Since I literally have nothing to say lately except, "did you hear him fuss, or was that just the dryer?", here is a link to a blog written by another new mother who gave birth to a beautiful baby girl with some challenges. May we all have as much courage to share our true, real and raw feelings.

Dear Andre,

By the time I finish posting this it will be past 5:28 pm (Andre's time of birth). A month ago at 5:15 pm we were standing outside a hospital room while your birth mom Monique was getting examined. We were all excitedly wondering when you were going to decide to come out. One of the adoption caseworkers came out and said Monique was asking me to come back in to watch you be born. Dad and I looked at each other, then hugged very tightly and I went in. You probably don't remember how brave your birth mother was on that day. She pushed you out very quickly without any problems. I could see the pain in her eyes during her labor and then after you came out, the love she felt for you.

When you came out you were not crying, but you breathed  quickly and when the nurse ruffed you up a bit with a towel we heard you cry. It was a quieter cry than you have now. I looked at you, and looked at Monique and went back and forth trying to make sure nobody felt left out. I was crying the whole time and soon you'll learn that your Mamma is a real sap and you'll probably get embarrassed at my tears sometimes.

I was worried before you came out that maybe none of this would work out, that for some reason you'd develop an aversion to us and this would all turn out to be a bad idea. Looking back I know that was just nervous energy. From the moment I saw you, I loved you and so did your dad. We feel blessed that you have come to be a part of our family! 

It has been so much fun taking you around to see all the people who prayed with us, cried with us and waited in anticipation to meet you when we were waiting to come home from Utah. You are surrounded by love and prayer as a child should be. The social worker asked us yesterday if we felt a bond and both your dad and I answered without hesitation "Yes". You are in our hearts and wouldn't want to be without you ever again.

I will not forget handing you to each of your grandparents to hold. The way your Uncle Titus became enamored with you, a big tall gruff guy with piercings cuddling with a tiny little brown baby. You were so good at church and didn't make a peep even when Mommy took you in your sling to sing with the worship team. I felt so excited to include you in your first musical experience.

I have high hopes for you son, you are only a month old and I"m already picturing you playing your first guitar or making us proud in some school spelling bee but I promise to let you have your own dreams and let you live your own life. Isn't that what all parents say anyway.....

Happy One Month Birthday Andre, we love you!
















(Just a few minutes old)



(A month of growing makes him extra tired)(during the day of course)

It seems like days go faster with a baby. Is that true? We are enjoying our little son and getting to know him more each day. My parents came for a visit on Saturday and just left today. It was so nice for them to get to meet their first grandchild I was especially pleased that my dad got to travel to see him since it's a challenge for him in his state. Kendra threw a very nice baby shower for us on Sunday and my mom attended which was super special. We recieved so many nice gifts and I feel like Andre will not have to wear the same outfit twice.

Once in a while I think about Andre's birth mother Monique and get a feeling of gratitude and then a little twinge of sadness for her. I hope she is doing ok and healing, I hope she is getting comfort from her boyfriend and her little son. I have said many prayers for her that she will be protected, that she will be able to get her GED and that she will have peace in her life. She has given us the most precious gift and we can never give her enough thanks.

Now, we are looking forward to getting into a routine with Andre, if anybody has any insight into this, please respond in comments. It's funny that now that we have a little one, I feel like I have absolutely no idea what we're doing. (I know that some of my friends with children will laugh at me, since I always had input on how things should work before I was a mom)

( Pictures )

( Pictures )

sueg here is your update! 

We had a baby, on Dec 28 at 5:28 pm...It's a beautiful bouncing baby boy! 7 lbs 6 ozs and 18 inches long...here are some pics of Mr. Andre Adam McCombs.



We are still in Utah right now and will be until we get all the paperwork back from Washington DC. It will take a bit longer because of the holiday. We are overjoyed! We are a little tired, but we feel supported by our family and friends and lucky to finally be parents. Andre is a pretty good baby, isn't that fussy and is sleeping peacefully in the baby sling I made a few months ago in anticipation of a wee one. I am lucky because Paul is a great dad, he is very helpful and has been really supportive in the few times that have been overwhelming.

I will write more about the birth experience and Andre's wonderful birth mother later....

Yes, merry Christmas! It is indeed a good year and will go out with a bang because.....


The saturday after christmas we will trek to Utah AND meet a birth mother who has chosen us to raise her baby! We are overjoyed, shocked, stressed, happy, nervous and running around like chickens with our heads cut off! She will be induced on Monday the 28th and we will be there either with her or waiting in the wings to see just who this little boy turns out to be! 

Please send prayers and positive thoughts our way. We pray for the birth mother's safety as she delivers and that she is able to grieve in a healthy safe environment with lots of support and caring and we also pray that we will be a blessing to her AND that we will not lose our minds if something doesn't go the way we'd hope!

Merry Christmas to you all!

Seriously, why is everyone so upset that our nation's President is going to address school children? 

Nobody cared about the president's physical fitness test or Nancy Reagan's push for literacy....

I will start passing out the paper bags and hopefully all the republican breeders can stop hyperventilating long enough to get a grip...

I"m not really sure what they think he'll say that will influence their children negatively...

And wow, two entries in one day..Then it's back outside to the garden...


I am loving this today: 



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Yes I have a cold, in the summer blech..I am hoping I don't short out the keyboard as I type..Is that too much ewww for you? 

I am home today and wow, I think this is one of the first stay at home all day during a week day I've had all summer. Sad because I had so many goals for my time that got eaten up by working and illnesses and dr appointments...

here is the status of my life:

1. still no word on my slpa job for this coming school year
2. i am starting to lose faith in the district and also starting to see that might be ok
3. i am still working at embassy suites
4. we are a signature away from being under contract with a great adoption agency
5. did i mention I have a cold?
6. I have a gig in bellingham on Friday!
7. Karaoke on Saturday at my house and if you didn't get the email but still want to come just message me and I'll give you the particulars!
8. i haven't mentioned WLS for a while, but yes, I am in the midst of a dr. supervised program which will help me be approved by insurance.
9. PM's health is improving, he is on insulin now but I"m so proud of him for all his efforts. He is really taking initiative for good health and he even walked up a steep hill the other day on purpose...
10. I may or may not have a chance to teach some music classes in Bellevue in January! Which would be FANTASTIC!

Soon I will be 33...Here is a list of acceptable b-day gifts...

1. Babies
2. Fabric
3.Yarn
4. A career that allows me to be a stay at home mom, rock star AND earn an income to help us get ahead in life
5. Babies
6. Shoes
7. Babies

also acceptable: hugs and pizza

We attended PM's 20 year highschool reunion last weekend. It was fun to talk with people I knew and meet and get to know people I didn't. I would say that PM has pretty  much always been the same, well liked and this trip down memory lane onlly solidified that further!

After the reunion, we went into Idaho for some camping. We took PM's 1956 panel truck loaded to the gills with bicycles, tricycles and camping gear and spent 5 much needed days away from the world. Well, for most of it, except for the 2 hours we had to come back into civilization to an internet cafe to do some budget work. (actually that was more PM, I was supportive by reading a book and stealing the laptop to check email)

I posted a whole bunch of pictures on facebook if you want to see them, friend me. If you need to know my full name, just send me a message! 

Here are just a few of my favorites! Under the cut of course.....

( Camping Pictures )

PM went into the hospital on Friday afternoon. He is having some sort of gall stone problem. They thought he had a blockage of his bile duct but after an ultrasound, he seemed to have relief from his pain(they thought maybe he passed the stone). They are keeping him to do antibiotics through IV and make sure his liver stats go back down to normal. He was running a fever of 102 pretty much for all of Wednesday.



My aunts come today for a little vacation so this should be a strange week.


We are hopeful that Paul will have an MRI on Monday and be released although another doctor wanted to go ahead and do exploratory surgery to make sure the stone had passed. I am nervous about this since the risks of the whole anesthesia are always greater for people of our size. A good thing that has come out of this is some unrelated diabetic teaching sessions while PM is being held captive in the hospital.

Also, after two nights of no sleeping with my c-pap, I am starting to remember why in the heck i needed that thing to begin with. I had many dreams of not being able to breathe last night which has not happened in a long time! 

PM has been so good since he has started to take insulin but sometimes you just need something sweet. These cute little aluminum bowls are the perfect size for mixed berries, a spoonful of ice cream and a dolup of whipped cream...

So, since last post we had our first road trip of summer. We went to Utah to a family wedding and spent a few days with PM's sister and family. We had lots of fun at the wedding despite the rain and deadly lightening during the outdoor reception. We did lots of hanging out playing music and talking when we stayed with Kriste and Dave and explored Provo Canyon and downtown Provo one day. We saw two very strange stuffed polar bears fighting in the storefront office of an audiologist and got yelled at by a cranky guitar maker when I didn't wash my hands before picking up one to play! We had a nice drive there and back and had lots of time to talk and spend time together.

Our niece Aubrey playing the Uke

PM and I at a spot near Provo Canyon

PM soaked after getting my coat at the reception.

Bridal Veil Falls

I tell you what people...Life sure is a strange contrast of good and not so good. In this last week a few things have happened: 

1. Found out about a possible adoption situation
2. Heard that our home study was probably going to be just fine for the agency with said adoption situation.
3. Found out about second adoption situation at the same agency.
4. PM got a kidney stone.
5. We got approved for adoption financing.(which is a funny story I will talk more about)
6. Our stove's glass top broke again.
7. I had my official graduation from SLPA program
8. PM has now been put on insulin.


We close tomorrow on our financing and go visit with an adoption social worker in Portland on Friday.


More about the adoption stuff will be posted in the adoption blog...

( Read more... )

In case anybody isn't on facebook OR the infamous twitter, I have a gig Saturday at 7:30 at The Laughing Ladies Cafe! I would love to see LJ friends there! I know some of you live far away but a few are closer!

If you want specifics please visit my website!

Remember this entry? Can you believe that four years ago today PM and I met, and had our first kiss?

I can't..

I'm still loving that man....I never grow tired of him or any of his quirky ways:)

Guess what, only a few more weeks of school and then I'll be down to one paying job over the summer.

Things are growing in the garden.

We are working on adoption financing.

Soon we will be going to Utah(my first trip to Utah) for our nephew's wedding.

I have several gigs in the next few months and have been working at getting more. If anybody has any good ideas about joints not commonly known, let me know!

This summer I plan to work on music, I know, I know you've heard it all before people BUT this year, I have a supervisor. Yes, a supervisor who I will be meeting with for goal setting and weekly progress reports. They say not to get personally involved with the people you work with but let me tell you, this new boss is one hot bearded dude, who happens to be my husband....

I"m going back to nursing my sunburn, dishes, laundry and Dances With Wolves which was not my choice but has been entertaining:)

It seems strange how life works. While I'm over here having a pretty damn enjoyable weekend other LJ'rs are having not such a good life. If you haven't been readingthesugarmonster  then you should. She has LOTS of courage and resilience even through some horrible adversity. I am praying for her as she faces the suicide of her father. I'm also praying for her mother who is disabled.  They are facing some tough times right now, but the outpouring of support for Heidi (thesugarmonster ) and her mother is beautiful. It really shows that livejournal is more than just a random place we all come to blabber about our lives.

( Read more... )

With that said, I have to show you a few pictures of our new patio furniture. We got it on super sale and I think it is going to make our outdoors/yard much more enjoyable! Here's hoping you can all enjoy some of the sunshine we have today.(if it's sunny where you live)




here's a bonus from the Bayside Farmer's market in downtown Everett. Thought it is a growing market, it was a lot of fun playing there and I'll be back next weekend!

There are plants in our house. For some reason I've been wanting to nurture things..Hmmm?



I've made 10 of these(gave two away)

Honestly, I think 8 is probably enough...(Did you ever watch Eight is Enough?)

My camera is back thus begins the picture posting....

I became a Godmother over the weekend. Here is my precious Goddaughter and the bonnet I knit.
She was so good for the actual baptism but didn't want to stay for communion. Silly girl, there's wine at your church:)






Our Lilacs are out in full bloom! I love them!!

I hope everyone had a fun filled weekend.