A Little Disappointment

Monday was supposed to be Rebekah's adoption day.  The i's were dotted and t's crossed, or so we thought, until about 2:00 yesterday afternoon when we learned we can't complete the adoption until Billy and I get updated fingerprints for a background check.  We submitted fingerprints 4 years ago when we were in the process of becoming verified for foster care, but our attorney said the judge will probably want a more recent submission.  (I'd like to ask them how, with all these kids, they think I've had time to commit any crimes??) We'd never heard of this any of the other 3 times we've adopted and really don't understand why we didn't find out about it until the last day before the adoption was scheduled.  We've spent some time trying to figure out who was to blame, but sooner or later you realize it doesn't really matter and it's pointless to dwell on being angry. We're disappointed, but the bottom line is we're still going to adopt Rebekah, we just have to wait a few more weeks . 

Our little girl has been doing great!  She's 8 months old now and received an excellent report from the developmental specialists who saw her earlier this week.  We've got a few exercises to do with her for some stiffness in her neck and to encourage rolling over.  We were also instructed to reduce the calorie mix of her formula - apparently she's getting a little too chunky!  Rebekah's adored by her siblings and her favorite person in the house is Daddy, of course. She showers him with smiles and wiggles in delight whenever he's around. 

So as you can see, we have an abundance of blessings to be thankful for and will continue on in faith and trust that God's timing, not ours, is what is best for us.

Rebekah Is Six Months Old!

It's hard to believe that on Sunday our little miracle turned six months old! We've completed the first step of the adoption process, the HSEGH (Health-Social-Educational-Genetic History), and the next step is to get a developmental assessment completed on her.  In the past two weeks we've lost both our agency caseworker (3rd staffing change in 4 months) and Rebekah's TDFPS worker.  We're doing our best to remain optimistic that the adoption process will still go as quickly as possible despite all of the changes in staff members.  We are so ready to be D-O-N-E with the regulations and red tape and start living life as a "normal" family!

You can see from the pictures below how big Rebekah's getting!  She'll be officially weighed tomorrow, but I'm guessing she's around 12-13 pounds.

Little Rebekah is nothing but a delight, quick to share her sweet smiles with everyone and she has begun gurgling and cooing in conversation with us.  She's sleeping much better at night and can sleep soundly for stretches of up to 4 hours at a time!

She's been taking a special high-calorie formula and a daily vitamin up to this point, but we expect her doctor to take her off of those at her next check-up. 

After the rough start to her little life, we are so thankful that God has allowed our Rebekah to grow and thrive in such a remarkable way!

Quick Adoption Update

I have great news to share!  We're one step closer to adopting Rebekah...parental rights were terminated this morning and our family has become the adoptive placement for her.  The fast-track process is really living up to its name.  Now we wait for paperwork to be completed and the rest of the 6-month waiting period to end.  We're still looking at a possible June adoption date.  Thanks to everyone for the continued prayers, love and support!

Use Your Noodle

Yesterday I shooed the kids outdoors to enjoy the beautiful, balmy day.  With the chilly weather on its way I wanted them to soak in the warm sunshine while they could.  Only in South Texas can you enjoy 78 degrees one day and then drop down to 18 degrees the very next!  Rumor is we may even seen snow on Thursday.  I'll let you know.

Anyway, the kids set upon themselves to prove that you don't need a body of water to utilize a pool noodle.  See for yourselves:

I wish I could tell you exactly what they were up to.  They claimed to be building a gate, which is quite possible because their dad was on the other side of the yard building a gate to enclose our dogs in their very own special place.  The dogs need their own special place because they are ruining our backyard. They are digging holes, ruining the grass, and of course, pooping everywhere.  So we're fencing in the side yard and reclaiming the rest of our back yard for the humans.

Here's Adrian watching Daddy work.  (Power tools were involved so for safety's sake he had to be restrained in his chair.)

And this little darling was inside helping me make dinner.

I've decided to stop posting pictures of Rebekah's face because, well, I'm not really supposed to until she's been adopted.  Today we learned that there's a chance that the fast-track she's on could happen even faster if the judge decides to bypass the 6-month waiting period.  Now that would be awesome!  We've been having a few "hiccups" with our agency lately and we are just ready to close out this chapter of our lives of being foster parents. We're weary of the extra layer of stress that being a foster family adds to our already busy lives.  It's been a wonderful blessing, obviously, because we've been blessed with 5 beautiful children, but we are ready to begin living our lives with a little more normalcy and freedom.

Hopeful Signs

Adrianna and I had another wonderful visit together Tuesday night.  We Kangarooed for 2 hours and then I changed her diaper.  You may have noticed I was pretty proud of myself the night before for changing her diaper so easily.  This time, however, Adrianna decided to challenge me and made the job a little more complicated!  (I'll let you figure out on your own how she did that!)

Then I checked her temperature.  She has a sensor attached to her body that is connector to her isolette which regulates the temperature inside in accord with her body temperature.  But before and after Kangaroo Care her temperature needs to be taken to make sure she's warm enough.  I've read that during Kangaroo Care the mother's body temperature rises and falls to maintain an even temperature for the baby.  What I'm not sure is if this is a hormone-related thing that wouldn't apply to a non-biological mom.  It doesn't really matter, though, because I kept her warm enough.  Dads can Kangaroo, too, for that matter.  (Adrianna really wants Daddy to get better so he can finally hold her!)

Yesterday morning we had a visit from Adrian's caseworker (who would have been Adrianna's worker but she's moving to a new department - Adrian's and Adrianna's new caseworker is now coincidentally going to be Mikea's old caseworker) and learned a few things that give us hope that things are moving in our favor.  As far as the relative who was brought in to be Adrianna's placement, it is up to her to contact DFPS to even be considered for the placement.  DFPS is not going to seek her out and she has yet to contact them. Placement will not happen until Adrianna is released from the hospital, which in my estimation would be December at the very earliest. The case is also supposed to be "fast-tracked" with parental rights possibly being terminated once 60 days from the last court date have passed. 

So, more waiting, hoping, and praying.  Good thing we have lots of experience with all three!

Holding Adrianna

This past Monday evening I had the privilege of holding tiny Adrianna for the first time.  I wasn't expecting to be able to and watched in wonder as Kendra, the nurse, took a few moments to untangle and disconnect the various tubes and wires attached to Adrianna in order to swaddle her in a blanket. Once Adrianna was swaddled, Kendra held her with only one hand while she closed up the incubator - it was just as though she were a doll. My first thought when I saw her face up close for the first time was, "She looks like Mikea!", mainly due to her coloring and her dark hair. She was opening and closing her eyes and mouth for the first few minutes of me holding her.  She was also sticking out her tongue, which is no bigger than my pinky fingernail!

Turns out that would be the only time this week Billy or I would be allowed to hold her.  Last night Billy asked the nurse to check with Adrianna's doctor to find out when we can start holding her on a regular basis.  I think right now there's only so much stimulation she can tolerate and they want to make sure she's ready for it.  It's hard to fathom that next week she'll already be 1 month old!

Wednesday evening she weighed 980 grams and last night she was up to 1010 grams, which is about 2 pounds 3 ounces.  In the next few pictures you can see just how tiny she is.

We're staying optimistic but I'd be lying if I told you there weren't times when the sadness of it all gets to be overwhelming.  We're still adjusting to the new routine of taking turns driving downtown every night to visit her and it gets harder and harder to leave her each time.  We love her so much already and we desperately want her to be part of our family forever.

Fun with Rice

It's been too long since we last played with rice so one day last week I figured it was high time to bring it out again, especially since all it's been doing is taking up space on the shelf.  This time we took advantage of the gorgeous October weather and set up on the back porch.  That made for a much more relaxing and fun time for me because I knew we could just sweep the mess away into the grass.  Even Adrian got in on the fun this time.  All I had to do was keep him from shoveling it in his mouth and showering it upon Mikea's head.  (Fortunately rice comes out of her hair a lot easier than sand!) 

There's a lot of leftover rice in the grass, but the kids pretend the grains are seeds and plant their own little gardens. 

Our visits with Adrianna went well this weekend.  The nurses showed us how to lay our hand on her and watch a certain number on her monitor (not sure what it was exactly) that would move up and down based on how comfortable she was.  If the number drops below 90 that means she's agitated and needs a break.  When it was Billy's turn all was fine for a while but then the number started dropping.  The nurse couldn't figure out what was bothering Adrianna at first but then realized she needed a diaper change.  Then, as the nurse was holding up Adriana's little legs to change her diaper, Adrianna made another poopy mess! Oh my! I am a bit envious I didn't get to see all of the excitement. 

The nurse also told us that sometimes Adrianna sleeps with her arms and legs all sprawled out, which is exactly how Daniel sleeps.  In fact, last night he fell out of his bed (again) and Billy and I were laughing at how even as a baby for several weeks the only way he could sleep was strapped in his car seat.  Otherwise, he'd move around so much he couldn't fall asleep.  Billy says Adriana's features resemble Daniel's, but I can't really tell yet.  Her coloring is quite dark, though, so who knows?  I do know she is beautiful and growing stronger and for that we are so thankful to God.

Meeting Little Adrianna

Last night Billy and I were able to visit Adrianna for the first time.  She is improving!  She has gained back the weight she lost after she was born and is now up to 2 pounds.  She no longer needs oxygen, just a cannula to help with air flow.  Adrianna has also been weaned off the meds needed to treat her withdrawal symptoms from the drug exposure. 

She is absolutely precious!

We were able to touch her and marvel at how just how tiny she is! 

There is some confusion about what her name really is.  We were told Adrianna, but the name on her incubator was Elicia.  I asked the nurse and she double-checked the last name and confirmed it is the right baby.  I checked her little bracelet and it had the correct last name, too. We are planning on changing her name anyway if we are so blessed to be able to adopt her.

Now for some bad news.  This morning the judge decided to give Adrianna's birthmother 60 days to comply with certain requirements that if she follows through, steps towards reunification begin.  In addition, the biological family has found a relative to be the foster placement instead of us, if this person passes an investigation.  (The judge says this placement must be darn-near perfect if he's going to consider it.)  The really aggravating part for me is that for some reason the judge was operating under the assumption that Adrianna is only the third child to be removed from this mother, not the fourth.  I feel that had he known, he wouldn't be giving her another chance. 

That's all I'm going to say for now.  Honestly I'm too angry about what just happened in court today and I need some time to process the situation a little more.  We have zero legal right to Adrianna at this point, yet she already feels like our daughter.  But the most important thing is that she is doing well and for that we are utterly thankful.  Praise God!

Please Pray for Adrianna

For the past several days I've been waiting to share some important news about our family.  On Friday, September 24 Baby A.'s  TDFPS worker called to let us know that his biological mother (and bio mom of Joe and Daniel) had just given birth again.  She had no other information at the time and asked us to decide if we wanted to be the baby's foster placement.  The timing was remarkable because just the night before Billy and I discussed what we would do if the boys' mother had another baby.  It had been the end of a long, mentally and physically exhausting day for both of us and we and we both said that we felt we had enough children.  But it's a completely different ball game when you're not merely contemplating the idea of a child, but a living, breathing baby who already exists.  A few hours after the initial phone call we learned the baby was a girl, but didn't know her name yet.  Keep in mind that due to the history of the biological family and what took place with our boys, we were almost certain that should we take this baby as a foster placement, we would eventually be allowed to adopt her.  (We are still about six weeks from adopting Adrian - hopefully.)

Through many hours of prayer and discussion we struggled over the decision and early Saturday afternoon we decided we would take a leap of faith and say yes.  We were terrified (5 children ages 4 and under!) but knew without a doubt that God would provide the strength needed to get through each day, one day at a time.  We also agreed to ask TDFPS to not call us again if any more biological siblings of our children are born.  The decision is so gut-wrenching and it would be unbearably painful to have to say no, when we'd already said yes so many times.

Once the decision was made we excitedly began preparing for the baby's arrival and bought another crib and a few baby supplies plus a larger vehicle capable of holding 5 car seats.  I unpacked and re-washed Mikea's old baby clothes and set about getting the house in order - us foster/adoptive moms go through nesting, too!  We even enrolled Joe in Pre-K in order to give me a break in the afternoons. But day after day passed and we heard no more news about the baby.  Anxious to visit her in the hospital, we contacted the investigating worker and our current TDFPS worker to try to find out where she was.  Over a week passed without any information and I began to get the feeling that something was wrong.

Yesterday afternoon we finally received word about this precious little baby, now named Adrianna, and the news is not good.  She weighs only 1 pound and is not gaining weight.  She has the organs needed to survive, so if she can gain weight there is hope for her.  But because she also tested positive for drug exposure, her struggle to survive is that much more difficult.  It breaks our heart that she doesn't have any family with her, comforting her and advocating for her.  Needless to say we are very frustrated that we were not notified of her condition sooner and at this moment we still don't know which hospital she is in or if we will be allowed to visit her.  Billy finally talked to the investigating worker this morning and asked for us to get clearance to visit her.

So, I'm spreading the word about Baby Adrianna in order to ask for your prayers.  I believe that God works miracles every day and this little angel needs nothing short of a miracle to survive.  She has an unbelievably difficult struggle ahead of her and if even if she gains enough strength to survive she will most likely spend months in the hospital and face many complications.

We know God is faithful and will not bring us into a difficult situation and then abandon us.  And we know He will not abandon little Adrianna, either.

Baby Asian

Baby Asian is how Mikea's pronounces Baby A.'s first name.  So that's what we call him sometimes.  It's been a while since I've posted on the status of his adoption so here goes:  we're still waiting.  (Insert big sigh here.)

We're getting really close, but we still have a few hoops to jump through.  We're trying to not get frustrated by the delays, but lately we've been asked to re-submit certain documents that we've already turned in and I just don't get excited by doing the same things over and over when I already did them once.  But we'll get there soon enough.

Speaking of the little whippersnapper, he's officially progressed to the stage of  "I will climb anything and everything I can, open every drawer I see and remove all contents, and dash to the bathroom to play in the toilet everytime someone leaves the door open."  Considering the primary users of the bathroom are ages 2, 3, and 4, the bathroom door is open quite a bit.  The other day one of Mikea's Barbie dolls was going for a swim in the toilet, courtesy of Baby A.

Here are his favorite things to climb:

He's also made it onto the kitchen table a time or two or three or four or five or six.  And after days of climbing onto and under the chairs that block the stairs, this morning he finally figured out how to get past the chairs to climb up the steps.  I was wondering how I survived this stage with the "twins" and then I remembered:  our house was half the size of the one we're in now and there just weren't as many opportunities for them to get into trouble. 

So for now I'm just trying to channel A.'s energy towards other activities, like mopping.

                               

This definitely looks like a win-win to me!

One More Thing...

...and that's to give a BIG HUG and a THANK YOU for all of you who left comments here and on Facebook yesterday in response to my last post.  I am overwhelmed by the love, support, and encouragement you all gave to me.  And what I realized is that while every situation is unique, so many of you have had to deal with similar issues and that it just helps to know we're not alone.  The outpouring of support you all showed me completely outweighed any negativity of the experience and proved once again that God does work all things for good. 

Thanks for bearing with me as I work through these issues here in "public".  Writing about them helps me process my thoughts and feelings and figure out how to better handle them in the future.  We're definitely learning as we go around here, so thanks for coming along for the ride!  You all are the best.

A Little Sensitivity, Please

Sometimes I get a little weary of being a foster family.  We still have at least a few more months, and it's certainly easier having only one foster child instead of three, but I'm ready to be finished with paperwork, visits, and the various other obligations that are required of foster families. But we are and always will be an adoptive family, a fact that I am proud of and will always celebrate with our children.  However, because our beautiful children clearly did not grow in my Caucasian womb, we deal with a host of issues even many other adoptive families never have to.

Last Sunday as I was walking Joe up to church by myself, we passed a woman who smiled at us and asked how old Joe was.  I smiled back, answered, "3 1/2" and prepared to keep walking (we were late).  But then she asked, "Is he a foster child?"  This totally caught me off guard, annoyed me a little, and I replied, "No, he's all mine." There was a slightly awkward pause and I felt like I hadn't satisfied her curiosity so I added, "But he used to be a foster child."  Then I instantly wished I hadn't.  It's like I felt I had to explain why my son looks different from me and I shared information about him that was private.

For those of you with biological children, imagine total strangers approaching you and asking if your child is yours or if you are their "real" parent.  There's a pretty good chance you'd be offended.  But then go one step further.  Imagine this question from your children's point of view.  How would they feel if people were always asking if they belonged to you? 

Another "innocent" question often asked about our boys is, "Are they brothers?"  Of course they are brothers, and Mikea is every bit their sister! Again, would this question be asked of a family of biological children?  All these questions do is highlight the fact that our family isn't like everyone else's, our children aren't like everyone else's, and creates a separation between our children and their real parents. (And yes, I do mean that their real parents are my husband and myself).

I know we can't pretend we're not different from most families.  Daniel and Mikea will be in the same grade when they enter school and I can only imagine what the other kids will say when they find out they are brother and sister.  But I expect that from kids.  I'd just like adults who don't already know our story to be a little more sensitive and think twice before asking personal questions about our children.  I do believe the vast majority of people who ask these questions aren't intending any harm and are truly just curious.  And if someone wants to know about the process of adopting children from foster care, I am more than happy to share our experience.  But if I don't know you, understand that I will do so without sharing personal details about my own children.  My husband and I have decided that we're not willing to compromise our children's privacy anymore in order to satisfy a stranger's curiosity.

The Hair-a-Thon

On Monday I had the opportunity to attend a training on ethnic hair care for foster parents.  Children were invited to attend to have their hair styled by professionals.  Even though Mikea's not a foster child anymore, my caseworker said we could still go.

When we arrived we learned there was to be a class on styling hair in ponytail twists. Guess who got to be the model for the class?  Mikea!!! 

First she had her hair washed.

She did very well following directions and keeping her head down.  The stylist said she did better than most adults.  I think she enjoyed it, as well she should!

Then it was off to the chair where the real work began.

Again, she did surprisingly well.  She was getting a bit uncomfortable, though, and so the secret weapon was brought out:  a giant cookie!

Here is the end result:

She was very proud of herself and so was I!

Here's one more picture for good measure:

Sure, I'm biased - but isn't she a cutie???

Adoption Update

The first permanency hearing for Baby A. is set for May 10.  His caseworker is recommending termination of parental rights and if the judge agrees, we can move forward with adoption.  We'd still have to wait 90 days after termination to see if any family members step up to claim him, but I'm hopeful we'll be clear to finalize by September.  This time around I'm going to do everything I can to keep the process moving.  With Mikea we had delay after delay, some of which could have been avoided, and the process took 6 months longer than it should have.  But in any event, we are thrilled to be one step closer to making Baby A. a Morrison for life!

News from Baby A.

Baby A. has bronchitis again.  Poor little dude is getting nebulizer treatments 4 times a day, steriods, and a decongestant.  A lot of meds for a guy only 6 months old!  But he's still his happy, content little self, dragging himself around the house with his army crawl and getting into anything that's left on the floor.  His favorite thing to do is move the dog food bowl back and forth across the tile in the kitchen to hear the scraping sound.  That's NOT my favorite sound!

As far as his "case", for us the best case scenario would have been moving forward with the adoption now that 6 months have passed.  But in December his birthmom and grandmother began contacting CPS so now birthmom has to be given a chance to work to get him back.  But it doesn't sound like right now she's making much of an attempt other than a phone call to CPS now and then. Baby A.'s CPS worker seems to think birthmom won't follow through and has been vocal about wanting A. to stay with us. So we'll see. 

Peek-A-Boo!

I haven't been posting much on Baby A. No particular reason except for the fact that I hardly have more than a few minutes at a time to put any coherent thoughts together.

He's a great little guy, or as Joe would say "cool awesome". He's been rolling over for several weeks and is really good at holding up his head. A developmental therapist and an occupational therapist from ECI each come out once a month to see him. He's got some high muscle tone (which Dan and Mikea also had so I told the ECI ladies I don't notice it because I don't know what "normal" tone is supposed to feel like.) We do some massages and are working on reaching out, getting ready to sit up, and getting ready to crawl.

A. is easy-going, content, and a charmer. He's got the biggest smile I've ever seen and is always ready to show it to you. He loves when his big sis and brothers talk to him and they love playing with him, holding him, and feeding him.

As far as his case goes, we received a little bit of bad news this week. After over 4 months, his birthmother finally contacted CPS to begin working services. Our caseworker thinks it's still unlikely that she will be successful (the family wouldn't let the worker into the house when she came to visit), but if nothing else this will delay an eventual adoption. We know normally we're supposed to be supportive of returning the baby to his bio family, but not in this case, not any more. We know too much history, his brothers are ours, and taking him away from us will break apart OUR family.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, he's NOT Chinese, or any other Asian nationality for that matter. Almost everyone who meets him says he looks Asian, which is kind of funny because we used to joke about needing to adopt an Asian child to complete our "set". So, you see, Baby A. fits in just perfectly with our diverse little tribe of children!

What's Up with Baby A.

Baby A. is 4 months old already! He is such a content, happy little guy who brings so much joy into our lives. He loves to be talked to and will coo and gurgle right back at you. Last week he started rolling over from his back to his tummy. Now whenever I lay him on a blanket on the floor, I have to be more vigilant because he tends to roll halfway across the room.

I would love to share photos of his gorgeous blue eyes and his ginormous smile, but since he is still a foster child I have to respect his privacy. His caseworker has informed us that she plans to recommend termination of parental rights in two more months. (Birthmom has still not contacted CPS to work a service plan.) Once rights are terminated, we have to wait 90 days before we can adopt him. We are praying that this is God's plan for us! We want this little guy to be part of our family forever!

A Few Thoughts

I have some really cute photos of the kids holding, feeding, and kissing Baby Brother A., but for now I'm going to hold off on posting them. There's no guarantee that we will be able to adopt him and so he will remain anonymous for the time being. Court is scheduled for Tuesday and it will be up to the judge to decide if birthmother gets another chance. She has stated that she wants to raise A., but the recommendation from CPS is worded quite strongly against her. She will get to visit him on Monday, and we have requested that CPS provide the transportation. One reason is simply the logistical nightmare of transporting 4 kids by myself, but we are also unwilling to risk having birthmom or other family members come in contact with Joe and Daniel. After A. was born, bio-grandmother told the nurses at the hospital that she was raising Joe and Daniel. I'm guessing she lied because she was probably embarrassed that the boys were taken away from the family, but that comment still makes me uneasy. It also makes me angry.

Another touchy subject is race. We know most people do a double-take when they see our family and I have no issue with that. I would do the same. I also have no issue with polite questions. Our waitress at dinner last night asked if Mikea was adopted. She was very sensitive and tactful about it, and it turned out she was interested in adopting. We put her in contact with our agency and hopefully something positive will result. I love it when that happens. However, last week was a different story. We were eating out again (it's too hot to cook, ok?) and I caught a woman staring at Mikea. Not just a one-time, "Oh my, look at that family! They have 500 babies!" kind of look, but a repeated, prolonged, hostile stare. At first I thought she was looking because the kids were being a little noisy. (They were tired and hungry and our food hadn't arrived yet.) But each time she looked, she looked only at Mikea. I also caught her saying the words "need to get out of here" to her companion, but I don't know if she was talking about herself or our family. Each time she looked, I stared right back at her until she looked at me and looked away. My blood was boiling and my hands were shaking. I didn't know what to do. I said a little prayer asking God to help me calm down and not do anything un-Christlike, but it was so hard. All I know is that I'm thankful my daughter is too young to understand, and we have a little time to figure out how to handle a situation like this if it should ever happen again. I'm thinking a response like, "She's a beautiful little girl, isn't she?" might work. What do you think?

He's Here!

Meet Baby Brother A., biological sibling to Joe and Daniel, new "foster sibling" to Mikea:

The kids are super excited to finally have Baby A. at home. They accompanied us to the hospital to pick him up and said "baby" over and over and over again once they saw him. Mikea has tried to kiss him several times and Joe likes to pat his back. Joe also says "baby sad" every time A. cries. Daniel was mostly interested in the fact that A. wore a hat on the way home. So far things are fairly quiet, but we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Waiting

We're still waiting for Baby Brother to come home. The hospital called this morning to say he's ready to be released, but they can't get reach his CPS worker. Our case worker hasn't been able to reach him either. So, we wait.

We did get to visit the baby last Friday. Billy and I took turns going to the hospital where we were able to feed him. He's adorable - he looks a lot like Joe. I've never been in a hospital nursery before - I couldn't get over the sight of all those little babies swaddled in their blankets, little caps on their heads, sleeping in plastic tubs on wheeled carts. The doctors and nurses were so friendly, so caring. It gave me comfort knowing Baby Brother has been in good hands for these first few days of his life.

Billy's sister Kellie arrives from Michigan tonight. She was already planning on visiting before we knew we were getting the baby and I think that is another example of God's timing. Joe, Daniel, and Mikea love Kellie and having her here will make things much easier on me and Billy as we adjust to having a newborn in the house!

UPDATE: We're picking Baby Brother up from the hospital tonight at 5:00!