This Crazy Ride We Call Adoption

I recently posted on our adoption Facebook page that we would be taking the page down and not social networking about the adoption anymore. Well, one of those two things is still at least somewhat true. We decided to leave the page up, but take a serious break from posting on it. I will post the occasional blog post link to promote traffic to the blog, but only after I take a breather from it all. Social networking for adoption is a blessing and a curse, because on one hand you are getting the "publicity" (for lack of a better word) you want, but with that comes getting noticed by scammers, anti-adoption people and people who just want to mess with you. It could also bring a waiting couple "the one" expectant mother who finds them perfect for her unborn child. It is a risk we have been taking for many months now. After some recent events, bad and good, we have decided to lay low.

I am still going to blog about our lives and our feelings on the adoption process. I am still going to post pictures of our lives on Instagram, but considering changing the name of our account to my twitter name "SarahSaysAce".  It is for piece of mind and to begin to feel good about what we are doing, rather than feeling like we are marketing for a baby. That is not a great feeling, even if that is not our intentions, it can really feel that way. I cannot say enough about how helpful and awesome our friends and even strangers have been about sharing our adoption stuff. I know I have said this before, but it is so incredibly humbling. Please do share the blog. If nothing else, us going through this process can help people who are debating adoption to add to their family see what it is all like- from a very honest point of view- maybe too honest.

For all of the people who challenged me to try new things, or eat chicken planks (ahem.. Carla), for my fun "share the FB page" challenge, I will still be fulfilling those commitments. Actually, I am looking forward to them and will do a blog post on the activities when everything is done and documented. If you still want to challenge me to do something goofy, fun, hard or just plain weird, go for it. No sharing of our page necessary. Remember, September is say yes to everything (within reason) month, so I have to do it if you ask!

So, other than some drama over the early part of the week, adoptionland is going good. We have some hopeful things happening soon. We are super psyched that we will be eligible for the last minute hospital list (henceforth referred to as LMHL) at the end of September. The LMHL will increase our chances of a last minute call to become parents. If we are matched with an expectant mom while we are on that list, we will no longer be active on it, since we will be committed to that open adoption relationship.

As with any adoption journey, things look up one day and down the next. The only way to get through it all is to remember that the hard times are always followed by happy times. I need to take my own advice more often. My heart is completely broken for two families who went home without the babies they thought would be theirs. At the same time, I am ecstatic for a friend who just became a mom yesterday through adoption. This roller coaster we call adoption is truly the craziest ride I have ever been on.

For anyone who is interested in open adoption please go to http://www.adoptionhelp.org/find-a-family to look at all of the families waiting to adopt through our agency. Of course I would prefer they look at us, but so many good people are hoping and wishing for their dreams to come true.

No, You Have Been Challenged!

I have found that one of the best ways to pass the time in the adoption wait is to keep challenging myself.  I once challenged myself to stop eating sugar and succeeded... for a while. The holidays rolled around and that flew out the window. I have challenged myself to cut time off my best 5k time, to do a 30 day yoga challenge (success!), run a mile a day (eh, not so much success), to not buy coffee out for a week (success then subsequent failure when I tried to go a second week. Mmmm coffee!) and my favorite is to challenge myself to say "yes" to everything that is requested of me for a month at a time. This is within reason of course. I wont say yes to dangerous stuff or things I can't afford.

My "say yes" months are always the months that I am happiest and the most positive about life's little changes and speed bumps. September will be a "say yes" month. I challenge everyone to try it. Someone wants you to watch their kid? Say no problem! Someone wants to go out, but you are tired? Go anyway! I have had some of the best experiences saying yes when I wanted to say no. I got into yoga that way, but that was mostly saying yes to myself even when I thought I couldn't do it. I have seen concerts, Braves games, gotten closer to my friends, family members, and coworkers and have made friends out of strangers, all by saying yes. 

So upcoming challenges to myself: Say yes! New 30 day yoga challenge starts soon! Get back to accidentally mentioning Frank Turner in more blog posts, on (our FB page!), instagram  posts etc, because damn it, the man's music makes me happy and what we all need right now is to be happy. By the way, new album in 2015! New US tour apparently as well. Someone may have to keep me from spending all of my money traveling to shows. I digress. I am challenging myself to speak positively about myself no matter how many times I don't have time to work out or no matter how much pizza I eat. Pizza, yes please! I challenge myself to only speak positively about the people around me, no matter how they act or speak of others. I challenge myself to be ok with not finishing my challenges as long as I gave them all the ole' college try.

I challenge all of you to challenge yourselves to do something that makes you and those around you feel happy. I also challenge you all to share our adoption blog, because that would make us so very happy. How many times can I write the word challenge in one blog post? Apparently a hell of a lot of times. Whatever, you have been challenged.

Some Frank, because I am way too into this song right now. 

Photo Dump Madness

And the time marches on.  No matter if we have any movement in the adoption process or not, time passes.  We continue filling our days and nights with as many distracting activities as we can. We put on our happy and brave faces and keep moving forward.  We are about to hit 11 months officially waiting for our baby to find us and I don't have much more to say today than I had when we hit 10 months.

 With risk of sounding melodramatic, I just want this adoption to have for us so so deeply.  It is actually something that I can feel so deep in my chest that it sometimes physically hurts.  We are as always feeling hopeful with little specks of fear, sadness, joy and excitement mixed in.  It is the strangest journey we have taken together, but the best, because it will one day end in our baby coming to be with our family and us giving ourselves to our baby fully.

John was on vacation all week, just doing things around the house.  I was experiencing a hell week at work, because classes start Monday and it seems like everyone and their best pals waited until the last minute to take care of stuff.  Walking out of the office Friday at 4:30 was seriously one of the happiest moments of my life.  The week before Fall semester starts always feels like you are being drawn and quartered. 

We missed the August support group at the adoption agency, because we went to the Braves game/Weezer show.  Pictures below!

The lady behind us ducked out of the picture squealing.  Too Funny

View from our seats. John likes to sit in the outfield

Another set of pink clouds rolled into my life

Weezer from afar. We had field passes.

A few more pictures from this week in Farrar land.

Atlanta hiding in the low clouds.  Taken during my walk to work

We got a new stove!  Exciting!

This hawk has been living in and around our back yard for at least a year.

Moe and I love yoga.   He can't resist joining in!

A sweet Waffles face makes everything happier.

So there is my photo dump.  If you follow us on instagram, you have probably already seen some of those already.  Leaving on the note of high hopes that we wont spend the upcoming holiday season without our baby.  Not sure how another childless holiday will go over in this house.  Also ending on the note that we are ever hopeful, ever strong and ever determined.