new beginnings

This is the time of year that things begin anew at work. We have new kids coming tomorrow for their first day of school. We have new crayons, new folders, new classrooms all ready to go for making new friends. For me there is also a new beginning coming. I am going to work to prepare to be gone. It's a really special time for me as I get ready to welcome a new beginning of being a mom. I am as ready for work tomorrow as I will be, because I never feel completely at peace with my preparation ahead of time.

My friend, Ally, just got to take home her sweet baby girl yesterday. We just had Whit & Ally over a few weeks ago for our celebration dinner of one year of friendship on this crazy ride. Cam and I will go meet their daughter tomorrow night. This is a new beginning. Ally is a mom now and that begins the changes in our friendship. We will soon be talking about little girls. We'll talk about the crying and this time we'll be referring to our daughters and not ourselves.

Things are changing and that's a good thing. We are busy, healthy, stressed, happy, and scared. We are ready for our next new beginning.

This week I talked with birth grandma on the phone for about an hour. She is very sweet and is a great supporter of this adoption and our relationships growing as two families. She is also a wealth of knowledge, so it's amazing to have her as a resource. I also got a phone call from our agency with the hospital plan & details. The birth parents have talked with the agency about when and how we'll be involved at the hospital. At this point we will both be in the delivery room when baby girl comes into this world! We are really excited about the family's willingness to have us there. Anything can change, but we are thankful for their openness to us.

Here's to a new school year and other beginnings!!

back to school

Well, the summer is officially over. I am going back to work. I must admit there is a little bit of sadness that comes with saying goodbye to complete freedom and no schedule. It's been nice to read several books this summer, take naps occasionally (i usually hate naps), see Cam anytime he's home from work, play with nieces and nephews, and get some things done in our nursery. I will miss the endless hours of goofing around my house for sure.

Going back to work is always exciting too. I like my job so it's not devastating to go back to it. I get new pumpkins in just a few days. The kids are so worth it. I get to be back with friends and back into a routine. Did you know I LOVE myself a routine? It's true. I adore sameness and predictability. Going back to work is a little different this year. I am going back to work so that I can get ready to be gone from work on maternity leave. This is an amazing feeling. I will be there long enough to get everything organized and up & running. Then I will leave it in the hands of Christina and a fabulous long-term sub that will do both of our maternity leaves this year. Work is exciting for me right now. :)

We haven't talked with our birth mom since I spent the day with her on Friday. We are trying to give her a little space so she doesn't feel smothered or pressured. We do have plans to call them soon and try to go grab a bite to eat so we can meet the birth dad. Birth grandma called last night to chat a while and an hour later we said goodbye. It was realllllly nice to chat with her. It reassured me of what we are doing and how they are feeling about it. It's awesome to be building community within our families before baby girl gets here. We are feeling pretty blessed right now.

PS. Cam has tried to hold off from getting too excited about the whole thing, because we've been hurt by situations in the past. A few days ago he's started to get really excited about becoming a dad to this baby girl. It has become more real and more comfortable that it will be happening with this situation. It's been so fun to dream about what she will look like and what things we want to teach her.