6 Days

Turns out six days is all it takes to turn your world upside down. We had been frantically and excitedly preparing for a little boy to enter our lives this week, and are sad to report that that will not be happening.

Up until yesterday everything looked good, we had conferenced with our lawyer in SC, and were on track to pick him up in a few days. Yesterday afternoon, our case worker Jean called with bad news. The birthmother had not be forthcoming about her prenatal care, and in fact, had had none. Her only visit was a month ago at 35 weeks, where she was told that the baby had multiple birth defects. She received no care after that, until yesterday when she went to the hospital to deliver. Knowing (or not knowing) that there were going to be many unanswered questions about his health, we decided to wait until he was delivered to make any decisions. He was born by c-section this morning, and weighed in at a healthy 7lbs 2ozs. He has spina bifida (his spinal cord is exposed outside of his body) and hydrocephaly (fluid putting pressure on his brain). Both of these are correctable to some extent, but his long term health is a big question mark. He underwent surgery this afternoon to attempt to correct both of these problems.

There were many legal difficulties to overcome when this was a healthy adoption. Now that he's certain to be in the hospital for several months, we were advised (and reluctantly agree) that a local SC family would be better for him. They can visit and care for him on a daily basis- something that we wouldn't have been able to manage due to distance and legal issues stemming from being in another state. The new family was notified this afternoon.

That being said, I'm in quite a state. We've done nothing but celebrate with you for 5 days, and now all I feel is a tremendous sense of loss. We know that you all love us, and will pray for our peace and comfort. Right now it's too hard to talk about it, so please let us lie low for a couple days while we get our bearings again. The Lord will bless us with our righteous desires- it just wasn't meant to be this time.

Elisa and Daron

BIG NEWS

So, a lot of you have heard, and most you haven't- We're tried to call and let a lot of you know...

WE'RE GETTING A BABY!

We got the call yesterday morning, and not only are we getting a baby, he's due in 9 days! May 3rd is his due date, but you know how these things go. We're preparing so that we can leave about any time. We don't know a lot about the situation, as the birthparents wish for a closed adoption. We know that he is healthy and has had excellent prenatal care. We know that he is caucasian, but beyond that... nothing. We won't know anything about the family beyond the little bit of family medical history that will be provided to us.

People keep asking about showers, etc. I can't even wrap my brain around this yet, much less contemplate a shower. I am excited to have one, and will enjoy it much more after we are home for a week or two. My go-to girl Sherri is taking charge of that, so if you'd like to help, or want an invite, please email her at itssherriberri@hotmail.com. She'll hook you up with all the pertinent info.

This isn't a done deal. Please pray for a healthy delivery, and that the Spirit may comfort his birthmother throughout the process. I can't imagine being in her shoes right now. She has a final doctor's appointment on Tuesday that will hopefully help us narrow down our departure date.

Thank you for all the well-wishes, and we will keep you posted as we know more!

He's a keeper

It's the little things that tell me I picked the right guy. One little gesture like this, and bonehead comments like "you're the 2nd best cook I know!" melt further back into the recesses of my memory. I couldn't bear to scrape it off, so I drove all the way to work like this. Thanks Daron, for making my morning a little better!

Stella!!!!!

Yeah yeah. I know I haven't blogged in a month. I know that I should be blogging about Christmas, and New Years, and my parents visit in early December... and there's still plenty of time for that. I still have two days of vacation left, and anything is possible. In the meantime, let me introduce you to the newest member of Team Barnes:

Yep, she really is as adorable as you think she is. Stella's arrival at the Barnes Casa came as a surprise to me too. A couple of days before Christmas, I started getting "prepped" for her arrival:

Monday

Daron: "A girl at work has baby hamsters."

Elisa: "Awesome. What do you want for dinner tonight?
Because I was thinking about....."

Tuesday

Daron: "Hey these hamsters are really kinda cute. There's a grey one,
and a.."

Elisa: "Really, a hamster? What are we, Nine years old? Do we
really want a hamster? Are you feeling me out for a tentative hamster
adoption?"

Daron: "Nooooo, no, no. I'm just saying they are pretty cute."

So fast forward to Wednesday evening, when one Daron Barnes comes through the door with a small cardboard box in hand, and a guilty 9-year-old look on his face. I open the box, and the sweetest little hamster face looks up at me. (Side note: I'm such a sucker for animals, it's not even funny. In fact, I have to turn the channel whenever the ASPCA commercial comes on, with all those sad little dogs and cats. The only thing that keeps me from running a Pekingese rescue, is my love of a paycheck, and inability to buy high-end handbags and shoes on said shelter salary. Which is none. Ok, that, and the husband has a big problem with turning his garage into fully functioning kennel.) Suffice it to say that I loved her immediately, just as Daron knew I would. A trip to PetsMart, and $45 later, my FREE hamster was set up in her new swank pad. Not ever having had a hamster growing up, I had to educate myself quickly and thoroughly on hamster care. The quick glance I had at the hamsters-for-dummies pamphlet at the petstore should do the trick.

ANYWAY. You probably have a couple questions. So here we go-

1. Why Stella? What kind of name is that for a hamster? Well, why not. Besides, you have no idea how much entertainment has been derived so far by hollering "STELLLAAAAAA" in your best Marlon Brando voice. (Go google 'Streetcar Named Desire' if you don't get the reference. And you might want to watch more Turner Classic Movies. I'm just saying.)

2. Why a hamster? Why now? Oh heck. I don't know. I keep asking for another puppy, and I suppose this is Daron's way of buying some more time. Because there's one thing we know about women who can't/don't have children, and that's that they fill their lives and homes with pets until a. their spouse leaves them, or b. News14 shows up on their doorstep because the neighbors are complaining about the meowing/barking, and the overwhelming smells of Meowmix/Alpo when the wind is just right. Don't worry, I'm not there yet.

3. What about the dog? Perhaps the best question yet. Having a dog bred for rodent management presents an interesting conundrum. Presently, Stella resides upstairs, and Skip downstairs. Since the dog is not allowed upstairs, we are reasonably confident in Stella's survival rate in the upstairs office. I suspect that subconsciously, we were craving the adventure that only a predator/prey pet relationship could provide.

For those of you keeping track, Team Barnes now consists of the two humans, one dog, four fish, and one sweet little hamster. Hopefully 2010 will be the year we add another human! Wish us luck!!

Thanksgiving Travel

If you are traveling for tomorrow's holiday, click here to see what you have in store for you:

http://www.elisasepicfail.blogspot.com/

HAHAHAHAHHAHHAAAA!