WWI: 2

Monday's w/ Michael

I wanted to update everyone on my Wells County Weigh In progress. I lost 3 pounds last week...but it wasn't easy. Saturday night we went to Ft. Wayne. Jane was craving Aussie Fries, so we went to Outback. I got...a side salad and water. I felt sorry for our waiter, our total bill was around $10! As I'm trying to eat healthier, I'm learning a lot too. For example, today Jane and I went to Subway for lunch. Assuming the flat bread was healthier, that's what I ordered. Later, I checked Subway's website. Jane's 6-inch Monteray Cheddar had 240 calories. My flatbread had...240 calories. It would have been better for me to just get white bread! But, I did just get a veggie sub, no dressing, so it was still fairly healthy. This week could be rough though with Bruce and Leslie coming. Jane will be making delicious meals every night and it will be hard for me to pass them up.

Well, I don't want to bore everyone with my Weigh-In stories. Here are some cute pics of the boys.

Last week with the Yerglers, Harper become obsessed with Finn. I think she views him as the coolest baby doll ever! He's so realistic!

The boys love their baths!

That's right. This is a picture of Deacon eating a fast food chicken sandwich. When the picture was taken, he had only eaten the bun, but he ended up eating the whole thing (and some of mommy's fries)!

Make it a great week!

"Real" Parents

We have been so blessed to have the opportunity to have a very open and close relationship with Leslie, Deacon's birthmother. She came and visited us last April for Deacon's 1st birthday and stayed with us for 4 days. We were not sure when we would see her again, but hoped not too much time would pass until we had another opportunity. Well....she is coming to visit again (arriving Feb. 3), but she is not coming alone...... Bruce, Deacon's birthfather, will be staying with us too!! We are so excited about this amazing opportunity and are excited to see what God has in store.

We are very open with our boys about the miracle of adoption and the fact that that is how they were placed into our family. We always refer to our boys' birthmothers as their 'tummy mommies' and say Mama Leslie, Mama Jo and of course they can only understand so much now, but as time goes on, they will understand more and more. One of our prayers with their visit is that Deacon will feel that natural bond that he shares with them. Obviously he will not have the attachment that he has with us, but that biologic and emotional connection which creates a bond. It was Leslie who carried him for 9 months, it was their voices that he heard for 9 months, it was Bruce's cooking that he enjoyed for 9 months:) (Bruce loves to cook!), and it is their genetic make-up in which he was 'fearfully and wonderfully made'.

So often, it seems so much emphasis is placed on the adoptee and the birthmother, and that the birthfather can be 'forgotten'. But he is just as much a part of it as the birthmother. Those of us involved in the triad of adoption all have our own unique hurts, wonders, feelings. Michael and I will feel forever indebted to Leslie and Bruce for the gift that that they have given us. Even still sometimes I question my 'authenticity' to Deacon, and then I am reminded of my 'realness' by the following story from the book, 20 Things Adopted Children Wished Their Adoptive Parents Knew.

"During one conversation, David said, 'Melissa (a friend) says that Marie is my real mom. Is she my real mom?' Kathy's response was quick and direct. 'To the extent that Marie really carried you in her body for nine months, and to the extent that she really went into labor and delivered you, which she did, I would say that what she did was real. She is a real person who did some real things for you. I think of myself as quite real also. I really did change all those diapers, give you all those bottles and baths, rock you and sing to you for hours on end, take you for walks, read stories to you. All that is real too. And it makes me your real mom also. Marie did her part and I am doing my part. We are both real moms to you'."

Easing Back In

I'm back!


Michael told me that if I didn't post soon, he would be changing the name of the blog over to "Monday's with Michael".

In my time off from blogging, I turned 25! A quarter of a century! Michael, in tune with my top love language (quality time), surprised me and took a day off work and we went to Indy and stayed the night. Our hotel had a pool, and for those of you who really know me, know how much I love public bath tubs, er, pools.............







yeah right!




But, I decided, hey, I'm 25 now and I turned over a new leaf. Of course it helped that there was no one else in sight:) I knew some just would not believe it unless we had proof, so I had Michael take my picture.










On a different note...





They just don't get much cuter than this!!









I am continually reminded of how blessed we are when I see all that God has given us, especially our boys!


They were chosen by God, and born in our hearts.

WWI

Monday's w/ Michael

WWI...no, not the first World War. I'm talking about Wells County Weigh In! I've joined a team of guys from Nesco in an effort to lose weight. Actually, our primary focus is the $1,000 prize to the team that loses the highest %. We had to weigh in on Thursday, so we spent all week stuffing ourselves. (Oddly enough, on Tuesday I drank a Pepsi before lunch, had a Double Cheeseburger value meal for lunch, drank a Mt. Dew after lunch, had pizza for supper and a candy bar before bed...and lost 3 pounds!) On Thursday, right before we left to weigh in, our boss called us into the conference room. He had bought us one of Tyeger's cookies. For those of you who have never seen one of Tyeger's cookies, it is a chocolate chip cookie the size of a large pizza! He told us that he wanted us to eat it all before weigh in. We were stuffed, but we managed to do it. And it worked! At weigh in, I came in at the highest weight of my life (it probably helped that I had bricks in my pockets...ok, I didn't really, but I thought about it). My goal now is to lose 20% of my weigh in weight. (Sadly, that puts me back to where I was when we got married 6 years ago!) Thursday night, Jane and I both got sick. If she hadn't gotten sick, I would have blamed it on the cookie, but since both of us were sick, I think it was either the flu or food poisoning. Whatever it was, it worked! I lost 9 pounds over the weekend! Well, 4 days down, only 3 months and 26 days left!

Make it a great Monday!

Interesting Facts

Monday's w/ Michael

Well, I'm really running out of ideas. These facts came from my new Uncle John's Bathroom Reader.

Did you know:

Sign language users have been known to sign in their sleep.

The most common 4-letter word used in crossword puzzles is "area".

Square dancing is the official folk dance of 24 states.

The most abundant mammals in tropical rainforests are bats.

One kernel of candy corn supplies enough calories for an adult to walk 150 feet.

The University of Minnesota is older than the state of Minnesota.

10% of Americans are left-handed; 18% of American presidents have been.

There are 4 cars and 11 light posts located on a $10 bill.

Bill Gates scored a 1590 on the SAT. Paul Allen scored a perfect 1600.

The world's largest book is Bhutan: A Visual Odyssey. It is 5' tall by 7' wide and weighs 133 pounds.

Companies in France must pay a fine if their name contains an English word.

Americans eat 387 million pounds of sauerkraut per year (1.25 lbs per person).

On average, 40% of all American hotel rooms are empty on any given night.

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen's company is worth more than the gross national product of Mongolia.

Right now, there are roughly 18 million items for sale on eBay.

In 1985 the most common waist size for men's pants was 32. Today it's 36.

The average US home now has more TV sets than people.

Girl Scout Thin Mints are the 3rd-bestselling cookie in the US.

The only English word with three consecutive double letters is bookkeeper.

Make it a great week!

Sports Quotes, Volume 3

Monday's w/ Michael

And now for the conclusion of humorous sports quotes:

Elvin Hayes, 6'10" Washington Bullets forward, asked in a hotel lobby if he was a basketball player: "No, I clean giraffe ears."

Ron Meyer, Indianapolis Colts coach known for his malapropisms, shrugging off his bold decision to start rookie Jeff George at quarterback: "It isn't like I came down from Mount Sinai with the tabloids."

Jason Kidd, Dallas Maverick No. 1 draft pick, on the Mavs' prospects: "Now that I'm here, we'll turn the program around 360 degrees."

Tracy McGrady, Magic guard, after being fined $10,000 for kicking a ball into the stands twice during a game: "That's a lot of money. I'll have to get me another autograph-signing session to pay that."

Danny Ainge, Portland Trail Blazer guard, claiming that his reputation as a complainer is undeserved: "Actually, I'm not a complainer. I'm a whiner."

And now for my favorite sports quote:

Shaquille O'Neal: "The people who know me, they know what time it is. They know what the Diesel has come here to do. Period. P-U-R-E-U-D. Period."

Make it a great week!

Sports Quotes, Volume 2

Monday's w/ Michael

More humorous quotes from the sports world:

Morgan Shepherd, NASCAR driver, on why the NBA brawl couldn't happen in his sport: "None of our fans would ever let go of a beer for any reason, much less throw it at somebody."

Chuck Pool, the Florida Marlins publicist, on Cincinnati Reds outfielder Kevin Mitchell's upper-deck home run at Joe Robbie Stadium: "There have been a plethora of guys to hit it up there, but that was the plethorest."

Cosey Coleman, Browns guard, on the debut of offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson: "I'm sure he had nerves going through his veins."

Mike Luit, St. Louis Blues goalie, on rule changes he'd like to see in the NHL: "Make the puck bigger and softer."

George Steinbrenner, New York Yankees owner, evaluating his ace pitcher: "David Cone is in a class by himself with three or four other players."

Wimp Sanderson, Alabam basketball coach, on lasting 32 years at the school: "I've been here so long that when I got here, the Dead Sea wasn't even sick."

Tony Campbell, Minnesota Timberwolves guard, after suffering a painful fall on his hip during a game against the Washington Bullets: "My gluteus maximus is hurteous enormous."

Duane Thomas, Dallas Cowboy running back, asked if he had an IQ: "Sure I've got one. It's a perfect 20-20."

Rick Pitino, Kentucky basketball coach, when asked about one of his team's defensive alignments: "That's our mother-in-law set--constant nagging and harassment."

Tune in next week for the conclusion of humorous sports quotes!

Make it a great week!