As some may know Matthew and I are currently the owners of two very nice houses, however, we are desperately trying to sell one of them. You may wonder why we made the seemingly sudden and spontaneous decision to buy a new house without having sold the one we currently reside in. Well, the universe works in twisted and miraculous ways. When Matt and I bought our first home we never planned to live in it for much more than 5 years. We looked at it as a starter home. However, in 4 years we have repainted and wallpapered every single room in the house, put new flooring in four rooms, ripped out two walls and a ceiling, planted an entire perennial garden (with the boys so I could compare their growth) and put in a koi pond. We added a "bat cave" complete with a secret entrance for the boys and a workshop for Matt. We have added flavors of character to every nook and cranny of this house whereby we have made it much more than a starter home. It has become a reflection of our family. However, it dawned on me one evening this summer that we would have no room to reflect the expansion of our family in this house. Where on earth were we going to put Poppy once she came home?
As we were nearly finished with our homestudy process I had another realization. Once our paperwork has been sent to China we are not allowed to move without a costly and complicated addendum to our homestudy. Also, I began to wonder how in good conscience, we could disrupt this baby and remove her from everything familiar, only to get her settled in and comfortable in our home and then decide to move, thus uprooting her again from all that has now become familiar. It would not be fair to her and I can only predict horrible interruptions in bonding. I also started to seriously consider what was involved in moving an entire household and how complicated it would be with 2 children and all their stuff much less three!
So with all of this in mind I carefully approached Matt. He did not want to move, poor guy. But, being the loving and understanding husband that he is he agreed to allow me to "just look...you know, to get ideas of what I like and prices so that when we were ready we would be prepared." And then it happened. I walked into a home and felt warm all over. I knew it was right before I got my shoes off. It is this perfect combination of elements; lannon stone wall and fire place, inlaid hardwood floors and cedar ceilings, and decorative metal railing that runs the length of the second floor. It is located in this idyllic setting nestled in a hilltop subdivision with a yard that backs up against 250 acres of wooded land that the farmers weaves X-country ski trails through. However, all did not go smoothly in negotiating and purchasing this house and it was with much research and heartache that we were finally able to buy it from a couple who had only owned it for under 2 years.
The next step in the process was to have Julie, our social worker come out and do the final homestudy visit at our new house. We were very anxious to get the process going. We arranged for Bridget to come over to meet her (and to get a sneak preview of the house). When Julie walked into the front entrance of the new house her smiley expression changed. Her face was full of recognition and she got this impish twinkle in her eye. I didn't know whether she just loved the house or if she was shocked or what. In fact, I was afraid to ask. I just stood there watching her face until at last she spoke. And when she did it was to tell us that she had been in this house before to do a homestudy for a family. What made it such an amazing and special moment was that she told us that the family had bought this house at the exact same time in the process as we were (in other word she had done the majority of their homestudy while they lived in a different house and then moved right before their paperwork had been completed). What's more, they were preparing to adopt a daughter from China after having had 2 biological sons! Sound Familiar? It was as if it was confirmation that we were simply being guided by a stronger universal force to buy this particular house at this particular time. Julie's story validated a tough decision. And now I know with certainty, this is truly going to be a spectacular place to raise Poppy and her brothers.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
You will never regret the present, you live to its fullest.
We are the Seeliger Family. Matt and I have been together for eleven years. We have endured tough times but our continued love and dedication to one another and passion for life has allowed us to grow and nurture a lovely relationship and begin a wonderful family. We have required the support of friends and family over the years and have never been disappointed. A day does not go by that we are not thankful for those of you who make our lives richer. Our two young sons fill every day with sunshine and laughter as we grow prouder of them by the day. Kierik Sage is seven and I am continuously amazed at the sensitivity and wisdom with which he looks at and learns about the world around him. He is extremely athletic and the idea that he is only about a foot and a half shorter than I am is dizzying! Kaden is my sprite. He sings and dances endlessly, teases and tells stories. He is a creative thinker, always designing something. I would have to say that markers, cardboard and duct tape are his favorite playthings. He makes his dad laugh harder than anyone in the world.
Last year Matt and I began talking about expanding our family. Heck, life was just getting too easy (Ha!) There is no denying that as much as we adore our sons we had hoped to have the opportunity to love and raise a daughter. As we are quite sure that three children is our max, we talked about our options. One, of course was to get pregnant and take our 50/50 chances. Here is where I digress....
When I was pregnant with Kierik, I had vivid dreams, unlike any other time in my life. Many of you who will read this know that Kierik's name was given to me in one of those very vivid dreams. Things that I saw in those dreams also tended to come true in their way. So, one night I had a dream that woke me in a sweat and I have never forgotten. In this particular dream I was giving birth. The child was born and the midwife pronounced it a son. Matt and I rejoiced and cried and carried on until suddenly I was bearing down again and gave birth to a twin son! We were shocked of course but not nearly as shocked as the urge to push decended once more. To make a very long and distressing dream just a bit shorter, when all was said an done I had given birth to a litter of children; the first 12 of which were boys. It was not until the thirteenth and final child was born that they handed me my daughter.
People...I have never forgotten that dream. I am certain, without a doubt, that my next pregnancy would deliver me a third son. So, with that option out of the way, we began discussing adoption. For me, it felt right. Not right...perfect! I am adopted and eternally grateful for the twist of fate that landed me in the arms of Dennis and Joyce Wussow. A more loving, generous, and amazing family does not exist. I was lucky. There are millions of children in this world who want for a family. Why not us? For Matt, there were very logical questions, things to consider. He is my Yang and for that I am eternally grateful. But, in his supportive way, he never detererred this dream. After much thought, research, consideration and meetings, we decided together as a family to pursue this wild dream. And our collective excitement to bring this little girl into out lives grows every passing day.
The feelings are so much like the feelings I had when I carried the boys in my belly. I think about her, wonder about her, wonder what her birthdate will be, what she will look like and yearn to hold her in my arms, just as I did with my sons. She already feels like such a part of our lives. Grandparents have already bought dresses, hats and matching bloomers with coordinating shoes for goodness sakes. OK, she will be the first female child or grandchild on my husbands side of the family so I guess we can cut them some slack - smile. Yet the wait will be long and arduous I am sure. We have already been working toward this adoption since February of 2005 and we have about a year left to wait (longer than the gestation period of an elephant!).
So, I am new at this blogging thing but I see it fulfilling two major purposes;
1) To chronicle our families story and journey to bring a little girl, born in China, into our home for she has already entered our hearts and our lives
2) To facilitate a way for friends and family to learn about the process, and participate in our journey. You have been there for us and with us on so many previous adventures, we figured it is only right to have you along on this one.
So, I will leave you with this statement as it encapsulates our approach to this journey......You will never regret the present which you live to its fullest. - tuesday nights fortune cookie
Last year Matt and I began talking about expanding our family. Heck, life was just getting too easy (Ha!) There is no denying that as much as we adore our sons we had hoped to have the opportunity to love and raise a daughter. As we are quite sure that three children is our max, we talked about our options. One, of course was to get pregnant and take our 50/50 chances. Here is where I digress....
When I was pregnant with Kierik, I had vivid dreams, unlike any other time in my life. Many of you who will read this know that Kierik's name was given to me in one of those very vivid dreams. Things that I saw in those dreams also tended to come true in their way. So, one night I had a dream that woke me in a sweat and I have never forgotten. In this particular dream I was giving birth. The child was born and the midwife pronounced it a son. Matt and I rejoiced and cried and carried on until suddenly I was bearing down again and gave birth to a twin son! We were shocked of course but not nearly as shocked as the urge to push decended once more. To make a very long and distressing dream just a bit shorter, when all was said an done I had given birth to a litter of children; the first 12 of which were boys. It was not until the thirteenth and final child was born that they handed me my daughter.
People...I have never forgotten that dream. I am certain, without a doubt, that my next pregnancy would deliver me a third son. So, with that option out of the way, we began discussing adoption. For me, it felt right. Not right...perfect! I am adopted and eternally grateful for the twist of fate that landed me in the arms of Dennis and Joyce Wussow. A more loving, generous, and amazing family does not exist. I was lucky. There are millions of children in this world who want for a family. Why not us? For Matt, there were very logical questions, things to consider. He is my Yang and for that I am eternally grateful. But, in his supportive way, he never detererred this dream. After much thought, research, consideration and meetings, we decided together as a family to pursue this wild dream. And our collective excitement to bring this little girl into out lives grows every passing day.
The feelings are so much like the feelings I had when I carried the boys in my belly. I think about her, wonder about her, wonder what her birthdate will be, what she will look like and yearn to hold her in my arms, just as I did with my sons. She already feels like such a part of our lives. Grandparents have already bought dresses, hats and matching bloomers with coordinating shoes for goodness sakes. OK, she will be the first female child or grandchild on my husbands side of the family so I guess we can cut them some slack - smile. Yet the wait will be long and arduous I am sure. We have already been working toward this adoption since February of 2005 and we have about a year left to wait (longer than the gestation period of an elephant!).
So, I am new at this blogging thing but I see it fulfilling two major purposes;
1) To chronicle our families story and journey to bring a little girl, born in China, into our home for she has already entered our hearts and our lives
2) To facilitate a way for friends and family to learn about the process, and participate in our journey. You have been there for us and with us on so many previous adventures, we figured it is only right to have you along on this one.
So, I will leave you with this statement as it encapsulates our approach to this journey......You will never regret the present which you live to its fullest. - tuesday nights fortune cookie
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