Final Stages of Adoption

We finally have a date for our first interview with a Certified Investigator with DSS for completing our adoption home study. On Monday at 9am, we'll have our first interview. During this meeting only Jorge and I will meet with her. Later they will want to do a second interview and include the kids. We're so excited to be completing this final phase of approval. They can ask us anything and we're ready. It amazes me to think we may have a baby very soon. At the same time, we could be waiting for a while. I'm sure the hardest part will be the wait.

This week there was a story in the local news about a 17 year old girl and her 21 year old boyfriend who left their third child, yes 3rd child, in a diaper box after giving birth just 6 hours earlier at a fire station. They hoped someone would find it. A mother and daughter passing by saw the box and just then a firefighter came out for a smoke break and found the baby. Unbelievalbe! The teen mother was 14 when she had her first child. They said they just couldn't handle having another baby! I swear it broke my heart! I wanted to call DSS and say..."We'll take him! We'll take this innocent baby boy who deserves a home with people who will love him." It doesn't work that way.

Now today there has been the remains of a small child found not too far from the home of Casey Anthony in Florida. Could this be Caylee? If she has gone home to our Heavenly Father, I hope this is her and at least part of the mystery of what happened to her will be solved. I'm not concerened about who did it other than wanting justice for this beautiful little girl with the big bright eyes. I pray for her.

I've just never understood how someone who could hurt a child like this. Tonight I watched a little boy have a melt down at Jack in the Box. Apparantly he did not want his hamburger and wanted everyone else to eat at another table. His mother kept her cool and tried to calm him. When she couldn't she quickly wisked him outside trying to calm him sparing the rest of us from his cries. I felt sorry for her and hoped I would be as calm of a mother as my child will inevitably have the same sort of "melt down" at some point. Of course I could never do anything so crazy and hurt a child...but I struggle with how anyone else could. It boggles the mind.

I know God has the perfect child waiting for us. He will choose which child will be ours. I have FAITH! Keep us in your prayers that our interviews will go well and we will finally be officially waiting for our long awaited child.

Christmas Song Spin

Okay....y'all know how much I love music and singing. Well I found this on the web the other day and if you haven't seen it you'll enjoy watching. A great new spin on the holiday music that can drive us crazy once we have heard it a million times! The acapella group is called, Straight No Chaser. Very cool!

Here is a link for my new favorite Christmas song. It is titled, A Baby Changes Everything, from Faith Hill's new and first Christmas album. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2o1uxzI-hA

Once I heard this song it started to make me think how much our lives will change when we are finally blessed with a baby! I'm so excited I can't stand it!

Merry Christmas!

Adoption Update

Well...we have a fire marshall inspection on Monday. It should take all of 10 minutes for this one! Then we will wait for the Certified Investigator to complete the Home Study. It is all a waiting game at this point! Lots and lots of waiting! We are just living as normal, axiously waiting for a call that they have a baby for us. We will have to complete the home study first, but because we are willing to foster/adopt, we shouldn't have to wait too long. At least with the holidays on us, we will keep very busy during our wait. I've thought of volunteering at church for the nursery. It might curb my appetite for a baby, or backfire and make me even more anxious. I'm praying about it asking God for guidance.
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Today is Sunday and Jorge is out mowing the grass, fixing my flat tire and helping around the house. He's so great about doing these types of things. I'm cleaning the bath and the rest of the house. Pretty boring Sunday! I LOVE IT! I know once we adopt we will not be bored any longer! We always find something to do now. Seems like we are always running here and there. Jorge and I promised each other we would make Sunday our day of rest. Not much resting going on here! Jose is at work and Chris is at a friends house.

Jose is working lots of holiday hours! Can you beleive Christmas is just around the corner? Chris alreay has his Christmas gift. He wanted a new cell phone. A $330 cell phone! How many 15 year olds do you know that need a $330 cell phone? Not our idea! We chipped in a little money for it, but that's it! CRAZY!! Jose hasn't asked for much. He's always a little harder to buy for. We're excited about spending Christmas in our new home. Jorge and I both have off the whole week of Christmas and we're looking forward to it. We hope to go cut down a tree right after Thanksgiving.

That's all for now!

Election Day!

Today is a historical day in the United States. For the first time we will either have an African American or a woman in the white house. Something I'm for sure my parents would have never thought they would see in their lifetime.

We got up at the crack of dawn to go stand in line for an hour and a half waiting to cast our vote. We were so proud of Jose for voting in his first election! Jorge and I were so excited for him. He was just trying to stay awake in line! A very nice lady in line even gave him a McDonald's Egg n Cheese McMuffin. He certainly didn't want it to go to waste and kindly took it off her hands. At a few minutes after 8am, our votes were cast.

Now we are sitting in the living room watching the election coverage with both the boys. It is interesting to see how they think about the election and listening to their questions. Chris chose not to vote in school election because he didn't like either candidate. (Do I hear a teachable moment coming?) We let Chris know that if he doesn't vote, then he's letting others speak for him. Even if you don't like either candidate, you should make an educated choice to who will lead your country. No one should ever take their right to vote for granted! He blew us off and was just happy he got the day off school! He's 15! I keep telling myself that and I keep looking for the teachable moments.

Jose looks at it very differently. He is very excited to be able to vote and let his voice be heard. As always, he has an opinion about EVERYTHING! I love it. He's so much fun to talk to. Jose usually has me laughing about something.

In any case, I'm glad this is something I'm glad we are sharing as a family. As I look out into my own living room, I am reminded how blessed I am to have such great kids, a loving husband and yes...three hairy dogs! God is so good.

On our way!

I can't believe I've only blogged once in the month of October. It was a very busy month for us. It seems as if each weekend was full of something to do. We spent two Saturdays in "Adoption Training". My mom and dad came during another weekend. We really enjoyed our time together with them. Well....let me fill you in.

We completed our adoption/foster training and turned in all of our paperwork. That was a major accomplishment in itself. It felt never ending! I turned it in on October 19th. We know the next step is to complete our Home Study. Every adoptive couple must complete this portion of the adoption process. So...we wait for a call to schedule an appointment with a Certified Investigator for a home study interview.

Last week I was sick and stayed home on Tuesday. I got a call from someone with the Health Dept. calling to schedule a home health inspection. I knew I would be off on Monday and made the appointment for that day. I went through the house like a white tornado making sure everything was clean, in it's place and looked its best. I thought for sure we'd fail this portion. I cleaned bath tubs, the boys rooms, the kitchen and even closets. With three dogs, I thought there is no way my house would ever be clean enough. I even considered re-organizing my walk in closet. It is the pit of the house. When the inspector arrived, she immediately walked in and started towards the kitchen, carefully looking around the floors and taking in the surroundings. I thought for sure I'd find a dog hair tumbleweed floating along the hardwood entry floor. I was so nervous. Fortunately for me, she was sooooooo sweet. I had all my ducks in a row. Outlet covers on every outlet a baby could reach, my chemicals were stored in a locked cabinet in the garage and a baby proof cabinet lock for under the kitchen sink. I thought, "What am I missing?" I thought for sure I was missing something! I have had friends tell me to make sure the laundry room doesn't have lint on the floor or behind the dryer. They knew someone who failed because of this. As usual...I worried for nothing. The whole inspection took a whopping 15 minutes. She didn't look in all my drawers and cabinets. She didn't even check the laundry room. She looked in the nursery and checked our crib, asked me a few questions about our house, the dogs, normal things! I couldn't beleive how easy it all was. So....big weight off our shoulders. Now we have to wait for the home study and the fire marshall to inspect the house.

The fire marshall will look to make sure the bedroom window in the nursery is a certain amount of square footage so a fully dressed fire fighter can get into the room through that window. Crazy...right? We had to purchase a fire extinquisher and are supposed to have it mounted on the wall in the kitchen. Okay....I doubt I'll "mount" it to the wall unless I absolutly have to. It is ready and available in the kitchen. We also have to have an evacuation plan posted in the house somewhere showing exits. You know...just like on the back of a hotel door. Mine is lamminated and on the fridge. Hotel Valentin! :0)

I'm busy painting the nursery and organizing clothes. We have been given so many clothes for a little girl! I feel pretty well set and ready to bring a baby home. We haven't gotten diapers or anything like that. Those are last minute items we can get once we know the age of the child. We're saving up for that day. I keep sticking money aside for all those last minute things. So far we have a crib, changing table, bedding, bouncy seats, a small swing and a few toys. Not to mention all the clothes! Oh...and the pack-n-play! We were given a great pack-n-play! Thank goodness for friends with babies! I was amazed at the other adoptive parents who are going through the process and are waiting till the last minute to get their crib and other baby necessities. I guess we're jumping the gun. We haven't even been approved to adopt yet. However, I'm very optimistic! I really don't see the approval being an issue. As always...we'll keep you posted on our progress.

Paper Work, paper work, paper work!

We have completed our first class towards our 14 hours of required Adoption Training with DSS. We went on Saturday and it was a georgous day here in South Carolina. I thought we would wish we had been out side at the park, but I would have loved to stay and ask a zillion other questions when the class was over. We complete the additional 7 hours of training next Saturday the 18th. At that time we hope to have all paperwork completed and turned in to our Case Worker. Oh yeah...about the paper work.

As with any government agency the paper work is endless! Jorge and I received about 6 more sheets of paper we had to sign or fill out before we can turn in our packet to a case worker. One was the Family History. This is a form where you write down info about your mother/father/bio-children and siblings. Ok mine took me about 5 minutes and for Jorge I had to make extra copies so he could fill out info on all his sisters and brother! Too funny! Being the youngest and male...he had no clue as to birthdays etc. Thanks to "Roachie", Margaret, for lending a hand in those dates. Next came the Foster/Adoptive parent autobiography. This one really did us in and we took two days completing it. There are questions as to how you would handle certain situations like bedwetting, runaways, aggressive behaviors, etc. To be honest so much of this is subjective and based on the age of the child you are adopting and didn't necessarily apply to us. I guess as long as we said we wouldn't lock them in a closet or beat them sensless, we're okay! We answered to the best of our knowledge and finally completed the laundry list of questions last night. I was so tired afterwards I fell into a coma status and hit the sack! Tonight we have to complete the financial portion of the paper work which includes a household budget, income statements and tax forms. I just didn't have it in me at 10pm last night to tackle this one.

The only item left to really complete is the medical exam. Yes we ALL have to go to the doctor to have them fill out a piece of paper saying we are healthy and cleared for adoption. I heard a little hesitation in Jose's voice last night as we reminded him of this. He sounded as though it was an inconvenience. He has no idea! This will be the smallest of inconveniences he will experience with a newborn or even toddler in the house! "This is rediculous! Why do I have to go?" he exclaimed as he retreated upstairs to the man cave! I am worried about this of course because I want the boys to feel a part of this process and support our decision. Jorge reminds me they are self absorbed teenagers and are only concerned about how all of this will affect them. They are not concerned with our desire to expand our family or understand our need/want to do so! He reminds me that they will grow up...live thier own lives and will be out of the house in college or working by the time our child starts school. I realize the bigger picture, but with my nature, I want them to be okay with it all. I love them and care for them so much. They are my boys, even if I didn't give birth to them. Something else to add to our prayer list! Please add this to your prayer list as well!

With all of this paper work...we needed to break it up with a fun activity so....we purchased a crib, changing table and bedding for the nursery. We painted the nursery as well and it is coming along nicely! Jorge put up the crib in no time and the changing table to boot! Gracie sat in my lap the entire time as I handed Jorge bolts, barrells and dowels. I wonder if she will realize my lap won't be as big when a baby is in it! Poor Gracie! The dogs will be much more reliant on the boys for attention once a new baby is in the picture.

So what's the next step once the medical checks are done and the paper work is turned in? We will have an inspection of our home by the Department of Health to make sure it is safe, windows are the right size for a fully dressed firefighter to get through, smoke detectors are in place and working, dogs have had their shots and are well cared for and we have a fire extinquisher in the kitchen. Not to mention cleaning supplies locked up etc... I've always been able to live with a little clutter here and there, but I know that will all have to change! Ugh! We will then be subject to a CI (Certified Investigator) completing a home study of our family. We will be asked every question under the sun, and the boys will be interviewed as well. Jorge and I are pretty open, so we don't really sweat this part. We know they have to make sure we are able to care for a child. Hello! They are giving us a human being! We're not adopting a puppy! Once this report is completed, and the CI has 90 days to complete this report, we WAIT! Wait for a call that they have a child available.

Since we are adopting from DSS, we will know everything DSS knows about this child before we choose to accept it in our home. We want our placement to be successful...so knowing as much info and asking as many questions as we can is crucial to our placement. No were not "kicking the tires" per say...but a child who has possibly been through something traumatic takes a lot of consideration. One thing we know for sure is, we may have to say NO to a child we are presented with. As hard as that seems, our family comes first! Chris and Jose come first! I would not want to take a child in that would impact our family negatively. There are no guarantees, especially with a new born, but Jorge and I have discussed what we would be willing to accept and what we wouldn't. Agreeing on that now will make it easier on us later if we have to say NO. Almost 99% of DSS adoptions are closed and we like this idea. We will not have contact with birth parents. Remember kids in the system have mostly been abused or neglected. It would not be in the best interest of a child to continue contact with the person that harmed them.

The wait will be the hardest thing. We've agreed that we will live our lives as normal, enjoy sleep while we can and keep praying God's plan comes together for us soon. We know it is all in His hands and He has a plan for us. Now is the time to be faithful when the wait will seem like an eternity.

So...that brings you up to speed. I didn't intend to write a novel today...but everyone's had so many questions and I learned so much at the first "training" class that I wanted to share. I'll keep ya'll posted!

Cribs and Bedding and Babies...Oh MY!

Okay I never thought in my wildest dreams it would be so difficult to pick out nursery bedding and decorations not to mention a crib. Friends have all given us lots of advice. "Don't buy the expensive ones. Skip drop down sides, you won't need it. Forget the panel back beds, you can't get a bumper pad around it, etc." All great advice! I have listened and taken mental notes. So...I've been shopping at stores and the Internet. So far the stores have nothing.

In an age where the Internet is like shopping at all the best stores in the world...no wonder stores no longer carry these items. I'm such a tactile shopper. I want to touch and feel the bedding, the crib and anything else my child may be touching. I'm not crazy...right?

Here's the thing...since I don't know what God has planned I'm not sure what to do. Should we decorate gender neutral or go ahead and decorate for a girl since that is what we have decided to adopt? Since God is in control of all of this I feel like I have to plan, yeah right, for the unexpected. We are open to adopting siblings so what if one is a boy? For a while I want them to share a room and I doubt a little boy would want to live pretty in pink. I've added picks of the bedding and crib that I've fallen in love with this week. And yes I got to touch and feel all of it. Very nice!

I'm so anxious to get the room set up! I want the Social Worker to know how serious we are about adopting a child and having a room ready certainly could not hurt. If I were pregnant I would wait until we found out the sex of the baby before I bought anything. Unfortunately I don't have such a luxury. Although everyone I talk to tells me I will get pregnant as soon as we adopt. Everyone seems to know someone who this happens to. I'd love to be one of them, but know that may never be God's plan for me. All he asks me to be is faithful and I am holding on to Him. He will give us a child and I want to be ready for it!

Let me know what you think and take the poll listed to the right! Should we go girl, boy or neutral for the decor?

Love ya'll!

Adoption Update

Hey everyone! Just wanted to give you a quick update. We are anxiously awaiting our adoption class we take on October 4th and 18th. We hope to turn in all our paperwork on the 18th so we can begin our homestudy. After the homestudy is complete, it is just a waiting game.

This past weekend we were out and about running our usual errands. (Walmart run!) We drove past friends of ours dumping baby items at Goodwill. We whipped the car around and they gave us two large bags full of gently used baby clothes! Sizes ranged from 3-24 months. I have more sleepers with the feet in them and onzies than I can count. They also gave us a vibrating bouncy seat in pink! We also got a pack n play from them. We felt so blessed and they were so generous in giving these items to us. They had a yard sale and these were the items that were left behind. It also worked out for them because Alicia had to bust down the garage door since Gabby locked her out of the house last week! Jorge is going to fix their door for them today!

I've been stressing out over getting the nursury prepared. I want to make sure we have the basics in place for when we get the blessed call to pick up our baby. Jorge is trying to keep me grounded, but I don't want to be rushing to find a crib, car seat, stroller, etc at the last minute. Having all of these clothes makes me feel a little better about it all. At least the poor kid will have PJ's to sleep in. The crib and all the extras will come a little at a time. Let's face it, most mom's have at least 9 months to prepare for their babies. I may have less than that or more than that. It is truly up to God. My job is to "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him." Psalm 37:7

Let's face it...that's the real tough part. Jorge has been great through it all. He tells me to just be patient. Not sweat the small stuff. Great advice I know, but being the planner I am...I'm struggling! Keep us in your prayers through this journey. I know there is a little one out there waiting for us to be their forever family.

Adopting

We have decided to follow through with an adoption of a child. We have no idea where our child will come from, what circumstances she will come from, how old she will be, what race or what she looks like, we already love her. I refer to "she" because that is what we have asked for, however, we know God always has plans of His own. We are remaining faithful to his counsel and pray we are given a child to give a forever home to. How did we get here?

It is no big secret to anyone who knows us of our desire to expand our family and have a baby of our own. From the beginning we knew that adoption was always an option. We have wrestled with the idea for over a year now. After about 6 months of fertility treatments, drug and crazy sweeping hormones, I decided it just wasn't worth it to have a "biological" child. I had to give up the notion of ever being able to give birth or have that experience. I got lots of advise on how to get pregnant. My favorite was, "Just Relax!" Okay...that didn't work. Besides, I know I live in this perpetual state of stress. Even when I don't think I'm stressed, I am. It is how I function day to day. Controlled chaos is what some people call it. I thrive in it and it seems to suit me well. Other words of wisdom were: "Just go out and tie one on. That's what we did and low and behold we got pregnant." I found this one not to my liking. I'm not a drinker anyways. I love Key Lime Martini's and all, but getting drunk to get pregnant seems obsurde! I never can understand how some people get pregnant just thinking about it while others struggle with the want to be pregnant and for whatever reason just can't conceive. Seems so unfair!

I still have my days where it really hurts. I look at my handsome husband and picture the little girl I so long to give him. She would have dark hair and skin with maybe hazel eyes like mine. She will love music and sports at the same time. This is normal right? Everyone who wants a child dreams about these things, don't they? In any case, I just recently found out that a family member is expecting a baby. As excited as I am for them, I fight back the tears for Jorge and I. Jorge is so sweet and just holds me trying to be so supportive. I thought I had really let this go, but the news came and I just couldn't hold it back. I think I'll always feel this was to some degree.

Our decsion to adopt wasn't an easy one. Where do we start? Who do we contact? Do we want and open adotion, semi-open or closed? What does all of that mean? We first contacted Bethany Christian Services. They are an adoption agency that specializes in Christian families wanting to adopt. They pair birth parents with families wanting to adopt and the birth mother chooses the new parents for her child. We found out that they are an open adoption only. We are not totally opposed of this idea, but we still weren't sure. Recently we met with a couple from our church who have adopted through DSS, Department of Social Services. They were first Foster Parents, which we considered. After lots of discussion we realized we could not have a baby placed in our arms only to have to return it to someone else. I just don't think my heart could bear it. Through Frank and Laverne, we realized going through DSS would be an option we were interested in. There are over 600 children in the state of SC waiting for a forever family. We attended an informational meeting and have lots of paperwork to complete before October 18th. That is the last day of a two day training class for foster or adopting parents. We were very clear that we wanted to go through a straight adoption and forgo fostering. While we may foster later, it is clear to both of us that we'd like to adopt initially. We may even be open to adopt sibilings. At this point we are going through the steps required and the training classes. The rest is up to God. We are leaving it in His hands.

We have so many questions and hope they will be answered as we go along. Last weekend we had a little bit of fun shopping for the nursery we will prepare. We found a crib and stroller/car seat combo that we just love. Of course we immediately came home to search EBAY for bargains! Much cheaper on Ebay. I'm such an Ebay junkie!

So...here we go. We're on our way to adopting what we hope will be a forever child for this forever family.

Church Home

After looking for almost a year, Jorge and I have found a new church at Anderson Mill Rd. Baptist Church! (Gasp!) Yes...you have read that correctly, Baptist Church. I never would have thought we'd end up at a baptist church, but there is one like every five seconds from each other here in South Carolina. The most important thing is that they have a set of core beliefs that match ours, we are spiritually fed and have a servants heart. We have found all of that at Anderson Mill. They are just a few minutes up the road from where we live. They have lots of youth that attend and some even with Chris at school. Chris has shown an interest to participate and attend church. That lit a fire under Jorge and I to make sure to pray about where God wants us to be.

It's so easy to get caught up in the day to day mundain things. Making dinner, going to work, doing the laundry, cleaning the house, the list is endless. It is a real committment and work to find a new church. We visited so many. The last church we attended was a very large, popular church in downtown Spartanburg. They have a televised service and you could tell! The preacher would yell and shout and then smile at the camera and say, "Jesus loves you!" While all of that is true, the word cheesy comes to mind. It was a production and it felt very cold. We immediately knew this was not home for us. Our search went on. We even would go to two different churches on the same Sunday. But finally, we found a church that we felt we could serve, worship and connect with. This past Sunday Jorge led us to the altar to transfer our membership. I was so proud of him. He's really taking on the Spiritual Leader role in our home. I see a sparkle in his eye that I haven't seen in a long time.

The pastor came to our home this past Tuesday and met with us. We felt so at ease and really enjoyed getting to know more about him and AMRBC. (Anderson Mill Rd. Baptist Church) He's a young preacher with a great preaching style. Straight from the bible, word for word, chapter by chapter, book by book. Jorge of course loves this. I am learning a lot but will always love a good sermon series.

Yesterday Jorge served as a prayer warrior and prayed for over an hour with other church members for various prayer requests. I of course headed for choir. It's a big choir. A little disorganized, but they have a new worship leader that will hopefully take then to the next level. Lots of talent in this group. I'm looking forward to being a part of it.

Please keep us in your prayers as we become a part of a local church and lead our family to Christ.

Dogs...

Having three dogs in a new house is posing a challenge at the Valentin household. Jorge is intent on keeping everything as shiny new as possible. I'm a little more laid back in my feelings about it. What stresses him out seems like a non issue to me, which only stresses him out more! Having three dogs means feeding times must be coordinated, walks taken to ensure all animals have gone #2 and listening to the dogs ques of when they need to go #1 or #2.

In our first few days of being in our new home, Jorge has insisted the dogs stay in the garage when we are not home. My major concern was that it would be too hot. In trying to find a common ground for my husband and the dogs we begin the process of trying to engineer a way for them to stay cool and healthy while keeping them in the garage. We really wish we would have had the forethought to install a window in our garage. Then a window unit could have been added and made it very easy for us all! None the less...we were not thinking ahead. A fan is in the garage and it keeps it surprisingly cool.

It didn't take long for us to get distracted while working outside and Jewel did what she does best...she took off. Just as I realized I hadn't seen her around, my cell phone rings. It is a sweet young girl named Lauren calling to say, "Yes Ma'am..I think I have your dog." Jewel had cut through a couple of yards to the next street over. We rode over in our truck and put Jewel in the back. I guess she just wanted a ride. In any case, we set up the wireless fencing right then and there. Now we don't worry about leaving her outside. She won't cross that electrical line!

It's like having three toddlers in the house! While they drive us crazy...we love them so much and wouldn't give them up for anything. As we had our first overnight vistors last night, Ellie hopped up in a chair with me and layed in my lap. She just wanted some lovin'. This morning Gracie knew there was company upstairs and had to go investigate. She greeted our guests with a wag of her tail and led them downstairs to a fresh pot of coffee! What a hostess!

Home Sweet Home!

I can't believe how quickly the summer has passed by. It seems like yesterday we went on a cruise and they had just started framing our new home. Now it is finished, we are moved in and trying to get settled.

Jorge and I spent the majority of our summer in a small two bedroom apartment with three, yes three, dogs! The boys stayed with their mom for the summer and plan on moving in with us soon. Ya know...as soon as the cable and internet are connected! That's like bread and water to these kids! I have to say, I miss the internet too. I feel cut off from the world of communication. We've missed the kids terribly. We can't wait to be one big family in our new home.

With the house completed...there are lots of boxes to unpack, treasures to rediscover and finding a home for all our pictures! I love pictures of family...everywhere! I'm creating a picture gallery down the hall and upstairs. My mom has done this and I want to follow suite. It's great having family faces surrounding you. Even the scary ones! Just kidding!

Jorge is babying the lawn trying to keep the grass sod alive. Not an easy feat during the hot summer months. Our backyard is another story. It is full of weeds. It has been Hydroseeded with what we think was a great mix of 1% grass seed and 99% weed seed! I'll keep you posted on this!

Chris spent his first night with us on Monday. He had been enjoying endless video games in the "game room" when we went to bed. When we got up the next morning...there he was on the couch outside our bedroom. I couldn't figure out why he was sleeping there instead of his new bedroom. He said there was something in his room rustling papers. Being a country KY girl I'm thinking Stuart Little, field mouse, has moved in with us and found a home in Chris' room. When I went to check out his room, I remembered I didn't take the tags off his new dog hair free pillows I had just purchased. He swears it was more than just tags on pillows. I'm sure at even 15, a new house with new noises to get used to will take some time and can seem a little scary. It was great just having him in the same house for a change. We've missed Chris and Jose terribly.

Jorge is looking forward to creating a MAN CAVE in the garage. He wants it to be his domain! I said that was fine! But now I have to find out what I'm going to do with 12 storage boxes of Christmas decorations! He has plans for a large flat panel LCD tv and walls lined with tools. Watch out Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor, Jorge Valentin is about ready to give you a run for your money! He has a love for tools like I do for shoes! He's so cute about it.

We plan to have a big cookout in September and hope everyone can come. We'll keep you posted and remember our home is open anytime for family and friends. We have two guest rooms ready and waiting.

Love to Everyone! Pictures coming soon!

Wedding Anniversary

We did it! Jorge and I reached the One Year mark yesterday May 20, 2008. We ate our cake and everyone said it would taste terrible, but it was Delicious! We'll eat on it for the rest of the week. So long Weight Watchers! (at least this week!) I can't believe how quickly this year has gone by. I avoided the blogspot for a while trying out MySpace, but it is too much hassle. I'm too old for this stuff. The blog is a better way to update everyone and you don't have to join anything to view it. So...here's an update on what's been happening.

First the kids...
Jose graduates next Tuesday from Byrnes High School. Jorge is so proud! He's been giving Jose a hard time saying he'll get the award for missing the most days absent and still able to graduate! Of course, he's just kidding! He also has an interview at Circuit City which we hope he gets the job. He is still working at Hollister but gets very little hours there. Jose plans on attending Spartanburg Community College this fall and hopes to go into Radiology. Now comes the dreaded financial aid forms. Yuck!
Chris is doing great in school. He is making the Honor Roll and wants to now get his drivers permit. We are very nervous and want him to wait a little while longer. Maybe later this summer. He's wearing his hair very long. Not sure we like it, but we don't have to wear it!

House:
Most of you know we are building our dream home! We're so blessed that God has given us this opportunity to expand our home, litterally. We sold our home on Kenwood after a few hiccups in the closing process. We thought for about a week we would have to move back into it until it sold. Fortunately God took care of all the details for us, as usual. We closed May 15, 2008. We are currently living in a two bedroom apartment until our house is complete in July. Our new home is coming along quite nicely. The brick is in place and we are waiting for the siding to go up. So far everything is going smoothly. We will have 5br/31/2 baths with a huge game room for the kids to have a hang out. We can't wait for all of you to see it!

Babies:
I wish I could deliver better news on the baby front, but we still are not pregnant. I am leaving it all up to God to handle. He knows our future and needs and will provide in His time. I am clinging to Psalm 37:7 that says, "Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." The be still part is difficult, but we're trying. And if you've met my husband, patience is on short order there! We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and an ultra sound. I have no idea what she'll tell me, but after several months of fertility drugs, hot flashes, mood swings and crying uncontrollably, I'm ready to hang it all up. We are considering adoption more and more and have contacted several agencies to check out the process. Please pray God takes us on his path, not ours.

Wow...what a year so far. I pray the latter part of the year is more subdued than the first. We're looking forward to settling into our new home before school starts and enjoying lots of family time together. With 5 bedrooms, ya'll better plan to visit!

All our love...
The Valentin's

Happy New Year! Welcome 2008!

It has been a quiet transition into this new year. Christmas came and went along with another year. What a fun filled year 2007 has been for our family. Vacations, cruises, and of course our wedding!

As we enter into this new year more changes are coming whether we are ready for them or not. Jose will be graduating High School this May and Christopher will turn 15 in a couple of months. The boys have changed so much. Chris is getting tall and thin. His schoulders are squaring off and he has lost any baby fat he ever had. He is even shaving his moustache! Jose is ready to take on a new adventure attending Greenville Tech in the fall. He's thinking of a medical profession of some sort. We're so proud of him. Rumor has it...again this is rumor, he might want to move in with Jorge and I. His mom and David may be moving towards the Gaffney/Boiling Springs area and that would be too far for Jose to drive everyday to Greenville Tech. Jorge isn't pushing Jose or even mentioned it to him, but Kathi mentioned it to Jorge the other day. We would be very happy if that happened! We miss him.

Jorge and I are still trying to conceive but at this point, have just left it up to God to bless us when he's ready. I got a little crazy wearing the OV Watch which tells you when you should ovulate and conceive. I would wear this at night as I slept and each morning, Jorge would ask, "What's the watch say?" It will say DAY 1 Fertile, if I am! In any case I also am taking Clomid, 100mg, prescribed by my doctor and peeing on a stick to see if I'm ovulating. All of this clinical and scientific sheduling is taking all the fun out of it...sooooo....I'm just going to relax! That's what eveyone keeps telling me. So for all of you who have told me to relax, I'm taking that advice. Just keep in mind...it's not easy!

Jorge and I have committed to going to the gym at least 4x per week. We haven't actually gone to the gym, but we're committed to going. Baby Steps! Baby Steps! All kidding aside, come hell or high water...we're going tonight! I've also been thinking that if I can lose 10 pounds, it might help us get pregnant sooner! Again...I know...Relax!

Jewel, Ellie and Gracie are all fine. We hope all of you have a wonderful and peaceful 2008. Keep in touch and I'll update more often.

Love to you all...
The Valentin's