Transformers, formula and more...

We ventured out last night to see Transformers 2 with Joselyn in tow. She did very well at the movie. Of course because she was held the entire time. We paid for our adventure last night as she really didn't want to go to sleep and had an upset stomach. When we came home from the hospital we had some free liquid based formula. When that was gone we have switched to a powder based which seems to upset her stomach a little more. Nothing like getting thrown up on at 2 in the morning:) Before last night she has been sleeping great.

Getting ready for a Pampered Chef party this evening that I am hosting. 15% of the sales proceeds go towards helping us with our adoption expenses. If you would like to order anything go to www.pamperedchef.biz/jvcookswithyou . You should be able to select my name or choose adoption as the organization.

Here are a few pictures:

Trying to beat the heat!

Doctor Checkup

Took Joselyn to the doctor today for her very first checkup. Everything was great. She weighed in at 6 lbs 2 ounces, so she has gained 3 ounces since we took her home on Saturday. PTL! She is a peanut topping the charts in the 10th percentile. She had a better night last night so hopefully we can figure out a routine so we all can sleep:)

Update

Well, where do I begin. There are so many words to describe the last couple of days. Joselyn is doing great and we love her to pieces. Saturday night she was up every 2 to 3 hours, ate and then back to sleep. Well last night was a different story. She fussed from about 9:30 to 1:30 and finally fell asleep in her car seat. She was up again at 3:30 and Stan fed her however did not want to sleep. So in bed with us until morning. Hopefully we can keep her more awake tonight so she sleeps better! Talked to the social worker this morning and the paperwork has been signed for termination. Now we wait another 96 hours (or Thursday around 10 p.m.) for the revocation period to be up. Joselyn has a doctor's appointment tomorrow here in town so hopefully everything is well. We bought a few more clothes at a local consignment shop this morning as well as a bed set for the crib. We thought the trucks were a little much for our princess! Also received a phone call from a college friend/fellow golfer. They too have adopted and she has many teeny tiny clothes she is willing to let us borrow. Thanks Sarah! Joselyn is tiny so they will come in handy. Here are a few pictures from the past couple of days:

Big brother Aiden.


Happy Fathers Day! Keegan refused to take a picture:)Family of Five:)Nap time in the crib.
First time checking out the bouncy seat.

Introducing...

Joselyn Grace Adeanna

We arrived home this afternoon safe and sound. Thanks for your prayers. We continue to ask prayers for the birthmom as she had a tough morning saying goodbye. What a day of different emotions. Joselyn has lots of dark hair and dark blue eyes. The boys adore her.

This is the day that the Lord Has Made...

Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Today is the day we get to meet our little girl. We will be leaving shortly to go sign some paperwork and then head to the hospital.

Her name will be Joselyn Grace Adeanna De Zeeuw. We praise the Lord for this wonderful blessing!

It's a GIRL!!!!

Date: Thursday, June 18, 2009
Time: 7:19 p.m.
Weight: 6 lbs
Height: 18 in.

We are excited to announce the birth of our baby girl. We received the call last night around 9:00 p.m. Out of respect for the birthmom we are not yet revealing the name as we want her to be the first to know. We just talked to the social worker and the birthmom and baby are doing great. The baby has been eating and pooping (which is a good thing) and she seems very healthy. PTL!! She has dark hair and eyes and is already a thumb sucker just like her birthmom. We are still working out the details as to when we will get to meet her and take her home. We'll post when we know more!

Thanks for your prayers!!!

Life

The ADVENTURE of life is to LEARN.

The GOAL of life is to GROW.

The NATURE of life is to CHANGE.

The CHALLENGE of life is to OVERCOME.

The ESSENCE of life is to CARE.

The SECRET of life is to DARE.

The BEAUTY of life is to GIVE.

The JOY of lif is to LOVE!

- William Ward -

Baby or no baby?

That is the question....Well no baby. Talked to the social worker yesterday and nothing new to report. Stan and I both decided that it is much better to be "waiting" this way instead of "waiting and not knowing" what's on the horizon or if anything is in the works. Thanks again for all your prayers!

Scripture Passages

Haven't heard anything on the baby front. The birthmom has another appointment on Monday.

I wanted to share a few scripture passages that have special meaning to me as we have been on this adoption journey:

"For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well."

Psalm 139: 13-14

"Be still and know that I am God..."

Psalm 46:10

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Matthew 6:34

Hope you are having a great weekend. We are off for a birthday celebration in the park with my family.

Swimming Lessons

Keegan started swimming lessons on Monday and the weather has not really cooperated. Monday they met to go over safety but did not get in the water. Tuesday they did not meet. Wednesday and Thursday they got in the pool. Today has definitely been the nicest day of the week. I worked from home this afternoon because of a dentist appointment so we picked the boys up early from daycare and headed to the park before swimming lessons. The boys have been begging to go to the "orange park" all week. Today it was finally nice enough.

Time to jump in....The water was cold!

Working on his kicks.
Working on his back float.

Talked to our social worker again this afternoon and nothing new to report. "Be still and know that I am God".

No baby yet, but...

...our social worker did call today. The birthmom had a doctor's appointment and everything seems to be progressing with the baby. The due date is tomorrow so hopefully within a few days the baby will be born. The birthmom will have another appointment Thursday if the baby doesn't arrive before them:) Thanks so much for your prayers and checking in on us. We continue to pray for the birthmom, her health and the health of the baby. Every time the phone rings my heart beats faster and feels likes it is in my throat! Could this be the call? Soon that call will come! As far as having "things" ready, I think I'm ready (i.e. nursery ready, house cleaned, laundry caught up, etc). I try to prepare for lack of sleep, but for me that is hard as I am a person who needs lots of sleep. Speaking of which I think bed is calling my name:)

Pictures

Nothing to report on the baby front. Last talked to our social work on Wednesday and she had nothing new.

I thought I would add some pictures from the last few weeks. Enjoy!

New one wheel bike for Keegan

Playing baseball with Miles at the M's on Memorial Day.

Helping mom in the kitchen:)

Sick kids

So I'm really not a fan of sick kids. Got a call from the sitter at 3 this afternoon that Keegan had puked twice and Aiden has loose stools. Yeah! So now we're home. No more puke yet but I'm prepared with blankets, towels and the bucket. We were suppose to have eye appointments tonight but we'll see how the boys are. Well I better get to disinfecting more of the house:) They both seem fine at the moment and are watching a movie.

Nesting

Last night I was on a mission. The nursery has been serving as our toy room since Aiden moved out of there almost 2 years ago. I would do the occasional spot clean but it was time to get down to business. The boys helped me take all the toys out and put them downstairs. I'm hoping that's where most of them stay. I rolled up the rug that was protecting the wood floor, cleaned the floor, Keegan dusted and we disinfected the crib, changing table, etc. It felt so good to get it clean and ready to go. I then got the car seat out of the closet and cleaned it up and found all the necessary pieces to go with it. The boys helped me set up the pack n play in our room for when the baby comes home. Eventually he/she will sleep in the crib but the first few nights/weeks I'd rather have them close to us:) I dusted the living room and did a few loads of laundry. I was tired after all that and was in bed at 9:30!

Tonight I'm working on getting ready for a Pampered Chef show I'm hosting on June 25. It is a fundraiser show where a percentage of the sales will go towards our Adoption costs. More info to come later. If you're interested in attending or want to purchase something let me know.

Update

Nothing much to report on the baby front. Visited with the social worker this afternoon and she received the birthmom's medical records today. She was going to look through them and let us know if there was anything different than expected. The records did say that the due date was between June 10 and June 14 so we have that much confirmed. Praying for the health of the birthmom and the baby. She also mentioned again that the birthmom was very comfortable with us and felt she had made the right choice. Now we wait. It feels like I'm 9 months pregnant again:)