Sunday Song

I encourage you to watch the video for this song posted below the lyrics. The music video they made is all about adoption. They portrayed a beautiful scene to make the point that we have all been adopted by Christ.

"Children of God" Third Day

Praise to the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ

Our God and our King, to Him we will sing

In His great mercy, He has given us life

Now we can be called the children of God

Great is the Love that the Father has given us

He has delivered us

He has delivered us

Children of God, sing your song and rejoice

For the love that He has given us all

Children of God, by the blood of His Son

We have been redeemed and we can be called

Children of God

Children of God

A mystery is revealed to the universe

The Father above has proven His love

Now we are free from the judgment that we deserve

And so we are called the children of God

We are the saints

We are the children

We've been redeemed

We've been forgiven

We are the sons and daughters of our God

Moving On

In my mind, in the hubs's mind, and, I think, in the adoption agencies mind, we're all moving past this birthmother situation we've briefly been in. We finally heard back from the agency this week (apparently the lady I had been trying to email was on vacation!) and they just confirmed everything we had been thinking. The birthmom can't really make up her mind about anything. At first she couldn't decide on a family and now she's not even sure if she wants to go through with the adoption at all.

The agency said since her due date is so soon, they might meet with her a few more times and then would just play things by ear and see if she called them at the hospital. Pretty much meaning they're not counting on her going through with anything, but if she freaks out at the hospital after she's given birth, they'll let us know. Can you even imagine getting that call?? haha!

But I don't expect to get that call and we're okay with that. As I've said before, God has already handpicked our child out for us and I don't want any baby but that one. So now we're just working on getting our house really, really clean for our homestudy. We're expecting that to be scheduled around the first week of June.

Please continue to pray for that birthmother as she's going through a very difficult and confusing time. Pray that she hears the voice of God leading her to the best decision for herself and for her family. Thank you!

Puzzle Update - Week 5

In Week 5 we sold 23 puzzle pieces! We now have 165 pieces put together total. We're still working on the border. I seriously can't wait to get that part done! I would say only 835 pieces to go, but our numbers have actually changed a little bit...

While working on the puzzle this week we discovered that we had a missing piece. We looked through every.single.piece to try and find it, but it is not there. While we were looking through all those pieces, we actually also counted every.single.piece. And what did we discover? This is actually a 1,008 piece puzzle! How random is that?? So based on that new number, with one piece missing, we now have 842 pieces to go. haha!

But now there's the question of what to do about that missing puzzle piece. Any suggestions are appreciated because it's definitely driving the OCD tendencies in me crazy! I actually considered buying the puzzle again just to get that one piece. However, we had a friend suggest that we simply leave it out to represent the fact that our baby was the missing piece to our family. Sweet, right? Any other ideas are welcomed!

Seriously...almost done with that border!

Mother's Day Weekend

What an incredibly fun and blessed weekend I had. Life is just so good right now. I am reminded daily how great my life is and I thank God for that.

On Friday night our close group of friends headed to a Drillers game for the evening. My brother and sister-in-law were also there with their kiddos, so we sat with them towards the end of the game and for the fireworks show. I don't think I watched any of the game that night. I just enjoyed being around great friends and family. Oh, and I played in a contest they were having on Twitter and won an autographed baseball! I have no clue who the player is that signed it, but hey, still cool!

Sweet buddies playing together at the game.

Sweet Mommy and her boy snuggling.

Picking up my autographed baseball!

Hangin' with the fam a little bit.

Watching the fireworks.

On Saturday morning the hubs and I headed out to Bartlesville to spend some Mother's Day time with his mom. We had lunch at a B'ville classic, Murphy's Steakhouse. Gravy over all? Mmm, yes please! And if you don't know what that means, you need to go try the place out for yourself.

The fam headed to B'ville. Rollie loves going with us. Her Memaw and Pepaw spoil her!

Sleepy girl on the way home.

Sometime during the day on Saturday the hubs surprised me with a Mother's Day gift (candle - he knows me well) and a card. I was truly shocked. I did not expect that at all. I cried, which is kind of rare for me to do on the spot. It was just so sweet. I am so lucky to have him in my life.

On Sunday I went to church on Mother's Day for the first time in three years. It just felt like time to start going again. I am trying to move on from my infertility and not let it define me, so I was happy to be there. I even got two presents from some great friends! Again, such a shock to get a Mother's Day present.

One of them was from the craftiest person I know, Amanda. She made me a cute little bottlecap keychain with the Bible verse reference that I have at the top of this blog. So sweet! Then, as I was almost ready to leave, I saw my friends little kids come walking towards me all carrying a giftbag. I was melting already! They then presented me with, what we call, a Smoochie Frog. All of the first born children in our group have a Smoochie Frog and they decided to go ahead and get Baby Thomas one. Such a precious way for them to say that they know we will have a baby in our arms soon.

The madre and I at church on Mother's Day. And yes, I was taking pictures during church.

My cute keychain from Amanda! I stole this picture from her site 'cause every picture I took did not look as good. lol

The kiddos walking towards me with their bag.

Helping me open the present.

A Smoochie Frog for Baby Thomas!

Some smooches for Smoochie Frog.

Smoochie Frog at home in the nursery.

Again, it was a wonderful weekend. Which is something I definitely did not expect for Mother's Day Weekend. I am fully and abundantly blessed.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day can be a sensitive subject for those who deal with infertility. Sometimes it can feel like the day is almost mocking us. It is there to celebrate everything we haven't been able to achieve.

I haven't attended church on Mother's Day or Father's Day for the last two years, maybe even three years. Because let's be honest, church isn't always an easy place to be at any day of the year for infertile couples. Most things at church are focused around the family. Which I'm not criticizing them for. It just makes it hard to be there sometimes.

But this year, I am going. I am about to put on my big girl pants and go to church on Mother's Day. And guess what?? I know that I'll survive it! I have simply faced the fact that Mother's Day is not about me. At least not yet. Hopefully it will be soon, but for now, it's not about me.

For now, it's about this woman. The woman who gave me life. The woman who was the best mother a little girl could ask for. The woman who is now not only a mother, but a friend.

It's also about this woman. The woman who gave my husband life and raised him to be a kind, caring, and loving man. The woman who has also been a precious mother-in-law to me. (Photo courtesy of Jenny White Photography)

Today is also about this woman, one of the best sisters-in-law a girl could ask for. The woman who has made me an aunt four times. The woman who cares for her children with an endless abundance of love and support. (PS - Ashlee, this was the best picture I could find of us together. We should probably work on that!)

It's also about this woman, who is a patient and loving stepmother. The woman who is always loving on me and praying for me. The woman who is not only an amazing friend to me, but is also like a second mother.



And it's also about these women, my best friends. The women who have been with me through all the tears, anxiety, and small victories. The women whose children will be my child's sweet playmates.

Today, on Mother's Day, I will celebrate these incredible women. One day it will be about me too, but for now, I rejoice with them. And I know that when my time comes, they will be rejoicing and celebrating me as well.

Still Waiting

Well, a birthmom did look at our profile on Wednesday. That much we do know. Other than that, there's not much else to say. We haven't heard anything back from the agency yet, so we're still just waiting.

Since we haven't heard anything yet, it gives us the impression that this birthmom is probably having a difficult time with her decision, which is very understandable. I can't imagine being in her position. So we will just sit back and (try to) wait patiently. But, as mentioned before, she is due on May 22nd, so we won't have to wait too long until we have an answer.

I would like to thank everyone for all of their kind words, thoughts, encouragement, and prayers. We are doing just fine, really. We feel so much peace and really aren't anxious at all. Even if we aren't chosen for this situation, we feel fine. God already has our child picked out for us and I don't want any baby but that one.

Please keep this birthmother in your prayers. Like I said, I can't even imagine the decisions she's trying to make right now. Please be praying for God to grant her the peace and comfort she needs for her decisions, whatever they may be. Thank you!

Puzzle Update - Week 4

In Week 4 we have sold 6 puzzle pieces! That makes for 142 pieces put together total. We were able to get a little bit more of the border done. I can't wait to finish that part. Only 858 pieces to go!