My Friends and Family Have Been Having A Whole Lot of Fun!

Well, folks, today I attended our THIRD baby shower in Lucy's honor! And believe it or not there are actually two more scheduled! What a blessing it has been and Darin and I don't feel deserving of all this generosity though we are truly grateful!

I came home with Lucy in a minor panic. I still hadn't recovered from the last shower and the flow of gifts that have arrived on our door step since she came has been overwhelming! Lucy's nursery has just become a catch-all for the many items and I just haven't found the time yet to go through and bring a little organization to it all! But this afternoon and evening the need became urgent and I tackled the project. It will actually last well into this week I'm afraid.

Clearly my loved ones have been having a little too much fun shopping and I'm afraid some may have had to add an entire"Lucy Category" to their budgets. I thought I'd illustrate my point for you:

The child is not lacking in clothes:

Or blankets:

Or stuffed animals:

I even have three diaper bags... aren't they cute?

Lucy kept me company while I worked:

She and I have decided that her room is SO much fun that it is deserving of a fun NAME! Please vote in my poll on the left side column to help us decide on the best name for the room!

Oh, and in a totally unrelated matter, I must share with you that my wonderful husband Darin is beginning a new job on Monday! We are both very excited about this position-he is going back to a company he worked for a few years back (EFCO)-as their new "Training and Development Manager". Please join me in prayer for him as he begins a new phase of his career!

Well, so long for now. I must admit I am finding it difficult to keep up with my blog in the way I'd like to. I'm finding that I'd just rather sit and hold my sweet girl when I have spare time! But I'll be trying to keep The Knitting Hummel as current as possible!

And the Mother-in-Law of the Year Award Goes to...

...Judy Stevenson!

But real quick before I elaborate on why that is, I must share this sweet picture of Lucy with her grandmas. Both grandmas have given much time and energy since Lucy came home with us by preparing meals, doing numerous loads of laundry and spending time caring for Lucy so I could catch up on some sleep. Thank you both! You two are such wonderful grandmas and we all love you!

Darin's mom, Judy ("Grandma") on left; my mom, Gail ("Mama Gail") on right.

Now, on to the award ceremony:

So, this past week, Darin's folks spent some time with us in our home to give us a hand with Lucy and to spend some time with her! They had been with us since Wednesday, and on Friday, Darin's dad got called away to stay with their other grandbaby who was sick and unable to attend daycare. So it was just Judy, Lucy and Minnie the puppy, and I for the day.

No sweat. We were all pros by now. So when Darin left for work, he brought Lucy to Judy and let me sleep as late as I could. And boy, was I just taking in that sleep and enjoying it as much as I could. I didn't show my face until 10:00 AM! It was beautiful... life was good. For me.

Poor Judy might have described life a little differently at that moment.

I was descending from my restful second-floor oasis (also known as the bedroom) when I happened upon the scene in the living room. There was Minnie. She was wet, she was wound up, and she was looking rather pleased with herself. I turned the corner into the living room where my sweet three-week old was fast asleep in her bassinet and where all the chairs and miscellaneous furniture from the kitchen had been temporarily displaced. Finally I continued into the kitchen to see a sparkling kitchen floor and a pale-faced, wide-eyed mother-in-law.

Judy proceeded to spill the story:

After having ample "Lucy time" in the earlier morning hours, she decided to surprise me by cleaning my kitchen floor which was filthy (I hadn't managed to clean it since Lucy came). Lucy was a sleepy head so Judy laid her in the bassinet and decided to let Minnie run around in the backyard (it was a beutiful day) to keep her out of the way while she worked.

After putting much work into finding a vacuum (which didn't work quite right) and having to experiement with my cleaning products before finding the right one for the floor she was able to get the job done and could finally see her relfection in the black and white tiles.

Just as she was wiping the sweat from her brow, she glances outside to see how Minnie was doing. As Minnie was not obviously visible through the back door, Judy stepped outside to look around and call for her.

She scans around the backyard... no Minnie. Puzzled, she checked the gates... all are in place and securely latched. She scans again, more carefully this time thinking surely she just hasn't spotted her yet when her eyes catch a tall skinny gap where a fence board is missing. Her heart skips a beat as she realized that indeed, Minnie has made her way out into the wide world beyond her backyard fence and is "who-knows-where?" and has been gone for "who-knows-how-long?". Feeling sure that the little fur ball has already met her sad fate at the wheel of someone's vehicle or has run well beyond our ability to track her down, Judy's heart was then beating wildly as she envisioned me waking up only to learn that my beloved pooch is lost forever.

Knowing she just couldn't leave Baby Lucy unattened she sadly began to prepare herself to reveal the unhappy truth to me, when walking driveway is our sweet next-door neighbor Miss Jane walking next to ANOTHER neighbor with her dog on the leash. A mud-covered Minnie (only recognizable by her happy-go-lucky trot) was cheerfully following her new canine friend up the driveway and right toward the front door of her very own house.

Following the joyful reunion Minnie experienced what was probably the most thorough bath she has ever received. So ended her adventure in the wide world outside her backyard. I suppose we'll never know all the fun things she did on her little joy run. It will be her little secret and hopefully she'll enjoy the memories... because we'll be ensuring that it never happens again!

Thanks for your hard work Judy! You are the world's best mother-in-law!! : )

Lucy Kiera

Darin and I are so pleased to announce that we have become Mommy and Daddy! Lucy Kiera was born on Thursday, February 28th at 3:16 AM and joyfully adopted into our family! I had the privilege of being present with her birthmother in the delivery room and I even cut the umblical cord! She weighed 6 lbs and 12 oz and measured 20 inches at birth.

Lucy has been home with us since saturday and has been doing well! She loves to sleep ALL day and stay awake ALL night! : ) Parenthood, here we come!

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement as we have been going through this adoption process. It was gone beautifully so far! Here's just a sampling of our favorite pictures for you to enjoy:

Lucy Kiera just minutes after birth:

Mommy and Daddy get a lesson in bathing Lucy:

In her "Coming Home" sweater I knitted for her:

Hanging out with Mama Gail and Minnie:

Onesies Get a Makeover

First off, for those of you who have been feeling our suspense with us, our baby's birthmother has NOT gone into labor yet! I've been doing my best not to let my cell phone get out of my sight or earshot. Darin and I hope to have news to share with you soon, but no we don't have any quite yet!

Lately I've been doing SO much knitting for little Baby Girl because I've been needing to burn off some of my nervous energy. So far I've completed four sweaters and too many hats and booties to count.

Today, my creative juices were flowing but I felt the need to branch out from knitting a bit. So I decided to try my hand at embellishing some plain-jane white onesies with a little embroidery and applique. Here are the results:

The cute little embroidery patterns came from a great book called Sublime Stitching by Jenny Hart (for anyone who is interested).

Charity Auctions Bring Out the Worst in Me

In most aspects of my life I would consider myself to be rather non-competitive. I find myself wondering at Darin and why it is so much fun for him to turn everyday occurances into competitions. I honestly have never grasped the allure of competition in sports and reality TV show contests sort of stress me out. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I am so relational and"friendly competition" carries with it too much risk that people's feelings may get unintentionally hurt.

A long time ago I did discover a place deep within myself that is fiercely competitive and rather ruthless. That monster unleashes when I play board games, and those of you who have played board games with me know what I am referring to. I am rather appalled at myself in the aftermath of playing many board games and have had to ask forgiveness or even take sabatacles from certain games for months at a time in an effort to gain some self-control.

Well, I am sorry to report that on Friday I discovered an additional facet to the competitive monster lurking within: the allure of Silent Charity Auctions.

Friday's scenario began with an invitation to join Darin's sister Dawn and the rest of his family to attend a special event raising money to benefit the agency she works for that serves people with mental disabilities. Seeing as how I worked with people with mental disabilities for more than three years AND knew this was a geat opportunity to show support to my sister-in-law, I arrived eager to bid on some items for this good cause!

No sooner had I taken two steps in the large room with all the items set out for bid, when I spotted it! A beautiful basket FULL of light pink BABY GIRL items! We're talking plush polar fleece blankets, cute onesies, a small diaper bag, an adorable teddy bear, a travel size set of Johnson's baby products and a darling sleeper with little pink hearts on it. I was hooked.

Seeing as how we're expecting to meet our sweet baby girl any day now, my mommy-to-be adrenaline kicked into gear and the bidding began. After awhile, Dawn began to get approached by friends and co-workers of hers who had their names in the bid list, saw that I had the same last name as her and wanted to know who I was. After while, I realized I was competing with an actual pregnant lady and I felt kind of bad. But not bad enough.

Apparently a lot our family were fighting tooth and nail for their respective bid items, because a friend of the family's who was also present actually overheard some people passing who said to each other"Who are these Stevensons?" I was kind of embarrassed but not embarrassed enough.

I came home with my precious "New Baby Girl" basket and happily unpacked and stored my "spoils" in the nursery we've been preparing.

Maybe it's time for me to take a Silent Charity Auction sabatacle.

Deep Thought by Erika

All day yesterday and all night last night, snow has been falling. It's even continuing as I type. We have had about 10 to 12 inches of accumulation; thus I have been inside all day yesterday and today. During this time I have paused for several moments of quiet reflection and personal introspection.

I've tried to talk to the puppy about it all, but she doesn't seem to understand. Extroverted as I am, I must get these thoughts out in SOME form or I'll just burst. It is moments like these when I think, "boy it's a good thing I have a blog!!"

I had a revelation with the milk jug this morning. Before I elaborate, let me just ask:

Has the "sell by" date stamped on the milk jug ever thrown you into a minor panic?

And I don't mean panic because you realized that you may have just served your toddler milk with lumps in it. I mean panic because as you purchase your milk and bring it home, glance at the "sell by" date, you realize that some special day is approaching sooner than you had realized it and you don't feel quite prepared.

I go through milk jug induced mini-meltdowns when nearly every major holiday or birthday approaches! Take for example, Mother's Day. There I am happily shopping just to pick up two or three items I'm out of, namely MILK, and that nasty little sell by date says "May 11". I think:

"Oh my goodness! That's Mother's Day! I haven't a clue what to get for my mom and mom-in-law! And I wonder what we're going to do with the family to celebrate! Oh, and I need to get my mom something with enough time to get it shipped to Texas... good thing there is express delivery! "

And so on and so-forth.

Well, by now, most of you know that Darin and I are awaiting the arrival of our first child by domestic adoption right now! Her birthmother is due to deliver this month. And this morning at breakfast, I went to pour myself a glass of milk, and there it was, folks:

Truth on a milk jug... and it said, "You could very well be a mommy by the time I'm expired!"

Wow.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

I haven't blogged here for awhile and it's probably because lately I've felt that I'd rather have my shivering fingers wrapped around a cup of steaming hot tea, or busily knitting with warm wooly yarn than to sit in my drafty dining room where my computer is located to blog.

If Darin and I hadn't gone down to Texas for Christmas and had the nice break from the winter weather when we did, I might be going postal at the moment with cabin fever. I must say that Minnie has been quite a trooper and that I might not be so compliant if I had to go outside in single digit temperatures every time I had to go potty. So, bravo Minnie! You get an extra treat for being a good sport!

I would post a picture here of all the snow we've been having (it's been on the ground here since November and it just keeps accumulating!) but I'm too chicken to even go out long enough to snap a few shots! I do have a picture from a really snowy day LAST year that looks pretty much like it does right now... I promise.

So, to give you an idea of what my front yard is looking like right now:

Even though these temperatures can be hard for this wimpy Texan to cope with, I must say that the beauty of the snow is breath taking! And any time I catch myself moaning when the snow starts up again, I think back to all of my childhood dreams of having snow just once toplay in while I was growing up. And I try to think of it as yet one more chance to have my childhood dreams fulfilled!

And such life it brings to the scriptures when I come across references of how God brings about new life in the spring after a difficult winter season! Take, for example, the Song of Solomon, chapter 2, verses 10-12:

"See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land."

Now I must admit that the hope of spring might not have such a presence in my life were it not for the long and difficult winter.