0 to 2 in 287 Days...and Living to Blog About It!!!

Gavin's First Thanksgiving!

Well, time really seems to be flying.  Gavin is already seven months old and I will have his monthly post coming in the next couple of days but thought in the meantime I would add some pictures from his first Thanksgiving!

We spent his first Thanksgiving with my family and  I think everybody enjoyed spoiling him.  He was certainly the center of attention and really hammed it up!

There were points in the day that I was honestly overcome with thankfulness.  So much has happened since last Thanksgiving.  At this time last year, we were still trying to digest the fact that a baby girl would not be joining our family at Christmas.  Our agency had matched us with a different birth mom due with a baby girl on March 4th and we traveled six hours to meet her a few days before the Thanksgiving holiday.  We were both hopeful but our future was still filled with so much uncertainty.  Then, just when I thought we couldn't take one more thing, my grandfather passed away over Thanksgiving.  I read over my Thanksgiving post from last year and every emotion I felt that day came back to me in an overwhelming manner. 

November and December were so tough for us last year.  I remember literally feeling like I could not put one foot in front of the other.  It was so difficult to believe happiness would ever come our way.  But, indeed it did!  We are not promised a tomorrow, so we should enjoy every moment of today.  Drink it up.  Believing in God doesn't mean that you won't experience sorrow here on Earth...it just means you will have him to turn to in times of true joy and true sorrow. 

So when I think about all that I am thankful for, it is hard to know where to start.

I know Pa is looking down from heaven with great pleasure on his first great grandbaby.  He loves Gavin and for this I am grateful.

I am thankful for my relationship with God.  He knows all about me and loves me anyway. 

I am thankful for my little boy's smile and the light in his eyes.  He is such a blessing that I will be forever grateful for. 

I am thankful for the miracle of adoption.  We would not have Gavin to hold if Jamie hadn't made such a selfless decision.  Can you believe she sent us an email on Thanksgiving thanking us for being a blessing in her life?  Amazing, is all I can say!

I am thankful for my husband.  I always knew he was a good husband but watching him as a father has made me fall in love with him all over again.

I am thankful for our baby on the way.  In fifteen short weeks, he or she we will be here.  We can't wait to meet this knew bundle of joy!

I am thankful for our family that loves us though the good and the bad.  They always know exactly what to say to make us feel better.  And, this isn't always easy.

I am thankful for our friends.  We consider our friends to be family.  They play a huge part if all of our lives.  Always have and always will.

I am thankful for our home, Dustin's job, and the security that it provides us.

I am thankful for two dogs that love Gavin.  They make him giggle uncontrollably, therefore they are earning their keep around here.

Finally, I am thankful for this blog.  It is so good for me to keep things in perspective.  To remember where we have been and how life is full of all kinds of curves BUT the journey we are on is OUR story.  It is unlike any other family's story and together we will continue to write our way through life. 

Our First Family Vacation and Skip and Dorothy's 40th Anniversary!

Well, we took our first family vacation to Florida.  We honestly didn't do a whole lot other than relax and enjoy the beautiful weather.  Dustin turned 35 while we were there, and this birthday was hands down better than last years.  Last year, we found out the day before his birthday that our birth mom had decided to parent her baby girl.  Who would have thought one short year later we could be so happy with Gavin and another baby on the way.  Everything does happen for a reason and we certainly did find the child we were meant to raise.  We are so blessed!

Dustin golfed with his dad at a beautiful course called Celebration on his birthday and shot a 76.  This was his best score in years!  Then, we all went to dinner together in downtown Celebration.  Dustin enjoyed yummy lobster and steak.  Gavin enjoyed sweet potatoes and pears, LOL! 

Here are some pictures from the pool.

 

 

 

Pictures from Skip and Dorothy's 40th anniversary party.

 

 

Here is a link for the video we made for Skip and Dorothy's 40th anniversary.  I believe the video plays in QuickTime. 

Download Skip and Dorothy's 40th

I also uploaded it to our other blog.  Click on Skip and Dorothy's 40th post and it should open up.

http://web.me.com/itwasmeanttobe/Site/Blog/Blog.html

I am trying to avoid Youtube and am sorry if this makes the entire process a bit more complicated.

Our "Great" Pumpkin

Here are a few photos from our trip to the pumpkin patch.  So much fun, is all I can say! Gavin wasn't exactly sure what to think of everything, LOL!

 

 

 

 

 

Happy, happy birthday Uncle Grady!!!

All day mommy has been saying how she can't believe that her little brother is 18.  Mommy was telling me about the day you were born.   Do you know that mommy was in the delivery room when you came into the world?  As a matter of fact, rumor has it, that mommy went to bed fully dressed that night just in case you decided to make your grand entrance into the world in the middle of the night and a quick trip to the hospital was necessary, LOL!

We all love you bunches and hope you are having a great birthday in Seattle!

Please God...

How many times did we pray, "Please God, help us find the little one we are meant to raise."?  Boy, did God ever deliver!  I truly believe God knew that through all of our heartache something amazing was going to happen.  When I hear Gavin's little voice talking in the morning, I automatically smile and remember that I am a mommy now and I need to go to him.  He is such an amazing blessing that truly is from God's arms, to Jamie's arms, to ours.

Our son was baptized on Sunday, October 11, 2009.  It was such a special day.  All I could think as I was standing there was my SON is getting baptized.  I am a mom to this little precious being.  God chose us!  The miracle of adoption made this day possible.  Praise the Lord!!!  

I came across this poem and thought it was perfect to share.

Please God...

Grant this little child Your love
As each new day appears,
Grant the parents guidance
And wisdom though out the years -
Smile down upon this baptism
And in Your loving way
Let Your presence gently bless
This little one today.

Here we are with Father Bob after the Baptism.

Gavin's Godparents, Maggie and Drew with their kiddos Camryn and Eliza.

Gavin with his buddy Harper and Harper's mommy and daddy, Brian and Gindy:).

Gavin with his Grandma and Grandpa J and Uncles Grady and Ben.

Gavin with his Grandma and Grandpa H.

Gavin with his Great Aunt Mary Carol and Uncle John.  Mary Carol and John are Dustin's Godparents.

Our family!

Happy Birthday, Granny Great!!!

I will start by giving credit where credit is due, LOL!  My dear friend, Gindy, always wishes her loved ones a happy birthday with her son, Harper, holding up a cute birthday sign on their blog.  Well, I thought we should begin doing this for Gavin's Granny Great's birthday.  So, the first picture is of Gavin with the sign...before it got all crumpled.

 

Wow mom, this paper is really cool!!!

Let's try a different location and see if I can get the money shot!

Keep dreaming, momma!  I am totally loving this paper.

I guess a big cheesy smile will have to do.  We love you Granny Great and miss you bunches!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOXO

Apple of my Eye

Well, we took our first trip to the apple orchard as a family of three and had a blast.  It was a perfect fall day full of fun.

We picked apples, just as we did last year, but as we suspected last September...Gavin made the experience even better.  I literally want to soak up every minute of being Gavin's mother and Dustin's wife.  While we all sat together, on the hayride to the orchard, I was overwhelmed with how much my life has changed in a year and how fortunate I am.  

Here are some fun pictures from our day!

Five Months Old

Five months old and such a good boy.  Every where we go people ask how old you are and are shocked when I reply five months.  Then you flash that big cheeked smile and turn on the charm.  You seem to be very comfortable with others and have such a fun little personality.

*  I am not sure how much you weigh because your six month appointment isn't until October 18th.  But, I got on the scale with you the other day and am guestimating you to be around 22 pounds.  You are wearing mostly 12 month clothes but not because of your weight...you are sooooo tall. 

*  You are STILL a great sleeper but your sleep habits have changed a bit.  You stay up until about 8:00 and sleep until 7:30 or 8:00.  You are all smiles when you wake up in the morning.  You had a few weeks where you were restless but it was only because of teething.

*  I saw your first tooth pop through on Friday, September 25th.  We were at Target and you were flashing your smile and all at once I saw it.  The lady standing next to us must have thought mommy was crazy.  I was giddy with excitement.  It changes the whole look of your little face.  Your bottom right tooth is already through and bottom left is on the verge of breaking through at any moment.  Like everything else in your little life, you handled getting your first tooth great.  Lots of drool but, really, that was about it.

*  You are now eating cereal in the morning and at night.  It truly depends on your mood as to how much you are able to eat.

*  Mommy and daddy are still trying to decide what to make you for Halloween.  Daddy thinks Charlie Brown would be really funny.  It would, but, I know I only have a few years to dress you in really cute outfits before you can tell me what crazy, scary thing you would like to be.  Stay tuned for a final decision.

*  We have been going to Kindermusik for a whole month.  You love the class and have all kinds of little friends that you seem to recognize each week.

*  You love to giggle at your doggies.  Oh, how you love them, and they really won't give you the time of day.  No worries little buddy, sooner or later, mommy and daddy will get you a puppy that can be all yours.  Josie and Kotie have been around a long time and look at themselves more as our children than dogs.  

*  Two funny things I have noticed this month.  Every once in a while you will mimic the dogs and pant like a puppy.  So cute!!!  And, I have been chewing a lot of gum lately to keep my tummy settled.  I have noticed you chomping your mouth like there is a big piece of gum in it.  You are always watching even at five months.  You are one smart cookie:)

I mentioned last month that we have a favorite book, I Wished for You, An Adoption Story.  I would like to share a little more from this book. 

"One day..." said Mama, brightening as she spoke, "One glorious, special, wonderful day, I found out my wish was coming true."

"What did you do?" asked Barley, smiling and sitting up.  He could tell a lucky part was coming in her story.

"I shouted for joy!" remembered Mama, laughing.  "And I cried happy tears.  I told all my friends...and they hugged me and cried, too."

Barley wondered why grown-ups cried about happy stuff.

"Everyone knew how much I had wished for you!"

"What did you do when you first held me?" asked Barley.  As hard as he tried to remember he just couldn't.  He was a pretty little Barley then.

"Oh, Barley," said Mama. "I fell deeply in love with you.  I looked into your sweet face, and right then, you became my wish come true."

Every single thing we do is better because of you.  We love you so much buddy and thank God for his many blessings every day.

Love, 

Mom and Dad

Are you ready for some football?

Here are some pictures of my two favorite football fans!  Gavin loves sitting with his daddy watching some football.  I swore I wouldn't let him watch tv but seeing him snuggle in with his daddy on the couch is just too priceless.  Thank you Lord for these my gifts!

September 9th

This post has taken me a few days to write, so I am sorry about the delay.  Some posts are more personal than others and this is one of those more personal ones.  I am a huge "date" person.  I will often say to Dustin, "Do you know what today is?"  And, it will be something really random that I remember from years ago.  Sometimes a good memory, sometimes a more difficult one.

September 9th has been a reoccurring date in my world for some odd reason.  First of all, my youngest brother, Ben, was born on September 9, 1995.  What a great day!  I was a freshman in college and my girlfriend, Jo and I, both carried pagers (this was before cell phones were really popular) so we would know the moment my step mom went into labor.  Now, you might be wondering why Jo had a pager too...well, I didn't have a car on campus at Purdue and she did.  So, thankfully, she agreed to taking me to be with my family once we got the call that Ben was on his way.  I had been in the delivery room for my other brother, Grady's, birth and certainly didn't want a little thing like college to get in the way of meeting my newest sibling. He happened to be born on a Thursday night.  In college terms, party night, so as you can imagine pulling ourselves together to get to the hospital in time was a memorable trip within itself, LOL!  Ben really wanted to get into this world quickly and we barely had time to make it to the hospital.  Jo and I returned back to campus the next morning exhausted but determined to make it to class.  I spent the weekend with all of my family getting to know Baby Ben and, when I think of the start of my freshman year of college, I will forever think of Ben!

9-9-99

I was student teaching and our school principal had asked us to think about the specialness of the date.  The kids were all asked to write about their lives on this date and to brainstorm other dates in the future and predict what they might be doing.  An example would be 1-11-11 or 2-22-22.  What a compelling assignment for not only the students but teachers.  I was totally loving life on 9-9-99 BUT I still had a lot of unknowns.  I DID know I was going to marry Dustin, a man that not only I adored but as did my family on March 4, 2000.  The plan was to graduate in December, pack, move, and get married a few months later.  I had no job, no plans other than that.  A few short months before that my biggest decision had literally been whether to run to the Discount Den or Gem with my sorority sisters for a big pop.  I didn't know exactly what the future held but I was excited and optimistic that God would take care of us and our lives would be just as I had always imagined.

September 9, 2006

We had not faced many challenging things as a married couple.  Overall, life had been good to us.  Our careers were on track, we had a lovely home, two dogs that loved us, family and friends that were always there for us. 

We decided to begin making our family and, luckily for us, got pregnant right away.  I never considered that anything would ever go wrong.  I was about 8 weeks pregnant and had gone to bed on a Friday night and woke up a few short hours later to severe cramping and you can only imagine the rest.  I called the doctor's office and was told to keep my feet up and relax that there was little they could do.  Either the pregnancy would make it or not at this point.  After a few more hours, I decided I couldn't just lay there and do nothing, so I asked Dustin to take me to the ER.  At the ER, they confirmed what we had already suspected.  I had lost the pregnancy.  Hours later, on our way home, we went and ate lunch.  Many of our local friends were tailgating at the first home Notre Dame game of the year and as I thought of the date, I realized it was my little brothers 11th birthday.  We decided to not ruin anybody's day and just take the time to process together what had happened and what our next step would be.  As we had been told by the hospital, this kind of thing happens all of the time.  I remember Dustin saying, "I always thought this kind of thing happened to other people, not to us."

I could have never imagined at that time what our future held.  The journey we would take to parenthood and the lessons of love and forgiveness we would learn along the way.  God truly never does give you more than you can handle.  When you are in the thick of sadness and tragedy, it is difficult to see the bigger picture and what God has planned for your life.  Sometimes it is in his time and not yours, but when it all unfolds, it is even better than you could have ever imagined.

So after three failed pregnancies, two birth mothers finding the courage to parent their little girls, and our SWEET Angel, Gavin finally finding his way into our lives...I can truly say God's plan for us has been shown and is good.  For this I will be forever thankful!

As most of you already know, we are pregnant again and are certainly learning to take this pregnancy one day at a time.  We are 14 weeks.  This is further that we have every made it before.  Please pray for all of us and that we are faithful and trust whatever God's plan will be.