Tuesday, April 26, 2011

4 Days Left!!

Hey guys! Just 4 days left to get that fabulous Ava Anderson deal and also help grow the adoption fund! Our Ava Anderson consultant Elizabeth has announced that anyone who places an Ava Anderson order from now until the end of April and mentions our adoption will receive 10% AND she will donate 10% to the adoption fund!! OR You can choose the option to donate 20% to the adoption fund instead!!! You must email her at NonToxicBeth@gmail.com or call her at 678.773.1406 to get this special deal. Also exciting is that Ava Anderson has recently come out with a non-toxic, alcohol-free hand sanitizer!!

On the adoption front, DJ had his one-on-one session yesterday and that went well. Our next (and final!) home study visit is on Monday! I am feverishly working on our profile so that I can get it to our social worker to review before our last visit. We're hoping to be "actively waiting" by the end of May, but with that also comes another big check to write. Not entirely sure where this is going to come from, but we are praying on this and are confident that God will provide.

Post again soon!!
~Jeny

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The Silence...

Yes, the blog has been quiet lately. "Why?" You ask. Um, because my husband gave me pink eye. Yes, after a week of dealing with allergic conjunctivis and swearing up and down to everyone that gave me "the look" that I had the NON-CONTAGIOUS-ONE, my husband gives me the contagious one! Blah! Sadly, I woke up with this Sunday morning and it was my Sunday on Worship Team so I was really bummed out that I had to stay home.

The worst thing about pink eye is that not only do you feel horrible, but you look like you got dragged behind a bus. I've had over a week of people asking me "Are you ok??" while backing away slowly. I am finally starting to feel better though. Luckily so far only DJ and I have had it and we've been super careful about handwashing and not face-touching. Fingers crossed that Mackenzie will not catch it because Mama is running short on "sick days".

So since our last home study visit I have been working diligently on our family profile and realized that there are tons of pictures to choose from....IF we were putting together an album of Mackenzie. There are a few of DJ, even fewer of us as a family and relatively none of me :@( Hopefully we will be able to fix that tomorrow with a photo shoot by my bestie Liz who does Photography (yes with a capital "P"!) Fingers crossed that we get this shoot in and that we all manage to cooperate and look good :@)

Post again soon!
~Jeny

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

2nd Home Study Visit

Our 2nd home study visit was yesterday. This was the intense one where she got to know the “real” Jeny. Our social worker showed up around 12:45 and left around 3:45. That’s a lot of talking! It was great to be able to sit down with her after having just gone through the adoption class. I feel like we have a good picture of the rest of the process. DJ has his one-on-one on the 25th then our final home visit is scheduled for May 2nd. Woohoo!! She said after that it would take a couple weeks to finalize the report.

I have started on our family profile…a truly daunting task! I hope to have a draft of it ready for our final home study visit so the social worker can take a look at it and offer constructive criticism. If we can do that then we have a good chance of having it done by the time the home study is finalized. Next step would be to write them a final check and we will officially be an active waiting family! For those of you following the math that puts us mid to end of May.

What happens next you ask??? We wait…. How long you ask??? Yeah, I’d like to know that too. Basically we could get “The Call” any time after that. Also, we could be matched with a birth mom that has a month or two left in her pregnancy…or…she could have already delivered. I know, crazy, right??? Ideally we’d love some time to get to know her before she delivers, but ultimately we are resting in God’s will here. He has already chosen the baby for our family and I can’t wait to meet them!

BTW – We also got Mackenzie registered for kindergarten yesterday. Yes kindergarten!!! Eeeekkk! I can’t believe she’s growing up so fast!!!

Post again soon,
~Jeny

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Adoption Class Part 2

Whew! Where do I even begin to describe the emotions that I’ve felt over the last couple days??? In a word??? Crazy!!

Without a doubt the hardest part from the second day of class was listening to the nurse that they had come in to talk about potential concerns with your newborn. The bulk of this conversation was about drug and alcohol exposure but a portion was about prematurity. (So we’re going there huh?? Um, where did I put that box of Kleenex???) This of course left me sniffling if not outright sobbing at points. It was also a bit healing as well though. DJ made the point that listening to the nurse really brought to light how early Jack really was and what a miracle it was that he was with us as long as he was. Ok, enough of the heavy…

The rest of the day was much more uplifting. We got to hear from an adult adoptee. It was really amazing listening to her and her mother talk about things from both perspectives. It was also very eye-opening to hear that she was born drug-addicted but suffered from no long term effects.

We also heard from an adoptive family, Chris and Kierstin, who we had met a few months ago at a family picnic held by our agency. We met them when their daughter was just 10 days old and it was incredible to hear them talk about their journey and how things had progressed since placement. What really draws me to their story is that their reasons for pursuing adoption are similar to our own. Their second child was also born prematurely (although with a MUCH better outcome). I also love that they chose to adopt transracially which is something that we are open to.

A quick word about our tablemates – Amazing! Now that the class is over, I will confess that I was absolutely terrified that no one would like me. I was afraid that everyone in our class would be the Perfect Family and that it would be abundantly clear that we had NO CHANCE of being chosen while these people were in the mix. Yeah, I know, looking back that seems utterly ridiculous. Luckily God took care of that. He always seems to put the people into our lives that we need when we need them and this was definitely one of those moments.

Overall, the class was wonderful. There were so many things that I hadn’t even thought about yet that were talked about and explained. I’m also really excited. Hearing about them talk about what happens once we get “THE CALL”, what placement might look like and post-placement visits just really made it hit home that THIS.IS.HAPPENING. One day, (hopefully soon) they will call us and tell us that someone chose us. That this incredible woman has made the most selfless decision imaginable and has chosen US to raise her child. The trust that has to come with that decision is amazing….and utterly overwhelming. I pray every day that we will be able to live up to that. That God will give us the strength and the wisdom to raise this child to know that they are loved and accepted not only by us but by their heavenly Father.

Yeah, but no pressure or anything ;-)

Post again soon!
~Jeny

Friday, April 8, 2011

Adoption Class Part 1

First day of our Adoption Class went very well. In some ways it was exactly like I expected (there was lots of crying) and in others it was NOTHING like I expected (the emotions I felt hearing a set of birthparents talk about placing their daughter).

It was great to meet other parents also in the adoption process, and our “tablemates” were especially nice. Not only are they from the Orlando area, but they are even from the same area of town as us :@)

I think one thing I really got from today was that it all feels a little more real now. Can’t wait for tomorrow!! :@)

Post again soon
~Jeny

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Adoption Class!!

Our adoption class is tomorrow!! I can’t decide quite how I feel though. Part of me is super excited about all the stuff we will be learning and the chance to meet other adoptive parents in our area. On the other hand, I’m kind of nervous. I can’t explain exactly why. I think it’s that dark place in the back of my mind again…I HATE that place. Overall, the excitement is winning out. I can’t wait to have a bigger picture of how the rest of the process is going to go. Also really excited to get another thing checked off the list!! The class will be Friday and Saturday. Then on Monday we have our second homestudy visit. This next one should be interesting. The first one was the “first date” visit. You know, “where do you work”, “tell me about yourself”, those kind of questions. The next visit will be about 30 minutes with all three of us and then a couple hours of her grilling….I mean talking to me :@)

Originally our class was supposed to be on the other side of town and we had planned on getting a hotel and making a weekend of it. However, plans change and the class was moved to a location approximately 15 minutes from our house. In the interest of saving money we decided not to get a hotel, but to keep the plans that involve M staying the night at “Bird’s” house. (Thank you Ade!!) Ironically, the class is being held directly across the street from the mall where I spent most of my high school free time and almost all of the money that I earned there. It also happens to be the mall I was working at when I started dating my Amazing husband. Ahhh…memories…

Post again soon,
~Jeny

Sunday, April 3, 2011

1st Annual Pighetti Dinner and Silent Auction

The 1st Annual Pighetti Dinner and Silent Auction was a fabulous success!! A HUGE Thank you to everyone that was there and everyone that helped support us with donations of food, items and time (And thoughts and prayers!). The dinner was great and we managed to get a lot of the items sold. We have a few items left and I am working on putting together an email auction on some of the items we have left if there is enough interest. (Send me a message if you would be interested)

The only sad part was the Mackenzie was not able to attend :@( I spent Friday at home with a sick little girl. Luckily I took her to the pediatrician and they confirmed no strep and no flu. Diagnosis was just a common cold and to wait it out, BUT no outside contact through the weekend :@( She was very sad to miss the dinner but did enjoy spending some time with Aunt Liz (THANK YOU!!) so that mommy and daddy could attend.

On the adoption front, we have lots coming up! Our 2nd home study is coming up a week from tomorrow and our adoption class is coming up this Friday!!! We are really looking forward to that. I’m excited to get a chance to meet other couples in the area that are going through the process.

Oh, and did I mention my kid has a loose tooth!?! Seriously!! She JUST turned 5 and already she has her first loose tooth. She’s so darn proud of it too. I can’t believe how quickly she is growing up now. This morning I left her home in quarantine with DJ while I went to church. While I was gone she packed her “purse” in anticipation of an afternoon running errands with mommy. She also had her newest “sister” (as she calls her baby dolls) strapped into a “car seat” and ready to go when I walked in the door. She is such a little mother. I am so excited to see how she interacts with “Baby Pighetti” (Yep, that’s the best nickname we were able to come up with).

One of the most interesting things lately has been her increased ability to tell stories. Man can she talk!! The other day she took about 5 minutes to tell us exactly what she wanted (and DIDN’T want) on her tacos. It’s enough to make your head spin.

Post again soon!
~Jeny