D Carpenter - Stories

May 16, 2012 - We've had a busy couple of weeks. On April 29, there was a baby dedication at church, and I was dedicated, along with Baby Austin Ross. What a wild experience. All of us babies (including Austin's older sister, Riley) took turns crying and throwing fits. It was probably the longest 10 minutes of our parents' lives! It was a beautiful service, and Mommy and Daddy are very thankful for our church family.

On May 12, I had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Choo Choo Express birthday party. (I picked out the theme all by myself because it is my absolute favorite episode of MMCH). What a great day. The party was MUCH smaller scale that last year's party for everyone to meet me, and I had about seven friends and some family attend. I had a blast and got lots of fun things to play with. MaMa & PaPa got me a train to ride on, Mommy & Daddy got me a cool Minnie Mouse tricycle and I got lots of other great things like a car seat & clothes for my baby, "Big," and a new Cabbage Patch doll with puffs in her hair like mine.

Mother's Day was May 13th, and I helped Mommy celebrate her very first one. We had fun, ate a nice lunch and just played all day. Mommy says I'm her special, little blessing, and she was so thankful for her first mother's day as my mommy.

My actual 2nd birthday was on Monday, May 14. Mommy told me to pick where I wanted to have dinner, and, of course, I said Mexican. (Which comes out mex-can when I say it). I ate chips & cheese and then my favorite waiter gave me a candy baby bottle for my b-day. After dinner, Angie, Kent & the boys met me at MaMa Jane's house and we all had cake and ice cream. One of the best parts of a birthday is everyone singing happy birthday, and I sang right along.

The next day was my two-year check-up at the doctor. I am 60th percentile in height and weight at 28 lbs and a little over 33 in. Dr. Darnell says I'm a lovely and healthy girl. I couldn't leave there without performing for her, so I sang Amazing Grace and my ABC's before I got my final shot until age four. I didn't cry at all, so I got ice cream and some blocks afterwards. We finished out the 2-year b-day celebrations & events by going to watch Mommy play softball. I yelled for her saying, "Hit the ball, Mommy," and "Touchdown." (We're still working on differentiating between sports!) Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy 2nd birthday and who helped me celebrate. I love my friends and family!

April 9, 2012 - Wow! Where do I start? We have been busy since coming back from our visit with Matthew. Our Sunday school class held a fund-raiser on St. Patrick's Day to help us bring him home and we raised a generous amount of money. We are so blessed to have wonderful people in our lives. Thanks to everyone who organized and helped. We love you.

The night of the hot dog sale, daddy converted D's bed to a toddler bed and she began sleeping in her own room. After being in our bed since she came home last May, we thought the transition would be rough, but it hasn't been at all. She slept in there all night that night., and has been in her bed ever since, except for the occasional middle-of-the-night cries to get in the big bed. One night, we were laying down in her bed and she just wouldn't quit talking. (Wonder where she gets that? LOL). I told her she needed to stop talking and she looked over at me, held up her hand and said, "Lax (relax), Mommy." I think we may be in trouble! We can't believe how much she's grown up!

On March 22, D had to have tubes put in her ears because of recurrent ear infections. She has done so much better since the surgery. She had a rough day after the surgery, but another round of antibiotics seems to have kicked any leftover infection, and she's like a different kid. This last month has been a month of big girl moments. D has started staying in the nursery at church by herself, and also using the potty pretty frequently. We're still working on that, but she's well on her way to saying goodbye to diapers for good! Right before her surgery, we decided it was time to get her bottle away from her too, so she is now bottle-free. She won't even touch milk now, so we're trying to find a way to get her calcium in other ways. It proves challenging, but she's done fabulous without the bottle.

One of D's favorite things is going down the slicky slide. Her Poppy bought her an awesome play-set & she absolutely loves climbing it and going down the slide. Thanks, Poppy!! She is talking up a storm...I seriously don't think there is anything she can't say, Some of the words and phrases she uses frequently include: Where'd Daddy go; different kind (when she doesn't like the food, song, movie, etc, we give her); I yuvs you; I like-a my mommy (your face, daddy, mama, etc); I peed (which she announces to anyone, anywhere after she successfully goes to the potty); I see poo poo (when she looks into her potty); No way, Jose; and Uh-oh, scettios. There are many more, but these are the ones that stick out most in my mind. She also sings a ton of songs including Amazing Grace/Chains, Elmo's Song, Moves like Jagger, ABC's, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, Roots, Rock, Reggae and more.

Easter was fun & we got to spend time with lots of family. D had a great time and loved to spin in her dress. She also had tons of fun hunting and coloring eggs. She definitely has a strong personality and loves people. People also love her. She is the life of the party everywhere she goes. We can't believe that she's been with us for almost a year or that she will be 2 in May. We look forward to making many more memories with her and also to the day that her brother comes home to make our family complete.

Feb. 20, 2012 - It's time to officially announce our big news. We will be finalizing the adoption of Destiny's brother, Matthew, in the next few months and becoming a family of four! Jon, D and I traveled to St. Vincent last week to visit with him. He is a sweet and beautiful child, and he is READY to come home to be with us. The next few months bring lots of changes for everyone, but we know that they will be great for us all. Please keep us in your prayers as the paperwork is processed and we get ready to bring another child into our home, Just a short year ago we were waiting desperately on D, and who knew that a year later we would be blessed with her brother? God has always had a plan. We just had to wait to see what it was. We are blessed!

Jan. 11, 2012 - Holy cow! Once again, I have been terrible at updating this site. I have thought about it off an on for weeks, but until Jon came home last night and said, "You need to update D's site. You haven't since Nov. 28," I thought I better get on it. The last few weeks have been great. We had a wonderful first Christmas with Destiny. We saw lots of family and spent some quality time with everyone. It was truly a magical time, and I even took an entire week off of work to spend it with Jon and D. It was awesome!

D got lots of great things, including a kitchen and table & chairs. We have cooked a lot in the past few weeks, and I hope she will still like to cook when she's a mommy (even though I hate it...lol). I have always loved Christmas, but I know now that having a child makes the celebration even sweeter. It's all about a baby in more ways than one in our home. Jon and I look forward to many more magical Christmas celebrations with our beautiful baby girl.

Now on to more everyday updates. D is talking up a storm, and we really have to be careful what we say and do around her. I have this frustrated growl that I do when the cat annoys me or something else doesn't go my way, and she has started using it. And she does it correctly when she is frustrated. I guess I should just be thankful it's not some dreaded curse word that I use, because that wouldn't be very cute from a 19 month old! She also has started touching her face and saying, "boo-ful", which let's us know that she's listening and she understands what beautiful is. She is a very beautiful girl, inside and out, and I hope she always remembers that! Life has definitely changed in the Carpenter house, but as we say every day, "What did we ever do without her!" We are so thankful for for the blessing that is D.

Nov. 28, 2011 - WOW!! It's been two months since I posted anything. Guess that's what being busy with a toddler will do. We had a great Thanksgiving and Destiny really loved the turkey (although she called it "chicki") and sweet potato casserole. We also had a great time decorating for Christmas. I think this will definitely be a magical year in the Carpenter house. We look forward to the rest of the holiday season and I promise to do better with updates as we go.

August 26, 2011 - Are you ready for some football? As most of you know, Daddy coaches the Capital High School Cougars. Last night was his first game and they won...yay!! I had an absolute blast at the game, which made Mommy very happy since now she knows I'm going to be good at the games. It was a super long game that wasn't over until after 10:30, and I was such a good girl. I stayed happy & even got my picture taken with mommy and daddy afterwards. I am so excited for the rest of the season & am very proud of my daddy. I love you, Da-Dee!!

August 15, 2011 - Yesterday D was 15 months old, and my niece and her family were in a car accident. It was also the day that her precious boy turned 10 months old. They are all ok, but it could've been much worse. All of that got me thinking a lot about family. I have always felt blessed, but today I am more grateful than ever for the gift that is Destiny. Life is fleeting, and I want to live it to the fullest. I know that I will make mistakes, but I vow to love her as hard as I can, and I hope she never doubts that she is the best thing that ever happened to us. Thank God for adoption and for bringing our precious daughter to us. My heart is overflowing!

July 26, 2011 - It's been forever since we've updated the site because we've been getting to know each other. What a great time it has been. We done lots of things, including a trip to the beach, where Destiny learned to walk. Mommy went back to work full time yesterday, so this week is a rough one, but she knows that everything will be okay. Destiny is a vibrant, beautiful, strong-willed and very sweet baby, and we thank God every day that he brought her into our family. What did we EVER do without her?

June 10, 2011 - Well, we made it home at 3 a.m. on Sunday morning. Destiny is doing great. Sleeping an eating well and is as sweet as can be! We are excited for everyone to meet her & see how sweet she is in person. Thanks for all of the gifts, thoughts & prayers. We couldn't have done this without the support of our wonderful friends and family. We love you!

5-11-11 - Since our last post, a lot has happened. Last week we found out that our fingerprints that we had to have redone for immigration clearance hadn't been approved, and the government was telling us it would be 45 more days before they were. This was devastating for us, but several calls from our congresswoman and a miracle from God brought those clearances by 2 p.m. last Friday, May 6. Also on May 6, we were fully expecting to finalize the adoption. About 15 minutes after the good news about the fingerprints came through, I got a message that Destiny's file had been lost by the courts in SVG, and the adoption couldn't be finalized until they found it! What a week!!!

Fast forward to yesterday, May 10. We knew that we were supposed to have a hearing if they found her file, but had no other info. About 10 a.m. I received an email from D's foster mom that they were the first to go in front of the judge and that Destiny was officially a Carpenter! Praise the Lord. We hope to leave here by the end of May to go get her. Now we wait to hear from the embassy in Barbados about her visa hearing, so it's all over but the planning, packing and traveling. She really will be here soon....yay!!! We are blessed!

April 28, 2011 - Patiently waiting for Friday, May 6. That's the date that D's court hearing is scheduled. If everything goes as planned and the adoption is finalized that day, we could travel to pick her up as early as the weekend of May 21. We are SO excited and SO ready to have her here. Please pray for a smooth final process, and also that we will be able to find flights to and from the islands without any problems. We are ecstatic that we could have our baby girl with us within a month. Woo hoo!! God is good!

April 11, 2011 - Had a wonderful weekend celebrating with friends and family with two baby showers. Destiny got a ton of great stuff, which we're currently trying to decide where to put...lol!! Guess it's just the beginning of finding a place for all of her toys, clothes, etc, but we're ready! Thanks to the ladies at church who made the shower there so great. I was overwhelmed at the number of folks who came out to celebrate with me. And thanks to my work friends who made my second shower so perfect. The island theme was awesome, and you really put a ton of thought into personalizing everything for us! The whole weekend was a blessing!! Now we just need to bring D home! Please pray for a quick court date - Friday, April 15!! If it doesn't go to court this week, we won't have a hearing until after Easter, which will mean we can't go get her until June. Neither of us want to wait that long to bring our precious baby girl home. Thanks for everything! We love all of you who have supported us through everything!

April 7, 2011 - GREAT NEWS!! We have all of the required sign offs in SVG for our case to move the the president of family court and on to high court. We're looking at possible hearings on April 22 or 29. Please pray for as quick a date as possible, and also that our government can come to a budget agreement without a shutdown so that nothing else in our process of finalization will be hindered. God is good...Destiny will be home soon :)

March 30, 2011 - Still waiting on confirmation that the board in SVG has signed off on our case and it can go to court. Hopefully we'll hear by the end of the week or beginning of next. The waiting is the hardest part! In the meantime, I've posted new pictures that Jennifer from Texas was so kind to take and send to me from last week when she was there to pick up her kids that were in the same foster home as Destiny. I'm so grateful for additional pictures and the ability to skype to make the waiting a little easier. Thanks for the great pics, Jen!

March 21, 2011 - The hot dog sale was a SUCCESS!!! Words cannot express how grateful we are for all the people who organized, worked, donated, ate,etc, etc. It was truly overwhelming and made us feel very loved. The proceeds will be a big help with our remaining expenses. We still hope to bring D home by May. We were able to skype with her last night. Technology is amazing, and it was great to see and hear her "in person". She kept trying to reach us through the screen, and she said da da about five times. I told Jon that was much easier to say than ma ma, so that had to be why she kept saying it...lol!! We ask that everyone continue to pray for Destiny and her quick arrival to the U.S.

March 14, 2011 - We just want to say thank you again for all of the thoughts and prayers. We are so blessed to have wonderful friends and family. Special thanks to our wonderful Sunday school class who is sponsoring a hot dog sale benefit for us this coming Saturday, March 19. It's from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Judson Baptist Church in Belle. Thanks guys...we love you!!!

March 11, 2011 - We just got back to WV last night from our first visit with Destiny. It was a very blessed trip. We got to spend lots of time with her. She is a beautiful and sweet baby, and she took right to us. Leaving her was difficult, but knowing that she is staying with her awesome foster parents until we return made it a little easier. We hope that we will be going back to pick her up within the next 7 or 8 weeks, but we are at the mercy of the court system there. We will keep praying that everything goes quickly and we will have her here with us very soon.

March 1, 2011 - What a difference a day makes. As soon as I posted on here yesterday, the whirlwind began. We received the official packet AND we're making our first trip THIS WEEKEND!!! Thanks for all the prayers. Please keep them coming. I'll post more pictures late next week.

Feb. 28, 2011 - Since Jon was out of town at a coaching clinic this past weekend, I decided to make the bedding and curtains for D's room. Mom (D's MaMa Jane) came over to help me cut & measure...and to provide moral support. I decided to go with a Minnie Mouse polka dot theme for the nursery so that we could leave all of the Mickey Mouse dolls that I have collected over the years in there. I hope she likes Mickey...if not, we're in trouble!

We are still patiently waiting on the official referral paperwork to be delivered to us. We were told that it should be this week, so please pray that it is. We are dying to plan our trip to meet D in the next few weeks.

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