This evening we decided to rearrange our two spare bedrooms. It's actually kind of been a week-long process of going through stuff. We wanted to clear out Anna's future bedroom to make room for a pretty little girl when the time is right. Basically we had kept a lot of our things in there that we didn't really know what to do with. So with going through things came some discussions about what to keep and what not to.
My hubby and I are very alike in so many ways. I could list them, but it would take a while. We're also very different in many ways. It keeps our marriage interesting and well-balanced.
One of those differences comes in sentiment. I am 100% NOT sentimental. Objects just really have no emotional attachment for me. Maybe it's because I have a very sharp, clear memory and I don't feel like I need a thing to remind me? I do love pictures (if you couldn't tell by the thousands I post of Anna) and those are sentimental to me. Basically, I have no problem getting rid of just about anything. I am whatever the opposite of a pack rat is. I get rid of EVERYTHING!
Basically my selection process is: If I don't remember where it came from upon first glace, or if I didn't know that teddy bear from long ago was in drawer I just found it in, I obviously didn't miss it and clearly don't need it. So out with it!
Jeremy is very different. While I wouldn't classify his as a pack rat by any means, he is definitely more emotionally attached to objects that bring memories. He's likely to pick up that same teddy bear that I would thrown away and describe a memory that goes with it. I would be likely to describe the memory with no recollection that a teddy bear was involved. See the difference?
So through the years we've learned to respect each other's sentiment while still making sure the things we kept actually had sentimental value and the things we got rid of were definitely ready to get cut. This week was one of those times. We had fun sharing memories and we had fun laughing at the ridiculousness of some of the things we kept.
It used to be a source of tension when we went through things. However, together, we've both come a long way at meeting in the middle. And after an evening of going through things, it dawned on me how much we've grown together. We've definitely met in the middle!
Showing posts with label marriage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marriage. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
7 Quick Takes (6)
Thanksgiving is a beautiful time of year and one of my favorite holidays. I have so much to be thankful for and I don't want to ever take it for granted! So here are my Quick Takes:
Thankful Style
My dear sweet Anna. She is just such a joy in our lives, she's everything to us! I can't imagine our lives without her. She is so fun and full of energy. I love the way she crawls up to me, grabs my face, and plants a big wet kiss on my mouth. And the way she crawls up to daddy just to give him a hug. And the way she manages to give a beautiful smile, just when you need it. And the way she plays with my hair when she's falling asleep. And the way she giggles when I play peek-a-boo with her and lights up when I walk in the room. I could go on and on and on... I am so blessed to be her mama.
Anna's birthmom who gave us everything. I can't help but feel sad for her when I think about how joyful we are to have our daughter this year for the holidays and how much I know it will hurt for her. My prayers are always with her and I can't express my gratitude for the selfless gift she gave to sweet Anna. And I'm overall thankful for the gift of adoption. Both as an option for birthmoms who want to make the best choice for their babies and for couples like us who choose to grow our families in this way.
Our extended families. We're so blessed to live in the same town as both of our parents and all of our sibilings (other than the two away at college, but this is till homebase for them). They're so supportive, loving, and caring. We love spending time with both families and we're so glad Anna gets to spend so much time with her grandparents, aunts and uncles.
The gift of marriage and the wonderful example of our families in this holy sacrament. I'm thankful for my grandparents (almost) 60 years of marriage. Jeremy's grandparents who had been married for 60+ years when his grandma died. My other grandparents who had been married for 50+ years when my grandpa died. My parents 27 years of marriage. Jeremy's parents 28 years of marriage. Our 3 years of marriage. We are so blessed to come from such wonderful examples and to be able to raise Anna in that environment.
Awesome friends. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many fantastic friends. Especially for the Catholic moms that we hang out with a few times every week. They're wonderful people and since most of them have 3+ children, it's great to be able to learn from them. I can always get advice and ideas from them as well as share joys and frustrations. I'm thankful they're so accepting and that all of their kids are so wonderful. I'm glad Anna will grow up with these kids and have so many wonderful, holy friends as well.
My home sweet home. I'm thankful I have somewhere to live and that God has blessed us with my dream home. I'm thankful for cozy neighborhood we live in and teh neighbors that surround us. We are so grateful that we had the opportunity to afford this home and have room to adopt lots more children :-)!
For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!
Monday, August 1, 2011
100th Post: Please follow
Wow, I've reached my 100th blog post!
When I started this blog, we were in the midst of infertility and I needed an outlet to write my feelings and frustrations out. I didn't care if anyone read it, it was kind of like a journal for me and a way for me to share some of my Catholic faith. However, as our adoption journey began it became a way for me to share our story and keep people updated on how things were going and where we were at. Then when we had our adoption fallthrough, it became a source of comfort to see and hear from people who were praying for us and we didn't even know it. It was extremely helpful to have this outlet and to have so much support from those close to us and those far away.
Now, with our sweet little Anna and all of the fun and craziness and love that she brings to our lives, it's wonderful to be able to share that with others. I'm glad that people who we don't see regularly can read about our story, see pictures of our daughter and keep updated on our lives. And lately it seems like she's doing so much developmentally and we're so in awe that she's in our home that I can't help but to share it! It's amazing how connected we can stay through technology. It is also nice to know that there are people reading who are encouraged by our story because they're in the midst of infertility or adoption or fall-throughs, or simply marriage or thinking about their future. I hope that our story has been encouraging and a lesson in faith and patience. (I know it's been that for me).
I also am extremely glad that I documented my feelings and the events that have gotten us to where we are today. I was reading a lot of my old posts the other day since Anna's decided that naps are a good thing, and there were details that I forget about. The day we found out we wouldn't have biological children, the day we found out we wouldn't be adopting the little baby boy, the day we found out about and picked up Anna, etc... I'm so glad I have documentation of all of these things. It's so easy to forget about how you felt in different situations and it makes me appreciate the blessing of our daughter even more to be able to look back and see the rough times that led up to us becoming parents.
With that being said, I want to know who is reading. I have a lot of people say "Hey, I read your blog, your ..... was so nice or .... was so cute!" I love to hear it! I'm glad people are reading, it's changed a lot since when I started. I didn't care if people read or not, it didn't really matter to me. Now, it matters to me and to my family. I want Anna to be able to see all of the people that prayed for her, cared for her, read updates about her, etc... It's a true testatment to community and prayer and I want to share that with her.
So, what I'm asking is that you "Follow" my blog so that I can see who is reading. There's a little tab on the right that says something like "Join this site" at the very bottom. Will you do me a favor and just click on it and put your name or website there? You're also more than welcome to comment, let me know you're reading! Like I said, I think it's wonderful that you're reading. I used to feel "creepy" when I read people's blogs, but you know what, that's why I write it, so people will read it! It's not creepy, if it were, I would make it private/not share it on the internet! I'm glad you're reading and I'm glad to share our story with you! So do me a favor, be not creepy and let me know you're reading! All it does is allow me to see who is catching up on our lives, and I'm really grateful for all of your prayers and support!
I've always been told that it takes a village to raise a child and since becoming a parent, I definitely believe it! You're all a part of Anna's "village" and I want to be able to share you all with her!
Thanks so much! I really appreciate it!
When I started this blog, we were in the midst of infertility and I needed an outlet to write my feelings and frustrations out. I didn't care if anyone read it, it was kind of like a journal for me and a way for me to share some of my Catholic faith. However, as our adoption journey began it became a way for me to share our story and keep people updated on how things were going and where we were at. Then when we had our adoption fallthrough, it became a source of comfort to see and hear from people who were praying for us and we didn't even know it. It was extremely helpful to have this outlet and to have so much support from those close to us and those far away.
Now, with our sweet little Anna and all of the fun and craziness and love that she brings to our lives, it's wonderful to be able to share that with others. I'm glad that people who we don't see regularly can read about our story, see pictures of our daughter and keep updated on our lives. And lately it seems like she's doing so much developmentally and we're so in awe that she's in our home that I can't help but to share it! It's amazing how connected we can stay through technology. It is also nice to know that there are people reading who are encouraged by our story because they're in the midst of infertility or adoption or fall-throughs, or simply marriage or thinking about their future. I hope that our story has been encouraging and a lesson in faith and patience. (I know it's been that for me).
I also am extremely glad that I documented my feelings and the events that have gotten us to where we are today. I was reading a lot of my old posts the other day since Anna's decided that naps are a good thing, and there were details that I forget about. The day we found out we wouldn't have biological children, the day we found out we wouldn't be adopting the little baby boy, the day we found out about and picked up Anna, etc... I'm so glad I have documentation of all of these things. It's so easy to forget about how you felt in different situations and it makes me appreciate the blessing of our daughter even more to be able to look back and see the rough times that led up to us becoming parents.
With that being said, I want to know who is reading. I have a lot of people say "Hey, I read your blog, your ..... was so nice or .... was so cute!" I love to hear it! I'm glad people are reading, it's changed a lot since when I started. I didn't care if people read or not, it didn't really matter to me. Now, it matters to me and to my family. I want Anna to be able to see all of the people that prayed for her, cared for her, read updates about her, etc... It's a true testatment to community and prayer and I want to share that with her.
So, what I'm asking is that you "Follow" my blog so that I can see who is reading. There's a little tab on the right that says something like "Join this site" at the very bottom. Will you do me a favor and just click on it and put your name or website there? You're also more than welcome to comment, let me know you're reading! Like I said, I think it's wonderful that you're reading. I used to feel "creepy" when I read people's blogs, but you know what, that's why I write it, so people will read it! It's not creepy, if it were, I would make it private/not share it on the internet! I'm glad you're reading and I'm glad to share our story with you! So do me a favor, be not creepy and let me know you're reading! All it does is allow me to see who is catching up on our lives, and I'm really grateful for all of your prayers and support!
I've always been told that it takes a village to raise a child and since becoming a parent, I definitely believe it! You're all a part of Anna's "village" and I want to be able to share you all with her!
Thanks so much! I really appreciate it!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
3 years!
Yesterday was our anniversary! It's been 3 wonderful years since we were married, we've had a busy and crazy and super full three years. Here's a short breakdown of our lives since being married:
May 08: We both graduate from college!
July 08: Get married, go on a honeymoon!
Jan 09: Begin house hunting!
Mar 09: Go to Italy! We went with a group of 14 from the Newman Center after Jeremy received an award and free airfares. We were gone for 10 days and I was going to put a "read about it here" link but apparently I never actually wrote about it on the blog... I said I was going to but apparently didn't... Maybe I'll write a belated Italy post sometime. It was wonderful and we'd go back again in a heartbeat!
March 09: Buy a house! The week we got back from Italy, we closed on a house, painted everything, bought furniture, and moved in! We love our home!
Jun 09: Go to California to celebrate the wedding of two of our very very best friends! They are now expecting their baby boy, Matthias in just a few weeks after almost 2 years of TTC!
Aug 09: Ask my dr. about why we haven't gotten pregnant after a year of trying.
Sep 09: Lots of bloodwork, lots of whacky hormones, an MRI, an HSG and a series of other "tests."
Oct 09: Sent to a "specialist" before we did our research unfortunately... Found out I had PCOS although very mild, and Jer has VERY low sperm count (like almost not at all...) Were told that we'd never have children so we should just be happy with the two of us. (yes, kind of a heartless thing to say to a couple hearing that news...)
Nov 09: Decide to pursue adoption.
Dec 09: Meet with caseworker from Catholic Charities
Dec 09: I quit my job at the daycare and began substitute teaching in the Catholic schools in town.
Mar 10: Begin homestudy
May 10: Complete homestudy
May 10: Go to Florida to visit some very good friends (who are also expecting their first baby boy, baby J in October after TTC for a while!) Oh yeah, and get the worst sunburn EVER!!! We definitely had a lot of fun in Florida!
Sept 10: Our licensing is finished, so we're officially in circulation waiting for a Birth mom to pick our profile!
Nov 10: Our first adoption match! Birthmom wants to meet in a week, just after thanksgiving, she's due Jan 4..
Nov 10: Meet birthmom, hear her story, feeling good about the situation, we began preparing for the arrival of baby boy!
Dec 10: Learn that birthmom's due date was off by 6 weeks (I guess due to lack of prenatal care). Meet with her once more.
Jan 11: Wait super impatiently for the birth of baby boy.
Feb 11: Scheduled c-section, baby boy is born Feb. 7. We were at the hospital the whole first day, got to hold him, spent some time with birthmom but were beginning to feel that things weren't going well.
The next day, after talking with the birthmom (and her expressing a desire for us to come see her), we get a call from our caseworker that says she changed her mind and decided to parent. She'd be taking him home the next day.
We spend a lot of time crying and praying, we decide to go back into circulation right away.
I also started watching a little boy who was born in Nov. after thinking I"d be staying home with my own baby boy at this point.
Mar 11: Still grieving and trying to move on from our adoption fallthrough, but hoping for a short wait.
10 days into March, we got THE phone call! You can read about it here and here and here. We bring home our sweet baby girl and begin life as a family of three.
And our lives have changed every day since. We've spent the last 4 1/2 months completly in love with this baby girl and enjoying every moment of it. Our marriage has strengthened and we fall in love with each other all over again each and every day. We are so happy with the way God has changed our lives and our hearts through IF and adoption!
I love my hubby so much, he is so wonderful and I am so blessed to have the sweetest, most wonderful guy to wake up next to each and every day and to share each experience and each day with. I can't say thank you enough to him and everything he does for our family!
May 08: We both graduate from college!
July 08: Get married, go on a honeymoon!
Jan 09: Begin house hunting!
Mar 09: Go to Italy! We went with a group of 14 from the Newman Center after Jeremy received an award and free airfares. We were gone for 10 days and I was going to put a "read about it here" link but apparently I never actually wrote about it on the blog... I said I was going to but apparently didn't... Maybe I'll write a belated Italy post sometime. It was wonderful and we'd go back again in a heartbeat!
March 09: Buy a house! The week we got back from Italy, we closed on a house, painted everything, bought furniture, and moved in! We love our home!
Jun 09: Go to California to celebrate the wedding of two of our very very best friends! They are now expecting their baby boy, Matthias in just a few weeks after almost 2 years of TTC!
Aug 09: Ask my dr. about why we haven't gotten pregnant after a year of trying.
Sep 09: Lots of bloodwork, lots of whacky hormones, an MRI, an HSG and a series of other "tests."
Oct 09: Sent to a "specialist" before we did our research unfortunately... Found out I had PCOS although very mild, and Jer has VERY low sperm count (like almost not at all...) Were told that we'd never have children so we should just be happy with the two of us. (yes, kind of a heartless thing to say to a couple hearing that news...)
Nov 09: Decide to pursue adoption.
Dec 09: Meet with caseworker from Catholic Charities
Dec 09: I quit my job at the daycare and began substitute teaching in the Catholic schools in town.
Mar 10: Begin homestudy
May 10: Complete homestudy
May 10: Go to Florida to visit some very good friends (who are also expecting their first baby boy, baby J in October after TTC for a while!) Oh yeah, and get the worst sunburn EVER!!! We definitely had a lot of fun in Florida!
Sept 10: Our licensing is finished, so we're officially in circulation waiting for a Birth mom to pick our profile!
Nov 10: Our first adoption match! Birthmom wants to meet in a week, just after thanksgiving, she's due Jan 4..
Nov 10: Meet birthmom, hear her story, feeling good about the situation, we began preparing for the arrival of baby boy!
Dec 10: Learn that birthmom's due date was off by 6 weeks (I guess due to lack of prenatal care). Meet with her once more.
Jan 11: Wait super impatiently for the birth of baby boy.
Feb 11: Scheduled c-section, baby boy is born Feb. 7. We were at the hospital the whole first day, got to hold him, spent some time with birthmom but were beginning to feel that things weren't going well.
The next day, after talking with the birthmom (and her expressing a desire for us to come see her), we get a call from our caseworker that says she changed her mind and decided to parent. She'd be taking him home the next day.
We spend a lot of time crying and praying, we decide to go back into circulation right away.
I also started watching a little boy who was born in Nov. after thinking I"d be staying home with my own baby boy at this point.
Mar 11: Still grieving and trying to move on from our adoption fallthrough, but hoping for a short wait.
10 days into March, we got THE phone call! You can read about it here and here and here. We bring home our sweet baby girl and begin life as a family of three.
And our lives have changed every day since. We've spent the last 4 1/2 months completly in love with this baby girl and enjoying every moment of it. Our marriage has strengthened and we fall in love with each other all over again each and every day. We are so happy with the way God has changed our lives and our hearts through IF and adoption!
I love my hubby so much, he is so wonderful and I am so blessed to have the sweetest, most wonderful guy to wake up next to each and every day and to share each experience and each day with. I can't say thank you enough to him and everything he does for our family!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)