Sunday, July 29, 2012
I am Coming for You
My Sweet Baby,
I have been thinking about you nonstop for the last week. Some might say I'm obsessed with you. They would be correct. I don't know you yet. But I do know a few things.
My heart is breaking inside of my chest as I think about you. Imagining where you are, what circumstances surround you.
And it seems like there are an infinite number of things that separate us. Not just the potential thousands of miles, but the tens of thousands of dollars it will take us to be together, and the endless parade of demands and hoops we have to jump through so the government can put a "seal of approval" on our family.
But. NONE of that matters. I don't care what stands between us, how big or insurmountable it may seem. I AM COMING for you. And there is NOTHING, NOTHING, that will keep me from you.
You see, even though. You don't know me and I don't know you, I am your mother. And I love you so much, I can't really understand it, especially since I can't see you, touch you, or hold you. And as your mom, I am desperate for you to understand this overwhelming love that I have for you. A love that will always be here.
I'm going to show you this love by breaking down every barrier the world may put between us. I'm going to do what doesn't make sense, things I would never ordinarily do, like ask people for money. I'm going to prove over and over again to the government, the adoption agency, and your birth parents that I can and will take the best care of you. I will literally drop everything and travel anywhere in the country to get you. To pick you up in my arms, hold you, and wash you with my tears as I completely swallow you up into my embrace.
And baby, I don't understand this love that burns inside of me when we have not met yet, but I know where it comes from.
You see, God came for me. I didn't know Him and the chasm between him and I makes all of the things between you and me seem like nothing at all. Yet, he literally moved heaven and earth and everything between to adopt me. Me.
And baby, He is doing the same for you right now. He has poured His love into me and he opening every door and providing every need so that I can pour my love into you and you can know what it means to feel the love of God.
I don't know how much longer it will be until I reach you, but I do know that I will not stop until I do, and that once God leads me to you, I will spend the rest of my life loving you. I will never be able to give you perfect love-that's Gods job. But I am going to love you to the best of my ability with all of me.
I love you. And I cannot wait until you know it.
www.adopttogether.org/babyk
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Showing Hope.
In some recent posts, I've described our frustration with the financial strain of adoption. I've described my personal frustration with knowing that this is the path we are meant to go down, without a doubt, but having money be a roadblock to having a family.
Once God opened my eyes to my own lack of faith and action, my own pride in letting others in to help us, literal miracles started to happen, small, though they may be.
At first, our adoption thermometer looked like this. This is all the money we were able to save on our own.
Once God opened my eyes to my own lack of faith and action, my own pride in letting others in to help us, literal miracles started to happen, small, though they may be.
Now...our adoption thermometer looks like this.
We still have to raise about $9,000. But we started out needing $15,000. I have been provided with opportunities to make extra money. People have donated. We are organizing fundraisers. And most of, lots of people, including us, are praying. So, I have hope. And I'm trying my hardest to show it!
If you are able to attend the Putt Putt fundraiser on August 11th, 10-3, we have the potential to make a huge dent in our goal. If you can't come, consider donating the cost of a round of mini-golf for your family ($6 a head). I promise you, we will pay it forward. We will raise a child that does good in this world. But we can't do it without our amazing family and friends. That saying "It takes a village......" really is true in our situation. Thank you to all of you who have been amazingly supportive of this journey. I dream almost every night about holding my baby in my arms. Help us make that happen.
Birth Parents
The last few posts I wrote were saddled with frustration, hope, frustration, hope, you get the idea. I have mentioned before that adoption is like an emotional roller coaster. I think we knew that intellectually going into this process, but the way it actually feels couldn't have been anticipated.
I've been thinking alot about our birthmother in the last few weeks. This might sound crazy, but I feel as anxious to support her as I do to bring our baby home. I know it's hard for most of us to think about how or why a woman could place her baby for adoption. I think there are a lot of assumptions made about these women. And let's face it, if these women had the stability and means to care for a child, they would probably do it. So that means we're talking about a woman who is potentially in crisis. Someone who needs help desperately, but at the same time has the capacity to put her baby's needs above her own.
My sweet friend who is the final stages of adoption (as in baby due any minute!), recently told me the story of how she and her husband met the birth parents of their soon-to-be son. They don't have a car. They don't have a cell phone. They have other children, and can barely take care of themselves. Is an unplanned pregnancy preventable? Sure. But did you know that 30 million babies are born in the US each year and 15,000 of those are "unplanned"?
Not all birthmothers are reckless, drug addicted, welfare abusing women. In fact, very few fit that profile. But even if they were, isn't their baby worthy of a fair shot at life? What if they are a teenager or young woman whose parents kick them out of the house when they become pregnant? Effectively, that woman is homeless. The vast majority of them are trying to survive in this world, and know with certainty they can't provide the type of life their baby deserves. There are a million socio-cultural factors that play in here. For example, if you're born into poverty, it's extremely difficult to pull yourself out of it. Similarly, if you're born into dysfunction, it's extremely difficult to rise above it. Even if you could-would you want your baby surrounded by extended family dysfunction? But, I have personally witnessed the effect that even 6 hours of school can have on a child who comes from a low socio-economic background, so I know that we're not born destined to be anything. There are lots of "malleable" factors.
This woman is not a "vessel" for us or an ends to a mean. She is an equal part of the adoption process, in my eyes. Do I want her knowing every detail about us and having all access to our lives after the baby comes home? No. We need to build a solid family unit so our child will feel secure in where they belong. But, my commitment and passion for adoption encompasses the birth parents too. I WANT to help take care of this woman as she takes care of our baby with her body. And I WANT her to know that there isn't a humanly possible way to thank her for the gift of her child. I want her to go to sleep at night knowing that her baby is getting the life he/she deserves. I want her to be able to achieve her goals, too! And I'm ever cognizant that one of the happiest day of my life will be one of the hardest for her. As I'm experiencing elation, she will experience grief. I honor that. I respect that.
I really like this quote (and the cute baby, too). If you read this blog, you know I'm an avid gardener. Recently I planted some beautiful green ivy in the front of our house around the mailbox. I just love ivy. Seriously. LOVE it. But it didn't survive. Only one tiny sprig is left. The soil wasn't good. The heat was too intense. It tried it's best to grow, but the circumstances just weren't amenable to growth. So I looked for ivy plants that were more drought resistant. I added organic compost, better soil, plant food, transplant supplement, and rain water. And guess what? It's growing like crazy. You may see where I'm going here. I believe this baby, regardless of HOW he or she comes into this world, WILL get the right ingredients from us to grow into an amazing person.
As nervous as I am about the extreme likelihood we will meet the birthmother (and potentially birthfather), I'm also looking forward to the opportunity to hug her for the first time. That might not happen, I realize. But in my mind, there isn't another way to say "hello" to the person who is giving birth to your child. A handshake? Not sufficient. I wave hello, a friendly smile, not enough. She deserves to be embraced by us. She deserves to be put first, not us.
I've thought a lot about my fears that the birth mother will change her mind. Our agency has an 80% place rate, with a 20% disruption rate. In terms of adoption agencies, that's very good. They make a huge effort to counsel the birthmother to make certain an adoption plan is the best way for her to care for her baby. But in the end, if she changes her mind, I don't think anger or even devastation will be the response. I'm sure sorrow will be, but, after all, it is her baby. I suppose the bottom line is that my heart is making room for her too.
I'm trying so hard to be brave, to wait patiently, to pray fervently, to trust God, to work hard toward this goal, and to try to enjoy my "regular" life in the meantime. But I'm not going to lie, sometimes when I have the opportunity to spend time with the children of our friends and family, I completely lose it when I come home. Getting a glimpse of that joy reminds me why we are doing this, but it also reminds me that we don't have a family yet.
We are at the mercy of so many others. We are not in the driver's seat. It feels a lot like being Dorthoy in the Wizard of Oz. But we're hanging on to this wild ride; fervently believing we will find our yellow brick road.
I've been thinking alot about our birthmother in the last few weeks. This might sound crazy, but I feel as anxious to support her as I do to bring our baby home. I know it's hard for most of us to think about how or why a woman could place her baby for adoption. I think there are a lot of assumptions made about these women. And let's face it, if these women had the stability and means to care for a child, they would probably do it. So that means we're talking about a woman who is potentially in crisis. Someone who needs help desperately, but at the same time has the capacity to put her baby's needs above her own.
My sweet friend who is the final stages of adoption (as in baby due any minute!), recently told me the story of how she and her husband met the birth parents of their soon-to-be son. They don't have a car. They don't have a cell phone. They have other children, and can barely take care of themselves. Is an unplanned pregnancy preventable? Sure. But did you know that 30 million babies are born in the US each year and 15,000 of those are "unplanned"?
Not all birthmothers are reckless, drug addicted, welfare abusing women. In fact, very few fit that profile. But even if they were, isn't their baby worthy of a fair shot at life? What if they are a teenager or young woman whose parents kick them out of the house when they become pregnant? Effectively, that woman is homeless. The vast majority of them are trying to survive in this world, and know with certainty they can't provide the type of life their baby deserves. There are a million socio-cultural factors that play in here. For example, if you're born into poverty, it's extremely difficult to pull yourself out of it. Similarly, if you're born into dysfunction, it's extremely difficult to rise above it. Even if you could-would you want your baby surrounded by extended family dysfunction? But, I have personally witnessed the effect that even 6 hours of school can have on a child who comes from a low socio-economic background, so I know that we're not born destined to be anything. There are lots of "malleable" factors.
As nervous as I am about the extreme likelihood we will meet the birthmother (and potentially birthfather), I'm also looking forward to the opportunity to hug her for the first time. That might not happen, I realize. But in my mind, there isn't another way to say "hello" to the person who is giving birth to your child. A handshake? Not sufficient. I wave hello, a friendly smile, not enough. She deserves to be embraced by us. She deserves to be put first, not us.
I've thought a lot about my fears that the birth mother will change her mind. Our agency has an 80% place rate, with a 20% disruption rate. In terms of adoption agencies, that's very good. They make a huge effort to counsel the birthmother to make certain an adoption plan is the best way for her to care for her baby. But in the end, if she changes her mind, I don't think anger or even devastation will be the response. I'm sure sorrow will be, but, after all, it is her baby. I suppose the bottom line is that my heart is making room for her too.
I'm trying so hard to be brave, to wait patiently, to pray fervently, to trust God, to work hard toward this goal, and to try to enjoy my "regular" life in the meantime. But I'm not going to lie, sometimes when I have the opportunity to spend time with the children of our friends and family, I completely lose it when I come home. Getting a glimpse of that joy reminds me why we are doing this, but it also reminds me that we don't have a family yet.
We are at the mercy of so many others. We are not in the driver's seat. It feels a lot like being Dorthoy in the Wizard of Oz. But we're hanging on to this wild ride; fervently believing we will find our yellow brick road.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Baby K is on the Way
I must admit, after Phillip and I did the not-so-fun-budgeting, I was kind of disheartened. I mean, how could it be so clear that we are meant to adopt Baby K, but we can't afford to adopt Baby K?? It didn't make sense to me. Maybe it never will, I don't know.
People who have children in our age bracket, younger, and beyond, love to give us unsolicited advice. As a general rule, I think unsolicited advice is really annoying. Unless someone is about to jump off a cliff or something--then I could make an exception I suppose. Believe me, we've heard it all. In order of least annoying to most annoying.....
1. "When are you going to have children? If you wait too long it might not happen..."
2. "You do realize you're going to have to make some hard choices?" (mostly directed to me...a whole other post in there)
3. "If you wait until you're ready, you'll never have children" (I particularly hate this one)
and last....but certainly not least....
4. "You'll never have enough money to have kids"
And there it is. Ole' number 4. For those of you "biological kid types", #4 might be true. But for us, it's not true. There is a magic number. And we have done everything we can to climb that mountain, so much so, that I put too much faith in ourselves, and not enough in God.
Since realizing we can only come up with about 2/3 of the adoption budget by our goal of September 30th, and knowing that it would take us another YEAR to save the rest, I have given up some of my reliance on ourselves, and lifted it up. WAY up. I say some, because I firmly believe I'm using my God-given gifts to earn what we need to bring our baby home. But I also know, we can't do it alone. Why? Because.....
THIS
plus THIS
equals THIS
Why September 30th? We don't want to pay to have our home study done again. It could still happen, we know that. Why else? It usually takes 3-12 months for placement, meaning I could be kind enough to give my job some notification of a baby coming, and plan to take a semester off. Why else? We need the tax deduction due to me taking every contract opportunity in the past 9 months to make this happen. And yes, I know, I can't predict it or plan it. We're just trying to be practical. Plus, Phillip turns 36 in October. We know it will take us another four years probably to save enough money to go active a second time to have another child before he is 40.
Since we began fundraising a little over a month ago, our sweet, amazing friends and families have donated $845 toward bringing Baby K home! That's through t-shirt sales, quilt auctions, opportunities for Phillip to paint houses, and direct donations. In a little over a month, we went from needing $15,000, to needing $14,125. IN A MONTH.
Today I realized this. If a little less than 300 people gave $50 dollars today, we would have enough to bring our baby home. If 141 people gave $100 today, we would have enough to bring our baby home. You get the idea.
Prior to deciding to adopt, I probably spent $50 a month on insignificant things. Starbucks. Impulse buys at the grocery store. Things I didn't really need. Not the way I need this baby, anyway. Now, I'm not buying the insignificant things. Every time I think about making a purchase, I think about that dollar being one that is taken away from bringing my son or daughter home.
Now THAT tells me I'm ready to be a mother, which puts #3 above, to rest for good.
Prior to deciding to adopt, I might have thought fundraising for adoption was tacky. Now I GET it. If you think it's tacky, that's ok. I understand. It's okay if you still follow my blog or don't, de-friend me or don't. If it annoys you, I understand. That's not our goal. Our goal is to become a family. Not to annoy you. Promise. :)
Pray for Baby K. Donate what you can. Five dollars or five minutes of prayer. In our eyes, they are equal. This mom and dad-to-be will take all the help God wants to provide us, while we continue to work on our own as hard as we can toward this goal.
If you want to donate, here is the link to the TAX DEDUCTABLE donation site:
The two quotes below really describe where we are right now. In limbo, but knowing that LOVE makes all things possible, and that God laughs at things we think are impossible.
“Faith makes all things possible… love makes all things easy.”
~ D.L. Moody
“Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees, And looks to God alone; Laughs at impossibilities, And cries it shall be done.”
~ Charles Wesley
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Faith. And Putt Putt.
This morning, Phillip and I sat down and went through our adoption (and regular) budget line. by. line. Anyone who isn't independently wealthy knows how this can prompt serious anxiety.
In my last post, I described that we have hit some setbacks. And we have. Never in a million years did I picture myself fundraising to bring a baby home. It's funny, though, because I never really could picture how we would become a family, either. I didn't have the picture in my mind of pregnancy. It never "felt" right to me, I never cared about biology, and that's probably my body and spiriting speaking to me. Well, that, and God.
I feel like I'm on a roller coaster. One day I'm elated about the thoughts of our future child. The next, I'm saddled with grief. The next, I'm anxious about money.
I don't believe in sitting around "waiting" for God. He gave me gifts, so I'm using them to help bring Baby K home. He also gave me amazing friends and family who are also helping us bring Baby K home.
This verse was in my head all day today (those Sunday School memorizations did the trick after all, I suppose).
"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see" ~Hebrews 11:1.
Confession. I haven't been living on this faith. I've been living in fear, my own timeline, my own frustration. Why? Because I'm human.
But after our hour long budget discussion (yuck), we talked about solutions to having this child. I had read on Putt Putt's website that they did fundraisers. So I called. And....they are DONATING a course to us and the entire profits for five hours on August 11th. We don't have to pay them anything. How can this be true???? Is it going to give us our match budget? No. We would need 3,000 people to show up for that. Ha! Can you imagine the Putt Putt manager's reaction to that?
But, we can move toward our goal with your help. It's $6 a head to play one round of 18 holes. In addition to that, you can purchase lunch and raffle tickets (for really cool gifts-like Target gift cards!) for $5. 100% of everything goes to Baby K.
So. Come out in full force. Drive from NC. Spend the night here. We have plenty of room! My former JMU babies-what a way to reunite us all together! Friends, family, acquaintances, spread the word. One game of mini-golf and a raffle ticket could help us bring our baby home.
I think about how our baby will know how MUCH they were wanted, by the stories of things that we did to bring them into our family. If you haven't already, you will be receiving an e-vite! You can also RSVP on Facebook. Remember, we need 100 people. That means you, and you, and you.
In my last post, I described that we have hit some setbacks. And we have. Never in a million years did I picture myself fundraising to bring a baby home. It's funny, though, because I never really could picture how we would become a family, either. I didn't have the picture in my mind of pregnancy. It never "felt" right to me, I never cared about biology, and that's probably my body and spiriting speaking to me. Well, that, and God.
I feel like I'm on a roller coaster. One day I'm elated about the thoughts of our future child. The next, I'm saddled with grief. The next, I'm anxious about money.
I don't believe in sitting around "waiting" for God. He gave me gifts, so I'm using them to help bring Baby K home. He also gave me amazing friends and family who are also helping us bring Baby K home.
This verse was in my head all day today (those Sunday School memorizations did the trick after all, I suppose).
"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see" ~Hebrews 11:1.
Confession. I haven't been living on this faith. I've been living in fear, my own timeline, my own frustration. Why? Because I'm human.
But after our hour long budget discussion (yuck), we talked about solutions to having this child. I had read on Putt Putt's website that they did fundraisers. So I called. And....they are DONATING a course to us and the entire profits for five hours on August 11th. We don't have to pay them anything. How can this be true???? Is it going to give us our match budget? No. We would need 3,000 people to show up for that. Ha! Can you imagine the Putt Putt manager's reaction to that?
So. Come out in full force. Drive from NC. Spend the night here. We have plenty of room! My former JMU babies-what a way to reunite us all together! Friends, family, acquaintances, spread the word. One game of mini-golf and a raffle ticket could help us bring our baby home.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
The Cold. Hard. Truth.
This post is a hard pill to swallow. On this blog, I generally try to show the positive side of our life. Yes, from time to time, it becomes confessional. I think becoming mother has made me more confessional, to be honest. Our adoption journey has definitely made me more confessional. I have to have an outlet, and, well....I guess...this is it.
I'm frustrated. Our home study is approved (yay!) as of Friday. It took four months. It was grueling to have someone you barely knowasking questions digging into every. aspect. of. our. personal. life. Oh, and we got to pay for that, too. $1500. Not included in our adoption budget. I could go on, and on, and on, but it's beyond the level of "personal" I'm willing to expose in this space.
We had a grand plan. Between grant work, contract work, summer teaching, and our personal savings, the plan was to go active at the end of August. Going "active" means you have your entire adoption budget ready and birth parents can choose your profile and CHOOSE you. With our agency, we have to pay the entire amount 48 hours after the match is official. Legal fees. Birth mother fees. Agency fees. It's enough to by a BMW. It's a darn good thing I don't care about cars!
Sadly, our "grand plan" hasn't worked out accordingly. My car needs new calipers for the breaks, and a repair to the oil cover seal. Phillip had a flat a few weeks ago and today had to buy two new tires and an alignment. We lost about $700 worth of food in the power outage. And to top it off, today yesterday we received a bill for my chemotherapy for $7,000. We were told we owed nothing. I called the oncology center, and my former insurance, FOUR years later, denied coverage. It's ironic that the very thing that is the reason why I can't make a baby is costing us our adoption funds.
Setbacks. Suck. I can pretend that I'm not feeling self pity, but I AM feeling self pity. I AM feeling sad. It took me a long time (and many therapy sessions, I might add) to accept the reality of not being able to have a biological child.
I know I have to step back. And trust God. I'm in a Bible study with some really great women this summer. On the first night, we discussed that time is not "fleeting" with God. Time is coming. That realization as huge for me, but that doesn't mean it's easy to wait. Especially when my friends are having their second and third babies.
Maybe I'm weak because I can't SEE how God will provide. I can honestly say that both of us are working as HARD as we can. I'm 100% at the university this summer. Phillip is painting, and working so hard toward his teaching license.
But, you can't help it when life happens. Car repairs. A huge storm. Heck, needing new socks! Every time we spend a dime on something other than our BASIC needs, I think, "that's a dollar taken away from baby K."
I'll probably never understand why adoption is so expensive. Some people have made negative comments to me about paying for the birth mother's expenses. Yes, that is the most expensive part of this adoption. But, how can you complain about paying expenses for someone who CHOSE to keep her baby? Someone who CHOSE adoption? Someone who CHOSE laboring for a baby she knew she wouldn't get to raise? I can't feel badly about that. I DON'T feel badly about that.
I think about all the birth parents out there needing us. Needing us to help them make it, financially, through pregnancy, birth, and adoption. I don't care what the reasons are, choosing adoption is selfless for the birth mother. Period. People make a lot of judgments about birthmothers. I choose not to judge.
So what does this all mean? It means that we might have to wait longer to bring Baby K home. It means that we have to work harder for it. I'm up for it. The reality is that we need $15,000 more to make our match budget. We have sacrificed everything we have. There isn't anything left to sacrifice.
Many of you have contacted us about direct donation when we were doing our t-shirt fundraiser. It feels beyond uncomfortable to ask friends and family for support, regardless of the reason. But, since you asked, we created a way for you to donate directly to us. I'm not promoting it on Facebook or Twitter the way we did the t-shirts, because, honestly, you aren't getting anything in return. BUT, even if you can't give, you can support our cause through re-posting this blog, tweeting, or liking our page on FB. Here is the link! And here's to bringing Baby K home in 2012.
I'm frustrated. Our home study is approved (yay!) as of Friday. It took four months. It was grueling to have someone you barely know
We had a grand plan. Between grant work, contract work, summer teaching, and our personal savings, the plan was to go active at the end of August. Going "active" means you have your entire adoption budget ready and birth parents can choose your profile and CHOOSE you. With our agency, we have to pay the entire amount 48 hours after the match is official. Legal fees. Birth mother fees. Agency fees. It's enough to by a BMW. It's a darn good thing I don't care about cars!
Sadly, our "grand plan" hasn't worked out accordingly. My car needs new calipers for the breaks, and a repair to the oil cover seal. Phillip had a flat a few weeks ago and today had to buy two new tires and an alignment. We lost about $700 worth of food in the power outage. And to top it off, today yesterday we received a bill for my chemotherapy for $7,000. We were told we owed nothing. I called the oncology center, and my former insurance, FOUR years later, denied coverage. It's ironic that the very thing that is the reason why I can't make a baby is costing us our adoption funds.
I know I have to step back. And trust God. I'm in a Bible study with some really great women this summer. On the first night, we discussed that time is not "fleeting" with God. Time is coming. That realization as huge for me, but that doesn't mean it's easy to wait. Especially when my friends are having their second and third babies.
Maybe I'm weak because I can't SEE how God will provide. I can honestly say that both of us are working as HARD as we can. I'm 100% at the university this summer. Phillip is painting, and working so hard toward his teaching license.
But, you can't help it when life happens. Car repairs. A huge storm. Heck, needing new socks! Every time we spend a dime on something other than our BASIC needs, I think, "that's a dollar taken away from baby K."
I'll probably never understand why adoption is so expensive. Some people have made negative comments to me about paying for the birth mother's expenses. Yes, that is the most expensive part of this adoption. But, how can you complain about paying expenses for someone who CHOSE to keep her baby? Someone who CHOSE adoption? Someone who CHOSE laboring for a baby she knew she wouldn't get to raise? I can't feel badly about that. I DON'T feel badly about that.
I think about all the birth parents out there needing us. Needing us to help them make it, financially, through pregnancy, birth, and adoption. I don't care what the reasons are, choosing adoption is selfless for the birth mother. Period. People make a lot of judgments about birthmothers. I choose not to judge.
So what does this all mean? It means that we might have to wait longer to bring Baby K home. It means that we have to work harder for it. I'm up for it. The reality is that we need $15,000 more to make our match budget. We have sacrificed everything we have. There isn't anything left to sacrifice.
Many of you have contacted us about direct donation when we were doing our t-shirt fundraiser. It feels beyond uncomfortable to ask friends and family for support, regardless of the reason. But, since you asked, we created a way for you to donate directly to us. I'm not promoting it on Facebook or Twitter the way we did the t-shirts, because, honestly, you aren't getting anything in return. BUT, even if you can't give, you can support our cause through re-posting this blog, tweeting, or liking our page on FB. Here is the link! And here's to bringing Baby K home in 2012.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Fun Fourth
Before we headed "over the mountain", we managed to find some Hello Kitty July 4th tees for the three girls at Old Navy, along with some dollar store festive necklaces.
We arrived during nap time, but soon after we headed to downtown Harrisonburg to enjoy the festivities. We enjoyed making crazy hats at the children's museum and watching the parade, even though it felt like 1,000 degrees outside!
After the festivities, we hung out at the Newton's house with the girls and had a "sleepover". The next day, we experienced the "Little Grill Collective", a 'burg and Newton fav. It was delish!
All-in-all, it was a grand time. Being around the sweet Newton girls reminded of us so much of why we want our own Kretlow babies! It was all fairy wings, songs, my little pony, books, Nick Jr., and "nuggles" (a.k.a. "snuggles").
Three's company...especially on a giant slide!
A pensive Maelle deciding what to glue on her hat next...
Some festive finished products
But wait, I'm NOT finished yet!
Sometimes it's hard to keep a goofy hat on a tiny head! We tried hard to get a picture with everyone's face in it, but between wiggles and huge hats, it just didn't happen!
The parade!
Fun times were had by all!
Dastardly Derecho
Well, we are finally back among the living after the most insane storm either of us have ever witnessed! A week ago today on Friday evening, we were quietly watching a rerun of Dexter (as old people do), and an insane wind started to blow. Phillip was certain it was a tornado. I "blew" it off and told him he was crazy. We went to bed.
About one am our power went out. We weren't too concerned, because our power has gone out lots of times since we've lived here. All the lines are still above ground. Above ground power lines + huge old trees + mountain storms = power outages. Little did we know, we were experiencing a "derecho", which it a really specific kind of thunderstorm that involves winds over 150 miles an hour.It can seriously turn over a moving car. It managed to break huge trees in our backyard.
The longest we have ever waited was two and a half days. Let's just say webroke demolished that record. We went without power for 6. full. days. Oh, and did I mention that the temps were 100+ each day? During the day we survived by hanging out at air conditioned spots in Charlottesville (few and far between), where we charged our laptop, iPad, and phones.
At night, we survived with two tiny battery powered fans, the windows open, and these things called "Frog Togs Chilly Pads". They are these rubber-ish bands that when soaked in water keep you cool for hours. We slept downstairs, since it was a "comfortable" 86 degrees, while the upstairs was upwards of 95 degrees. Luckily, we have a basement where our three dogs could be comfortable.
When the power FINALLY came back on, it did so at 4:30 in the night. It was the best sound I have ever heard. Like the biggest surge of relief. I immediately looked over at Phillip and said-"Let's go sleep in our bed!!!!!". So we did.
Here are some pictures of the insanity. Trees fell down on our gardens, our deck, our house. Our JMU flag that was MOUNTED to the house flew off our house and into the neighbor's yard!
Sadly, we lost over $300 worth of food, despite our efforts to keep it on ice in coolers. Ice in Charlottesville was really scarce for those six days, so we weren't always able to find it. Still, so thankful for the AC being back on and being able to cook again! We will definitely try NOT to take it for granted!
About one am our power went out. We weren't too concerned, because our power has gone out lots of times since we've lived here. All the lines are still above ground. Above ground power lines + huge old trees + mountain storms = power outages. Little did we know, we were experiencing a "derecho", which it a really specific kind of thunderstorm that involves winds over 150 miles an hour.It can seriously turn over a moving car. It managed to break huge trees in our backyard.
The longest we have ever waited was two and a half days. Let's just say we
At night, we survived with two tiny battery powered fans, the windows open, and these things called "Frog Togs Chilly Pads". They are these rubber-ish bands that when soaked in water keep you cool for hours. We slept downstairs, since it was a "comfortable" 86 degrees, while the upstairs was upwards of 95 degrees. Luckily, we have a basement where our three dogs could be comfortable.
When the power FINALLY came back on, it did so at 4:30 in the night. It was the best sound I have ever heard. Like the biggest surge of relief. I immediately looked over at Phillip and said-"Let's go sleep in our bed!!!!!". So we did.
Here are some pictures of the insanity. Trees fell down on our gardens, our deck, our house. Our JMU flag that was MOUNTED to the house flew off our house and into the neighbor's yard!
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