Firefly – 1 Month Old

06/30/2014

Could you pray for our little Firefly today? He has a hearing this afternoon that will determine whether he stays in foster care for now or goes home to his biological parents. Please pray for wisdom and discernment for the magistrate, and peace and patience for his parents.

IMG_5515

Firefly turned 1 month old last week! Baby boy is eating well and growing fast (though still tiny and still not to his due date). Around the start of his 4th week he discovered his voice and started experimenting with crying. He doesn’t cry much, thankfully. He’s a very peaceful and pleasant baby. In fact, around the start of his 4th week he also started smiling! It’s not terribly uncommon for babies to smile at 4 weeks but with him being so premature, I’m especially surprised and impressed. The first time he did it I was saying, “Do you know how loved you are!” He’s now smiling quite often when he hears our voices or tickle his chin(s) and of course, the reflex smiles too. He likes to be swaddled. He’s doing well with tummy time. I’m doing just a couple minutes at a time so he can get used to the position but since he falls asleep quickly, he doesn’t stay on his belly too long. He often rolls onto his side to sleep and loves to have his hands up by his face.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned previously that Firefly is half-Hispanic, however he looks like he could be Jason’s biological son with reddish blond hair and very fair skin. We lovingly call him our little red-headed Mexican. Our daughter is also half-Hispanic so that’s kind of fun. I’m wondering if that played some part in him getting placed with us; perhaps we came up in their system as a match because we have another Hispanic child. But, as mentioned, they look nothing alike. Alianna is completely smitten with him (just like us) and is being an awesome big sister. She loves to pet his head and snuggle up next to him. She talks to him and kisses his cheeks and he smiles.

IMG_5514

The Brachiosaurus is one of Jason’s Definitely Dinosaurs from his childhood collection, for scale. I’m hoping I can use it to show his growth every month.

signature

2 Comments | Family, Family: Firefly, Family: Foster Parenting | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Phone Photo Friday

06/27/2014

2014-6-27

signature

Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: Phone Photo Friday | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

11th Anniversary Squirrel Buster

06/26/2014

We celebrated BIG last anniversary with a trip to Naples and Key West for 10 days, including snorkeling in a coral reef—the highlight of the trip. Father’s Day, our anniversary, my (30th!) birthday all fall within 5 days of each other. Combine that with newborn baby induced sleep-depravation and schedule-juggling and… This year I ordered a bird feeder. To celebrate our 11 years of blissful matrimony, we have a Brome 1015 Squirrel Buster Classic hanging outside our living room window. (Using this bracket.) It really is a gift to both of us, our whole family, as we’ve already been seeing lots of birds frequenting the feeder and we can see it from the dining room table and from the living room (where I’ve been sitting a lot to feed Firefly.)

IMG_5315 IMG_5384

IMG_5493

IMG_5499

It’s pretty cool how this works. It has a spring mechanism that closes up all the feed openings if a squirrel-weight animal clings to it. But for bird-weight animals, there are several openings for seeds. The birds are dropping a lot on the ground, though, so the squirrels are still happy.

signature

1 Comment | Art, Art: gardening, Art: God's creation, Art: modern design, Family | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Courtyard Deck and Built-in Bench

06/25/2014

I gave a little sneak peek of this project on Friday. Jason recently constructed this bench and deck into our courtyard. This is the main entrance into our home, a private garden space that’s secluded from the street and neighbors. It’s a lovely space to sit and it just got better! We still need to add some cushions but we’re enjoying it already.

IMG_5287 IMG_5296

IMG_5439 IMG_5434 IMG_5437

IMG_5305 IMG_5308

signature

2 Comments | Art, Art: gardening, Art: modern design | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Baby Inspired DIY

06/24/2014

I’ve been storing an olive green sheet for years, planning to sew it into a baby sling. Slings are great for a tiny newborn, which we’ve never had until now. In fact, Firefly is too small for our Infantino baby carrier or Moby wrap (or the ErgoBaby carrier I’m drooling over!). I found this sling tutorial via Pinterest and whipped up a sling for Firefly one Saturday afternoon. It’s perfect for him and I love the color.

IMG_5334

While I had the sewing machine pulled out, I decided to sew some baby tube socks and mittens for the little guy using upcycled old socks. His little hands and feet are so small that baby mittens and socks dangle off of him. I used this trusty tutorial from Made By Joel, the same one I used 3 years ago for baby Alianna.

IMG_5346 IMG_5352

I love these ones made from a pair of Jason’s socks that got holes in the bottom. Baby business man socks. I’m tempted to pull socks out of Jason’s sock drawer to makes some more…

I spent another afternoon nap time sewing Firefly some baby pants from shirt sleeves. (Just like these upcycled pants like these I made for Ali.) They’re fairly easy and free if you have some old sweaters, sweatshirts or long-sleeve shirts you don’t need anymore. Jason had a striped hoodie that shrank in the wash—so much that it didn’t even fit me. I’ve been hanging onto it for such a time as this. I made Firefly some pants with room to grow since they’re really too warm for summer in Nashville. I also made him some lightweight pants from two gray long-sleeve t-shirts that I was no longer wearing. Since the pants turned out pretty well and I still had a lot of shirt leftover, I made him a hat and a pair of simple tube socks. The socks are perfect for his tiny feet but I’m guessing they’ll only fit for a couple weeks until his legs get more chubby. I’m glad I didn’t have to spend a penny on them.

IMG_5430 IMG_5429

IMG_5431

IMG_5441

signature

3 Comments | Art, Art: crafts, Family, Family: Firefly | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Adopting From Foster Care – What is it Really Like?

06/23/2014

I read this article recently and thought you might enjoy it too.

Adopting from Foster Care – What is it Really Like?

Here’s a snippet:

Adoption is born of loss. As wonderful and beautiful and amazing as adoption is, it starts with a loss, especially in foster care. A mother and father lost their children. Grandparents lost their grandchildren. Siblings are separated. My children lost countless family members, most of whom they will never see again.

signature

1 Comment | Family, Family: Adoption, Family: Foster Parenting | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Phone Photo Friday

06/20/2014

2014-6-20

signature

Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: Phone Photo Friday | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Two weeks of Firefly

06/19/2014

It doesn’t seem possible but the calendar cannot be denied: it’s been two weeks since little preemie Firefly was delivered to our house. He is a joy and a delight, a bringer of light into our home. He’s steadily gaining weight, sleeping well and staying healthy—that’s all he needs to do right now. He’s eating on a 3-hour schedule. Jason and I have worked out a lovely system where Jason stays up until 2:30am to finish the last feeding and I get up at 5:00am to give him his first bottle of the day. We’re like ships passing in the night but it’s “teamwork at its finest” as my friend Leslie put it. We’re a bit tired but all in all things are going really well at home. I wish I could talk more about his case but of course the details of that are confidential. I’ll say this, he’s secure in our home until the next court date, June 30, for sure. That’s all I know at this point, though we and every DCS worker have opinions and gut feelings on what we think will happen. He’s our fifth placement and I’m amazed at how different each of the cases have been.

Alianna is absolutely loving having baby boy around the house. She’s convinced his name should be Donut. Sometimes she calls him Baby Bwudder. The other day Jason and I were working on a chicken-related project outside. Ali was with us and Firefly was in his crib. Ali slipped back into the house and when we went to find her she was IN his crib with him, just lying next to him and “petting” his head, as she loves to do. She’s on the brink of three-years-old so we’re still having to remind her often to be gentle with his head, not to touch his mouth or try to open his eyes, etc. But, I have to say, she’s being so sweet and mature with him. She’s come along way since November when 6-month-old Bee arrived at our house. (Ali was 2 years, 4 months at the time.) It’s really special to see their bond and I do hope he sticks around for a while. We all love him a lot.

IMG_5369 IMG_5395

signature

1 Comment | Family, Family: Firefly | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

A Blessing From Above

06/18/2014

ablessingfromabove

This book (A Blessing from Above) really hit home when I was reading it to Alianna just a few hours after we talked to her biological mom on the phone. I’m so thankful I was positioned to catch my Little One when she fell out of her Mama’s nest and I’m grateful I have her blessing.

signature

Leave a Comment » | Faith, Family, Family: Adoption, Family: Foster Parenting, Family: Precious/Ali | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Monday Blog Tour

06/16/2014

My friend Katey over at Sweet Goings invited me to do a Monday blog tour. I’m not sure where the idea originated but you can trace it back to her blog and one she links to and the one before that an so on. I’m honored she picked me for the next tour. Let’s get this party started…

What am I working on? 

It’s Sunday afternoon and I’ve spent the weekend keeping two little people alive, which included getting up at 11, 2, 5 and 8 to feed a teeny tiny newborn. Usually Jason does those first two and I do the second two but he’s a touring musician and he was gone for two nights. He’s back in town but currently out at his favorite store, the garden center, taking advantage of their Father’s Day sale. Both little people are napping and I probably should be too. In my dreams I’m a stay-at-home mom to our sweet babies but in real life I work full time as a graphic designer. I write whenever I have a few spare minutes and I schedule my posts for the following morning.

How does my work differ from others in its genre?

I’m going to assume this question is referring to my blog. I started this blog five years ago when Jason and I were childless and we spent our free time collecting vintage treasures to fill our little mid-century modern ranch. We’d scour thrift stores, estate sales and yard sales looking for neglected valuables that we could score on the cheap, restore and use or sell. A little over three years ago we decided to become foster parents. My blog split to both topics for a while, as did our time. Once we got into the deep waters of parenting, and specifically foster parenting, our time for our interior design hobby decreased and as a result I write mostly about family, fostering and adoption on here now. Restoration is a recurring theme through myMCMlife.

Why do I write what I do?  I love to write. My memory isn’t super sharp so I love to keep records through journals, sketchbooks and blogging. Back when I was blogging about interior design, a comment from a reader led me back to her blog where she chronicled her and her husband’s experiences as foster and then adoptive parents. Discovering her blog was a big nudge toward foster parenting, a topic that I had already been secretly researching for a few months. Reading general information about a topic is nothing compared to reading about someone’s personal experience. I write about my family’s experiences in hopes that it is meaningful to someone else out there, and specifically I hope that God would use our story to make more foster and adoptive parents.

Screen Shot 2014-06-15 at 4.22.16 PM

How does my writing process work? 

Ideally, when inspiration strikes, I stop what I’m doing and start writing. I think my best posts have come out that way. If I can’t stop to write, I make myself notes for things I want to return to when I have more time. Other times I just sit down in front of this WordPress screen and start writing, hoping something coherent comes out and that it wraps up into some sort of revelation by the end.

Who’s next? I’m supposed to pick someone to go next but I’m clueless. If you blog and want to go next, please do it and let me know, OK? I think it’s time for that nap.

Thank you again for inviting me to do this tour, Katey! I just discovered your blog a few months ago and it became an instant favorite.

signature

5 Comments | Art | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

« Previous Entries