Russell and Meagan's Journey

Officially A Martin

2011-12-12T20:09:00.001-08:00

Well it's now official. It was December of last year when we were getting our profile book together and sending our info in to be posted online with the adoption agency. Now, just around a year later we have completed the entire process and are glad to officially introduce you to Elijah Glenn Martin!

In other news Meagan has been going through Eli's clothes and has been boxing up some that he has outgrown. I'm not sure I thought Eli would ever grow out of anything, but our little one is growing up.

In yet other news, the sleeping schedule has been working great. Every night he has gone to bed between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. and he is sleeping all through the night. It is amazing how much this simple schedule has helped with his feeding, naps, personality and all other aspects of his day.

As always.. here are a few photos from the past week or so.

"Daddy.. Mrs. Sue gave me candy, Can I eat it?"

"Yummy"

Eli and Mommy at Hanging of the Greens

Eli Update - Sleep Schedule and Growing

2011-12-04T19:34:00.001-08:00

I came home from rehearsal on Wednesday and Eli was already in bed asleep. For the past several weeks we have been fighting him being cranky at night, not eating well, and not wanting to go to sleep. Meagan did a little reading and found out that we weren't being consistent enough with his bed time.

So...after a little research Meagan found a method that we thought would work. About 8:00 p.m. we give him his final bottle and lay him down to go to sleep. We are not supposed to rock him to sleep but lay him down and let him try to go to sleep himself. If he cries we are supposed to wait 5 min before going in to soothe him the first time, then if he doesn't go to sleep wait 10 min the second time before trying to soothe him.

I would have thought it would be incredibly hard, listening to him cry. However we never got the chance.

We have been doing this since Wednesday and every time he has gone pretty much straight to sleep. Only once did he wake up hungry, about 11:00 p.m. Other than that he sleeps from 8:30 all the way through till about 8:30 a.m.

This has changed so much. He is eating less feedings, but taking more at each feeding. His naps are getting onto a schedule and he seems to be less cranky, and happier.

I'll take it!!!

It seems really like one of the first things we've done that has worked on a consistent basis!

That's the big news for the week. In other news, Eli is weighing in, unofficially, at 16.5 lbs.

Oh, final big news. Our lawyers have completed the paper work and filed it with the court. So I think we just lack getting a court date to get this whole thing finalized and official.

Eli and Daddy

Hanging out with the office volunteers

Sitting with Mommy in Church

The Crud, Thanksgiving and Teething

2011-11-27T20:50:00.001-08:00

The Crud

That's about what you could call what the baby boy is going through right now. He's congested up, and coughing. Thankfully there is no accompanying fever or any other problems, just a persistent cough. Ugh.. Unfortunately it affects everything, his eating, sleeping, being happy. Just when he'll get dozed off he'll wake himself up. Just when he gets eating good he'll cough and spit up. Excuse me from saying but it just plain sucks!

Meagan tells me that when I am sick, I am a baby about it. I don't know whether that is true or not. I do know that I can handle myself being sick. What is hard to do, is look at this sweet baby, and know he is sick, and know that he pretty much has to get through it, and there's not much to do.

So on to solutions...We have some decongestant prescribed by the doctor, have a humidifier in his room and spend time in the bathroom with the hot water running. Hopefully that will help break it up and get it out of there. Any other suggestions?

Teething

In other news there are no teeth yet, but so many signs continue. His hands are constantly in his mouth, drooling, and "chewing" on stuff. We have found a few things that help relieve the pain. The cold wet washcloth seems to help. Thanks also to those who suggested the teething tablets over the orajel. Those seem to work well too.

The problem continues in that it is a constant guessing game to figure out what is wrong. Add being sick to the mix and it's really confusing. There are times we are not sure how anyone does this, how anyone survives being a parent. When I read the news that the world just reached a population of 7 billion people, I know that somehow parents, and kids make it through.

Though days are tough nights are short and sleep is infrequent, I know that we have several things going for us. First, we believe with all our hearts that God has been with us through this process, and he will give us strength to face whatever challenges are ahead. Second, we know that we have a countless number of friends, and family who are reading this, thinking about us, providing feedback and helpful hints, and praying for us. Finally we know every time we look down at that blue eyed, red haired, grinning baby that somehow, we will all be ok.

Thanksgiving

We were so glad to have Russell's sister Miranda come visit for Thanksgiving. She spent a few days hanging out with us. As always it was too short and we look forward to seeing more family at Christmas.

Here are some recent photos.

Like father like son

Our little Aggie

Eli's glowing red hair.. Daddy's shiny forehead

What you talking about Willis?

Rockin to the Music

Laying on Nanny's Quilt

All Marooned Out

Who's the Boss

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An Eli Update: 8 Months, Crying, Adoption Process

2011-11-20T20:24:00.001-08:00

It's hard to believe that Eli is now 8 months old. When I look back to see where we have come from I am consistently amazed and perplexed. This is by far the most difficult thing I have ever done in my entire life. It is difficult because there are no rules, and no rhyme or reason to getting a baby through the day. For instance Eli will start crying. Some parents have said that my child will have a different cry for different things, and by learning those cries we would be able to figure out what is wrong faster.

Ok maybe for your child, there were different cries, but we have yet to discover them with this little one. It is usually narrowed down to a short list of possible problems: Hungry, Gas, Reflux, Tired, Teething, Wet, Dirty. The problem is it's a guessing game, and a wrong guess can make it worse. For instance, if he has gas, yet we are trying to feed him, that only makes it worse. If he is hungry, but we think he has gas and are trying to help him work that out, that makes it worse too.

So we guess, and try, and fumble through, and cry, and get exasperated. And then, finally, he looks up at us with those blue eyes and that funny grin and smiles, and laughs. It's then that we know it's all worth it, and somehow know everything is going to be ok.

We are just about done with the adoption process. We have completed all of our paperwork, got a loan and made final payments. All of our home studies are done and we have met with a lawyer. Now it's just waiting for all the forms to come in and court date to be set.

I do want to say thank you to all who ask about Eli, who check on how he is doing, comment on Facebook photos, and pray for him.

Here are some photos from the past month...

Hello... the bottle is empty!

Eli and Pastor Danny

Hanging out with Christian

My friend Sarah

Just laying around

Fishy face

Love the Exersaucer

Getting so big

Crashed Out

Look at my new hat!

I'm all clean!

Yeah.. I'm cute

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Rolling Along

2011-10-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

Well we knew this time would come. Eli has finally figured out that he can flip over. He first started about a month ago. He figured out he could roll over onto his side, however he first couldn't get his arm out of the way.
We put him on his stomach for "tummy time", which he hates by the way. We were told that by placing him on his stomach , it would force him to try to roll over. However he just sat there and threw a tantrum, and never rolled over.
He did however figure out that he can grab his feet. And that's when it happened. He was playing with his feet, apparently preoccupied with those cute little toes, when his momentum caused him to flip over on his side. Then he let go of his feet and straightened out, and when he did he was on his stomach.
Let's go back to the part where he doesn't like being on his stomach. For the first few weeks this didn't change. Until a few days ago when he figured out that with a few tucks, and pushes here and pulls there, and if he moved this foot, and that arm.. well that this would happen.

So there it is.. the roll from the tummy to the back. A few days after he did this, I had him on his back, on the mat. I looked up at the TV and then back down at him.. He was laying on his back, but had barrel rolled off the mat onto the carpet. I have a feeling fun times are ahead.

6 Months Progress

2011-09-27T12:54:00.000-07:00

Wow... just think.. 6 months ago we got a call saying that we had been chosen by a birth mom, and to ask if we wanted to become adoptive parents. We said yes.. and as they say the rest is history.
The past 6 months have been pretty much a blur.

We started off traveling long distances, visiting Eli in the hospital. Long road trips and short weekends traveling back and forth. I was not sure that would ever end. But it did.

Then we finally got the O.K. to bring him home. Once we got home we had long nights, getting up to feed him every 3 hours. I was sure those days would never end.. but they did

And now it's 6 months later...

When Eli was born he weighed 2 lb 4 oz.. Today he weighed 12 lb 15.5 oz. When we brought him home it was a challenge to get 30 ml every 3 hours.. now he is eating 24-26 Oz every 24 hours. And the Dr. said we can now start using regular formula instead of the more expensive infant brand. YEAH!!

He used to sleep most of the day. Now he is awake, and alert a lot. He recognizes our voices and turns to our direction when he hears us. He loves to make faces at us, and that cute kid in the mirror.

We were worried about his eye development, he had a check up last week and everything is perfect. Don't have to go back to ophthalmologist until 5 years old.

We really haven't posted much here in a while, because every day was pretty much the same. But I have a feeling that we are on the very edge of a whole lot of "Eli Activity"

But here are a few highlights from the past few months.

Eli did get Baptized

And he went swimming!

And he loved watching the dance lights

Stay with us over the next few months as we hopefully see him roll over, start eating some solid foods, and continue to grow and grow.

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A Minute with the Martins - Eli Plays the Piano

2011-08-09T11:26:00.000-07:00

I can play the piano by ear, but Eli can play the piano with his feet. Check it out in todays episode of "A Minute with the Martins"

The Great Grandparents Tour Part 1

2011-07-14T22:35:00.000-07:00

This week we are driving through Texas, introducing Eli to his Great Grandparents. At this point we are about half way through our trip. We started off by traveling down through the piney woods to Kirbyville, where we met my Mom's mom, or Granny.

We stayed with my great uncle and Granny came out to visit with her most recent grandson.

After lunch at Jenny's fried chicken we loaded back up in the car and headed due west till we got to Livingston. Meagan's mom's parents, or Nanny and Granddad were excited to get to see Eli. We were also visited by a host of great aunts, uncles and cousins. Eli even got to meet his cousin who was born a week after him, though she is a little bigger than him.

We woke up on Wednesday, got back into the car and stopped to visit some of our friends in Katy. It was great to catch up, see their kids and hang out for a while.

And that's the trip so far. We are looking forward to the next few days where we will meet the last set of great grandparents, along with a host of family and friends. Will post those photos soon.

A Minute with the Martins and a July Update

2011-07-09T22:56:00.000-07:00

Here's something new just for you. We've started a series of video clips I'm calling "A Minute with the Martins." It's a glimpse into our daily lives in one minute segments. Being new parents, I am figuring most will be about Eli, of Eli, or have to do with Eli in some form or fashion. But who knows what else could happen.

Here's the update...

Eli now weighs just over 8 and 1/4 lbs. That's just about 4 times his lowest weight in the hospital. We are also now getting to sleep about 6-8 hours most nights. The down side is that our "night" usually starts sometime between midnight and 2:00 a.m. but sleep is sleep, and it's more than we used to get.We will be taking a trip this next week that I am calling the "Great Grandparent's Tour" We will spend a whirlwind trip down through East Texas and into Houston. At each stop we'll get a photo with Eli's Great Grandparents, none of which have seen him yet. We'll also see family and friends, and catch the last Harry Potter movie.

We are just about through summer, shhh don't tell Meagan, but soon school will begin. We are trying to enjoy these last weeks that we have together, with Eli, before the daily routine kicks in. Pray for us as we seek to find someone to watch Eli during the day while we are at work.

It was great to have family up for 4th of July. Miranda, Grumps and Honey (Russell's Dad and Mom) came up for a few days and got to spend time with Eli. Somewhere there is a video of Russell eating Sushi for the first time in many years.

We'll that's about all the update I have. If you want to know more, or know it sooner make sure and follow us on facebook www.facebook.com/lullabycd. And speaking of Lullaby CD... if you haven't picked one up yet they are only $12 and all proceeds go to help us in the financial cost of adoption. Click here to purchase.

A Surgery Update #2

2011-06-14T20:38:00.000-07:00

In my last post I talked about how our day began at 3:00 in the morning on our way to Little Rock for Eli's surgery. Here's how the day ended...

We got to Arkansas Children's right and checked in by 6:30 a.m. After waiting a while we were taken back into the pre-operation room where we changed Eli, they took some blood work and then asked us a lot of questions like:

When was the last time he ate? Is he allergic to anything? Has he ever been under anesthesia before?

I am glad that they asked this, and that we could answer it the first time.

It did seem however that every person we talked to asked us those same questions over and over again. I would think entering it into a computer with a connected database each dept could access would solve this, but I am sure there is a reason, and I digress....

They weighed Eli in at 6.8 lb and we got him into the provided robe and socks. Ok the socks didn't work so well because they were gargantuan on him, and the robe, well it was way too big.

After that we kissed him, said a prayer and he was off.

The surgery was to fix an Inguinal hernia and to be circumcised. About 45 minutes after he went in they had both procedures completed and he was in the wake up room.

It was kind of funny watching him wake up. You could tell he wasn't quite sure about things, and he was making some strange noises. Not ever having been under general anesthesia myself, I am sure I would do the same. And if Eli is anything like me, you'll be able to watch it.

Again with the digressing

By 11:30 a.m. we were moved to a regular room in the hospital. We were able to start feeding him again, and he has responded well eating a little more each time. We spent the rest of the day by his side.

The hospital will only allow one parent to room in for the night, so Meagan stayed there on the fold out "bed" and I am staying with a friend, so I can be rested to drive back tomorrow.

Again we want to thank you for all your prayers, phone calls, facebook and twitter messages, and emails through out the day. We are so blessed to be surrounded by friends and family, near and far who have supported us in this journey.

Surgery

2011-06-14T04:04:00.000-07:00

This morning we are heading to Little Rock for Eli's hernia surgery. This is something we knew we would need to do since we left the hospital in Norman. They usually would have done it there, however he was so small that they wanted to let him grow up a little.

At 3:00 a.m. then alarm clock went off and we prepared for our journey. The trip takes a little over two hours and err have to check in at 6:30 so we are just about on time with little to spare. Right now we're still on the road, the sun has just come up.

Everyone has assured me that this is a routine surgery and the simplest one there is. While that is true, there is no routine surgery when it is your son who is being put under. We know that his apnea he experienced is something they want to watch out for. For that reason they will be keeping him overnight.

We've done overnight in a hospital room before. They tell us that they are not sure here at Arkansas Children's whether we will be in a room that will sleep one or two. From previous experience I use the word sleep very lightly. If they only allow one of us in I'll let Meagan stay and I'll figure out other arrangements. Anyone have a couch?

For those who want to stay updated throughout the day I have added a widget to our home page that searches for the #pray4eli hashtag. I'll use it throughout the day. Also if you'ld like to leave a prayer or word of encouragement via twitter use the #pray4eli hashtag. You can also leave comments on this post and on our hopes prayers and lullabies Facebook page

Well we are almost to Little Rock so I will close this out. Keep us in your prayers. I'll keep you updated.

Eli Says His First Words...

2011-06-08T22:20:00.000-07:00

In all seriousness Eli is doing very well. Thank you all for your support and prayers.

Our Second Two Weeks - An Update

2011-06-05T21:18:00.000-07:00

I guess when you see Eli every day, you don't tend to notice changes so much. But as I look back I can see that the past two weeks have brought about their own share of updates, and milestones.

When I left off with the First Two Weeks Update I shared he was eating about 53 cc of food, and was about 5 lb 2 oz. That has all changed... but let's start at the beginning.

The second to last week of my I took my first extended trip away from Eli and spent some time leading worship at College UM ARMY. This is a trip I have taken almost every year for about 4 years now, and it is great to have the opportunity to lead worship for such an outstanding group of young adults.

Special thanks go to Aunt Miranda, who came up and stayed with Meagan and Eli for a few days while I was gone. When we first called Miranda about the opportunity I think she was out the door and in the car before we hung up on the phone. She is one excited aunt. She took this great photo.

We had not taken Eli out in public much up to this point, but we were able to sneak him a few places with out to many people being near. One thing we did was to buy a small rocking bassinet and put it up at the church.

We used it so we can have a place for him while we work on decorating the stage, and so meagan can run lights on Sunday mornings. Though the word did start to get out and we were met by a small contingent of people at the bottom of the stairs each week after the service.

On Wednesday we took Eli to Arkansas Children's for an eye update. One thing they watch on preemies is for retinopathy of prematurity. So a two and a half hour trip up and an hour or so wait/appointment and we were good. They said that he is doing fine, but want to check him again in a few weeks.

After the appointment we met my friend Amy Forbus for lunch at her favorite hamburger place, Buffalo Grill. It was nice to be able to catch up with her, and for her to meet Meagan and Eli for the first time.

Friday was our 2 month checkup at the doctors. Now we all know what happens at two months right? SHOTS!!! Luckily the nurse was quick, though from the screams and cries I cannot say it was painless. We did get great news though, and this brings us back to where we started....

Eli now weighs 6 lb 3 oz and is 19 1/2 inches long. With that news the doctor said that we can stop feeding Eli every three hours and move to an as needed schedule. He has stuck close to the schedule during the day, but for the first time last night we fed him at 1:30 a.m. and he slept till 8:30 a.m. When you have been used to 3 hours of sleep at a time, 7 and 1/2 hours of solid snoozing is a wonderful thing. And he is eating 80 and 90cc of food at every feeding now.. we have a hungry, growing boy.

We also were able to take Eli off of oxygen when we travel around town. When we take long trips to Arkansas Children's or Houston and such we will still need it, but it is nice to have one less thing to worry about when we go to the store, or up to church. And yes, we now are taking him more places with us.

So that's about got you caught up. We again thank you so much for your prayers and support through all of this. We are now working on looking up grants and loans to help us with the rest of the money we need to raise by November to finish this off. We figure about $9,000 will finish out the lawyer fees, home study post placement feeds, and final adoption payment needed.

Look for a future post showing ways that you can help out if you would like to.

As always I'll close with a few more photos you may have not seen yet.

Our First Two Weeks- A Photo Update

2011-05-21T15:11:00.000-07:00

It has now been almost two weeks since Eli has come to live with us. I can honestly say it has been one of the greatest, and most trying times of my life all at once. We went from being able to go, eat, sleep, and do what we wanted, to having to schedule everything in three hour increments.

So how is Eli?

The first thing we did after arriving home was to go in for our first doctor appointment. They measured and weighed him. He is now 17 inches long, and at that time weighed 4 lb 13 oz. The doctor said he looked good. We went ahead and scheduled the appointments with a cardiologist for his PDA and surgeon for his hernia.

The rest of that week we continued our usual routine. Wake up at 9, 12, 3 and 6.. on both sides of the clock to change and feed him. Every other day Meagan will give him a bath. My favorite thing is to lay down with him for a nap.

Last Sunday some people from the church threw us a shower. We were able to get lots of clothes, supplies and baby stuff. It was great to have so many people there. We are grateful for the friends we have.

Tuesday we took a little trip to Arkansas Children's Hospital for his Cardiology and Surgery check up. We met with the cardiologist, and they did an EKG on Eli. Meagan and I were both surprised how long it took to put on all the leads, but how short the EKG actually was. Later the doctor came in and listened to Eli's heart. She could not find any evidence of the PDA, it had completely closed.

We then went to our appointment with the surgeon for Eli's hernia. They want to wait a little while to see if he can get off the oxygen before doing the surgery. So sometime in the middle of June we will travel back up to have that surgery completed.

Eli has been doing well here at home. It seems every day he takes more and more formula at his feedings. When we first got home he averaged about 40 cc per feeding, now he's up to an average of 53, and many times takes the complete 60 that we fix right now. I almost forgot, when they weighed him at Arkansas Children's he weighed 5lb 2 oz. So he definitely is a growing boy

Some of you were wondering how the dogs were doing. The answer is awesome. Mia and Honey are the ones who are most curious about Eli. Mia came in for almost every feeding at first and laid down in the room. When I am gone, and Meagan is feeding him, Honey will lay down half in the door, half in the hallway with ears alert.

We have not taken Eli out into the general public yet, and will not for a little while. However we have had a few people drop by and say hi. I'll close this update with some of those photos.

Bringing Home Eli

2011-05-15T22:11:00.000-07:00

It's now almost a week late but between feedings every three hours, and the lack of sleep grabbed in between I have worked to get you caught up on how we came to bring Eli home.
I already shared in the about us finding out on friday that we would be bringing him home. I then shared the events of Saturday and the first part of Sunday. So it is there that we pick up the rest of the story.

It was Sunday night that we were to room in. What is rooming in? Up to this point the nurses have taken care of Eli. We have come in and fed him a few times, or changed diapers, but no matter what there was always a nurse right there by our side. This was comforting as we are both first time parents and the thought of a tiny human being depending on us for everything was a bit overwhelming.

The nurses taught us how to hold the bottle to feed him, they showed us how to swaddle him, and they helped us to give him the medicines he needed. They also did all of those things for him when we were not there.

The room in was our chance to go solo. We were in a room next to where the nurses were, but we were basically on our own. We got to feed him every three hours, we gave him his medicine, we woke up to comfort him, we were the ones responsible. Now they were right there at the call of a button, but it was up to us to take care of Eli.

Meagan working on some school stuff during our room in process.

There are a few things you should know about staying all night in a hospital if you don't know. First of all, up to this point every time I have slept on a bed that was created by the creative folding and unfolding of a couch it has been a most uncomfortable experience. This was no different. The couch cushion pulled out toward us and the back of the couch came down to be one side of the bed. Ouch.

Not near as good as it looks.

Second, the food in the hospital cafeteria was exactly what you would expect. They gave us meal vouchers for us to go down and get our supper on Sunday, and then again for our breakfast on Monday. Sunday the choices were vegetable lasagna or hamburgers. You know me, I chose the hamburger. Bad choice. The next morning I went with the eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon. The eggs were good.. and they had cereal.

Finally, no one is designed to get sleep in 3 hour increments. Yep every three hours, 3pm 6 pm 9 pm etc... one of us had to wake to feed the sleeping boy. Now granted he's so cute that of course anyone would give their right arm for the chance to hold and feed the baby boy, however if you are not used to it, the 3 hour naps you get in between can take some getting used to. I especially thought it cruel because we had a 7 hour drive home ahead of us.

Loading up in the car.

It was a night to remember, and we made it through. The next day the doctor signed the release order, the lady from the adoption agency came to help with the sign out process, we loaded him up in the car seat and we were on our way.

7 hours, 2 feedings, 4 stops and many miles later we arrived to the place that Eli will call home.

Well that's about it. Since then we have had many new firsts. For instance our first trip to the doctor. However those stories will have to wait for another time.

Sunday Sunday Sunday

2011-05-13T23:08:00.000-07:00

I already shared how we we got the news we would be bringing Eli home, and then about what happened on Saturday... well, Here's the rest of the story.
Sunday started for me with a quick visit to see Eli, and then a trip to nearby Tuttle UMC to lead music at my friend Andy James' church.

Andy and I know each other from UMR and working on our church magazine. He recently went back to working as a pastor in a local church. We played some of the traditional hymns I grew up on, and then I played "East to West" by Casting Crowns. Andy was starting a new series on forgiveness.

Afterwards my dad, who came with me, and I drove back in time to meet my Uncle Mark and Aunt Francee, along with Meagan and my mom for lunch. Then, back to the hospital for the 3 p.m. feeding.

Then it was the final visit by family.. again I'll let the photos do the talking.

Then was what they call rooming in... I'll tell you about that and our trip home in the next post...

By the way.. have you bought a Lullaby CD yet? Click here..

Saturday...

2011-05-11T00:48:00.000-07:00

When I left off in the previous post, we had settled into the room for the night.

When we would travel up to see Eli our weekends typically went like this. Get in late on Friday night. Spend the day Saturday feeding him, hanging out at his bedside in the NICU at the 9:00 a.m. and Noon feeding, eating lunch and picking up a few things from the store, coming back to the NICU for the 3:00 p.m. feeding and then heading back home.

This Saturday was really no different except that we were joined by my parents, and we wouldn't be going home.

We started off the day and headed to the NICU to be there for the first feeding. Before we went in we were met by the Oxygen guy. He showed us how to use the oxygen tank that we would be taking home with Eli. It was not as scary as I thought it would be when we first learned of this.

We went in to feed him and were met at the door by the monitor guy. He showed us how to use the monitor that Eli would be sent home with. If I woke up with any doubts that they were planning on sending Eli home with us, they were slowly melting away.

After the monitor guy we saw Eli, who had grown quite a bit since we last saw him. We changed his diaper, and fed him by bottle. The last time we fed him he was barely taking anything from a bottle. It was a joy to watch as he gulped down his food.

Then it was time for the grandparents. I could tell you what happened but I thought pictures might say it best.

After they got a chance to visit we went to lunch with a friend going to college in Norman. Let me just say that any sandwich that you batter, deep fry, dust with powdered sugar and serve with raspberry jam is a winner in my book.

We came back home, saw Eli a few more times, had a good dinner and went back to the hotel...

That was Saturday... Find out what happened on Sunday...

A Surprise Weekend

2011-05-11T00:20:00.000-07:00

Last week on Tuesday I shared that there were 4 criteria that Eli had to meet in order to be discharged, and that he had met 2 out of the three. Then on Thursday I shared how he was getting closer.. I even included this update:

"Talked to the Dr. today and said that though he is feeding by bottle regularly it still will be 5-10 days before he comes home. They are trying to get him off of the oxygen."

So with our date of sometime around the 15th still in our heads we went on with our daily lives. Until....

The phone call...

On Friday the 6th Meagan did her usual call to the NICU to check on Eli. Not much had changed, he was still taking all feedings by bottle. Then about 30 minutes later she received a call from the nurse.

"The doctor wants you to room in a few nights and take Eli home this weekend".. WHAT!!! Surprise #1

Then came with a phone call from the adoption agency. "You are all set to go except we are missing one piece of information before we can get Eli to you." WHAT!!!! Surprise #2

We spent Friday trying to get Surprise #2 taken care of, and thanks to some great friends and understanding people we got it done. We then quickly packed clothes for five days, instead of the usual 1, got in the car and took off. On the way we called the Hospitality house, which provides rooms, if available, for guests who have family in the hospital for a cheap rate.

Every time we have ever gone there was room... except this time Surprise #3

We had already arranged for my parents to meet us in Oklahoma so they could see Eli. When I told them about surprise #1 they were very happy, then when I told them about surprise #3 they proceeded to get a hotel room where we could stay.

We got into town much later than usual, settled into bed and went to sleep.

That was Friday.... Read what happens next....

We're Getting Closer...

2011-05-05T06:12:00.000-07:00

We are getting close to the point where Eli could come home at any time. As I shared in our last post, this is both exciting and very scary. In some ways I am ready for him to be safe in our arms, in our house and not 5 hours away. In some ways I want him to stay there and keep getting stronger, and have nurses and doctors there to take care of him when the slightest thing goes wrong.

But we need to be ready. I shared that he would be moving to take 3 out of 4 feedings by bottle soon, well he has surpassed that and moved on to taking all the feedings by bottle. So now, except for the oxygen, he is closing in on all the requirements to come home.

We still do not have an exact date for when that will be. Meagan will be talking with the doctor today to see what he thinks about it all, and when we should plan to pick Eli up. At this point I would not begin to guess what that date will be.

So now we will wait several hours till Meagan calls and talks to the Dr. Until then I keep praying he gets stronger, and weans off the oxygen.

As a side note he weighed 4lb 12oz yesterday. Seriously? That's up from 4lb 4oz a few days before. Something tells me we'll be buying groceries more often.

-Russell

***UPDATE*** 5/5/11 12:30 p.m.

Talked to the Dr. today and said that though he is feeding by bottle regularly it still will be 5-10 days before he comes home. They are trying to get him off of the oxygen.

Order the Lullaby CD- www.indieheaven.com/artists/russellmartin

Like our facebook page- www.facebook.com/lullabycd and click "like."

Want to know what we're talking about.. Check out these other posts about our adoption process.

Receive these blog updates into your email inbox. Subscribe to Russell and Meagan's Journey by Email.

Two Out Of Four Steps Closer To Home

2011-05-03T09:23:00.000-07:00

Artwork by Miranda Martin

In order for Eli to come home from the hospital, we were told he would have to meet four criteria:

So how are we doing?

~~1. He would need to maintain his temperature, in an open crib, wearing normal baby clothes.~~

So far he has been doing this for about a week.

~~2. He would need to show sustainable weight gain.~~

4 lb 4 oz! And growing.

3. He would have to take all feedings by bottle.

We're not quite there yet, ~~but he is taking every other feeding now~~, (5/2-Taking two out of 3 feedings by bottle), and they are going to try to move to every feeding in the next few days.

4. He would need to be off oxygen.

Originally this was one of the criteria they gave us, but he also could come home with oxygen. Frankly this scares the heck out of me, but I know many people do it, and we will be able to learn how to use the monitors and equipment if we need to.

So now he's getting ready, the question is are we ready?

~~1. Nursery Ready~~

Well we're close. We have a crib, mattress, dresser, rocker, beautiful wall art made by Miranda Martin. (featured photo at top)

2. Stuff for Eli-

We have bought a few things, but also we have registered for a lot of what we need. We have been told not to go out and buy a lot of stuff because we don't know what we'll get at the shower. Our problem is that Eli may be coming home on or before the date of our first shower.

3. Financing-

We have made our payments as needed to the adoption agency and still have about $5500 plus lawyer fees to pay over the next few months. In addition we might have a significant hospital bill. Our more immediate problem is that in order for Meagan to stay home with Eli, she will have to take leave with no pay. If he comes home on the 15th this would translate into about a $2500 loss of salary. Which is money that will be hard to lose at this time.

We know that we will make it, and that it will all work out. But we do not know how it will all come together. We thank you for your continued prayers as we prepare to finish this phase of our adoption journey.

Eli Update 4/27

2011-04-28T07:27:00.000-07:00

Eli is growing! I called to check on him tonight and he is almost 4 pounds 3 ounces. He is eating well from the bottle. The nurses feed him by bottle at 9 AM and midnight. The past few feeding he has taken the whole bottle. Because bottle feeding uses a lot of energy, they have had to increase his oxygen to 100% while he is being fed. When he is not eating, his oxygen is at 23-25% (we breathe 21%, so he does not have that far to go to be on room air).

He has reached another milestone...he is in an open crib. He was moved out of his isolette today. He has been maintaining his body temperature so the doctors and nurse wanted to see how he would do in a open crib. Maintaining his body temperature burns a lot of calories, so there is always a possibility that he will have to go back into the isolette if he starts losing weight.

Also, today, the pediatric ophthalmologist dilated his eyes to check the retinas. Preemies are at risk for something called Retinopathy of Prematurity. Eli is still not 'full term' so it is a little early for the doctor to say anything with certainty, but he said he felt like Eli has very mild retinopathy and that it should not cause him any problems. He will have to be checked in a month and then will need to be seen again yearly.

We still have a few more hurdles to clear, but so far so good. Right now, my biggest fear is having everything ready for him to come home. I am torn, because obviously I want him to be home, but being a new mom, I also want everything to be perfect. Oh well...I guess I will get over that!

-Meagan

Order the Lullaby CD- www.indieheaven.com/artists/russellmartin

Like our facebook page- www.facebook.com/lullabycd and click "like."

Want to know what we're talking about.. Check out these other posts about our adoption process.

Receive these blog updates into your email inbox. Subscribe to Russell and Meagan's Journey by Email.

Numbers...

2011-04-26T23:19:00.000-07:00

It seems like lately our lives have been consumed by numbers. When we got the call about Elijah, we were told he was born at 30 weeks and 2 lb 6 oz. As we looked at making our 1st trip to see him, I thought about the 270 mile/ 5 hours trip. My mind also jumped to the money we going to have to pay to the adoption agency, how much gas costs, and what the hospital bills would be like.

Eli is almost 6 weeks old! When we are visiting him, I'm constantly watching his monitor, especially his oxygen saturation. If it gets below 85 I'm holding my breath & silently praying for his little lungs. When we are not there, I call to check on him twice a day. These conversations are filled with numbers. How much does he weigh? How much formula did he take by bottle? What is his oxygen setting at & has he had any periods of desaturation? I sincerely hope the nurses understand I'm not crazy, just concerned. 270 miles is a long way and I pretty much feel helpless.

We've gone through the 'going home' criteria...more numbers...with nurses. Only thing we are waiting on is a date, and that's all up to Eli.

In the past 3 days, there has been a shift in my mind. The numbers are still there, but now there questions swirling around also. What is it going to be like when he comes home? Am I going to be able to take care of him? What if he has to come home on monitors or oxygen? If he comes home early, are we going to have everything ready (considering right now we have a crib, dresser, highchair & a few small items/clothes)? Are we going to be able to raise the rest of the adoption/legal fees? Am I going to be a good mom??

This last question stands out a little more today. Today-4/26- my mom would have been 60 years old. I think her absence has made this process & these questions a little more overwhelming & scary. I have an amazing family & wonderful friends, an awesome husband & a loving God. I am truly blessed and I trust I will be taken care of. I just look at the past few weeks and how our life has changed.

I think about the incredible gift we have been given. But to be honest, I'm still a little scared. I hope & pray that the next couple of weeks will go smoothly. But if there are bumps or numbers that aren't great, I know our new family of 3 can make it through anything!

-Meagan

Oh, if you haven't gotten a few copies of the Lullaby CD now is the time. Each copy sold reduces our final costs. Order as many as you like! www.indieheaven.com/artists/russellmartin

Do you like our facebook page? Go to www.facebook.com/lullabycd and click "like."

Want to know what we're talking about.. Check out these other posts about our adoption process.

A video update- With special footage of the "Bored Song"

Meet Eli for the first time.

When the whole process began

Receive these blog updates into your email inbox. Subscribe to Russell and Meagan's Journey by Email

Top Ten Books for Eli

2011-04-19T14:55:00.000-07:00

I recently asked on my facebook page for my friends to list books they enjoyed when they were little, that I should get for Eli. I think we ended up with a pretty good list of children's books.

All in all over 75 comments and likes, and 66 different books were mentioned. I am listing the top 10 (with some ties) here for you. Each is linked to an amazon.com search for the book.

To see the complete list go to my facebook profile.

1. Goodnight Moon - 10

2. Love You Forever - 7

3. Winnie the Pooh - 4

4. The Very Hungry Caterpillar - 4

5. Dr Suess Books - 3

6. The Giving Tree - 3

7. The Pokey Little Puppy - 3

8. Berenstain Bears - 2

9. Brown Bear Brown Bear - 2

10. Chika Chika Boom Boom - 2

11. Curduroy - 2

12. The Happy Man and His Dumptruck - 2

Oh, if you haven't gotten a few copies of the Lullaby CD now is the time. Each copy sold reduces our final costs. Order as many as you like! www.indieheaven.com/artists/russellmartin

Do you like our facebook page? Go to www.facebook.com/lullabycd and click "like."

Want to know what we're talking about.. Check out these other posts about our adoption process.

A video update- With special footage of the "Bored Song"

Meet Eli for the first time.

When the whole process began

Receive these blog updates into your email inbox. Subscribe to Russell and Meagan's Journey by Email

Eli Update #4

2011-04-17T22:28:00.000-07:00

Ok.. here it is.. the second video update! We went to see our little bundle of joy this weekend. Just a quick update for you... he now weighs 3 lb 9 oz so we are well on our way to the 4 lb mark. Many of you have asked how much he needs to weigh before he comes home. They don't attach a specific weight as much as some benchmarks he needs to meet. He has to maintain his body temperature, take feedings by bottle and not have any breathing issues (be off oxygen, no apnea etc..) Each oz however, means he is getting stronger and closer to doing those things.

Some exciting news came when we found out that he is now eating 25 CCs of formula. They are also going to take him off the lipids and add fat to his formula. This also means that the PICC line will be coming out soon. One less tube and cord is always a good thing.

Speaking of formula they are trying to get him ready to feed from a bottle. They have started associating the pacifier with his feeding hoping to get him used to it. We may be able to bottle feed him somewhere around the first of May.

Thanks again for all the prayers and words of encouragement.

Just a reminder.. if you haven't gotten a few copies of the Lullaby CD now is the time. Each copy sold reduces our final costs. Order as many as you like!www.indieheaven.com/artists/russellmartin

Do you like our facebook page? No seriously go to www.facebook.com/lullabycdand click "like."

Want to know what we're talking about.. Check out these other posts about our adoption process.

Meet Eli for the first time.

When the whole process began

Receive these blog updates into your email inbox. Subscribe to Russell and Meagan's Journey by Email

A Video Update!!!

2011-04-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

As you know we are now having to travel many hours to see our son. I have to say that it really is not that much fun being in a car for that long. However the chance to see, and hold Eli makes it worth it in the end. I thought I could take the time to describe for you our last trip, but then figured that it might be better done by video. So here is our video recap of our trip to see Eli.

Oh, if you haven't gotten a few copies of the Lullaby CD now is the time. Each copy sold reduces our final costs. Order as many as you like! www.indieheaven.com/artists/russellmartin

Do you like our facebook page? No seriously go to www.facebook.com/lullabycd and click "like."

Want to know what we're talking about.. Check out these other posts about our adoption process.

Meet Eli for the first time.

When the whole process began

Receive these blog updates into your email inbox. Subscribe to Russell and Meagan's Journey by Email

Eli Update and Mobile Post Test

2011-04-09T08:49:00.001-07:00

Just checking to see if I can update the blog from my iPhone. So I thought I'd give you an update.
Right now we are in the NICU and Meagan is holding Eli. I think she would go to sleep if she'd let herself, with Eli laying right next to her.
Not much new on the medical front. Last week he had an infection, and through those complications had to go back on ventilator, and they ran a PICC line, and backed off of his feedings.
He came off the ventilator in 2 days, and has started back at 3ccs every 3 hours, but with the PICC line still in.
All that said he looks great and is still gaining weight a little at a time, so that's good.
Today we'll get to see him several times before making the drive back home. This will be our routine till he comes home.
Thank you again for all the prayers and words of encouragement. Thank you for standing there and watching as flip through and show you photo after photo. Thank you for gas cards, food cards, and other gifts that help us with these travels back and forth.
Soon he will be home! That's what we are praying for, that soon He will be home.

Meet Eli

2011-04-04T19:51:00.000-07:00

Quick Timeline...

May 9, 2010.. Our Journey Begins- Meagan and I announce we are starting the process to adopt a child.

June 10, 2010... Visit to OKC - We visit our adoption agency for an orientation.

Sept 8, 2010... One Step Closer - We finished our home study.

October 28, 2010... Buy Hopes Prayers and Lullabies - The Lullaby CD goes on sale

Dec 28, 2010... The Next Step - We raised the first payment needed to send in our adoption packet.

Jan 15, 2011 ... The Book Has Arrived - Our profile book arrives in the mail.

Mar 25, 2011 ... Progress and Prayers - We give a hint that something may be up.

Mar 27, 2011 ... Our First Meeting - We meet Elijah for the first time.

Mar 28, 2011 ... Bittersweet Return - We come back from our trip, leaving Eli behind.

So what has happened since March 28th?

April 2, 2011 - Our LIFE Group Bible study sponsored a Children's items resale which raised $1800 to help with our adoption process.

April 4, 2011 - We are finally able to do this...

Now I want to introduce you to....

Elijah Glenn Martin

So.. please keep Eli in your prayers.. He has an infection and they had to put him back on the ventilator. We are not terribly worried but praying for him to be completely better soon.

Receive these blog updates into your email inbox. Subscribe to Russell and Meagan's Journey by Email

Buy the Hopes Prayers and Lullabies CD. All proceeds help us fund our adoption process.

Our Adoption Video

2011-03-30T10:08:00.001-07:00

Meagan and I were interviewed about our adoption journey for our church.

When they showed this video in church, we were seeing Elijah for the very first time...

Elijah update... we are gaining weight a few ounces at a time...

Order the Hopes Prayers and Lullabies CD- All proceeds help to fund our Adoption Process.

Bittersweet Return

2011-03-28T21:19:00.000-07:00

Any other trip I have taken out of town has been one where I look forward to the return home. This time, every mile we traveled brought us one mile closer to our house, and one mile further from our hearts.

If you are catching up, Meagan and I got the chance to meet Eli, our future adopted son. There are still many things that need to fall into place for this to happen, but we are closer than we have ever been. And as I sat today with him laying on my chest, looking at his tiny hands and listening to him breathe, I realized that all will be well and it will all work out O.K.

On our trip home, though filled with conflicting emotions, there was one time we both laughed out loud. We called the hospital for an update and found out that Eli had his first poo! I cannot think of another time in my life when I would ever be excited about that, but it was the last thing we were waiting on to make sure everything was working correctly.

We have planned our next trip in a few weeks. It will be hard realizing we are separated from our son by several hours, but such will be our life for however long he needs to stay in the NICU. Home during the week working, sleeping, getting the house and nursery ready, and then when we can driving up to visit, hold, talk to, touch, and encourage him. Hopefully sooner than later, that day will come when our hearts and home are together again, and Eli is safe and sound in a nursery a few feet, instead of a few hours away.

Please continue to pray. Pray that Eli will gain the weight and make the milestones he needs to make to come home quickly. Pray for the nurses and doctors who watch over our little one every day. Pray for us as we travel back and forth. Pray for our continued efforts to raise the last of the money we need, and for the upcoming legal proceedings that we must go through to finalize this adoption.

We are so thankful to all of you who have expressed your concerns, prayers, and encouragement over the phone, text, emails, twitter and facebook. Each message means so much. Thank you for joining us on this journey.

We will probably do most of our updates, and try to answer the questions we can here on this blog. We will post the link to each entry on facebook so check there daily to see what's going on. You can also get updates to your email inbox by using the form in the right hand column of this blog site.

Russell and Meagan

Oh.. photos will come when I can put them up I promise.
Go buy a CD www.indieheaven.com/artists/russellmartin

Our First Meeting

2011-03-27T09:08:00.000-07:00

Just got out of our first meeting with Elijah. The nurse met us and was so good about explaining everything that was going on. There are many sensors, and feeds hooked up so we were a little intimidated at first, but felt reassured as she explained the function of each one, and why it had to be hooked in or taped on to our baby boy.

It took a while of just looking at him laying there to realize that this is becoming more and more real with each moment. At first he was lying on his stomach, so he was pretty still. Then the nurse turned him over and he got excited. He stretched out his arms, kicked his little legs and let out a few faint cries. In fact he set off his machine so much he woke up the baby next to him. I have a feeling he will be a fighter, and an instigator.

We were able to reach our hands in the incubator and touch him. He reached out and put his tiny fingers around my finger. Though tiny, by comparison to his hand they are very long. Meagan got to change his diaper and I got to put a crochet hat on his head. I asked Meagan if this could be the normal, she change him, I dress him, and I was assured that would not be the case.

We know that we have between 4 and 8 weeks till he will come home. The time between now and then will be spent traveling 5 and a half hours to see Elijah, getting a nursery ready for an infant, and work, school, church responsibilities.

Please continue to pray for us as we progress on this adoption journey. Long weeks are ahead but we know it will all be worth it when Eli comes home.

Progress and Prayers

2011-03-25T22:15:00.000-07:00

So many of you have been praying for us on our adoption journey. For such a long time it has seemed like all we were doing was waiting, and waiting. We still wait, but with a possible light at the end of the tunnel. I cannot share any details with you at the time, but I wanted to let you know that we are progressing in our adoption process.

What can you do?

First of all you can keep praying. I know it's hard not knowing specifics but just pray for what we have asked from the beginning. Pray for birth moms, infants, and adoptive parents everywhere. We'll let you know when to pray more specifically for our situation.

Second we are still raising money for our adoption process. The Hopes Prayers and Lullaby CD is still on sale. If you haven't gotten one yet, or you know someone who needs one please order it soon. Go to www.indieheaven.com/artists/russellmartin. Someone also asked if we had a direct link to make a donation. If you are interested in that let me know and we will set something up through paypal or some other form.

Third be patient. There is so much up in the air, so much we do not know. We will let you know if anything progresses as soon as we can. And that may still be several months away.

To stay updated though make sure and follow us in one of these ways.

russellandmeagan.blogspot.com - Our Adoption Blog

facebook.com/lullabycd - The Hopes Prayers and Lullabies Facebook Page

twitter.com/rgmmusic - Russell's Twitter account

Prayers for Brooklyn

2011-01-30T20:31:00.000-08:00

For the past many months you have been praying for Meagan and I in our adoption process. First of all I thank you so much, and hope you will continue.

I write now though to ask for prayers for another hopeful family. It is for my cousin's daughter Brooklyn. Here is her story...

A Word From Mom:

At week 20 in my pregnancy, our child was diagnosed with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. We were told that there was a hole in her diaphragm and that her intestines were invading her chest cavity. She would undergo surgery at birth and face many trials in order to survive. My husband and I were scared, but we clung to our faith and believed that God had placed this little girl in our lives for a reason.

Brooklyn Elizabeth Hales was born on November 28th, 2010. She was the most beautiful thing we had ever witnessed. Without a chance to hold her in my arms, she was whisked away to the NICU at Texas Children's Hospital. Hooked to tubes and wires, our little girl was struggling to hold on. Over the next few days she fell in and out of stability. Her vitals jumped up and down as the doctors worked hard to control her treatment.

We are taking it one day at a time. Brooklyn has proven herself a fighter and has already had her corrective surgery. She was put on a heart and lung bypass machine which kept her stable throughout the process. She continues to make progress and grows stronger every day. She has a long way to go, but has proven herself worthy of this battle. She has already touched the hearts of hundreds and continues to amaze us with her endurance. We are grateful for the honor to be her parents. She has taught us all to "have a little faith", and I encourage us all to learn from her journey.

Friends and family are holding a Benefit BBQ and Auction on March 5th in Lake Jackson, Texas, with all proceeds going for Brooklyn's medical expenses. If you are in the area and can stop by, that would be awesome. I am including the flyer so you have all the information.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers.

And Much To Do While We Wait

2011-01-26T20:54:00.000-08:00

On May 9th Meagan and I announced that we were beginning the adoption process. Since that time we have attended a workshop to learn more about the process, I have recorded a CD to sell and raise money, we completed our home study, we assembled our profile book, we raised enough for our first payment, and now, over 8 months later everything is submitted and hopefully soon we will be on the waiting list.

We just wanted to say thanks to all who have helped us get this far in the journey. We are no where near the end, but it is a relief to basically get step 1 behind us.

So what's next?

Next we pray and wait. We wait for whoever God has chosen to come into our lives, choose our book and give us a phone call letting us know it's time for step 2.

Until then though there is still much to do. We are still selling CDs. Hopefully there are still some people out there who would like one or more. If that's you go to forkintheroadmusic.com/purchase.

Some friends are putting together a children's clothing, furniture and toys resale fundraiser for us. So we will be busy collecting, sorting, and pricing for that.

We want to go ahead and get the nursery ready, since we do not know when we will need it. We will be moving some things around, re-arranging, painting, cleaning and working on that project too.

That's about all of an update that we have right now. Again, thanks for your prayers and support.

Russell and Meagan

Special Thanks to Indie Heaven

2011-01-18T19:52:00.000-08:00

When I created the Lullaby CD, I had hoped to sell a few copies to help with our adoption process. So far this is going pretty much according to that plan. I recorded the CD and put it up on Indie Heaven.

Indie Heaven is a site dedicated to helping independent Christian artists. Since I had been on there for some of my other music I thought that would be a great place to put this CD.

What I did not expect though, was to receive a donation of $1000 towards our adoption process from its members.

Here is a bit of the blog post shared by Keith Mohr, Indie Heaven President:

"After I learned more about the reason for Russell’s new CD, I prayed how Indieheaven could be of help to them, and I sensed God leading me to donate a portion of the income received from our wonderful Indieheaven members support in December. I notified Russell about the donation, and they were very grateful for the donation."

This donation has helped us to get a good start on our second payment, along with continued CD sales, a few concerts, and setting money aside.
I encourage you to go check out Indie Heaven and its various artists. There are many Christian artists, with many different styles.
Check out the top 20, listen to Indie Heaven Radio, or go vote on the Fan Faves.
Again, thank you.

The Book Has Arrived

2011-01-15T22:41:00.000-08:00

Today we received our profile book in the mail. The book contains photos of our lives, friends, families, town and more. This will give potential birth mom's an bit of an idea if who we are. This is one of the final pieces we needed to complete stage one. Soon we will mail this off to the agency, along with the first check and some more paperwork so we can be listed as potential adoptive parents.

In other good news we did a little bit of calculating and figured out that we are half way to our second payment. This will be what we will pay when we get matched with a birth mom. The third payment is due when the process is over. Right now though we are glad to almost have the first payment and step complete.

We want to thank you all for your continued prayers. Also want to remind you that the Lullaby CD is still for sale. It makes a great gift for new or expecting mothers. www.indieheaven.com/artists/russellmartin

Thanks again!

Russell and Meagan

Dear Baby- #5 Meet Your Future Family

2010-12-28T21:50:00.001-08:00

Dear Baby,
This past Christmas we got everyone together for a family photo.
They are all praying for you and can't wait to meet you!

- Love,
Russell and Meagan

The Next Step

2010-12-28T14:34:00.000-08:00

I shared in an earlier post about the cost of adoption. I mentioned that our first goal was to raise the money required to list our profile with the adoption agency. This way our book and profile can be shown to prospective birth mothers. I told you about the Hopes Prayers and Lullabies cd that I wrote to help raise money for this process. I wanted to raise the first payment, $1750, by selling this CD. In the middle of December I wrote to you saying that we had 50 more CDs or about $500 more to go, and that I wanted to raise that by the end of 2010.

I am glad to report that today we reached that goal. We have a few finishing touches for our book and then we will mail it, along with the first check off so we can be listed. It is a great feeling and an awesome time, yet I know there is much more work to do.

Someone asked me what happens now. Well, once we are chosen by a birth mom, and agree to be the adoptive parents then we will have our next payment of $5000 due. This could be at any time from a month, to a year or more. This means we will need to continue saving, and raising money for when this happens. I am glad to say that we have received some donations to apply to that payment, so we are on our way.

How can you help?

1. Keep Praying
2. If you have bought a CD tell your friends about how they can get one and how you like it.
3. If you have not bought a CD, buy one.

Thank you all for your support as we travel down this journey.
We'll keep you posted!

follow us on facebook
subscribe to this blog by email

Russell and Meagan Martin

Cds Update Now 23 Left To Go!

2010-12-21T23:23:00.000-08:00

Almost one week ago I wrote about needing to sell 50 more CDs, to raise enough money to post our adoption profile. I am glad to report that many of you purchased CDs and now we are only 23 Cds away from our goal.

Our hope is to have this all ready to go by the first of the year. That means we have 9 days to sell 23 Cds. If you break that down it's a few more than 2 Cds per day.

When I wrote the songs for the CD I had in mind a lullaby CD for infants. Many people though have written me back since purchasing it saying that their kids, and teenagers have "stolen" their CDs to listen to. One church uses some of the instrumentals for altar times. Teachers are playing it in their classrooms.

Since my last update I have been contacted by two churches who want me to share my music and our adoption story with them. From the beginning Meagan and I said that one of our goals, one of the reasons we have started this blog is so that through sharing our adoption journey, we can be an advocate and encourager for other couples wanting to adopt. I am so thankful for these upcoming opportunities.

So I hope that you will do three things. 1. If you have not yet, buy the CD. 2. Consider having me come to your church, class, group or meeting to share my music, lead worship, and talk about our adoption journey. 3. Pray for us, couples considering adoption, birth moms making the choice to put their child up for adoption, and all those friends and family members supporting those on all sides of this process.

50 CDs Away

2010-12-16T15:25:00.000-08:00

I sat down and did a little math to figure out that we are closer than we thought. When I originally came up with the idea for the Hopes Prayers and Lullabies CD I wanted to sell enough to pay for our first payment of $1700. Thanks to your generosity we only have $500 to go, that's about 50 CDs.

There are several ways we can get to 50 CDs by the end of the year.

1. Someone could buy 50 Cds to give to all their friends.
2. 10 of you follow this blog. If you got 5 friends each to buy a CD then that would be 50
3. 314 of you follow Hopes Prayers and Lullabies on Facebook. If 1/6 of you bought a CD that would be 50. If you each bought one that would be half way to the second payment.

So if you know of someone who would like a CD tell them to go to http://www.indieheaven.com/artists/russellmartin and buy one. If you have a website or store for children's clothes, toys, games etc..., and would put up a link or put some CDs in your store, let me know. If you could send out a tweet, email or facebook message to your friends, letting them know about our story and this CD, please do. As always continue to pray.

P.S.
Some one asked me what would happen if all the sudden the Lullaby CD went viral, and we sold enough copies to cover all our expenses. What would we do? First I'd faint. But after that, we plan to put the extra money from the CD into an adoption fund for the next couple who wants to adopt.

2010-11-29T09:32:00.000-08:00

Text

Dear Baby #4- Got Whoop?

2010-11-09T20:53:00.000-08:00

Dear Baby,
This is something you are going to have to understand. Your momma is an aggie. This means a few things:
1. Your favorite color isn't burnt orange.
2. The day after thanksgiving there is a football game on. Don't make plans.
3. You had better get used to receiving gifts like this. Sometime tells me this is only the beginning.

Adoption Update #1

2010-11-04T22:13:00.000-07:00

I thought we'd take a chance and update you on where we are in the process. As of now we have turned in our initial paper work and completed our home study.

Step two is raising the money needed to activate our profile. This way we will be visible to birth moms and they could potentially choose our profile. This first step costs around $1700.

Russell has created a CD called "Hopes Prayers and Lullabies" and is selling it to help with this cost. We figure we need to sell around 220 for this first step.

We also have been working on our profile book. It is a collection of photos, like a scrapbook, that shows who we are, what our home is like, the things we like to do etc... The birth mom will look at this book when she is deciding on a family for her child.

In other news we have begun collecting baby stuff. We now have a crib, pack and play, glider, and a few toys etc... Special thanks to our friends who are so kind to pass their baby items on to us.

Whats next? Finish selling the CDs and get on the waiting list. That's really the next step.
We thank you for your continued support and prayers.

If you would like to purchase "Hopes Prayers and Lullabies" you can do so by going to http://www.indieheaven.com/artists/russellmartin. We are about a third of our way to our goal.
Thanks again,

Russell and Meagan

join the Hopes Prayers and Lullabies Facebook Page

Dear Baby #3- One Step Closer

2010-09-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

Dear Baby,
Yes I know it's been a long time since I have written, but there is so much to tell you. The first good news is that we got our home study packet back. I got it and read it and found these words "I recommend that Meagan and Russell be adoptive parents!" That means we are one step closer. Oh, when you do arrive, you have some thank you notes to write. Some very special people wrote letters on our behalf saying how good of parents we would be. And though we only used 4 of them, I had so many people offer. That means there are so many people pulling for you, and us!

The second bit of good news is that we bought you a car. Ok well, not exactly. We bought a car for you to ride in. As far as you driving, maybe by that time you can use this car. Of course by that time we may be teleporting everywhere like in Star Trek. What's Star Trek you ask? Nevermind.

That's the good news so far. Next we will put together our profile book.

Hopefully soon I'll have another update with good news.

Hopefully soon I'll be able to tell this to you in person, in real time, instead of writing it ahead of time.

Dear Baby #2: Praying and Preparing

2010-08-13T18:23:00.000-07:00

Dear Baby,

Preparations are under way even though we don't know when you will be here. We want to be ready. We do have a room picked out. It's right across from our room so you'll be close. We've already chosen some colors.. brown and green I believe. We even have had some toys, rockers and other stuff donated too.

We did our home study. That's where someone checks out us, and our house to make sure it's ok for you to come live with us. Oh and we went to the doctor who ran tests to make sure we are healthy enough to take care of you. We are still waiting on some results but it seems everything is going fine. We also have to wait a little while for some paperwork and such to get done, but soon we will be putting our profile for your mom to see. Once that happens it could be any time.

So until then we are waiting and praying. We are praying for your mom's health and the choice she has to make. We're praying for you too. And don't worry, we aren't the only ones praying. There are so many people who are praying for us, and for you too.

Dear Baby: #1 Introduction

2010-08-10T15:58:00.000-07:00

Dear Baby,
Let me introduce myself.. I am Russell and my wife is Meagan. We live in a house with 4 puppies and a kitty cat. Meagan teaches school, and I lead music at our church.

Our house is a nice small house in the city. It has a yard out back with a small garden, and a tree where I can put a swing. I think thought we'll have to save the swinging for sometime other than August, it's hot!!!

Inside the house we already have a room picked out for you! Right now there's not much in it but we are working on collecting a crib, dresser, toys and all the other stuff you will need.

The colors are brown and green. I hope you like them, but if not we can change them once you are old enough to tell us what colors you do like.

It seems kind of weird writing to you because we have no idea who you are, or when you will come to live with us. Just know this.. we are praying for you, we are praying for your birth mom and we can't wait till you come to live with us.

It's late so I'll say good night.
Love You

Visit to OKC

2010-08-03T20:59:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since the last post...this is in part due to a busy summer and also due to the fact that we are both procrastinators (yes, I admitted it!). The purpose of this blog is to take friends and family through our journey. In June, we took the first big step in that journey.

On June 10, we left Texarkana bound for Oklahoma City. The adoption agency we are using is in OKC and they require each couple to attend an adoption seminar. The seminar started on June 11th, but we went a day early to see the Oklahoma City Redhawks play.

The Redhawks are a AAA team in the Texas Rangers system. There was a great crowd that night and we had awesome seats (thanks to a friend of Russell's that used to work for the team.) During the 7th inning stretch, we got a big surprise. At Astros game, during the 7th inning stretch, everybody sings "Take me out to the Ballgame" and "Deep in the Heart of Texas." Well in Oklahoma, they sing "Oklahoma!" I sincerely wish I had a video of the guy standing on top of the dug out, dancing while singing. He was very amusing! After this, both of us were tired so we decided to call it a night. On our way out of Bricktown Ballpark, we got a quick picture of us in front of the

Mickey Mantle statue.

On Friday, we got to sleep late and left the hotel for a late lunch at a restaurant about half way between the hotel and the adoption agency. The seminar started at 4 pm, so we had a little time to kill. We ended up going to Target and PetSmart before heading to the agency. We really had no idea what to expect, how many people would be there with us, what information we would be given, etc. The seminar ended up being extremely helpful and it dismissed many of the fears we had. The seminar was from 4-9 Friday evening and 8:30-3:30 on Saturday. We were one of nine couples that were attending the seminar.

During the seminar, the agency staff cover topics including Legal Process, Grief & Loss, Creation of a Family, Attachment, Transracial Parenting, and Prenatal Exposures. The information was helpful, but by far the best part of the seminar was the panels of people that came and talked to us. The first panel was a group of birth moms. They each told their story and talked about the contact they have with the children they gave up for adoption. One mom had a very open adoption, while the others were semi-open or closed. Two of the moms placed their child up for adoption over 16 years ago, when every adoption was closed and just recently they have made contact with the adoptee.

The second panel were adult adoptees. They were all over 40 years of age and their birth mothers had given them up during a time when the moms did not even see the baby after birth. There was a screen put up during delivery. Each of them talked about their relationship with their adopted mother and their birth mother now.

The last panel was definitely the most entertaining! This was the panel of adopted families and the children were just precious. Each family told their story about the adoption process. The most interesting information we gleaned from the birth moms & the families was that the majority of them agreed on the hardest part of the whole process. Leaving the hospital.

Since it has almost been 2 months since the seminar, I have had time to try and comprehend all of the information. There was a ton of information fed to us in 12 hours. There were also many emotions to process.

Though it has been a seemingly slow journey for a while, things are beginning to gain momentum. The trip to Oklahoma was one step.. keep checking back for the steps to come.

Testing

2010-07-11T22:48:00.001-07:00

This is a Test

Posted via email from Russell and Meagan's Journey

Free Concerts and A CD

2010-06-07T22:47:00.000-07:00

When we first posted our news about adopting I mentioned something about a CD I would be doing. Here is the rest of the story.

For the past several years I have recorded several CDs. When I start the process my goal is to write music people like, that has a biblical message, and that is heavy in the use of the Piano.

I think have done a good job of the first two.. but it always seems that the songs that get chosen for recording are based on the guitar.... I wanted to change that.

This summer I am offering churches, youth groups, house bible studies and anyone else who will listen, a free night of music and worship. This will include congregational worship, original songs, and instrumental piano. The thing is, I'm leaving the guitar at home. Just me, the congregation, and a piano (or keyboard).

The entire evening will be recorded. At the end of the summer, or maybe early fall, I will collect all the recordings and compile them. Then I'll choose 10-15 of the best instrumental pieces for an instrumental piano CD.

When the CD is finished it will be made available for sale. The majority of the proceeds will help us in the adoption process. A portion of each CD, however, will go to help raise awareness about adoption, and to help others with the process.

If you are interested in helping you can do so in 4 ways:

1. Pray- Pray for us as we begin this journey, pray for families considering adoption, pray for children waiting to be adopted, pray for this CD and what God has in store.

2. Host a night of worship- My goal is to line up 15 worship events. These can be large church services, youth groups, retreats, or even home groups. My goal is to finish recording by the end of August. There is no cost for the event, I am only asking for a love offering to help with travel expenses.

3. Buy a CD when they come out. I’ll let you know when.

Our Journey Begins

2010-05-09T22:29:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

Life is a journey. It is a journey where the only thing you can really plan on, is that your plans will change. 5 years ago Meagan and I set out on a journey of our own. We got married, and planned on starting a family within a few years. A few years have come, and a few years have gone and we have not yet had the chance to begin this journey.

Someone once said that if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. We have come to realize that our plans, for the way we wanted things to be just might not be what God has planned for us. And as Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us, His plans are to prosper and not to harm, to give a hope and a future.

One thing that Meagan and I both said before we even got married is that at some point we wanted to adopt. In the past year we have had little hints, and reminders that have brought that thought back up to us. So in November of this past year we began the process.

We are only at the beginning stages of this journey. We have an orientation to go to, home study to be conducted and money to raise. We wanted to let you know now, because we ask for your prayers. Prayers that we are doing what God wants of us; prayers that financial and physical resources will be found; and prayers for the birthmother and child we hope to be connected with.

We also want you to pray for all those who are, like we were, being led to consider adopting. We want to use this blog not only to tell our story, our journey, but also to encourage those who will be embarking on this same journey soon. If you are considering adoption, ask questions, talk to us. We will try to post resources, stories and encouragement we receive along the way. If you have adopted, then feel free to offer your own stories, of joys, struggles, and experiences you have encountered on your own journey.

Finally, we want to encourage you to pray for all those children who are currently or will be put up for adoption for whatever reason, wherever in the world they are.

So that's about it. You'll hopefully be hearing from us on a regular basis. You'll hear about our trip for orientation with stories and photos; you will hear more about a live piano CD that Russell is recording this summer to help raise money and awareness for adoption; and you will hear about where we are and what else is going on.

We hope you will join us and pray for us as we begin this amazing journey.

Thank you and God Bless

Russell and Meagan Martin