A Message from Sean

Yes! It's me.


Well as Des mentioned, I met with Mary today. She was right on time. But before we get started with Mary, let's talk about Sean coming home and locking himself out of the house.(again) Since this is about the forth time, I've become proficient at breaking into my own home. For anyone out there that needs help, just call. Lucy always thinks its a joke when daddy comes home and crawls throught the window in his suit. After cleaning myself off and thinking what the chinese lady at the drycleaner is going to say I got myself mentally ready for Mary. 11:00 Mary came by, she did a walk though of the house (not on the agenda) and then we sat down at the kitchen table and talked. We talked for about an hour, family tree, growing up, fire escapes etc. Yeah, fire ecapes. I guess I'm supposed to have a ladder for the second floor. That's going to look odd on the baby's registry.
Curve ball question of the day: If I had a birth mother in Connecticut would you be interested? No.
Only kidding. I didn't have much to say, but yes. I told her that Des and I are commited to Gladney and looking forward to following through with them.
Lastly, I want to thank my wonderful wife for putting such care into this blog.

Love you Des.

Sean

Profile Finished

I am back from Orlando and well rested...almost. I was able to finish writing our profile today...I can't believe it's finished. I have a feeling I am going to keep going back to it and changing it because I am worried I am not describing enough about our lives. I may cheat and print some profiles I found online on some of the adoption websites to make sure we include everything and it sounds good.
At the airport last night, I stopped into a gift shop and purchased my very first baby item. It's a soft teddy bear that has a white bib on it that reads "My First Disney Bear". I haven't bought anything for baby Tex until now which is making it seem that much more real. Sadly enough, Lucy thought it was for her.
I did get an email from Gwen saying that those 2 birthmoms ended up choosing other families. Their reasoning was because Don is in the military and it seems like an unstable life. I can't believe Gladney gives us the reasons the birthmom's don't choose us! I guess it's good in a way because it's honest.
Today's picture is of our sweet God daughter, Olivia, with her sister at their Christening last weekend. What an amazing, miraculous day which will never be forgotten.
Love,
Des and Sean

Quick Post

Sean wanted me to post while I am in Orlando at PGA this week. Sean has his one on one meeting scheduled with Mary on Tuesday at 10am at the house. It was originally scheduled for Saturday at 10am in Durham at a retirement home. Luckily for Sean, Mary called him to reschedule.
I've completed one of my outreach forms with my doctor last week. Also, I am working on finishing my profile while I am down here.
Just to give an idea of how fast Gladney really can move...our Gladney friends have been eligible for a week and a half so far and they have 2 birthmothers interested in them who are delivering their babies in 2 weeks from now. So potentially, Gwen and Don could be going down to Texas in 2 weeks to pick up their baby. Are we ready to have a child in our house by April 1st this year? Nope, not yet but we'll do what we can to get there.

Ode to Olivia

Olivia and Lilah are being Christened tomorrow in NY. With profound honor and utter amazement, Linda and Mike asked Sean and I to be Olivia's Godparents. We are so overwhelmed with thanks and love and we accept this responsibility wholeheartedly. In a few words, I can't even begin to explain how excited I am to see Lilah and Olivia together tomorrow for the first time since before they were born. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it...Sean and I will be there to witness this glorious moment. Words can't express how grateful we are to have this honor - Olivia is the epitome of strength and courage and has taught us all how to love more and appreciate life. She is a blessing to all of us.
With love and great affection in Olivia's name...
Des and Sean

Des' One on One

Sean and I came back from a weekend apart but equally had a good time where we were. Sean was in Vermont with his parents and brother hiking the trails by Okemo with the fearless dog, Lucy. I was in NYC for meetings, dinners and some Gala industry events and had an amazing time. I was lucky enough to see some friends at these events - Andrea and Kara. And even luckier to have Saturday off where I could visit Olivia in the hospital. Mike and Linda brought Lilah down too so I got to meet her up close and personal. All I can say is they are a gorgeous family who are in my prayers constantly.
I had my one on one visit with Mary and feel slightly drained. She read my autobiography before she got here and asked me in depth questions about things I wrote that make me the person I am today. Many of the questions were about my family and how I was raised. She asked me if I felt a loss being raised so far behind my brother and sisters and how I overcame that. They were all great questions and I was truthful about everything. She took away a clear picture that I painted her of the person I am, what my sisters and parents are like, and why. It was really interesting to talk about certain things that I don't talk about very often or at all. Considering my family experienced a death and how that impacted my family and my childhood, my situation was atypical. I think Sean's interview will be a lot quicker because his family situation is pretty normal.

She's calling Sean tonight to set up his interview and then surprisingly, we only have one more final interview. (I thought we had two more.) The last interview is where she looks around the house for firearms, weapons, drugs...all the things we don't have. I still have a lot of paperwork to do but hopefully I can get it all completed within the next couple weeks. It's nice to have today off so I can get organized again.

The picture here is of Sean and his cousin, Tanner, taken over the summer at Nonna's 90th Birthday party. It's quite clear that all little girls love him.

Thinking about essential points...

I've been really thinking about this "no maternity leave" for adopting and it's starting to bother me a little. I still haven't spoken to my human resources department about it and I'm a little hesitant to do so. I think I'd rather talk to my team first and let them know once we are eligible and work it out internally rather than corporately (or by the book.)
On another note, I've also been thinking that I may not be eligible for a push gift either. Since there really won't be pushing involved, I don't deserve a gift. Do we get the birth mother a gift? Nah...Does Sean get a gift?
We're going to have to figure out some ways around the traditional system because these were definite highlights of having a baby.
I will make sure to raise these concerns in my home study interview with Mary on Monday. I really hope nobody is taking this too seriously.

On a very serious note, Sean was able to make an appointment with his doctor for mid-February. Not as soon as I'd hoped but we're still within our timeline. They can't schedule me until after his appointment. I think I may be looking for a new doctor. One thing I do have to do tomorrow is contact my insurance carrier and get a letter from them stating they will cover the child when we're placed.

The picture today is of me and Amelia in our hoodies in Newport. She's really cute.

Isabella...

Isabella is the name of the pretty girl in the picture below. I forgot to mention it and it's really important. Isabella is one of the main reasons we decided to adopt in the first place. She is Danielle and Toby's niece and was adopted from Colombia. We LOVE her. Sean fell in love with her when he met her (especially because she likes to dance just like him.) After we met her, we talked and talked about adoption and how great it is. And now we are where we are today. Nevermind the fact that Sean loves the name Isabelle (potential name.) I am still hung up on Caroline so we shall see.
Boys are great too! We have a couple favorites for boys as well - Jake Francis or Cole David. (Francis is a common middle name of my father, father-in-law and bro-in-law and David for obvious reasons.) We will decide as we get closer.
Sean and I decided today that we are going to buy our baby necessities for Texas when we get down there. It makes sense to only lug it around half the trip. It will be so much easier on us and we won't look funny in the airport carrying around an empty infant carrier.

Preparing for Baby

Friday night, Sean took me to Chili's and then Babies R' Us to start looking at infant carriers, car seats, pack and plays, etc. We wanted to get a good idea of what we want to bring to Texas when we are placed. We found exactly what we want so as we get a little closer, we'll go back and buy it. It was really exciting and fun. The only thing we are torn on is what color furniture to do in the nursery. We both like a walnut color wood but I'm nervous to make that decision yet.
Sean is going to call our general contractor who did our addition and get a quote on finishing the other porch for us. That's where we will move the office (our office is currently set up in the nursery.) It shouldn't be a huge project so we'd like to get it done quickly.
I have a little cold right now - I think it's because I gave blood on Friday. I don't think I am going to give blood anymore. It always makes me feel weird or I get sick right afterward. And I was supposed to see Linda and Mike's baby, Lilah, on Saturday and I couldn't go.
Sean and I are on our way to church. We're a little late but we're going anyway.

Moving Right Along

Thanks to everyone who has posted so many amazing messages to us! It's helping us stay motivated and focused.
I've attached another picture we're putting in our profile. I know we both have bed-head here because we just woke up that morning but again, Amelia is a little cutie in this picture laying with us.
Some updated news...I just made my one-on-one appointment with Mary for January 15th. She's coming to the house at 10am that day. Sean won't be at this meeting - he has his own. (Sean - she is calling you now.)
I mailed our fingerprints to her today so that process will keep moving along. And I've gotten some feedback that two of my references that we've chosen to refer us for Gladney have already sent in our reference letters. (Thanks Toby and Sean's boss!) I have two more letter to distribute - one needs to go to one of our neighbors and another needs to go to our priest who has no idea who we are yet. We'll most likely be going to mass this Sunday before the Pats/Jets game starts. Lucky for me one of my neighbors works with me so I am going to meet with her today hopefully and talk to her.
I just got another email from the other Gladney couple we met at orientation who are similar to us - their profile has been approved bu Gladney on the first round! They are eligible and out there already for birthmom's to start looking at them. I can't believe how fast it's moving and it makes me so excited that March is right around the corner. (This particular couple finished their home study before they went to orientation.)
Things are definitely moving along and I'm very comfortable with this pace. 54 days to get to March 1st. We're not excited or anything. (wink wink)

Happy New Year!

I don't know why but I have been having so many difficulties logging in to blog this past week hence no blogs! Happy New Year! We had a very fun New Years with some friends and I am very happy it only comes once a year.
I was able to finish my profile over my vacation last week. It really came out nice - I am so happy with it. Sean even loves it. When he was looking through it he said he would give us a baby now if he were a birthmom. But I think he's biased because all the pictures are of him.
I think I may have jumped the gun on creating this already though. I was ready to call Gladney and have a sample sent to us but in looking over the timeline from them, we should really have all our application materials turned in first and then our caseworker will be assigned and she will help us with our profile. I'm just so darned excited to get this show on the road!!! At least I am ahead of the game and because it took me as long as it did, I am glad I had the time to focus on it last week. I found out that I am going to have to save my vacation time this year for when we are placed with the baby. My company won't offer me maternity leave because I am not physically giving birth. I am not very happy about that so I think I am going to have to work something out with my manager for the first couple weeks like I would be "working from home" or something. Hopefully they will be nice and honor it - I am always a special exception to rules...I might as well keep up my image.

The picture in this post is of Sean and our "niece" Amelia at her 3rd birthday party. I think this is one of the cutest pictures in our album and will be sure to win our birthmother over.

I am back to work today and hopefully I can set up our next visit with Mary (our social worker). Hope everyone had a great holiday and we are really looking forward to what 2007 has to bring.