And then there were 5!

Some people smoke, some people drink......I just buy diaper bags. This is #5, and I need to stop.

Miss Priss is growing up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3Nzrw5xHvsWe just received Hayden's update, and she is growing like a weed. She now weighs 12. 9 lbs, and is 23.6 inches long. I was really hoping for a smile, but I will settle for the focus this child seems to have. She is meeting her milestones, and looks like she is doing well, and looks happy and healthy.
Now we just need a court date and get this train moving out of the station. We are ready to go get our girl and get her home where she belongs:) I do love that it seems her foster mom keeps Hayden in pink.....just like it is suppose to be:)

BoBo Tea a.k.a. Bubble Tea

Bubble tea, also called "Boba" tea, is a Taiwanese tea beverage containing gelatinous tapioca pearls. It originated in Taiwan in the 1980s, spread to nearby East Asian countries, and migrated to Canada before spreading to Chinatown in New York, then to various spots throughout the West Coast of the United States[1]. The literal translation from Chinese is pearl milk tea (traditional Chinese: 珍珠奶茶; Tongyong Pinyin: jhenjhu nǎichá; Hanyu Pinyin: zhēnzhū nǎichá). The word "bubble" refers to "bubbling", the process by which certain types of bubble tea are made, and not the actual tapioca balls. The balls are often called "pearls." Drinks with large pearls are consumed along with the beverage through wide straws; while drinks with small pearls are consumed through normal straws. Bubble tea is especially popular in many East Asian and Southeast Asian regions such as Taiwan, China (including Hong Kong and Macau)

I finally made it to Dr*gon Berries yesterday to try the bubble tea. I had the coconut and I loved it! I think I ate too many pearls though. I think the next time I will make sure I leave a lot of the pearls in my cup. The pearls made me think of soft gummy bears. It was weird, but in a good way. The milk tea was really good. I look forward to trying this in Taiwan.

If you have the chance to try it.....do!

Keep this family in your thoughts

Please keep this family in your thoughts. I have been following Kelly's blog for awhile now, and was just saddened to hear this news. Kelly just gave birth to baby Harper and it seems Harper has a heart problem that they were unaware of until she was born. They have transferred Harper to Tulsa Children's Hospital, and she is stable but considered critical, and they are unable to go in and look at her heart until they get her lungs strong enough to take her off the lung machine. She is a beautiful little girl, and looks strong!!
They are just the cutest family, and Kelly is full of faith and strength. Just please keep them in your thoughts and prayers that the doctors are able to take care of any problems Harper has, and get her home where she belongs.

Updates??

I am ready for an update on baby Hayden. Hoping they come this week. I am actually hoping that maybe we only get two more updates....this one and then one more. I am starting to feel like it is almost time for her to come home. We have everything except our trip planning ready....I think. I am still not worrying about her, I am just feeling more and more like she just needs to be home, and I am ready for her to be home.

This has been a long journey, it has been an emotional journey, and has changed me as a person. I don't know that I will ever be able to explain it, and I am not sure anyone can understand it unless you have gone through it. I am looking forward to the moment they hand Hayden to us, and we can focus on the future and not the waiting for the next thing.

Right now I am just waiting for an update, and maybe word on our 1st ruling being scheduled.

Overwhelming response

Okay, okay, okay, the shower discussion sure brought in a lot of emails!!! I totally understand what everyone is saying about just trying to let go and trying to enjoy the moment. I want to go there.....I really do. The last 6 years of trying to grow our family has been such an out of control experience that I truly wonder at times how I have made it this far without just going insane. So there are moments and experiences in my life that I grasp for some control. I think I needed a very controlled environment.....crazy~check, OCD~check, immature~check, control freak~check. I have a background that does not allow me to function in chaos, and I was feeling in the middle of chaos and uncertainty. I just don't do uncertainty and surprise well.



But I have good news to report......no I am still declining the shower, however I did come to the realization that I would grow to regret not having some kind of celebration of our sweet girls homecoming. So I have told David that I think a Sip and See is a great way to introduce Miss Hayden to the world~well at least to our friends and family. My girlfriends will be so happy that I want to do this.....they are so generous and just want to do something so nice for us. They too have been waiting a really long time for this baby girl. I think I can put her in her carrier and David or I will wear the carrier the whole time, that way I don't have to worry about queries of holding her. I think we will wait about a month to 6 weeks to celebrate. It could be longer, I just want to at least get settled, get over the jet lag, and feel comfortable with my new position....aka MOM!!!

So to make things even better I was out and about today running some errands.....aka shopping, and lo and behold look at what I found!! I think this will be perfect for the celebration, and so I went ahead and grabbed it, I will look forward to celebrating Hayden's coming out party. What do you think?? Nothing like a Lilly shift to get your celebration off to a good start.

4 months old already!!

Hayden turned 4 months yesterday, and I just can't believe how quickly time is flying by. Of course we are hoping that she is well, happy, and thriving with her foster family. It is really strange to me that I spend very little time worrying about her....now I think of her all of the time, but it is seldom that I worry about her; I am a worrier at heart, so this is unusual for me. I think we are so lucky that our children go to foster care, and from what I hear from others it sounds as though there is a rotation of foster moms that work with TWCA, when you travel to pick your child up, you pick them up from the foster family home....so we will get to meet her and see where Hayden has been living . All reports have been that it is very obvious that these women really care about our children, take very good care of them, and they have formed a loving relationship with your wee one. So I am certain that is why I worry very little....I know she is being well cared for, and loved. We are very fortunate and grateful that we have this luxury.

We are hoping that we hear soon that our first ruling has been scheduled, maybe we will hear something this week or possibly next. The reality of our impending trip is setting in, I have gotten so much done in the last few months, but my list is still very long of what needs to get done before we travel.

My amazing group of girlfriends were planning a shower for us at the end of February, and I have been excited for this shower for about 3 years now. I have thrown many a shower, and party in celebration of our friends life events. But I decided after not sleeping(at all) for the last 3 nights that I was feeling waaay too much stress about every single aspect of this shower, and made the decision to tell my friends that while I appreciated the thought and gesture so much, I just felt uncomfortable with something being about "me" and have cancelled the shower. I have promised that I will revisit this topic after we get home and possibly have a sip and see.....but then I worry that people will be asking to hold the baby. So then the stress and anxiety will start all over again. I need to stick with throwing showers and not being the recipient.

Could it be??

David and I were talking tonight, and it occurred to us that in less than 90 days people we could be holding Hayden. 90 days!!! That is nothing, that will fly by in an instant. Oh how I hope this is the case, while I have moments of anxiety that I will be good at this job, I have more moments thinking about what a wonderful experience this will be, and how I can't wait for it to start.
So I am putting it out there into the universe.....lets get Hayden home within 90 days or less.