Behind-the-Scenes: October & November 2015

You may have noticed, that since mid-October, it’s been VERY quiet here and on my other blog, jennie’s journey.

There are a couple of reasons for that -- the first of which is that my middle sister’s two children came to live with us in late September. 

I quickly learned that when you are caring for three children, ages 3 1/2 (our son), 2 1/2, and 7 months, you don’t have time to shower most days, let alone write blog posts. 

Your days are filled with potty training and formula making, diaper changing and separating (the two toddlers). And of course, lots and lots of playing. 

By late October, just as it felt as if we were settling into our "new" normal, Brian came to me with a proposal: Let’s take all three children to Disneyland in November.

I immediately shot him a “Have you lost your ever loving mind?!” look. 

He smiled, but it was clear to me that he was serious about this idea.

"Oh, I just don't know" was all I could muster initially.

In the days that followed, numerous discussions ensued -- I had lots of concerns about taking three kids under four to Disneyland -- namely, what if we lost a child?!! -- and was definitely more in favor of a beach vacation. But Brian was ever-so-persistent, and in the end, I agreed to his ideal trip:

2 Days of Disney (Th/Fri)

2 Days of Beach Time (Sat/Sun)

And so it was.

I could write a whole post (or two) about our adventures in Disneyland and at the beach, but suffice it to say, we had A LOT of fun and created some sweet memories.

I am ever so grateful to our good friend, Jason -- our beloved "manny" -- for accompanying us to the parks on both days and carrying the youngest in the hiking backpack, so Brian and  I could take the bigs on rides. Jason also captured footage of us with a little Go Pro like video camera, and then surprised us with an awesome video of our time in the parks. Thank you, Jason! (If you know me, you know how much I love documentation!)

I took along my big camera, too, and snapped a few shots.  

Zoey was SO excited to meet Elsa.

 And both Noah and Zoey loved the rides!

I had fun shooting at the beach, too, particularly as the sun set. (We had a blast spending time with our oldest niece who lives in Southern California.)

On Monday, November 23, after two days at Disneyland and two days at the beach, we packed up our car and headed for home. Although we had had a GREAT time in Southern California, I was looking forward to being back at home. Back to our own beds, our own kitchen, our own non-creaky wood floors. Back to our dogs and chickens. Back to our daily lives.

And then, my cell phone rang.
It was our adoption attorney calling.

She said a little girl had been born earlier that morning, and her birth mother was wanting to place her with an adoptive family.

Without a moment of hesitation, I answered YES!! when our attorney asked if we wanted to be presented. 

However, I didn't get my hopes up, knowing we'd likely be one of a dozen or more profiles shown to the birth mother. 

Out of curiosity, though, I did google How long does it take to drive from Santa Clarita to Santa Maria? The answer: 2.5 hours.

After hanging up with our attorney around 11:30 am, we decided to pull off the freeway in Santa Clarita to eat and play and use the restrooms at McDonald's.

Forty-five minutes later, while standing in the play place watching the bigs play, my phone rang. 

It was our attorney delivering the news I'd been waiting TWO years to hear: Jennie -- The birth mother chose you and Brian.  

To be continued...

Photo by Kathleen Galloway Photography