Mylah liked the Judge! Our attorney is in the green scarf

We finalized the adoption of Mylah on December 4th!!! A day we will never forget...a day that will forever be very important for us! We are now legally a FOREVER FAMILY! The ceremony was very nice. The judge gave us about a 5-10 minute speech (which was very nice) that included reasons why he feels adoption is so important and special. He talked about what Mylah may be when she grows up, ect... He was a really nice guy! Our attorney met us there early that morning. We were also met by two women who are part of a Post Adoption Connection group here in town. We did not know they would be there. Apparently they are notified when an adoption is being finalized and they try to meet all families there. They gave us some advice on post adoption resources. They also gave each of our 3 girls a teddy bear, which was really sweet! My mother also went with us! The ceremony only took about 20 minutes. Believe it or not, there were NO papers for us to sign! I found this really odd. I expected to have at least something to sign! LOL We have done nothing but sign our lives away the past 2 years it seems like! Then, on this most important day...nothing to sign! I still can't believe it! You go to court and have nothing to sign! I hope they know what they are doing! LOL Now we just wait on more info from our attorney. She will send us the paperwork to finally get Mylah a birth certificate and SS card! We are so grateful that we were able to finalize before the end of the year!

Peace and Blessings~

Amber

Mylah Meets Santa!!!

We've had a super busy month....with lots more fun to be had! I still need to post about our finalization which happened on December 4th! But for right now, I'm just going to leave you with a pic of the girls with Santa! And a few other random Christmas pics! Check out Mylah's "Santa Rocks" shirt! :)

FAMILY PICTURES!

I am so happy that we are a family of 5 this year! As I was wrapping a few gifts the other night, it reminded me of how this time last year I was praying we would have our newest edition by next Christmas. It seems like every time a holiday or special day passed, I would think "maybe by this time next year..." As I wrapped one of Mylah's gifts the other night, I sat and thought~I can't believe I am actually wrapping gifts for our baby! Even though she is almost 6 months old, I still sit in awe over how blessed we are to have her in our lives. We finalize in court VERY soon, and I can't wait for the day when Mylah will have our last name!

So, we took our first professional pics as a family of 5! I dreaded getting them done, b/c I figured there would be no way to get a decent photo of all of us in one pic! The more people you add to a picture, the harder it gets to obtain a good shot! It went way better than expected though, and we have a good family pic to send out this year!

We have our tree decorated, and even a few gifts under it! We are all getting very excited about Christmas! My favorite time of the year, as we celebrate the birth of Christ and all of our blessings!

Peace and love~

Amber

Mylah's New Trick!

Mylah has learned a new trick that mommy does not like so much! She, however, thinks it is great! The bumbo seat is no longer my sanity keeper...she escapes it every time! She began doing this about a week ago. She falls right on her head and thinks it's the funniest thing ever! Sometimes the bumbo gets stuck to her bottom, and sometimes it just stays upright. Either way, she is always splat on her tummy on the floor. These are pics of the first day she learned her new trick. She was on my bed the first time she did this. I was in my bathroom getting ready. I came out and the bumbo was sitting upright, but had no Mylah in it! Scared me to death at first glance. Luckily she did not fall off the bed. I put her right back in it and thought it was just a fluke that she got out. She got right back out of it! Then I grabbed the camera and took pics! :) I used to put her on the table, beds, countertops, and all sorts of high places in her bumbo. I can now only put her on the carpeted floors. I can't believe she is just 5 months old and is already acting like Houdini! I think we may have another "Ivey" on our hands...dear Lord help us!

I spoke to "T" today. She finally got the package I sent with a scrapbook of Mylah! "T" asked to see pics a few weeks ago. Before this time, she was not ready. I made a nice scrapbook, and got her a DVD of Mylah's Baptism. I sent the package off, and about 5 or 6 days later it showed back up at MY door! I was not happy :( The post office didn't know what happened and still can't explain it. They sent it again free of charge, and it finally made it to "T"!! She was so excited and called me on the phone as she was looking at the photos. She loved all that I sent, and is still very much at peace with placing Mylah with our family. That makes me so happy! I never want "T" to have regrets about this. I was worried that she would be sad seeing pics of her. She was very upbeat though, and said she knows Mylah is very loved. We had a great conversation! I enjoyed hearing her talk about Mylah's features and hearing who's eyes, chin, ect... that she has. I bet "T" looked at the photos a million times tonight! :) She also shared the book with Mylah's birth siblings and they were saying things like "Is that our sister?" I am so glad "T" shares with them the truth about Mylah's adoption story. I always want Mylah to think of "T's" kids as her siblings, and I'm glad "T" is teaching her 3 children to cherish Mylah in that way as well! I hope all 6 of our children will grow to have relationships with one another. Brennan is already very interested in "T's" kids and she talks about them and asks questions about them often. She can't wait to meet them! This should happen in Feb. if all goes as planned.

Here are some pictures of Mylah in her Baptism gown! I finally got around to getting them done...2 months AFTER her Baptism! LOL It is soooo busy with 3 kids! I do not want to start slacking on the photos of her though. Many people do this when they have 3 or more children. The more children they have, the less photos they have of the youngest kids. I can easily see how that happens. Time just ticks away so quickly and quietly when you are rushing around taking care of everyone and just living life! I do not ever want to neglect capturing these special times for Mylah though. I take lots of photos of all my kids at home! Too many probably! But, I also want to take her for professional pics as often as I did for my first two daughters. This is proving to be quite challenging! I may stay a couple months behind on getting Mylah's done, but they WILL get done! I am determined! LOL

Peace~ Amber

CONTACT!

I finally heard from "T"!!! She sent me a text from a new phone number on Sunday night, Nov. 1st. We sent a couple of texts back and forth. She said she was in the process of moving and would call me when she got settled. She ended up calling me a few hours later! I was sooo happy to hear from her. I have been worrying so much about her and Mylah's 3 bio. siblings. It was great to hear her voice! :) She is still in school and is working part-time also. I am so proud of her! She did receive the letters and Bible I sent in the past 2 months. She is extremely busy going to school, working, and raising 3 kids...which I can totally understand! I just hope she doesn't go so long again without contacting me. I don't think she realizes how much I worried about her when we lost touch. Maybe she needed time/space to heal and move forward with her life. I think I will worry less now if she goes without contacting me for a while. I think now I feel more secure in the fact that she will not disappear on us. I never want that to happen! I need her to be part of Mylah's life in some way because I think this will be best for my daughter.
"T" told me she has been in contact with Mylah's birth father. They did not speak for most of her pregnancy, and just recently started talking again. He has been seeing Mylah's 3 bio. siblings some on the weekends. I am glad he is trying to do right by those kids, because I know they were devastated when he walked out of their lives. "S" (Mylah's birth father) and "T" had alot to talk about regarding Mylah's birth and adoption. They have worked things out the best that they can for the sake of the children. I am so glad that he is there for his kids, and that he is trying to be a good dad. "T" has not asked to see pictures of Mylah, and I have always told her I will send them if she ever wants to. She finally told me on Sunday that she is ready to see pictures of her and she is curious to see who she looks like. She also said that "S" wants to see them as well. I will be sending some to her very soon! I told her to please send me some pics of her, "S", and the children so that I can save them for Mylah. I hope to make her an album of her birth family and be able to add to it as the years go by.
"T" told me some bad news about "S". He has recently been diagnosed with Cancer. He is only 28 years old. She said she does not know what type it is. She said the doctors think he has had it for years! He was in the hospital in May for a month, which is when he was diagnosed. I hope to find out more about his condition. "T" did not seem to know much about it at all. I told her that we need to learn all we can about it because there are 4 children that may need this information one day. Please, please keep "S" in your prayers. I am praying for him to be healed so that he can be there for his 3 children, and so that someday Mylah can meet him as well. He has 3 babies who need him and they are so young still. They are only 5 yrs, 3 yrs, and 1 year old...they need time to make many fun, loving memories with their dad.

HAPPY FALL YA'LL!!! :)

It's been a really long time since I have posted anything! October has been crazy busy! I think it is even going to top December this year as far as all the activities we have had going on. I am ready to say GOODBYE to October! But not before celebrating Danny's birthday, which happens to be on Halloween!

Mylah is doing great still! We have been so blessed that she has not been sick or ever ran fever! She has had a stuffy nose and that's it! The crazy weather can probably be blamed for that. We have all had some sinus issues! You may wake up here on the Coast in the Fall and it will be in the 40's...then by lunchtime it's 80! Seriously! Mylah had her 4 month check up around 18 weeks (4 1/2 months). Danny took her for that visit all by himself! I was sooo tired from working the night before. He took off work and took her b/c it was really not safe for me to be driving that day! He got a prescription for her exzema, which we have only had to use on her a few times in just a couple of very small areas. We had pretty much already gotten her skin issues under control on our own. The skin care regime is tiring, but seems to be working. You would not believe how much time is spent moisturizing this child!

At her check up she weighed 14 lb 2 oz and was 24 1/2 inches long! She is growing like crazy! I can't believe how quickly she has grown! She is adjusting to her baby food more and more, but still prefers to just be fed a bottle. She has tried an assortment of fruits, but no veggies yet. If she doesn't care for the fruits all that much, I am really dreading introducing the veggies! She must take after Ivey! I usually only feed her the fruit/cereal mixture a few times a week...I really need to get more consistent and do it once a day!

She is full of personality and is smiling ALL the time! I posted some new pics of her gorgeous smile! :) I also attempted to do her hair in a "style" ONE time! There is a pic of that here too, it turned out pretty cute. Her hair is really not long enough to do anything with yet. She did not appreciate my efforts much, and pulled one pony-tail "pom-pom" out as soon as I turned my back! She is quick! Brennan had to hold her hands and distract her while I did her hair, luckily it only took about 5 minutes. I also included a pic of our trip to the pumpkin patch at our church. Mylah wore a witch costume that Ivey wore when she was that age.

One a sad note, I have lost contact with "T". I worry about her EVERY single day. I think it's been about 10 weeks since I spoke with her. I call her once a week, but her phone is disconnected. I have written also, but have not heard anything back. I don't even know if she is still at the same address. I hope to hear from her. Please pray for her and her 3 children. I hope they are okay. Maybe she needs some space right now, to move on with her life. Or, maybe her life is SOOO difficult right now that the last thing on her mind is contacting me. We are going to Atlanta in Feb. and we are still hoping to spend some time with her then.

Our adoption of Mylah is still not finalized. Our attorney in Mobile is working on her paperwork now. She should have it completed soon. Then we just wait on a court date. We are hoping to finalize in November, which is National Adoption Month!

Hope you all have a safe, fun Halloween! I plan on eating lots of candy and Birthday cake!

Blessings~Amber