Belly love, couch time, baby love, and Scategories! (TX post #2)

So after the doctor dropped the bomb on us that D would need to be on strict bed rest until further notice we needed to come up with a different plan for the weekend. D and T offered us to spend our days/evenings at their house! We were so excited!!! We hugged goodnight with a promise to see each other in the morning. Hated leaving her side.

We then headed to see our new friends Briana & Noel and their precious son Hunter. These folks are so wonderful! They completely understood that we were running behind and they acted like it was no big deal that we finally made it to their house at 8:30pm! Instantly felt welcome in their home and loved the fact that I was handed their son shortly after walking through their front door. Oh how precious he is! What a blessing to their family! Since they have recently adopted through the same agency they have been so helpful and encouraging! They took us to Big Lou's which I mentioned in the previous post. It was awesome! And we were starving!!!!! We went back to their house and even though we had been up since 4:30 that morning we manged to hang out and visit until nearly 2am. Love these folks! Good Christian couple who could not love their child anymore than they already do. It is beautiful. Their journey to Hunter was long and rocky but so worth it when he joined their family. I can't wait to watch him grow. They gave us Hunter's room for the weekend and he stayed in their room. They even had a wrapped gift for Caleb, a beautiful "C" hanging from a ribbon that Briana made for his room. Love it!

Saturday we woke to a great breakfast cooked by Noel and we so enjoyed our time visiting around their table! They encouraged us to spend as much time with D & T and not to worry about them. They really are that wonderful! That morning I received a text from D that her blood pressure had shot back up after her shower but after sitting for a while it went back down. Hmm, we all started to believe that maybe the doctor was on to something and it wasn't a fluke! We went to Wal-mart to stock up on magazines and chocolate for D since  it seemed that she would be confined to bed or recliner for weeks and then we were on our way to their house.

They have a lovely home, very neat and clean and welcoming. Over the next 2 days we laughed and talked and laid on their couch.






Introducing my sweet D. Isn't she lovely? Oh, and how about that beautiful round belly..introducing Caleb Alexander. :)




Just love her.



We played Scatagories...this resulted in lots of laughter!



We took pretty smiley pics




We sent our men out for lunch and dinner, moved to the kitchen to eat, then back to the living room.





We played with Cat who I tried sooo hard to come over to me!



Our husbands posed for silly photos

Ever see the album of scary family photos on TV recently? This was their rendition. haha

I have no idea what my sweater is doing in this picture.....but it is the best one of the 3 of us, so I will love it always!

We took more funny shots....

And our own intentional rendition of scary family photo... she is a real pro at this, look at those eyes! I couldn't stop smirking!

We also spent time looking over scrapbooks and photo albums, from childhood vacations to honeymoon and beyond. Loved sharing their life. Then D gave us a most special gift for Caleb. She gave us her receiving blanket from the day she was born and also one of her childhood bears. How precious is that? I don't know how I managed to not ball up and cry my face off. She also gave Caleb two stuffed lions for his nursery. I think I mentioned in an earlier post that she had read that when lionesses in the wild are unable to care for their young due to sickness or whatever reason, they will befriend another lioness and place the cub with them. Love it! I also came home with a couple of baby pictures of D. These things are priceless. This weekend is something I will carry with me always. I think we all needed it. No matter what our future relationship looks like, this weekend was a gift. And we will cherish it forever.

I think the greatest compliment was the statement that they wished we had all met under different circumstances because they knew we would all be great friends. We feel the same way. God is so good!

Sunday at 3pm came way to early. We hugged, as much as we could. No goodbyes because we knew we would see each other in just a few months. But it was hard. Knowing that she has to sit in a recliner or couch and grow Caleb makes me wish I could do it for her. We know and trust that this is all part of the bigger plan. The plan that was written so long ago. To watch it unfold piece by piece is life altering and not just because a baby will soon be born. God is so faithful. His love and grace never fail. He never leaves us or forsakes us. I have learned so much through this journey and I will never be an eloquent writer but I hope anyone reading this will truly get the gist of our story. Every day that passes, my little infertile heart is being remade. The sorrow and pain from a decade of being infertile is being replaced with hope and thankfulness. We have so much to be thankful for in just this weekend!


Thankful for:
safe travels
Careful doctors
Watchful hospitals
Husbands who love their wives
New friends who go out of their way to welcome us and make us comfortable and who also offered their home again when we return for delivery!!
Friendship
Healing
Laughter
Brisket - hahaha
Family who will take care of things at home while we are away
Amber...whose excitement has reduced her to squeals and tears many times lately
An agency that does a phenomenal job
A church family that I know lifts our adoption up faithfully!


And so much more! We made it home Monday morning around 2am after a long delay in Charlotte, NC. Least it was on the way home and not on the way to TX!


As of this afternoon - D's BP is still fluctuating but under the really dangerous mark. Her doctor has said that she will not allow her to go past the 37week mark, which moves our due to March 7th! If her BP elevates to a certain level then it will be before that date. Please pray specifically for D's health, Caleb's growth, and all aspects of this process.


**Just so there is no question, D allowed all pics in this blog to be shared, so now you have a beautiful face to go with the name you have been praying for**