies' sweet faces every day! Now onward and upward to the end of the school year and summer vacation.