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