Live Wholeheartedly

Well, well. Here I am, again. Once again feeling like I owe someone an apology for being so neglectful of this space. Myself, more than anything. Because this is my space, a space I carved out for me, to come and unload whatever is on my mind - and there has been A LOT on my mind. It would help for me to come here, purge my thoughts...but I just don't make the time for myself to do it. That is a shame, and something I deeply need to rectify. I tend to internalize my feelings way too much...which would come as a surprise to some, since I talk so much. I just tend to not let people peek into the dark and twisty of it all, most of the time. Not that I want to only be dark and twisty here (can you tell I love Grey's Anatomy? I'm so unoriginal!), and not that all my hidden feelings ARE that way. I just have a lot to say, and usually I have deep ongoing conversations with myself in my head...I just wish I could motivate myself to log in and type those thoughts out here. It might be mostly boring, but sometimes it can get pretty interesting in there.

So, at least I can console myself that this time it has not been over a year since my last post. Is that sad or what, to congratulate myself on it only being 8 months?? Or, closer to 9 really but who's counting? But again, as last time, many things have happened over the last year.

First and foremost, our adoption is STILL not yet final. More snags, this time all to do with the state not having filed for my son's SSI back years ago when they should have. He is autistic, and was supposed to already have been approved for SSI, which automatically qualifies him for federal adoption assistance. Unfortunately, that never happened even though it was marked in his file that it did - and if you know anything about the government and disability, you know it takes forever (plus one day for good measure) to get anything approved as far as that is concerned. So we waited...and waited. Fortunately or unfortunately (you can look at it both ways), our 3 youngest have been in the foster system for 5 years as of November 9th, and once kids are in the system for a consecutive 5 year period, they automatically qualify for federal assistance. So on November 9th, we went ahead with the adoption without waiting for the SSI approval. We were worried that our promise of adoption in 2011 would once again prove to be untrue...but alas...with a wonderful caseworker and adoption attorney on our side - everything was pushed through VERY quickly, and we have our adoption hearing on December 9th!! It will be a VERY Merry Christmas this year! FINALLY! Our kids will legally be ours. No more monthly visits, no more different last names causing odd looks...FINALLY! My Facebook friends better watch out on December 9th, because that afternoon 2 years of memories I haven't been able to share with them, oh how they will be shared now (insert scary laugh here)!

Another thing I want to talk about is my dad's cancer. It's been a long road this year for my dad, but finally he is feeling better. Thank God above, he can enjoy -truly enjoy - the holidays this year. He is not feeling sick, in fact is feeling better than he has in a long time. This isn't due to some miracle cure, sadly, but at least a temporary miracle nonetheless. You see, he had a bone marrow transplant this summer. It was a hard process for him - I can't go into details because for one, it was so much a blur of scary but also...it's still hard to think about all he went through. But at any rate, it was done, weeks in the hospital and months afterward of feeling bad...but I am glad to say he is now in remission. We don't know how long, and quite frankly, I don't want to know. I just want to enjoy it. I won't forget about the cancer or the prognosis, it will still be there lurking in the back of my mind...but I think seeing my dad looking healthy and feeling good again - and happy because he's feeling good - will help me to not thing predominantly about the "C" word, and just be able to enjoy the time we spend with him.

Amidst all that was going on with my dad this summer, and actually WHILE he was in the hospital recovering from the bone marrow transplant, we lost a very special part of our family. My husband's grandmother, or Nonnie, as we called her. Words can't express what she meant to me and she deserves more than just a paragraph in this update, so I will save that conversation for later...but losing her has left a strikingly large hole in our lives.

Obviously there has been a lot more go on in the last year than those few things, but those are the "big" things that have weighed on my mind over the last year.

On a happier note, although I don't want to rush what is left of this year since we are now in the midst of my very favorite time of the year, I am looking forward to what I just know will be a FABULOUS year for my family. We already have many things in motion that will happen in 2012, and being that it is the first year we will start out as a full, complete family (legally anyway), I think that sets the tone for a year with good things on the horizon. I don't want to jinx myself, but it does look like (praise God!) financially things are going to be looking way, way up for us next year. There is also a vacation to Hawaii in the works...and I am hoping to be able to get back to discuss that more in depth later. It's something we're so excited about...the trip of a lifetime for us that has been a 'dream in the works' for over 14 years now.

So at that, I would love to say "stay tuned"...but I don't want to leave you hanging on promises that may not come to be. But hopefully, you will see a lot more from me in the coming year.

Love and peace,
Mariah

Posted in: Adoption, blogging, cancer, Death, Faith, Family, finances, Foster Care, Prayer, vacation on Tuesday, November 29, 2011 at at 7:51 AM