Our Village

It takes a village and now seems like a good time to introduce and thank ours.
Miss Lauren Elizabeth for connecting us with J.  Without you none of this would have been possible.

To J and P ... You have given us something for which we can never repay you. We love you more than words can express <3 
Grandma Thea for supporting J this entire journey and embracing us as your new extended family.
The staff of Baylor Regional Medical Center, Grapevine for teaching me everything I need to know about nursing and being a new mommy again.
Jill and Jared for opening the Nance Hotel and allowing us to stay open ended and monopolize all their time. Really people they have done so much for us this trip its insane.
Grandma, Grandpa and Wole for sending gorgeous flowers to both J and myself, we love them!
The Zimmers for being our first hospital visitors.  It was amazing catching up.
Miss Heather for letting me pick her pediatric brain during trying times as a new parent.
Care Now doctors for taking good care of our Lucas twice during this trip.
Marsha and James for providing a delicious meal complete with dessert during our stay.

Meemaw and Paw Paw for taking a chance on us and coming to meet Joshua. Being able to stay in touch with Joshua's biological grandparents is amazing. 
Dr. Lisa our hometown pediatrician for putting my mind at ease when needed.
Nikki for staying at our home and taking fabulous care of our furbabies while we were away.
Liam's Auntie Shanda and Uncle Felipe for taking newborn pictures of our precious Joshua.
GG and Grandpa Randy for helping with snow removal and picking up my big boys from the airport. 
The Lackmeyer law firm for making our court proceedings and ICPC pretty seamless. 

Southwest Airlines!! You guys rock. 

I know for a fact I've missed people here and please know it doesn't mean I am ungrateful. Sleep deprivation is like working on half a brain ... No joke. 

A million thank yous to our Village. 

We love and appreciate you more than you know!

Our Second Miracle

The main event

J had the most amazing OB on the planet.  I mean he ranks right up there with the OB who blessed us with Lucas.
He waltzed into the delivery room and announced it was go time!
The hospital was so adoption friendly.  They had my gown up to catch the little guy as he came out and they also encouraged immediate skin to skin and nursing.  This was amazing.
J pushed once and there was hair ... twice and the head was out with the umbilical cord wrapped around his little neck twice.  It got very quiet in the room.
The doctor quickly unwrapped the cord and asked J for just a medium push this time and baby was out!!
I was in complete awe.  3 pushes?!  She's amazing!
He was brought right over to me where the nurse cleaned him up and let me cut the cord.  Those buggers are tough!
He was perfect in every way.
He latched immediately and thus began our nursing journey <3
We love you so much J.  The gift you have given our family is beyond measure.

Making the calls

As we pulled away from Jill's house I called Don to tell him this was it and break the sad news that he probably would not make it in time.
I caught him just as he was boarding the plane.  He was so excited :)
On the way to the hospital I send the rest of the texts to ask family to pray because this was it.  As I was busy sending outgoing texts I got an incoming that asked where we were because he was coming fast.
As we pulled into the parking lot we did the "Home Alone, going to miss the airplane" mad dash through the hospital yelling to hold the elevator and all.
But we made it ... just after the candy man had visited J and she was feeling much better about all this labor stuff.
I know I have told you how amazing J is many times but she invited my friend Jill to stay and take pictures of the delivery that we were both about to be part of.
Dreams were coming true people ... my dreams!!

Still contracting

The contractions were still coming and J decided to download an App to help her track them. This also meant she could just send me a report every time I bothered her, which was maybe a lot.

To help me bug J a little less I decided to run some errands and get everything in order should this in fact be the main event. 

A few hours later I received an update that, if I was reading correctly, said they were coming on average every 5 minutes with some longer and a few shorter. This means it's time to go right? Wrong. J wanted to labor at home a bit longer and wait until they got stronger. 

I certainly hoped she wasn't trying to impress me by waiting. She was already my hero!

A couple hours passed before I got a text saying she was heading to the hospital to have her progress checked.
I had a pretty good feeling, as did my dear friend Jill, that the hospital would not be sending her home so we quickly packed the hospital bag and ate some dinner.
Just as we finished eating I got a text saying come on up to the hospital!!
Thankfully Jill thought to tell me to ask about her progress because when I did this is what I got ...
"My water just broke"
EEEEK we need to leave the house ... like now!!

Fencing complete!

My husband and amazing inlaws got the fence up while Luke and I were on baby watch in Texas.

I am so so so happy with how it looks and I cannot wait to get home and see it in person!

They even began staining it! I'm so in love, this will be life changing. 

Worth all the blood, sweat and tears. 

But if we ever need to build a fence again ... were totally hiring someone.

World Adoption Day

Sunday morning and I had just gotten to church with Jill.  I took my phone out to turn the ringer off when I noticed Id missed a text message.

"Contractions and spotting ... Ooow"

My heart skipped a beat! And wouldn't you know I had an adoptive mom seated on either side of me at that moment.

I text her back right away offering my support and asking to please keep me posted. 

I then excused myself from church and called Don to let him know I was changing his flight to that evening. 

He was busy at work completing our fence. He seemed pretty shocked and asked if I was sure this was it. 

I said I think this is it!

I finished changing his travel arrangements and went back into church to try desperately to pay attention even though I was fully prepared to leave having not heard a word ;)

The second church was over I checked in with J again ...

Joshua Mason

He's here and perfect from head to toe. 

Introducing Joshua Mason

He was born on World Adoption Day, November 9th, at 8:19pm. 

6lbs 11oz, 19.5" of pure bliss. 

His birth parents are my heroes. Please pray for all involved and stay tuned for his birth story. 

Go time

On World Adoption Day ... It's go time!!

Please keep us all in your prayers. 

Apple saves the day!

The phone ... oh the phone ...

So we are on the plane in Milwaukee getting ready to close the doors and taxi out to the runway when I think to myself that I need some pictures of his first flight and go to find my phone. 

It's nowhere to be found. I'm tearing apart all my carry on luggage and finding nothing. 

The sweet flight attendant and angel seated behind me offer to let me use their phone to call it but I knew I had put it on vibrate so the odds of hearing it were slim. 

Ring ... ring ... nothing :(

A Southwest employee ran back to the gate and couldn't find it. So they closed up the door to the plane and we were off.  Right before we left the same angel seated behind us let me call Don from her phone to tell him mine was missing. He was going to look where we were sitting waiting to board but in the meantime ... 

I was flying alone with Lucas on a flight that unfortunately wasn't non-stop and I had no way to contact anyone. Not my husband, not my ride when I got to Dallas ... I cried. Big, giant, panicked crocodile tears.  This was not happening. 

And of course the devil starts creeping in and suddenly I'm wondering if this is a sign of how the entire trip will go. Will I ever find my phone, can we afford to replace it ... sheesh. 

We land in St. Louis after the first leg of the trip and I'm trying to figure out how to use the iPad to contact Don but there was no free wifi. 

Just then I begin hearing this faint ping noise. I immediately thought 'no way' and started ripping apart my luggage. I could swear it was coming from my breast pump. But there was nothing in the pockets? 

Turns out my phone somehow fell into the actual pump and thanks to my hubby using the Find My iPhone app it had been found!!!

I cried again only this time it was complete relief and tears of joy. Gosh I LOVE my husband!!!  

I immediately called to tell him how amazing he is and the trip had been saved!! 

Honestly my husband is my rock. Lucas and I are so lucky <3

Hello Lone Star

Can you guess where Luke is?

He's at the airport waiting for our flight to Texas!!! Yes folks it's about that time :)

We got a call from our beautiful birth mama that the doctor was giving her a 50% chance of going into labor in the next 72 hours. 

I know, I know ... 50% is only half. But we've walked this whole journey together it just didn't feel right to not be here to support her during labor. 

So Luke and I got on a plane!

Since I was flying alone with him and this was his first flight, we made treat bags for the passengers that included ear plugs should things go terribly wrong. 

It was a little overwhelming at first but the woman seated behind us was our angel that day. She helped me get situated, offered her phone to Luke to play when he was upset and was just amazing. If you are reading this thank you SO SO much!  

Of course he fell asleep 10 minutes before we landed and I had to wake him to get off the plane :/

He was overtired and not happy and I tried everything to passify him. Finally a bottle and blanket and he was asleep. 

Good thing because this next flight was delayed by an hour and it was already 9:30pm. At this moment I was really wishing I had treat bags for this next flight. 

Somehow when boarding started I was able to get my backpack on, pump over my shoulder, onto the plane, seated and buckled without waking him! 

He slept through the first hour and ten minutes of the flight and then that's where the wheels fell off.

Bloody murder SCREAMING and kicking and back arching the last 30 minutes. I was trying everything and sweating in the process. 

Most everyone was awesome about it. The flight attendant was sweet enough to tell me he did great and so did I. 

When we landed at midnight I was SO thankful to be here. 

Stay tuned for the story of the lost phone ...

Commencing Countdown

As baby C's due date draws closer I find myself reflecting quite a bit on Luke's birth story.
The emotions are real and raw just like it was yesterday!
That amazing feeling of holding him for the first time after having to wait two agonizing days to meet him.

That tiny miracle healed my heart and taught me everything I know about being a Mommy.
I am in complete disbelief that by the grace of God we are about to be blessed again.
Excuse me while I go get some tissues ...

Thankfuls

Last November I posted one thing I was thankful for each day. While I would love to follow suit this year and begin a fun tradition let's be serious. The odds of me having time to post each day once our newest blessing arrives are slim. So at the end of November I will post all 30. 

For now I'm going to start with being thankful for this little guy ... my heart. 

Stay tuned because we are going to have SO much to be thankful for this November!

Turns out I make gold

Of the liquid variety ;)

***If breastfeeding isn't your thing you might want to skip this post***

It all starts with a drop. A beautiful, made it to the bottom of the bottle, drop. 

Yes folks, she's at it again :)

The mommy that has never given birth is making milk again. This time in hopes to nurse baby C. 

Breast milk is SO good for babies and breastfeeding is such an amazing bonding experience. 

After lots of quality time with the pump I'm starting a tiny stash for this bambino. 

And until my supply hopefully becomes enough to feed him, I have some amazing mamas willing to help me out with donated milk to supplement. 

While this round of lactation induction hasn't been as easy as it was with Luke, my progress is encouraging. 

Our spectacular expectant birth parents are completely supportive of my plan to provide baby C with breastmilk.  Here's to hoping we have a great nursing relationship. 

PS: midnight pumping sessions are the pits so if anyone is awake between midnight and 3am feel free to message and keep me company ;)

Heart to heart

Adoption can be a roller coaster journey. 

It's full of highs and lows, elation and heartbeak and not just for the adoptive family. 

I want all of you to know that we are aware of this. We know that many of you have laughed and celebrated with us and many of your hearts have broken right along side ours. If you've ever shed tears reading this blog you aren't alone. 

Yet you keep coming back and we thank you for that. We thank you for having the courage to take this journey with us again because it is not without risks. 

While I firmly believe you can't really know how you will feel about your adoption plan as an expectant mom until the baby arrives, I can tell you this ...

My relationship with our intended birth mother is amazing. I love her to pieces and we have become such great friends, family really. We communicate daily and she is nothing short of a miracle in my life. 

She feels very positive about her adoption plan and is fully aware of all the emotions and sacrifice that go into such a decision. She is the strongest person I know, period. 

She has amazing family around her who fully support her adoption plan and we had the distinct pleasure of spending quality time with them during our September visit. I miss them all terribly. 

Our adoption will be open. No one is giving up a child here. We are all gaining more family and couldn't be more excited about the future. 

As we continue to prepare for our journey please keep everyone in your prayers. Your support has meant the world to us. 

Look what's washed and ready to go!

Adventures in fencing

No ... Not that fencing!

This fencing! 

It began with a call to diggers hotline to mark the lines. They came, they spray painted, we rented a 2 man auger and went to work. 

First hole hits a line. No where near the markings from diggers hotline!

We call AT&T and diggers hotline and they both come back out. It was our AT&T line and since we aren't subscribers it's no biggie ... phew! And as for diggers hotline ... they suddenly found 2 lines that weren't there before. Two lines that ran directly where the fence needed to go. 

There's no way this was going to be easy right?

So my amazing hubby and in laws dug the holes by hand and wouldn't you know they didn't find a single line in the process?!

Now that the lines were out of the way we could go back to using the auger and quickly finish the side holes. After manually digging the back 9, these ones should be a breeze. 

Yep ... a few holes down and the auger gets stuck ... in the ground ... like REALLY stuck. Did you see that one coming? 

About 5 hours (give or take), mounds of clay and one hole to China later ... 

The auger was free!!!

Sadly the day was now gone and so our fencing story is to be continued ...

But Luke held his first bug! Hello cricket!

He was a big fan and kept signing for more when the cricket would hop away. 

Stay tuned!

3 weeks ... say what?!

We are almost down to 3 weeks!  How did this happen?!?!
While my mind can't quite wrap itself around this my body has been in FULL nesting mode for some time now.  Just ask my poor hubby and his ever expanding "to-do" list ;)
It began with our closet which seems like a perfectly logical place to start since it has nothing to do with baby ... or does it?  Our home was built before master suites and walk in closets were a thing.  So for 7 years hubby and I have not been able to share a closet.  Until now thanks to my amazing parents!!
BEFORE:

AFTER:

Being able to put ALL our clothes away in the same room, being able to get dressed in my own room, life changing!
Next up on the list?  All those shoes that are constantly piled up by our front door.  Again, for seven years and suddenly having a place to organize them is life or death.  These are serious first world problems people!
BEFORE:

AFTER:

Thanks for taking me to Ikea for my birthday mom!  This one has been equally as life changing!
Ikea also proved to be the solution to all those pesky containers taking up floor space in my kitchen!  Dog food in one, recyclables in another ... they suddenly needed to go!
BEFORE: yeah sometimes I get too excited and forget to pause and take a before picture. 
AFTER:

It turns out retractable in cabinet storage isn't just for new construction homes ;)
Next up ... yes this list continues ... you still with me?
A FENCE!!!  This has been on my wish list FOREVER!!  We have two dogs that currently need to be taken out to potty on a leash.  Challenging at best with a toddler.  Doing this in the winter with a toddler and infant?  Aint nobody got time for that!
So we saved our pennies in a "fence fund" for 7 years (that's a lot of pennies) and waited for the perfect sale and voila!
BEFORE:

AFTER: stay tuned on this one. Per our "fencing post" this has become quite the project.  Update is all post holes have even dug and we are scheduled to complete on Sunday!! And then ...
So wait ... I can just open the door when the puppies have to go out?  No more finding shoes, a coat, gating off the toddler ... holy life changing.
And because God was blessing me with boys and not girls it was time to trade out this table I got on Craigslist ... more Ikea <3
BEFORE:

AFTER:

Now to start packing for our big adventure ...

Tubes

Ear infections. 

Please let this be a thing of the past for Mr Luke. 

He has had 6 double ear infections in 5 months and constant fluid on his ear drums in between. 

Antibiotic after antibiotic and repeated trips to the chiropractor and we still couldn't get a handle on it :(

Enter the ENT and tubes. 

Surgery morning selfie!

It's okay Dad, I got this. 

Watching a little Curious George before they came to make him loopy. 

Someone's been given versed. 

Surgery took all of 15 minutes and he was back getting spoiled by the nursing staff. 

On our way home!

He was so brave and mommy only cried once. Here's to hoping this is as life changing as everyone says. This kiddo deserves some relief.