OUR SPECIAL DAY

THEN:

Just landed in Charlotte. Welcome home Zachary!!







NOW:







Last Saturday was a very special day for us! It was one year exactly since we brought Zachary home to Charlotte. I remember it like it was yesterday! It was one of the happiest days of my life. We have had a wonderful year together! He has changed so much. Not only hasn't he grown a lot but he has gotten really tall, his personality has really blossomed and his vocabulary has expanded. He is such a happy child. We are tight as bee's wax and can't stand to be away from each other for very long. ;-) Ok, so here are some pictures from 'then and now'.

We have been very busy and there's been so much going on. I guess the most pressing and unfortunate thing is that I pulled my lower back out Saturday before last. I have been out of work for the most part of two weeks now. I am pretty much in excrutiating pain all of the time. I have been going to the chiropractor a lot....like 10 times in 12 days. Tomorrow I am going to an orthopedic doctor. Based on the fact that my back hasn't improved much, I believe that it's time to take the next step. They are probably going to do an MRI and put me in physical therapy. It has been a rough last couple of weeks but we're making it, with lots of help and prayers. Now, I have to stop and say this. I know that my friends all over the country read this but I also know that some of my local friends read it as well. I just want to stop and say that I honestly don't know what I would have done without you guys the last 2 weeks. I have had friends in and out of here just about every day helping me with Zachary and everything else. I couldn't have made it with out you guys and I am SO grateful!! Words can't even express my gratitude. So I just want to send out a BIG "Thank You". It hurts me to pick Zachary up and that just breaks my heart. I have had to have someone else bathe him, rock him and put him in bed for me over the last couple of weeks. I've done it a few times but it definitely set me back. He's about 27 lbs now and every time I pick him up, I end up in even more pain with in a few hours.

Ok, so enough of that. I know I will be better soon and life will be back to normal. I have to get to bed now but wanted to post this before too much time went by. I meant to post last Saturday but there was so much going on that I didn't get around to it. I am also having problems with my computer. I guess it's going to blow up next. Our luck the last two weeks has not been good at all, but somehow we've managed to keep a fairly good attitude about it. After I pulled my back out, a couple of days later Zachary got pink eye. So I had to take him to the dr and then I had to go to urgent care because I was in so much pain. THEN, my tv blew up and I am now getting the "blue screen of death" error on my computer. Geez, it's one thing after another. I did get a really nice, new HDTV, widescreen out of it, which I LOVE!! Oh and then Z got pink eye in his other eye. Today I picked him up from daycare and another child had bitten him on his forehead. I was NOT happy about that...but unfortunately there's not much you can do about it at this age. So, that's a brief synopsis of what's going on with us. I promise to post again soon with an update!

Hope you are all doing well! Hugs....

What we've been up to

Papa, Zachary and mommy

Here we are with Bessie the Cow

"yummmmy fruit rollup"

Hanging out at the Easter egg hunt

"How YOU doin'?"

Zachary and the Easter Bunny. He's not SO excited!

Off to church

Big Boy

Mommy's little man

Dr. Zachary

Mommy's masterpiece

Z and his 24-year old girlfriend. ;-))

A friend's little boy she just adopted from Russia.

Zachary and Timmie

Mommy's new hair cut

So it's been a while. I know I'm been slack about posting but there is just so much going on that some days I'm barely keeping my head above water (mostly just good stuff though). ;-) So we have been out and about a lot. I had a girls' night out a couple weekends ago. Also, have been dating some and going to dinner with friends. Things are good flowing right along. We have gotten really busy at work, which I'm happy about. I prefer to be slammed as opposed to the opposite. The day goes by so much faster.

Can you believe that on April 19 Zachary will have been home for one year? To me it seems like he has been here all along. It's hard to even remember what my life was like before him. I feel so complete now! Also, it's really hard to believe that he will be 2 years old on May 15. I have already started thinking about what to do for his birthday party but haven't made a decision about where to have it yet. I'm thinking about somewhere like Monkey Joe's or KidGym. I'll keep you posted.

A couple weekends ago I met up with some girlfriends and their babies at a consignment show. We had a great time. I spent about $25 and got some really cute stuff for Zachary. I found the most adorable little blazer. He wore it to church last Sunday. He looked like a little man. ;-) I also met up with some girl friends at a place called "Our Paintin Place". We each brought a bottle of wine, sat around and painted all evening. We had a great time! I painted a birthday plate for Zachary and it turned out great. When you see it you will probably notice a 'small' flaw. Keep in mind I was drinking wine while I was painting this...so give me a break ok? ;-))

What else? Oh, big news. I cut my hair!!! I absolutely love the new style. I have had something similar to this before. I have to say, I look and feel about 10 years younger with this haircut. I have gotten so many compliments on my hair...people keep telling me how flattering it is and that I look about 25. OK, so that's enough for me. Long hair is over-rated. I don't care what my guy friends say. I'm going to keep this look for a while. It's supposed to be the Lisa Rinna haircut but I think Tracy cut it a little short for that style. Anyway it will grow so in about a month or so, it should be right where I want it. I'll post pictures so you can see.

Last weekend my dad surprised us with a visit. We were so happy to see him. He has been sad lately, after losing his wife in January. When he gets around us, especially Zachary, it really cheers him up. He stayed with us Sunday night and Monday we spent the day together. We went to the Billy Graham Library and it was an awesome experience. The library itself is just gorgeous and the spiritual journey made us feel so refreshed. Zachary was such a little angel while we were there. It took about an hour to get through it. Then we shopped in the bookstore and got a couple of things. I bought this book for Zachary called "God's Wisdom for Little Boys". It is awesome!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!! This has been a long week so I am really glad that we only have one more day to go. We have several things going on this weekend. Well, for one, it's triple coupon time at Harris Teeter right now. So I made three trips today, spent a total of $75 and saved $265. It was a good day! I got so much stuff...lots of it for free. So this weekend I will be bagging up some things and dropping them off at the women's shelter and at church. On Saturday, I am taking Zachary to a birthday party for one of his little friends at school. We're really looking forward to that. Then after we leave the party, we have a date (ok, I have a date and Zachary is coming with me). This is our second date and we have talked hours and hours on the phone so it won't be a big deal to take Z along. Then on Sunday, we'll go to church, come home and relax for the rest of the day.

I'm going to close for now. I have to get to bed. I have been working long hours this week and averaging about 6 hours of sleep a night. I keep telling myself that I will go to bed early every night but it just never happens. ;-))

Have a great weekend!!!

Little bit of this....little bit of that

[EDITED to add: I have enabled the comment moderator. There was an inappropriate post left on my blog by someone that I don't know so I was forced to do this. This really shouldn't affect any of you that leave comments but will keep unidentified people from posting w/out my approval. Rebecca]















That's what we've been doing! It's been a good week! I was off Monday so that made it even better. Last weekend we met my mom and stepdad at Sugar Mountain. They have a timeshare so we meet them there twice a year. We had a great time! We left right after I picked Zachary up from school on Friday. It took about 2 hours to get there and it started snowing about 30 minutes from the house. It was beautiful!!! It snowed so much that we couldn't get our car up the mountain to the house. So that was an adventure within itself! Luckily, the parents were around to help us out. Zachary had NO idea what was going on. We were spinning around and he was quiet as a mouse. I would have given anything to know exactly what he was thinking. ;-)

SO we had a nice and restful weekend! Zachary enjoyed spending time with Nana and Papa Sease! He was very fascinated by the fireplace too. He kept pointing to it and saying "fire, fire". We went out to dinner every night that we were there so as you can imagine, that was interesting. Zachary has the hardest time sitting still at the table. He was grabbing everything in sight. One of the restaurants that we went to had the greatest bib and table cover for kids. The placemat actually stuck to the table. I'm going to have to order some of those...very handy!

So I signed Zachary up for a music class at school. He played the drums last Tuesday. I think he has some musical talent. Maybe he'll become a rock star, make millions and be able to support me when I get old...LOL. Seriously though, I thought it would be cool for him to be in this class. They say music and instruments teach children all kinds of things, including coordination. So we'll see what instrument he plays next week. I think I'm going to sit in on the class next week so I'll get some pictures and post them.

We are looking forward to the weekend. Tomorrow night we are double-booked! I'm meeting some girlfriends at a pottery bar. Should be interesting. You just bring a bottle of wine and they provide the rest. I'll let you know how that goes. We are also supposed to meet up with some other mommy girlfriends for MNI (Mommies night in). If we go to this Zachary will go with me. I'm looking forward to going because I am anxious to meet the other mommies I have been talking to on the forum. Speaking of which, that forum is SUCH a lifesaver!! I have learned so much!

Have a great weekend and we'll post more in a few days!

(((HUGS)))

What we've been up to

"I love spending the day with mommy."

Here comes the train

The train is here

"Since I'm such a big boy I get to sit in a seat alone."
"
"Ok, enough is enough. I need a nap!"

Mommy with her little sweetheart

While we've been really busy this week, it's been a great week! Now that 'Mommy's got her groove back' I am proud to say that I have been to the gym 6 times in the last 7 day. I FEEL GREAT!! I have so much energy now and man I need it because Zachary is in to EVERYTHING!!!!! His newest thing is....every day when we get home, I lean in to get him out of his carseat and he starts giving me kisses. It is SO sweet...and just melts my heart. He's been telling me he "wuvs me" 4 or 5 times a day this week! Just that is enough to make it a great week. One of the wonderful things about having children is that even when you have a rough day, the minute you see that precious little face, all is good in your world.

So here's a recap of our day. We went to Sunday school and church this morning and then we droves a few blocks to park so we could ride the new train in Charlotte. Ok, I say new but it's been here a few months. It's new to us though because this was our first time riding. So I figured it would probably go kind of slow....but BOY was I wrong! Zachary was so excited! He was standing up in the seat and looking out. He was trying to say something in baby gibberish and even though I don't know what it was, I think it was something like "OH wow mommy!! This train goes fast!!! This is so much fun!!!!" We rode for about an hour. There were lots of people riding their kids on the train today. We met one couple with two children and Zachary really enjoyed flirting with the little girl. ;-)) So the train ride came to an end and we went back to the car and headed home. No surprise, Zachary feel asleep on the way home. I put him in his bed when we got home and he slept for 3 1/2 hours. I guess the train ride really wore him out. So I managed to clean the house while he was sleeping. I also added up all of my coupon savings from the spreadsheet and I saved $94 this month!! YAY me!!! ;-)

It's SO hard to believe that my baby is 21 months old now! It won't be long before I start planning his 2nd birthday party! I'm not sure where we're going to have his party but I'm thinking maybe somewhere like Monkey Joe's. Gotcha day is also coming up on April 19 so I am going to do something special on that day too. I'm not sure what but we'll figure it out. Last year at this time I was already out of PGN but didn't know when I would be travelling. I left on April 2 to go to Guatemala because I just couldn't wait until the Embassy appt. I had been away from my baby boy for long enough. We have so many wonderful memories from our pickup trip. I can't wait until I can share them with Zachary one day.

Work is going great! We are getting really busy again which I'm thrilled about. It makes the day fly by. Zachary is doing great in school. He is talking up a storm and is "Mr. Independent", without a doubt. If I try to do something for him and he wants to do it...he will say "ME, ME, ME." It's so cute!

Enjoy the pictures! Hugs....

YES we're still alive and Happy Friday

As you can imagine, things have been really crazy for us the last month and a half. Everything is starting to settle down now. We have been home with the family 5 out of the last 6 weekends. While Zachary and I really love visiting with them, it's also nice to stay home some on the weekends. You know how it is, you go away and then you get behind on everything else, like laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, mail and so on. So we are staying home this weekend and I've already set some goals. I really need to finish painting my bathroom so I'm going to do that this weekend and then I'll be able to take the tape off of the trim. I'm excited!!! This has been a work in progress that I just haven't been able to finish. So once I'm done, I'll post a picture of the final product.

I'm also on a mission to clean the house and catch up on all of my laundry this weekend. That will take several hours but I figure I can knock most of it out while Zachary is napping. That is, if I can keep myself from napping with him. Stay tuned on how that works for me.

I guess the other big thing that I've been focused on the last few weeks is setting up my cash flow spreadsheet (I prefer this to "budget"). I set up this awesome excel spreadsheet and I am tracking every dollar I spend. I love excel because all I have to do is insert the information one time, plug in the formulas and it does everything else. It's amazing how much money you can go through and have NO idea where it all went. Now, for the first time in maybe forever, I know where all of my money is going. The credit cards have been shredded (except for one emergency card) and I'm on a mission to get out of debt. I have been trying to ignore this for the past year. The adoption expenses, as a lot of you know, can put a real hurting on the finances. So I have been plowing along trying to ignore the fact that I'm in all of this debt while continuing to charge. I'm happy to report that this is NO longer happening. I have more control over my money than I ever have. I have found all kinds of unique ways to save money, aside from my coupon obsession. It's amazing how little cuts here and there can really add up. Oh and there is a light at the end of the long tunnel for those of us who have adopted. I'm holding out for the tax refund that I'm getting this year. Every penny of it is going to pay debt down. My accountant is working on them now so I should have them out the door by early next week. I'm excited to say the least. ;-))

Zachary is doing great! He's getting so tall! He's also doing very well in school. His language skills are really starting to develop. He can tell you what the cow says, the duck, the cat and the dog. We are working on numbers too and still working on the alphabet. This weekend I'm planning to spend a lot of time working with him (and playing of course). I also want to get outside and let him run around. He is SUCH an outdoors baby!

Zachary's asthma is under control. He still has a slight cough but it's getting better. We went back to the doctor this past Monday and they cut his breathing treatments down to one per day. Can I get a "GLORY HALLELUJIAH"!!! So now we do one breathing treatment at night that takes 5-7 minutes to complete. Life is much easier now!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Hugs...

Another Angel Has Earned Her Wings - Debora Gail Harmon

Zachary and me with Debora and Daddy in the mountains in October 2007.

We received the call Sunday morning that my stepmom passed away. She encountered some complications on Saturday. It was operable but the doctors said that because of her condition, she would never make it out of the operating room. They gave her 48 hours to live but she only made it through the next 12 hours. My dad and my aunt were there with her. My aunt was talking to Debora and telling her that we would all take care of my dad...that she could go to heaven now and not to worry about anything. Shortly after that, she looked towards my dad and then closed her eyes. She went to be with the Lord very peacefully. At least now we know that she isn't suffering anymore. Monday night we had visitation at the funeral home and the funeral yesterday morning. Daddy did very well considering what he has been going through. He and Debora had only been married for 2 1/2 years and were very happy today. I think I told you all before that they are very strong Christians. I know that my dad's faith in God is getting him through this. He will miss her tremendously but he knows that she is in heaven looking down on him. She has earned her wings and doesn't have to suffer any longer. I would ask you to please continue to pray for my dad and our family and also for Debora's mom and her sons. Her mom is really struggling. There's something unnatural about a child passing before the parent. We need for God to give her the strength to get through this as she feels that she has lost her best friend.

As for Zachary, we have had a tough week. On top of everything else going on, we found out on Monday that he has asthma. He is on prednisolone and 2 types of breathing treatments. I have to give him one of the breathing treatments every 4 hours. Did I mention that he HATES these with a passion? He throw up most of the time when I have to give them to him. He cries and yells and it's just terrible. It tears my nerves up every time. The doctor said that it's imperative though...so I'm doing it. We go back to the doctor in the morning for a follow up. They said that more than likely I will be able to start giving them to him three times a day as opposed to every 4 hours. I'm praying that is true!

As for now, Zachary is still sleeping. The poor little guy finally got a good nights sleep last night and so did mommy. ;-)) I'm not going to wake him up. I'll just let him sleep until he wakes up on his own. I'm sure he will be in a great mood.

I still promise to post pictures soon. Seems like one thing after another keeps happening. I still haven't posted Christmas pictures but I will...as soon as I get a second.

Love and hugs....

Update on my stepmom, Zachary and so on

Debora was in ICU for several days but she is in a regular room now. My dad says that she is more alert today than she has been over the last 14 days. She is able to move her head from side to side and she is making eye contact, which is very good news. She still can't move her right side. She can't talk either but she has tried several times. She definitely has a long, long way to go. It's very sad to see and I worry about what her quality of life will be like. I also worry about my dad. The good news is that they are both strong Christians and have a lot of faith. There are SO many people praying for them and we are hoping that God will perform a miracle and heal her. Please continue to pray.

Zachary is doing great! He is really growing and talking up a storm. His thing now is "come on". He loves to say that when he's ready to go somewhere or if he's tired of being somewhere, like in a restaurant for instance. It's so funny to hear him say it...and sometimes he gets really loud. He has also learned how to give a kiss. He has been doing it for a while but now he has learned to make the noise. He gets so excited about it. He'll kiss me and then laugh and laugh and lean in to do it again. Of course, that's not a problem for me. The more kisses the better.

Everything else is going well. We stay busy and on the go alot. I have started going to the gym in the mornings again. I loved letting Zachary wake up on his own in the mornings but I really needed to get back in to my gym routine. He has adjusted well. I really love the fact that when kids wake up every day, they are SO excited. I just hope this will last through his teenage years. ;-))

I have lots of pictures to post just don't have time to download them right now. Promise to get them posted soon.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Hugs...

Need Prayer for my Stepmom

I found out last night that my stepmom (Debora) had a stroke yesterday. My dad came home from work to find her barely conscious. She has lost the use of her right side, can't talk and hasn't been able to swallow. Zachary and I got here around noon today and I spent most of the day at the hospital while my mom and stepdad kept Zachary. Debora is in pretty bad shape but we did notice a slight improvement in her tonight. She tried to talk but the words just wouldn't come out. She tried several times and we could understand a couple of words but it was obvious that she was getting very frustrated. She also was able to eat some yogurt tonight which is great because this was the first time she had eaten anything since Thursday night. I would ask you guys to please pray for Debora and my dad. We are waiting to hear what the doctor has to say about her recovery. They attempted to do an MRI today but there was too much swelling. They have scheduled another one for Monday. The good news is that my dad and Debora are both very strong Christians and my dad is holding up well. I hope that tomorrow he will be able to get some sleep because he hasn't really slept since Thursday night.

I'll post again soon. Hope you all have a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday Jesus

It is SO easy to get lost in the shuffle of Christmas and forget the real meaning behind it. I was listening to a Christmas show on the radio the other night and they were talking about traditions at Christmas. One lady said that she bakes a birthday cake every Christmas for Jesus' birthday. That really hit home for me. What an awesome tradition that is! In my family we have many traditions but now that I have Zachary, I want us to start new ones. Since he really isn't old enough to help me make reindeer snacks, sit through candle light service or help hand out gifts to less fortunate families, I decided that we will start those traditions next year. I'm really going to be thinking about other traditions that we can start as well. I want Zachary to grow up knowing the true meaning behind Christmas and understanding that the true joy in Christmas is giving to others.

We hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas! Ours has been absolutely perfect! Zachary has had a wonderful time with his family, playing with his cousins and trying to figure out which new toy to play with first. Santa brought him a tent and tunnel set which he absolutely LOVES!! He also got a big Tonka truck, a radio flyer wagon, clothes, other trucks, a learning laptop and other goodies. I got some really great pictures today but I'm too tired to post them tonight. I'll do them over the next couple of days. We are probably going home on Thursday, just for a few days, and then we'll probably come back next weekend.

I still haven't decided what I'm doing for New Year's but I think we'll probably end up hanging out with the family. This will be a first for me! New Year's is one of my favorite holidays so I used to always go out on the town with friends. That's all changed now that I have Zachary. I mean, I could do that if I really wanted to....because I certainly have plenty of people of babysitters for him. Actually they squabble over who is going to keep him next. ;-)) I just don't think I want to leave him. There is no one else in the world that I can think of that I'd rather be with than him!

Zachary has been in the best mood since we've been home. He has really grown attached to his nanas and papas and Uncle Dave. We also found out that he really doesn't like for other children to take things from him. I saw him flex his muscle last night when one of his cousins tried to take his Curious George truck. Not smart on their part. ;-0)

This Christmas has been the most special EVER! Our little angel is such a blessing from God. I have no doubt that he was hand-picked just for me. Like I've said before, I can't even remember what my life was like before but I know it doesn't get any better than this. *smile*

Hope the rest of your holidays are full of blessings and joy! Check back soon for some Christmas pictures.

(((((HUGS)))))
Rebecca and Zachary

As promised

Mommy probably won't miss this one.


Let me see if I can get this one.


Zachary and papa napping.


It's my water bottle now mommy.


Sleepy boy


Zachary poses for a picture with mommy.


Zachary and his cousin Christoper.


Christopher and Zachary getting ready to play ball.


YUMMY


"This is really how I like to eat."

Ok, so here are some pictures. We had a good day today....pretty low key. Zachary loves our Christmas tree and is constantly wanting to touch it. I have to keep my eyes on him constantly. ;-))

Been a while..

since we last posted. Sorry about that. We have been doing great and staying very busy. Our Thanksgiving was awesome! We hung out with the family and Zachary played with his cousin Christopher who is about 1 1/2 months younger than him. They had a great time together. We had lots of good food! Zachary enjoyed the turkey and all of the other goodies. I have lots of pictures to post but I'm so tired tonight that I'm going to have to wait to post them tomorrow.

Last night we went to get Zachary's picture made with Santa. After practically standing on my head, I finally got a really cute smile out of him. Luckily, they captured that smile. I got 1 5x7, 2 3x5s and 4 wallets for a whopping $32. Geez...they are making a killing off of that! Anyway, I was happy to get there before the lines got long and get the picture made. We waited in line about 20 seconds. You can't beat that!! Chad and his little boy Brady were with us too. We tried like crazy to get Brady to sit on Santa's lap but he wasn't having any part of it. So, we finally gave up. After that, we got something to eat and then we took the kids to the play area in the mall. They had a great time running around and playing with all of the other kids. Zachary and Brady were both sweet on the little girls. It was interesting to watch.

Zachary is doing great and really growing and changing. I will try to scan the picture of him with Santa so I can post it.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Hugs,
Rebecca