What its all about

Posted on January 8, 2013 by themielkeway

Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.

~Peg Bracken

I’m still coming down from the buzz of Christmas, holy smokes! This Christmas will go down as one of the best. We ate and laughed and played with so many of the people we love.

We decorated Christmas Trees and gingerbread houses, sat on Santa’s lap, spent time with great friends at a lovely Christmas party, and searched high and low for Jingle Bell our Elf On The Shelf every single morning since Thanksgiving.

We spent many nights this Christmas season reading about the birth of Jesus. We put our nativity scene together and talked about Mary and Joseph, the three kings, angels and shepherds. And on Christmas Eve, I woke RJ up at 10:00 pm and asked him if he wanted to attend a Christmas Eve Church service with the adults. He popped out of bed quicker than I could blink. He had never heard of Jesus before coming to live with us, so he had about a million questions, but was fully attentive well into the wee hours of the night.

We celebrated Christmas three times this year- once in Augusta with my side, once in North Carolina with Ians, and once at home- just the four of us. Each celebration brought with it its own set of memories that we will cherish forever.

We hope your holidays were just as merry and bright!

Adoption

Posted on January 5, 2013 by themielkeway

We have had a lot of talks about forever in our home the last few months. Forever is a concept that five year olds are not supposed to understand… hell, its hard for me to wrap my brain around ‘forever’. However, when our wise-beyond-his-years little boy is asked where he wants his forever home to be, he very clearly says, “DUH! With my FAMILY!” When asked who his family is, he again, without hesitation, blurts out, “My Mommy, Daddy, and my baby brother Grae!” Nobody can say this kid doesn’t know what he wants (or how to advocate for himself! ;))

But, why then, must the process be so long and so full of stress and angst? We have been fighting for him for close to a year, and we are still playing the waiting game for paperwork to be filed to hurry this process along. I wish so much that he could just get some closure. The night terrors (that have now started happening in the middle of the day) are more than a little hard to watch.

Now, don’t get me wrong-

Adoption is a wonderful gift, and I’m a firm believer that parenting doesn’t begin in the womb. Parenting begins when you meet the child you will devote your time, self and energy to. Whoever that child may be. Wherever that child may come from.

Whoever’s eyes that child gazes at you with.

Because at the end of the day, we will get to wipe the tears from those eyes – whatever color they may be.

And I’m so excited to be a part of this miracle.

I just wish all these policies, practices, and red tape would be overlooked in the best interest of the child… I desperately want to be able to look him square in the eye and tell him, without a doubt, that he is ours and we are his… FOREVER… and nothing or nobody will ever change that.

Where to begin?!

Posted on January 3, 2013 by themielkeway

What a MONTH! I’m still trying to recover from the roller coaster we have been riding… Talk about a head-spin. These past few weeks have been incredibly challenging and I’m so very thankful that we are starting to see the light at the end of this tunnel.

A brief overview of just a few of our ups and downs:

Baby G got sick- and by sick, I mean, pneumonia in his left lung, then dropping Pulse Ox levels (some readings even around 87!), and his pediatrician having him rushed to the ER in an ambulance, kind of sick… and this lasted for 17 sleepless days and nights straight. Two antibiotics (one of which was a three day shot), and nebulizer treatments later, he finally started feeling a bit better.

RJ’s court date came and went and the judge provided our team the information necessary to file the TPR (Termination of Parental Rights) paperwork- and strongly suggested it be filed ASAP. She also cancelled all parental visitation until further notice. For everyone that may not know the full background- this is the best news we could have possibly received.

We have been given the extraordinary news that we will be first in line to adopt our beautiful, brown eyed boy! We have known for about 6 months; but after DFACS notified both biologicals of the termination of their rights, we are beginning to feel just a little more confident. (Although this whole process couldn’t be scarier!)

Grae started WALKING! And CLIMBING! And even RUNNING and DANCING from time to time! He never stops exploring and he literally is more fun EVERY SINGLE DAY.

This morning, we flipped our big boy’s car seat around! :O

RJ started calling us Mommy and Daddy!! He also gave himself a new name (he’ll remain RJ on the blog for privacy purposes :)), and very eloquently explained that he no longer wants to be named after his biological and that he has a new family and a new life, so he should also have a new name. How could we not agree to it?? It just so happens that it was our other top choice when choosing names for G! He’s my Mama’s Boy. ❤