How life changes in 2 years

Today is Abigail's GOTCHA DAY!  2 years ago today we brought our baby girl home and started our life as parents.  Who would have thought then what would happen over the next two years.  We have a lot of highlights just in this weekend.  Yesterday we met with Tai's birthfamily in College Station, which is about the mid-point between us.  It was a great visit, we ate at Chuy's then went over to the mall play area and let the two older kids run and play while we shared Tai with them.  I'm sure Jenny will post more details about it, but I am glad that they are doing well and are still very happy in their decision.

Back to the two year theme, it seems like our life changing/family tree changing moments tend to take two years to accomplish.  Getting out of debt took us two years and two weeks.  Growing our family from Abigail's GOTCHA DAY to Tai's finalization day took us four days under two years.  And we only had a three month break in between those two huge milestones.  So I can only wonder what two year journey we will be starting next.

To Abigail & Tai - I can not begin to express to you how blessed I am to be your father.  You are both truly amazing in your own ways.  There are not enough words to describe the joy that you both have brought to your mother and I.  I can't wait to be a part of your milestones as you grow.  You are amazing children and I love you both more than you will ever know....Dadda

In Christ,
Jerry

Adoption Day!!

Yesterday as a wonderful day! Our family is officially a "family of four". After 6 months of home visits and evaluations we legally, in front of the judge and the state of Texas, adopted our son Tai Mikel Snider. What a wonderful blessing he is! God chose him especially for us and we are in awe of what our beautiful family has turned out to be.
We were at that same courthouse a year and a half ago with Abigail. I woke us yesterday morning feeling prepared thinking "We've done this before...we know what to do."  We walked through security and went up to the 3rd floor. The hallway was full of adoptive families. I walked passed all of their smiling faces and beautiful children. Still...i was calm and focused on "mommy tasks". Then it was our turn to go into the courtroom.  Immediately I was filled with emotion.  This was IT! Our family would finally be OURS...complete! No more paperwork, no more technicalities, no more evaluations.  We always knew these 2 babies were ours but it is incredibly nice for the State to recognize it and for it to be officially on paper. I was surprised by more emotions. I was so focused on Mommy duties and diaper issues that the emotions snuck up on me. Jerry and I looked at each other and just smiled with tears in our eyes. We did it! Eleven and a half years of marriage, years of infertility, doubts about our family's future, adoption disruptions, and a lot of waiting and praying... yesterday..all that was a distant memory because our family was complete. It was a wonderful feeling. It is only by the Grace of God and His promise that we are a family.  There is no other explanation for it all. HE kept His promise and gave us the desire of our hearts. 
My mom sent me a copy of her daily bible study from yesterday and look at how God was speaking directly to us. 
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You Were Planned


TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…"

(Jeremiah 1:5, NIV)


TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

What an amazing thought: God knew you before you were even born! He saw your unformed substance and said, "I have a purpose for this life. I have good plans for them!" Then He breathed His life into you and sent you through your mother and father. They may have had issues, but that doesn't have to stop you from becoming all that God intended you to be. You have been handpicked by Almighty God to be here at this time in history!

Sometimes we hear parents say, "We weren't expecting this child. They were a surprise. They were an accident." No, that child may have been a surprise to you, but they weren't a surprise to Almighty God. No child can be born without God breathing His life into them. You may think, "Well, Joel, I was unwanted. I was an unplanned pregnancy." No, you wouldn't be here if God didn't give life to your seed.

In God's eyes, there is no such thing as being illegitimate. Remember, He knew you before you were ever born! Find confidence in His love knowing that you are a person of destiny, and you are part of His mighty plan!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, thank You for choosing me before I was ever born. Thank You for knowing me and revealing Yourself to me. I trust that You are working in my life today, even when I can't see it. I stand in faith knowing that You have a mighty plan for me in Jesus' name. Amen.

— Joel & Victoria Osteen
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Wow!!!I plan to print this out and put it in Tai's memory book! How amazing is that???
 
Thank you for all your prayers and for believing in our family.  Those prayers are a huge reason we are a Family of Four. 
(pictures will follow soon......)
In HIm,
Jenny

Busy month!!

What a busy month for us! So much has happened since the last post.

*Abigail turned 2 years old and celebrated 4 times with different family members & friends. Lots of cake!!

*We went to the rodeo twice where Abigail had a corn dog, funnel cake and cotton candy.

*Tai was dedicated at church

*Both kiddos were presented at the Hope Gala (adoption agency fundraiser)

*We went to Jenny's family reunion and surprised some family members with our new "addition". :)

*Jenny had a birthday.
*Abigail moved into a big girl bed
*We visited Jerry's Papaw at the cemetary and introduced Tai to Papaw.

*Halloween: Little monkey and a Ladybug (pictures coming soon...)

*Pumpkin patch

Potty training!!

In 8 days our little girl will be 2 years old. I can't even believe that! We haven't really been "potty training" but we have been introducing it. Tonight I was bathing Tai and Abigail was in the bathroom with us. She was playing around near her pink potty and I asked her if she needed to go. I put her on it and continued bathing Tai.  I thought she was just being silly as usual so I called Jerry to come get her since I was holding a slippery, wet little squirmy boy. He came in and picked her up off the potty and said "there something in there!". Sure enough she tinkled in the potty. Wow! What a big girl! We cheered and hugged her. So proud of our little girl. She is amazing and every day she does something new.

Tai is so active! He is so close to army crawling. He is a little inch worm now and loves to be on his tummy. (Total opposite of how Abigail was at his age.) He has 2 teeth and the biggest and best news I have...........He only woke up once during the night for the last 3 nights in a row. Woohoo! No, he is not sleeping through the night but this is SO MUCH better than it has been. He wakes up happier and is eating a lot of cereal thoughout the day. Praise God! Thanks to all of you who have been praying for the little guy and his mama! :)

I will post pictures soon. Both kids asleep now so that means.......Night night for Mama too!
blessings,
Jenny

Synchonized nap times?...it is possible?

Yep, trying to synchonize naps is very difficult and even comical sometimes.  Today, about 2 minutes ago, I put Abigail down for a nap and Tai was napping in the pack-n-play and I thought...Wow...I might be able to blog today. The very minute I walked back into the living room, opened my laptop, put my feet up in the recliner, Tai woke up screaming. Yep, I laughed outloud! So, I have him in my lap and am determined to blog a little today. Oh, wait, I just heard Abigail say "Mama" in her room.  Haha! Maybe she will fall asleep. Anyway, this is a day in the life of a mommy with 2 little ones. I wouldn't trade it for the world! It may be frustrating at times but what I keep telling myself is those times are but a few minutes of each day. Ok, may a few minutes a few times a day but overall there are so many awesome ones. Here are a few recent things to post.
*Abigail is talking allllll the time.  Her sentences are really coming together and making sense. We have real conversations now.  It is adorable. Her newest sentence is "have a good day."  She is quite the social bunny at the store. She waves and says hi to everyone.  Most recently she started saying Thank You without being prompted. She also repeats everything I say. Oh boy, I better be careful huh?
*Tai boy pushed his second tooth through yesterday. He isn't even 5 months old yet!! Wow, how different the 2 of them are. He eats like a little piggy. He loves his cereal and boy does it give him some nasty diapers. woooweeee! He smiles all the time. In fact, even when he is up at all hours of the night he is still smiling and laughing. He "talks" so loud I am afraid he will wake up Abigail and Daddy. It is pretty cute even though I am thinking..."dude, go to sleep it is 3 am!".  Speaking of sleep or lack thereof., the boy does not sleep very much. Ugh! It is exhausting, literally. He did sleep better last night and only woke up at 2am to eat.  My biggest frustration is what to do. He doesn't seem to have a real consistent pattern. It is a challenge as a mom...for sure! But we are sticking to it and trying to work out a routine. I have started writing down his nap times and feeding schedules to see if I can make sense of it. Of course, teething throws everything off too. :)
*Tai's achievements:
rolling over both ways, push ups, giggles, knows mama and daddy's voices, recognizes big sister and loves to play, (we have caught them playing together when they didn't know we were looking...precious!), loves loves loves to suck his thumb, can move all across the bed, reaches and grabs stuff, even big sisters hair (yes, the first sibling hair pull with tears to follow), toes made it to his mouth, everything in the mouth
*Mommy's favorite time of day..
***With Abigail, right before bed when we sing our songs together. She loves to sing "Jesus loves me" , "Father I adore you", Abcs, Row Row Row your boat. It is a beautiful few minutes and I love it. I hope we always have these times together. I love her so much. Every once in a while she will take my hand or crawl in my lap and I just smile so big.
***With Tai, actually as much as I love to sleep those middle of the night snuggles are my favorite. He buries his head in my neck and I feel him breath. Also, he is starting to recognize me and when I come around the corner to pick him up out of bed he smiles, giggles, and kicks his legs with excitement. So awesome!
***With Daddy, when he gets home Abigail sprints to the door and says Dada home and after Jerry comes in he sees TAi and Tai smiles from ear to ear. Really, these are the moments that make all the screaming and poopie diapers worth it. These are the moments that God places in my day to remind me that I am so blessed by these amazing gifts.

Well, I must sign off. Sssshhhhh........both kids are sleeping I suppose I should get up and get a few things taken care of around the house. Maybe I will take time to love on the puppies since they don't get too much attention anymore.
Enjoy your day. God bless you!
*Jenny

How fast they are growing

This week has had many firsts.  Last Saturday, the first Saturday of college football, Tai and I were watching a game together for the first time - well at least he was in my lap as I watched.  He got upset once when I yelled at the ref because he didn't throw his flag for pass interference.  I hope Tai got upset at the spontaneous loud noise and not the fact that I was yelling at a ref.  Later in the afternoon I put Tai in his play pen so I could get the grill ready to cook dinner.  As I stepped inside, I found him on his stomach turned towards the TV and focused on the football game - not the position I left him in.  He stayed in that position for several minutes before he realized I was back in the room.

Next we have a story about Miss Abigail.  For a few weeks now she has been saying sentences.  But last night was something special.  As Jenny was going thru her normal bedtime routine of singing "Jesus Loves Me" to Abigail, she started singing along with her.  Got most of the words (granted not fully pronounced) and was 100% on tune throughout the entire song.  They even did it twice so they could make me cry even more.

What a blessing from heaven these two little angels are. 

Love to all,
Jerry

Amazing little blessings....

Every day seems so busy and the hours just tick by so quickly. I feel like i am missing all these moments with our babies.  Jerry and I just said today that we can't believe how big Abigail is getting.  Every day she does something new and amazing. And Tai....well, he is so so big.  He will probably pass Abigail up in height and weight before he is one year old.  Yep, you read that right.  He is already 13 pounds at 3 1/2 months old and Abigail is 21 pounds at 22 months old.

Here are a few things I was reflecting upon today...
A note to my sweet daughter:
Today and every day I am in awe of your beauty. You have a beautiful face but an even more beautiful heart. You love to help mommy with so many things...
cooking, sweeping, feeding Tai, giving puppies treats, washing (playing) dishes, reorganizing the bathroom drawers, (un)folding clothes, wiping Tai's mouth and patting his back after he drinks his bottle, closing the doors as we leave a room

Mommy loves the way you.....
give me a hug and a kiss out of the blue, hold my hand in the parking lot, say hello and goodbye to everyone that will hear you, sing your ABCs with "mElmo", sit in my lap at night and sing Jesus loves me, scream Hi Dada when he enters the room, hold Daddy's hand every where you two go, hold me tight tight tight when we dance in the living room......Baby, I love you more than words can say and I am so thankful God let me be your mommy.

A few words to my little man:
Tai you had me at hello! :)  You are starting to smile as Mommy enters the room. Our midnight, 1, or 2 am snuggles are my favorite, You are starting to hug my neck and hold on tight, I love to see you grow and boy are you strong!  You giggled for the first time on Saturday and it made me giggle too. What a great smile you have and it is so contagious. My favorite thing is the way you look and smile at your sister.  You two will be the best of friends.  What a blessing you are!  I love you and can't wait to hear your little voice say Mama. Thank you Lord for the son I always knew you had for me.

Love,
Jenny aka...Mama

Health and Heat

It has been a while since I have posted anything and based on Jenny's last post I'm sure there are some questions about how I'm doing.  The craziness associated with my collapsed lung has subsided.  I have my last follow-up doctor visit today.  I saw a specialist last week and he assured me that this was something out of my control and I did nothing to make it happen.  I'm just one of the people that is at risk for it.  He said I am cleared to go back to doing everything I normally do, just maybe laying off the maximum weight lifting for a while.  The other thing I can't do yet is swim because my wound from the chest tube is not fully healed.  That's a bummer because I was off work last week and couldn't get into the lake to swim or ski.

Enough about me, last Thursday we took the boat out in the morning for Tai's first trip to the lake.  He did awesome, loved every minute of it and like most babies fell asleep to the hum of the motor.  Abigail did great as always and had fun swimming with Mommy.  She does a great job of following directions and loves to "drive" the boat.  They are both growing so much.

Abigail is now wearing size 4 diapers but she is also starting to tell us when she is going to the bathroom.  I have a feeling we might not ever see size 5 diapers.  Tai never seems to stop eating.  It is funny how different they are because we had to constantly force feed Abigail with her bottle but with Tai we have to make him stop.

They are a constant joy to both Jenny and I.  We just wish that it wasn't so oppressively hot outside so we could enjoy the long evenings.  Yesterday our digital temperature gauge read 114 degrees at 4pm.  Just way too hot for the little ones, even in the shade.

More to come later including pics from our few outings last week.  Time to go to work.

Jerry

Another month goes by...

We were finally getting into a routine and then an unexpected hospitalization for Jerry came up this week.  Praise God he is home and recovering.  Last Tuesday he woke up with pain in his side and progressed to a mild cough each time he inhaled.  By early evening he was in the ER getting a chest tube placed for a spontaneous pneumothorax (collapsed lung).  This is a very rare thing and we all were in shock.  He spent 4 days in the hospital and is now resting at home. 
This was such a surprise.  I was at a meeting and the kids were with me waiting for Jerry to pick them up when he called on his way to the ER.  I was in disbelief!  I told him to quit messing with me and I honestly didn't believe him.  Once he convinced me I went into crisis mode and called the neighbors to watch the kids so I could go be with him in the ER.  By the grace of God, Jerry's best friend is a surgeon in Waco and he was available to meet Jerry in the ER.  I made it just in time to hold Jerry's hand for the procedure. 
But at the end of the evening when Jerry was resting in his hospital bed I was faced with a difficult realization.  For the first time in 11 years of marriage I couldn't be there for him.  I had to go home to stay with the babies and leave him in the hands of someone else.  I knew he would be ok but it was VERY difficult to leave him.  I wish I could have been in 2 places at once!  But I knew that my babies needed me more.  Sweet Tai had had his 2 month shots that morning and he was running 101 temperature.  Abigail was a trooper and went straight to bed when I asked her to at 930pm.  Tai's temperature reduced with one dose of Tylenol and was doing better by morning.  Then began my 4 day juggle of kids and hospital visits......
I am still in awe at how our friends and family came to our immediate aid.  Jerry's mom came down Wednesday afternoon and will stay a week to help out.  I couldn't have gotten through it without her.  She stayed with the kids 2 nights so I could spend the night with Jerry in the hospital. 
Each day Abigail went over to play at some friends house and had a blast!  She did get to see her Daddy for a brief visit.  It was precious....she held his hand when he walked around the hospital corridor/nurses station.  She smiled at all the nurses and waived.  It made their day they said.  (She continues to brighten peoples day even in the stressful situations.)  She even painted her Daddy a picture and I put it in a picture frame for him to look at in his hospital room.
Tai and Grandma bonded and are the best buds.  She snuggled him all day long and will really miss her and that when she leaves.  :( 
Through all this stress I continue to be in awe of how, when you accept help that is offered, friends/family will do anything for you.  I am learning that I need to accept that help not just for myself but for those that offer it.  We are truly blessed here and I know that God is showing us peace and healing through all this. 

In the midst of this crazy week we got confirmation that TAi's reliquishment papers were filed in the court and the birthparents rights are officially reliquished.  He is one step closer to being a Snider and we are thrilled!!  He is a blessing!

So enjoy these pictures........Have a blessed day.
Love,

Jenny 

The Mom's Perspective...2 babies!

Ok, so I had some free time to finally blog about our new little addition. wow! It is hard to find the extra time and the extra hand to sit and type. The last 4 1/2 weeks have been a blur. But it is getting better every day. Tai is a sweet baby boy and he and I are getting a good routine down. Abigail has been wonderful! She had a few set backs but mainly due to her age. (almost 2 years old..enough said?!)

Two difficult parts of being a mom of 2 little ones....

1)lack of sleep! With any newborn...well, sleep is just a matter of quality not quantity. He has done much better with each passing day. Even though 2 am is difficult at times..the snuggle time is priceless. I love me some baby kisses at 2 am! ;) That makes it all worth it.

2)A toddler! Little miss Abigail is into everything! cabinets...trying to undo the childproof locks...doors..trying to shut them before mommy gets through them...feeding baby brother by taking his bottle from mommy....giving him his pacifier whether he wants it or not... :)

3) 3 dogs....well, they are great with the little ones but 3 dog bowls and 3 dog dishes and a doggie door plus a toddler....well, you get the picture.

Never a dull moment around our house. But we are having so much fun. With every OMG moment comes 20 wonderful ones. We are truly blessed!

btw: it is Jerry's birthday today. Thank you God for my best friend, my husband, and the Dada to my babies. He is amazing!

Stay tuned for "baking a birthday cake with a toddler"..Oh boy!

God bless,

Jenny

Pictures

Here are a few pictures to enjoy.

Tai's journey

Wow, what an amazing journey it has been the last 2 weeks. Who would have thought that when we started the adoption paperwork in March we would have a baby boy in our home by mid-May. So here is the timeline:

April 15th - Approved to be a waiting family
May 5th - Jenny got the call that we were matched with a birthmom
May 9th - Match meeting with birthmom and her parents
May 11th - Tai born
May 13th - Placement paperwork signed, Tai brought home

Seriously that is crazy fast. And he was born in the Houston area so it meant travel for us. If all of that doesn't convince you that God wanted Tai to be our son, here is a picture of Tai next to a picture of Abigail when she was just a few days old.

Just amazing that they are completely biologically unrelated but look very similar. A big difference thou is that Tai's fingers and toes are super long, his toes are almost longer than Abigail's are right now. Chances are he will be on the taller side.

So here are his stats: Born on 5/11/11 at 11:21am, 6 lbs 7 ozs, 18 in.

Abigail is adjusting more an more everyday to having a little brother. She regressed just a little bit with her pacifier but I'm sure it is hard to understand, especially since we barely had any notice to try and figure out how to give her any notice. She does love her little brother thou, she's already incorporated the need to give him a hug before she goes to bed. And if you ask where her little brother is she points right to Tai.

She is going to be a great help to Jenny as Tai gets older. Oh, and don't tell Abigail this, but the birthmother picked our family for Tai because she saw Abigail's picture and saw how happy she is with us as parents.

Now we have to get to work on his room, we were planning on doing that this summer because we didn't think he was coming until at the earliest October. But God had a different plan, which is fine by us. Hopefully I'll post more pics this weekend, as you can imagine it has been a little busy around our house this past week.

Trust in Christ,
Jerry

Abigail is a.....

Big Sister!!!

Today we brought home our little boy, Tai Mikel Snider. He is awesome and, only as God could plan it, looks exactly like Abigail did as a baby. We are so happy but also very tired from a difficult and emotional 8 days of notice that he was coming to us.

We will post much more tomorrow with pictures and more of the story. God Bless birthmoms for their courage and love for their babies. Our family is now complete.

To God Be the Glory!

Jerry

Developments...

How quickly life can change. Without giving out too much information, we have been told there are developments in our near future with our second adoption plan. All we can do right now is ask for prayers of peace in decision making for all involved.

I will say though that we have a distinctively different peace about how things are going with this adoption process. I don't know if it is because we are still so early in the process, only being approved less than a month ago. Or if it is because we have been through the experience and know that God truly will live up to His promises of making us a family. Whatever the case, it has been less stressful to this point and we must thank God for that peace.

On to our little Abigail's developments. She is learning so much every day. Not just about things in her world, but also about how to interact with her Momma and Dadda. She is attempting to pull out the drama queen card more and more as she wants things that she can't have. It's really pretty cute although unsuccessful.

She is starting to put words together instead of just repeating the same one word. Granted we don't know what most of the things she says mean but she does. But this week she started with a lyrical repetition of "Mamma, Dadda, Mamma, Dadda" said as quickly as she can for nearly a minute.

The most precious thing she has started doing recently involves her bedtime routine. She no longer requires being rocked to sleep and then put in bed. She prefers to sit with Momma and drink her milk and then brush her teeth. She then will point to me and point to her bedroom and sign "Please". This means she is ready to go lay in bed and listen to her music and fall asleep. As I pick her up to take her to her room, Abigail will wave to Momma until she is out of sight. I put her in bed with her glow-worm in one arm playing music and her puppy dog in the other arm. And when I say "I Love You" on my way out of the room she nods her head back at me. Typically she will listen to her music for about 10 minutes and then be fast asleep.

Such a precious gift she is. Well, it is Mother's Day morning and I need to feed the dogs and then get ready to make breakfast. You will hear more developments in the coming days.

Peace to all,
Jerry

A great weekend!

We had a great weekend. We went camping at the lake Thursday through Sunday. Friday morning we woke up (tired) and ate pancakes. Abigail had a difficult time going to sleep Thursday night because she was just sooooo excited to be staying in the travel trailer. She literally could not stop jumping around! After the pancakes we went out in the boat. Jerry and I went on our first ski run of the year. The water was a bit cold but we wore our wetsuits. Abigail did not ski Friday. She did have fun riding in and "driving" the boat. Friday afternoon was a struggle for nap time....Abigail won the battle. Oh my goodness....that is all i will say. :) Apparently, the trailer is WAY too much fun to play in. Who needs sleep anyway?? Party on!

Late afternoon on Friday my parents and grandparents came up to stay in their travel trailer. Abigail played in the dirt, picked up sticks, and laughed for hours. We had a great time Friday evening and ate way too much food. A very sleepy 18 month old crashed out about 9pm and slept really well. Sweet girl!

One of the main reasons my family came in to camp with us was to go to the Race for the Cure walk. Mom completed her chemo/radiation treatments last June and has been getting great reports from the doctor with each check up. We praise God for that and we wanted to celebrate her life by attending the Race. I was really looking forward to having her there with me this year. Last year I ran the race in honor of her and with every step I ran I thought of her fighting for her life. I was so honored that she was there with me this year. We went to the race and I said hello to some of my friends on the Race committee. They were talking with a local news crew and asked us if we wanted to share our story. Uh?? Sure! So they asked us to come sit for the interview...I asked them if I could bring my daughter because she was and is an important part of Mom's story.

If you want to see our interview you can go to http://www.kwtx.com/ and click on the Central Texas RAce for the Cure clip. It was so amazing to tell our story and let everyone know that God is faithful. Just when Mom heard the devastating news of her cancer He showed her that he loved her and gave her an amazing granddaughter to help her smile through her pain. Even today, Abigail will see my mom and she will drop everything and race over to see her. Her face lights up when Mimi is around. They have a precious bond that only God can put together. Wow!
After the interview, all the survivors were honored and Mom and Dad completed their walk. I completed the 5K and Jerry and Abigail were there at the finish line waiting for me. What a great way to finish a race!

We went back to the campsite and had a great brunch and a much needed nap. Just before dinner we took the boat out. Jerry, Da, Abigail and I went out for a quick ski run. Jerry trick skied and I skied on two. Jerry and Abigail skied together. She wasn't sure what to think when momma drove the boat away. Jerry was holding her in the water but the boat driving away was very unpleasant. Once she was up on skis with daddy all was great!

We had a yummy fajita dinner and then sat out under the stars for a bit before we all went to bed. This morning we ate breakfast, Mimi, Abigail and I played on the playground slide and then we said our goodbyes. It was a wonderful weekend. Jerry is a great camper and keeps us all very safe and cared for. My parents and grandparents are a treasure and I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family. Abigail was the center of attention and was a joy to have with us. She is a perfect example of God's love and faithfulness. I love her so much I can't even describe it. The smiles she brings to everyone she encounters and the story she brings with her is only due to our Father. Amen!

(We hope to have pictures downloaded soon....)

God bless you all today and always,

Jenny

ready...set..Wait!

Here we go again....the waiting game. We completed our home study and are now waiting for the official approval. We hope to "be waiting for baby" by next week. Oh my goodness!!! Jerry has a more laid back approach and (duh!) I do not! I want to clean the carseat, paint the room, get the bassinet set up and buy diapers. Not that I think we will get our baby that quickly, i realize it could be months or even a year, but at least I will be ready, right? So this weekend we will at least get the ball rolling. Again, I remind myself, that it is NOT my timing it is God's timing and it will be perfect. So......as I take a deep breath I sit here listening to my sweet Abigail breathing as she naps. I want to enjoy every second with her. She is becoming such an independent little toddler. Just as I am in awe of how big she is getting she will come and lean up and give momma a kiss. Oh my, that is the BEST thing ever! She still wants to snuggle with me at nap time and bed time..which is amazing but I realize that won't be forever. Speaking of the best times: In church one day our pastor was preaching on financial peace and what is really important in life (not money!). He said if you could close your eyes and picture your happiest moments what and where would they be..Jerry and I both exchanged answers later on the way home... *Abigail kisses & waterskiing.... maybe not at the same time but you know what I mean..Amen! Yesterday Abigail turned 18months! I can not believe how the time has flown by. Last year we were planning her finalization and official adoption with the judge. wow! She is amazing and hilarious. So to top off her 18 month "birthday" she decided to color all over the back door. Yep! I have the picture to prove it. Will post it later..... She was coloring on a large piece of flipchart paper and then just trotted over to the door 2 feet away from me and colored a masterpiece. Hilarious...but wrong! "Only on paper, Abigail." (nods her head...ok) Today is my sweet Baylie girl's 10th birthday. She has been an amazing puppy and I love her so much! The 3 pups are so great with Abigail. I couldn't have asked for more. Abigail's newest thing (other than coloring on doors...) is to act like the puppies. Yep, she is laying down with them and licking the windows and even trying to drink out of the their dog bowls. Thankfully we have caught her before she achieves that. Yummy! not.. Always an adventure in the Snider house. Stay tuned for more updates....Please pray for patience, peace, and God's timing. While you are praying please add health and strength for family and friends recently diagnosed with cancer. Yuck! God bless, Jenny

final stages....

Our profile letter and pictures are complete. Our scrapbook came in the mail last week. It was fun doing our family scrapbook. I took the previous scrapbook I made on Shutterfly and updated it with pictures of Abigail. Wow...we have a lot of pictures of Abigail! It was so hard to choose which ones. I had to remind myself that it was not a scrapbook about Abigail; it was a scrapbook introducing our family to our future birthmom. After many, many hours of editing, it is complete and in my hand. We will give it to our caseworker tomorrow when we do our home study. Yep, the final stage before we are officially approved and waiting for baby is the home study....tomorrow!!! I am much more laid back about it this time. I know it will go great and I just have a few more things to clean to be completely ready. Jerry has been so helpful too. He put all the child safety latches on the cabinets and played with Abigail while I cleaned and dusted. This week I plan to dig out all the newborn baby stuff and place it in the guest bedroom. The bassinet is in the attic and it will come down so I can clean it. I know...I know...it could be months and months until we are matched and we have our sweet baby but.....I like to be ready, ok? :) God knows exactly when we will have our new addition...we just have to trust him and wait upon Him. Please pray that I will have patience and understanding as we start our journey to a family of 4! Thanks and God bless, Jenny

What's New?

We have a lot going on right now. Friday we completed all of our paperwork and inspections for our second adoption. The only thing left is to schedule and complete our home study. Can you believe it? :)

I was outside this afternoon and Abigail and Jerry were walking around the backyard. I stood back and looked at Abigail and realized she is a little girl now. Where did my baby girl go??? I can't believe how grown up she looks.

To be honest, I have been a little conflicted about when to start the 2nd adoption process because I didn't want to "take away" anything or any time away from Abigail. Today I realized that she is a little girl and is more independent every day. It is bitter sweet. Isn't it funny how God prepares us at exactly the right moment. Now I know that if we get a call about a baby that I will be ready to care for an infant again and that Abigail will be just fine. In fact, now don't tell Abigail this but, her "baby" time with her pacifier is about up. We are attempting to take away her pacifier and is now only using it at bedtime and naptime. But when she turns two we hope to not need it anymore. We pray that she will handle that ok. Stay tuned...

Here are a list of things little miss "independent" can do.

*put her pajamas on....granted it may not be one leg at a time or even the straight but she is attempting it. :)

*put her shoes on....now this she is getting pretty good at..except she likes to take them off just as quickly as she puts them on.

*feed herself (and the puppies)

*drink her juice (and carry it all over the house)

*walk, walk, walk, walk!! (more of a waddle but still affective)

*tell us what she wants...(we are working on the manners too)

*wash her hands and her hair

*love on her baby (she is gonna be a great big sister!!)

*put her toys away (and take them right back out)

Here are a few words she can say:

please, juice, outside, mama, dada, thank you, go..go..go..go.., row..row..row..., nods yes and NO!, Hi and Bye-bye.

Knows the sign for: please, thank you, more, eat, kiss,

She understands Everything I say: She just doesn't always listen... :) Again, we are working on manners. She has such a kind spirit and she loves to share. Oh, I could go on and on but basically she is growing up so fast and is just an amazingly beautiful little girl. I continue to be in awe of her.

We hope all of you are doing well. Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers for the 2nd adoption. Only God knows our next step and it will be in His perfect timing that we will be a family of 4 (plus 3 pups). ;)

Love,

Jenny

Houston - We have a .......

Walker!

Abigail has been slowly gaining confidence with her walking. Last Wednesday she stood up from a seated position for the first time. Looked like a tiny little person doing squats but without the weights. So she has been walking more and more since then. Tonight she started going clear from one room to the next and back without stopping to hold on to anything. Life will never be the same.

And speaking of never being the same, we submitted our full application with Generations for our second adoption. There are a few pieces of paperwork we still have to turn in but we are basically waiting to update our home study and then we will hopefully be approved and waiting.

I can already tell that this time around is going to be very different. The stress is not near the same because we have Abigail to fill our lives with right now while we wait.

And our other milestone for the week - Abigail moved up to the next level car seat. Which means facing forward. She is totally looking like a little girl and not a baby anymore. And she's getting more teeth to go with her older look. Almost a mouth full now.

I better get back to her, she's started to throw things out of her play-pen so I guess she's ready to get out and walk around.

God Bless,
Jerry

Abigail saying a prayer

How things change

So Abigail is walking a bit now. Just amazing how she is starting to look more and more like a little girl and less like a baby. It seems like she is getting a new tooth every day. Lots of teething means lots of crankiness, but she is still so sweet most of the time.

One of her favorite things to do right now is go outside. She will nearly jump out of my arms for joy when I open the back door to take her outside.

For those who don't know we are starting the adoption process again so with God's timing Abigail will be a big sister. The way that she loves her baby dolls I just know she is going to be a very loving and helpful big sister some day.

We've been a bit behind in downloading pictures, more will come soon I promise.

With God's Love,

Jerry

Love my little girl!

Abigail is growing and changing so much it is hard to keep up. She has changed so much since Christmas even. Since our last post.....

Abigail had her 15 month check up at the end of January. She is doing very well and is healthy.

She is registering tiny on the scale.... She weighs just over 18 pounds....not quite 1% for her age group. So basically this little girl can eat whatever she wants. Although I won't let her eat junk food, we have been adding things like peanut butter, jelly, real fat cheese, and butter to her diet. Lucky girl! :) She loves to eat and is enjoying feeding herself with a spoon. Messy for Mama to clean up but entertaining to watch. :)

Also, she is working on her walking technique. She loves to scoot around and stand up but LOVES for mama and daddy to hold her hands as she walks. We know as soon as she feels ready she will take off and run. whew!

Abigail loved, loved, loved playing in the snow. She is so laid back that she just crawled right through it and I had to pull her inside so she didn't freeze her little tootsie off.

So in typical Texas fashion....snow last week and 72 degrees today. Jerry took Abigail and I on a date to the zoo. That is not his favorite place but that is how much he loves us. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time.

Happy Valentines Day to my sweet and wonderful husband! I am so blessed.

Abigail, Mommy loves you too baby. Happy Valentine's Day to you. You fill my heart with joy!

God Bless,

jenny

A kiss...

It's raining outside, Abigail is napping, and I am snuggled under a blanket feeling very peaceful and grateful. I am truly blessed and in awe of how wonderful it is to have a beautiful daughter and a wonderful husband to share this life with.
Let me share a few things with you....

Abigail and I went to Dallas last week with Jerry for a 3 day conference. It was great to be able to spend time with him. Abigail and I stayed at the hotel most of the time while he worked but we had a great time playing together. We got to meet all of Jerry's coworkers. You could tell that he had been talking about his sweet little girl because everyone was very welcoming and attentive to her. Of course she loved it!
I was also invited to do a talk about the Anatomy of the Heart for one of AHAs sessions. It was great to teach again! Don't get me wrong..I love my Mommy job and wouldn't change it for the world but it did feel good to talk about another one of my passions....the heart. :)
We got home on Friday just in time to settle in and get ready to watch the Aggies play LSU in the Cotton Bowl. The game didn't turn out very well but it was nice to be home and all together with the puppies too. I sure miss them when we are gone.

So...the title to my post...A kiss....
There is nothing better in the world than a kiss from your little girl. It is amazing and it lights up my heart and fills me with joy every time she leans in for a kiss. Most of the time it is asked of her but on a rare occasion she will lean in and give her momma a kiss. Words can't describe how amazing that is.
Another amazing thing to see is...when she snuggles and kisses her Daddy. His whole body softens and he closes his eyes and gives her a huge hug and kiss. We say "I Love You" a lot around here and it is because we do love each other and we want Abigail to know how much we love her.
God has given us this amazing little girl and we are forever grateful for her. HE is worthy to be praised.

My 2 cents:
Never be afraid to tell someone "I love you".
Never be afraid to lean in and give someone a kiss and a hug.

****That is all for now...May God bless you all.
Love,
Jenny