1,146 Days

1,146 days. 163 weeks and 5 days. 37 months and 19 days. 3 years, 1 month, 19 days. Each of those represent the amount of time that you will spend in foster care. My sweet, sweet boy, as of March 8, you will never be in foster care again, we will be a family forever! March 8 at 11:00 we will be adopting this precious boy and we will become an official family!!!!
March has never been a month that I have particularly enjoyed but that will now change forever. We received the call today that our adopting was being scheduled and the lawyer asked if that day was ok, I wanted to yell, "Are you kidding?! Its perfect!!!" In 11 days we will enter the courtroom as a foster family and leave as a family, just a family. What a glorious day that will be! We serve an amazing God! So many prayers will be answered on that day and for the first time in a long time, we will be able to take a full breath knowing that no one can take him from us!

Happy

When I saw this picture I couldn't help but think of my sweet boy. There is something so special about him and he lights up a room. He is the funniest kid I have ever met and has an incredible imagination. Wherever we go, he makes a new friend and always brightens someone's day. He made a new friend while we were out for breakfast over the weekend and his new friend loved him so much she bought him this cat that he had fallen in love with. He so appropriately named it "Kitty Cardin" and Kitty Cardin has gone everywhere with us. I wish the sweet lady who purchased this for him knew how incredibly happy she has made him.

February has been an incredible month for us! We were able to meet with the attorney and sign our petition to adopt. Within days the guardian ad litem had contacted us to let us know as soon as he received court documents we could schedule a time for him to come to the house. I was able to talk to him today and expected it to be a while before he could come to the house but he is coming on Tuesday! God is so good!!! He told me he will have his report submitted within a week and as soon as it is signed by the judge we will be able to get an adoption date! It is SO close!!! We are praying it goes smoothly and the rest of the process moves quickly! Soon enough I will be able to show his sweet face and we will be a legal family!!!

Forever and Ever, My Sweet Boy

February 2 will forever be marked in our memory as one of the greatest days of our lives! We signed our intent to adopt! We are praying and so hopeful the next portion will go by quickly so we can receive our adoption date.

As we rushed home to meet our social worker I told our sweet boy that we were going to sign papers so he could stay with us forever. He looked at me with his big brown eyes and said, "Forever and ever, all day long?" With tears in my eyes I could make a promise that I have spent every night praying for and a promise that I was unsure if I would ever be able to make. Forever and ever, all day long, you will always be our sweet boy.

You've Got Mail

Today, we opened one of the most exciting pieces of mail we have ever received. Our approval to adopt!!! We have waited so long to see those words! We still have several steps to go through before we will receive our adoption date but we are getting there! We will sign our intent to adopt this week and then be able to move forward with the remaining steps. Please keep praying that everything goes smoothly and happens in a timely manner. We are ready for this sweet boy to be ours forever!!!

Enjoying the warm weather last weekend 😃

Just Like That

One of your favorite phrases right now is "just like that." You say it about a million times a day when you show us how to do something or you accomplish something new. "Just like that" is exactly how your Mommy and Daddy feel. Just like that you are three years old. You turned three on Friday and we started your birthday with your favorite, a donut with icing and sprinkles. You blew out the three candles that were on your donut and loved your birthday tree. We decorated the Christmas tree with balloons and streamers and you thought it was the funniest thing. You were so proud of your special birthday certificate from school. You got a special birthday milkshake after school with your cousin Gracey. Today, we celebrated your birthday with friends and family. You are one loved little boy, there were lots of people here to celebrate with you. Of course all of the decorations were Mickey and you were in heaven. It was so fun watching your eyes light up when you saw the Mickey balloons, the Mickey tablecloths and your Mickey cake.

You are growing up so fast and I hope you know what a true blessing you are. You are the most loving, caring, silly boy ever. You are so curious and love to know how things work. You went to the dentist for the first time this week and loved everything about it! You were such a big boy and sat perfectly with your mouth open. You constantly amaze us and we love you more than you will ever know.

In three short days, we will celebrate 3 wonderful years together as a family. We pray this is the last birthday and "gotcha day" without being a legal family.

Happy Birthday my sweet boy! I love you so!

Christmas Through Your Eyes

As Christmas comes to a close my heart is filled with so much joy. We have had the best holiday season and have gotten to do so many fun things. Your Daddy and I are so thankful to be your parents and love getting to experience so many things with you. You have had the best time experiencing everything this Christmas has had to offer. We were blessed to be able to take a Polar Express train ride, go to the Festival of Lights and Southern Lights, seeing Santa 4 different times, and spending so much time with our families. The excitement on your face and the pure happiness you experience makes your Mommy and Daddy happier than you will ever know. As we sat tonight watching you play we said Christmas as a parent is so special. We could never open another gift on Christmas but be so excited and happy just watching you. You are a true blessing and we pray you know how special you are. 

We are hoping this is the last Christmas where we have to hide your face and the last Christmas without you being an "official" member of the family. As we prepare for 2017, we are praying for a finalized adoption. All paperwork has been signed and will be sent off for approval. We are praying for a quick and smooth approval and everyone after completes their part quickly so we can be a forever family as soon as possible. 

We hope everyone has had a Merry Christmas and enjoys the remainder of 2016. We are blessed beyond belief and know 2017 is going to hold great things for our family!

Busy, Busy!

I'm sorry it has been so long since I have posted an update. We had a very fun and exciting October that did not leave much time for updates. We do not have any new information regarding the adoption but we are praying the social worker gets paperwork completed quickly so we can hopefully adopt right after the new year. We are so thankful that we have made it past such a big hurdle and he cannot be taken from us now! The end is in sight and we are beyond thankful!

We had a great time at the pumpkin patch with the family! Our sweet boy loved everything about the day. He had so much fun going down the slide, feeding the animals, and riding on the hay ride.

We were able to spend a weekend in Tennessee with family which was wonderful. Our sweet boy was able to ride on his first open air train ride and he was amazed. His face would light up when the train whistle would blow and his excitement was contagious. There were also horses next to the cabin we stayed in and our sweet boy liked walking over to visit with them.

 Halloween was a big hit this year! He was able to dress up for a Halloween party, Hallzooween, school, and trick or treating. Of course, he had to be Mickey Mouse this year and he loved his costume so much! Mommy even carved our sweet boy a Mickey pumpkin.

We had a very busy October but we are beyond blessed. We are so blessed to be able to take him to so many things and to be able to experience them with him. His eyes light up and the best smile spreads across his face and it makes every moment so incredibly special. He fills our hearts with more than love than we could have ever imagined.