Holly-isms.

The past two days Holly has said two things that I just cracked up hearing and I LOVE that she is at this stage! It's way too cute to hear her and what her understanding is of things.... thought I'd share!

Yesterday after her nap, Holly and I were relaxing on the couch watching Mickey and our cat, Maui was sitting next to her. She was petting him and he in return was putting his front (declawed) paws on her arm. After a minute of them being cute, she turned to me and asked "Mommy, what does Maui have?". I was confused and asked "what do you mean?". She then paused and said "He has M&M's mommy!"... she was referring to the little soft pads on his paws! LOVE IT.

Then today we were at AAA getting some trip tix and the lady at the counter was saying hello to the girls. So, Holly standing in her stroller said to the woman, "This is Hannah. And, this is mommy. And, (pointing to herself), this is ME!",,,,

The things this kiddo comes up with just make me laugh! I love them both dearly! Just had to share those silly tales!

Secondary Infertility

Noooo.... not me! I have a friend who is facing secondary infertility (infertility after having a first child). I'm not familiar enough with this to offer her the support she rightly deserves. Anyone know of some online support she might benefit from? I can empathize with many aspects of infertility but not secondary. I know there must be a difference. When I was going through it before my girls, I couldn't understand someone who had one child and so deseperately sought another when they were surely blessed by the first, afterall, I would have been extremely grateful for one child! I can understand better now but certainly back then, I had some anger. So... any suggestions on resources would be fantastic! Thanks!!

Chosen Once More.

Once again, we were asked by our ado.ptio.n agency if we were interested in speaking on their adop.tive parent panel to prospective adop.tive couples. We did this the fall after Hannah was born and here we are going to do it again. Our response was a definate YES!

I love to tell Holly's story. I love to tell our story. The story from beginning to end. From my first REI appt, through my miscarriages, into our decision to adopt. Through the paperwork, the matching, the failed placement and the waiting. And waiting. And sadness. And anger. And despair. And then the rest of the first chapter in our parenting ventures, our match, and placement with our beautiful Holly. And eventually, the twist, the birth of our silly Hannah.

Without one part of the story, it's not complete. It's our story. Our creation as a family. I know there are many stories with such similar paths and it once made me sad. I used to say I'd NEVER wish that on anyone. The pain and loss is great in infertility and adoptio.n. But, now, with the way things have turned out... I know it was HIS plan for me. And, I cannot say I wouldn't wish it on anyone anymore because if their story turns out even half as awesome as ours, then it was well worth every tear. Guaranteed.

So it goes without question that we'll go and we'll represent the domestic ad.option side of things. The cool part is that we have a few more years under our belts and we might be able to answer the questions with a bit more grace and much more understanding. I pray that our words help others and our story with our semi-open adop.tion gives them a sense of what could be, with their own spin on how to proceed with their birth families. I'm excited, and anxious and as always, thrilled to share our story!