Monday, April 23, 2012
Can you imagine?
Can you imagine this life? Loving a teenager enough to open your homes and hearts to be a forever family. Can you imagine being the teenager and finally have a family to call your own? There are beautiful special people that live this every day. This video is really sweet. Enjoy.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
What I have learned....
The last 6 weeks an 6 days have taught me plenty. Here are a few.....
I never knew that I would use the word "poop" so many times a day. As a verb "Come on budy, go poop" Attached to adjectives "It's green, brown, mustard yellow poop" As a noun "I think I smell poop"
I never knew I would worry so much, "Is he hot?" "Is he too cool?" "Is he eating too much?" "Is he eating too little?"
I never knew that even with the worrying that after a few weeks, things come really naturally.
I never knew how much healing could come from a crying, pooping, sleeping, smiling, playing, ten pound miracle.
I never knew how my heart would fill to capacity when my son smiles at me.
I never knew that I would use the word "poop" so many times a day. As a verb "Come on budy, go poop" Attached to adjectives "It's green, brown, mustard yellow poop" As a noun "I think I smell poop"
I never knew I would worry so much, "Is he hot?" "Is he too cool?" "Is he eating too much?" "Is he eating too little?"
I never knew that even with the worrying that after a few weeks, things come really naturally.
I never knew how much healing could come from a crying, pooping, sleeping, smiling, playing, ten pound miracle.
I never knew how my heart would fill to capacity when my son smiles at me.
I never knew how proud I would be to see Amber with her "bubba" :)
I never knew that I could look back at our homecoming photos and still cry in amazement and thankfulness.
I never knew how much more I could miss my Daddy. He loved kids, especially enjoyed the little ones that were born in our family the year he passed away. He would be one proud Grandpa Kenny.
These are just some of the things I have learned over the last (almost) 7 weeks. I have no doubt I have many many more things to learn.
Friday, April 6, 2012
One Month!!!!
I know all new moms say this, but when Caleb turned one month old today, I could hardly believe it! Where has this month gone??? One month ago, on a Monday morning, we received a call that a woman had given birth to a healthy baby boy and she wanted to place him for adoption. We were told that our profile, among others, would be shown to her that day. And then we waited.......2 very long days to see if we had been picked. On that Wednesday afternoon, we received the call that change our lives forever. She wanted us to parent her son! We flew out on the first plane out and spent the next nine days loving on our beautiful boy while waiting to hear we could return to NC. We finally returned to NC on March 16th and had the most amazing homecoming! We have now been home 20 days and are continuing to settle into a routine and our new life as a family of four.
Caleb had his one month check-up today to include a Hep B shot, which he took pretty well. He was a little offended but quickly forgot about it.
Here are big man's stats for one month!
Weight - 9lb 11oz! (birth weight was 7lbs7oz)
Height - 20 3/4 inches (birth length was 19in)
Head circumference - 15 inches
He is still eating every two hours and occasionally will stretch it to 3 hours and on a very rare occasion he made it over four hours, but only once or twice.
He eats at least 2 oz at every feeding and if he can manage to stay awake he might can be persuaded to drink 3oz.
We have been asked more than once if he sleeps through the night....is that even possible at this age? Plus, this man likes to eat to much for that!
He is on "grazing" kick right now......eat an ounce, sleep fifteen minutes, eat another ounce, sleep some more.....eat some more, sleep an hour.....that really makes for a LONG night! LOL
He is so strong with holding his head up for longer periods of time now. He loves to gaze into our faces and has started making the sweetest little sounds occasionally. He waves his hands and kicks his feet like crazy now, it is so fun to watch.
So far, none of his long hair has fallen out *fingers crossed*
Thank you sweet baby boy for rocking our world in the most wonderful way!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Today is a special day in our blog! We have a guest blogger! A very PROUD big sister Amber!
Hey everyone how are you? I am soooooooooo happy that my mom and dad got me a brother. I do help allot. i have only changed 2 diapers and a bunch of bottles. I am really glad that I have a brother now. Even though he might cry a little bit it doesn't bother me one bit. Thank you everyone for following this blog I know how much It means to my mom about the baby and thank you for all your prayers. The End.
Hey everyone how are you? I am soooooooooo happy that my mom and dad got me a brother. I do help allot. i have only changed 2 diapers and a bunch of bottles. I am really glad that I have a brother now. Even though he might cry a little bit it doesn't bother me one bit. Thank you everyone for following this blog I know how much It means to my mom about the baby and thank you for all your prayers. The End.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Caleb's birth parents
Hi! So I'm finally getting around to updating the blog again. I will try to make more frequent posts, we are just still getting settled into a routine (sort of), and have been blessed with lots of visitors. I promised I would write a post about Caleb's birth parents. So here goes....
We don't have much information on them, only a few pages of self disclosed info in their own handwriting. And since this match occurred so quickly we did not have months and months to build a relationship. Although, this match could have been different than our first match and they might not have wanted a relationship with us. Either way, I am grateful for the info we do have on them and the single picture of Caleb's first parents S. and E. The picture was taken in the hospital after delivery and what struck me first is that they were both smiling. S. is 5'3 blond hair, blue eyed, attractive 23 year old with shoulder length hair and freckles dotting her cheeks and nose. E. is 6'1, 24 years old with dark hair and eyes. Caleb's pretty complexion and dark features is compliments of his birth father being Hispanic. I can't wait to see how my beautiful son tans in the Summer.
S. and E. love each other greatly and were high school sweethearts. S. loves to draw and dance while E. loves to play the guitar and write music. So Caleb may inherit some artistic genes. S. loves math while E. excelled in History. (Both of Jeff's faves) S. is left handed (like me) while E. is right handed (like Jeff). They have 3 children together, ages 4,3,2 so yes, this means that Caleb has 3 full bio siblings. They must really love Caleb to choose adoption. I can't imagine how hard that decision was. They had already left the hospital when we arrived but the nurses told us that S. and E. both said their goodbyes to baby boy. They chose to give him a life with two parents who could provide for him and meet his every need. They loved him enough to choose us to be his parents. They have asked for a closed adoption, and we will respect that. The agency requires us to send monthly photos for the next six months, and these will be stored at the agency if S. and E. would like to receive them.
I wonder daily how they are doing. We do know S. called the agency a couple of days after placement to see how things had gone for us. They asked if we were excited and the social worker assured her we were beyond excited.
One day maybe we will get the chance to meet them or one day maybe Caleb would like to know more about them and seek them out. We would definitely support him in that and help him in any way. As I am rocking him to sleep in his nursery I tell him about his first Mommy, how she loved him so much. How we prayed and prayed for him and how God gave her the strength to choose us to raise him. He will know the sacrifices they made to ensure that he had the life they wanted him to have.
We don't have much information on them, only a few pages of self disclosed info in their own handwriting. And since this match occurred so quickly we did not have months and months to build a relationship. Although, this match could have been different than our first match and they might not have wanted a relationship with us. Either way, I am grateful for the info we do have on them and the single picture of Caleb's first parents S. and E. The picture was taken in the hospital after delivery and what struck me first is that they were both smiling. S. is 5'3 blond hair, blue eyed, attractive 23 year old with shoulder length hair and freckles dotting her cheeks and nose. E. is 6'1, 24 years old with dark hair and eyes. Caleb's pretty complexion and dark features is compliments of his birth father being Hispanic. I can't wait to see how my beautiful son tans in the Summer.
S. and E. love each other greatly and were high school sweethearts. S. loves to draw and dance while E. loves to play the guitar and write music. So Caleb may inherit some artistic genes. S. loves math while E. excelled in History. (Both of Jeff's faves) S. is left handed (like me) while E. is right handed (like Jeff). They have 3 children together, ages 4,3,2 so yes, this means that Caleb has 3 full bio siblings. They must really love Caleb to choose adoption. I can't imagine how hard that decision was. They had already left the hospital when we arrived but the nurses told us that S. and E. both said their goodbyes to baby boy. They chose to give him a life with two parents who could provide for him and meet his every need. They loved him enough to choose us to be his parents. They have asked for a closed adoption, and we will respect that. The agency requires us to send monthly photos for the next six months, and these will be stored at the agency if S. and E. would like to receive them.
I wonder daily how they are doing. We do know S. called the agency a couple of days after placement to see how things had gone for us. They asked if we were excited and the social worker assured her we were beyond excited.
One day maybe we will get the chance to meet them or one day maybe Caleb would like to know more about them and seek them out. We would definitely support him in that and help him in any way. As I am rocking him to sleep in his nursery I tell him about his first Mommy, how she loved him so much. How we prayed and prayed for him and how God gave her the strength to choose us to raise him. He will know the sacrifices they made to ensure that he had the life they wanted him to have.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Another long update post - Homecoming
Hi ya'll! Hope you haven't given up on another post, things have been a little busy :) And I wouldn't have it any other way. Honestly, I have no idea how the hours slip by one by one so quickly. In between two hour feedings, changing, laundry, dishes, snuggling, staring, kisses, rocking, singing, and melting over and over, there definitely needs to be more hours in a day.
Ok, so let me back up. On Thursday of last week, we had been in TX for 8 days and although we were having a great time with our friends and loving on our baby, we were so ready to be home. Skyping was only getting us by on a thread, my family was so ready to hold Caleb in their arms. Thursday afternoon I called the agency and they informed me that they had not heard anything yet but promised to let us know as soon as they did. In our paperwork, they specifically said NOT to call our home state to check if paperwork had been received. Well.....I don't always play by the rules......so I called Raleigh DSS, and was transferred to the Interstate Compact Dept. and after answering some questions, the rep was able to confirm that they had received our file and that a caseworker was reviewing it, but that it still needed to be sent back to TX. We were ok with this news, just relieved they had actually received it already from TX. Well, about 30 minutes later I received a phone call from the adoption agency Director. My first thought was that I was about to get reprimanded for calling our state office. LOL But, nope, she was calling to let us know that we were approved to go home!!!!!! Yipeeeeeee
We already missed the flight home, so we would be leaving on Friday at 1pm and arriving home about 7:30pm! We quickly called our parents and I jumped on the laptop to order airline tix for the flight home. Baby boy could have been a lap baby for free, but we really wanted him to be able to stay safe and secure in his car seat with the ability to remain covered up. This also prevented a 3rd person from sitting with us on the plane. This Momma wanted to prevent as many germs as possible!!
We spent one last night of fun with our precious friends at their home and prepared to leave the next morning. Caleb did so so so good on the flights home! In fact, he slept through the entire 2.5hour flight from TX to Charlotte, NC, had his bottle and stretched in Charlotte, and then fell back asleep for the 35min flight. Oh, and his little umbilical cord finally fell off....in the TX airport! LOL
We knew that we would be welcomed home by some of our family and friends, but we had NO IDEA just how many people would be there to welcome home our family. Absolutely overwhelming. These 40 family members, life long friends, co workers, prayer warriors, and encouragers were anxiously awaiting us to round the corner into the lobby of our small airport. At first sight of them we heard screams, clapping, cheers, and lots of awwww as they caught sight of us and the little miracle I was holding. These folks have never given up on us. They have encouraged us, prayed for us, given of their time and finances to support our fundraising adventures, and they BELIEVED that our family would grow through the miracle of adoption. There were handmade precious signs, balloons, stuffed animals and more pictures than could be counted.
Amber was the first in line to see Caleb for the first time. A moment she had been waiting for with baited breath. She jumped up and down, she squealed, she cried. She kissed his head and hands. She fell in love.
Next, my Momma finally got to see her grandson and exhaled for probably the first time in who knows how long. Having struggled for many years to grow her family she knows first hand the heart ache we have endured over the years. She has always been so supportive and hopeful and was completely on board when we told her we wanted to adopt 20 months ago. She never doubted us and always did everything she could to help us succeed. And she also had the very tough job of keeping a VERY excited big sister for the nine days we were in TX! Whew, I'm sure that was a big job! Jeff's parents were next and just loved on him so sweetly. Everyone has been waiting for so long! I found my brother, and he hugged me so tightly. Tears were starting to sting my eyes, but I knew I couldn't completely let them go. He kept telling me over and over "Good job, Good job". I knew what we meant was much bigger than that, but that was all he had to say. Many hugs later, I finally found my Vesta, my best friend, cousin, and fundraiser cohort. Vesta has given of so many many hours baking cheesecakes, dipping fruit, and anything else I ever asked her to help me with. I almost lost it when I hugged her neck. She is my sister and I adore her.
After lots of hugs, kisses, tears, and baby holding, we headed for home sweet home. Mom drove Amber, Caleb and I in her car, and Jeff rode with his parents in their car as we were out of room with all of the luggage. My brother and future SIL and her mom followed in their car, as did my Aunt Valerie. Jeff stopped off at the store to buy more formula (we had plenty of diapers and wipes at home, but no formula). When we arrived home we were greeted by a few others that were not able to make it to the airport but wanted to share their well wishes. Mom, Amber, and Vesta had decorated the house with balloons, little blue footprints, streamers, and other baby boy decorations. It was beautiful! In fact, the decorations are still up! haha, not sure when we will take them down.
Mom had made us a lasagna, yellow cake with chocolate icing (my personal fave), and there was also chicken to enjoy. The house quickly filled with visitors and we had the best time loving on sweet baby boy, who was perfectly behaved by the way. I may be biased, but he is so easy going. I pray he stays that way! haha
After awhile we said our last goodbyes and settled down for the night. We couldn't believe we were finally home, our little family of four.
I wish I had the perfect words to explain how we felt. How very thankful we are for this most precious gift that has been entrusted to us.
Ok, so let me back up. On Thursday of last week, we had been in TX for 8 days and although we were having a great time with our friends and loving on our baby, we were so ready to be home. Skyping was only getting us by on a thread, my family was so ready to hold Caleb in their arms. Thursday afternoon I called the agency and they informed me that they had not heard anything yet but promised to let us know as soon as they did. In our paperwork, they specifically said NOT to call our home state to check if paperwork had been received. Well.....I don't always play by the rules......so I called Raleigh DSS, and was transferred to the Interstate Compact Dept. and after answering some questions, the rep was able to confirm that they had received our file and that a caseworker was reviewing it, but that it still needed to be sent back to TX. We were ok with this news, just relieved they had actually received it already from TX. Well, about 30 minutes later I received a phone call from the adoption agency Director. My first thought was that I was about to get reprimanded for calling our state office. LOL But, nope, she was calling to let us know that we were approved to go home!!!!!! Yipeeeeeee
We already missed the flight home, so we would be leaving on Friday at 1pm and arriving home about 7:30pm! We quickly called our parents and I jumped on the laptop to order airline tix for the flight home. Baby boy could have been a lap baby for free, but we really wanted him to be able to stay safe and secure in his car seat with the ability to remain covered up. This also prevented a 3rd person from sitting with us on the plane. This Momma wanted to prevent as many germs as possible!!
We spent one last night of fun with our precious friends at their home and prepared to leave the next morning. Caleb did so so so good on the flights home! In fact, he slept through the entire 2.5hour flight from TX to Charlotte, NC, had his bottle and stretched in Charlotte, and then fell back asleep for the 35min flight. Oh, and his little umbilical cord finally fell off....in the TX airport! LOL
We knew that we would be welcomed home by some of our family and friends, but we had NO IDEA just how many people would be there to welcome home our family. Absolutely overwhelming. These 40 family members, life long friends, co workers, prayer warriors, and encouragers were anxiously awaiting us to round the corner into the lobby of our small airport. At first sight of them we heard screams, clapping, cheers, and lots of awwww as they caught sight of us and the little miracle I was holding. These folks have never given up on us. They have encouraged us, prayed for us, given of their time and finances to support our fundraising adventures, and they BELIEVED that our family would grow through the miracle of adoption. There were handmade precious signs, balloons, stuffed animals and more pictures than could be counted.
Amber was the first in line to see Caleb for the first time. A moment she had been waiting for with baited breath. She jumped up and down, she squealed, she cried. She kissed his head and hands. She fell in love.
Next, my Momma finally got to see her grandson and exhaled for probably the first time in who knows how long. Having struggled for many years to grow her family she knows first hand the heart ache we have endured over the years. She has always been so supportive and hopeful and was completely on board when we told her we wanted to adopt 20 months ago. She never doubted us and always did everything she could to help us succeed. And she also had the very tough job of keeping a VERY excited big sister for the nine days we were in TX! Whew, I'm sure that was a big job! Jeff's parents were next and just loved on him so sweetly. Everyone has been waiting for so long! I found my brother, and he hugged me so tightly. Tears were starting to sting my eyes, but I knew I couldn't completely let them go. He kept telling me over and over "Good job, Good job". I knew what we meant was much bigger than that, but that was all he had to say. Many hugs later, I finally found my Vesta, my best friend, cousin, and fundraiser cohort. Vesta has given of so many many hours baking cheesecakes, dipping fruit, and anything else I ever asked her to help me with. I almost lost it when I hugged her neck. She is my sister and I adore her.
After lots of hugs, kisses, tears, and baby holding, we headed for home sweet home. Mom drove Amber, Caleb and I in her car, and Jeff rode with his parents in their car as we were out of room with all of the luggage. My brother and future SIL and her mom followed in their car, as did my Aunt Valerie. Jeff stopped off at the store to buy more formula (we had plenty of diapers and wipes at home, but no formula). When we arrived home we were greeted by a few others that were not able to make it to the airport but wanted to share their well wishes. Mom, Amber, and Vesta had decorated the house with balloons, little blue footprints, streamers, and other baby boy decorations. It was beautiful! In fact, the decorations are still up! haha, not sure when we will take them down.
Mom had made us a lasagna, yellow cake with chocolate icing (my personal fave), and there was also chicken to enjoy. The house quickly filled with visitors and we had the best time loving on sweet baby boy, who was perfectly behaved by the way. I may be biased, but he is so easy going. I pray he stays that way! haha
After awhile we said our last goodbyes and settled down for the night. We couldn't believe we were finally home, our little family of four.
I wish I had the perfect words to explain how we felt. How very thankful we are for this most precious gift that has been entrusted to us.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Where I left off......
Hey everyone from Texas! Yes, we are still here, waiting for word from the agency that we can fly out, but still enjoying every moment that we are here!
So what have we been up to the last few days?
On Friday, we made a special visit to our sweet D. We still had a couple of little things to give her, and I just needed to hug her! We all had been through so much and so much had changed since the last time we had seen each other just 8 weeks ago. As soon as we walked through the door and set lil man's car seat on the floor, D. was on the floor helping him to escape into her arms. That was such a sweet moment. She nuzzled him close to her and loved on him. She and her husband are genuinely happy for us and so thankful for this miracle. Loved spending sweet time with her. We both never regret the times we were matched and spent getting to know each other. We both are looking forward to seeing each other again when we return in 6mo for finalization. Please continue to pray for her and baby as her delivery could be very soon.
Saturday afternoon we checked out of the hotel and "moved" in with our amazing friends Briana & Noel and 6mo old son Hunter. We stayed with them back in January for our first visit to TX and they so graciously invited us to stay with them again when we returned. Even though our return was last minute, they still opened their doors wide open and have shared in our joy! They have been so very helpful since they adopted their son from the same agency and especially since they are only 6mo from the newborn phase. Briana was right there as I gave Caleb his first bath, she had a wonderful photo shoot with lil man (can't wait to share), suggested the swing (which he LOVES), and has just been so wonderful!! We have taken turns cooking dinner this week and have thoroughly enjoyed spending time together. Noel is on vacation this week and Jeff has really enjoyed helping him restore an old Jeep. It's definitely helped pass the time while we are here.
On Monday, baby boy had his first well baby check up, and believe it or not it was a little difficult to find a pediatrician that would take a new patient for a one time visit. We kinda found a way around it, and was very pleased with our visit. The pediatrician was awesome and she just raved about baby. She said he was perfect, and was just the sweetest thing, even when he peed on her pretty dress. She's probably used to that though. Caleb had gained 5oz since birth, and I'm pretty sure it has all gone to his cheeks! He's getting quite the little jowls now. So good for kissing!!
He is still consistently eating a little over 2oz every 2.5-3hours, sleeping most of the time in between, although his periods of alertness are getting closer together and lasting longer. Such a sweet little bug. He was pretty fussy last night and just couldn't get right. We suspected it was because he was having a little problem going potty over the last 2 days, but THANKFULLY that seems to have worked itself out, and he is back to being chill lil man.
We have had the pleasure of skyping with several of our family members - both sets of grandparents, Amber the big sister, Uncle Kevin & Aunt Laura, and lots of cousins. It has been truly awesome to see everyone oooohh and awww over Caleb. I'm pretty sure Caleb likes all the attention too. :) Hopefully soon he will get to meet everyone in person!
We have spoken with the agency regularly and they are very hopeful they will soon receive the word from Austin that our interstate compact is complete and we are approved to leave the state!!!! Oh Happy Day! Then it's on to airport homecoming, a moment I have played over and over in my mind.
Ok, so this post is long, so I will close for now. I promise next post will cover what we know about Caleb's birth family.
In the mean time, is there anything you are just curious to ask?
Can't wait to see everyone!! Thank you so much for the prayers, encouragement, and sharing in our excitement! We are so very blessed!
Love - K.
So what have we been up to the last few days?
On Friday, we made a special visit to our sweet D. We still had a couple of little things to give her, and I just needed to hug her! We all had been through so much and so much had changed since the last time we had seen each other just 8 weeks ago. As soon as we walked through the door and set lil man's car seat on the floor, D. was on the floor helping him to escape into her arms. That was such a sweet moment. She nuzzled him close to her and loved on him. She and her husband are genuinely happy for us and so thankful for this miracle. Loved spending sweet time with her. We both never regret the times we were matched and spent getting to know each other. We both are looking forward to seeing each other again when we return in 6mo for finalization. Please continue to pray for her and baby as her delivery could be very soon.
Saturday afternoon we checked out of the hotel and "moved" in with our amazing friends Briana & Noel and 6mo old son Hunter. We stayed with them back in January for our first visit to TX and they so graciously invited us to stay with them again when we returned. Even though our return was last minute, they still opened their doors wide open and have shared in our joy! They have been so very helpful since they adopted their son from the same agency and especially since they are only 6mo from the newborn phase. Briana was right there as I gave Caleb his first bath, she had a wonderful photo shoot with lil man (can't wait to share), suggested the swing (which he LOVES), and has just been so wonderful!! We have taken turns cooking dinner this week and have thoroughly enjoyed spending time together. Noel is on vacation this week and Jeff has really enjoyed helping him restore an old Jeep. It's definitely helped pass the time while we are here.
On Monday, baby boy had his first well baby check up, and believe it or not it was a little difficult to find a pediatrician that would take a new patient for a one time visit. We kinda found a way around it, and was very pleased with our visit. The pediatrician was awesome and she just raved about baby. She said he was perfect, and was just the sweetest thing, even when he peed on her pretty dress. She's probably used to that though. Caleb had gained 5oz since birth, and I'm pretty sure it has all gone to his cheeks! He's getting quite the little jowls now. So good for kissing!!
He is still consistently eating a little over 2oz every 2.5-3hours, sleeping most of the time in between, although his periods of alertness are getting closer together and lasting longer. Such a sweet little bug. He was pretty fussy last night and just couldn't get right. We suspected it was because he was having a little problem going potty over the last 2 days, but THANKFULLY that seems to have worked itself out, and he is back to being chill lil man.
We have had the pleasure of skyping with several of our family members - both sets of grandparents, Amber the big sister, Uncle Kevin & Aunt Laura, and lots of cousins. It has been truly awesome to see everyone oooohh and awww over Caleb. I'm pretty sure Caleb likes all the attention too. :) Hopefully soon he will get to meet everyone in person!
We have spoken with the agency regularly and they are very hopeful they will soon receive the word from Austin that our interstate compact is complete and we are approved to leave the state!!!! Oh Happy Day! Then it's on to airport homecoming, a moment I have played over and over in my mind.
Ok, so this post is long, so I will close for now. I promise next post will cover what we know about Caleb's birth family.
In the mean time, is there anything you are just curious to ask?
Can't wait to see everyone!! Thank you so much for the prayers, encouragement, and sharing in our excitement! We are so very blessed!
Love - K.
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