Our baby girl...

Here are some really cute pics of Soleil that our coordinator took when she went to visit the babies earlier this month. I'm so glad they got some shots of her darling smiley face! They sent us a video, too, and she's just the cutest thing I've ever seen. So far her little personality seems to be nice and mellow. She's such a joy. I miss her, and I can hardly believe that we only have 8 days until we get down there again. The kids are so excited. I am a little worried about how they will adjust to not being with Dave. We'll see how it goes. My list is finally starting to get shorter. And I'm resigning myself to the fact that I won't get everything done before I go. The kids' clothes for example. Why sort them now when I'll just have to sort them again in 3 months when I get home? Cross that right off the list. My Christmas cards are going out tomorrow. A big check mark. I have appointments all this week for teeth cleanings, hair cuts, check-ups, and meetings with teachers. I'll be packing this weekend. Monday and Tuesday of next week are rather jam packed tying up loose ends and then we're off Wednesday. Oh, I'm going to miss Dave so much...but he'll be down just 2 weeks after us. And I found tickets (or rather my brilliant travel agency did: (http://www.velocitytours.com/)for $426 for the end of January. So hopefully Dave will be able to come down again then. As always, thank you so much for checking in on us. Please keep us in your thoughts over the next few weeks. ~Heather

Soli is 6 1/2 months!!

I just received new pics and an updated medical on our beautiful baby girl! These pics were taken on Nov. 16 by her pediatrician's office. She is just so cute!! I could eat her up!! I love her little hairdo! And her expressions are so funny. It looks like she is totally perplexed by the camera. She'll get used to having a camera in her face soon enough! So her medical says that she weighs 16.2 pounds or roughly 16 pounds, 3 oz. She's growing so perfectly...I talked to her foster mother the other day (we are now able to communicate via her neighbor's email! So GREAT!) and she said that Soli has two teeth now!! I can't believe it. I'm just a touch sad to have missed her first two, but there'll be plenty of teeth coming and going over the next 12 years, right?
So, my list seems to be getting longer rather than shorter. Last night I kept having to get out of bed to add things to it. Finally, I just brought my list to bed with me. I think my husband was envious of all the attention it was getting!
The kids and I leave two weeks from yesterday. I'm a little nervous. I held a friend's baby yesterday who is just a couple of weeks younger than Soli. She took one look at my face and starting crying! I was so sad and suddenly I was nervous that Soli would react the same way to me. Yikes! My friend did same that her baby has been doing that for several months so I'm hoping it's a personality thing and not an age thing. Ughh! Anyway, we're all getting very excited. I'm a little worried about Dave, all alone in our usually very busy home. But he has made himself a long list of home improvement projects to do while we're gone. So hopefully he'll just stay busy and not be too sad without us. Thanks for checking in on us. I'm off to get another check mark!! ~Hetaher

An update on our latest "pregnancy"

It has been quite a while since I updated my blog, and seeing as how it's only a little after midnight and the house is unusually quiet, I figured now was as good a time as any. We have been so crazy busy getting ready for our trip to foster Soli in Antigua. For those of you new to my blog and don't want to spend all night reading the archives I'll give you the Reader's Digest....

*married to my very favorite person (see last entry for a pic)
*3 bio kids - 2 boys and 1 girl (9,6, and 3)
*decided to adopt in Jan.
*signed with agency in March
*paper ready by May
*baby girl born May 7
*received referral May 11 (and accepted it in my heart that instant)
*officially accepted referral May 13
*Dossier to GC June 19
*visit trip Aug. 10-13 - Amazing!
*DNA done Aug. 25 Finally!
*It's a Match! Aug. 30
*decided on her name ~ Soleil - Sept. 30
*PreApproval - Oct. 3
*Second visit trip Oct. 4-10
*Into PGN - Oct. 23
*Traveling to Guatemala with my 3 older kids to foster our baby in Antigua - Dec. 6
*Dave will be joining us for Christmas Dec. 20-27

It is amazing to me how many parallels there are between my pregnancies and this adoption process. I feel like the first trimester of this "pregnancy" was filled with tedious paperchasing and only a very vague sense of "baby" at the end of the seemingly endless road ahead. Not unlike the first trimesters of more physical pregnancies which are often marked (at least for me) by the seemingly endless nausea and vomiting and still only a very vague sense of "baby". But there is no proof of this baby...no fluttering, no hiccups, no belly to speak of. Until suddenly you wake up one day and the nausea and the paperwork are done. Your dossier is on it's way and the vomiting has ceased. It's the second trimester! And suddenly there is proof of a baby! A picture on your computer screen...a referral! And there are fluttery little kicks, and tiny little hiccups, and a tiny little belly. There WILL be a baby after all. The second trimester is a time of excitement and anticipation. Milestones are being reached...DNA, Family Court, Pre Approval, AFP, Hemoglobin and Ultrasound. You're feeling good and healthy and strong. You can endure. Names are being discussed and decided upon. And the baby's growing...new pictures arrive and the medical update says she gained 2 perfect pounds since last month. And the midwife says your belly has grown 4 perfect centimeters since last month. Amazing! And then the third trimester begins. Your belly is feeling rather huge and the PGN wait seems rather long. How can I possible make it to the end? You think you'll never make it! Swollen feet, heartburn, achy back, can't sleep and the agency calls....another Previo. This can't go on! But then one day you wake up with contractions...you're out of PGN! You thought this day would never come! You can't believe it's almost over! There's so much to do! Call the midwife, defrost the soup, book the hotel, call the relatives, update the blog! But labor is so long and hard! Why does it take so long to get pink?! Finally the midwife says, "It's time to push: soon you'll be holding your baby". And the agency calls, "Your pink slip has been issued: soon you'll be holding your baby". Thank God! It's almost over. And then suddenly your baby is in your arms and all the paperwork, vomiting, certifying, varicose veins, and the endless waiting, waiting, waiting are distant memories...

Tomorrow marks 4 weeks in PGN. Four weeks into our third trimester and I have been nesting, nesting, nesting. And I'm not the only one! Dave nests as much, if not more, than I do at the end of our "pregnancies". We put together the crib today (thought we wouldn't be doing that again until we had grandkids!). The baby clothes are washed and organized, toys and closets are being sorted, and the kids' rooms are rearranged. I took a monster load of "stuff" to Good Will the other day. Dave pulled out the garden (the tomatoes were taking over the entire back yard and our neighbors are utterly sick of us sending our kids over with more zucchini!), we sorted through our storage shed (why do I keep some of that stuff?), and we threw out an entire trailor load of rusty bikes and broken toys. I still have a monster big list, but I figure if I get 2-3 check marks a day I'll be done by the time we leave in a little over two weeks! Yikes! But if I don't go to bed soon I won't get anything done at all. Thank you all for checking in, and please keep us all in your thoughts over the next few weeks as we transition into our new roles as a family of six! ~Hugs, Heath

My Very Favorite Person...

I met Dave 11 years ago on the Rio Dulce in Guatemala. The night we met I had no place to stay. He scooped me up and kept me safe and has been doing so ever since. He is the most selfless person I know and has always supported me in following my heart no matter how seemingly crazy the direction. Most recently he has supported me on this crazy adventure called adoption. He was content with three, but being the selfless man that he is, he consented to my plea for "just one more". Of course, when he signed on he didn't know that I would be taking our three older kids to live in Guatemala, leaving him to fend for himself and run our business for an undetermined length of time. But, true to form, he has maintained a loving, supportive attitude about it all. I don't know if he will ever know how appreciative I am for the sacrifices he makes to allow me to live my life so fully. He means the world to me. I love you, Dave. ~H

Halloween Treats

A Few of My Favorites from Halloween...

Pumpkin Patch Success!

Emerson - 6, Cole - 9, Evie - 3

A Nerd, A Napolean, A Caterpillar,

A Tinker Baby (5 months),

And a Darling Daddy with an Afro!