Finalization Date Set!

Well, my little man is oblivious to it all, but we have been continuing the paper trail and we have finally been given a court date to finalize the adoption. It will take place on the morning of September 15! I will be sure to post pics of that day!

On another note, I am continually amazed at how little people know about adoption. Of course, I was once there myself, so I am taking great delight in sharing our story. I've gotten to share it twice this week...once to a pastor in Starbucks and once in Walmart to a former student of my husbands. We have some friends who have asked us to dinner next week just to talk about adoption since they are interested in beginning the process! I just love it! Little does this little boy know how many lives his story might touch. :)

Tears and Laughter!

Well, very early yesterday was Micah's circumcision. It was not an easy day for either of us. Everything went perfectly though and this morning he is up and moving around like nothing happened...except for a few tears when I change his diaper. I am reminded again of what an amazing Creator I serve. It is amazing how quickly the body begins to heal itself and how resilient children are.

In the midst of the yuckiness of getting ready to go to the hospital, the Lord gave me a little blessing and a smile. When the hospital called the night before to pre-register us, the registrar began asking me questions about our family history, etc. She asked me if anyone in the family had ever had a reaction to anesthesia. I then went into a long story about our son Nathan and his trips to the hospital and his reactions, etc. She took it all down, finished registering me and then we hung up. It was not until 2 hours later, as I was sitting by Micah's bed as he fell asleep, that it dawned on me that my whole conversation with the registrar had been totally irrelevant! My family's medical history has nothing to do with Micah's! I smiled and laughed and thanked the Lord for showing me how quickly Micah has become family. I love that I don't even think about him as being adopted! He is just one of my many kids! :)

I love how in the exhaustion and busyness of our lives the Lord gives us those sweet little moments of a smile or laughter if we take time to notice. I got one this morning. I think it's hilarious how quickly younger children learn things when they have older siblings to watch and imitate. I guess Micah will pretty much be able to raise himself with 3 older siblings who dote on his every whim. This morning he picked up a candle in a little stone crock and banged it down on the table. I looked at him and said, "No, Micah," and then took the candle away. He just looked at me for a second and then reached his little hand back and spanked his own bottom. I just had to laugh. I guess his raising is all taken care of. :)

Summer's Over!

Well, I know that Summer is not officially over, but it is back to school time, so for all practical purposes, it is. No more swimming at my sister's house. :( It's time to get back in some sort of a routine, which with 4 children, is very important. :) The girls head off to elementary school, the boys and I head to the 2 day a week Parent's Day Out program at our church (which I am directing this year), and Daddy is back to teaching during the day and taking a Master's class 1 night a week.

We had Micah's first well check today...it's been post-poned 3 times. :) He is doing well and is now 18 lbs. and 29 1/4 inches long. Although still not on the chart for North American children, he is growing and is developmentally right where he should be, so no worries! His immunizations he got in India did take, so we are picking up where they left off over there. Apparently he had the chicken pox at some time over there, so we get to skip that one. We still, however, had 3 shots today, with 2 more due next month. Needless to say, tonight I have a little bit of a cranky baby. :)

Happy Raksha Bandhan!

Today India is celebrating Raksha Bandhan or "Rakhi" as it is sometimes called. We are not celebrating the holiday here in our household this year since Micah is still so young. However, this is one of the Indian holidays we would like to incorporate into our family as Micah grows older. It is a little overwhelming thinking about how we are going to raise Micah as an American and trying not to single him out, yet all the while teaching him about his birth culture and heritage and incorporating some of it into our family. There will be certain traditions and holidays that we choose to not celebrate for faith reasons of our own, but Rakhi will be one that we do celebrate in the future because we love what it stands for! I have included a short description of the holiday below.

Raksha Bandhan, also known as “rakhi,” is a festival that strengthens and celebrates the precious bond shared between a brother and a sister. The Raksha Bandhan festival is all about love, care, and righteousness. It brings together people of all sects and is much appreciated for this unifying element that it brings with it. Rakhi signifies a bond of love and care between a brother and his sister and contributes toward the social harmony of India.

A sister ties a decorative thread called rakhi on the wrists of her brother symbolizing her love and affection for him. She ensures that she has chosen the brightest and the best-designed rakhi for her brother. Raksha Bandhan actually means a bond of protection, so the brother accepts the rakhi, vows to protect his sister during all times from harm that could befall her and in turn, confirms his love and affection for his sister. He also showers her with gifts.

Tying of a frail rakhi thread—that is considered stronger than iron chains—has been the tradition of this festival since time immemorial. It is a family event where all members of family, dressed in finery, gather and celebrate. The tying of rakhi is followed by a family feast.

Happy Raksha Bandhan everyone!

Third Post Visit

Well, today we had our 3 post placement visit from our social worker and we are finally done with that part! Now we can work on finalizing Micah's adoption in the courts. We have signed the Petition to Adopt and plan to mail it back to the attorney tomorrow. He will file it with the courts and get us our court date. At the court hearing, we will be able to legally change Micah's name and become his "parents" instead of just his "guardians." I am hoping that we can get a date around the first week in September. It's hard to believe that by then we will have been home for 6 months.

On a side note...my baby boy will be 17 months old tomorrow! My, how time does fly! :)

Amusement Park!

Well, we had our first trip to a small amusement park near our home.  It all went well and the kids loved it.  It was our trial run-thru for Disney next year. ;)  David got to ride the roller coasters with the girls and I got to ride the kiddy rides with the boys!  That's ok with me though since I get sick on a swing. :)

Thank you to all those who responded to my last post.  It is comforting to know that Micah is not the Energizer Bunny, but just a normal little boy doing what little boys do!  After reading your comments and talking about them, we realized that we had not gotten to experience what a little boy was really like since our son, Nathan, was a very sick little boy till he was about 2 1/2.  I am excited that our boys will have the chance to be at home together for one more year as the girls head off to school.

If truth be told...

Don't let this adorable little face (wearing his sister's sunglasses) fool you!  If truth be told, he is WEARING ME OUT! :)

It has nothing to do with adopting a child, and everything to do with being a mother of "4!"  I've told my husband from the beginning that I wanted to go back to India and adopt a little sister for Micah.  However, after last week, I told him I'm done.  Am I too old, too tired, too unorganized...all of the above? :)

My mom says that it is because Micah is brilliant, and she is not biased at all. :) Whatever it is, this curious little boy is keeping me on my toes.

• My other children like to sleep in...Micah is awake by 6 or 6:30 a.m. wanting his honeynut cheerios.
• He climbs anything he can pull himself up onto...including the kitchen table, the top bunk, out of his eating booster seat, etc.
• He empties out the garbage, my purse, the pantry, the kitchen drawers, the dresser drawers, the laundry baskets, the bathroom cabinets...oh, yes, he has figured out how to get around our current child safety locks.
• He loves water...drinking the bath water, splashing in the toilet, and pressing his soft-topped sippie cup upside down on the floor so that the water all runs out.
• He loves anything electronic...calling friends on my cell phone, changing the channels and messing up our cable channels with the remote, turning off the answering machine and deleting our messages.
• He has a sweet tooth and all day long walks me to the cabinet where he knows we "hide" the M&M's.

As I read this list, I realize that it may make me sound like a bad mother.  However, I spend most of my day stopping him from doing the above so that makes me a good mother, right?  Well, a very tired one at least. :)  Who knew a 1 year old could have this much energy and curiosity?