Moving On

So, I realize that I have not updated in forever.  Months and months.  Please tell me it hasn't been a year...

I really started to struggle with what to tell and what to protect.  I want to portray adoption honestly but I also need to keep my baby's best interest at the forefront of everything I do.  Especially since I stupidly used my name when I started this blog long before adoption was even on my radar.  I just haven't known what to share.  But, I'm going to try to resurrect the blog with a slightly different angle.  At least for now.

I grew up in a small town.  That's really where I'm most comfortable.  After college, I moved to Chicago and then left that for the suburbs about 9 years ago.  In so many ways, I've grown up here.  I am certainly not the scared 22 year old that moved here from small town NY and a corn field in OH.  But the time has come to move on.

In a few short weeks, little Missy and I will be moving here:

Definitely going to be different than where I've been for the last five years:

And nothing like where the munchkin spent the first 4 1/2 years of her life:

It'll be so hard to say goodbye.  My last day at my job is Tuesday.  My job is exhausting on every level possible but I love my students and my co-workers have been my family here for the last 13 years.  I still can't even process what life after E will look like.  

I worry about Little Missy's adjustment.  She has moved so many times in her young life.  She has bonded so well.  (Sometimes it feels like too well.  She stays with no one but my parents.)  I know that long-term this move will be so good for her but she doesn't really understand what the next few months hold.  She loves school and she is so loved there.  We have our Gigi's friends and a great babysitter.  She adores my friends here and they have all been unbelievably accepting of her.  So much change for a little heart that has already lost so much.  

Even though there are probably a hundred reasons to stay, I know there are a million to go.  Many of them being the tears that my daughter sheds when we pull into our driveway after a visit at my parents' house.  She knows that Nana and Grandpa are far away.  And she's not ok with it.  She loves them and their animals and country life in general.  Our reasons for moving:

The next step on Life's Amazing Journey is taking us to the country and my parents' small farm.  I can't wait to update about life in the country and how this little girl thrives with fresh air, animals and lots of space.  

And, who knows, maybe this move will lead to some other big announcements in the future.  Stay tuned....

Family Photo Shoot

My family does photos every five years.  It involves quite a bit of whining but we know that every 5 years we are getting them done.  I will admit to being a part of the whining but most of it comes from the male members of the family.  

It's fun to look at the photos because we've added someone to every picture.  We started in 1995.  The boys were so little then.  In 2000, we added my brother Rob.  In 2005, my sister-in-law Amy joined the group.  In 2010, my niece Grace made her first family photo appearance.

Our 2010 picture.  

Since 2010, we have added my niece Kinsley and Sara.  I wanted to do pictures again since they will all be so big in 2015 and there will be at least one more addition to the picture by then.  There were a couple of hold-outs of the male persuasion in the family and I hold no power to convince at least one of them.  So, we decided to do just the women this time around.  (Everyone will be in the 2015 picture.)

Sisters

Mother and daughters

All the women

Cousins - Take 1

Cousins - Take 2

Cousins - Take 3

Nana and her granddaughters

Facebook Statuses

For those of you who are not in my Facebook world, here are a few status updates from the last week that give you a glimpse into our daily lives.  Believe it or not, there is a lot that I don't share on Facebook and even more that I don't share on the blog.  I love using Sara's story to encourage and educate others but I also think that privacy is very important for a child.  I will occasionally allude to the struggles we have day-to-day but I don't outline them.  It's not necessary.  Any way, off my soap box.  Here are some statuses:

There is a groupon for dance classes in Orland. I think it's a sign.

I heard footsteps up stairs and then they stopped. Apparently she got tired while looking for me. This is the kitchen floor.

Sara has some amazing sleep avoidance tactics. The problem is that I've never employed any of these tactics so I don't know how to counter them. I've never avoided bed in my life. Ask my mom or anyone I've ever lived with!

A glimpse into my morning.

Me: Sara, are you going to be crabby like this for your teachers?

Sara: Nope. 
Well I guess that's good.

Sara has been up every day before 7 since she's been off school. (Except the day after the wedding.). Today she goes back to school and she's sound asleep. Ugh.

And now she's calling me Natalie.

First Sunday in a month we haven't been traveling. Sara gave me a very weird look when I told her we were going to church. She wants to go to school instead.

Sara has been watching her Gotcha Day video for the last few days. I wonder what she's thinking.

Working on a blog post about the wedding with tears running down my face. (It could be partly because I "slept" with the Thrasher last night. I'm exhausted.) I can't get over how loved and accepted my little girl is. Everywhere we go people tell me how wonderful she is. I definitely won the "Adoption Lottery." Thank you to every one of you who love her for exactly who she is.

Travel much?

Sara's officially tired. She's dancing but making everyone hold her while she does it.

Will you all please join me in praying that Sara takes a nap on the way to the wedding today? It's really the only way we are both going to survive this experience.

A year ago, I was convinced she was never coming home. Today she's the flower girl in a friend's wedding. 

Today's word of the day is pool. Sorry to disappoint you again, hon, but no swimming today. You do get to put on a beautiful dress and dance until you're exhausted.

Twice today Sara saw swimming pools and stripped her dress off in record time. 

1. That dress comes off way too easily. 
2. We might need to have a chat about modesty. 
On a side note---when we pulled up in front of Jeana's house today, she instantly said agua. We've only been there once and she couldn't see the pool from the front of the house. This girl's memory amazes me!

Miss Independent doesn't need help anymore.

Sara is running around the house saying Cool. 
Sorry, Chica. No school today. 
She only has one more week of summer school. August could be long.

Happy 4th of July from our family to yours. (Means just a little more to me this year!)

It's not a wedding rehearsal unless the flower girl and ring bearer both cry---at the same time.

Sara has been puking randomly every few days for the last two weeks or so. This can't be normal.

So, there you have it.  A little glimpse into our daily lives.  The good, the bad, and the ugly.  

And, just for fun.  A couple more pictures from the wedding!

Oh, my

We got her passport today. The picture is hilarious. They made her stand on a chair and she was not happy.

Below it is her visa picture. Just in case you missed that gem.

I see years of bad school pictures in our future.

No news so more pics.

More Pics

Just pics