All I Really Want for Christmas ...

Today is National Adoption Day...

Today as you think about what your 

plans are for Thanksgiving and for Christmas...

Today think about what it might be like

if all you wanted was a family to 

eat Thanksgiving dinner with

or wake up to on Christmas morning...

Today give words of encouragement 

to those who have decided to 

add a new member to their family

instead of telling them how hard it will be...

Today find out how you can help 

those who have been abandoned by their families

or those who are trying to adopt or foster them...

Today as you think about how grateful you are

for everything you have....

Today go out and make a difference...

Because all they really want for Christmas
is a FAMILY

All I really want for Christmas is someone to tuck me in
A shoulder to cry on if I lose, shoulders to ride on if I win
There's so much I could ask for, but there's just one thing I need


All I really want for Christmas is someone who'll be here
To sing me happy birthday for the next 100 years
And It's okay if they're not perfect or even if they're a little broken
That's alright, 'Cause so am I


Well, I guess I should go, it's almost time for bed
Maybe next time I write you I'll be at home


'Cause all I really want for Christmas is someone to tuck me in
Tell me I'll never be alone, someone whose love will never end
Of all that I could ask for, well, there's just one thing I need


All I really want for Christmas



All I really want for Christmas

 is a family...... 

I am so grateful that this will
be the last Thanksgiving and Christmas that our little one
will have to spend in an institution.

Because all we want for Christmas is for her to part of our family.

Happy Halloween with Daddy B

I'm afraid I haven't been very good about keeping up on my personal blog. The adoption has kind of taken up any extra time that I seem to have.

But today I took Nevaeh for her visit with her birth dad, Daddy B, and I wanted to make sure I blogged about it before I forgot.

You see, birth parent visits are getting harder for me. Especially now that I am so busy with the new adoption. Nevaeh was supposed to see Daddy B on her birthday but I forgot to even call him. It happens to be my son, Jared's, birthday too and I just got busy. Plus Daddy B works odd hours and I would always remember to call him when he was at work. So unfortunately, 1 month went by after her birthday without a phone call from us. I was actually a little afraid to call. I was feeling pretty guilty.

But when I did call, Daddy B made we remember why it is I want Nevaeh to still have a relationship with her. He apologized for not calling us. He told me he had lost his job and his phone had been turned off around her birthday. I told him I would love to bring her for Halloween so he could see her in her cute costume.

So we showed up at the local McDonald's, 15 minutes late like usual (although this time it was because I was picking up really cute pictures of her to give to him). He was waiting for her with open arms and presents.

I really dont' care if he brings presents because I know that he doesn't have any extra money. But the fact that he makes an effort to be part of her life and brings things he thinks she would be interested in really impresses me.

When we got there I asked if he wanted lunch and he said he had already eaten. He then gave me a gift card to McDonald's that his mother wanted us to have. And he kept thanking me for taking the time to bring Nevaeh to see him.

This is a completely different type of visit than what we have with Mommy M, birth mom. As a matter of fact, we did visit with her before Nevaeh's birthday, on Mommy M's birthday, and I choose not to blog about it :(  So I am so excited to see that now that Mommy M is out of Daddy B's life he is not selfish at all and really cares about Nevaeh.

They spent some time putting the puzzle he brought for her together.

And of course Nevaeh's favorite part was being pushed around in the highchair like it was a ride at Disneyland.

So although my day was super busy and on the way there I was grumbling to myself about having to fit this visit into my day, I am so glad that we went. Because this child is loved by so many people. And I always want her to know that.  Even if it means making me feel awkward or inconvenienced at times.

As a side note, I did try to call Mommy M to get her pictures to her but her phone has been disconnected again too. But that relationship still needs a lot of help. The next phone call with her will probably be an uncomfortable one as I have decided she has to meet us in a public place from now on. She has too many people in and out of her life and I think some of them do drugs, as she may be doing again due to very rapid weight loss. So meeting her at her apartment or driving her in my car is not an option anymore. I'm sure that is not going to go over well with her but I can't chance it.

And speaking of awkward, Daddy B asked for our address today. He was saying how he wanted to be able to send a card to Nevaeh in case he didn't have a phone again. Not real sure how I feel about that one. I skirted the issue by saying I would text it to him later.

Sometimes I feel so alone in this open adoption relationship thing. It is very different than your typical open adoption. These people have served time in prison. They have substance abuse issues. Just not feeling real comfortable about letting them know where we live. But how do you keep a good relationship and tell someone that?

So after our visit today we came home and went trick or treating. Nevaeh had a blast and Steve and I had a hard time keeping up with her. It will be very interesting next year when we are trying to keep up with two of them. We might have to recruit the older brothers to help out.

Happy Halloween

FREE Digital Scrapbooking Software Give Away

Hi Fellow Bloggers

Just wanted to let you in 

on a FREE Give Away I am doing over

at

Operation Orphan No More

See the beautiful invitation I made for Nevaeh's 

Birthday Party below

Want to be able to make really cute stuff just like it?

Want it to be fast, easy and painless and possibly FREE?

Well 

What are you waiting for?

Go read all about it on my other blog :)

Oh 

and if you figure you don't every win anything but 

are interested in just purchasing it 

I have a great deal on that toooo.

We are Expecting - Another Daughter

We are excited to announce that we will be adding another daughter to our family.

We would love for you to follow along on our 

journey to bring our little one home.

Just go here

and becoming a follower

or sign up to receive emails.

I will not be posting much about the adoption process on this blog.

It will remain our family blog.

Hope you come and join us :)

It is going to be a journey of a lifetime.

Photo Books of our Life

I love making digital photo books.

I don't necessarily have a favorite company 

that I use.

I'm afraid I am not very loyal.

I go where the deals are.

I love that I can share my books with people on-line.

I love that I can make them as simple or as complicated as I want.

These books are not in any particular order.

I do have my favorites.

I love Nevaeh's Tinkerbell Party,

her Yellow Shoes Book and the one

I made for her birth parents.

I love her adoption day one too but

I am making another one that includes her

sealing day as well.

I will be adding more to this page as I finish them.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Click here to view this photo book larger

Click here to view this photo book larger

Click here to view this photo book larger

Click here to view this photo book larger

Link to Christmas Book

Link to Halloween Book

Link to My Yellow Shoes Book

Link to Birth Parent's Book

Daddy B - Father's Day Visit

Have I ever mentioned that this open adoption thing is hard?

So you might ask...

Why do you do it then?

Sometimes, I am not sure.

Sometimes,I think it would be so much easier to just pretend she doesn't have "other" family.

Sometimes, things are awkward 

and sometimes they just drive me crazy.

I haven't written much about our visit lately because 

there has been so much "Drama" in B and M's lives.

Today I came to the conclusion once again that 

Daddy B is so much more together and in love with this little girl 

than Mommy M.

I really don't mind bringing her to visit him.
He spends his whole time playing with her.

And she loves hanging out with him

Today we even picked up Grandma N
and Nevaeh had a great time playing with her hat.

Plus, Daddy B brought her a Kung Fu Panda Bear.

It's been a while since Nevaeh has seen Daddy B.
(Part of the Drama)

So she didn't go running into his arms as usual.
It didn't take long for her to warm up to him but I made
the mistake of calling him Daddy once and
she stopped and looked at me funny and then said
"that's not my daddy, that's Daddy B..."

There was a huge blowup on Valentine's Day over how she addressed them.
Let's just say "more drama" and leave it at that.

After visiting with Daddy B we went to take food to
Mommy M.
I won't go into detail about our visit with her.
I thought about it and it just wouldn't be fair for me to
post her problems on an open blog.

But trust me...
The woman drives me crazy with so much DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA!!!!!

And so I go back to thinking about the whole open adoption thing.

It's hard on me.
I don't like "DRAMA".

But in the end it still feels right.
And in the end there is a little girl who knows she is loved by so many.
And sometimes we do things we hate for the people we love even if it means dealing with the DRAMA.

Angels Foster Care 5K

I participated in my first 5K on Saturday.

I did not make very good time because I kept stopping to 

take pictures.

View of the course from the bridge.

I really had no idea how seriously some people take their

5K's.

The first runner crossed the finish line in just under 16 minutes.

I hadn't even made it to the bridge or the 1 mile marker

by that time.

The course was at Liberty Park in San Diego.

There were some really neat places to take pictures.

Behind Nevaeh is a huge ship.

And these full size cannons.

There was great free food

along with giant sized stuffed pancake people.

Nevaeh had a great time on the free bounce house

and slide.

Of course going down head first was the best part.

Then we were off to impress the football players.

Don't let the pink outfit and bows fool you.

Nevaeh can hold her own when it comes to playing any game that involves a ball.

But this, this is the reason why we came.

It wasn't to try and beat our best time at a 5K.

It wasn't for the beautiful scenery or ocean breeze.

Nor the free food and entertainment.

It was to support an organization that brought me

the best gift I could ever have.

Thanks to these ladies and all their hard work,

babies all over San Diego County will be safe tonight.

They will be placed in loving homes

while their parents try and get their act together

or while CPS figures out they got it wrong.

(that is what happened with our first placement)

Foster Care is a broken system. 

One that needs so much repairing.

But with all it's faults, 

there are still people like Cathy and Rachel

who work tirelessly to ensure

that these babies are safe and loved

while the grown ups figure out the rest.

Next year

our whole family will be involved.

Want to join us?