Happy Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, I have much to be thankful for...

* my family
* my awesome kids
* our wonderful exchange student daughter Leigh-Anne who is staying with us for the school year
* our jobs
* our wonderful small town community
* finally having answers to the reason behind my pain and knowing a solution is in the near future


Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Enjoy the good eats, the football, family, fellowship, and shopping!!!

Bittersweet Acceptance: Finally Some Answers

Today, I finally received some answers. After being in pain for 5 months and probably longer than that (I have a high threshold of pain and tend to ignore aches and pains as much as I can), I have answers. I have had test after test with doctors trying to figure out the cause of my pain, my nausea, my discomfort, the reason for my weight loss. Over the past few months, I've completely changed the way I eat. Most nights, I have pain, I'm exhausted, and I've been on sabbatical from my Internet social world except for quick catch-up times. But, after my test today, I finally have answers and it all makes sense.

I have endometriosis and adenomyosis. I had adhesions attached to things that didn't belong attached to each other. My fallopian tube is blocked and my uterus is a mess. So, this explains the pain, the nausea, the discomfort, and the infertility we have experienced.

How do I feel about all this? 1) Relieved to finally have answers. I was beginning to think people thought I was crazy. 2) Relieved to know what it is so I know how to treat it. 3) Thankful.... thankful you may wonder? Yes, thankful. I truly believe Romans 8:28 that all things work for the good of those who love God according to His purpose. I have always had a heart toward adoption, but the infertility gave us the direction towards adoption. In 2003, when I cried myself to sleep because I couldn't get pregnant, half-way across the world, my baby boy was born. We can not imagine life without Jay-R. 4) Bittersweet acceptance. The next step is scheduling my hysterectomy. No, Kory and I do not want any more babies, but it is the acceptance that I can never have babies again. I'm okay with this especially knowing in my heart that I want to adopt older children. The irony of this all...to find out in November...National Adoption Month. God's plan is greater than I can imagine and this I can accept with my whole heart.

The Adoption Connection

Some things have the power to connect and bond people, people whom you have never met face to face. Adoption is one of those things. My bloggy friends Renne and Brian who have been waiting a looong time for a referral finally received news of their little boy. I am overjoyed and excited for them. It also brings back memories of the day I received the news of my own son. Adoption is such a miracle!

Seven!

Yesterday, our baby turned seven. It's hard to believe he is seven already. Just a little over 2 years ago, we first learned of our son half way around the world. At the time, he was four, almost five, and looked little in his pictures. Now, he has grown...45 inches...only one more inch to go to be able to ride the Iron Dragon at Cedar Point this summer. He's gained a few pounds. He's learned a whole new language and is reading. But what he has gained the most is the unconditional love of a family...the same goes for us....we have gained the unconditional love of this amazing little boy.
We celebrated with a few boys too many over in the afternoon...no, they were fine. Just noisy! And then the family came over last night for a celebration. After church today, we journeyed to Chuck E Cheese with friends for the ultimate American experience. What a weekend.

"Do I look 7?"

The spider gift from the sisters...that thing is creepy! His "fighting" face in his new Lego Star Wars pjs.

His new Michigan shirt. No, Daddy, die-hard Ohio State fan did not buy this. Mommy did. Jay-R is now the only one in the family to sport the blue. Should make for a fun Ohio State Michigan party in a few weeks!

No Allergies!

Jay-R went through allergy testing a week ago. No allergies! The hardest part was that he had to sit still for 15 minutes lying on his belly. The doctor said his break-out must have been viral. When his Daddy picked him up from daycare after school, he told him with a rather cocky attitude, "It didn't hurt, and I'm not allergic to nothing!" Thank goodness!!!

I'll try to post pictures soon. Three kids in sports keeps me busy.

My Poor Itchy Little Boy

Poor Jay-R has been dealing with an allergic reaction since Monday night. He woke me up around 12:30 am Monday night/Tuesday morning crying and yelling, "My chin! My chin!" Thinking he was having a bad dream of sorts, I put him in bed with me, and we both fell back asleep. Well, he woke up Tuesday morning with an allergic reaction all over his face in the form of redness, welts, and hives. It continued to spread to his whole body. After two trips to the family doctor, one trip to a pediatric allergist, and three missed days of school, I think we are finally on the mend. He is taking a whole host of anti-histamines and steroids. Today is the first day he finally looks like my Jay-R again. The welts and redness have gone down dramatically. We are choosing to keep him home all weekend. With the steroids and anti-histamines, his immune system is bound to be taxed, and I don't want him catching a cold or anything. He needs to go back to school Monday. Besides some errand running today and grocery shopping, I have been home all day. It's been nice to have some down time, but I do feel bad I am having it because of Jay-R's misery. He and I finally had a goodnight sleep last night and that was wonderful. Hoping and praying he sleeps well tonight. All we can figure is he was bit by a bug or spider...not a pleasant thought. He goes on October 15th for allergy testing.

"The Big Question"

I was asked the "big question" again at work today-will we adopt again? The answer to this is yes, but not now. Jay-R is full of energy and honestly, I like having my children spaced 6 years apart. Ashleigh helps Jay-R. Jay-R reminds us all of the innocence of younger children and cracks us up with the things that come out of his mouth. Because my kids are spaced out, we seldom have arguments because they have such different interests and abilities. The sibling fights are usually more like "quit messing with me." On the otherhand, they do annoy each other sometimes because their interests and abilities are so different but they really do get along well. Plus, from a parenting standpoint, it spaces out expenses-prom, driving, class rings, senior pictures....will all be 6 years apart. Kory and I have a heart for older child adoption so we are thinking in a few years, we will begin thinking about adopting again. So, the answer to the big question is yes, but later, God willing.