Whirlwind of Wonderful

So remember how I was just saying how patient I needed to be?  Who knew that my world would change so quickly!!  Keep in mind, I wrote that last blog post on Sunday night.

On Monday afternoon, we had our regular staff meeting after school.  This time we were meeting in departments.  As I sat there meeting with the other school counselor, Kathy, my cell phone rang.  I looked down and saw, "Dawn Baker".  Now for those of you who are "Teen Mom" fans, you know that Dawn works for Bethany Christian Services as a pregnancy counselor.  I immediately got anxious as I went to pick up the phone.  Kathy quickly picked up on what was happening and ran to get Joel.  Thank goodness we work in the same building and he could get down to the office quickly to be with me.

Dawn informed us that there was a baby girl born at 1:50 AM that morning and that her birthparents chose us!!  Holy moly!!  We were told to come to the hospital on Tuesday morning to meet our baby girl!

We spent Monday evening frantically pulling out all of our baby stuff.  Every baby bin from the basement was strewn about our living room and kitchen.  (And if you ask Joel, there are WAY too many bins.)  We pulled out any clothing of Gus' that was gender neutral.  Brought up the pack 'n plays.  (Yes, that is plural.) Brought up the swing and the carseat and the changing pad....

I ran to Target to pick up the essentials like diapers, formula, Dreft, a couple of baby girls outfits (so she didn't come home in blue) and Tums (I knew I would need those to get through the next couple of days.)

I had Gus stay in my bed that night (I wanted to snuggle with him and it was our last night as a family of 3) as I laid awake the whole night worrying about everything that was about to happen and crying for my little boy who had no idea that in 12 hours his world was going to change drastically.  I spent half of my night worrying about our next adoption process, praying for this baby, praying for her birthparents, praying for our family.  I spent the other half watching Gus sleep and praying for him.  Praying for the transition that our family was about to make.  Soaking up the last few hours of his only child life and praying for him as the big brother that he was about to become.  Sad that I didn't have time to do something special with him on the last day as a family of three.  It was a very long night full of anxiety and tears....no sleep.

The next day, Gus went to his sitter's house and Joel and I headed to work for a couple of hours before heading to the hospital.  Once we got to the hospital we met up with Dawn who had some paperwork for us to fill out.  She then went to meet with the birthparents for what seemed to be forever long.  She came back to get us and we began the longest walk in the world.  The hospital we were in was huge and the room we were in was super far away from the room that "S" was in.  The walk seemed to be long, awkward and full of anxiety.  (Remember the movie The Green Mile....for some reason that kept popping in my head as we made this long walk down to meet the birthparents.)

Once in the room, we met the birthparents, his mom, her mom and her grandparents.  Nine of us in a tiny hospital room.  It sure was cozy!  We had a chance to talk and get to know one another a little bit.  I was jumping out of my skin!  Pretty sure that my nails were digging into Joel's knee as I held his hand.  We were then led back to the waiting room to wait....and wait...and wait....

While we were waiting, Dawn was taking care of some stuff with the birthparents and also introduced the baby girl to her birth family.  (They had not yet seen her.)  After what seemed to be a long time, Dawn came back to get us.  We went back to the room that "S" was in.  Once we were there, "S" made a point to hand this beautiful little girl over to me.  We held her and loved her and took some pictures with her, with the birthparents, with the whole family.  We gave "S" and "C", the birthfather, a few minutes alone with the baby before we got to take her back down to the room that we were assigned.

We spent the rest of the day hanging out in that room waiting to be discharged.  The baby was born at 36 weeks so she had to pass a carseat test before we could take her home.  We had to wait a long time before the NICU had time to do the test.  We FINALLY left for home around 8 PM.  We pulled in the driveway at 9 PM to meet up with Gus and introduce him to his baby sister!

We are beyond thrilled to welcome

PENELOPE LIN ELIZABETH

to our family!  She is absolutely beautiful and the sweetest little thing!  Penny weighed in at 6 lbs 8 oz and was 18" long.  We are cautiously approaching the next few weeks as we wait for legal placement, but we are over the moon and head over heels in love with this beautiful little girl!!

More info and pictures to follow in the upcoming weeks.  In the mean time, prayers would be much appreciated as we wait out the risk period.

I could do it forever....

I could hold his little pudgy hand forever! I think what I love most is when he yells my name and puts his hand out for me to hold. I can't get enough of it!!  Oh Gus-Gus....you melt your momma's heart!

"An Idea Emergency!!!"

We took Gus to his first concert.  We went to see the Imagination Movers downtown Detroit.  It was AMAZING!!  (Funny...I never thought I would feel that way about a kids show.)  If you are not familiar with the Imagination Movers, I definitely encourage you to check them out.  We are big fans in the Stape House!  They are problem solvers who help solve "idea emergencies"!  I could sing their brainstorming song all day!

Gus actually sat still for 90% of the time.  The only exception was when he transferred back and forth between Momma and DaDoh.  He was just in awe most of the time.  Every once and a while, he would start clapping or yelling but for the most part he just watched in amazement.  (And once again...I sat in tears for 1/2 of it thinking about the fact that this was another first for Gus.  I get very emotional about those kids of things....heck, I get emotional about everything!)

Little did we know that we would have to wait in line outside to get in.  (Yes, I felt like the mother who dressed my child inappropriately. If I had known, I would have brought a proper hat and perhaps a blankie...it was windy and cold.)

Before the show, Gus loved climbing in and out of his very own seat.  It is a little irritating that they require you to purchase a seat for kids over one, but I'm glad that they did.  It was perfect for him!

Genevieve and DC from Choo Choo Soul opened up the show.

Clapping along.

MOVERS!!!!!

Hmmmm..... I'm not really sure what is going on at this time, but Joel captured this little face and I just think it is too cute not to share!!

WAREHOUSE MOUSE!!  We love this mouse and his love for cheese!  Our little mouse, Gus Gus, also loves cheese!!

HOLY MOLY!!! Mover Rich came out the door right by us.  We could have touched him.  (And yes, I LOVE Mover Rich!  He is my favorite!  I think I was more excited that any of the kids around us!)

Gus and DaDoh outside the Music Hall showing off Gus' new Mover's hat.

We had a FABULOUS time!!

Angelina Jolie

My close friends know that I do not like Angelina Jolie.  In fact, I have a strong distaste for her.  Why?  It's simple...she stole my friend's husband.  And by friend, I mean Jennifer Aniston.  (Yes, in my head we are best friends.  After all, we did spend 10 glorious seasons together.)  I just never liked Angelina after she shacked up with Brad Pitt.  I'm trying hard to like her these days.  As much as I may not agree with her adopting 27 children, she has brought a lot of attention to adoption and people are learning more about adoption because of it.  So long story short, I do not hate her....I'm trying to appreciate the awareness she has brought to the adoption world.

Well...it's only a matter of time before I became a crazy mom.  Okay...we know that I am crazy but I became a crazed mama bear today in the grocery store.  The woman in front of me purchased a magazine with Angelina on the front.  It mentioned that she and Brad were going to be adopting another child.  The cashier and the customer in front of me carried on talking about how it seemed ridiculous that they were adopting children from all over.  And why on earth would they want to adopt when clearly they can have "kids of their own"....blah, blah, blah....

This continued even after all of the woman's items were bagged.  At this point I was waiting impatiently and now extremely irritated.  The bagger, a former student of mine, noticed my irritation and helped quickly put this woman's bags in her cart.  (Thank you, Billy.)  I am sure that there was steam shooting out of my ears.  It was finally my turn to check out.  The cashier tried to continue to talk to me about it.  My response, which I am sure came out much nastier than I meant it to, probably wasn't needed.  I should know better than to let those that are ignorant bother me. 

"I'm sorry...I really don't think that this conversation is appropriate to have right now."

Billy jumped in, "Hey Lady Stape, didn't you and Stape adopt a baby?"  (God bless that kid!)

"Yes, Billy, we did."

That cashier, with the bright red face, rang up my items and bagged them so quickly.  With a smile and wink towards Billy, I walked out of there thinking that perhaps next time she might think twice before rattling on like that.

On a totally separate note, I added a spot on my blog where you can "follow" Stape's House.  We'd love to know if you are a follower of our crazy life....so please declare it!  :)  And stay tuned...we have some very exciting stuff coming up soon!!

Adora Lane

We are SO excited about what 2011 has in store for us.  At the beginning of December we started looking into trying to lease our current townhouse and be able to buy a new house.  I have been dreaming of the day when we would be able to move.  We are bursting at the seams here.  We need more space.  And Gus needs more space to run and play!  I have told people before that my requirements in a new home would be a backyard for my baby and a basement for my hubby.  Well, there is a basement for my hubby...but it will need to be finished off.  The nice part is that the basement has the extra tall ceilings.  Perfect for my extra tall hubby.  And the backyard....oh I am so excited!!  There is a beautiful backyard that backs up to a pond.  Not thrilled about the pond, but when we placed our offer we asked for the builder to include a fence for the backyard...that was one thing that I was not willing to go without if there was going to be a pond right there.  We found a company who will manage our townhouse rental property for us, we got our preapproval for a mortgage, our offer was accepted, we signed a purchase agreement...and now we wait to close!!  That and we start packing!  Our townhouse needs to be ready to be photographed for the leasing company in less than two weeks!!  Needless to say it will be a little crazy around here for a little while, but we are super excited!!  The home we will be moving into is the former model for the builder.  Below is a sneak peek of the house.  Some things have changed since they took the pictures.  For example, the parking lot has been replaced with a yard and driveway, some of the rooms have been repainted and all of the furniture/decor have been removed.  Can't wait to make this house our home!

The parking lot, flag pole, fence and doors are gone. It has been replaced with a lawn, driveway and a garage door. 

This is the "flex" room that will be a play area/office for Gus for now. (Maybe...that's why it's a "flex" room.  It's purpose is flexible.)  I'm super bummed that they already painted over the walls.  I would have loved that design on my walls.

The laundry room.  We are currently spoiled at the townhouse since our laundry is on the 2nd floor near the bedrooms...but the main floor is just as good.

The kitchen.  There are twice as many cupboards here than what we currently have! Now our stuff won't have to be jammed in there.

The dining "nook".  Our little dining table is going to look so little in here but we will actually be able to access all four sides of it at once instead of having it against the wall.

The great room.  The only thing not great about this room is the red paint on the bottom.  We currently have a plum colored couch...I guess a can of paint is cheaper than a new couch, right?

Bedroom #1- Which will now be referred to as the craft room.  Or as I am sure Joel will end up calling it, the "crap" room.  For the time being, I will be able to keep all of my scrapbooking stuff, gift wrap, Thirty-One stuff, coaching stuff, etc in here.  And it will stay pink for now.  No use painting it when it will just be for me.  :)

This is the loft area at the top of the stairs.  Oh the possibilities!

Gus' bathroom.  It is hard to see from the picture but the wallpaper is polka dots!  I love polka dots!! And there is a border around the bottom with dogs.  Gus loves dogs!!  It's cute.

Most boys might dream of a construction/Bob the Builder room.  Personally, this room gives me a headache.  It's got to change.  This will be Gus' room.  I am sure that we will be painting it exactly the way his current bedroom is because I love that room and I am not ready to let go of that yet. Plus I already have bedding for a toddler bed that matches his current room.  So goodbye Bob the Builder...we are going to be doing some construction of our own.

This will be the guest bedroom and will become Baby Stape #2's bedroom someday.  (Unless we have a girl and then I may be willing to give up the craft room.) 

The master bathroom has a big garden tub and a shower.  I just may find myself taking more baths now with such a luxurious tub!

Our Bedroom.  The wooden decor on the wall has been taken down and that wall has been repainted.  None of our current bedding will match, but that is okay.  (And when I say none of our bedding, I am serious.  I am obsessed with duvet covers and not a single one will look good in here.  Oh well!)

Hope you enjoyed your little tour of our soon-to-be home.  We can't wait for you to come and visit us at our home on Adora Lane.

TORCH LAKE!!!

We were fortunate enough to spend a week up at Torch Lake.  Loved every second of it!!

Gus' 1st dip in the lake.  He wasn't so sure about it at first since it is cold...but eventually loved it!!

My Little Miss.  I LOVE how sassy this little girl is and how chaotic those curls can get.  Isn't she beautiful?!?

Gus and his mask...so he can go diving.  :)

Sunrise at the lake.

Two of my favorite boys!

All of the "kids" in the lake.

Gus FINALLY got to meet my cousin, Karen.  Loved spending time with her!

PEEK!!

Gus just adores his big cousin, Brendan!  They are so sweet to watch together!

Camera-shy, Alexis...I FINALLY got her to look at my camera!  HA! Gotcha, little lady!!  The Knight family came up with the Gyolai's and joined us for the week.  It was great to get to know them better.

Gus and his Aunt Sarah.

Gus getting a feel for the water.

Cousins!!  Love these kids!!  Can't wait until the Stoike kids come for the week and I can get a picture of all 7 of them in the lake!  That will be so fun!!

Had a great week with these 4 kiddos!