4 Month Check Up

It is hard to believe that Madilyn is already four months old. Today she had her 4 month check up. She is 12 pounds and about 24 inches long. She is only in the 17% percentile on weight and height. She is a small girl. However, she is very healthy and doing very well, so the doctor is not concerned with her weight or length at this time.

Adoption Update

The darkness at the end of the tunnel has now grown to a light at the end of the tunnel. We talked with our attorney yesterday. Our 180 days started on July 1 not October 1, which is when the TPR (termination of parent rights) was signed. We should receive our court date for finalization sometime toward the end of November or early December. Our court date should be during the 2 week of January.

We were told by the adoption agency that we would not have to go to Iowa for finalization, however, we are now being told that the agency was incorrect and that we do have to attend the finalization hearing in Iowa. So that means another long trip to Iowa. At least this time we will not be stuck there not knowing what is going on like we were in July. That was the longest 17 days of our lives. I guess we can take pictures with the judge and make a big deal out of it. It would be great if additional family members could attend, but that is such a long trip, so I doubt that anyone else will be able to attend.

At the time of finalization paperwork will be filed for a new birth certificate. This birth certificate will be issued with the name we have choosen Madilyn Rachel. We will then be able to apply for a social security number once we receive the reissued birth certificate.

I feel like this process is taking forever, but Madilyn is only 4 months old, so I guess it has not been forever. I just want to see her Birth Certificate with our name on it. I want my insurance card to have her name on it, not the name she was given in the hospital. It will happen, it will just take time.

Over-Whelmed

Have you ever been so over-whelmed that you felt like you had no control of your own life? That is exactly how I feel right now. Actually I have felt this way for the past several months now.

I am so busy with work, school, church and other life issues that I feel like I never get a break. I find myself wondering how I am ever going to get everything done that I need to get done. I have finally come to the realization that some things just are not going to happen. The kitchen is not going to be spotless every night after dinner. The laundry is not going to be neatly folded and put away in a timely manner and the floors are not going to be clean all of the time. I am just going to have to live with the fact that the house will not be as clean as I would like. Of all of the things that keep me busy in life the house is really the only thing that I can slack on right now. I can not slack at church, school, work or with the kids.

I know that this will be shocking to those of you who know me, but my sanity is just not worth having a spotless house.

Thanksgiving Plans

We are breaking from family tradition this year for Thanksgiving. We have decided that we need to spend time with just the four of us in a relaxing, low travel environment. So we are going to head for the North Georgia Mountains, Fort Mountain to be specific for 5 days and 4 nights to celebrate Thanksgiving this year. We have so much to be thankful for: Madilyn, my new job, David's continued success with his business, the list could go on and on.

We plan on just enjoying nature and our family. The cabin is on 6 Acres of land, so it should be very quiet and relaxing. The views posted online from the deck look beautiful. We really can hardly wait for Thanksgiving so that we can unplug and relax. Click the link below to see the cabin we will be staying in.

Raccoon Lodge

2 Nights

Madilyn has slept through the night for 2 nights in a row. We are hoping and praying that this will be her new norm. David and I are so exhausted since we have not slept a full night since the 1st of July.

Yahoo Farm, Jasper GA

This past Saturday Night we went to Yahoo Farm. While at the farm we found the perfect pumpkins to make into Jack-O-Lanterns. I will post pictures next weekend after we have carved them. We also went on a haunted hay ride and got lost in the corn maze. It was a fun night and was nice to spend time with the family. The weather was perfect for a night time outting.

3 credits closer

As of last night I am 3 credits closer to receiving my Masters Degree. I start another class next Thursday. I am so thankful that I have a job that allows for me to work on homework during the day, when I do not have any other task to do.

Graduate School

So many people have asked, "why are you going to Grad school." The answer is I don't know. I started grad school because once I complete the process I will get a big pay raise. I have not really thought about going into a leadership position, but I might. Just have not decided yet.

The program I am in is a 5 semester program. It is set for a teachers schedule, to earn 6 credits per semester by attending class 1 night a week for 8 weeks from 5 until 10. It was very easy during the first two semester. I earned 12 credits and made A's in the four classes I completed.

Then I go my new job and had to attend trianing for two weeks this summer and could not attend the two summer sessions. I guess it is good that I did not start the sessions, becuase I would have had to drop out when we had to go to Iowa this summer for almost 3 weeks.

So now I am in make-up mode which means in addition to attending classes on Thursday I have to attend classes on Saturday from 8-4. I had my first Saturday class last weekend, it was a LONGGGGGG day. I will finish the first Saturday class the week prior to Thanksgiving, but will have to pick up another one next semester starting in either Jan or Mar.

I had no problem handling the work load for the Thurday classes, but adding Saturday is another thing. I already feel overwhelmed. But I will be done in May.

The bad thing is if I can not handle taking 9 credit hours next semester and the rest of this semester I will not graduate in May. That will be bad because then I will have to follow the new graduation rules, which will mean that I have to take 3 more classes and take the new state test, because the test I have already passed will no longer be accepted. So I feel the pressure to finish on time.

This too shall pass, and hopefully May 2009 will come quickly.

Ground Hog Day

Have you ever seen the movie Ground Hog Day? If so I feel like I am living the movie. Everyday is the same.

Up at 5:30
Shower/dressed by 6:00
Start Load of Laundry
Unload Dishwasher
Get Caleb up
Pack Lunches
Make Bottles
Get Madilyn up
Leave house at 6:50
Drop Caleb off at Bus Stop
Drop Madilyn at Day Care
Go to Work (mostly at work I am bored, not a lot to do with this new job)
Pick Madilyn up at 3:30
Feed Madilyn
Put Madilyn down for a nap
Cook Dinner
Clean the Kitchen
Watch Tv for 1-2 hours
Go to bed
Start Over Again

*Thursday night I go to KSU from 5-10, so that day is a little different. And of course Saturday and Sunday's are differnt.

I need a vacation, and a shake up to my routine. Today I am so tired I almost fell asleep in our morning meeting. There is no reason I should be this tired.

Teens

Why are teens so STUPID??? My office is in a computer lab, the lab is used for course recovery. Meaning the kids have failed the class and are now making the classup on thier own. Most of them spend over half the classtime on games, and surfing the internet. Don't they care that they are going to fail again. Even when the teacher tells them to get back on task they do so only for a few minutes then they go right back to surfing the web. I just don't get why kids don't take the help that they are being given. We do not have to offer them the chance to make up the classes they missed. I just don't get it.

Revolution Church

For the past 4 weeks the men of the church got beat up with our series called "Ultimate Fighter, the temptations men face.... Sex, Money and Power." The series was really good and was a challenge to men to step up and be the men God created them to be.

Today we start "Beautiful" a series aimed at women.

Adoption Update

As many of you know we have had a stressful time with our adoption. I have not posted all of the details of the problems for the protection of Madilyn and our family. I do not wish to post everything about her bmom, because its really painful to think about everything that she has said and done during the past few months.

As of Wednesday, Oct. 1 all of Madilyn's biological parents rights have been terminated. Basically the BMom wanted more money so she contested the adoption. Long story short, we ended up paying another 1500 for birthmother expenses, and now she has no rights. We are now waiting for a court date for finalization. This probably will not happen until January. Georgia law requires that an adoption can not be finalized until the child has lived in the house for 180 days. So we are waiting. Hopefully our court date will come quickly after the 180 days passes.

Busy

To say we have been busy would be an understatement. Things around the Lloyd house have been entirely too busy.

Mostly it is me who is busy. As you all know I am in a graduate program. I graduate in May, can't wait. Thursday I am in class fro 5:00 pm until 10:00 pm, which means I get home around 10:30. I had to drop out of school this summer for 2 reasons. First I got a new job (which I love) and I had to attend training for 2 weeks. Which meant missing 4 classes. I was going to go to summer school for the second session, and we got the call about Madilyn. So I did not earn my six credits this summer. Yesterday I started a Saturday class which will earn 3 of my six missing credits. The class starts at 8 and ends at 4. This means David has the kids all day by himself on Thursdays and Saturdays.

Saturday is our only day to shop, clean, and catch up on laundry. Needless to say none of that stuff got done yesterday. So we need to look at our schedules and see what we can change, so that David and I don't have to stay up late in the night to take care of the house.

To top my busy schedule off, I have been assigned Home Game Football Club Duty. That means I have to sit with the FBLA club as they do face painting. Basically I have to watch the money box. I really do not want to be out both Thursday and Friday nights, but for now it can not be helped.

Keep us in your prays. My Saturday class ends the week before Thanksgiving so maybe for the holidays we will have a more normal schedule. Of course, in Jan. I will have to take another extra class to make up for the second class I missed this summer. I really can not wait until May.