And baby makes 5!!

Little did I know when I posted my last blog that our lives were about to change incredibly! I had no idea on that Sunday that there was a precious one day old baby lying in a hospital that would soon come into our home and our hearts. The following day, Monday November 5th, we got the phone call that I had been so anxiously awaiting for weeks. I was told there was a 3 year old boy in need of a home. We nervously and excitedly said yes and were expecting him to arrive the next day. That next Tuesday morning I went to Publix to load up on everything I thought a 3 year old boy would want to eat. My cart was full and I was standing in the nonexistant African American hair care section of Publix trying to figure out what products I would need to care for the newest member of our family when I received a call from FaithBridge. Thankfully, the boy was able to go live with his grandmother, HOWEVER, "there is a 3 day old baby girl in need of a placement," the caseworker said. I will never forget that life changing moment in the middle of the aisle at Publix.
Over the next day we would learn bits and pieces of information about this sweet baby. She was born at 4 pounds 9 ounces and was in the NICU. (Now remember our boys were 9 pounds 8 ounces and 7 pounds 9 ounces--I've never seen a baby this small!!) Wednesday we were able to visit her for the first time. As we made the drive to the hospital I just kept thinking that we have no idea if we are going to meet a sweet baby that will be with us for a short time or if we possibly could be about to meet our forever child. I still don't know the answer to that question of course but I do know that she is forever in our hearts. We are calling her Vera. What a tiny precious bundle she was! We held her and rocked her and could see right away that she loved being held. We visited her in the NICU everyday that week until she came home on Sunday. We also spent the week getting ready to have a newborn--as ready as you can in 5 days notice! The outpouring of love and supplies from friends and our church has been remarkable. We barely had to buy anything! Most days I would arrive home to find bags and boxes full of clothes, diapers, bottles, blankets, etc, sitting on our porch. I was so thrilled to have precious pink clothes in the house that I even took a picture of my laundry! And the generousity continues with countless acts of love. From meals to babysitting to baby clothes to building shelving in the garage to help with laundry and house cleaning (those last two are mostly by my sweet mom who has been so helpful!), we have felt so wrapped in God's love!!
It was definitely a shock that first night (and first weeks) jumping right back into a newborn schedule. It is amazing how you forget how hard it is at first. Sleep deprivation is such a hard thing! And it didn't help that myself and both of the boys came down with strep on the very first night she was home. That was not fun at all! At first she had her days and nights mixed up and then we realized that she has bad reflux. She's now able to go one 5 hour stretch at night however it usually is during times when I'm not yet asleep so I don't really benefit. But already she is doing so much better sleeping than one particular son (who will go nameless), and she is a really good baby with such a sweet little temperment.
The boys are totally in love with her and have done so well with the transition. Nicholas comes home with a new picture he drew for her most days or writes about her in his sentences. Nolan is always asking "Where's my baby sister?" the moment I put her down. We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving at Grandad and Kaki's--just the seven of us relaxing with lots of baby time to go around.
Vera is 6 weeks old now! She is growing wonderfully and is up to 7 pounds 8 ounces a couple of days ago. There's so much more I'd like to say but don't think I'm able so I will leave it at that. And there are so many precious pictures that I'm not able to post. :( But here are a few:

We have no idea what the future holds for us but we trust in the Lord that He knows and that is what matters. In the mean time, we treasure each day and each moment with Vera and are looking forward to a special Christmas with our sweet girl.
I can't sign off without wishing our sweet Nolan a Happy 3rd Birthday today!! We had a fun superhero party this weekend that I will share about soon. For now I'm off to bed before Lil Miss wakes up!

Tricks and Treats

What an amazing week we had last week! Last Friday afternoon I took the boys trick or treating early at FaithBridge. It was a blast! The Jackson Healthcare building where the FaithBridge office is located was doing trick or treating throughout their office. All of the cubicles throughout the 5 stories were decorated and they invited all of the foster families and the employees families. It was so much fun!!

Check out Spiderman and Clark Kent/Superman. Cutest Superheroes you'll ever see!

The next morning we were blown away by the most amazing surprise from our church family. At 8:30 on Saturday morning we were surprised by around 25 people at our house (don't worry we were dressed and awake), all bearing frozen meals to be put in our new deep freezer they gave us, to pray over our family and home as we begin this journey into fostering! It was unreal! We now have a freezer full of meals just waiting for the crazy nights when we get a child. There are no words to describe how thankful we are!

The amazing freezer!

That afternoon we headed down to Peachtree City for a great visit with Aunt Lauren, Uncle TJ, and Trip and Mady. The grown ups watched the UGA vs. FL game while the cousins played and played. This was the first time spending the night at their house and the kids had so much fun in their sleeping bags and actually behaved rather well!

Wednesday was Halloween so of course we trick or treated a second time. This time Mimi joined us! I love our neighborhood! We have so many kids now in the neighborhood, it makes it so much fun to run from house to house with all your friends. It was so cute to see Nolan so into it too and trying hard to keep up with his big bro.

On Thursday morning my very talented friend Kimberly offered to take some pictures of Nolan. Here are some previews of the ones I've seen so far. She did a great job!

We are waiting people

We are waiting. Waiting in the carpool line, waiting for Nolan to be fully potty trained, waiting for the election to be over, waiting for the weekend, waiting, waiting, and more waiting. As Christians, we are waiting people. Waiting for Christ's return and when the pain of this world will no longer be felt.
"All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy." Romans 8:22-25 MSG
And now we are waiting for The Call. Our home study is complete and we are approved foster parents! I am trying to be patient (even joyful) in my waiting but I will be honest that it has caused me some anxiety. I jump everytime the phone rings. The hard part is the not knowing when it will come or who it will be. It makes it challenging to plan for anything, not knowing if we will have a new child in our home. However these are minor inconveniences knowing that what I am really waiting for is a call that another family is broken. Everyday I am praying for this family that I do not yet know. Praying for this child that I will welcome into our home and love and care for. Praying that God will protect them in whatever crisis they are going through and they will feel Christ's love for them within their pain.
I continue to pray for God's perfect timing as only He knows the child that is meant to come into our lives. In the meantime we've been busy getting ready! The big news is that we bought a minivan! Yep, I am now a Minivan Mama and I never thought I would love it so much! I owe it all to my amazing husband who worked hard to find a great deal and not only that, he found one with all the bells and whistles too. Which will be great because I have a feeling we will be spending lots of time in the car. Because of this car we will be able to do the work of this ministry and for that I am so incredibly grateful!

The room is also ready thanks to very sweet friends who donated an awesome race car bed to us! We are so thankful to so many wonderful friends who have been so encouraging and supportive. Just one of the many, many blessings that God has given us in this process.
We've done some fun things as we wait too:
Went on a dinosaur hunt with Kaki

Served at a food pantry

Had a great trip to the Southeastern Train Museum

And learned to play the drums in a friends awesome basement studio

Please continue to pray for the children that God has called us to serve. The need is so great and there are so many families and children who are hurting. Until then, "I pray to God -- my life a prayer -- and wait for what he'll say and do. My life's on the line before God, my Lord, waiting and watching till morning, waiting and watching till morning." Psalm 130:5-6 MSG

Settling into our transitions...

Well we are 2 months into school and things are going great. There was a little glitch early on in that Nick's teacher became ill and retired after only being there for the first 5 days of school. Not a great way to enter into Kindergarten and elementary school with never meeting his teacher or having any communication from a teacher for weeks. 2 or 3 weeks later we received notice that the long term sub that had been in the class the entire time, was hired as the full time teacher. What a blessing this has been! Nicholas LOVES Ms. Kemp! He talks about her all the time and is doing so well in school. I am so thankful and so proud of him. Here's my big boy when I came to visit one day at lunch ;)

Nolan started preschool and is having a great time! Unfortunately he has recently been putting up a fight in the mornings saying he doesn't want to go to school but as soon as he's there, he has so much fun. It's all a show for Mommy I guess! I remember that Nicholas did exactly the same thing. Grr. But I am glad that he loves it when he's there and has so much fun with his friends. I love being there too and being able to see him occasionally as he interacts on the playground and in his class. He has an amazing memory for names and is very social and always talking about his friends.
Nolan's first day of school:

This picture is of Nolan's first time through the Carpool Line :)

And here's a sweet picture from Graham's very low-key birthday:

Don't I have the cutest guys ever?!

I've adjusted well to my new part time gig at the preschool and am really enjoying my time with the kids. They are the sweetest little kids and are doing so well adjusting to school and their first time away from Mom. I'm enjoying sticking my baby toe into the waters of "teaching", if you can call it that. But it's been fun doing crafts, singing songs, and reading books.
Graham and I have been busy at home getting things ready for fostering. We completed the many different steps we needed to for our paperwork and will be scheduling our first home visit very soon. The boys are very excited about their new bunk bed! Nolan transitioned so well from his crib to his Big Boy Bed. The bunk bed we got has a double bed on the bottom and a twin on the top. At first we did not have the top twin bed so the boys shared the bottom. Nolan slept sideways and kicked Nick all night long and both of them loved it! They are the sweetest brothers. Our sweet friends Jenny and Joe gave us the top mattress and Nicholas is so ecstatic to be sleeping on the top. It is really working out quite well, I'm pleasantly surprised!

I suspect that things will move quickly from here as we complete our 3 home visits and then should be able to receive children. I have so many mixed emotions-- fear and anxiety, but lots of excitement too. Mostly I just can't wait to see who God brings into our lives to love and care for just as we do the boys. I know that God will equip us to do the job that He has called us to do and I can't wait to see the amazing things He does in all of our lives through this process.

Answering His Call

There are big changes happening in our family. Five years ago, when I replaced my role as Case Worker with the role of Mommy, I always hoped that one day I would add another role of foster or adoptive mom as well. I hoped for it, but I never imagined that God would have brought us to this place, here and now. But He is faithful and His plan is far greater than we could ever have for ourselves. He has been working in our hearts and in a million different ways in our lives to prepare us and lead us in this way.
Back in December, it was Graham who heard God's call. He came to me and said that he knew God was calling us to care for orphans. And this was coming from the same man who just months before had told me "no, I don't think I'm confident enough in my parenting to adopt", when I had asked if he would ever think of adopting. Once I had a little bit of time to digest this gigantic turn of events, we began searching into what exactly this meant for our family. Because today's modern day orphan can be found in many different ways around this world. Of course I was very familiar with our local foster care system through my education and career and this was a natural path for us to look into. However at the same time, God opened up our eyes to the horrific plight of orphans around the world and our hearts broke again. In our research, it seemed at first that the foster care door was closing for our family and that International Adoptions was where God was calling us. We began the application process and were approved. However, back in my research regarding foster care, I came across an agency called FaithBridge. And suddenly it became very apparent to me what has been lacking in my faith and in my church. FaithBridge looks at the problem of foster care and sees the solution in the church. As Christians, it is our responsibility to care for widows and orphans and God makes this clear throughout His Word. So as we began our personal road toward International Adoption, I began reaching out to the church to find out how we can begin a foster care and orphan ministry within the church. And it is through this process that it became clear that in fact God was calling our family to foster care as well.
We have taken this leap and have begun our training and could not be more excited about this plan and purpose for our family. During the span of these two weeks, we have had four life changing, new events. Nicholas started Kindergarten, Graham and I started and will complete all of our foster parent training, I started teaching at the preschool, and Nolan will start going to preschool for the first time. Throw in church meetings and school meetings every single night and end the two weeks with Graham's birthday and you've got a recipe for complete stress and chaos! But despite all of that, each day has gone by filled with nothing but God's perfect peace.
The wonderful thing about this ministry is that we can not and should not do this alone. Foster care is not easy. In fact it is down right hard and messy and heartbreaking. FaithBridge has a wonderful model that they call the Community of Care. This is essentially a team of volunteers that comes around the foster family to raise them up and support them and the children. These volunteers help with meals, clothing and supplies, transportation, babysitting, tutoring, respite care, pastoral support, and prayer support. They become an extended family for these children who so desperately need the loving influence of others. They are the hands and feet of Christ to these kids. We are in the process of trying to find these volunteers and support for our family. If you have ever wondered how you could touch the life of a child in need but didn't know where to begin, please contact me and I can give you more information on how you can become involved.

Kindergarten 2012

Well this day has quickly arrived! Nicholas had a wonderful first day at school! On Thursday at the Open House, unfortunately his teacher was sick so we didn't get to meet the teacher so they said I could come in on Monday to meet her. I think this was a little blessing in disguise to help me with my first day jitters!! Nicholas on the other hand had no first day jitters! He rocked it! When I went in to wake him up he jumped out of bed and said "Is the bus here?? I'm SO excited to go to my first day today!!" It was adorable! We quickly got ready and ate breakfast and I realized how quickly the morning is going to go and how efficient I will need to be to not miss the bus every morning at 7:02 am!! Thank goodness it comes right across the street and I don't have to go to the front of the neighborhood! I am so thankful for that! So after some adorable pictures where Nicholas wanted to do a cool side pose to show off his new Mario bros. backpack, we were off to school!

Do I not live with the 3 cutest guys in the world or what?!

When we got the school we rushed to his classroom. He put his things away and we met his teacher, took a quick picture and then found his desk and said our goodbyes! It was literally that quick! I had no time to get sad!

Then Nolan and I headed to Chickfila to meet 2 of my friends and their little ones who also dropped their kindergarteners (and 2nd graders) off, so that I wouldn't go home and cry. It was great to visit with them and keep my mind off of things! But unfortunately I was having some painful chestpains that were not just a result of my "heart" going off to kindergarten, so I headed to the doctor and found out I have bronchitis! That put a bit of a bummer on the day.
But soon it was time to wait for the bus and pray that Nicholas made it home! Thankfully he did and had a fabulous day as well!

"First day of kindergarten, no problem! I got this!"
He was so pooped, he asked to go to bed at 6:30 tonight!

Summer Highlights

Summer has come and gone! How does this happen so quickly?! It was a great one! While we didn't do any traveling this summer, it was still jam packed with fun and great memories! I started working at the preschool, helping out with the summer camps. The boys came along with me and loved every minute of it. Especially Nolan who was so proud to finally be going to school like his big brother!

I really enjoyed working with the kids and it was a great way to get my feet wet for my next adventure that will be starting this fall--teaching at the preschool! I'll be teaching the babies, 2 days a week, with my friend Stacey. More on that to come.
In between camps we took a break for VBS--exhausting but amazing! It was so wonderful to be with these 500+ children as they learn all about God's promises for their lives. And even more amazing that 2 months later, Nicholas reminded me of the things we learned and applied it to what we were discussing, "Remember mom, always Trust God." Makes it all worth it!
When we weren't in camp or VBS, we were typically having tons of fun with friends. Holly and I had an incredible time at the Lady Antebellum concert thanks to our sweet hubbies!

There was lots of time spent with both sets of grandparents and lots of time in the pool. Nicholas is a fish in the water! Swimming the length or width of the pool and jumping off the diving board! The boys spent weekends with the grandparents...

While Graham and I ventured to Ikea to buy some new furniture...

We played lots of games and puzzles

Spent time outside...

And did arts and crafts...

We even learned how to do more chores and earn an allowance...

And we had many great meals with friends and family...

Lastly, Graham took a day off and we had a great day down at the Aquarium! What an amazing place! It was Graham's first visit and it'd been a long time for the rest of us. We saw the dolphin show which was great and enjoyed the rest of the exhibits.

Well that's basically our summer in pictures. It was low-key but jam-packed! More than anything this summer I feel like I just took it all in and enjoyed this time with my boys. I feel that more than anything I realize how short my time is with them and treasure each day to its fullest. That almost makes this big step into kindergarten that much harder because we enjoyed these long days together so much. I actually think that the one who is going to have the hardest time with school starting is going to be Nolan. He won't know what to do without his best friend, hero, and big brother by his side all day long. Open House is tomorrow night where we find out his teachers, class mates and all the other important info! Kindergarten here we come! Can somebody please pass the tissues....