Quick thank you

I just want to thank everyone for all the sweet comments and helpful fundraising ideas. Please keep 'em coming. Congratulations to everyone who has had success with their fundraising. It truly is yet another blessing from God to have others so generously help in bringing and keeping our angels home.

All is wonderful on this end. My sweet boy is asleep, but I am sure not for long, so I have to jet.

Blessings to you all,

Long time! plus request for fundraising ideas. Help, please!

It has been far too long. This will have to be quick as usual. I got a gentle nudge from the wonderful Stephanie. She actually misses me.:) So sweet. 

Life has just been moving along wonderfully. I am crazy busy and crazy in love. Taj is growing way to fast. He wil be 4 months old in about a week!!! Nursing is going great! I rarely have to supplement at all. Also, we had Taj dedicated at church last week! He was such a good boy, as always.

The older kids, T and J were in their very first talent show. T is on the dance team, and J did his Michael Jackson routine. He was a huge hit!!! T got straight A's once again, and is preparing to go to...HIGH SCHOOL. I am soooo not ready. 

Easter Sunday was wonderful. It was the first time I didn't spend it with my immediate family, but we did spend it with more recently acquired "family" and it was a blast.

I really hope someone is reading this, because on another note, I am hoping to get any and all fundraising ideas. We are quickly approaching the finalization of Taj's adoption (praise God!!), but we are still in need of much of the funds due at that time. We are trying to raise as  much of $5,000 as possible. If you have done a fundraiser, please tell me about it in detail. I want to know what you did, how you did it and how much you raised. If it is doable with an infant in tow, and anything else you would like to share. Thank you sooooo much in advance. We stepped out on faith, and I know God will provide, but I want to make sure we do our part.

I am slowly but surely trying to catch up with everyone. Some very exciting things are happening. God is awesome. I do miss the blog world, and look forward to getting back into the swing of things soon. Don't forget about me. Enjoy the pics!

xoxoxo

Little update

I miss being able to catch up with all of you, and I hope you are well. Hubby left town this morning to go play a few gigs in Costa Rica (LUCKY DUCK). I miss him like crazy, but having one less person in the house, somehow freed up a few minutes for me to post. My catnapper, Taj, Is already awake, so I still have to make it quick.

Taj is pure joy. He and I spend our days alone, and I am in awe of the miracle that is Taj Jair. He is smiling, laughing, babbling, can roll over one way, etc, etc...He makes me laugh out loud every single day. The whole family is wonderful and each of them are doing great. We are finally over the many colds in the house. I somehow escaped the illnesses (praise God), I guess so I could take care of everyone else. Taj actually had pneumonia. He is fine now, but we are still giving him breathing treatments for now. I think the pneumonia was harder on me than him. He was in great spirits through the whole thing, except for when he got a shot in his little tushie, (I cried:(, I am a mommy sap)

Anyway, here are some pics of my beautiful boy, Taj (his hair is growing back) and my beautiful J with his new 'do (this is how he used to wear his hair for years before he begged me to cut it)

Blessings,

Hey!

I have a few free moments. I actually put my little Taj in his seldom used crib. I guess we'll see how long he naps in there for the first time. I know many of you are laughing at me, but all my babies have had their very own bed which was hardly ever slept in.:)

Taj is wonderful. time is flying by. 6 weeks old as of yesterday!!! He weighed 10 lbs 6 and 1/2 pounds this past Monday. My milk supply is still about the same, maybe a little more. I do hope it gets better, but even if this if this is as good as it gets, it is so worth it. He is totally thriving, and our bond is unbelievable. 

J is doing well. He is enamored of Taj, and shows only a few subconscious signs of how the change in our dynamics might be affecting him. T is sick, poor baby. It hit her hard as we were leaving church. Still I have to mention that she is breaking out of her shell in big ways. I think timing  and age are a big part of it, but the pride she feels in how well she handles her new baby brother was just the push she needed. My hubby is just as wonderful father to 3 as he was to 2. He is stretched thin with work, but he is enjoying his first time as a father to a newborn immensely. It is very sweet.

On another note, even though we have a closed adoption, (at K's request), I get news about K from time to time through our lawyer. Those of you who have been praying for her will be glad to know she is well. She is working, and is very happy for my family. She is moving along with her life in positive ways. It does my heart good to know that. I don't know how long she will be in touch with our lawyer, but I like knowing she is okay.

This, once again, is the very condensed version of what is going on these days, but I tried to hit on some points of possible interest. I have to go, but I hope you all are well. I haven't been able to catch up with most of you. I find that I have to do everything I want and need to do in 15 minute increments, and this 15 are about up, and I am using the rest to post pics. I hope you enjoy them.

Blessings,

Lots going on

Deep in thought
A little sleepy smile

Nice to meet you, Grandma!:)

Our very own rockstar!!
Happy birthday J!!!

Hats off to all new mothers who can do more than a rare drive-by posting on their blog. Courtney comes to mind.:) You go, girl!

Anyhoo, real quick, lots has been going on. My first born son, J celebrated his 7th birthday on Feb. 1st. Happy birthday, my sweet baby. Since that was Super Bowl Sunday, we had his party this past Saturday. It was a great time. Jaden was very happy. His grandparents on my hubby's side were in the area for a conference (they live in Jersey), so they made it to the party. We haven't seen them in a while, do that was nice. Not to mention, they finally got to meet Taj for the first time.:) Taj also got to meet my baby brother, sisters-in-law, cousins, other "grandmas" and his other Godmother that day.

Speaking of Taj, he is doing just great. He is a champion nurser, and is filling out quite nicely, thank you. My milk supply is better, but not abundant yet. I am supposed to pump after each feeding, but since it he eats so often, and I have 2 other children, a husband and a household to take care of, I am lucky if I get to pump once a day. He is definitely getting more breastmilk as the days go by. I can tell by his poop. It is more "breastmilky" every day. There is more I can and will be doing to get a better supply. I will be taking herbs, drinking more water and eating more oatmeal. All of that should help. I am pleased so far, but not thrilled with my progress. If I am away from him for an extended time (about once a week) I get really engorged, which is good. I am able to nurse him to satisfaction without the supplementer about once or twice a day. I am trying to keep in mind that it has only been a week and a half since my milk officially should have started coming in. I will keep you posted.

As we all know, time flies!!! Tomorrow, my little Taj will officially be a month old!!! I can't believe it. He has got male pattern baldness going on, but he is so cute he pulls it off with style!:) So in love are we, I can't get enough of him. He is such a good baby. He only really cries if he is hungry. Sooooooo sweet!

My mom and sister-in-law threw us a baby shower, and Taj made everyone fall in love. He is so easy. By the way, thanks to my family and friends for everything. I truly have angels surrounding me. I am trying really hard to finish up the many thank you notes I need to write!

I have the best mom. I will never be able to thank her for all she does. She is the kind of mom I want to be. If I had time, I would go on about the amazing support system I have in my life. For now, suffice it to say, I love you guys!!!!

My wonderful church family, provided dinner for us all last week. Praise God! The Praise and Worship Team had a night out together bowling and eating. It was a lot of fun. Our church went from 2 to 3 services this past Sunday. God is amazing. It was an exciting day. We were a little tired after being there for almost 6 hours, but we will get used to it. We really love our church, and are thrilled to see what God is doing there.

I hope you enjoy the pics. I had better get a little sleep before my little hungry man wakes up.:) Hope I haven't come across as a babbler. I just have so much to touch on. More to come.

Blessings,

No time to chat

Hey blog fam, 

No time to chat, no time to catch up with everyone's blogs. I miss you guys, and I just wanted to share some pics of angel baby, stirring next to me, doing wonderfully in every way (including lighting up our lives:)), and my other angel babies and hubby. He is changing so much so fast!!

I will try to write a real post and catch up with you all soon. Blessings.

Quick hello

I am feeling out of touch. I should be sleeping right now, but I just wanted to write a quick post. It has been a rollercoaster weekend. Quick synopsis, I had to say "see you later" (never good-bye) to a family that has become my family, and that I love dearly. Wife to the Rockstar and her beautiful brood moved away this weekend. My little J had a good old fashioned head down on the table boo-hoo cry, which was just icing on the cake of sad.

On a happier note, my brother and and sis-in-law made the drive to meet Taj. His umbilical cord started bleeding while they were there, and though it all turned out fine, and he wasn't bothered at all, I had a mini mommy freak-out. My hubby handled it like a pro.:) My mommy went home.:( My younger brother, sister-in-law and kids had to cancel their plans to come, because 3 out of their 4 kids are sick. Poor babies have t coming out of both ends.(nice visual, huh?):( 

Then on Sunday, a couple of wonderful ladies from church threw us a baby shower. It was great. Thank you Tamara and Lily.:) I know you both put in a lot of time and effort. 

there were lots of friends and fun. It was co-ed, so we had an extra element of hilarity. We received many thoughtful and wonderful gifts. I really think Tamara has found her vocational calling. It is all in the details and there were many! I wouldn't have changed a thing. I will post a few pics when I have a little time to upload them. 

On today, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I was unable to attend the parade to celebrate. I missed my sweet T (her step team was in the parade) and my wonderful husband (his marching band was in the parade) as they participated in the festivities.:( I did however spend a peaceful, snuggly day with my baby boys, J and Taj.:) We all met up for a nice lunch after the parade.

Oh yes, we had our 1st post-placement visit with one of my faveorite people, Stacia Hammond (owner/agency director of our amazing adoption agency, ASCS, Inc.). It is always a pleasure connecting with Stacia. I also finally checked the mail and received some of Taj's beautiful sonogram pictures (his birthmother wanted us to have them----so sweet of her!) from another of my favorite people, Leenetta Grizzard, Esq. (our adoption lawyer)--- can you tell I want to tell the world about these fabulous ladies?:)

So you see, I have been my usual emotional self this weekend, with lots of situations to trigger my feelings, happy and sad. Right now I am feeling great, if a little tired.

Well, this has been longer than I thought it would be. Taj is being very cooperative, angel baby that he is,:) but I'd better not push my luck. Good night all.