I'm 7 months old and I hate fish!

Well I can't believe seven months have already gone by, it's happened so fast. Anaya is rolling her and there and everywhere, pulling her self up on me, and she is starting to get up on all fours...then she puts her arm out forward and falls flat on her face, ha ha I think we are a bit away form crawling.
She has been eating foods since about four months, and so far she has rejected nothing, not even broccoli or zucchini. I was beginning to think she would eat anything but alas I stand corrected. I made some salmon and green bean concoction for her tonight, and you can tell by the pictures she was less that pleased. The third picture is after I tricked her by mixing the salmon and green beans with apples to mask the flavor and she fell for that hook line and sinker. Fish, green beans and apples...yuk! Well we will see what I can get her to eat tomorrow.

Baby bumblebee

Although I am a few days late, Anaya turned six months on October 29th. Its hard to believe she's that old already, the time sure flys and we are loving every minute of it. It was also Halloween this past week and of course we took Anaya to the pumpkin patch. We had a great time, Anaya trying to eat the hay straight from the bail and me trying to get it out of her mouth... but what fun is life if you can't put some hay in your mouth right? Then on Halloween night we went to a little Halloween pumpkin party at a friends house and Anaya dressed up at a bumblebee...cutest thing I have ever seen.

Our forever girl

Wow, a lot has happened since my last post. Not only is Anaya now five and half months old, her adoption was finalized on September 26th. It was an amazing day and I am so thankful to all who attended the event. It meant a lot to our entire family.
It's great to know that now Anaya is officially and legally our forever girl! What a relief. Furthermore, she is rolling over and sitting up. She started eating solid foods and is loving it. Man can that girl eat. She will be six months before we know it...man how the time fly's. She continues to grow at an amazing pace and is still making me laugh from the belly everyday. She is also beginning to develop and master her own laugh and I am pretty sure she is becoming ticklish, which is so much fun.
Anaya is a constant reminder to me of Gods love and faithfulness to those who seek his grace.

Anaya's first trip to Malibu Camp

We just got back from Young life family camp at Malibu, and we had a blast. I myself went there nine years ago as a camper and it changed my life. It was so exciting to take Brian there for his first Malibu experience since he has always wanted to go but never had been given the chance. We also had two friends with us, Kara and Kevin. They too had always wanted to experience Malibu and so we were so excited for them to be with us.

While at Malibu, we celebrated Brian's 29th birthday, took Anaya swimming, water skied, hiked, and tested our inner strength on the ropes course (walking on cables high in the trees, dont look down what ever you do!). Most importantly, we admired the wonders our great God has created, and thanked him for the many blessings in our lives. If you have ever been to Malibu, you know what an amazingly spiritual place it can be and if you haven't been, go if you get the chance. There really is nothing else like it. Our cups are overflowing for sure.

Our munchkin is 3 months old!

Can you even believe it, Anaya is 3 months old today. She is becoming more and more talkative with each passing day, and she had her first real laugh yesterday....seriously though the laugh sounded like it came from a ten year old, I was crying it was so funny!

Although our girl keeps on growing, she is still our perfect girl. I feel so blessed to have such a happy, content and secure in any situation child. I hope I, as her mother can continue to encourage her to continue being all those things as she grows up. (How is that for sappy...she bring it out in me).

We are also looking forward to Anaya's official adoption into our family on September 26, 2008. We can't wait to for the day, and want you all to know you are invited to the courthouse to witness this most amazing event. Call me for the details!

God bless.

Our little trooper

We made it back from our trek through the east. Actually, we just went to New York and Boston, but we had the time of our lives. Anaya is already proving to be a remarkably resiliant and hard core traveler not unlike her parents. She had it pretty easy though since mom carried her for miles each day. So our first family vacation when off without a hitch. We had fabulous weather and saw all the sights, it was great.

Anaya's two months old!

Hi all, so sorry its been a month since my last post. Life has been busy and full of excitement for the Deely three! We had another trip to Boise, and Anaya did go wonderful. Then my two dear friends Becka and Elaine threw Anaya a baby shower. Thank you to all who come, the turnout was overwhelming to say the least... we felt so loved and we are grateful for all the wonderful gifts for Anaya.

Anaya had her two month checkup yesterday and she received rave reviews from the Doc. She is in the 90th percentile for height and weight, so healthy may be an overstatement! We are so pleased with her progress and can't wait to see what she will do next. She is laughing and cooing all the time and she loves people. I can already tell she will be a social butterfly, just like her mom. What can I say, I love to talk and meet new people.

Friday we are off on another big adventure as we take off to New York and then Boston. We can't wait to share our love for traveling and interest in the unknown with Anaya. Wish us well and God bless.

Anaya is 5 weeks tomorrow!

Wow, since my last blog...

Anaya had her first real bath, her first hiking trip to the beach, her first ride on a plane to Boise (she was a dream on the plane) I cant wait to take her cross country in July. She started for real smiling at three weeks while we were in Boise and she already weighs over 10 lbs. Man can that girl eat!


We are so in love with our daughter, and we are having so much fun being parents and watching her grow. God has really blessed us.

Our forever girl

On Monday May 19th the final papers were filed and Anaya Grace become our forever girl! We are so excited and relieved to know that she will be in our family forever and that she is our little girl!

She turned three weeks on Tuesday the 18th and I am guessing she weighs a little over 9 lbs. now. She is changing everyday and she keeps us laughing all the time. What a blessing she has been to us and will continue to be. She is our little miracle.

Faith the size of a mustard seed...

I just wanted to thank everyone who has been praying for us constantly. We received great news on Thursday evening...birth father Bruce has signed! We are so proud of him, and he has assured everyone involved that he knows that this is best for Anaya. Papers will be filed Monday morning and Anaya will be our forever child.

God promises us in the bible that through him with faith all things are possible. With all of your faith and prayers our efforts combined did more than move mountains. They changed DNA, hearts of birth parents, and forced us to discover the hidden truths to set Anaya free in our family.

We are over joyed and can not begin to express our gratitude for all who have walked with us though this process. Thank you.

2 Weeks

Anaya was two weeks old yesterday, the time is just flying by. We are having such a ball with her, she is such a miracle in our lives. We are off to the doctor for her two week check up and I cant wait to see how she has changed. She already looks so different from when we first met in the delivery room, she just gets more beautiful with each passing day.

Please keep us in your prayers and the birth father has not signed yet... although he says he will so we are hopeful.

Anaya's a well baby

I took Anaya to her first well baby checkup today. It was exciting to find out her progress over the last week. She lost a half inch in length...her cone head rounded our thank goodness. I am happy to report that she gained 13 ounces in her first week of life. She is such a good eater and she is thriving in every way.

Prayers to defeat an enemy

In this entire process it seems like the there is set back after set back. I know anyone who has gone through an adoption battle can sympathise with what I am saying. The enemy would love nothing more than to win this battle over Anaya. I believe he wants to perpetuate the cycle of children raised children knowing the difficulties ahead for those stuck in that situation. It only makes it easier for the enemy to bring them further down.

We refuse to let that happen. I feel hope and have increasing faith with every set back that God will prevail and let Anaya come home with Brian and I. I know God will turn all things bad into good in order to glorify him, that is my prayer in the name of our father.

So please keep praying for Anaya, Mickaela, Bruce, Shaun and Brian and I.

Anaya's a week old...

Wow, it is hard to believe that Anaya is already a week old. She has already changed so much since birth. So far she is the sweetest baby. She is sleeping through the night, I have to wake her to eat and even then she doesn't wake up half the time and she eats like a champ. In her seven days of life she has only cried twice and she is so happy all the time. We are so lucky! So far anyway.

We still don't know if we will get to keep her as our forever child yet but we are hopeful and trusting that God will do whats best for Anaya. So keep the prayers coming, we should know more by the end of the week.

Anaya Grace has arrived!

Anaya (uh - ney- uh) Grace entered the world via surprise c-section Tuesday April 29, 2008 at 9:20 am. She weighed 7lbs. 1 oz. and was 21 inches long.

Anaya means three things: In Hebrew: God Answers
In Indian: Completely Free
In African: Look up to God

We are so proud of Mickaela who labored for 30 hours before deciding to take up the doctors option for a c-section. We later learned that her decision was wise, because part of the umbilical cord has slipped down the birth canal next to Anaya's head and was being compressed with each contraction causing a halt in the blood flow to Anaya. We are very thankful to God Mickaela and Anaya did not have undergo the c-section in an emergency situation.

I was able to be in the room for the c-section, and hold Anaya the moment they pulled her out. What an experience to witness a c-section, it was so interesting and I am so glad I was able to hold Mickaela's hand through the experience. I then got to whisk her away for her first bath which they let me give her.

I have been rooming in with Mickaela and Anaya this past week helping Mickaela recover and getting to know Anaya. We will leave the hospital today after four days. It will be an interesting day as Mickaela goes home to recover with her family and I take Anaya with me.

The next week with be one of prayer and strength as we determine if Anaya will be our forever child. We know God has a glorious plan in the works and we just pray for his will to be done in all our lives accordingly.

Prayers and Thank you's!

As many of you know and have read, that past week has been both exciting and disheartening. I want to thank all of you who have been praying for Brian and I, as well as Mickaela, her little girl and this entire situation. I know God is working on something so grand we can not possibly imagine what greatness is to come for all of us involved.

We are lucky to be surrounded by so many wonderful people to support us through this faith testing time. We all find comfort in the lord. Mickaela is doing so well under the circumstances. No 16 year old should ever have to grow up so fast and Brian and I are so proud of her as is her loving family.

Please keep the prayers coming this week as Mickaela makes a huge sacrifice to visit the birth father. We hope that God will shine through her presence, her words and her actions and that the birth father have a change of heart.

Labor of love

Monday April 7, 2008

Brian and I receive an email from Adoption Ministries telling us that a birth mother would like to meet and interview us as possible parents of her unborn baby girl due April 30, 2008. Meeting set for Wednesday April 9th.

What we are feeling: Excited, nervous, stressed. We didn't sleep a wink tonight. We can not wait to meet the possible birth mother of our future child.

Tuesday April, 8 2008

We get a call from the birth mother counselor informing us that the birth mother will be bringing her Parents and four siblings to meet us as well.

What we are feeling: Nervous! We didn't sleep a wink tonight. We keep praying for peace in our hearts.

Wednesday April 9, 2008

We wait all day until 5:00. Today was a long day. We finally meet the birth mother and her family. We are are welcomed in and instantly fall in love with the birth mother and her family. They are such wonderful people. They then inform us that we have been chosen as the parents of this little girl. Brian bursts into tears and hugs the birth mother, while I sit on shock. It was highest Brian and I have felt since our wedding day. We end up spending six hours with the birth mother getting to know each other and I am invited to go to her doctors appointment on Friday the 11th.

We are informed that the birth father (who is not involved and has no contact with the birth mother) is almost on board to sign the adoption papers. So we pray for him.

What we are feeling: We are on cloud 9. We are at the top of the rollercoaster.

Thursday April 10, 2008

We received a call from the birth mother counselor that the birth father contacted them today and is refusing to sign the adoption papers. Without his signature there can be no adoption and the birth mother will be forced to single parent. The birth father is in jail and couldn't parent if he wanted to but the WA, state laws still give him equal rights to a baby he has no intention on parenting. (In most other states the birth father would have not rights in this situation.)

We are feeling: When we got the call I pretty much lost it(crying), but we have not lost faith or hope in Gods power, grace and mercy. We are on our knees praying like crazy. We know God has a plan for us and this baby we just have to trust him. He is a pretty awesome God and we have full faith he can change the heart of this birth father.

I try to think that maybe this is our labor. Just because this is not our biological child, does not mean we wont labor for this child. And the labor pains are strong at this point in the journey. I know this is all happening for a reason and even if God has a different plan for this baby girl I will labor for her until she arrives.

Pediatrician

I interviewed the best pediatrician today. She has to be great, she let me hound her with my ridiculous questions about her child rearing philosophy's and immunization flexibilities for over an hour. Not only that but we were both still smiling when the meeting was over. Its so great when you click with someone and I feel great knowing Brian and I will be supported by our doctor.

She works in an office with two other pediatricians and a nurse practitioner, all whom are Christian's. Which was numero uno on my list. They admit Patience's to Mary Bridge (One of the best children's hospitals around) and they round at the two other hospitals near us. I couldn't really ask for more, except maybe never having to go to the hospital, but I wont hold my breath.

Now there are two more meetings with the social worker and we will be ready and waiting.

Heavy Questions

Now is the time when Brian and I have to ask ourselves some big questions. Liane, our social worker charged us with a few things to work on and think about:

*What are our preferences in a child?
*Do I want to breastfeed our adopted child?
*Who will we use as our pediatrician?

...the list went on, but I don't want to bore you with the details.

Brian and I are lucky that I (Marta) am such a freak that I really had a lot of those bases already covered, or at least researched them and given them some thought.

As for our unborn child, we willing accept what God has chosen for us. We will not discriminate against sex, a disability, or race. In our first conversation about race Brian and I thought, well race does not matter to us, we don't care if we raise an Asian, Black or Indian child. We will love them just the same. What were we thinking?.. Race does matter, and it should...love is not enough for a trans racial child. If we say race does not matter we ignore it, rather than celebrate it. I read an article and a specific quote hit me between the eyes, " Our "white privilege" is a social asset they share peripherally when with us, but can't own or take with them." Sondra S Corsy, M.D. Wow, how true is that. People of different races learn to navigate through society differently and do so based on their culture's expectations and the expectations of others outside their culture.
This is not to say people should not adopt trans racially, they should. Brian and I welcome a child of another race into our home along with its challenges. We realize that when you do you need to expand your social circle and knowledge of that culture.

As for breastfeeding our adopted child, I (Marta) plan to. Sorry if thats too much info. I always thought I might want to, and the more research I do on the subject I can't imagine not breastfeeding. For those of you not familiar with the concept, it is possible through lactation induction. I wont go into details but I will say, what a gift this is for my future child and I. Anyone curious about the details and process should feel free to ask me, I am happy to share.

Pregnancy of the heart

It has been a while since our last post, and a lot has happened since then. We recieved our acceptance letter from Adoption Ministries and it is safe to say, We are pregnant! Not in the physical, but in our hearts. If you have never seen a pregnant man before... get a load of Brian. Not only do we get to be pregnant together, we get to share in a seemingly identical journey of pregnancy of the heart. Weird, I know. We know we are getting a baby, we just have to wait a while...be pregnant for a while. They say it's resonable to wait six to nine months, however it could be much sooner or even a little longer. We will trust in God's timing as to when.

Also we started our homestudy today. A homestudy is when a state social worker (our's is Liane) makes a series of 3 to 4 visits to our home over the span of a month. Each time she comes she interviews Brian and I about different topics, anything from how we felt growing up to our preferences in a child or our philosphies on dicipline. Oh and they inspect our home for safety and such too. Then she compiles all she knows about us in a 50 page book and sends it to the state where a judge will give the final "seal of approval" allowing us to become parents through adoption.

Adoption PRIDE

This past weekend we took the first half of the PRIDE (Parent, Resource, Information, Development, Education) training required throughout the U.S. in order to be able to adopt. The training consists of 30 hours of training along with a three inch think text book we must read and then turn in a signed form confirming that we read it. Who new you had to become an expert on children before you could get one...let alone everything there is to know about child development, possible disabilities, and how we plan to discipline our children from birth to 18. There is so much crazy reading you have to laugh about it, but seriously the pains of pregnancy and childbirth are starting to sound wonderful.

So we have about 15 hours of training in February to go and then we can start our home-study. Praise the Lord!

The Interview

On Wednesday Brian and I had our interview with the adoption ministry we hope to work with. It went fabulous!

Brian and I were nervous about the questions they would ask, would they like our answers, would we say the right things, would they be able to see how badly we want to be parents? We were warned ahead of time by someone we know who adopted through the same ministry to be prepared to be asked some pretty invasive questions in the interview. Not only that but, Joy who would interview us reminded us before the interview that it would probably last about two hours. What in the world...two hours I thought that was crazy when she said it but there we were two hours and fifteen minutes later as the interview was winding down and I wasn't ready to leave.

The most amazing thing about the interview was that Joy (the interviewer) prayed with us at the start of the interview. This put both of us at easy from then on. Although we were asked some uncomfortable personal questions and some pretty difficult ones too, we both felt great about our responses. God was truly in the room. I was especially impressed by Brian. He was so methodical and prepared in his responses, thoughts and feelings. All throughout the interview I was so proud to call him my husband and to go through this process with him.

So now we just pray and wait to hear if we are accepted. The letter should come any day.