On Thursday, The Office aired their goodbye episode to Michael Scott (Steve Carell). As a die hard fan of Carell's character, I now view the show as a sinking ship-sadly. Producers have come up with a quick fix with Will Ferrell, but it appears that his managerial role will be short lived. No matter what big hitter they get, they won't be able to fill Michael Scott's shoes. The Office has been a tv. staple in our home ever since it's beginning in 2005. The dead pan humor struck a chord with me immediately, and I had loved Steve Carell in Anchorman. I have been frustrated about the departure of Michael Scott, but I had no idea how deepily it would impact me.
In 2005, we were three years into our infertility journey. At that point, doctors had been consulted, meds administered, various treatments tried. I had taken a break from teaching fulltime to have a more flexible schedule for doctor's appointments. In order to bring in additional income, I had started a home based tutoring business. My life was pretty quiet, and I was in desperate need of an escape. In the evenings, Billy and I found very few shows we liked to watch together, but we gave The Office a chance. I liked it immediately, and Billy needed some time to warm up to it. Soon enough, I was a fanatic. At first I would do nerdy stuff like quote lines from the show "that's what she said" or we would religiously dvr when we weren't able to watch. Then I became a hard core fan by owning seasons of the show and watching various episodes over and over again when I especially needed a good laugh. (My favorite is "The Injury.")
Thursday night's farewell to Steve Carell episode had the following premise: Michael Scott had made a list of all his coworkers, and he crossed their names off the list after he was able to say something special to them or give them some kind of momento. All of his coworkers were under the impression that the next day was his last day. However, secretly he planned that the current day would be his last. He had his special moments with all of his coworkers with the exception of Pam, who was supposedly running a work errand. Just before the taxi arrived to pick him up for the airport, Jim (Pam's husband) figured out that that was Michael Scott's last day. Michael said goodbye to everyone in the office, the rest of them completely unaware that he was not returning the next day. Michael Scott was transported to the airport, and the audience was convinced that he had missed his opportunity with Pam. However, just as Michael was about to board his plane, Pam showed up just at the nick of time (obviously she had been running because she was carrying her heels). They shared a very sweet moment embracing and saying their goodbyes. At this point in the episode, I completely lost it. I was literally sobbing as I watched this. Billy did his usual thing when I cry over sappy stuff-point and laugh. He asked me, "Really, Heather? Why?"
I thought a minute, and realized how profound the exit of Michael Scott was. I had relied on his antics and that of Dwight's for the majority of our infertility journey. He had put a smile on my face and helped me laugh during my darkest of times. However, I no longer need his comedic relief. The dark days are gone. My joy has been restored. On to the next phase of our lives. God has blessed us with Liam. Goodbye, Michael Scott. Hello, Liam.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Unimagineable
"Now all glory to God who is able through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think" Ephesians 3:20 (NIV)
That scripture reference was the most appropriate way I could start this blog. I love Romans 8:28, but I'm feeling Ephesians 3:20 really captures the tone of our journey's culmination. This week God has shown up more than I ever remember seeing Him in my life, and the good that has come from our journey was unimagineable, more than what we could have thought to ask for! More than anything, I hope my friends recognize this as a blessing from God. There were way too many "coincidences" through the past month leading up to Liam's delivery-it was definitely a "God thing". God's goodness has been evident through this entire journey, and I'll try to highlight events since Monday...
As you know, Liam was born via emergency C-section late Monday night. The doctor noticed that his heart rate was flat, and when he performed the C-section, he discovered the cord was wrapped around his neck 1.5 times. Billy and I knew something wasn't right when he told us the plans for delivery had changed, and he said a prayer and did lots of pacing while we waited. The bummer was that I wasn't able to be in the delivery room. Our birthmom had chosen to have her support person with her instead, which was understandable. Immediately afterwards, we were able to not only see Liam, but we had him in our room all night. (We and the birthmom had our own, separate rooms).
The next day, family visited with us. My parents, grandma, two aunts, and Billy's sister came by to meet Liam. Birthmom shared him with us that day, and she graciously told Billy that she was willing to meet any of our family members. (Earlier in the day I had "met" her mother and sister over the phone-an amazing thing!) My mom and one of my aunts met our birthmom, and it was a very special opportunity for them to thank her for helping us achieve our dreams and to recognize her brave choice to provide Liam an adoptive life.
Prior to leaving the hospital, the birthmom asked the hospital chaplin whether she would pray a blessing over Liam. (It has been fantastic to have a birthmom who shares our same beliefs!) Just before prayer, the chaplin told us that she and her husband have desired to have a family for years, and that since she is nearly forty, she hopes someday they will be blessed through adoption just as we have been. Her prayer was absolutely beautiful-just as I'd imagine Liam's church dedication might be. As you can imagine, our birthmom, Bill, and I were all in tears by the end of the prayer. In order to help with the separation, it is advised that birthmoms and adoptive parents leave the hospital at the same time. That is exactly what we did.
When we arrived home that night, Billy told me that he had spoken to one of Liam's nurses, and she asked him to what extent we had gone to have a family. They swapped infertility stories, and the nurse said that she and her husband will most likely adopt, and she even asked about our adoption facilitator. As I think about the chaplin and the nurse, I can't help but wonder what kind of impact our experience will have on them. I wish I could know!
Now I can't go on anymore without bragging about my son :). Liam is not only the cutest baby in the entire world since the beginning of time, but he also has Herculian strength. At 17 hrs. "old", while being burped, he has been able to lift his head off Billy's shoulder! We have pics to prove it! He continues to do this, and turn his head so he can see us while we are tending to him. We took him to the pediatrician today for his two day appointment, and our doctor said that he looks great! He is eating very well, and is only waking up one time in the middle of the night. He consistently sleeps 4 hrs. straight-I"m afraid that I may jinx myself by writing this lol.
As for the adoption process, there are a number of things that must be accomplished. First, we have to submit our request to adopt Liam within 10 days to the court. Please pray that this, and other hurdles over the next month will be smooth sailing. It takes 8 months for the adoption to be final. I will update as our journey, no, adventure with Liam (the most beautiful, special baby in the world :) ) continues.
That scripture reference was the most appropriate way I could start this blog. I love Romans 8:28, but I'm feeling Ephesians 3:20 really captures the tone of our journey's culmination. This week God has shown up more than I ever remember seeing Him in my life, and the good that has come from our journey was unimagineable, more than what we could have thought to ask for! More than anything, I hope my friends recognize this as a blessing from God. There were way too many "coincidences" through the past month leading up to Liam's delivery-it was definitely a "God thing". God's goodness has been evident through this entire journey, and I'll try to highlight events since Monday...
As you know, Liam was born via emergency C-section late Monday night. The doctor noticed that his heart rate was flat, and when he performed the C-section, he discovered the cord was wrapped around his neck 1.5 times. Billy and I knew something wasn't right when he told us the plans for delivery had changed, and he said a prayer and did lots of pacing while we waited. The bummer was that I wasn't able to be in the delivery room. Our birthmom had chosen to have her support person with her instead, which was understandable. Immediately afterwards, we were able to not only see Liam, but we had him in our room all night. (We and the birthmom had our own, separate rooms).
The next day, family visited with us. My parents, grandma, two aunts, and Billy's sister came by to meet Liam. Birthmom shared him with us that day, and she graciously told Billy that she was willing to meet any of our family members. (Earlier in the day I had "met" her mother and sister over the phone-an amazing thing!) My mom and one of my aunts met our birthmom, and it was a very special opportunity for them to thank her for helping us achieve our dreams and to recognize her brave choice to provide Liam an adoptive life.
Prior to leaving the hospital, the birthmom asked the hospital chaplin whether she would pray a blessing over Liam. (It has been fantastic to have a birthmom who shares our same beliefs!) Just before prayer, the chaplin told us that she and her husband have desired to have a family for years, and that since she is nearly forty, she hopes someday they will be blessed through adoption just as we have been. Her prayer was absolutely beautiful-just as I'd imagine Liam's church dedication might be. As you can imagine, our birthmom, Bill, and I were all in tears by the end of the prayer. In order to help with the separation, it is advised that birthmoms and adoptive parents leave the hospital at the same time. That is exactly what we did.
When we arrived home that night, Billy told me that he had spoken to one of Liam's nurses, and she asked him to what extent we had gone to have a family. They swapped infertility stories, and the nurse said that she and her husband will most likely adopt, and she even asked about our adoption facilitator. As I think about the chaplin and the nurse, I can't help but wonder what kind of impact our experience will have on them. I wish I could know!
Now I can't go on anymore without bragging about my son :). Liam is not only the cutest baby in the entire world since the beginning of time, but he also has Herculian strength. At 17 hrs. "old", while being burped, he has been able to lift his head off Billy's shoulder! We have pics to prove it! He continues to do this, and turn his head so he can see us while we are tending to him. We took him to the pediatrician today for his two day appointment, and our doctor said that he looks great! He is eating very well, and is only waking up one time in the middle of the night. He consistently sleeps 4 hrs. straight-I"m afraid that I may jinx myself by writing this lol.
As for the adoption process, there are a number of things that must be accomplished. First, we have to submit our request to adopt Liam within 10 days to the court. Please pray that this, and other hurdles over the next month will be smooth sailing. It takes 8 months for the adoption to be final. I will update as our journey, no, adventure with Liam (the most beautiful, special baby in the world :) ) continues.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
The End (or the Beginning) in Sight!
I thought I would give everyone an update of the last 24 hrs. Yesterday at the end of 7th period, Billy called me. At that moment, I just knew Liam was on his way. For the past week, Billy had been telling me that he thought Liam would be born on Wednesday, the 13th. I don't put a lot of stock in premonitions, but when he called me, I couldn't believe it. Sure enough our birth mom was having contractions. Since I teach in Willows, I was advised to head home. I waited a little while for Billy to arrive, and after he came home, we received a call from our adoption facilitator that the contractions were irregular. Therefore our birthmom wasn't heading to the hospital. So we waited nearly two hours, and sure enough we received another call from our adoption facilitator that she had just found out that that our birthmom was headed to the hospital. In record timing, we had the car packed, and ventured out on the 30 minute drive to Feather River Hospital. Once there, we joined our birthmom in her beautiful, spacious room (love their birthing center!), and watched the monitor, hearing Liam's heartbeat for the very first time! We chit chatted on a more casual level with our birthmom, which was a great bonding time. Sure enough, the charge nurse came in to inform us that her contractions had stopped! She was released! Since our birthmom has dilated slightly, we think Liam will arrive in the next day or so. Because of this, I had my sub teacher start covering my leave today. I just didn't want to be in Willows again, and have to worry about getting to Paradise in time! Today I've been able to do some final nesting activities-work in the nursery, do laundry, and have my acrylic nails removed lol! We are ready for Liam; whenever God has appointed his arrival to be!
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