Reflecting Back On Her Birthday

When I have an opportunity to talk with friends and family, they are filled with alot of questions.  I thought it would be fun to have posts in which I will the answer the questions.  This would allow me to "reflect back" on the wonderful first days of our little Myla. 
In this post, I will reflect back on the day the she was born.  It was a day just like any other.  We had done a little more packing and organizing before dinner.  The three oldest children had places to go so Bryan thought it would be wise for me to go shopping all by myself to grab a few things we needed for the trip while he stayed home with the three little people.
I had just arrived at the mall and was making my way to the second store when I heard my phone ring.  I noticed it was the social worker over our adoption.  I was a little curious as to why she would be calling, but not nervous.  When I heard her voice, the nerves hit an all time high.  I had that feeling of sweat and heat radiate my body.  She had a voice of concern.
She proclaimed, "Gretchen, this is Ami.  Her birth mother wanted me to let you know that she is having an emergency c-section in a 1/2 hour."
"Oh, no! What happened!  I will miss the birth!  What should I do?  Oh, no!  I can't believe this," I managed to get out.
I quickly got off of the phone after I assured her I would call back when I knew when I could get out there.  I called Bryan while I ran through the mall crying.  I am sure I looked like a crazy women, but I was a mama who was missing the birth of her daughter.  I was missing out on being the first to hold, feed, care for and love her. 
Once I called our Consultant, Tracie Loux, and Courntie, our friend from Arizona,  I drove home in a blur.  I ran into the door and the Elliott version of "Home Alone" started.   Libby and I got the older kids home and we started the mad dash to pack every item we would need into the suitcases. 
I was sure that I would have to travel all by myself for no one would have a nonstop flight for 7 people, but we packed everyone just in case.The Lord blew us away by showing up in a huge way.  Our airline not only had a flight for me in the morning, but for the whole family.  Yes, the whole family.  They changed our flight from October 17th to October 11th for a really low switching fee of $300 for all of us combined.  It was a miracle.  We would all be there together. 
By 9:30, we were all packed.  Thank the Lord we had done alot of the packing earlier.  Now we just had to play the waiting game.  I hadn't heard if our baby was ok or better yet if she was even born.    I had no idea why they needed to take her early by emergency c-section.  Around 12:30 A.M., I received a call that our precious little girl was born at 5:38 (Arizona time).  She weighed in at 6 lbs 13 oz. and was 18.5 inches long.  Her AP GAR scores were 8 and 9.  The only other info about her  that I received was that she had a full head of black hair.  I could only imagine her beauty.
We tried to get a little sleep for we were leaving the house at 3:30 in the morning to catch our flight.  Sleep didn't come.  All I knew was that I needed to get there fast.  I needed to get that baby in my arms.  Praise God that she was here and she was well. 

Myla Haven Marie Elliott

What a whirlwind!  We have been living in a complete miracle.  I wanted to let you all know that all is well.  Actually, all is wonderful...perfect...amazing.  We are so blessed to have the gift of a life time in our arms.  I know that Michele did a wonderful job of introducing our little beauty.  Here are a few pictures to capture the last week and let you know the meaning of her name. 

Myla=Merciful



Haven=Place of Safety



Marie=Chosen Child



 

 



Elliott=Jehovah My God



She is a gift!



She is a miracle.
She is ours!!!

SHE IS HERE!!

Praise Him from whom all blessings flow!!

This is Michele ~Mama Bard guest posting for Gretchen and the Elliott Gang. We did not want you all to sit in anguish longing to see this precious one. Gretchen will give you her mama's heart version when she is able.

Until then, here is the scoop:

On October 10th, a sweet little one was born.

Weighing in at 6 pounds and 13 oz  and 18.5 inches of sweetness! Grab your tissues, she will squeeze your heart and is breath taking!

Here she is in all her sweetness....Myla Haven Marie Elliott

She is doing wonderfully, and all the family is rejoicing the Lord.  Mama and Dad are madly in love...

Gret, has lots of beautiful stories..and funny stories from the kiddos reactions. Be sure to follow along as the journey unfolds.

Please praise Him for his blessing and goodness that He alone has orchestrated.

Please continue to pray for the Elliott Gang. Please pray for their precious birth mama that they love so much.

They are so thankful for all of your prayers and support throughout this journey.

Is you would like to know you can jump into the journey and bless this sweet one. Here are some options!

They could use coupons for Similac (more details tbd)

We have been working on showering with the diapers and wipes :)

Finally, they have fees outstanding that you can always join with them, each gift is tax deductible

http://adopttogether.org/elliott/

Cinnamon Muffins

CINNAMON MUFFINS

Read more about it at www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,184,156179-244207,00.html Content Copyright © 2012 Cooks.com - All rights reserved. 1/2 c. butter 1 egg 1/4 c. honey 1/2 light brown sugar 1 1/2 c. fresh ground spelt flour 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. nutmeg 1/2 c. milk Mix together butter, egg and sugar. Stir in dry ingredients alternating with milk. Bake in greased muffin "tins" for 20 to 25 minutes at 350°F. CINNAMON MUFFIN TOPPING: 4 tbsp. butter, melted 3/4 c. sugar 1 tsp. cinnamon Dip muffins in butter and roll in cinnamon sugar.

Fresh Baked Spelt Bread and Mini Pizza Crust

Large Mixer Method: (yields 5-6 loaves)

2/3 C honey
2/3 C oil
6 C warm water
3 TB Saf Yeast
1 1/2 - 2 TB Real Salt
16-20 C fresh ground spelt flour

Combine the warm water, yeast, and 2 Cups of fresh whole spelt flour in a large mixing bowl. Allow to sponge for 15 minutes. Add the honey, oil, dough, salt and  if using a electric mixer  add  flour until the dough begins to clean the sides of the mixing bowl. Do not allow the dough to get too stiff (too dry). Dough should be smooth and elastic. It is a common mistake for the beginning bakers to add too much flour.

Knead the bread by hand 7-10 minutes or until it is very smooth, elastic, and small bubbles or blisters appear beneath the surface of the dough. Five minutes of kneading by electric mixer should be sufficient to develop the gluten if you are using fresh flour. If you are kneading by hand, be sure to add the minimum amount of flour to keep the dough soft and pliable by using a tsp of oil on your hands and kneading surface.

Form the dough into 5-6 loaves if using electric mixer method. Place the dough into greased loaf pans. Allow to rise in a slightly warmed oven or other warm place until doubled in size (about 30-60 minutes).

Bake loaves for 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Bread is cooked through when it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, and when the top and sides are a golden brown color.

We were able to make and freeze 20 personal size pizza crust and two loaves of bread with this recipe.  I love the personal size crust for they are easy to freeze and everyone loves to make their own pizzas.

We wait and prepare

We have  two weeks before our little one will be born. 
Crazy, but true. 
We are at the waiting stage of the game. 
Our c-section is scheduled for OCTOBER 22.
What does an Elliott do while waiting? 
What every mother does as she waits for the birth of her baby...she prepares.
Last week, we packed our bags just in case our sweetie comes early.
We had a huge cleaning day.  The kids loved that:)
This week our mission is baking and freezing.  I thought I would share a few of our favorite freezer recipes as I wait.

FEAR

Fear

 

I am having a day of fear.  I hate to admit it, but it is present non the less.  Due to the fact that adoption is a journey into the unknown, many friends and family have given me this scripture throughout the past few months:

 

^{Isaiah 41:10}

 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

 

I need to cling to his righteous right hand. 

I need to be renewed by his strength.

I need to embrace his help.

 

Pray for my fear:

1.  I have fear of a disrupted adoption.

2.  I have fear of not being there at the time of her birth.

3.  I have fear that we will not be able to get a plane ticket when needed.

4.  I have fear that she will not be healthy enough to come home.

 

Philippians 4:6 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.