Tuesday, December 14, 2010

December 15

Ah December 15.  Technically when this blog post comes out, it will be late December 14th, however, since it gets busy during the day, I did want to pay tribute to what December 15th means to me. 

Early December 15th, 2009, I started up my 2-door VW rabbit (an awesome little car) and left my home at 7:30 am.  It was windy and tumbleweeds were flowing.  My heart was pounding.  All of a sudden I had a panic attack as the freeway came to a complete stop...."oh no" an accident on the road, oh please get me through it.  The appt. was at 8am....I was going to be late.  Passing the accident, I raced as fast and as safely as I could towards a house in a quiet neighborhood.  I parked and struggled a bit with the new car seat I just bought a couple days ago.  I was 15 minutes late. 

The door opened and I was welcomed in.  It was the morning I picked up Tigger.  As the wonderful foster mom rounded up her things, I was encouraged to change her and put her in her snuggie.....I panicked briefly as I was still kinda green on changing diapers and I did have that one incident where I couldn't tell which way the diaper went and diapered one of my friend's kids um backwards so you know, a real confidence booster.  Luckily I came out of changing her diaper fine and struggled a bit getting her clothes back on.  What an amateur. 

Needless to say, we survived one year living together....no one is dead, I survived the first few months of endless screaming/crying, a brief trip to the ER due to 'not eating' at the beginning, Tigger survived my "greenness", has learned that I am one wacky mom, and we are doing ok.  We endured Termination of Parental Rights, Appeal period, a paperwork glitch, and finally finalization.  I feel more confident, she is demonstrating being an attached child....I still have no idea what I'm doing sometimes and that's ok.  Neither do the rest of you! 

I thank God that he has seen fit to allow me a great responsibility.  I thank God that I am a mom.  I thank God for my daughter, she is a wonderful, complex,  and charming human being.  I can't wait to see what the years bring and how she grows and blossoms.  One thing adoption does is that it keeps me honest.  It helps me see that children are not just "yours" but ultimately they are children of God.  With that in mind, I chose this next weekend...after the 1 year anniversary to have the child dedication at my church.  It will also be a reminder that I am not in control.  I do not "own" Tigger, but have been blessed to have been chosen to raise her to the best of my ability with God's help. 

December 15 is a great and memorable day.

December 15, 2009

Priceless expressions


Wonderful foster mom


I did it, I actually was able to buckle her in!


Home sleeping in her swing, me taking pictures and wondering what to do


Grandpa telling it like it is!


Grandma is ecstatic!

December 15, 2010 (well pictures taken the night before)

Not bad considering I took it with my other hand!


Tigger and her favorite doll she alternates between hugging and kissing and throwing her around


Being a big girl and brushing her teeth in her own bathroom

7 comments:

Quacken said...

Gosh... she is so adorable! How could you not just fall head over heels for that sweet little face of hers! So happy for you. I know last Chrismtas was amazing because she was there! This year will probably be even more exciting because she will be older and able to enjoy it! You two have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! :)

Penelope said...

Wow! We got our babies the same day!!!! But ours won't be adopted until his citizenship is worked out.syne by next December?

Have a very merry 2nd Christmas together!

DannieA said...

Thanks ladies. I can't believe a year has gone by. Penelope I hope citizenship is taken care of sometime soon.

To both of you, have an amazing Holiday season...Quaken, it's your first year with kids yeah?

Anonymous said...

What a difference a year makes! What a beautiful baby! I hope you two have a wonderful Christmas. I am sure it will be loads of fun. Take pics. Joanne, PUSD

DannieA said...

Thanks Joanne :)

Anonymous said...

Congrats on one year! That is a HUGE milestone! Looking forward to seeing many more anniversaries. She is a beauty!

Unknown said...

Congratulations on your first year! That's exactly how I felt after my first year of single-mommyhood. I just thought, "Whew! We're still alive! Thank God!"

You're doing great. No one knows all they need to know about being a parent. It's a work in progress and just when you think you know a thing or two, you get another kid who is completely different and you go back to square one.

Love the pics! :)