As I sit here out west, a long way from home, I've been contemplating the journey we have been on over the last two years. There were so many times that I thought it was time to throw in the towel, but looking at my daughter, I realize now that this long and winding road was the journey we were meant to take.

The last six to eight weeks had been especially rocky, with some changes going on at our homestudy agency. Two or three days before we received word that we had been choosen, I was probably at the lowest point I had been since we started this process. Both Larry and I had come to terms and accepted that this journey was going to be longer then we thought and we were okay with that. But just a few days later, we received the call that forever changed our lives.

I've had a few people ask about our time line and since this will be part of Teegen's scrapbook, I wanted to include a sort of retrospective of our journey:

Two years ago we started some minimal fertility treatments with no success

19 months ago we attended an informational meeting on adoption

15 months ago we sent in our inital application to adopt

14 months ago we started our homestudy

13 months ago we began the great fingerprint debacle, that would last the summer

10 months ago we had a completed homestudy in hand

6 months ago we decided to switch to a domestic infant adoption

5 months ago we sent our profile to our homestudy agency

7 weeks ago we sent our profiles to a new agency in Nevada

2 weeks ago Teegen was born

1 week ago we became a family of three

Tomorrow we go home!

Once we get home and get settled, I will right more about our journey out West and what transpired while we were here. Some will remain unwritten, as it's Teegen's story, not mine. But I will share some of the high points. For now, here's another picture.

What's in a Name?

First of all, thanks to everyone for the well wishes and congratulations. The support of our friends and family over the last few days have meant the world to Larry and I.

There were several comments left about how much people liked Teegen's name, so I wanted to make a few comments about it. I'm a huge believer in the importance of your name; that it helps to shape your identity and personality. We thought long and hard about names, making sure that things sounded right together and that initials didn't spell out anything horible....i know that some of who will remember the whole Owen Bowen debate.

And there is quite a story behind this little girl's name. Her first name, Teegen, is my mother's maiden name, and subsequently, my grandmother's last name. Since I was twelve years old, I knew that my daughter's first name would be Teegen.

Now, keep in mind that throughout the adoption process, we've been anticipating a little boy, particularly when we were in the Vietnam program. So, needless to say when we got the phone call last week about this little girl, we were in somewhat of a state of shock. We had nothing for a newborn, we had nothing pink and we had no middle name for a little girl! We threw at least 20 different ideas into the hat, some were family names, some were trendy and some were okay, but lacking that certain something.

Then we were told the name that Teegen's birthmother had given her. When we put that together with part of Larry's mother's middle name, we instantly knew that Serabeth was the perfect middle name for this delightful little girl.

Does anyone know where I can get baby socks that stay put?

Introducing....

We are so happy to announce

the arrival of our daughter!

Teegen Serabeth

7 lbs 1 oz

More adventures to come!

Things I did today for the first time ever

Here's a round about answer to my cryptic post from the other day. Here are a few things I did today that I've never done before:

10. Having to throw something away from my carry-on luggage because it might explode.

9. Make a mad dash through a major airport, hoping that I don't miss my connecting flight.

8. Get up hours before the crack of dawn and be excited about it.

7. Experience turbulance! Now, that was fun!

6. See the Grand Canyon, even if it was from an airplane.

5. Sit next to a man eerily similar to Randy Quaid's character in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

4.See the bright lights of the Vegas strip, even though it was in the middle of the day.

3. Drive for at least 50 miles without seeing a McDonalds.

2. Go for over 14 waking hours without eating. Man was I cranky!

and of course, I saved the best for last:

\

1. Feed, diaper, burp, bathe and snuggle with our new daughter!

A Cryptic Message

M + L + TSB = F


Can you solve this riddle?
More to come soon.

Llamas???

Yesterday, I met my siblings, their spouses and of course, the beautiful Annagrace, for some quality time together. Our lives have changed so much in the last two years, yet we are able to stay close. Time together is often short, but we try to make the most of it. There was lots of laughter, lots of catching up and tons of passing around the baby.

After lunch, we headed to the zoo, where we proceeded show Annagrace her first glimpses at live animals. Even at five months old, she seemed to enjoy the show, particularly the red panda. Oh, who am I kidding? Her mother, Aunt Jilian and I enjoyed the red panda.

Here are some pics of the day:

Annie with her Uncle Todd. I love the look on her face...and the ever appropriate bib.

Uncle Todd, Aunt Jilian and Annie.

The sibling photo minus one sibling, plus one arthritic llama.

Up close with the llama

Wild,Wacky,Whirlwind of a Weekend

We had a great weekend, spending time with Thorn, and his parents Leanne and Ingram. Leanne and I got in some quality girl time; while Thorn and I got in some quality snuggle time, when his parents went to a wedding in a nearby county. We were busy and it felt like we were constantly on the go, yet we managed to cram a lot into less than 48 hours and no one ever got too cranky.

I hate that we live in different places, but we live it up when we are together. I'm pretty sure Thorn will take a week to get back to his regularly scheduled bedtime...he likes to stay up late when he is hanging with us.

As a thank-you gift for watching Thorn last weekend and as a birthday gift for me, these guys got us the Pack-n-Play that we registered for! I'm sooo excited about this and was completely surprised by this. However, once we realized that the play yard came with a place to plug in an IPod, Leanne made fun of me the rest of the weekend. I didn't know that this function was on the play yard before we registered, but she is convinced that is the reason I selected it.

And now for some pictures of the boy...

He is almost always happy and smiling.

Cheese! This hobby horse belonged to our niece Hannah when she was little. Hannah is now getting ready to start her sophomore year of college, but it is in perfect condition.

Exploring the neighborhood

I just woke up, would you please get that camera out of my face!

Another Year Older

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love to celebrate my birthday. And this year was no exception. This year --31--was easier than last year. And loads of fun! Great times with family and friends, great gifts and great hopes that this year will be the year of becoming a mom.

I actually didn't have much of a gift list this year, but got great things, including the Top Chef cookbook, tons of books to read and a lovely new handbag.

While I dreaded entering my thirties, it's been pretty good so far.

My granny and I, 28 years ago.

Picture Pages, Picture Pages

A few weeks ago, we had a surprise birthday party for my dad. We had a pretty good time, but it is clear who was the hit of the party. I meant to post these pictures sooner, but it's better late than never.

Hanging with Aunt Jilian

Do you have a problem with my bathing suit?

Auntie Megan and her two favorite girls, Annie and Sophie

Chillin with Uncle Todd

Having a snack with the birthday boy

First dip in the pool

What a beautiful baby!

The 100th Post

I know that I promised a spectacular 100th post, but I've been having difficulty with writing something great. We had a bumpy week last week, thinking that we had a potential match, but that turned out to be a false alarm. I'm trying to think of it as false labor! So I thought and thought and surfed and surfed, coming up with the idea to post 100 things that I'm thankful for in honor of the 100th post. Some of them are sentimental, some are silly and some are a little bit selfish...but it was fun coming up with them.

1. My husband
2. My family: If I listed everyone individually I would use up all 100 things!
3. A job that I like on most days
4. Brand new guitar strings
5. The Ya-Yas
6. My three fabulous nieces: Annie, Sophie and Hannah
7. Movie nights with Sophie
8. Siblings that I love and love to be around, as well as their spouses
9. Leanne and knowing that she will call every night after 10 p.m.
10. Really great books
11. My animals
12. All the babies in my life
13. Kenny Chesney concerts with one of my best friends
14. Long drives at night with great music in the background
15. Blockbuster Online
16. My friend Kim: Without her, there would be no Megan and Larry
17. My relationship with my dad
18. My grandmother’s cooking
19. Friends that you can not talk to for a long time, but then pick right up where you left off
20. The Internet
21. Perez Hilton: I love celebrity gossip
22. Harry Potter
23. Laughter
24. Long visits with my grandmother
25. Watching reality tv with my sister
26. Poison –the band, not the stuff that will hurt you
27. My college experience
28. Learning
29. Organic Milk
30. My friendship with Stephanie
31. Birthdays
32. Ben and Jerry’s Mint Chocolate Cookie Ice Cream
33. Facebook and Myspace
34. That my husband does the laundry
35. A good margarita
36. Gift Cards
37. Wisdom
38. Dental Insurance
39. Hot baths
40. A great haircut
41. My niece Annie’s smile and laugh
42. Love
43. My ipod
44. Memories
45. Pedicures
46. OPI nail polish
47. Cake Batter Milkshakes
48. Finding letters from loved ones no longer with us
49. My friend Jen, who always knows exactly when I need to hear her voice
50. Waffle House
51. Solitude
52. Playing my guitar when no one is around
53. The feeling you get when you perform on stage
54. My friend Rachel, just because she’s who she is.
55. Patience…but sometimes I wish I had more
56. Chocolate Milk!
57. Fresh Strawberries
58. Our amazing neighbors
59. Larry doesn’t mind changing dirty diapers
60. Top Chef!
61. Finding a really great deal
62. A really good, almost wet your pants, tears streaming down your face laugh
63. Family vacations
64. The smell of Shalimar…it reminds me of my mother
65. Organic Produce
66. Kindness
67. Cute baby clothes
68. Making Larry laugh by improvising a really stupid song
69. IKEA
70. Watching my garden grow
71. Being compared to my mother
72. Nintendo DS
73. Sephora
74. The sound of the ocean
75. The smell of spring rain
76. Staying connected
77. Being sure of who I am
78. Adoption
79. Instant Messaging
80. Learning to Knit
81. Sitting on the front porch during a rainstorm
82. Walking barefoot
83. Sugar-free Pudding
84. Having a great memory
85. A really cold beer
86. A hug from a child
87. Jumping on a trampoline
88. A perfectly cooked steak
89. Knowing that I’m loved
90. A wicked sense of humor
91. Not being stuck in the past
92. Google…how else could I keep tabs on old boyfriends?
93. Jeans that fit perfectly—which are few and far between
94. Roller Coasters
95. Chai Tea Frappachinos
96. Old Photographs
97. Tomato sandwiches on white bread
98. Making a dent in my student loans
99. Appropriate and emphatic use of my favorite curse words
100. Living a life that I actually enjoy

I wanted to congratulate some blogging friends on recent new additions to their families! So congrats to Carissa and Marcie....I'm so excited for you both!