Poem by Joyce Maquire Pavao

The Family of Adoption-A Poem by Joyce Maquire Pavao

You cannot change the truth-These are your children-But they came from somewhere else-And they are the children of those places-And of those people as well-Help them to know all about their past-And all about their present-Help them to know that they are from extended families-But they have more than mothers and fathers-They have grandmothers, godmothers, birth mothers, mother countries, mother earth-They have grandfathers, godfathers, birth fathers, and fatherlands-They have family by birth and by adoption-They have family by choice and by chance-Childhood is short-These are our children to raise-These are our children to love-And then they are citizens of the world-What we do to them creates the world that we live in-Give them life-Give them their truth-Give them love-Give them all that they came with-Give them all that they grow with-Your children do not belong to you-But they belong with you-You can not keep them from what is theirs-But you can keep loving them-You do not own your children-But they are your own.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRENNAN!!!

First let me start this post by saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRENNAN! I can't believe my oldest daughter turned 10 today! I have been a mom for 10 years! It has been the best 10 years of my life! I LOVE being a mom and am so thankful that God has given me the honor to raise these 3 girls. It is very tough at times, and I stay exhausted...but I wouldn't trade it for anything! And yes, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat! Brennan is such a sweet girl! She loves to help me with Mylah by playing with her and feeding her bottles. She is also good a putting her to sleep! Mylah sometimes falls asleep in Brennan's arms at night while Brennan is watching TV. This helps Danny and I do story time with Ivey and get her into bed!

Brennan has already had her birthday bash with her friends. She had a sleepover and we took them all to Paint that Pottery! It was alot of fun! I baked cupcakes for her to take to school today. Tonight we are going to eat pizza, then take our 3 girls to see PRINCESS AND THE FROG!!! I can't wait to see that movie! We are also going to pig out on popcorn & candy and pray that no one gets a belly ache! LOL

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