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.

Gotcha!

As I look out the window at the snow falling I vividly remember sitting in the same place 2 years ago anxiously counting down the hours to pick you up from the hospital. Your Daddy and I were pacing around the house and had probably checked the hospital bag about 50 times by this time of the day. We were your typical first time parents. Clueless, scared, overjoyed, anxious, and beyond excited. Unlike most first time parents, we were not only getting a 4 day old baby, we were getting an angry family who had just had their baby taken away, social workers, tons of paperwork, home visits, and constant worry. We have all heard the saying "live each day like it is your last" and that is how we have lived for the past 2 years. We have lived every single day with the thought in our head that it could be our last day together as a family. We honestly had no clue what we were getting ourselves into and how long we would be blessed to have this sweet boy. I am so incredibly thankful that 2 years later I still see your toys scattered across the living room floor and I am able to sit here and listen to you talk and sing as you are supposed to be napping. We have said it over and over, we would go through it all a million times to get this sweet boy. The day that he is ours forever will be as great as the day we laid our eyes on him for the first time.
Happy Gotcha Day my sweet, sweet boy!

Slow Down, Sweet Boy

It doesn't happen as often as it used to but tonight you let me rock you to sleep. I think you can sense when your Mommy needs that extra time to just hold you and soak up everything about you. As I held you tonight my arms seemed to remember that tiny baby snuggled up to me and not the big boy whose legs dangled over the side of the chair. Tonight I looked at your sweet hands that once just waved around but now push your trains from one end of the house to the other, throws your baseball, dunks your basketball, turns the pages of your books, and puts the pieces in your puzzle. I looked at your chubby little legs that used to flail with excitement but now allow you to run all over, climb on everything, and help you jump. I looked into your big brown eyes that haven't changed a bit. They are still full of excitement, wonder, and love. Tonight, I rocked you to sleep for the last time as a one year old. Tomorrow, you will turn 2 years old and we will have even more adventures and more memories to create. Two years have gone by in the blink of an eye and I wish I could freeze time. You make your Mommy laugh hysterically every day, you make your Mommy so proud, and you make your Mommy's heart absolutely melt. Mommy tells you every day but you are absolutely perfect. I thank God every single night that he chose me to be your Mommy. Happy Birthday my Sweet Boy!

Opening presents at his birthday party.

First time ever playing in the snow! He absolutely loved it!

Baking with Mommy and Daddy on our snow day.