Car Update

I just got a call from the clutch place, and after a second complete new clutch they think I am good to go. Turns out the original shop did a pretty bad job when they installed the first clutch. So the new shop has fixed it all up and I get my car back tonight!

As aggravating as this has all been I am so thankful the car held together until after Relay was over! Or, as Bob said, "I would be driving your a$$ everywhere!" I never would have been able to maintain the crazy Relay meeting schedule without my car!

Today - Mark and I are running some errands after picking up my car. It is not exciting I know, but we are looking forward to spending time together even if we are running around town looking for Hazelnuts!

Adoption - I have been reading a lot about bonding with our baby. Apparently it is something a lot of adopting couples worry about, it's not something I worried about until I read an article about how hard it may be for the baby to bond with us. I never once worried about us bonding with her, but I also never thought about what she may be going through. She is going to be hearing voices that sound nothing like the voice of the woman who was caring her for 9 months, she is going to be hearing the music we listen to and not the music she has been hearing for 9 months, we are even going to smell different than what she has been smelling for 9 months. (I had no idea babies could smell...but through the amniotic fluid and the umbilical cord they can indeed smell!) So not only is she going to be in a bit of shock being kicked out of the womb, but on top of it all she is going to be cared for by two people that are not the least bit familiar to her. Basically we are aliens in her mind...no wonder she may not want to bond with us. It is going to take some effort, but there are some things we can do to help. We can talk to the birth mother and find out what music she listened to a lot and play that (I hope it's not Acid Rock or Gangster Rap!) find out what kinds of food she eats and cook the same types of food so she has some familiar smells around her (please no liver or chicken gizzards!), lots of face time and cuddling are big as well. It may take some time on her part, but Mark and I are already so in love with her that I think we will be fine!