December 31st??

Wow! I can't believe it is the end of 2010. We have had a wonderful year being parents to sweet Abigail. She is a joy to watch grow. We have several pictures to post from Christmas but until then here are a few from her October birthday photoshoot.

Since our last post.....

We have been to Boerne for Jenny's family Christmas. Unfortunately a few of the family members were ill, including Jerry, so we weren't able to enjoy it quite as much as expected. Thankfully everyone is feeling better now and Abigail did not get sick. She was the center of attention of course and she made everyone smile. Of course she is crawling and pulling up to a standing position everywhere. She loves to walk with our assistance.

New things:

Abigail is climbing on things! We were playing on the living room floor and she crawled over to her pack n play and started climbing up the side of it! It was hilarious and a little scary.

She talks all the time and speaks to you very emphatically.

She dances to music and has a favorite Christmas song that she jams to.

Has another tooth. It is a back tooth and it is causing her some discomfort but mainly lack of sleep. Ugh for her and me!

She gives lots of kisses.... which are the sweetest things ever!

She played in the leaves with Daddy and loved it.

And she does Patty cake all by herself - precious!

With 2011 hours away we would like to thank God for a wonderful 2010. We are so blessed with an amazing family. We pray that 2011 is full of many blessings for you and your family. We hope to start our adoption process for baby number 2. God willing and in His perfect timing we pray that Abigail will be a big sister this year.

Stay tuned........

love,

jenny

Holiday Happenings...

We have been so busy since our last post. We went to Baton Rouge, LA for Thanksgiving. We had a great time with Jerry's family. Lots of football to watch and lots of food to eat! Abigail had fun with everyone. She laughed and put on a show of course.

The above pictures are a brief glimpse of what we have been up to.

*Daddy & Abigail eating and her saying "Oh Oh!"

*Sitting on her bench in her room with her stuffed animals

*Dressed up for A&M vs. t.u game on Thanksgiving....Whoop!

*Our Christmas pictures...without the puppies. We couldn't get all 3 pups and Abigail to look at the camera! :)

We are having so much fun with her. She is doing so many new things. She signs "more" and "all done". She "talks" on her phone or whatever else fits in her hand and up to her ear. Hilarious! Not quite walking yet but so so close. She pulls up on everything and can stand unassisted for longer stretches of time. Her mind is constantly thinking and learning. It is truly amazing to see her little mind at work.

We are heading to Jenny's family's house for Christmas and are looking forward to seeing how she will react to opening gifts.

speaking of gifts........I better run and start wrapping.

God bless each of you this year and remember to say "Happy Birthday Jesus!"

He is the reason for the season.

Love,

Jenny & Jerry and sweet Abigail

GOTCHA day!

One year ago today we became a family. Today is our GOTCHA day! November 20, 2009 we became Abigail's parents. The parental rights were terminated in the court and we got to take our precious baby home before Thanksgiving. What an amazing God we have that He could bring us together in His perfect timing! She was 35 days old and less than 7 pounds- a tiny and beautiful gift!

Today at 13 months old she weighs just over 17 pounds and is crawling everywhere. She "talks" all the time and is into everything. It is amazing to see how she learns and discovers things.

How will we celebrate today?
*first and foremost-we thank God for our precious gift. Without Him Abigail would not be here with us.
*Eat blueberry pancakes for breakfast. (done and yum!)
*enjoy playtime today & maybe take a walk with the 3 puppies
*watch ATM play Nebraska tonight...whoop!

Thank you for celebrating with us. As we reach each milestone we continue to be in awe of how amazing it is to be Abigail's Mommy and Daddy. Let us not forget that her birthmom chose LIFE for her and she knew she couldn't provide a stable home for her baby. She chose US to be parents. That is the most unselfish gift! Through God's guidance this beautiful girl was placed for adoption and I am her Mommy!!! Wherever the birthmom is we still think of her and sincerely hope she is doing ok. May God bless her always.

Have a wonderful day-We know we will.
Love and blessings,
Jenny

Time Goes by too fast...

*The picture was taken today at Kristi & David's house. Kristi takes the best pictures and always catches her smiling. Thanks!

I can't believe it is November already. We are fast approaching our "gotcha day" on November 20th. Everyone told us last year to enjoy every moment because it would fly by and ........they were right! I can't believe how big Abigail is getting.

She is constantly chatting and making noise. She nods her head and agrees with most of everything. :) Currently she is trying out her authority and we are using ours. She is a sweet, sweet girl and we are learning that she really, really, really loves to share her food....with the puppies. Of course the puppies are VERY accommodating too. Every day is an adventure and every day is a blessing. She continues to make us smile and laugh.

We both agree that she is fairly close to walking. Maybe by Christmas but we aren't sure. She loves to pull up on everything and is attempting to climb onto things. (Oh dear!) Her balance is improving some and she can stand unassisted for 2 seconds sometimes. All that to say....we are not rushing her to walk. She loves to crawl and we are really enjoying her mobility.

We know that the holidays will be amazing with visits to Baton Rouge for Thanksgiving and Boerne for Christmas.

We are in the process of reviewing her 1 year old photos and hope to get those out and ready for Christmas. Of course we will have a family pictures with all 3 of us and of course the puppies. STay tuned for more.

May God bless you and your family.

Love,

Jenny, Jerry & Abigail........and the pups.

Hope Gala

Tuesday we went to the Generations Hope Gala. That is our adoption agency's annual fundraiser. It was amazing!!! Here are a few highlights:

*Since we were one of the families that adopted last year we were one of the VIPs. :) We were able to go up on stage and be introduced. As we were walking up on the stage they introduced us and people clapped. As soon as the audience clapped guess who clapped and kicked her legs??? Abigail!! It was hilarious. Everyone laughed. She was so excited and happy. She clapped after every name was announced. There must have been 20 families! She truly lights up a room with her smile!

*We also were so blessed to see the doctor that delivered Abigail and the nurses that were there in the hospital when she was born. They said that it was an amazing experience to be a part of. I can't wait to share this with Abigail as part of her "birth" story. We took pictures with them and introduced them to my parents.

*We sat at the same table as Abigail's transitional family, Kristi & David. It is amazing how God brought them into our lives. They will be a part of our family forever! We cherish them so much.

*We talked with a few other adoptive families and many of our friends from church and around Waco were there to celebrate the occasion.

All in all it was an amazing night. We were so proud to show off our little angel and share with everyone how God brought her to us through adoption. It was extra special to share that with my parents. They hadn't met anyone from Generations and it was so neat to bring both sides of the story together.

That is all for now. Dinner is waiting to be cooked......God bless you all.

Love,

Jenny

Birthday pictures

Abigail's smash cake....homemade by Mommy

pink puff in a swing!

Birthday party fun at the park

Amazing...

What an amazing few days! I still can't believe how that last year has flown by. I find myself thinking..."last year at this time....we didn't have our sweet Abigail".


This year we do! On her birthday Jerry picked her up out of her crib and brought her to me. What an awesome way to wake up! She was smiling which of course made me smile too. We sang Happy Birthday and had a special moment with her before we had breakfast. I made her a giant pancake and she loved it. Then we opened her presents. Jerry's mom came to visit and so we opened her presents too. Abigail was having so much fun tearing the paper that she hardly noticed the little kitchen set that her Grandma gave her. But she soon figured it out and now she loves it too.

After a fun, relaxing day at home we headed to the rodeo. She really enjoyed petting the animals and clapping for the cowboys. She did take a quick nap during the rodeo but woke up just in time for the bullriding. :)

Although I think she had fun she may have partied too hard...The night ended with her being overly exhausted. She didn't get to sleep until 10pm or so. In fact, she was quite cranky and had a low grade temperature. Poor baby girl! (She is also cutting 3 teeth at the same time.)

The day after her birthday we just hung out at home and recuperated. We wanted her to be rested and ready for her big birthday party on Saturday. She was feeling a little better but not quite the same. Those darn teeth hurt I bet!

Party day!
Dressed in her tutu and princess crown she made quite an entrance. Almost 30 of her friends from Waco and 3 grandparents came for this awesome celebration. Jerry and I were so proud of our beautiful little girl. We had prayed for this for so long and God answered our prayers. I still have to pinch myself sometimes.....this is MY little girl! wow!
A few things we did:
swung on the swings for the first time....(hilarious in her tutu by the way)
dove into her cake with both hands
opened her presents
played with her friends
All in all a wonderful day! We are so blessed. Thank you all so much for sharing this day with us. We miss you guys that weren't able to come and hope to see you real soon.
Stay tuned for more pictures to follow....

love,
Jenny

Happy Birthday!

What a special day for my little sweetheart. At 2:46pm on this day last year we received an email from Generations telling us you were born. My...how that day has changed our lives. Even though we did not physically meet you on this day last year, you were placed on our hearts.

Abigail, you are a joy not only to your parents but to everyone you meet. You make everyone who meets you smile and you get compliments all the time. Your personality is so precious. You are such a sweet baby girl and I can't wait to see how much more you change over this next year of your life.

For your birthday, we are going to the Fair & Rodeo. You probably won't remember this too long into the future but we will. I pray that you are having a great day today as always.

I love you so very much.
Your Daddy.

what a difference a year makes...

Last year on this very day.....
I was pouting and wondering why God hadn't given me a baby yet.
On MY time schedule I wanted a baby for My birthday.
Well, it is not about me and what I want....IT is about what God's plan is and it is in HIS timing that that prayer was answered THREE days later. :)
So much has changed in one year! I am a mommy! There is no better birthday gift in the world. I have wonderful family and friends and an amazing Husband!
3 more days and my sweet baby will be one year old. So cool...
May God bless each of you every day. Stay tuned for pictures from Abigail's upcoming birthday party and hopefully some pics from the pumpkin patch. :)

*Jenny

Crawling!

2 weeks from today......Sweet Abigail will be ONE year old!

Yep! She is off and crawling. Funny story....I went up to our adoption agency last Friday and I put her on the carpet for a second to pick something up and let her scoot around a minute. One of the social workers was sitting in the chair talking to Abigail and all of the sudden........she started crawling like a pro! For several weeks she had been trying but not quite getting her legs and arms to cooperate and just like that she put it all together. Of course when I looked down at her I started screaming and saying "yipee! she did it!". I told them that that was her first time to crawl. How crazy is it that she chose right there in the adoption office to crawl for the first time! :) I am sorry that Jerry missed it though. He was busy at work but we showed him as soon as he got home that evening. What a cutie!
So now she is crawling and getting into everything! My life has definitely changed in these last few days. Just yesterday she was playing in her room while I put her clothes away and I look down and she is "stuck" in her little rocking chair. Her little legs were tangled up in the bottom of it. How did she do that so fast? I don't know but wow! She was fine; no tears.

Another first: Her first bandaid was placed on her knee. Poor baby, she scratched it on her playpen. She didn't even cry! We found a drop of blood in the playpen and went searching for the source. Ugh! I know she will have the need for bandaids in the future but still it was very hard to see.
The final preparations are almost complete for her first birthday party here in town. (We will have another party in Boerne for the rest of the family.) Yep, 2 birthday parties! The evites are out and the written invites are almost completed. It has been fun planning but it is hard to not go overboard. I have to keep telling myself that she is one year old and the party is mainly for us parents. She won't remember it but I want to make it special. Stay tuned for pictures.... 2 more weeks!

Since our last blog: went to the SA zoo with Mimi, visited and met more family members, had our picture taken for the local newspaper (see attached picture), more teeth, crawling, wearing big girl shoes (really, really tiny shoes), chatter, chatter, chatter...

Plans for October:
my birthday...going to the rodeo!
Abigail's birthday....1 year photo shoot, 2 birthday parties complete with a crown and pink tutu, 1st rodeo, go to church picnic, go to Hope Gala for our adoption agency where we will be a featured family. So many plans...We are so blessed.

Here is something I wanted to share. Our agency asked that we share a few words about our adoption for the Hope Gala. They will post this with our picture at the event.
***Last October 14th God answered our prayers for a child. We thank God every day for our precious gift. It is in Abigail's eyes that we see God's faithfulness and it in her smile that we see His love.***

Blessings until next time,
Jenny

FYI:To read the entire article that was in the newspaper go to http://www.wacotrib.com and click on the October edition of Waco Today. Scroll down until you see our picture and click on the article.

I love my little girl!

It is amazing to see all the little developments Abigail has EVERY day. She is constantly talking and chattering. She understands so many things now. I am in awe of her every day. Here are a few things she has been up to.
She can.....
say thank you. (kinda)
ask for "more, please"
go from sitting to arm crawl and back to sitting
give the best wet kisses ever!
feed the puppies....from her highchair...ugh!
repeat sounds that we make
play the drums (thanks Mimi & Granddaddy.. :)
say "chicken" when we say "Do you like chicken?"
pull up in her crib and up on her toy box
wave at everyone as she enters a room
stop someone in their tracks to say hi and smile

that is all i can think about right now. All of these things are amazing and I am constantly thanking God every day for this precious child.

Abigail, you brighten my day, every day. You make me smile every time I see you and I miss you every night while I sleep. You are beautiful inside and out. Your little smile and sweet wave brightens so many people's day. Whether it is at the gym or at the grocery store...you make people smile. I love you so much and am so thankful that God chose ME to be your mommy.

***Jenny***

Daddy's Little Girl

How cute are these photos? Yes that is little Abigail on her first makeshift pair of water skis, well in the garage on two small pieces of wood but I'm lovin' it.

She is amazing and has started giving kisses. It is so cute cause she leans in and half the time kisses and the other half tries to bite your lips. And let me tell you those three bottom teeth are pretty sharp.

I've skied with Abigail three times now and we never seem to have a camera ready when we do. One of the days though we will get pictures of that to post.

'til next time,

Jerry

September....really?

Oh, how the time flies! I can not believe it is September and our little girl will be ONE YEAR old very soon. In fact, on my "to-do" list this week I have to plan her birthday party and get all the invites out. Wow! It has just flown by.

We are having a great time with this little angel. She does so many new things every day.

*She pulled up on the side of the crib about a week ago.

*Her favorite word is....not mama (unless she is hungry)...not dada (unless she wants to play) no...it is DOG! heehee...except she says it like....dawg with her little lips in the shape of an O. Pretty hilarious!

*She army crawls everywhere.

*She loves to stand up (with our assistance of course)

*The girl loves, loves, loves...to eat! Pretty much anything you put in front of her in small bits she will eat. In fact, if you don't feed her fast enough she will let you know about it. We are working on her patience and manners too. :)

*She loves to play in the water: bath, lake, swimming pool, wherever! That has been so much fun this summer.

*She has 3 teeth and the two incisors on top are coming in any day now. Yep, not the top front but the ones on the sides. umm..yep..too funny.

We had an eventful week this past week. Abigail and I got a group together to volunteer for our adoption agencies fundraiser in October. We were in charge of putting the invitations together. Six of our friends showed up to help us. It always amazes me how people come together to help. Wow...how God puts us together in each others lives.

Abigail will be one of the stars in this years fundraiser/celebration. All the sweet babies that were adopted last year will be announced at this years event. We will definitely be shopping for a new dress for the occasion. :) The 3 of us were also photographed for our local Waco Today Magazine and will tell a short story of our adoption. For more information on the Generations Adoption Fundraiser...Hope Gala..you can visit their website. The link is on our blog page.

In celebration of labor day, my parents and grandparents came up for a visit. It was a great time. Abigail is such a blessing and it is always a reminder of how blessed we are when we see her interact with her grandparents. So much laughter and so many smiles!

Another day is passed and i am so thankful for the gift God has given us. So tuned for more updates and hopefully videos!

To God alone be the glory,

Jenny

An Important Anniversary Today

Well, today marks one year since we paid off our last commercial debt - Jenny's Jeep Liberty. All we have left is the house as far as debt. That was an important day because without being "debt free" it might not have been possible for Jenny to be a stay at home mommy. I know that a part of her misses her work life but she so enjoys being at home with Abigail.

10 months already, time has gone by just crazy fast. This past week Jenny went on her annual girl's weekend trip with her friends from high school. And since things are starting to get busy with my work, especially since I'm moving to a home office situation, Abigail went down to San Antonio and spent 4 days with the grandparents. Jenny took her down on Wednesday and stayed there until Friday morning when she left Abigail for her weekend. I never imagined how worried I would be and how much I would miss my little girl.

Abigail came back just talking and gabbing up a storm. She almost has her third tooth on the bottom and still doesn't have any on top yet. She's starting to get the hang of pulling herself up, which you can see in one of the pictures below. She tries to pull herself up in her crib and then decides to just play peek-a-boo with you thru the side of the crib between the bumpers.

There is also a picture of her with a baby horse. The horse was born at about the same time that Abigail was dedicated at our church, so Jenny's uncle named the horse Abigail. The other two pictures are of Abigail playing around on the floor, one with Mollie and one showing off her crawling stance (although she hasn't crawled yet and I had to help her get into position).

She takes after her mommy a lot - especially when she is hungry. She will let you know she's hungry and you better react quickly. And she gets really excited when she can see the food or bottle coming. It's really cure because her arms and legs just start flailing from excitement. She really loves to feed herself cheese, lunchmeat and puffs.

Well, its time for bed. I'm sure we will be writing quite a bit over the next few weeks as she hits a few milestones. But for now, enjoy the pictures and may God's peace be with you.

Jerry

August already?

What an awesome summer it has been so far. Little Abigail is just amazing and it has been so much fun watching her grow and share in our summertime fun.

I've waited a long time to be able to share our Lake Tenkiller camping & skiing tradition with my own child. Such a blessing and Abigail had so much fun at the lake. We swam together and skied together and she swam and played with mommy alot too. She was an awesome traveler, which at 8 months is a lot to ask. I already have visions of her running around the campsite next year and wanting to be in the water every chance she gets.

Just over the past week she has really started waving a lot more, just taking her from room to room and she starts waving. Even if there is no one in the room. She's starting to get more teeth and so it has been a little difficult the past 48 hours because she hasn't been herself. Not really cranky but not exactly happy either. Hopefully the teeth will come in soon so she can get back to her silly, fun self.

I can't believe it but her first birthday is just 2.5 months away. And I know the time is just going to keep going by faster and faster. Well, I'm off to do some projects around the house since I can't really go outside right now - it is 103 according to our temp. gauge.

Jerry

So much going on....

Sorry for the delay in blogging. Since we got back from vacation we have been trying to catch up.

Abigail has so much to tell you........

***I am 9 months old***

There are so many things to discover...

*shiny things*musical things*food*my toes*sounds from my mouth & yours*your nose*anything Mommy & Daddy are holding or eating*the "other" baby in the mirror*water in the pool and lake*eating pieces of food*toys*sitting up*pulling hair*waving*jumping, jumping, jumping

Here are some of my favorite things to do...

*touch your nose, mouth, ears, hair, necklace, earrings, and anything else I can reach

*copy the sounds from your mouth

*roll all over the place

*jump and kick my legs

*wave hello and goodbye

*ski with Daddy

*swim with Mommy

*say "mama" and "dada" and "hi" (kinda)

*listen to music anytime but especially at bedtime

*Jump, jump, jump

But one of my favorite things to do is....

*Watch Wheel of Fortune. Yep, I even know the man's voice when it comes on the tv. I love the sound the wheel makes when it spins and the way the letter ding when they light up. I even cheer and clap my hands when the contestant do well.

Things I did this summer....

*I went camping twice: once in Waco for 3 days and once in Oklahoma for a week. It was fun! We swam every day and I even skied with Daddy. I loved the water! I turned 9 months old in Oklahoma. Everyone sang Happy Birthday to me too!

*Mimi & Granddaddy stayed with me overnight once while Mommy & Daddy went to Lubbock.

I did great but Mommy says she was very sad and missed me a lot.

*I took a trip to Arkansas to meet some of Daddy's family

*I went to visit Mommy's family in Boerne

**************

Jerry and I feel so blessed every single day. Abigail continues to amaze us and she keeps us laughing all the time. She has a really happy and silly personality. I am in awe of how quickly she is growing and changing. She is constantly looking around and discovering things. She truly is a miracle!

Thank you for continuing to follow us. We hope to get some more photos up real soon.

God bless you today and always.

Love,

Jenny

vacation plus BABY!

We are preparing to go to Lake Tenkiller in Oklahoma and wow......this time we get to bring our sweet baby girl. This is a time we have been dreaming about for many, many years. For those of you that don't know....Lake Tenkiller is a really special place for Jerry's family. They have been going there for 50 years. Jerry and I have been there almost every year since we got married so it has become one of my favorite places too! Needless to say, this year will be different...we get to share it with our daughter. It is amazing...to God be the glory!

So packing is crazy. We literally are almost packing our entire house. Ok i am exaggerating a little but not much. We are leaving 3 very important things at home though. Sadly we have to leave the sweet puppies here. It is a very long trip and we have to take 2 vehicles to pull boat and trailer. We have done it before but not with our new "addition". :) Please pray for the pups safety and ours. We will miss them tons.

Stay tuned for lots of pictures to follow. Abigail turns 9 months old next week and boy does she have a lot to write about. :)
love you all and God bless,
Jenny

Wheel Watcher

So I think we have the world's youngest Wheel Watcher! This started several weeks ago as Jenny and I were watching Wheel of Fortune. Abigail heard the chimes that signified a new puzzle was beginning. She then got mesmerized by the sound of the wheel clicking after the contestants spun it. SO the above video shows what happens every evening in our house. It is so funny and cute. Make sure you turn up the volume so you can hear the Wheel on the TV.

And as I state in the video, a few days ago Abigail was sleeping in her playpen in the living room. She was not super sound asleep but she was still with her eyes closed. The wheel came on and with the first set of chimes Abigail woke up, turned her head to the TV and then started to get cranky because she couldn't see the TV very well.

Now it is a bit of a joke with us as we try to keep her distracted from the Wheel when there is a commercial on - so we can see her completely stop what she is doing and turn to the TV to watch the wheel.

And this is not exactly the worst show she could be addicted to - she might just learn her alphabet from Pat Sajak and Vanna White.

Hope you enjoy.

Jerry

First Tooth!

We knew it was coming and finally yesterday we saw it. Actually Jenny felt it while she was out at lunch with some friends. She called me and asked me where I was so she could bring Abigail to me so I could feel it. SO precious - hardly any fussing at all. More of just an annoying smirk as she rubbed her gums together.

This morning you can see it poking through clear as day. I tried to take a picture of it yesterday but she didn't want to cooperate. You have to sneak a peek at it because she loves to stick her tongue out.

Well - I gotta go to work. I promise to write more later, I know it has been a while since I've posted but summer time is my outdoors time.

Jerry

um...Precious!

Our best friend baby sat for us while we were out for our 10th anniversary. She is an amazing photographer and when we got back from our date she showed us what she had been up to. Isn't Abigail gorgeous? Laura said she wouldn't smile though. Well, a short while after the photo was taken Abigail ate some dinner and then had a LARGE production that exceeded her diaper. (We have those pictures too but will not be posting them. you are welcome! :) So now we know why she wouldn't smile for her picture but we LOVE this picture anyway. Enjoy!

High Chair!

Abigail in the high chair. So BIG! She loves to eat too! Peas, carrots, pears, mango, banana, applesauce, mashed potato...but not squash. Well, she will eat it but it doesn't like her. Enough said!

More pictures to come soon...

Big weekend...

(first picture: my 2 cousins came for a visit to Waco)

(second picture: Abigail LOVES her lovey)

(third picture: her first camping nap in the travel trailer)

We had a big weekend last weekend!

*Abigail's first camping trip.

*Jerry's birthday was the 13th and of course we spent it camping and skiing.

*Abigail's first "ski" with Daddy! (No, i didn't get a picture..i was driving the boat and too nervous to take a picture.)

*Abigail turned 8 MONTHS OLD! I can't believe it!

She is getting to be a big girl. She talks all the time and has almost connected "dada" to Daddy! We have noticed that when she is hungry (of course) she says "mommamamma". Also, she loves music and actually raps or beat boxes with her mouth and her hand. Hilarious!! She cracks us up all the time. Her hair is getting so long that I have to put it in pigtails every day so she won't get too hot.

She has graduated and now has stayed with a babysitter a few times when i have had meetings and Jerry is busy. Jerry and I actually went on a date on June 5th without our munchkin. It was so weird to be without her. We went to dinner and had a nice chat and then went to an outdoor concert and we were laughing because all we talked about was Abigail and all the little kids we saw. Wow! Our life has really changed! We are a family now and we are so blessed.

Summertime is super busy for us and we try and get on the lake as much as possible. Next month at this time we will be finishing our camping vacation in Oklahoma. So much to do before then.

As Father's Day approaches I am so thankful for such a wonderful husband. Jerry is an amazing father. He is so excited to see his little girl and this past weekend I saw one of his dreams come true. He got to ski with his little girl. He had a HUGE smile on his face. To top it off...it was his birthday too! It was amazing! I am so happy for him. I could not ask for a better husband and father to our little girl. I thank God for that every day.

Also, one of my closest friends got to bring her baby BOY home this weekend. Praise the Lord! His name is Luke and I can't wait to meet him. What an amazing journey!

*Special note from last weekend: We invited Abigail's transitional family to come to the lake with us. They brought their 3 kids to visit us too. They are super special and we are so thankful to them for taking care of Abigail and opening their home to us as we waited 35 days to bring Abigail home with us. It was really neat to see how Abigail interacted with them. I truly believe she remembers them and will forever. I know we will always have a connection with them and I look forward to our families growing together. Love you guys!!!

8 months & 2 days.....Abigail, I love every minute with you. You make me smile and laugh and you make me feel complete. I love you!

* thanks to everyone that follows our blog. We love you all!

Jenny

June 3rd...10 years

It's our 10th wedding anniversary today! We did not know 10 years ago the plans that God would have for us. It is amazing to see the journey we have been on and the amount of growth each of us have had in those 10 years. We are parents now! We are so blessed with such an amazing daughter.

I can't believe how much she has changed and grown. She is hilarious! She is spunky too! We are really starting to see her personality. In the last two weeks she has really started to look older and not so much like a little baby but a little girl. She is still very petite but her motor function and movements are big girl movements. She is grabbing things and knocking things over.....oops... I am having to really watch out now. The other day I had just made me a full glass of lemonade and I set it on the counter. I picked Abigail up and turned and the next thing I knew I had a full glass of ice and lemonade all down my back. How that happened I don't know. I didn't think she could reach that far. hhhmmm....Life is about to change isn't it?? :)

She is so silly sometimes. She loves to hear her voice and it is loud! But it is soooo worth the noise to hear her giggle and play. We swear she can say Mama and Dada but hasn't quite put them together with us yet. Soon..very soon..

Rolling over.........well..sometimes...when she wants to. She doesn't love to roll from back to tummy. She gets frustrated with it, but we are working on it. Her legs are moving non stop! It is hilarious. She kicks them so fast it makes your head spin. It is especially challenging when you are holding her and she starts kicking from excitement. Hold on tight!!

With the 100 cute and sweet things she does there are a few challenges that have come up though.

*She does not love to eat her food. She loves her bottle but food is a very messy and unpredictable adventure. With her starting to babble....the babble gets in the way with eating sometimes. (see picture)

*When she is hungry she is HUNGRY!!! Screams at the top of her lungs like she is starving. Wow! That has really been a challenge. She eats about every 3-4 hours during the day and she sleeps all night long. Since she LOVES her bottle but doesn't love food I suppose she is hungry more often. It is definitely a work in progress. Her and I have talked quite a bit about patience. I have to say...My patience are improving only by the grace of God. Thank you Lord.

However, she is a blast and we are having so much fun with her. Our family is amazing and we are so proud of where we are and we are so thankful for our little blessing.

On this our 10th anniversary....Jerry I love you and am so proud to be your wife and the mother of your daughter. I thank God every day for the man He sent me. Thank you for 10 years and God willing we will have many, many more wonderful years together.

*Jenny

Trip to the Water Park

Hello all,

Wow! May is quickly coming to an end and little miss Abigail is 7 months old. I can't believe it!

A few updates since the last post:

She is officially rolling over both front to back and back to front.

She can reach out and purposefully touch things. She grabs on to everything; including mama and daddy...we have the scratches to prove it. ouch!

She is waving and "saying Hi".

She is Hilarious! Jerry and I think she is going to be a little comedian. :)

She is sitting up for a longer amount of time.

She made her first trip to Hurricane Harbor (waterpark next to Six Flags). It was really fun. She just sat in the shallow part of the pool and played in the water. Isn't she adorable?

So much to say....i want to cherish every moment with her and capture it in my mind.

Mommy's Favorite Snuggle time of day....in the mornings. In the morning, I always feed her in her bedroom. Abigail is very snuggly when she takes her first bottle for the day. Then after she finishes eating we read or play with her toys and we really have fun. She isn't quite awake yet so she will sit with me a little longer before she is distracted by something else. I love these moments. I really want to keep them bottled up and remember how they feel.

Mommy's Favorite play time......in the afternoons after she wakes up from her nap. We have been laying blankets out in her room and she will roll over or do her "push ups". She also has been helping mommy with her stretches. She sits on my stomach while I do sit ups. It is fun and we both laugh. Daddy is usually home by this time so he will come join us for a short play time.

I know one day she will be too big to play or snuggle but I hope she will remember these times and cherish them as much as I do.

**God has blessed us so much. Abigail is a true miracle and blessing every day.**

Well, I better run. She is napping which means I better get a few things done around the house.

God's blessings and love to all,

Jenny

Updates & Happenings...

Finally a moment to blog...

Since finalization we have been busy planning our summer vacation and it seems our weekends are getting busier and busier. Little miss Abigail is getting so big in the meantime.

First Mother's Day was amazing. I found myself near tears the whole day just being so thankful to be a mommy.



Let me back up a bit and tell you about the whole work up til Mother's day.

I have been feeling very "crafty" lately so I decided to paint my mom a picture for Mother's day. That preparation for the painting made me reflect a bit into my journal to decide what scripture I wanted to add to Mom's painting. When reading my journal I was amazed at how the last year had changed my life. I am so overwhelmed by gratitude in how God has guided and strengthened me the last year. THIS Mother's Day is extra special because I have my Mom and she fought through her chemo and survive her cancer! TO God be the Glory!

So, I painted my mom a picture and I made the Grandmother's bookmarks made out of some of Abigail's pictures and laminated them. I printed a few more of Abigail's pictures and wrapped them all up and prepared to leave for the weekend. Then.....Jerry brought in the mail. There was a letter to me from Abigail! She "wrote" me a letter and it said "do not open until Mother's day". :)

Off to Boerne we went. Friday night we met mom and dad for dinner. Saturday I attended a baby shower for my friend Tiffany who is adopting in June. Then Saturday afternoon we had all the family at Mom and Dad's for Mother's Day celebration. It was great to see everyone and all were surprised at how much Abigail has grown. What a blessing that is to witness! I love to see everyone interact with her. They love her so much and it is obvious that she loves them too! She brings so much joy to us; it is just amazing!

Sunday morning: I woke up and immediately Jerry said Happy Mother's Day. Then we went and got Abigail out of her crib and she sat with me while I opened her letter. As I was reading it she reached out and grabbed the letter and held it so I could read it. Yes....there were tears! The letter was precious! It said she was so happy that I was her mommy and that she loved me. She did admit that Daddy helped her translate a bit but that these were her words to me. Very very sweet.



Then we went to church with Mom and Dad. That was very special too! I know how much Mom wanted to introduce Abigail to her church family. Even during the service the pastor recognized all the moms and gave US a flower. I got to stand up as a Mom and receive a Mother's Day flower! It was really cool. I am a Mom now! That still feels amazing to say.



We came back to Waco and Jerry said again that it was my day so I could do whatever I wanted. I took a bath then a nap and relaxed a bit while he and Abigail hung out together. All in all it was a perfect day. I am so thankful for my husband and my daughter. I love my family and am so blessed.



Newest Abigail news: She can wave hello! We wave at her and say "Hi" and she waves her little hands super fast back at us. It is super cool! She is really close to rolling over both ways. She loves to do "yoga" with Mommy. We have been laying blankets in her floor and stretching out. It is really fun! Every day is a new happening. It is amazing to see her development.



that is about all the time i have...time to check on baby girl.

love you all...

Jenny

Finalization complete

Picture #1: With judge

Picture #2: Outside courtroom

Picture #3: Night before in hotel

Our finalization was completed on April 23rd. That will forever be Abigail's "Adoption Day". We are so blessed to have her in our life and God has truly shown His faithfulness. Our arms are full of a precious gift.

Here is a short story of how last week went. As the previous post showed...we saw Abigail's birthmom on Wednesday. Then Thursday afternoon we drove to Dallas to stay in a hotel so we could be up and at the courthouse downtown by 8am. Thursday night was special because we were just enjoying our away time as a family and reflecting on the last 6 months. So much has happened!! :) Jerry was laughing at me because almost everyone we saw in the hotel and in the restaurant I was telling them why we were in Dallas. I was so excited!! and....i like to talk to people....imagine that!

Friday morning went great. Sweet baby was up and fed and ready to go by 7:15am. Mommy didn't sleep well due to anticipation and anxiety that at least 1 of the 3 alarms I set would go off on time. Heaven forbid we sleep through this very important date.

We made it to the courthouse without a traffic delay. Amazing feat right there. God parted the Dallas morning traffic just for us to make it to the courthouse, right? I think so. He can do that you know.

We went through security including the metal detectors and then we waited. Abigail was doing great. So far so good...she was awake, alert, and adorable. We met another man who was finalizing he and his wife (and baby boy's) adoption. The went through Generations as well but they live in Missouri so he made the trip by himself. Their little boy was born near Dallas 2 days after Abigail. Their story was quite different than ours. Short story....they got to take the little boy home from the hospital but had to stay in Texas for 2 weeks before the out of state paperwork was completed. They stayed in a hotel for 2 weeks with a newborn! Yikes! So...everyone's story is different but very special.

Our lawyer talked to us before we went to meet the judge. He reviewed the questions the judge would ask and told us to just say "yes" to all of them. Keep in mind our 6 month old is still awake and playful. Well, the judge was running late.....Needless to say by the time they were ready for our case our sweet little girl was asleep. At least she wasn't crying!! How would that look to the judge...unhappy child?! Praise God she wasn't crying and she was very comfortable in Daddy's arms.

I didn't get teary-eyed until we walked out and I looked at the pictures. It has been an amazing journey. I have been in awe of how much God has placed in our hands and how many people have been there to support us. Our journey will just continue and our life with Abigail has begun.

**On a Mommy note: I have been writing a lot lately. Mostly my spiritual journey but also letters to Abigail. Maybe one day I will share some with you but for now...they are going in Abigail's adoption keepsake box. **

God bless each of you every day.

love,

Jenny

Reflections on an amazing day....

Ok today was amazing! Before I tell you what happened let me preface a little bit. Last night I was reflecting on all the events that have occurred in the last year. Last April 2009 we had filled out all of our paperwork and were waiting for our orientation and home study to be complete before we were officially "waiting for baby". As some of you remember our orientation was moved up because of the need of more adoptive parents. April 23rd 2009 was our orientation with Generations Adoptions. One year ago we were preparing for an adoption fundraiser and garage sale. One year ago we were praying for our baby and birthmom. AND Friday of this year 2010 APRIL 23rd we will be finalizing our adoption with Abigail Elizabeth Snider. We will stand in front of a judge and swear to be the best parents for her and hold her in our hearts forever! WOW! There are so many of these amazing dates and some would say coincidences on our journey to Abigail. But you know what? They aren't coincidences.......they are God's PLAN!! It takes my breath away everytime I think about it. Don't worry I will put our story in book format and one of these days i will get it complete and all of you will get a copy. :)

so........Today........wait...let me preface a little more...
According to our semi-open adoption agreement we are suppose to send monthly pictures and letters to our birthmom and have a 6 month visit with all of us and the social worker. Well, we hadn't really heard from our birthmom in a couple weeks and didn't think it was going to happen. We really wanted to see her and show her Abigail. We have been praying for her every day and hoping that she was doing ok. I prayed selfishly that I would be able to tell her in person how much we appreciate her and her brave decision. I wanted to take a picture of her for Abigail's baby book and I wanted to give her a hug! All those things I wanted, right? Well, Monday afternoon our social worker called and said the birthmom wanted to set up a visit this week. We were super excited and nervous all at the same time.
We met with her this morning and it was amazing! It was a complete answer to our prayers. She was so happy to see Abigail and she wanted to hold her right away. She asked permission and was very polite and gracious! She said she was so happy and that Abigail was beautiful. She let us take a picture of her and Abigail and another one with all of us. And........she let me give her a hug! It was so wonderful. God was so present and is so present in this whole story. The look on the birthmom's face was one of contentment and sincere happiness for our family. She asked if our family was happy to meet Abigail and if we had a party when we came home. I told her that we have had several parties and 5 baby showers. She smiled really big. I pray that she is content and even happy with her decision and that (again..selfishly) she thinks I am doing a good job being a Mommy to her little girl.
so........without writing a million more sentences......I just want to say outloud how grateful i am for all the blessings we have and of course all of the wonderful family and friends that are praying for our situation. Please continue to pray for our birthmom. She is about to graduate high school and has a lot of life decisions ahead of her. Pray that she sees God in us and that we can be a good christian influence on her even if from afar. Let her know that God is present in her life and let her feel Him near her and her future.

love you all so much! thanks for walking this journey with us.
p.s...i wrote all this down in letter format to Abigail so that someday she will be able to read about her meeting with her birthmom.

~Jenny

6 months old today!

i am 6 months old. Wow...i can do lots of things.

i can touch my toes and hold on tight.

they are really fun to look at too.

i can roll over from my tummy to my back.

my favorite way to roll is to turn my head and swing my legs to the side.

it is really funny...i laugh every time.

i really like to talk and make loud noises.

my favorite word is "oohhh"

the louder i talk the more everyone laughs....heehee..

i really like to giggle.

most of the time i giggle at my Daddy.

he is so funny!

i can also do a push up.

i am really getting good at it too.

maybe i will learn how to scoot around soon.

i keep hearing something about crawling...maybe i will learn how to do that!

when i am hungry...feed me right away.

i love my milk (i call it neenee)

i eat food now too.

the rice stuff was a little hard to eat at first but now i like it a lot.

the green stuff...well...it isn't that bad i guess.

momma makes funny faces to try and make me eat it.

i sleep all night long.

i like to fall asleep listening to music and looking at the picture on the ceiling.

most mornings i wake up smiling and happy.

oh and i LOVE my pacifier. but if it falls out...my hand tastes pretty good.

i like to hold things in my hands too.

i can almost reach out and grab the things i want.

my favorite thing to do is hold your hand.

i get upset when you let go.

please don't let go....

love,

Abigail