Where Dreams Come True

We were blessed to be able to take our sweet boy to Disney World last week. It was one of the best trips we have ever had, minus traveling to and from Disney...that was less than enjoyable. Watching our sweet boy's eyes fill with excitement and joy and his big grin spread across his face made the terrible car ride worth every second. He absolutely loves Mickey Mouse and watching his face light up when he got to meet him was absolutely priceless. We spent time in Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Magic Kingdom and each had something that our sweet boy loved. Each night as we would lay down to go to bed he would talk about riding the choo choo, riding the boat, going up and down on the rides, riding the bus, meeting Micky and "Fooky" (Goofy) and if he could do it again the next day. Around 3 a.m. he would wake up every night and ask me to lay with him so I would snuggle up and he would say "Hey Mommy, I ride the airplane?" and we would spend a few minutes talking. He would be so quiet and still and I would think he was back asleep and his eyes would pop open and he would say "Hey Mommy" and tell me something else about his day. As tired as I was, those sweet snuggles and the fact that he was so excited that he couldn't sleep made our trip even better. I so wish I could share pictures of his sweet smile but for now I will share what I can!

You Made Me A Mommy

Being your Mommy is the greatest blessing. You are absolutely hysterical and constantly make me laugh. You have the silliest personality and love to make others smile. You have a smile that lights up a room and is so contagious. You can be absolutely rotten but you are also the sweetest boy I have ever met. Like your Daddy says, you are our little sour patch kid :)
When I saw you for the first time, I saw my baby. I didn't see my foster baby, I didn't see someone else's baby, I saw my baby, my son. When I look in your eyes, I see so much of me and so much of your Daddy. You fit perfectly in our family and I love that when we meet people who do not know our story they don't ask questions. You are ours and we are yours, end of story. For people that do know our story, when they say how much you look like us our hearts grow a little bigger. God knew from the beginning that we were going to be your parents and you were created to be ours.
You have filled pieces of my heart that I didn't know were missing. You have given life a perspective that I didn't know it could have. You and I share a love that I did not know existed. You melt my heart daily and make me so proud. You made me a mommy and I cannot imagine being anyone else's mommy.
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 There is nothing better than snuggling up with my sweet boy. 

 We spent the morning snuggling on the couch and the afternoon with family celebrating Mother's Day.

It's A Date

We have a date!!!! Finally! We have a termination date! August 22 will be the day that determines if birth parent's rights are terminated. Less than 4 months until this date, but who is counting? Tyler and I have been over the moon excited today and could shout it from the rooftops! One step closer to being a forever family! We are praying the judge does terminate rights and we can continue to move forward with the adoption. I felt like one of the huge weights that have been weighing us down for so long was lifted today. We still have a ways to go but we are moving in the right direction!

Not only are we counting down to the TPR date but we are counting down to the end of school! We are so excited to be home with our sweet boy and to make more memories. He has enjoyed the beautiful weather and being outside. He is so busy and amazed by everything. I love how excited he gets when he sees a dandelion and yells "Look Mommy a flower!" Something that we view as a pesky weed is one of the greatest things to our sweet boy. We spend lots of time picking flowers, playing in the dirt, going for walks, swinging, and playing on his slide. He is happy with the simplest of things and is a great reminder to just slow down and enjoy what we have. This Mommy is ready to have even more time to just soak up my sweet boy and enjoy his curiosity and wonder.

Thank you for your prayers! Please keep them coming!

 His first time meeting a horse (and of course holding a dandelion)

 He is growing up so quickly and holding another dandelion :) 

 He loves to get dirty!

Playing a little golf.

 Petting an owl at the zoo.

He was amazed by the manatees!

You Are the Sweetest

A whole week with you was over in the blink of an eye. My time away from you creeps by and I never feel like I have enough time with you. You have made me laugh, cry, and be happier than I could have ever imagined over our break together. You have quite the personality and make your Mommy laugh hysterically. You love the attention so you tend to do it repeatedly and we both laugh harder each time. You have started referring to yourself in third person which is very funny to listen to. You have become quite independent and have started doing lots of things on your own. This makes me very happy and proud but very sad at the same time. You snuggled your Mommy lots this week since you weren't feeling well and it was nice to know that you needed me. We shared lots of special moments reading books, snuggling in bed together, and we shared lots of hugs and kisses. You no longer want me to hold you and rock but you like for me to sit on the ottoman and push the chair back and forth for you so you can rock. This was very hard for Mommy because that is our special time together and I think you knew it made me sad. You asked me to lay my head down on the "Lillow" with you while we said our prayers. You put your forehead right against mine and your sweet hand on my cheek. When we finished our prayers you looked at me and kissed my forehead like I do to you each night and tears started pouring down my cheeks. You being the sweet boy you are held my face and said "You ok Mommy?" As I am writing this the tears are streaming down my face yet again reliving such a special, sweet moment with you. I hope that you know how much I love you and how special you truly are. Each night when you and I say your prayers we thank God for bringing us together and ask that we become a forever family soon. I pray that you know how thankful your Daddy and I are to be your parents and how incredibly blessed we are.

As always, please continue to pray for our case. We have yet to hear any news from anyone. I have made several contacts without any assistance. We know God has a reason and we trusting in His plan!

Wishful Thinking

I have been waiting for the day that I could post we finally received a termination date and would be moving forward. I thought today might be the day that received that but that wasn't the case. When the worker starts the conversation with "Well, more bad news," your stomach twists into knots and your heart sinks. I have never wanted something as badly as I want to be a permanent, forever family. It seems like for every inch we gain we are pushed back a foot. The attorney is unsure of next steps and has pushed our case to the side until she can figure it out. I ask that you send extra prayers for guidance and wisdom for her. Everything is up to her right now and we need her to be working with a clear mind to develop a plan instead of putting us at the bottom of the pile and working on easier cases. 

We are praying for positive news soon but will continue to love on our sweet boy more and more each day. 

This was the extent of our interaction with the Easter Bunny this year :) 

Enjoying a family day at an indoor playground

Snuggled up with my sweet boy

776 Days

When you have had your baby for 776 days and you are getting close to a TPR date, the word "setback" is the last thing you want to hear. The worker visited last week and told us the judge will not grant us a TPR date at this time. The worker and cabinet attorney are exploring different avenues that may help move the process along. We need prayers big time! We finally felt that we were getting to a point where we could breathe and we were just coasting until we were given a date but nothing has been that easy. We will continue to trust in God's plan and we know there is a greater reason than we can understand. My sweet boy is definitely worth it!

My sweet boy loves to sit this way. Melts his Mommy's heart!

Big boy sat by himself to get his hair cut this time.

It Can Wait

Tonight, as I told you goodnight you wrapped your arms tightly around my neck and said, "I wanna rock, Mommy." I thought about the messy kitchen, the laundry that needed to be done, and the toys in the living room but walked to the rocking chair with you in my arms. You snuggled up close and tucked your legs under you like you did when you were itty bitty, you wrapped one arm around my neck, laid your head on my shoulder, and squeezed your other hand between us. My mind remembered a chunky baby boy who snuggled the same exact way but my arms were filled with a growing, squirmy toddler. It may take us a little longer to get comfortable in the rocking chair now but my sweet boy, I will rock you for as long as you want. As I held you tonight, I told myself it all could wait, the laundry would be there, the kitchen would be there, the toys would be there but you won't always want to be there. Rocking you to sleep used to be a daily occurrence and now it only happens once every few months. I know the amount of times will continue to decrease and the time in between will lengthen so when you tell me you want to rock, I will rock you my sweet boy.

Please continue to pray as we are still awaiting a TPR date. He is most definitely worth the wait but we are ready to be a permanent, forever family.