Closer to Love

Mat Kearney's new song is called Closer To Love. It's about us being one phone call away from bad news and how that brings us to our knees to pray & seek God's comfort.

May this be an encouragement to all of us, wherever you are right now.

2 visits today

This morning was full of visits ~ first from our agency caseworker and then our CPS caseworker. We're one of the few that actually see both caseworkers every month! This is rare! I know some people who never even meet their CPS caseworker. The visits are short and most of the time, we just chat about life, but it's wonderful to have great relationships with both of our caseworkers. I truly believe that it has made all the difference in how Maggie's case has been handled.

Our CPS caseworker has been fantastic. I remember being worried about him being assigned to us. I liked our first caseworker. This guy was new. He wasn't experienced. He was a he. I know...I know....I shouldn't have judged but I did. I didn't want a guy. I wanted a woman. Someone who could feel my pain, understand my emotions, and have that "only a woman/mother knows" type of heart. But in the end, I was wrong. Never before have I met someone who was so passionate about what was best for my child & our family. He fought for us every step of the way. He has been our family's advocate. He didn't have to be...but he was.

CPS is trying to finish up all the paperwork to get our case transferred to the adoption unit. We did find out today that the state does require a 3 month wait until an adoption can be finalized to allow for someone to contest the adoption. We're not worried about that. Every possible person was interviewed when we first went to court. We have no reason to doubt that this will be a possibility...and we're not going to allow that to enter our minds. It's just the way it is. It's the system. It's the law. And we understand that.

CPS did say that they hope to have everything done in the next 3 months...so hopefully we'll be able to finalize everything by the end of the summer (I'm not holding my breath for the 3 month goal!)

I don't know how the caseworkers do what they do...but I sure am thankful for them. They've made our journey that much easier...and we've made some great friends along the way!

Legally Free

Patti called us right after court with the best words "Congratulations, Mommy!" That's right! Maggie Joy is now legally free....WHOOOO HOOOOO!

CPS went to court yesterday for the termination of parental rights. All rights were terminated on the birth mother & birth father ~ this also includes all of their family members and any potential birth father (since he is technically unknown).

While Maggie is still not officially ours, the biggest burden has been lifted. We no longer have to worry about any issues with the birth mom. While our trust is in the Lord, there was still some fear as we never knew when we might get a call that a visit has been ordered, another issue has come up, or that the judge wanted more time. Nope...all that is done. Whew. Such a huge burden lifted off of our shoulders and more importantly, our hearts.

From the moment that Maggie came home, she has been our daughter. But it sure will be a wonderful feeling to have Maggie legally recognized as our daughter and to officially be Maggie Joy. While our experience has been pretty wonderful with CPS and CASA, it will also be nice to just be a family and not have to deal with that anymore! No more home visits, forms to fill out, weekly status reports, etc.

"He did not waver... regarding the promise... being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what he had promised." (Romans 4:20-21) (from my devotional today!)

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for remaining constant, faithful, loving, & true to your promises. May we live each day in gratitude & awe of all that You've done, currently doing and all that You will do in the future. All glory be given to You! We are so blessed to have been chosen to be Maggie's momma & daddy. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

200th Post!

200 posts....seriously? I guess I've had a little (ha!) to say over the past 2 years & 3 months since entering blogland. I can't think of a better way to mark the 200th post than to be asking for continued prayer in our journey to adopting Maggie.

As you all remember, our court date was postponed last month due to the lack of one piece of paper. As frustrating as that was, we remained confident that the Lord's timing continues to be perfect. That rescheduled court date is now here ~ this Monday at 1:30pm.

We have been told (from CPS) that all paperwork is ready to be submitted on Monday and that there shouldn't be any reason to not have both birth mother and birth father's rights terminated at that time. As you know, Maggie's birth mom relinquished her rights, so we are not concerned with that. The issue at the last hearing was that the search for the birth father was not fully completed.

Just to bring you up to speed ~ there was no father listed on the birth certificate. At some point, Maggie's birth mom provided a name of who she thought could be the father (it's HIGHLY unlikely). He apparently is nowhere to be found. With that being said, all parties involved are fully prepared to move forward with terminating the father's rights. We are hopeful that the judge will agree with all research that has been performed and not have any issues with the birth father.

Michael & I have learned that nothing is ever quite as simple as we think it should be, nor does everything go according to our plan...BUT that's when we are so thankful that we don't rely on our timing or our plans. We rely fully on the Lord. The Lord knows what will happen, when it will happen and in the way it will take place.

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27: 13-14

We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice for we trust in His Holy name. Psalm 33:20-21

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your ways to the Lord; trust in Him and He WILL DO THIS: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn , the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Psalm 37: 4-6.

Won't you join us in praying for all parties involved, especially the judge. But in the end, we know that the ultimate judge is the Lord Himself...so, as we wait for the results of Monday's hearing, we take comfort that God already knows the answers.

We'll be sure to update you as soon as we can. We love you all and appreciate your continued prayers and support!

STAT!

STAT! ....urgent; immediate request; rush.

I have been having some pain on right side for about a week. When it didn't really go away, I figured, well...guess I better get it checked out. I figured I'd just go see my internist, he'd write me script for an antibiotic and I'd be on my way. Well, that's what I figured would happen anyway.

I arrive @ Dr. D's office, with Maggie in tow, yesterday around 11:45am. They were all excited to finally meet Maggie, since I haven't had to see them since she came home last July. I went in to the exam room, explain my symptoms, had a urine test run and came back to sit. Dr. D said that my urine test was not at all impressive (wow - that's not usually a term that I would use in situations like this...but ok) and then gave me the strict instructions to get over to the hospital immediately for a CT scan.

Oh. Ok. Right. Me and my 2 year old. Sure. That's NOT going to happen. So, back in the car, drop Maggie off at home, arrive at the diagnostic testing. Provide my orders to the intake person. Start my registration. Told that since I am a Diabetic, I have to have some blood work done prior to the CT scan. Fine. BUT. Dr did not write those labs on the order. Great. It's 12:35pm. Dr. D is now on lunch. They call. No answer. Won't be back until 1:30. Ugh. I decide to drive over to his office in hopes that maybe, just maybe, he isn't actually eating lunch and might, just might, be working on charts, following up with patients, or checking his facebook...but alas, he apparently decided to eat lunch. 1pm...what to do for 30 minutes? Go to Target of course. 1:30 arrive back at Dr. D's office. Get the orders for the blood work. Return to the diagnostic testing. Begin registration again (not sure what happened to the "save" button on the computer). Informed of all my rights, benefits, payments, instructions, etc. Provided with my lunch of 3 of barium sulfate drinks...given choice of banana, berry or apple. Chose berry. Began to drink the 1st of 3 bottles. Nearly gagged. Chalk-like milky substance. I guess no one cared to know that I have major texture issues, let alone can't drink anything at room temperature. Lovely. Finished 1st bottle before I left registration. Informed to drink the remaining 2 bottles as quickly as possible, since I was an urgent patient. Went over to lab. Got blood drawn. Finished 2nd bottle. Walked over to radiology and guzzled (OH.MY.WORD!!!) the 3rd bottle down. It was now 2:45pm. 3 bottles in 45 minutes. I was pretty proud of myself. UNTIL the sweet lady at the desk said let me get you started on your drinks. Wait. Already drank them. You already drank the 3 drinks? Yes. When did you finish? Just now. When did you start? about 45 minutes ago. OH. HONEY! (oh no!) That is way too fast. You are about to get really sick. And the nearest bathroom is out by the ER (not really too close). GREAT! Lovely. She told me to walk around, get the stuff moving through my system. I was already nauseated from drinking the stuff...now the gurgling, bubbly sounds were echoing through the halls. I seriously sounded like my stomach was possessed. Needless to say, without saying too much, I walked around the hospital for another 45 minutes and I definitely got sick. Enter CT scan. They try to start IV. Inform them that I have horrible veins. Don't try my arms. You won't get it. Just go in through my hands or feet. Yes. I know it hurts. Just trust me. Do they trust me? Nope! One girl tries my right arm. Insert needle. Nope. She then tries my right wrist. Insert needle. Nope. Another girl tries my left arm. Insert needle. Nope (REALLY!?!?!?) Then they call in someone else, who calmly says, "Honey, take a deep breath...this is going to hurt" (ugh!) and into the side of my left arm she goes. Now, I have quite the tolerance for pain, but I'm pretty sure she put a 1 foot needle in my arm and that's why I let out the scream that I did and my body went flying off the table. But good news...she got it in. (Still wonder if that all could have been avoided if they had just listened to me the first time). I now have 4 huge bruises to show off. CT scan with contrast on it's way. It's done. You can go home now....and wait. Wait for the radiologist to read the films. Wait for my doctor to be called with the findings. Wait for my doctor to call me with the results. Wait for the side effects to pass from the barium sulfate drinks.

Didn't get a return phone call last night, or this morning even. My dr. called me @ 2pm today to let me know the results....kidney stones. Lots of them, but thankfully no blockages. So, now I just have to deal with the pain and wait for them to pass. Oh fun.

7 hours to get testing done yesterday.
24 hours to get a call back with test results.
Unknown hours to deal with the pain.

I think my definition of "STAT" just changed!

Our 1st Easter

The annual Crews Easter Eggstravaganza took place yesterday. We were worried that we might be rained out...but thankfully the rain held off!

Picture this....5 little girls under the age of 6 with a better-than Martha Stewart Nana on site...and boy did we have some fun to take care of!

First off..."Ok girls...take your clothes off" WHAT?! You heard right...clothing was not optional for the first event ~ egg dying. We had small buckets of pink, green, yellow, purple, orange and blue dye spread out across the table with 36 eggs just waiting to be colored. The girls couldn't wait to get started and what a mess it was! Maggie was the first to spill the green vinegar all down her arms, stomach and legs. Oh how I'm glad that we took the clothes off (and that we did all of this outside!) Gabriela, Isabela, Maya & Samantha went after the dying of eggs like there was no tomorrow. They couldn't wait to get their hands dirty and their eggs colored. Gabriela even got creative (on her own, she'd remind you) and would stick half the egg in one color and flip it to another color.

After we got everyone cleaned up (what a chore!), it was off to the egg hunt. We started youngest to oldest, so Maggie went first. Then Samantha. Then Maya & Isabela. Gabriela was last, which she was not happy about. Oh the trials of being the oldest ~ I know how it is, Gabriela! 5 girls running around all over the back yard, side yard, front yard, in the bushes, up in trees, under the swingset...battling for who would get the most eggs. I'm sure you wouldn't be surprised that Gabriela filled up her basket the fastest, but don't worry ~ we divided the eggs all up equally. While the kids were out playing, the adults were eating all the good candies (we needed some rewards too!).

Then it was off to eat some burgers and dogs ~ turned out to be really nice outside. For dessert? Undecorated cupcakes to make Easter-looking baskets. Nana provided the icing, grass (green food colored coconut) and jelly beans for the "eggs". Turned out very cute ~ a hit by all!

The girls had tons of fun playing together ~ whether it be riding bikes, dancing to country music, swinging and sliding on the play set, or playing dodgeball (which provided a few crying moments). Gabriela got smacked in the mouth with the huge ball and then shortly thereafter, got kneed in the chin by her sister. Gabriela was pretty hurt but the sweetest thing, as a Momma, was that Maggie was the first one to go up to Gabriela and give her a kiss and a hug. Maggie is very sensitive to other people's feelings, especially when they're crying. I'm thankful for her tender heart.

We got loaded up, dropped Mimi off at her house, made a last stop at the grocery store, got home and took a much needed bath, and finally got Maggie to bed around 10:30. She was zonked out. It was now time to put Maggie's Easter basket together for her to find the next morning.

Easter Morning brought huge thunderstorms our way and a loss of power for about 2 hours. So we celebrated Easter quietly together as a family. Our first Easter together. It's been so fun to celebrate all these "firsts" with Maggie. Maggie came in to find her Easter basket filled with goodies ~ bubbles (of course), a coloring book with stickers, a Bible story book, a stuffed bunny, a chocolate bunny, and some obnoxious noise making toy that to this day, I don't know why in the world I thought it would be a great gift. :) We went from a cool, rain-trodden morning to a clear blue warm day that ended in a swim in her pool. Only in Houston!

We took time together as a family to celebrate the wonderful gift of Jesus' Resurrection and while we know that Maggie doesn't understand what we read to her about today, Michael & I enjoyed sharing with her to the story. She knows about Jesus and she prays to Jesus and our hearts' prayer is that Maggie will one day know & accept Jesus as her personal Lord & Savior.

We enjoyed the fun of Easter & spring yesterday with all the kiddos ~ the eggs, the hunt, the candy and decorations...and we're thankful to have a Risen Savior who loves and cares for us, as only He can! May we always remember to celebrate Jesus' resurrection, every day...not just on Easter Sunday.

Love Letter

I shared this on my other blog, but just in case you don't visit there ~ I wanted to post it here too!

Take a look at the amazing love letter I received last night.

Love Letter to CC