"All This Time"

So as many of my Facebook friends already know, Baby Girl has not had a successful parent visit in a little over 2 months!  On Monday we found out that we will NO LONGER have weekly visits and we are officially going to once a month visits ONLY if the parents call to schedule it!  The change was a result of the lack of interest on the parents part as well as the change in her permanency plan! You guys have no idea how relieved I am.  Every single Monday I have been stressed out and I finally get to just really enjoy my day and not worry about Baby Girl being put into an awkward position. Baby Girl has recently begun grabbing on to me if a stranger tries to hold her so I can't imagine what I would do if she did that at a visit!  Better bring on the security! LOL!!!

I have to admit, though, I'm a bit sad for her parents.  They are missing out on the most fabulous child with the most amazing personality! I pray for them almost daily...I pray that they allow Baby Girl to have a beautiful, blessed life.  I pray that they make the decision to allow us to love her the way I know they want to.  I pray that they use this experience to seek God and learn how good and merciful He is. 

Although the change in family visits is wonderful news, we are not out of the woods yet...81 days until trial!  I'm pretty confident that we are clear and free, but as we've experienced, it doesn't always work out the way we plan!  With that being said, please keep praying that Baby Girl becomes a permanent part of our family!  I can't wait to give her our last name...and pierce her ears! Haha!!! She is so wonderful and beautiful and smart!  I'm so proud to have been given this blessing and honored to be a witness to her life!

Today is also Baby Girl's 8 month birthday!  She is a whopping 15.9lbs and although everyone says she's tiny, I can definitely tell my baby is getting big!!!  She has a slight ear infection right now, so we are fighting a fever and crankiness but definitely entitles me to more cuddle time with her!  She has FOUR teeth yet she refuses to start crawling!  She gets in position and rocks, but as soon as she starts to make a move, she lays down and cries! :(  She loves her food and is a champ with the sippy cup!  Little by little I'm introducing her to table food!  So far she loves mashed potatoes and refried beans! LOL!  I'm starting to plan her 1st birthday ( a little early, but I'm really excited) although I don't want to rush her growing up!  Needless to say, I'm enjoying and embracing every single day we have with her!  Hopefully for the rest of our lives!!!

Thank you for the continued prayers!

"Love Takes Time"

As I lay here tonight getting baby girl to sleep, I was again reminded how awesome our God is. Baby Girl is perfect in every single way and she has been entrusted with us! Hopefully forever! Why in the world have we been chosen? What did He see about us that allowed us to have this baby in our lives? She is amazing and has blessed us in ways we could have never imagined!

I could not stop staring at her! Is this what I've been missing? Looking at this beautiful creature and thanking God for this miracle of life? I was suddenly overwhelmed with emotions! Unbelievable! Totally unbelievable! I'm so happy right now! I cannot stop thanking God for this life, for everything that I've been given that I absolutely do not deserve!

I know our journey is not yet complete! I know we have a bumpy road over the next few months! I know that the power of prayer works! Thank you to those praying for us, we can feel it and greatly appreciate it!

"Outta My Mind"

Our Initial Permanency Hearing was yesterday - Baby Girl's 7 month birthday.  It was not exciting...at all!  They didn't even call our case.  Her parents did not show up so all they had to do was enter in her new plan of unrelated adoption and agree to keep her in our home until our trial in November. In 80 days (November 20) the court will make a final decision in our case...which at this point is termination!  Since her parents still have rights, we will continue with our Monday visits for the next few months!  This is so frustrating.  I'm  having to leave work in the middle of the day to bring her to a visit with parents who aren't even showing up!  Not only does it disrupt my day, it disrupts Baby Girl's day too!  You have no idea the anxiety I feel every time I pull up to the office! 

For now, all that we ask is for continued prayers. 

I figure now is a great time to give a little update on Baby Girl!  She is growing like a weed and has 3 teeth (2 lower and 1 on top).  She is eating like a champ and would probably eat all day if I let her!  She eats her cereal/fruit in the morning and afternoon with her bottle and then veggies/cereal at night!  We are finally going to switch her to 2nd food and more complex cereals to see how she does!  I get a lot of criticism for not feeding her table food, but it makes me nervous!  I'm sure I'll come around...eventually! :) 

We just got back from a mini vacation to the beach!  Z is with us for a few weeks so it was a great time to get out of the house!  We went to Moody Gardens, lots of beach time and then a trip to the Strand.  Moody Gardens was fun for all of us and Baby Girl was so well behaved!  She was amazed by everything!!!