The Park

There was a terrific park just a few minutes from our hotel. It was $3 each time we went there, but was worth every penny we spent! It was a great place for the big kids to burn off energy and get some sun, and was enclosed, so we didn't need to worry about them (Miss O, especially) running off. I didn't get any pictures of the girls, but here's Ato T enjoying the swing. We spent time there almost every day we were in Jackson.

Medgar Evers' Home

This was probably my favorite outing from Jackson, even though we weren't able to go inside.
There was a phone # to call and make an appointment, but no one ever answered it, so we just drove there one afternoon and saw the outside of the house. For those who are not familiar, Medgar Evers was a strong leader in the civil rights movement. He was shot and killed in his driveway on June 12, 1963. If you have never heard his story, I encourage you to read more about him. He was a wonderful man.

We had taken the kids to the Medgar Evers Pavilion at the Jackson Airport, and had also done some online learning about him before we visited his home. The girls were detectives while we were there, trying to figure out where the gunman could have been hiding. What a great way to learn some of our history!

Planetariun

At the Jackson Planetarium we saw 2 shows. The first was "Pluto: The Vanishing Planet"

It was really informational!

The second was "Space Storm," and taught us about how the sun causes space storms.

Ato T fell asleep during the second show.

One Month of Joy

Yep, Little Miss is one month old already! The older I get, the more I wonder where the time has gone. I know this isn't the best picture, but it's the only one I had time to get yesterday on her one month birthday. She's changing so much every day! This little girl continues to astound me. We are thanking God for His continued blessings!

The trip from Miss O's view

The trip from Miss I's view

Mississippi Museum of Art

One afternoon I took the 3 big kids to the Planetarium. We say 2 shows, but there was an hour between the shows we wanted to see, so we walked across the street to the Mississippi Museum of Art. That's always a fun way to spend time! They had a great room in the middle of the museum where the kids cold sit and draw, so the girls spent some time drawing while Ato T and I looked at more pieces of art.

Sal & Mookies

Our first Sunday in Jackson, I was blessed to spend the afternoon and evening with Miss S (Little Miss' birth mom). She and I went out for lunch at a Chinese restaurant, then she took me grocery shopping, so we could be stocked up on groceries for the week. What a thoughtful lady! Just as she was leaving our hotel, mike and Lynn pulled up with the kids! so she came in to the hotel with us and we all hung out for a while, and then decided to go out to eat together. We went to this place, Sal & Mookies. What a great restaurant we randomly picked out of the hotel phone book! They had THE BEST homemade ranch dressing, and were all very friendly.

By the way, I should mention that taking 3 kids, who have been driving for 2 days straight, to a restaurant in the evening to meet a birth mom for the first time, is not the best idea in the world. Of course, Ato T had the hardest time. (Miss S actually asked if we were sure we could handle another one.) We assured her it was because of all the driving and stress. Thankfully we had the chance to show her a more relaxed family just before we left for home.

Ice cream that made Miss I's mouth all blue. She LOVED it!

God's Gift!

God's Gift is what Little Miss' name means, and it couldn't be more fitting. What a wonderful gift the Lord has given us through her! Isn't she beautiful?!

Yes, we're home.

Sorry I have been bad at updating the blog - we've been a little busy. :) We have been home for a little over a week, and are doing well. It's wonderful to be home! Ato T's seizures and most of his screaming are back under control now that we're home.

We arrived home to find that mice had gotten in while we were away. We called Orkin, and are working on fixing the problem, but it looks like it was a problem long before we bought the house, so it will take a while to fix. So, Miss O is back upstairs sharing a room with Miss I, which is actually going well this time around. Mike or I stay in their room until they are asleep, and after that the night is good. Added bonus is that Miss I stays in her bed now, and we get our bed to ourselves again! (Although Little Miss is in the cradle at the foot of the bed.)

We have been extremely blessed by friends and family! We came home to a new sink and fixed toilet in the basement bathroom, courtesy of Mike's dad! :) And to a vacuumed house and 2 meals in the freezer, courtesy of Mike's mom and sister, and a meal and gifts from our friend Lisa and Jess! :) Our home school coop also set up a take them a meal schedule, and has been bringing meals Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. What a treat! We also have a new PCA for Ato T! She's WONDERFUL, and couldn't have started at a better time! Did I mention how great she is?! She works HARD with Ato T all morning, and I can see him attaching to her already, after just one week!

The moral of this post: The Lord knows exactly what we need and when we need it. He continues to provide for us far beyond anything we could have ever expected or hoped for. May the Lord richly bless you during this holiday season, and may you always be aware of those blessings.

I still plan to publish some posts about other things we did while we were in Jackson, so keep checking. :)

Jackson Zoo

What a blessing! The Jackson has reciprocity with the MN Zoo! (Means we get in for free with our MN Zoo membership.) We spent one afternoon there while grandma was still here with us, and we are planning to spend another afternoon there tomorrow. We were there the last weekend that the elephants were there, so we were happy to get to see the elephants before they left. Little miss was with us, strapped to mommy the whole time, but she never made it into pictures.

I don't mind

I don't mind that I'm not sleeping well. I don't mind that my back hurts and I need a haircut badly. I don't even mind that I haven't slept in the same bed as my husband for 2 weeks, or that I've gained back about 10 of the 15 pounds I recently lost. Why don't I mind these things? Because we have our precious daughter in our arms, and our family is all together. I LOVE being a mother, especially to these 4 children!

Struggling

We sure would appreciate your prayers! The kids are really struggling. (Especially Ato T and Miss I.) We had originally expected to be starting home today or Monday, and we have just found out that our paperwork was lost and hasn't even left MS yet. It still has to go through Utah and then MN before we can go home. Ato T has extra seizures when he is stressed, and his stress is definitely showing. Miss I is not sleeping well at all. And I am reaching my emotional stress limit. We knew going into this that things could change, I guess we just didn't expect to be adding an entire week onto our trip. We didn't expect it emotionally or financially.

The original plan was for Miss S to be induced Monday, consents to be signed 24 hours after birth (Tuesday), and clearance to happen 7-10 business days after consents were signed. What ACTUALLY happened is that Little Miss was born on Tuesday, and it was decided to wait for 72 hours to have consents signed, instead of 24 hours. Then we found out today that MS lost our papers until today, and won't get them signed until Monday. After that, they still have to go to Utah and then on to MN before we can go home. So realistically, we're looking at at least one more week here.

Ato T and Miss O have now missed 6 therapy sessions each, and Ato T has not been in his stander for 2 weeks, which is not good for his hips. He will also be running out of his seizure meds. soon, and he was supposed to have his blood levels checked this coming week, to make sure the dose of meds. he is on is safe for him. Little Miss also needs to see our pediatrician.

So, we would really appreciate your prayers! We know that God is using this time for our good, and that He will also work out the finances for us. It's just pretty tough in the midst of the action. We also know that soon this will all be distant memories for us. We'd just like to get home as soon as possible so we can get our kids' needs attended to.

Entrustment ceremonies

We have been blessed by Little Miss' birth mom by having an entrustment ceremony. This is a ceremony planned by one or all parts of the adoption triad, symbolizing the entrustment of the child into the adoptive family's care. Little Miss' birth mom was willing to do this when I suggested it as an option. She came over to our hotel the day after they left the hospital. It was really simple, and pretty informal, but very significant to me, and I pray to Miss S as well. I read a poem for Miss S and a poem for Little Miss, Miss S said a few nice words to us, and then we lit the candles. The tall candles represent our family and Miss S, and the short one represents Little Miss. We lit Little Miss' candle together at the same time, much like a unity candle at a wedding. Below are the poems I read.

Dear Birth Mother

by Karen Ledbetter

You gave a gift,
A brand new life,

Tiny and sweet,

A blessing indeed.

A baby girl,

Precious and small,

An answer to prayer,

No joy can compare.

No more empty arms,

I'm thrilled like no other,

You chose life and

Made me a mother.

Thank you so much

For this precious gift,

For being God's answer

to my prayers and tears.

The Answer

Not flesh of my flesh,

Nor bone of my bone,

But still miraculously

my own.

Never forget,

For a single minute,

You didn't grow under my heart,

but in it.

Family Photo

Here's our first photo as a family of 6! Today we went to the Mississippi Agricultural Museum, and had a great time! Later tonight or tomorrow I'll post some pictures from that outing. We're still waiting for ICPC to clear so we can go home! Please pray it clears quickly - we're ready to be home! Thanks!

More of Little Miss

"Little Miss" seems to be the nickname that is catching on, so I'll use it here too!