The McGuire's

Been awhile....

2008-10-22T14:31:00.000-07:00

I can not believe I have not posted to this blog since June 14th! I guess I have just been that busy. A lot has happened since then...

I decided to get a real full-time job for many reasons, but mostly for financial reasons. I got a job at Reliance Bank as a teller in July. At my interview, I told Allison Phillips, who interviewed me, about the adoption and that we might be getting a baby soon. She said they would work with me and that I would get a maternity leave just as a pregnant woman would. This was great for me.

Well... it turned out that I would definately need that maternity leave because upon being hired I did not know it but I was ALREADY pregnant... only about three weeks, of course. I had been there a week and knew something did not feel quite right. I decided to test one Sunday morning in July and much to our surprise... it was POSITIVE!!! Sometimes, I still can't believe it!

We kept it a secret for a while because of my miscarriage last year. But, I am now almost 18 weeks pregnant and we are finding out the sex of the baby next Wednesday. We are so excited and feel so blessed. It is possible that God had other plans for us or that was His plan... for us to learn more about patience and how to deal with grief and waiting together. It is possible that one day in the future we will still adopt. It is so close to my heart still and I am not counting it out.

So, that is where the McGuire's are right now... waiting on the arrival of our second baby in March. This baby's due date is actually Lilly's birthday, March the 29th! I am still working at Reliance Bank and I love it there. Everyone is great to work with and I feel the Lord led me to this job.

Thank you to any of you who were praying for us to have another baby no matter how that baby came into our lives.

Just to update the story about the baby we got the call about while we were at the beach. The little boy was born and he was severely affected from his problems. He was eating and sleeping and doing what most newborns do but the MRI on his brain told a very scary story. The mother still decided to place for adoption and he went to live with a foster family. The woman of this foster family was a nurse and she could stay home with him full-time, so I felt that he was placed in a loving, nuturing home. The last I heard though they were not planning on adopting him.

~Anna Leigh

Prayer request and adoption update

2008-06-16T12:26:00.000-07:00

I know, most of you are thinking "two posts in one day?" I am shocked myself, but I wanted this topic to have its own post and not be with our beach vacation post. I have been hesistant to post a lot of stuff lately and also don't have a lot of time to get on the computer.

Josh and I have said that our beach vacations are good for babies for us. Last year, on our beach vacation is when we surprisingly became pregnant after two years of trying (that is the baby I lost), and this year, we received a phone call about a very precious baby, while we were at the beach.

As most of you know who have been following this adoption process with us, I was really thinking about us switching agencies because the agency that did our homestudy did not have any birthmothers at the time we became approved to adopt. I did a lot of calling around at that time and one of the agencies I phoned was Christian Family Services in Florida. An adoption friend of mine had told me that this was the agency they used and were very pleased. During my phone call with them, I had a very pleasant conversation with the intake manager of the agency. She was friendly but told me that we couldn't be accepted for their waiting list because my husband was not open to accepting African American and most of their babies were either AA or bi-racial (black/white). But, we did talk briefly about a Brazilian girl who had contacted them. Well, I went on to find us another agency, and we applied and were accepted.

But, it was the Christian Family Services agency who contacted me while on vacation about this Brazilian girl. We talked at length about her situation and Josh and I were very interested in learning more. There were several things that sort of made me and the director of CFS feel that God could be involved in this one. I feel kind of bonded to this young girl and her family just through talking with the director about her. This is why I am writing this post asking for prayers on her behalf. The medical profession involved with her have informed them that there is likely a problem with the baby. It could be rather severe or it could be that he isn't as badly affected as they fear. There is a possibility for hydrocephaly and apparent holes in the brain. Because of this news, Josh and I have taken a step back and are just wanting to be kept informed of the developments with this young girl and her baby. She is firm on her decision to place for adoption and the birthfather has already terminated his rights. Please pray for a miracle for this little baby boy. I know, from what the director of CFS has told me, that if he is born severely affected, it will be much more difficult to find him a loving home. This is his birthmother's deepest concern and desire. She even wants to meet with the adoptive family before birth. We had considered a meeting with her while we were in Florida, but held off for further tests to be done.

I know that God can perform miracles and I also know that all things work together for good for those who love the Lord. I feel that something good will come out of this, even if it isn't apparent at first.

As things stand now, Josh and I are still waiting for a match with a birthmother through an agency in Georgia, Open Door Adoptions. Please pray for a successful adoption to happen sometime this year!

Beach Trip 2008!

2008-06-16T11:58:00.000-07:00

We just got back from the beach about a week ago. We stayed in Fort Walton Beach at Waters Edge condos. We had so much fun and I can't believe our yearly beach vacation is already over! It seems like it was just the other day we were getting back from the beach last year and now our family vacation has come and gone again. Lilly really enjoyed it this year, even more than last year. She is getting into swimming and has learned to go under the water. She doesn't need her float in the shallow end where she can touch, so that is how she played in the pool most of the time.

We ate at several good restaurants and Josh went deep sea fishing two different times, catching us some really great fish to blacken a couple of nights. We all agreed that those two meals were our best. It is just my opinion, but I think that Josh should open his own seafood restaurant. He is such an excellent chef!
We went with my sister, Kate, and my parents again this year. That is undoubtedly the best way to vacation to Florida for our family. It is nice having all the family together for a week. Mom and dad are great babysitters when Josh and I want a little time alone. This was the best trip out of the past three years!

I know that pictures show all the fun we had, so here are some for you to enjoy!

Have a happy summer!

Lilly's new haircut

2008-04-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

I finally decided to get Lilly a short haircut. Her hair had gotten kind of long and stringy and I felt like I could never get it fixed right for her. I thought it needed to be thickened a little bit. So, after seeing a little two-year-old with a bob haircut, I took her to get hers done. She absolutely loves it and it is much easier to fix. Now, I am not constantly pulling it into a ponytail!

Just a reminder that we are waiting to adopt. It is so important to get the word out to everyone that you are waiting for a baby. You never know if God might decide to use you to help make our adoption dream come true! If you should hear of any situation, please contact us!

Thank you for your prayers as we continue with this process.

Lilly's 4th Birthday!!

2008-04-18T07:48:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Lilly's 4th birthday almost a month ago. Her birthday is the 29th of March, which fell on a Saturday this year, so we had the party that day. She wanted to do something girlie, so we did a little girl dress-up party. We didn't invite any of her little boy friends and we had everything pink and girlie! She has some new little girl friends this year from preschool and almost all of them came to the party. She also wanted to invite her church friends and, of course, her cousin, Catherine. I wanted to post some new pics of her, so here are some from her party.

Lilly just got a summer haircut yesterday. Her hair is so thin, so I thought that if I had it cut in a little bob it would thicken it up and be nice and cool for the summer. I will post some updated pics of her soon. She is adorable with her new haircut!

Thanks to any of you who have been praying for us concerning the adoption. I feel much better after my last post and after prayers went up on our behalf. I have decided to meet with the elders concerning some decisions we have to make so that I can be sure that God is involved in every step we take. That is the only way I find peace in making decisions for this process.

Just to let you know the current decision we need to make... we are thinking of switching our information and profile to another agency in Arizona. This agency reaches out to several different states for birthmothers and their average waiting time in 6 months. Our time would already be reduced because we have a complete homestudy and profile done. This is very encouraging. Please be in prayer for this change.

Anybody else struggle with this?

2008-04-09T09:04:00.000-07:00

I often find myself struggling with something that I am not really sure how to put into words and I am also not too sure that there is an answer to in this life. Josh, my husband, is often saying to me that he doesn't know why I can't just sit back and let the adoption process take its' course. Well, I feel that I do this, to a certain extent and then I feel like I want to be doing something to make things happen.

This is where my struggle comes in, not just with the adoption, but with other things in my life. How do you know when you are taking too much control of a situation and not letting God have control of what happens for you? I know that I pray daily for God's plan to play out in our lives and I know that I have learned recently to go to Him whenever I am considering a big decision in our life. I always pray that what happens for us will be His will and not mine and happens in His time and not my time.

But then, I think... well, God gave us a brain and the intelligence to do things on our own. I am reminded of the funny email that circulates from time to time about the man in the flood who was waiting on his roof for God to save him. He passed up all the obvious opportunities that God sent his way to save him, i.e. the boat, the helicopter and as he was drownding, he asked God "Why are you letting me die... I asked you to save me!" God replied to him that he sent every means possible to save him and he refused the help, so what was He supposed to do. This makes me struggle with wanting to know if the things that come to me concerning adoption are from God and if I should follow them or just sit back, let go, and let God. What's the difference there?

I may be rambling throughout this entire post and you may have no idea what I am talking about. This is just a hard time, waiting for our baby through adoption. I guess that's because we have our homestudy completed, and now I am finding it hard to just sit and wait on the phone to ring. Is that what I am supposed to do or am I supposed to be getting out there and working to help the process? Or, maybe a little of both? And, how do I get my husband to see that I am not rushing things, just trying to follow God's plan to bring a baby into our lives?

Pray for us. Help me to see the difference between letting go and letting God, and doing somethings on my own.

Also, I've got some pics of Lilly's birthday party and Easter coming soon. Sorry I haven't posted pics in a long time.

Life with the McGuire's right now...

2008-03-20T06:16:00.001-07:00

I need to apologize to my fellow bloggers because I have so neglected doing this. I do miss it and try to make time to post, but life gets in the way. Thank you, Tesney, for reminding me that I need post more often. You are so good at it and I thoroughly enjoy reading your blog!

We have been so busy lately. It seems like all I am doing is coming and going. I started a new job at the beginning of March. I was so tired of working 40 hours a week for NO money and having to spend so much time away from Lilly. So, when I was offered a sort of "nanny" position, I jumped on it. It is only about 30 hours a week and I get paid more than I did at my old job working 40 hours a week. I am still working my old job at Vintage Sports Cards, Inc., in the mornings, until May, when the kids will get out of school. I saw this as a blessing from God because we needed a way to start saving money for the adoption. So far, it seems like we have needed the extra money as it always goes for various things, but I feel that we will be able to save some of it. This new job will work out even when we get a baby because the children's mother does not mind me having a baby to care for while watching her children. There are three children, by the way, the oldest being in 1st Grade and the youngest is 2 and a half. It is working out well and Lilly is really enjoying having someone to play with. I will bring more exciting stories at a later date about how she is adjusting to suddenly having three siblings in the afternoons. Let me just say now... boy, is it an adjustment!!

Now, for the adoption... God is so good. He helped me get our portfolio together, which was a daunting task. It took me like two to three weeks, but I was so proud of it when I had it completed. I had a wonderful girl at Staples, who was undoubtedly placed there for me by God, to help me get the pictures looking perfect. Thanks so much to Amanda, who is a great employee for Staples!! Then, we got the call that we had been unofficially approved to be a waiting family with Catholic Family Services. The reason it is unofficial is because there is one last meeting that has to take place in the Birmingham office before we will receive the official approval letter. But, our social worker, Laura, is one of the head directors and has told us that basically, "the buck stops here" with her and that if she approves you, the officialness of it is just a formality. So, a sigh of relief!! We are now to the waiting part of the adoption, which I will have to admit, is already the hardest part for me. I am getting impatient and am starting to feel so ready for this new baby to come into my life. Any of you who have adopted or are adopting can perhaps provide me with some supportive words that will help me to deal with this part of adoption.

I am also feeling a little down because my due date is coming up for the baby I lost, April 16th. It hits me each week when I get the ridiculous email that I signed up for at the beginning of that pregnancy. The title is "Your Pregnancy, 36 weeks!", or whatever week I am supposed to be in with that pregnancy. Plus, my cousin who is due several days after I would have been is hugely pregnant with a little boy. It is so hard to see her, even though I am so happy for them. I then realize that we could be having a baby is less than a month. That is so hard to swallow at times.

Well... there is a brief update. I am so sorry again for neglecting this. I think I just feel that I am not that good of a writer, so none of you are missing anything. I will try to do better because BOY, did this feel good!!

love to all of you!

Winterfest weekend!!

2008-02-15T10:18:00.000-08:00

We are headed to Gatlinburg, Tennessee today for Winterfest this weekend. Our church sends a youth group along with chaperones to this event every year. A couple of years ago, Josh and I went as chaperones, but we quickly figured out that with Lilly being so young, we needed to be able to stay with her. Our time will come when she is involved with this and we can be chaperones.

So, we are just going up there to stay and attend the conferences at our leisure. We REALLY like attending that way. Our props go out to those of you who are chaperones. You do a great job!

Please be in prayer for our youth this weekend and for the rest of us going along.

Sidenote:

My dog is missing. Our husky, Kota, who stays with mom and dad. She got away last night and, of all weekends for her to not come home, she hasn't showed up today. We are very worried to leave town with her missing. Pray that she comes home safely. We really do love her!

Special Disclaimer for all readers

2008-02-08T07:27:00.000-08:00

I truly wish I did not feel compelled to leave this post, however, due to a hurtful remark; I cannot withhold this disclaimer. An anonymous person left the hurtful remark, so I have also since adjusted my settings so that comments cannot be left anonymously.

This blog was mostly intended to keep a running log of our adoption process. The very first blog that I posted was intended to inform my readers why I was attempting to blog. I started this blog right before our first adoption appointment. I felt that if I did not keep a written account of our adoption process, then I would quickly forget the events that took place. There have been many ways that God has worked in my life over the past year and I felt that I wanted to document that so that all glory would go to Him and I would readily see how much I am blessed. This has helped me to be content in whatever situation I am in.

I have also felt compelled, in the past, to document cute aspects of my child's life. She means so much to us and we are ever so thankful for her. Due to an increased business in my life at work and at home, I have not had the time to post much of anything, nor have I felt as compelled to. It has strictly been for documenting progress in the adoption and the couple of times I was tagged.

This post may seem to have no point to most of you... so the point is, I did not start blogging to give a detailed account of what is going on with us or what is on my heart. I simply do not feel compelled to write all of that for the world to see. I feel that my friends, who know me well, know this about me.

So, thanks to all of my friends of have supported me in this endeavor. I really appreciate the positive comments. I believe that we all need more positive things in our lives and the positive friends to support us. Life is hard enough!

I am truly tired of negativity and I think it is the devil's foothold. There is simply nothing good that comes from it. If an anonymous person was afraid to leave their name, then it is apparent that this person felt their comment was negative as well. I have always liked the saying, "If you have nothing good to say, then say nothing at all."

Adoption progress

2008-02-04T08:38:00.000-08:00

It appears our home study is coming to an end. I can't believe we are close to being an approved family waiting on our baby soon. It seems like we just began the process. Time really goes by fast.

As some of you may have read my last post, you might be wondering why I am sounding much more positive. Well... God always takes care of us and always provides us with peace even when the circumstances are less than desirable. Our home visit was supposed to be last Tuesday night. I was upset because our social worker had to cancel to due to car trouble. When I got home that night, I was cooking dinner and the phone rang. It was Laura, our social worker. I was surprised because I really didn't expect to hear from her for about a week or so. She told me that she could come the next night (Wednesday night) if we were available. I quickly agreed and told her we would be ready. So, Wednesday it was. It went great! Both Josh and I came home from work early so we would be relaxed and prepared. I had talked to Lilly about what this visit meant and prayed she would be on her best behavior.

When Laura first arrived, Lilly didn't know what to think about it all, her being a new person and everything. She did not behave well, but, it gave Laura a chance to see how Josh and I handle discipline, so it worked out okay. We had to put her in timeout two times, the second time being more drastic because Josh handled it and she always gets her feelings hurt more when he puts her in timeout. She cried and cried until I fixed her some milk and a small snack, which probably meant she was just hungry.

Josh and I did well answering her questions and I felt a peace in the room with us. I am so thankful that that part is over with because I was very anxious about it.

The only thing we are waiting on still is our clearance from the FBI and ABI, which Laura expected should be coming soon. It has been about six weeks or so since she sent off our fingerprint cards. I also had to have Tuscaloosa County courthouse mail our marriage certificate, so we are waiting on that.

We started working on our portfolio, which isn't as hard as I thought it would be. So, it is all coming together and I am so excited. Josh is too and Lilly keeps asking when is God going to send us a baby, so she is getting excited too!

Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

~ALM

Having a bad day...

2008-01-29T11:49:00.000-08:00

Okay... I have that song playing over and over again in my head today. Y'all know the one that they played when someone was kicked off of American Idol... "Had a Bad Day". Well, I guess I am feeling like I have had a bad couple of days and I am getting a little discouraged. I am determined not to let the enemy creep in and take my peace and joy, so I am blogging to remind myself how blessed I am.

Our house is still for sale, going on six months now. We had it listed with one realtor, who did nothing for us, for about five months. Now, we have it listed with a new realtor and she is wonderful, but it seems like no one wants to look in our side of town for a house. I know that six months isn't that long to have your house on the market, but I am getting anxious about it selling. In addition to this, we found the most wonderful house in a great neighborhood this past weekend. We made an offer on it, very hopeful that the couple would accept our offer contingent on the sale of our home. But, we got bad news last night that the couple received two offers yesterday and the other people didn't have a house to sell, so it was a "no brainer"... they were chosen. I felt so disappointed. Josh came home and told me that he would have expected me to just say that this obviously wasn't the house God had picked out for us and move on. I am trying to hold up to that faith, but sometimes I get discouraged.

Then, our home visit was scheduled for today. I was so excited because this is nearly the last step in the home study process, meaning we are so close to being an approved family waiting on our phone call. I got up very early and made sure the house was spotless and the dog was bathed. Well... another bit of bad news... the social worker called to cancel. She was having car trouble and the part for her car didn't come in before today. She would have to call to reschedule when the part comes in. I felt so disappointed again that I cried.

Thanks for listening to my pity party. I just needed to get it off my chest. The Lord will lift me up again!! He is so awesome and I know He understands disappointment and heartache firsthand. We will sell our home in His time, find a new home in His time, and get a new baby in His time.

Love to all!
~ALM

Scattergories

2008-01-13T13:29:00.000-08:00

I have been tagged by another friend to play this little game. It sounds like fun, so here it goes.

RULES:Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following.Your answers have to be real names, places, and things and you can’t use your own name for the boy or girl name.

What’s your name? Anna Leigh
Car: Accord
City: Athens
Boy name: Adam
Girl name: Ashley
Occupation: Accountant
Something you can wear: Apron
Celebrity: Angelina Jolie Pitt
Food: Apple
Reason for being late: Accident
Cartoon character: Arthur
Something you shout: Alright!

Now, I tag Anna, Lisa, and Tesney.

This one is for Mandy...

2008-01-01T12:04:00.000-08:00

Okay, I have been tagged and I thought I would post eight things about myself because I like it when people respond to me when I tag them. I enjoyed reading Mandy's post about her eight things. I think it is interesting to learn little random things about each other this way. So, here it goes...

1) As most of you already know, we are going through an adoption process. We are in the middle of our homestudy and I have to admit that I am getting a little impatient, thinking about the wonderful day we get our phone call with a match.

2) I love Christmas and the time between Christmas and the New Year. My wonderful boss gave us two whole weeks off with pay!! Yeah!! I have enjoyed this time with Lilly and my family so much and I think I will be energized when it is time to go back.

3) Just as much as I love this time of year, I hate the months of January and February! The time between the New Year and spring seems to drag on for me and I get so antzy waiting on warmer weather.

4) I am going to steal one from Mandy... I love reading my friends' blogs and I wish all of them had one.

5) I love to clean my house. I know... I am weird and I get on Josh's nerves... but, I can't stand for my house to get junky. I am constantly pulling out the vacuum and I find it therapeutic.

6) Okay, I just asked my husband for another random thing about me and he reminded me that I am a hypochondriac. I hate being this way and I am getting better, but I do tend to try to self-diagnose any problem or sickness I have by worrying about it and calling others to find out what they think is wrong with me. This is annoying and I am not proud of this characteristic. I know that worry is a warning light that my faith isn't as strong as it should be!

7) I love to laugh! I have always been this way since I was a little girl. I can start laughing so hard at something that I am crying and have this silly look on my face. I did this way last night with some friends that we got together with for New Year's Eve and I am still laughing about it today.

8) I can not wait to go back to the beach this year! We always make a family trip to Destin, FL around the end of May, beginning of June and it is the most fun trip of the year. We stay for eight days at a nice condo and enjoy relaxing on the beach, swimming, and going out to eat. I am already looking forward to that trip this year.

I hope you all enjoyed reading these things about me. I am going to post some pics when I get back to work. I have all my pics downloaded to my work computer. I want to show you guys what a blessed Christmas we have had.

Happy New Year!!

Another step completed in the process!

2007-12-19T13:00:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I have had time to post. I have been so busy with Christmas shopping and parties, completing adoption forms, and work. We have been swamped at work, so we haven't been getting to leave early, or even just breathe while we are there. So, during all my off time, I am shopping and trying to get ready for the holidays.

Josh and I have also completed another step in the adoption process. After our individual interviews, we were given a good bit of paperwork to complete. We set a goal to turn in this paperwork by the 13th and we did it! Well, we actually turned it in the morning of the 14th, but close enough. It seemed like God helped us get everything done because it all went so smoothly. Josh and I even said one night as we were getting everything together that doing all of this has been so much easier than the infertility treatments and doctor visits were. We can't help but feel that there is a reason for that. Everything has just fallen into place so far. I know we might face some difficulties, but I feel God's peace and I know He will get us through anything.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and remember the reason for the season. I have been thinking a lot about that lately. Growing up in the church I was in, we didn't focus on Christ's birth at all because we don't know his exact birthdate. But, now, as an adult in the church that I am in, I am so thankful that we do focus on Christ's birth this time of year.

Merry Christmas!! Please be in prayer that our fingerprinting cards are returned quickly and that we can be an approved family waiting for our precious baby by February.

Our homestudy is underway!!

2007-11-29T09:12:00.000-08:00

It is official! We have started our homestudy. Josh and I both had our individual interviews yesterday. They went great! Laura, our social worker, is very easy to talk to and she made me feel comfortable instantly. I felt at ease answering her questions about our life. Josh said the same thing when I asked him how his interview went. She gave him all the paperwork that must be completed at this point, which includes the fingerprinting, lifestyle questionaires, medical release forms, the child abuse and neglect forms, and all the information we need to put together our profile. I have set a goal for us to have all of this completed and together two weeks from today, which is the 14th of December. She seemed to think that we could have our homestudy completed in February. I am hoping for that to be the case! That means we could be an approved family waiting for our baby in just two and a half short months!! I feel so good about all of this. I have such peace that I know has come from God. I feel like we are right where we are supposed to be in the process... nothing feels rushed.

Josh is excited too and that is a very comforting feeling that we are doing the right thing, lead by God. Lilly can't wait until she gets her brother or sister through this process. She is telling everyone, "Mommy is adopting a baby!"

Please be in prayer as we prepare all this paperwork and get our profile together that we can do this and do it well. I am nervous about doing the profile because I know that it will be shown to birthmothers and that is how we will either be chosen or not chosen.

A small sidenote:

Lilly is loving preschool. She already has her first crush! She got in the car on Tuesday, after her teacher told me that she was going to have to move Lilly's seat if she didn't stop talking, and told me... "Mommy, you know what... I'm in love with Caden!" I didn't know what to say except laugh. Needless to say, this is the little boy that she is talking to when the teacher asks them not to talk. I am glad she is enjoying preschool and hopefully she won't be the class troublemaker!

I have so much to be thankful for...

2007-11-22T08:10:00.000-08:00

I have always loved Thanksgiving, but I have never thought about what all I do have that I need to be thankful for. This has been on my mind more so this year than ever before. I feel like I am always thankful and I do thank God every time I pray, but this year, around this time, it has hit me hard that I need to be so thankful because I have more than I could ever have imagined. God has blessed me more than I could ever sufficiently thank him for!

I went to our church service, which was held on Tuesday night, so we all could have Wednesday to start preparing for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. I enjoyed it being on Tuesday night and I also thoroughly enjoyed the service. There weren't a lot of people in attendance, but that didn't matter because our church family is so close that we are actually like a big family. We all shared what we were thankful for this year. Each of us had a chance to speak and most everyone took that opportunity to share their thoughts of Thanksgiving. Just hearing everyone tell what they were thankful for made me really realize how much I have to be thankful for.

I am so thankful for Christ, more so right now in my life than ever before. He has brought me so far and held my hand through so much. I do not deserve what all He has done for me, but, boy am I thankful that He chose to do all of that for me!

I am so thankful for my family. They are so loving and we are all so close. My parents help us out whenever we need it and never turn us down. My mom is there for me, day in and day out, to take care of Lilly, so I can work to help us out financially. This is something that I appreciate more than she will ever know! Josh and I are also blessed with his wonderful parents, who are very accepting of our life and never cease to be supportive in all our efforts. I realize there are people out there who do not have parents like we have.

I am thankful for Josh, my husband, who works so hard to provide for Lilly and I. He is so good at what he does and his work ethic is stronger than mine will ever be. He has finally found a great job and we are so thankful for that, because he has worked jobs that were extremely hard on him and our family. I appreciate what he does for us more than he will ever know.

I am so very thankful that Lilly is as healthy, smart, vibrant, beautiful, loving, helpful, tenderhearted, and happy as she is. I can't believe how much she has grown and everyday I am amazed at what she is learning and doing. I am also thankful that she is strong willed, because I do believe that will help her later in her life. It does drive me crazy right now, though! :)

I am very thankful for our church family and our new friendships that we have developed. These two things are so important to help one live their life for Christ just a little better. We are all just trying to do our best for God, never measuring up to what we should be. These loving people at church help me to really do the best I can!

I am thankful that my Grandmother, dad's mother, has been given another year so that we might show her how much we love her. She is scared of death and it makes me sad for her. I pray that she can gain more peace in this time she has left on this earth. She is headed to a far better place!

I am thankful for the road of adoption that God is leading us down. I never imagined that this would be something that we would really pursue, but, boy am I thankful that we are pursuing it! I am so thankful that my husband has embraced the desire that I have to grow our family this way. I am thankful for the peace that God has given me about this process.

There are so many other things that I am thankful for, but we would be here all day and night if I listed them all. I just wanted to share a few of them with my faithful readers. I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving and holiday season!

With much love,
Anna Leigh

Decisions... decisions...

2007-11-08T13:37:00.000-08:00

I have found that decisions (the important, life changing ones) are so hard to make for me lately. I am doing a lot more praying about things in my life than ever before. I can tell that God is leading our life and I am thankful for that, but... it makes it hard for me to decide if things are happening because I want them to happen, or if things are happening because God wants them to happen. I know that we have had this discussion before in my ladies' bible class, but it is hard to know for yourself, no matter how many times you hear others talk about it.

Anyone who is reading this blog knows that we are adopting. This is a slow process, especially this part of getting it started. We are still waiting to hear from the social worker at CFS about our application and about setting up our individual interviews. I spoke with her last week and she told me that the next thing she needed to do was to set up those interviews, (which a friend of mine told me means that we have been accepted? Yea, maybe!!). She told me to call her by yesterday if I hadn't heard from her yet, because she is so busy with so many other duties at CFS besides just adoption services, that it makes it easy for her to forget what she needs to be doing. So, I waited all week and then I called today... she had left the office early today. :( So, then I begin to question... am I trying to hard to make things happen?? I have been reassured that, YES, Laura is extremely busy with her job at CFS. She is one of the directors over all five areas in Alabama. But, even though she is busy doesn't mean that she won't "bend over backwards" when there is a baby for us. This does make me feel better and I know that things can be happening even when I am not doing anything. I also feel very confident that we will get our baby when God wants us to, no matter what. But, I just want to make sure that God wants us to... hence the whole reason for this post!

Then, there is the issue of our house being up for sale. We put it up for sale in the middle of the summer, then got a realtor towards the end of August. We have only shown it a few times with no luck. Everyone comments on how cute and clean it looks but we haven't found the right person. I think that this delay is actually good and a God-send because we have changed our minds about the house we want to buy next. When we first moved here, Josh was working in Florence, so we bought a house on the west end of town or Clements school district. Now, he is working in Huntsville (totally opposite end of everything). He loves his job and isn't going anywhere, so we are thinking we need to move either into the heart of Athens (city school district), or Madison. This decision has been driving me nuts!! I don't know what to do. I have been praying so much and I can't tell what God would want us to do. I do believe that He cares about the little things in our lives, like this, so it is important to me to know what He would want us to do. If we moved to Madison, then our lives would change a pretty good bit. Josh would be closer to work, it would save us on gas money (which is a huge positive right now!!), and we would be close to just about anything we wanted to do (because Madison is bigger than Athens, with more places to eat, shop, play, etc.) But, if we moved to Madison, then we would be farther from my parents, so mom couldn't keep Lilly as easily and we would be a farther drive from our church home, which would be bad because we would have a longer commute, making Wednesday nights harder, and we aren't changing churches. We love our church!!

Okay... I know I rambled on in the post... but I am confused right now about where life is taking us. I just needed to get it off my chest. Goodness knows, my poor husband is sick of listening to me! Ha!

If anyone has any advice, I welcome it, that is, if my entire post wasn't too confusing!

Thanks y'all!

Trick or Treat!!

2007-11-01T13:20:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful Halloween night last night! This was Lilly's first experience with trick-or-treating and she did great. She was shy, at first, when we would walk up to the door, but she quickly learned to say trick or treat and get her candy. Everyone commented on how pretty "Snow White" was and Lilly loved that!

We made a couple of stops to visit. We stopped at Mark and Phyllis Whitt's house to see Daniel, Jennifer and their precious baby, Stella. Jennifer had made her costume, a star. Stella looked adorable. Phyllis fed us, which we weren't expecting. The chili was delicious! This gave us the energy we needed to finish out the night, running after Lilly as she went door to door. Josh and I laughed that she could have trick-or-treated all night long! She never seems to run out of steam.

We didn't get home until about 9:30 and then it took me forever to get Lilly in the bed. Josh wanted us to finish out the night, after Lilly was asleep, with watching one of the horror movies that was on. I think we watched one of the Friday the 13th's. They really are cheesy, so I fell asleep on the couch.

I think the night was very memorable as Lilly's first real Halloween experience. Thanks to my hubby for going with us!!

I've been tagged!!

2007-10-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

Here are the rules--1) Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.2) People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.3) At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.4) Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

1) I can not stand for things that should be closed to be left open. Let me explain... for instance, the laundry room doors... these should always be closed. If you open them, you should close them because that is the way you found them. I feel the same way about cabinet doors, drawers, shower curtains, closet doors, etc.

2) I love checklists! I always make a list of anything that I need or need to do and I love to mark it off after I have done the particular task or have bought the particular item. I feel the same way about calendars. I always mark off my days throughout the month.

3) I absolutely love the show Friday Night Lights! I watch it every Friday night and I watched every episode last season. I feel it is a good family show, even though it has a realistic take on high school kids. I think it is important for parents to know what their children face in high school. It would be good for a parent and teen to watch it together so they might be able to talk about certain situations.

4) I have a B.S. degree from the University of Alabama in Early Childhood Development. I wish I would have taken it one step further and done education, but I didn't. I, actually, now wish I had my degree in something totally different, like counseling or social work.

5) I was six weeks pregnant with Lilly when I graduated so I really have never used my degree except for about two months after graduation. Sad, I know! But, I wanted to raise my children before focusing on my career. That is how I have always felt. All I ever wanted to be was a mother!

6) I have many fears. Actually, I am prone to panic attacks. I have a very weird fear of vomiting and also of closed-in, tight spaces.

7) I am a big Alabama fan! I am not what one might call a "fair weather fan" because I love Alabama football even when they aren't winning, but I am especially fond of Saban!

8) When I was somewhere around five or six years old, I got this great idea to "skate like a dog" with skates on my hands and my feet. Needless to say, this was NOT a good idea. I fell and knocked both of my front teeth out. This was just the beginning of my teeth problems.

Now, I tag Tesney, Lacy, Carly, Kelley and Mandy. I do not know enough other people that blog to tag eight!

We turned in our application...

2007-10-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

We have done it! We got everything completed on our adoption application and Josh turned it in on Thursday to Laura at Catholic Family Services. I do not know how long it takes to find out if we were accepted to the program. I am afraid that it will take awhile because the application has to go to the Birmingham office to be reviewed by the top guy there and then we will hear something. I have heard that it is all formality, but I am nervous until I know that we have been accepted. I guess once we have been accepted, I will know for sure that we are doing this. I will know that we aren't just talking about doing it. I mean, I think about doing things for the Lord all the time and I don't follow through with them. I don't want this to be like that. I want to adopt a child for myself and for my family, of course, because I want another child. But, I also feel that God chose me to adopt, so I could do it for Him. "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, My brethern, you did it to Me." (Matthew 25:40) In fact, I want to do this for Him.

This is testing my faith and trust in God. I am praying everyday that we are doing this because He wants us to and has planted this in my heart and not just because I want us to. I talked to a close friend on Thursday because I was anxious about turning in the application and handing over the money to apply and not knowing, for sure, that we would be accepted. This friend, who has been through this process, reminded me of something very important that I needed to hear and it convicted me. God is in control of this whole process!! I can't tell you how comforting that is for me to hear. I can't imagine not believing that God was in control. I know that I have been through some rough times, but I also know that I am happier now that I have been in two years. I believe that God brought me through all the struggles with wanting another baby to make me depend on Him, which would make me happier. My friend reminded me that it didn't matter how long it took to get approved, or even if we were accepted by this particular agency or not, because when God wanted this to happen it will. She fully believes, just as I do, that the Lord already has a baby picked out for our family, who will fit perfectly with us. She learned this through her own difficult experience with adoption. I felt like the world had been lifted off my shoulders when I hung the phone up that afternoon.

I must remember... God is in control of when we get our baby. I feel like He is teaching me how to pray about something and truly let go of it. This is a lesson that I needed to learn. God knows me so well that He has picked me for this.

Please continue to be in prayer for us through this process. Once we are approved, we will have a second meeting with the social worker and find out when we can begin our home study. Thank you to all of you who ask me about this process all the time and to those of you who come to me with your encouraging stories of adoption. You don't know how much that means to me. I feel that you are sent by God to remind me that He is taking care of this and to show me that I can do this.

A Visit from Muffy and Poppy!

2007-10-18T13:34:00.001-07:00

Lilly got to see her Muffy and Poppy on Monday night. Most of you are probably wondering who Muffy and Poppy are... they are Josh's parents. They have been living in Germany for over a year and we rarely get to see them now. Lilly has always been crazy about her Muffy! Muffy will play with Lilly all day long everytime she sees her. They took us out to eat at Olive Garden on Monday night. Our dinner was great and Lilly got a few gifts from them. They gave her the cutest Cinderella dress up gown. Lilly has worn that almost everyday since Monday. She also got some new clothes that are so cute.

I have to tell this funny story...

Yesterday she got to spend the afternoon with Muffy again because she was in town and wanted to keep her for my mom while I worked. Lilly was getting ready at my mother's house to go see Muffy and she was going through my mom's jewelry box. Mother had told Lilly several days ago that one day, when she died Lilly could have all that jewelry. Lilly told mom that she liked that but didn't want mom to die soon. Well, as she went through the jewelry yesterday she picked out a bracelet that she liked. Mom told her to put it back. Lilly argued with her because she wanted to wear it for Muffy. Mom agreed and told her she could but she would have to give it back as soon as Muffy saw it on her. Lilly frowned, like she does so well, and said, "Well, I can have it now... it doesn't matter, you about to die anyway!" My mother laughed hysterically but Lilly kept on frowning because she did not think she had said anything funny. She was serious! My child comes up with the most amazing things to say, as I am sure all of yours do too.

I hope you all have a blessed day!

An adoption update: we almost have everything ready with the application packet to turn it in. Our goal is to turn it in on Monday. I do not know how long it takes to be officially accepted to the program. I am praying it only takes a week or two. Please pray for this as I am nervous until I know we have been officially accepted and we are on our way to our home study.

So Into Halloween!

2007-10-12T08:19:00.000-07:00

My precious Lilly is so into Halloween this year. She has been into it a little in the last two years past, but this year, she couldn't wait to get her costume and she has figured out what Josh and I are going to be. She started talking about wanting to be Snow White about a month ago. She switched from Snow White to wanting to be a witch and then she switched back. My sweet mother found her the most adorable Snow White costume at Sam's (believe it or not) for a good price. Lilly then decided that she wanted ME to be the witch and Josh to be the Prince so she could marry her daddy. I thought that was precious! Now, I just need to find Josh and pair of blue tights and a red cape! Ha! (Yeah right!) I will be lucky to get him into something that remotely resembles the Prince from Snow White.

We were invited to a small Halloween party last night for a few children and she couldn't wait to wear it. I gave her a bath and blew dry her hair very nicely. I then put a little make-up on her so she would have rosy cheeks and pink lips like Snow White. She got dressed and we painted her finger nails and toe nails. She looked so "romantic". (That is her new word.) She was the only little girl at the party and the two little boys her age fought over who got to hold her hand. I can't believe how fast she is growing up. It makes me want to cry!

We all had a good time and Lilly really enjoyed being Snow White for the evening. Now, we just have to wait for Halloween night and I have to find Josh and I something to wear to be the Witch and the Prince.

My Sweet Lilly

2007-10-05T08:14:00.000-07:00

Lilly is getting so big and I wanted to share a few things about her. I also wanted to add more pics of her to my site so you all can see how much she looks like a big girl now, instead of a toddler.

-Lilly loves to color. In fact, it is her favorite thing to do. She can color all day long. She is very good at it. She stays in the lines and holds her crayon the right way, already. Her favorite color is red (right now).

-She loves her little television programs. Her favorites are "The Backyardigans" and "Scooby Doo".

-She likes to eat fruit, like bananas and apples, goldfish, cheezits, pop tarts, cereal, bacon, pancakes, pudding, and anything chocolate.

-She started preschool this year. She is learning so much already. She has made three special friends that she talks about constantly; Eli, Emma Lynn, and Cayden.

-She has an imaginary friend, named Andrea. Andrea goes everywhere with us and she is always sick. She throws-up in her mommy's bed all the time.

-Lilly is crazy about her Mimi and her Muffy. (That is my mom and Josh's mom.)

-She is somewhat a drama queen.

-She loves animals.

-She makes up crazy words and dances around saying them. She talks constantly and has a very good vocabulary for a three-year-old.

-She fell and hit her head on our bed and had to have stitches right in between her eyes. (See the picture above.)

-Lilly loves her little cousin, Catherine. She is like a sister to Lilly.

I am so proud of my little girl. I am amazed by her everyday. I learn a lot from her and her little personality is so wonderful.
She is just as excited as we are about the adoption. She wants a baby so badly. She did want a baby girl, but changed her mind this morning to wanting a baby brother. She said she already had a girlfriend, so she needed a boy around.

We've made the first step...

2007-10-02T09:17:00.000-07:00

We successfully got through our first appointment with Catholic Family Services. It went pretty good. We loved the social worker, Laura, and she was very informative. She is a talker, like me, which I like. She made me feel very comfortable with the whole process.

Josh and I realized, in front of her, that we weren't seeing eye to eye on one issue concerning what we would accept in our adopted child. That was a small bump in the road. I feel that we got through it and we discussed the issue with her, which was a good thing. This process may be like marital counseling for both of us, too. We are really having to use our compromising skills. This is such an important decision in all of our lives, including Lilly's, and we all need to come away from this feeling very comfortable and happy. So, it is good that we are really talking to each other about this and each of of us are having to give and take.

We have our application packet. We are going to try to get it completed and turned in within a two week period. The longest part of the application is going to be writing our autobiographies. We each have to write one. I am looking forward to writing mine. Hopefully, Josh can find the time to write his between his job, working out, watching NFL football during the week, and watching college football on the weekend. He is very busy during football season! ;)

I can already tell this entire experience is going to be such a blessing for everyone involved. It is hard to believe that we are actually moving forward with this. We talked about it for so long and now we are working to make it happen. It gets me so excited! Lilly is well aware of what is going on. She keeps talking to us about how she wants to get a girl and that she won't come from mommy's tummy. She is also stuck on saying she wants a baby from China because she saw this in one of her little television programs. We are not considering international adoption at this point, though I think it is wonderful. Hopefully, Lilly won't be disappointed.

Our appointment is Monday!

2007-09-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

We have our first appointment with Catholic Family Services on Monday, the 1st of October. I am very excited about this appointment, though, it really is just an informational appointment for all of us, the adoption specialist included. She is going to talk to us and find out what we want out of adoption and we can talk to her and find out how she can help us with our adoption.

She will send us home with an application. We will have to formally apply to the program and then we can begin our homestudy process. (I hope!) As you can tell, I am very ready to get this process moving. I have never felt more Christ-driven in my life. I feel like I have a purpose right now. All I can think about is this adoption. I am even dreaming about it at night.

I have to give my appreciation to my sweet husband right now, too. I feel like he is taking a leap of faith with me. He isn't as "gung-ho" about adopting as I am, though, I think he feels like it is right for our family. In fact, I am sure he feels like it is right for our family, or else, he wouldn't have agreed to move forward with it. I want to thank him for his trust in me. He has always trusted me that if I said, "I feel like we should do this", whatever it may be, he allows us to move forward with it. He trusts my intuition and my heart for God.

I do feel like God has called me to do this, even a long time ago. I have always wondered exactly why God put me on this earth and I have always thought that it was to save children and animals. Every stray animal always finds its' way to my doorstep somehow and I always try to find a way to find it a home or I keep it myself until I have it a home. (This drives my husband and my family crazy, by the way.) But, it has always been an urge that I can't control, so I feel that it comes from God sometimes.

Now, I feel this urge with wanting to adopt a child. It seems like everywhere I go and everything I watch is about adoption right now, whether I know it is going to be or not. Last weekend, there were three movies on Lifetime about adopting and then last night, Without A Trace was about adoption. I told Josh as we went to bed that I really felt led that we were doing the right thing. I have had it affirmed to me almost every single day. Just this past Tuesday, on the front page of the Athens paper, was a family married for 23 years who just adopted a baby girl. Their story was amazing. I long for the day when we can share our complete story and give all the glory to God for it.

Well... wish us well on Monday. I am sure I will post about it on Tuesday. Pray for us through this journey that we will listen to God and ask Him to guide us. Pray that we will find a way to finance this adoption. This has been something that I have just felt like God is going to take care of for us, so I am not at all worried. I really do not feel any real worry right now at all about this entire situation. I have learned just recently that God is in control and He will take care of me and my family no matter what. We just have to wait on Him, which is the hardest part.

I found a quote today that I want to share with you all, whoever is reading this blog, as I close this post out.

"Adopting a child won't change the world; but for that child, the world will change."

I don't know who said that originally, but I love it!

New to blogging

2007-09-27T12:47:00.000-07:00

I guess I am going to try this blogging thing. I have been reading so many others' blogs and have been wondering if I can do it. I am going to try. I love reading about others' lives and hope that mine will be as interesting, though I feel like it will not be. I don't know if I am as talented a writer as some of yours I have read.

I am not sure how to upload a pic to my profile. I will have to try to figure all of this out. I have a myspace page to keep up with friends from high school and college. This doesn't seem as easy to arrange. I hope I can figure it out.

I will try to post fun things to read. Hope you all enjoy.