Sweet Sounds of Home

Mommy Lesson #5

“There’s no place like home.”

Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz

After spending three weeks in Florida, waiting for ICPC approval, I am happy to announce that Easton, Clay, and I are home together at last. Right now, Easton is sleeping in his crib and I hear the sound of my own washing machine. I see the golfers driving by on our golf  course and of course, I am eating Cocoa Pebbles out of my own cheap bowls from Garden Ridge.

Life is good.

I think my favorite thing about being home, though, has been the sounds of friends and family holding Easton and loving on him. I never knew how much I would love to hear someone say, “Your baby is so cute.”

Whether they mean it or not, those words are actually better than:

- “I love your outfit.”

- “Have you lost weight?”

-”You overpaid on your escrow account, and we are mailing you a check for the difference.”

-”No school! Snow day!”

When we are not showing off our little man, Clay and I spend most of our time at home staring at Easton and watching him do the most amazingly cute things like 1.) Yawn  2.) Hiccup  3.) Stretch  4.) Sigh.  Who knew that such simple things could blow our minds? I probably say, “Look at his face,” twenty times a day. I think our favorite thing he does right now is sneeze. I know that sounds weird, but he usually sneezes three times and then ends with a huge sigh of relief. It cracks me up. Clay will turn off the TV to hear the sneezes and then we both laugh.

Easton is our greatest entertainment. He is filling our home with the sweet sounds of baby.

How did your little baby entertain you? Did he or she have any cute expressions or habits that you will never forget?

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Invitation to My Pity Party

“It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to…”

Lesley Gore

If I had to choose one place in the United States to be stuck, Juno Beach, Florida is the place. Seagulls are flying over the white, sandy beaches; restaurants sprinkle the quaint coastline; and a warm breeze passes by the condo that we have been blessed to occupy for the past two weeks. If I had to choose a place to vacation, it would be hard to pick a better spot.

So, why did I start crying when I found out today that we could be staying here a LOT longer?

I can’t blame it on raging hormones, so I will have to find another excuse for my cry fest. It started when our attorney informed me that the ICPC in Florida did not accept our packet because the fingerprints are out of date. Here is a short explanation of our situation…

 The ICPC stands for the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children. There are certain documents (we have a 120-page packet) that must be turned in to the ICPC in order to take a baby across state lines. Our packet is complete except for one thing… we are waiting for fingerprints from the FBI saying that we have not committed a crime in the past six months since our last fingerprints expired.

My emotions have gone from:

Sadness: “I didn’t plan to spend my entire maternity leave in Florida.”
to
Rage: “This ridiculous red tape is beyond my comprehension.”
to
Pity: “Poor Easton won’t even get to see his Daddy for the first month of his life.”
to
Determination: “I will call or e-mail every senator, congressman, or bureaucrat until I find someone who can help.”
to
Peace:“God is still in control, and Easton is still our precious gift from Him.”

I can’t say that I feel completely better yet, but God is still in control. Worse things have plagued parents, and undoubtedly worse things will come our way than having to be stuck in a beautiful place with my sweet little baby and my wonderful mother. It’s not that bad, but if you want to help, I am asking for three things:

1. Pray that God will work a miracle and allow us to come home soon (or give me more peace).
2. Please e-mail me if you know anyone in high places who is willing to make a phone call for us.
3. Don’t call tonight unless you want to hear the pity party song.

My Mom wrote this song when I was in grade school and I have been singing it all day:

“Oh you are cordially invited
To attend my party.
Oh please you must come
Right away.
We’re gonna dwell on the badness
Experience Sadness.
Just bring a shoulder to cry on
For me….

Cause it’s my Pity Party
My Pity Party
Don’t come with a smile
Just a frown.
Don’t pick me up,
I wanna stay
Down, Down, Down.

Cause it’s my Pity Party
My Pity Party
Feelin’ so sorry for me.”

 God is in control, and He is taking care of everything, even when I am having a pity party.

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