Ready for School

I know Elyse still has years before starting school, but I believe she is ready already. In fact, I have started taking Elyse to a adoption class run by our school district. It is set up for adoptive children to play with their parents and other adoptive families. Parents also separate from the children to have discussions, as well as watch the children interact with one another and their teachers through a one way mirror. We go on Mondays and so far so good. Therefore, since she loves going to what we call "her school" we decided to set up her table and chairs. She has spent much of her time there coloring, doing stickers and practicing her cards. I'm so thankful she loves to go to school, must get that from her Mama :)

Chloe Joy

Happy to introduce our newest niece, Chloe Joy Speckman.
Born Sept 27th at 7:53 PM, weighing 8 lbs, 3.5 oz and 20.5 inches.
Isn't she just perfect!?!? We can't wait to meet her over Thanksgiving. It just can't come soon enough.
To Steven (my brother) and Kim, we love you both lots and CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Baby #2 Update

Tonight Nate and I met with baby #2's birth mother, birth grandmother, and social workers. The meeting went perfectly. God was with us the entire time and we felt so much peace and joy throughout the night. So much in fact that before we left, Mariah told us that her and her mother officially, 100% chose us to parent her baby due in December. We are so overjoyed and now look forward to meeting again soon with Elyse and her extended family.

Other exciting news is that we may find out the gender since Mariah didn't want to find out in case she would have slipped it out while talking to us if we originally didn't want to know. Super thoughtful of her, right!?! So who knows, I maybe posting a post soon saying, it's a ....

Oh yeah, computer is still broken, but did make some posts using Nate's work computer this weekend I can publish throughout the week of Elyse :)

Out of Order

That's right, our computer is out of order once again. Bought it in 2008 and has crashed twice already. I am still able to check my e-mail using my college computer, but that's about it. Can't upload pictures or videos, which means blogging will be a very rare occurrence. Maybe be able to do some using Nate's work one on weekends. Really has been a lemon of a computer and hope to get it up running again soon.

Things They Say

As parents we tend to capture our children saying things that we would never expect. It generally falls into the categories of being humorous, emotional or embarrassing. Well this weekend, Elyse stated two of the three. I just love unforgettable moments like these!!!

#1: Nate and I were in Lowe's looking at doors (need to repaint our front one) and they had samples on the wall for windows. They were in the shape of a cross and so Elyse runs to it looks at me and says, "Mama, look Jesus" she then continues by singing, "Jesus Loves Me". Nate and I look and smile. My heart was full of joy.

#2: I turned the news on yesterday to check the weather for today and a commercial was on. Hopefully you have seen it, if not it's a police ad for drinking while driving. It shows how driving while drunk is completely obvious. The part Elyse saw was when the policeman opens the door of the man sitting inside the car with alcohol all around him. Right after seeing it Elyse says, "Look Mama that man is swimming in pee-pee." I laughed so hard!

Of course a post wouldn't be complete without a random pic of Elyse

Four Generations

Today, my grandma and her husband drove up from Nebraska to spend the morning with us. We spent much of our time watching Elyse entertain. Having them up here was special for a few reasons. First, it was the first time they had been to our house. Secondly, and more importantly, they got time to play with their first great grand baby. We hope to do it again soon. We love you lots.
4 generations (My family, especially grandma are big Nebraska fans)
I still had to make sure to represent Iowa State for at least one picture

Coming to an End

That's right, I know many have already posted something regarding this, so I figured it was my turn. Pulling out the long sleeves and jeans, seeing the leaves change colors, watching kids get on and off school buses, turning lights on for dinner because the sun is already setting, and eating our last piece of sweet corn. Sad to say, but looks like summer is officially coming to an end. Even though I love fall, it's the thought that winter is just around the corner is what makes me sad (or sick to the stomach). Positive note is that means we are that much closer to being a family of four :)

Indoor Camping

Elyse got a lot of great presents for her birthday, but for the past few days, two things that we have played with a ton are her adorable play dish set from Tom, Jenny and Aiden and her Elmo tent from my mom and stepfather. She loves them both so much she has to play with them at the same time. We are always eating something or drinking tea in the tent. I give it one more week and it will become old and boring, but for now, it's keeping her entertained.

God's Plan Really is PERFECT

I may have already posted this picture before, but this time it's going to be for real. That's right, Nate and I were chosen by a birthmother three hours north of the cities tonight. Here's the reason why I posted the title the way I did. God led us through the adoption process with Lily to prepare us to be okay with having an open adoption, which is what this birthmother prefers. She is young and therefore knows she can not support this child. Her family is 100% supportive and involved with this adoption. The baby is completely healthy and due on Nate's mother's birthday in December. Although one of the most remarkable reasons to us is that the baby is 3/4 Caucasian and 1/4 Hispanic, the exact same ratio as Elyse. They are going to have something in common that we can celebrate and embrace as a family. I can't get over how much He blesses us. When I think about all these beautiful things about this adoption I have so much hope, faith and joy I can't describe it in words. Oh yeah, this adoption also shows God's sense of humor, we don't know the gender and may not find out. The reason it's funny is because I swore I could never go without knowing and give my brother and sister-in-law the hardest time for not finding out theirs. Never say you can't do something, because God will show you that you can.

We also want to thank you all for your prayers! Even though everything is perfect and decided, we still ask for more prayer on a few things. We pray that everything continues to go smoothly, baby continues to be healthy and most importantly, we plan on meeting the birthmother in a few weeks and need everything to go smoothly so she won't change her mind. We feel that God has gotten us this far and He will for sure be with us at the meeting and take us to the end. I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and boy is it beautiful!!!

Enjoying the 60's

That's right, today's high is 67 and partly cloudy. Talk about a perfect fall weather day. So Elyse and I took advantage of it and joined our good friends, Sarah and Mason at the Como Zoo. Since it was cooler outside and students are back in school it was dead, and probably the best experience I have had there. The animals were coming up to the windows like crazy and were constantly on the move, minus the lions. Sarah informed me they sleep more than awake, must be rough.
Even though Elyse appeared to enjoy herself I believe the animal statues were her favorite thing today. She voluntarily sat and took a picture of herself on each one.

Thank you Sarah and Mason for joining us today. We had such a wonderful time and look forward to doing it again soon.

Birthday Bash

Tonight Nate and I threw Elyse her 2nd birthday party. It was suppose to be a pok-a-dot theme until she walked into the party store and saw the Minnie balloon and decorations. I then gave in since Minnie has pink pok-a-dots on her dress. Overall, it was a great and memorable night. I want to send out a special thanks to all you who gave Elyse a gift, card, etc., she got above and beyond what I could have imagined. Well since our birthday princess is fast asleep, I think I am going to follow. Happy Birthday Baby Girl!
Uncle Steven and Aunt Kim even made an appearance (you'd be right if you think they attended her party as life size cardboard people)

Two Years Ago Today...

God gave Nate and I the most beautiful, precious and perfect gift...
that we have treasured and loved more and more every day.

Happy 2nd Birthday Elyse! We love you so much and thank God daily for you. You really are a blessing not only to us, but many others.

Labor Day Vacation

For this Labor Day weekend, Nate, Elyse and I headed south, and I mean way south to Albuquerque, NM. We decided right after the loss of baby boy that we needed to get away. So we booked flights to see Nate's brother's family. It was wonderful, relaxing and just what we needed. Besides Elyse's lack of sleep, it was a perfect vacation.

While down there we spent a lot of time watching the kiddos play together, playing cards and eating delicious food. However, we also spent some of our time...
going to see rhinos, elephants, and hippos at their beautiful zoo,...
putting the kids in tutus (Liam will HATE this picture in the future),...
swimming in their indoor hot tub, (super fun and relaxing),...
playing at the park and...
celebrating Elyse's 2nd b-day, that's right, she turns 2 Wednesday!

A special thank you to Shawn, Amelia, Liam and Greta for hosting us. We love you all lots and look forward to doing it again soon.