We finally got the news today that we have been approved by the state of Alabama as an adoptive resource. Yay! Now they will begin the process of matching us with a waiting child from the foster care system. We have put in an inquiry on a little girl and they will begin with her. They will check to see if we are a good match for her. She is 12 years old and cute as can be. This process has taken a long time and we’re not done yet, but being approved is a huge step. I am so happy. I feel like someone just told me I’m pregnant. It’s that same anticipation I had when I was expecting with my son. Thank you for all the prayers. I know God is in control and His timing is perfect. Have a great Easter! Be blessed!

I haven’t updated recently because there really isn’t much to tell. Everything is healing well. I don’t have anymore oozing or anything. I’m loving the new me. The only thing bothering me at all right now is tenderness under my arm on the left side. It doesn’t hurt unless I touch it. It’s most annoying when I am trying to sleep and roll over onto my left side. It’s right on my rib cage. I have a check up on May 5th and I will ask my doctor about it then. Hope everyone is doing well. I’ll update again after my next doctor visit. Be blessed!

I had my check-up yesterday and everything looks great! He said I was ahead of schedule as far as my healing goes. He also told me I look like I’ve lost a little weight, which made my day. I was worried before I went in about the t-incisions on each side. The place where they meet was still a bit scabby and also still a bit oozy and yellow. He said that was completely normal and nothing to worry about. He actually pulled off some of the scabs. I thought you never pull off scabs but if the doctor does it I guess it’s ok. He said everything was soft and I didn’t have any hard places. I also have full feeling which is good. I don’t have to go back for 6 weeks!
He said in 2 and a half more weeks I could start wearing regular (cute) bras as long as they didn’t have underwire. He still wants me to sleep in the surgical bra because it gives the best shape and they are still settling. I can also go back to full activity in that time. I want to start jogging! That’s something I’ve never been able to do.
In the past 3 weeks my back and neck have felt great! My self-esteem is better and I have more energy. I went from a 38G to a 38C and I couldn’t be happier. Surgery is never fun but I would do this over in a heartbeat. Thanks for reading my blog. Have a blessed week!

It has been awhile since my last update because nothing was really going on. Our home study had been turned into state dhr and we were just waiting to be approved. We recieved a letter today saying that we are lacking 2 things in our home study and we have to submit those things before we can be approved.
The first thing we need to submit is our current car insurance. What is frustrating is that this is the 3rd card we will have sent them. It keeps expiring waiting on the process to finish. Our finished home study was turned in during January and our car insurance didn’t expire until the end of February. We are faxing it to the social worker asap.
The other thing that they need is even more frustrating. It appears we have to be certified in CPR/First Aid. I don’t have a problem being certified. My problem is that during our classes we were told that we only had to be certified if we were going to do foster care. They said adoptive parents didn’t have to be certified. I’m frustrated because I could’ve gotten it out of the way months ago, had I known. As it stands, we are signed up for a class on March 28th. As soon as that is done we should be ready for approval.
Please pray for us that we have no more bumps in the road. The process is hard enough to navigate without extra worries. I know everything happens for a reason and God will use this all for my good. Please pray that we don’t get discouraged. Have a great week and be blessed!

Well, most of the scabs are gone and everything is looking pretty good. I’m still having a few issues where the T-incision meets, on both sides. That area is the hardest to heal and it’s still a bit oozy. Nothing horrible though. I did, however, have a new complication today. It’s a very mild one, but a complication none the less. It appears I am allergic to the paper tape I’ve been using to hold my gauze in place. It has been making me red and itchy, but this morning I woke up with a water blister where the tape had been. Luckily it’s not actually on the incision. It’s a couple of inches away. The funny thing is, my doctor had me use paper tape so I wouldn’t get a tape blister. Apparently they are pretty common with the other kinds of tape, but almost no one is allergic to paper tape. Oh well, I’m always the weirdo. I go back to the doctor next Monday and will update then. Be blessed!

I’m 11 days out and today the stitches came out. I’ve had staples before but this was my first experience with stitches. I was very nervous. It didn’t help that I had found a forum where people were complaining that getting the stitches out was worse than the actual surgery. I had everyone I know praying that it wouldn’t be that terrible. Thank God that prayer works. When I arrived at the doctor’s office today I was informed that he was stuck in surgery and his nurse, Jennifer would be taking out my stitches. When I got into the room she told me that she wasn’t as fast at removing stitches as the doctor is because she is worried about hurting people so she goes slow. I am convinced my prayers kept the doctor held up because he would have done a much more painful stitch removal. Jennifer was great. She kept talking to me the whole time so I wouldn’t be thinking about it. Every once in a while she would warn me that one was stuck under a scab and so she would have to dig it out. Even then, it didn’t hurt. It was slightly uncomfortable, but never really painful.
As far as my recovery goes, everything looks great. I do have one little spot that I’m now having to do a wet to dry dressing on but she said it will clear up in about a week. Keep praying for me. I am ready to be completely healed up. Have a blessed week!!

I went to the doctor today to have my wounds redressed. He says I am healing up well and the stitches should come out next Monday. I’m in almost no pain from the surgery. The main problem I am having is nausea from the antibiotics. I don’t think I have ever been on such strong antibiotics. As soon as I take one I have to fight to keep it down and I’m taking them every 6 hours. On the bright side, the doctor said I can resume showering as of today. I’m so glad. My hair is a mess! I tried that dry shampoo but it didn’t really impress me.
My back and neck have never felt better. I am having no back pain at all, even though I’m having to sleep on my back now. It’s awesome to wake up feeling good. I can’t wait until I’m completely healed so I can start putting my new life into action. My goal is to eventually RUN a mile. I’ve only ever walked a mile, so running will be a big deal for me. I’ll definitely have to work up to it.
Also, my clothes are fitting better than ever. My buttons aren’t pulling and I look a few sizes smaller all around. My husband told me I look great, which was nice to hear. I was worried about how he would react to the reality of the surgery, but he is super pleased.
This has really changed my life for the better. I can’t wait to be out of this ugly surgical bra and back to NORMAL. Be blessed. I’ll update soon.

My surgery went well yesterday. I’ve had some minimal pain that has been easy to alleviate. The hardest thing so far is not being able to use my hands to push myself up off the bed. I’ve had so many bags of iv fluids that I am in the restroom every hour. I’m still swollen and bruised but look and feel better already. They took out the drainage tubes today. That was slightly uncomfortable but took less than 2 seconds on each side. I have to go back Monday and get my stitches out. Until then I am taking it easy and not touching the incisions. I have gone from a size G to a size C and couldn’t be happier with the results. I can’t wait for all the swelling to go down and to start wearing a regular (non-surgical) bra. My clothes are already fitting better and my back feels great. Keep praying that I have a speedy recovery with no set backs in my healing. Have a great week. I’ll probably update on Monday.

Well, it’s two days before my breast reduction surgery and I’ve decided to chronicle it for those of you who may be considering having it done. I’ve noticed that there’s not alot on the web about the actual recovery process, so I’m going to try and update every couple of days.
The reasons I decided to have the surgery include back pain, shoulder grooving, trouble exercising, appearing disproportionate, and trouble finding clothes that fit and look modest. A doctor suggested I have the surgery 15 years ago but I was afraid of the pain. Now the back pain is so bad I’m afraid of the pain of not having it done.
I have to be at the hospital at 6am this Thursday. Please pray that everything goes well and I have a speedy recovery. I will update as soon as possible. Be blessed!

We have made an inquiry on a little girl from the photolisting of waiting children. She’s 12 years old and beautiful. I don’t know if we will be able to adopt her because that will be up to her social worker. She will look at our home study and look at the child’s case file and decide if we are a good match. Pray that if this is God’s will we will get the call soon. Thanks. Be blessed!