Super Mom

I feel like Super Mom today! It's 11:45 and I have 2 loads of laundry finished, I have showered, we visited Auntie Amy, went to the bank, and went to the post office! Yes I am bragging but I am proud that with a 2 week old we have already accomplished so much today! 

We had major belly issues again yesterday but it was all taken care of as of 3 this morning! As Tyler and I laughed hysterically, changed bed sheets (he was not even in the bed) and got him cleaned up we knew this parent thing could be quite humorous. I'm thankful to have such a wonderful husband that is always willing to help.

My little love bug is much happier today and we are hoping he stays that way. We are also praying for all of the snow next week so we can stay home and snuggle :)

Since we were feeling brave and ventured out today, we thought we should dress appropriately!

 

Doc McFussins

For the past few days our little guy has been extra fussy. He has had a bad belly ache that we just couldn't get rid of. We went to the doctor early this morning and they gave us some medicine to try. 3 very full diapers later proves the medicine was successful! We are thankful Doc McFussins has left and we have our smiley, happy boy back.
We have another visitation tomorrow which I am already dreading. I just keep reminding myself he is coming back home with us. I worry about him so much while he is gone. Tyler and I are making plans to stay busy while he is having visitation. 
He wore this to the doctor to let everyone know he was a little crabby!

Enjoying Every Second

God sure has taken care of Tyler and I. I prayed last Friday morning when I woke up that if we were going to get a placement that it would be the perfect weekend for it since we were off for a snow day and were off school on Monday. An hour later our phone rang for our sweet boy. Our "pregnancy" was crammed into about 6 hours! We found out we were expecting at 9:30, delivered at 3, and brought him home at 5.  I had intended to take the week off but God had different plans for us. We have both been off all week due to snow days. Such a blessing! We have enjoyed every second with this sweet boy. If the forecast is correct, we may be off next Monday as well!
Yesterday we celebrated one week as his parents! We had lots of visitors and got to show off this bundle of joy. We have been blown away with everyone's support, thoughts, love, and prayers. We have received so many gifts, encouraging messages, and cannot express how much we appreciate it.  It's amazing how many people love this boy.
Everyone has told us a baby changes everything and they were so right. It has changed everything for the better. Yes, we are tired but Tyler and I have love for this boy and for each other that we did not know was possible. While driving the other day, Tyler and I were talking about all of the blessings in our lives. We started talking about John 3:16 and we both feel that we understand this at such a deeper level now. The thought of giving this baby back brings tears to my eyes immediately and our God did that for us. He gave his only Son so that we could have eternal life.
Tyler is still sleeping on this cold, snowy morning. I have enjoyed the quiet time with my little miracle. We said our morning prayers together and I rocked him to sleep to worship songs, which he loves. Amazing Love was the first this morning which goes back to our discussion in the car. Sweet baby was full of smiles during that song so he must love it too. Visitation is scheduled to start today and I have been very apprehensive. As tears started to fill my eyes, Safe started to play. The chorus says
"You will be safe in His arms, You will be safe in His arms because the hands that hold the world are holding your heart. This is a promise He made He will be with you always. When everything is falling apart you will be safe in His arms."
I know he will be safe at his visit and I will be ok because we are in His arms.
Here are a few pictures from the past few days. He either knows I cannot show his face or is really sick of me taking pictures!

What A Day!

Whew…what a day! We are exhausted.The morning was filled with tears and lots of nerves. We were so thankful to have our sweet niece with us this morning. Her Lego Friends helped to distract us from the meeting that was looming over our heads, her silly comments brought smiles and laughter, and her hugs reminded us to breathe. She is such a blessing and loves this little boy so much.
The meeting was interesting to say the least. At this point, mom has a chance to get him back but we do know we will have him for a minimum of 6 months. We are continuing to pray that our hearts are guarded and God's will be done. I was so thankful to be able to bring this little miracle back home with us.
As he lays here in my arms, I am truly amazed. I am amazed at his beauty and amazed that I can feel so much love for such a tiny boy. After hearing the situation, He is so lucky to have been born without complications. He is an amazing little guy full of smiles. We are so thankful for our time with him.
If only for a short time, he was loved more than he will ever know.

Thankful, Hopeful, Nervous

The title explains just a few of the emotions we are currently experiencing. We were blessed with another snow day today! Beyond thankful for that! I had intended to take the whole week off but God has provided both of us with several extra days off. We have had another wonderful day today. It was a calm day without any visitors so we just got to hang out with our boy all day. We love visitors but we loved the lazy day.

We received a call today from the social worker that our five day meeting will take place tomorrow. I am a ball of nerves! I cried for several hours after our conversation. The phone call was to inform us of the location and time of the meeting but a lot of anxiety surfaced knowing the time has come. We will have the opportunity to meet the birth mom tomorrow, learn more about the situation and find out what the next steps are. We are going in very hopeful but also trying to not get our hopes up. We have prayed, and prayed, and prayed and will continue too. We have a lot of wonderful family members and friends praying for us as well.

"For where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them." -Matthew 18:20

We have tons of support and prayer warrior and we know God is right here with us. He has been with us from day one and we know he will not let us down.

As nervous and apprehensive as we are about tomorrow, Philippians 4:13 reminds us that we an do all things through Christ who gives us strength. We know that He will take care of us and the sweet baby boy. We ask for prayers as we go through tomorrow. We will update as soon as we can.

Blessed

Our sweet boy is one week old today! We had a check up at the doctor and he is doing wonderfully! He has gained 3 ounces and the doctor said he looks as healthy as can be!
We got to snuggle our boy and even got a nap today! This was much needed, we had a long night last night.
Bottles are made, laundry is finished and put away, we feel like super parents right now!
I am taking the week off from work, so blessed to work somewhere that will allow this. I am excited to know I will get to spend more days with my precious boy.  We are praying for a snow day tomorrow so Tyler can stay home with us!

Whirlwind of Emotions

Tyler and I are so in love with this sweet boy! We have experienced a whirlwind of emotions. We go from laughing, to crying, to laughing, to crying, and so on. We are tired but we are doing great. We have spent a lot of time in prayer individually and also as a family. Today, I realized that this is the first time in my life that I have taken a true leap of faith, put all of my trust in the Lord, and said here I am do what you want. It is an incredible feeling to know that I am fulfilling God's plan for me right now. It has been 2 days and I feel like I have completely changed as a person. My hair, my clothes, my makeup just don't matter. I am taking time to just listen to the precious noises and watch one of God's greatest creations. I am taking time to spend in prayer and listening to God. It is amazing what a 6 pound 3 ounce little boy can do to your heart!
When we brought him home he weighed 6 pounds 2 ounces and had lost 7 ounces while in the hospital. In 2 days he has gained an ounce! He also came home with high bilirubin levels and when he was tested today they had started to decrease! We were so excited to hear that. We have a follow up appointment tomorrow morning.

He Is Here!

We brought home a beautiful 4 day old baby boy yesterday. He is such a blessing! We have had lots of visitors so he has had lots of love. Last night was tiring but waking up to his beautiful face made it all ok. Tyler and I are in love! I never understood a "mother's love" until now. For however many days we have him, Tyler and I will enjoy every second of being his momma and daddy.

Overjoyed

We received our first placement call this morning and we accepted! We will be picking up the precious boy today at the hospital. He is only 4 days old and we are so excited to meet him! God has been preparing me all week without me realizing it. So thankful to have a snow day, and a 3 day weekend with our new bundle of joy.

There is a new addition to the nursery and I have included a picture. Tyler and I loved it and it is so appropriate.

APPROVED

We are officially approved! I received an email from our social worker last night at 10:01 congratulating us on our approval. We were approved much sooner than expected but we are more than ok with that. Now, we just wait for our first phone call. Every time my phone has buzzed today, my heart has skipped a beat. We are overjoyed and more than ready to have a baby to love on. We know God has a baby picked out for us and we will receive them in His time but it is difficult to not be anxious!

By the end of the month...

There is a possibility we will be parents by the end of the month! Holy Cow!!! The end of the month is only a few weeks away! We are awaiting our final approval and we will start getting calls. We are beyond excited and also very nervous. Knowing that our life is going to drastically change very soon is frightening yet so very exciting. We are going to have a new person to share our life, our home, and our love with. If only for a short time, we know they will be taken care of, safe, loved, and prayed for.

We got the opportunity to visit a sweet friend of ours who also happens to be one of her coworkers. She adopted her beautiful daughter, Lucy, from Ethiopia a few years ago and has recently decided to open her home to foster children. We did not get to see precious Lucy today because she decided to take an extra long nap. We did get to snuggle the newest sweet baby girl that she received last night. She was an itty bitty 3 week old and Tyler and I were both a little worried. It has been a long time since I have held such a tiny baby and Tyler confessed today that he has never held such a little one. We were thankful for the opportunity to snuggle the sweet little girl and visit with our friend. She helped us more than she knows!

Tyler was wonderful with her and my heart was beyond happy watching him love on this precious baby. He is going to be a great daddy and there is no one else  I could imagine going on the journey with! I'm thankful to know that he will help with anything that I may need and is going to unconditionally love each child that enters our home.

We have been asked several questions about our choice to become foster parents and Tyler and I always try our best to answer them. These are some of the most common questions we have been asked and the answers we have given:

1. Why do you want to take care of someone else's baby and then give it back?

---Because that is what God is calling us to do!

2. Do you not want children of your own?

---They are going to be OUR children, we just got them a little differently than you.

3.  Oh, so you aren't able to have babies?

---We have no idea! We are assuming that we can but this is what God is calling us to do so we are being obedient.

4. Don't you think it will be hard to give them back?

---Absolutely! This is something that we have really prayed about and we know if God has laid this on our hearts and is calling us to do it then He will give us the strength we need to get through it. 

5. Do you want to adopt?

-YES! When the time is right we would love to adopt! 

The next update will probably be when we receive our first call! Until then, please keep us in your prayers.