Showing posts with label adoption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adoption. Show all posts

1.17.2014

That Song

4:03 PM Posted by nick mucci , , , , No comments
Eli: Dad, can you play that song?

Me: Going to have to be a bit more specific buddy.

Eli:  The dying for a thousand years song.

Me:  Yeah bud.

We love that song in our family.  I first heard the song, not on the soundtrack for the teenage sci-fi drama about those adorable vampires and werewolves...but as a part of a Welcome Home Adoption special.  I'm a fan of Christina Perri...yeah, i said it, so what; she has a great voice...and as I watched the special and the images of families formed through adoption, tears of joy rolled down my cheeks.  What joy, what words, what a story and picture it paints of the reality of so many families created through adoption.  Of the longing of the parents to give of themselves and the longing of the children to know they are beautiful and made perfectly!  It encapsulates so much of the emotion Mandy and I felt as we waited on that couch for the boys to make their way downstairs to meet these strangers; these people that their loving Foster Parents had been showing them pictures of and calling them 'Mom' and 'Dad'.  So when I played that song on repeat so much, the kids asked us why we loved it so much.

We could barely get through it as we explained and listened to the song again.  The longing described and fulfilled in song is something that I know is possessed by all of us, not just those touched by adoption.  And while we continue to teach our kids the reality of our Father and King being the true fulfillment of that longing; I'm grateful that my 5 year old recognizes, appreciates, and feels the depth of love that went into creating our family.  He truly loves this song, we'll listen to it and he'll sing it the rest of the day.  This lil man understands the power that can flow from music.

So as I made the kids breakfast, listening to some of my music...let me tell you how much i loved hearing Eli ask out of the blue to hear this song.

"It's about becoming a family, Dad.  It's about loving and adoption."

Yeah bud.

"Why does she say she is dying?"

It's a metaphor bud.  She is describing how badly she was waiting and how much love she had to share and how she believes that the one she loves is the one she was always meant to love and now that they are together they can love each other.

"Oh...


Dad, I like this song."

Me too bud.

12.09.2009

daddy's right here

1:51 PM Posted by nick mucci , , , 1 comment
'our friend is here.  she came to see all of us.  but we're not leaving.  mommy and daddy are staying.  daddy is going to be with you and you are going to stay with daddy. you're not going anywhere.  daddy is right here.'

this is the prep we give to our kids whenever we have visitors come by.  i get to about eye level, get real close, grab a hand and begin to speak.  he'll make eye contact, listen intently, and sometimes he'll become fixated on a task so as to focus his energy, fear, whatever it may be...sometimes freedom comes.  he is free to live, free to laugh and play and show off.  its amazing the difference between then and when the reassurance isn't there.

i must say i am blown away at the difference in me when i don't allow my Father's reassurance to be present in my heart and life.  things get busy, i don't stay close...maybe i try to go with those 'friends'...and because i've done my own thing, my own way and tried to find my own path on this adventure, i forget, i forget that my Father is present; always, by my side, doing all that is possible to assure me that i can be free, free to live, to laugh and love and play and maybe even show off a bit.  what kills me is when i 'try to get back' to the Almighty's side, i feel like i somehow have to earn my adoption rights; as if i had earned them in the first place, or as if it has anything to do with me.  i'm so thankful for a God that is present....

...boys, you never, ever have to earn your adoption rights, nothing you can do will ever, EEEEVER take my heart away from you, i am here, i always will be, no matter where you go, what you do, how high you climb, i will be here with you.

12.02.2009

highlights from our first week

8:44 AM Posted by nick mucci 1 comment
so the boys have been here a week, here's some highlights...

Richard's got the look...this look that says, you know i'm cute, so you know I'm going to try and get away with everything, in fact, i might be getting away with something right now and you don't even know, you are SOOO outmatched parental units...he tilts his head down and looks up with a sly smile, oh boy...

Dominick loves everything, Mandy already wrote about this on our adoption blog, but he loves everything, including:
- Richard's shoes on
- Bubbles
- Daddy getting a drink
- the dog outside

Diapers are AWESOME! whenever we change them, finding that it was only number one is like finding a dollar on the ground outside...yes...and if we find it is number two, well that dollar was attached to a string and some big bully is at the other end ready to throw a pile of number two in your face...yeah, that's about right...

skype is saving my sadness from my family not being here to meet the boys, of course, now Dominick thinks everyone on skype is Grammie, but, I guess that's ok...

bedtime is rough and beautiful at the same time, last night i got to rub Dom's head, and whisper about how much I love him and how Jesus loves him and how happy I was that Jesus brought us together...and he just looked at my eyes and drank his cup as he slowly began to fall asleep...

i love these boys. i have to be honest, this whole adoption process has brought a new dimension to my understanding of my adoption through Christ. I think I've written about this before...at any rate, to realize and believe that I have been adopted, that I have been chosen (no matter how Calvinist that sounds) has brought such a deeper love and affection from and for my God. Thank you Jesus...

11.18.2009

it's on like donkey kong

10:11 PM Posted by nick mucci , , No comments
so, most of you have heard...mandy and i were chosen and given the privilege, honor, gift of parenting two little boys...brothers...insanity...

i cannot even begin to share the level of excitement that was followed by tears of joy, followed by tears of being overwhelmed by grace, followed by the inevitable deer in the headlights...and some serious joy again!!! i can't believe this, but its on, trucks and cars...its on. mud fights...its on. food out the ying-yang...its on. football...its SO on. i cannot wait to take them to a football game, a monster truck rally, all you can eat Chinese buffet.

and i cannot wait to introduce them to our family...not mom and dad (although i'm stoked, and a lil bummed it'll be through skype)...but the koinoniaPDX family, they are so excited with us, and so many of them know how they will get to be a part of these boys lives for a loooooooooooooong time.

as far as pictures of the boys go...they're coming, have to stay within the realm of legality and safety, so not yet...but they're coming. be praying for this time of transition....this is gonna be fun...

10.20.2009

adoption update

6:56 AM Posted by nick mucci , No comments
Here's the latest post on the adoption blog from Mandy...

you know, as I shared with the family last sunday, this whole process...especially last monday...has really increased my awareness of my own adoption in Christ. to be chosen without having done anything to deserve it; and to be loved for nor good reason other than love is who God is...i'm so unworthy...

...thank You for loving me

4.08.2009

next steps...

4:17 PM Posted by nick mucci , , 5 comments
state mandated trainin to be certified adoptive parent...done!  we are done, praise the Lord, I can't believe this is happening though :)  i'm gonna be a daddy...i could be a daddy of a 6 mo old, a daddy of a 2 yr old, or a daddy of a 6 year old sometime in the next 5-7 mos (i'm being optimistic)...

...insanity!  we've got a meeting next week, on Monday, with our adoption worker.  she comes recommended from good friends, so we are so excited that we get to work with her.  what a blessing it is going to be.  the next steps in the process are going to paced based (that rhymes), paced based on our ability to pay her fees...praise God its not nearly as high as in private agencies, but its still a fair amount.  (if you are interested in helpin us out, check out our adoption blog, click the image on the right over there, we've got different ways...unless you read this on facebook then go to http://muccifamily.blogspot.com )...

the stickers we ordered to sell to help raise the funds should be in sometime in the next week and we cannot WAIT to be able to start sellin those so we can move forward.  we've also got a garage sale thing going on with Mandy's fam to help raise money.  her folks have been wonderful, they each raided their personal belongings to sell things for us.  as momma Z said, "it could sit here, or go to help support my grandchild, hmmm"  she's wonderful!

i cannot wait to be a dad, i've shared on here before my excitement, but really, i can't wait...to have the opportunity to love and care for a child is quite possibly the greatest gift anyone could ever imagine...i can't wait to be called daddy for the first time (i'm smilin right now)...

...i'm not lookin forward to the first time i have to discipline, to the first time they say they are mad at me...mandy thinks i'll be a softee, maybe...

for those parents who read this, how about a story about being a mom or dad for those who might not read your blogs or notes?  much love everyone

(don't forget to check out our adoption blog http://muccifamily.blogspot.com )

3.13.2009

i love it when they call me big papa...

11:01 PM Posted by nick mucci , , 3 comments
...throw your hands in the air, cause ima be a daddy... (i know, context of the song doesn't translate)

mandy and i are over half way to becoming certified adoptive parents!  sometime in the next year we will be adopting.  check out our new family blog, where we've put all kinds of info about our journey!

i personally am stoked...mandy is too...i'm excited, nervous, all that stuff that would be expected.  i've looked forward to bein a dad for a while, what an amazing privilege this is going to be. anyway, many more stories and stuff to come, i'm just stoked, and i'm glad we've hit that point where we can tell everyone!  haha, wahoo...i love it when they call me big papa...