Update on Mom

She had a rough night last night, but has done much better today. Her physical therapy went well today too. She's kinda wore out now.

Of concern to me is her blood sugar levels. At 4:00 p.m., her glucose was 494 and that is with taking a sliding scale insulin since she was admitted. We hope to chat with her hospitalist tomorrow about this.

Right now, I am thinking about leaving tomorrow afternoon (before the storms come through). She has a long road ahead, but seems out of the woods in terms of the most difficult times after a surgery. With Anna with me on this trip, I need to get her home and then too, likely prepare for coming back to help mom as her rehab progresses.

Hip Replacement

Update on mom: She severely fractured her hip, separating the joint. If all goes well, she will have hip replacement surgery in the morning.

Anna and I will be leaving tomorrow morning, hopefully arriving before mom gets out of surgery. Pray for us as we travel--for safety, of course, but also, for me traveling alone with a wee one.

When It Rains,

It pours.

Today, my sister and eldest brother are attending the funeral of my cousin. He was 51. At this point, we are not certain of his cause of death. That information should become more evident in a few weeks.

Also today, my other brother (no, his name is not Darrell), is at the hospital with my mother. She fell last night and broke her hip. In true Deanna fashion, she did not seek medical care until this morning. At this point, she's been transferred to a hospital in Fort Smith from the smaller, community-type hospital in Van Buren. We will know more once she's settled in a room and visits with the orthopedic physician.

To Anna

17 Again

Three tiny stanzas to turn into three

Famous words. Your 10 fingers and toes

Take hold of my one heart.

Until 18, I have you. Until 99, I’ll miss

You. Two eyes, two ears—we share it all.

Millions of curls to adore.

I love you. I love you. I love you. I love

You. My little sunshine, redeemed again.

Two. Seventeen. Eleven.

-Mama

I'm Now an eBook

Veeerrrryyyy excited to announce that my Bible study co-written with Mark McPeak, Grace in the Empty Spaces, is now available as an ebook at such notable places as iTunes, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Ingram distributors. YAY!

Your Kindle or Nook is dying to have to it. :-)

Casualties of Play

Don't try to hide; you've been caught! Ha!

Here's the cutest culprit I've seen. 

"Mom, I'll call for back-up."

It's Here!

Praise God.

Hallelujah.

Whoo-hoo

Yay.

Hip, hip, hooray.

Hurrah, hurrah.

!!!!!!

*confetti toss*

THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE CAME IN THE MAIL TODAY!

Amen.

Birthday Gift Ideas

(Quick birth certificate update: We are expecting to receive the oh-so-important doc between Tuesday and Thursday of next week. You know, the whole, 5-7 business day bit.)

We've fielded lots of questions regarding gift ideas for Anna Zane. So after a long conversation with her (haha), here's a few ideas:

• Books. She especially loves books that offer interaction. Her favorite read right now is an animal book that allows her to feel fur, feathers, etc. Books with flaps to open and wheels to spin are intriguing to her too. The holes in The Very Hungry Caterpillar get her every time.
• Little People toys. One of Anna's favorite Christmas gifts was this Little People car; she has these blocks too. Any of the Little People playsets or characters would be well received by Anna. She has started--already--pretending with the little girl and dog that came with her Little People car.
• Bath toys. Since moving from the so-last-year baby bath to the big tub, new, more age-appropriate toys might be fun.

What shouldn't you get Anna? SHOES! And not because she doesn't need any because she does. At this moment, she only owns one pair that fits. My little cutie's feet are a teeny bit too "fluffy" on top to fit in shoes that are the correct length. When you get shoes that fit the top of her feet, they are waaay to long. Alas, we will address this shoe crisis (yes, crisis; what girl can only have ONE pair of shoes) shortly. 

5-7 Business Days

That's the amount of time it's supposed to be until we have the elusive birth certificate in our hands.

As far as I understand, the original birth certificate went "through" today; and the amended, new one is in process to be mailed in the morning. I'll exhale when I actually have the doc in my possession.

Give this girl a birth certificate!

Additional BC info

This will be a multi-post day.

We've now learned the state returned/rejected the original birth certificate that was filed nearly two weeks ago. Why no one wanted to inform us or the adoption agency of this is BEYOND me. The lady at city hall says it was returned for "unspecified" reasons.

We, along with the adoption agency, have multiple calls in to Geraldine Harris' office. She's in a meeting this morning, but will address our issue when she's out . . . or so we've been told.

Bryan's papa bear angry and I'm mama bear anxious. BUT knowing God is ever faithful no matter what.

Birth Certificate Blahs

Our case worker at the adoption agency went to city hall herself to submit the information for the original paperwork. Ms. Geraldine Harris, the state registrar in Austin, confirmed this and received the information for the new birth certificate. We'd been told that we'd probably receive the new one within a week or so. Since we're pushing two weeks, Bryan called the state office today for a status update.

We were told there is not record with Dallas city hall that an original birth certificate was filed.

Really?

Just when you think the saga is over . . .

Step One

Anna took her first step on Saturday. She was holding a calculator she was convinced was a phone and had one hand on the desk. I was sitting near her. She held out her hand and moved that right foot in my direction. The left followed. Then she tumbled. We tried to contain our excitement as not to scare her. Of course, she hasn't "stepped around" anymore since then but is doing a lot of cruising and standing. Ah, my baby isn't much of a baby anymore.

Oh, and about that birth certificate. Both the original and the new birth certificate paperwork has been filed. We have yet to receive the coveted document though. Another "benefit" of not having the birth certificate we've discovered: Can't claim Anna as a dependent on the ol' taxes. She must have a SSN fist. Delightful. Sigh.

No more baby food for us, and we're on the last container of formula. With the big 12-months in two weeks, we are soon to integrate cow's milk. As far as food is concerned, she is a fan . . . and wants to eat anytime you eat and at her regularly scheduled feedings times. Ah, the metabolism of a toddler. She adores avocado (raisin' her right, is, I believe, how the saying goes). We've also discovered Annie's Whole Wheat Bunnies; by far her fav snack. And that's why she's nearly 23 pounds--ha. But oh so cute.

Anna can say "da-da," "mama," "baby," and we're about to get "meow" out. But she jabbers garbles all day long.

In other Youree news, we're moving full-steam ahead with our major home remodel. Last weekend was filled with appliance picking. At this point now, we are waiting for working plans from the architect. This should be an interesting year--ha!

Enjoy the pics below? Notice a theme? Anna is quite the busy bee these days.

Her new Christmas gift from the grandparents. LOVES it.

Mmmhhmmm.

Cuteness and crawling--always. 

Anna and Daddy baby-proofing the drawers. Hysterical. She would NOT leave his side.

What paper? I don't know what in the world you're talking about, Mom.

Wonder who . . . .