Their loss is our gain...

Last night as we were tucking the kids in for bed Iris prayed first. This is how it went; 

Iris: Jesus, bwess Mad-win, Kirsten, Hey, Befany, Rynie, Gigi, Captain-Huggyface in Gigi's Belly. 

I pray for Luke?

Me: Yes

Iris: Jesus, bwess Luke, she stops

What Luke Momma's name?

Me: I don't know, baby. (tears start flowing)

Iris: Okay, Jesus bwess Luke's mommy. Make her happy.

Jeremiah leaned to me and said, "Momma, Luke has two mommies right? You're his mommy and he has a mommy in Ethiopia."

These sweet prayers were a strong reminder for Al and myself that we need to be praying for this family who's loss will be our gain. It's intense to think on and without trust in the Lord, it's an impossible weight to bear. So thankful that I don't have to bear that weight. We don't yet know "who" Luke is. We pray for our son by name, we have an idea of what age he will be, but beyond what country he's in, it's all still a mystery. 

As Al and I laid in bed last night praying for our kids, we prayed for our son's birth family as well. For the loss he will experience. For the relationships he'll make while in America World's Group home. That his story will be well documented so he'll know more of who he is and where he came from. We prayed that his parents, family and any siblings he has in Ethiopia would know Christ so that one day, we can all be reunited in heaven. We know that God has called us to be a part of this little guys destiny and when we stop and think of all the details He is working out on our behalf we can't help, but praise Him. What a privilege to be a part of this story! 

Thank you for your prayers! Our home study is complete and we are moving forward with all the dossier paperwork! 

Merry Christmas and a Joyous New Year!

Our holidays looked a little differently than in years past. We didn't travel to Oklahoma, or see our family as usual. It was hard, it was different, but it wasn't miserable. Christmas Eve we went to our Christmas Eve service then had dinner with the Roe's and several other families. We celebrated Christmas morning at home with just the four of us. Jeremiah expected to find snow on the ground, after his initial disappointment he was still excited that it was finally Christmas! Our dear friends, the Print's came over for breakfast and to play with all the new toys. After nap we headed over to the Liss' to celebrate Christmas dinner with the Oliver's, Lestarjett's and so many more. While we missed our family and there were some tears from me, we really did have a great Christmas. Here are a few highlights from our day.

Christmas morning excitement! 

Taking the babies with us to Christmas dinner

Iris and Lisa having some Play-doh fun! 

We are moving right along in the adoption process! We have begun our home study and the paper chase continues with applications, documents, more documents and notaries. God has been so faithful to provide through so many ways! Many of you have given us gifts, we've sold necklaces (a great success, so we'll be doing that again soon!), and we've had extra monies come in and go straight to the adoption accounts. The costs are great, but God is a great provider! Always feel free to email us any questions you have, we would love to answer your questions! We look forward to the Christmases when we have our whole family together!

Thanksgiving Update!

I just realized I didn't update about the Turkey Trot! Our Thanksgiving weekend was such a fun one, but by the time it was over we had a lot of catching up to do. It was filled with friends and lots of fun. We got up early for the race, to say Jeremiah was excited would be an understatement. After the 5k, (I ran & they cheered me across the finish line), Jeremiah and his best buddy, Blake (14) got set to run the race. When they said, "go" he ran his little heart out, but soon became distracted with buildings, police cars, even a leaf or two. I thought surely something was wrong when they were so far behind so I ran to meet them, but Blake explained that J was taking it all in. His post-race comments included, "Where were the cheerleaders" and "I thought it was a little too long". Here are a few shots from the day. Thank you to all who supported us by cheering us on, by sponsoring us and by encouraging our little guy. 

Thanksgiving Reflections

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I'm having a hard time putting my thoughts to paper so forgive me if this is a bit jumbled, but I do want to share. I am running a Thanksgiving Day 5k tomorrow morning and immediately afterwards Jeremiah is running his first Kids Fun Run 1k. He is adorably excited about it and cannot wait for people to cheer for him.

All day today I have been emotional thinking about him running this race. It was 4 years ago that the Lord first called me to begin running and I ran this same race on Thanksgiving day, 2008. See, we had been trying to conceive a baby for several years and we had lost 2 babies to miscarriage. Al & I both felt like this run was unto Jeremiah. I didn't really know what that meant, just that we were committed to do anything the Lord called us to, not to waste any days just waiting. Each time we trained we prayed for the baby boy God had promised, but also asked what else He might have for us in our season of preparation. When I ran that race I was carrying a teeny tiny little guy that only God knew existed. I found out the Saturday after Thanksgiving that I was pregnant. Now that tiny little miracle is a walking, talking, running little boy!

He doesn't know what this race means for me, but I do. The bigger picture for us this year is that Jeremiah and I  are racing to raise support to bring the next member of this family home through adoption. I look forward to a night like this in the future when I can sit down and blog after the kids are in bed and remember the race Jeremiah ran for his brother Luke, still unknown to us in Ethiopia. I know that Thanksgiving I'll be a mess watching my boys run side by side, a couple of promises fulfilled. Don't worry, Iris will be right there with them! I'm confident she won't let them do much without her.

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us, encouraged us and sowed into this adoption financially! We are so thankful for each of you! We are very close to having another payment to send in and then we'll be starting our home study! Exciting days ahead!

If you see me tomorrow at the race, don't be surprised if you see a few tears of joy. God is so good and I am ever thankful for his faithfulness. He who promised, truly is faithful.

Martha

Sponsor Jeremiah is his first 1K! Click the link to the right or contact me for a mailing address...

Remember if you'd like to run, walk or skip in the Turkey Trot 5K, you can join our team and get your own sponsors! Email me for more details, marthaandal@gmail.com. We love you and appreciate ALL the prayers and support!

A couple of silly faces for your Friday night

This is Jeremiah at 5 months old and Iris at 8 months old (sitting with Jeremiah, 2 years old). They know how to make us smile!

bye, bye bottle!

Ten days ago we did it, we took away the bottle! I gave Jeremiah his usual early morning bottle when he woke up and I told him that it would be his last. He was a big boy now and Mommy & Daddy wanted him to drink his milk from a cup. I told him I had a very special cup for him to use. So... all day long I waited for him to ask for him milk like he usually did and he never did. He normally took a bottle when he woke up, before morning nap, before afternoon nap and at bedtime. Well, we went all day without it and he never asked so at bedtime we gave him his new "extra special" Lightening McQueen cup! He was excited about the exterior, but refused the milk inside of it. Over the next 6 days he drank maybe one ounce of milk. Since he normally drinks 20 ounces of milk a day, I knew this wasn't going to work so we tried other cups. We tried milk in our cups. We tried boxed milk and finally on day 7 he tried it with a straw and drank a few drinks. Al handed him the cup while he was reading with Aunt Becky (she was here visiting) and he took a few drinks, looked at her and said, "what's this? this milk?" she told him it was and he made a face and took another drink! He still isn't drinking 20 ounces, but he does drink milk with his meals now as long as it's in a cup with a straw! I thought he would be really upset over no bottle and while he does ask about once a day, he isn't crying for it or giving us a hard time. I guess the lack of milk has left a void in his diet though and he is eating like a teenage boy! I've added more fat and calcium to his diet and I'm making sure he gets lots of green vegetables as well as a multivitamin. I was most worried I would miss the morning snuggles with him as he drinks his milk, but he still lets me snuggle him even if there isn't a bottle involved.

Things I hear...

It seems like every day Jeremiah adds words to his vocabulary. Sometimes they are right on and other times they take some imagination. I absolutely LOVE this age and love being able to communicate with Jeremiah, but it also reveals the things Al & I must say often... I told some friends at lunch today about something Jeremiah said to Iris this morning and my friend suggested I be writing these things down before I forget, and I thought, I should put it on my blog as well!

Jeremiah to Iris, Hi, gurl! Guess what? Wuv you!

When you point out colors he recognizes and names them in his own special way, Red=Elmo Red, Green=Oscar Green, Blue=Cookie Blue, Yellow=Big Bird Red (yes, I mean red)

One of his favorite phrases that we hear at least 20 times a day is, C'mere a minute

He calls Iris, my gurl or baby gurl

When he wants a fruit bar (his favorite snack) he says, Growger fuit brr The packaging has Grover on it, so of course they are Grover fruit bars!

This week we met some friends at a frozen yogurt place and his friend was shouting, I want ice cream! So of course Jeremiah excitedly said, ice cream! ice cream! Well, I filled up a cup with fruit from the toppings bar. When we sat down he took his first bite of blueberries, smiled, tilted his head back and said, Mmmm, dat's good ice keem! (don't tell him fruit isn't ice cream!)

When he accidently hurts Iris or if he gets too rough with her, we tell him to apologize, in the cutest voice he says, Sawwee Baby.

When Daddy is at work he is, dwivin' da big twuck!

He is really pretty good with names, but he calls his friend, Cooper, Pooker.

Aubrey introduced him to the movie, Cinderella when she was over last week and he calls it, Pwint, (as in princess).

He is quite the little prayer warrior and after witnessing Aubrey having a rough night he prayed, Aubrey gurl, happy, Aubrey.

Terms we must say often, because we hear them often, Oh gosh (that's Mommy!) & Awesome (that's Daddy!)

This weekend we will begin, Operation No More Bottle! I know, I know, he's too old for a bottle, but our pediatrician said not to push it until he was 2. Jeremiah isn't a fan of drinking his milk from a cup, water and juice are great in a cup, but milk? No way. Since he is a skinny-mini Dr. E said it was best that he get his calories from his milk, even if it came from a bottle. But, I really feel like the time has come to switch to a cup. So... pray for us! The plan is to let him choose a new fancy milk cup from the store and he can trade it for his bottles. For once I am thankful Iris refuses the bottle, at least there won't be any jealousy there!

Out for a stroll!

3 months

Jeremiah is 3 months old and more fun each day!

At 3 months Jeremiah:
laughs out loud all the time
smiles at everyone in sight
loves to be sitting up looking around
hates the car seat at night (still!)
thinks dancing with Momma is so funny, but listening to Daddy sing is even funnier
has rolled over from his belly to his back
talks all the time by fluctuating his voice up and down making a funny groaning noise
is the joy of our household. I don't know what we looked at before he came along!
loves going to UTurn and seeing all the kids, but the Word Group girls are his favorite

A quick post!

Can you believe he is big enough for his Bumbo chair?!


My brother Matt (17) aka, Jeremiah's favorite toy
Jeremiah, Bella, Gideon and Jack (Reynolds cousins)
Jeremiah meeting his great-grandma! (Al's grandma)

I have internet access and a sleeping baby at the same time! That rarely happens so here is a quick update on our lives! And I do mean quick... :) 

We are doing fantastic, I am loving the mommy life. I am still in awe at times that I am in this position finally.

Jeremiah and I enjoyed a trip to Tulsa this month. He did great on the flights and loved all the people he got to see on each flight. He thought they were all there for him. It was a funny experience to step onto a plane and have everyone looked away fast, you could almost hear their thoughts, "Please don't let the lady with the baby sit by me..." but our boy did great! He didn't cry a bit. We had a great time in Tulsa making the rounds to see everyone. We were both tired by the end of the trip, but I am so thankful we got to go. Becky just bought a house so I was so excited to see it in it's "before" stage. She has lots of work to do, but it is an adorable house about 6 blocks from my parents. 

I am almost 30!!! Two weeks from today I will be 30! I know it is two weeks because today is my lifelong friend, Sarah B's birthday. She is 29 today and we are the same age for 2 weeks every year. That was a big deal when we were little. Happy Golden Birthday, Sarah! To mark this milestone, I have a gray hair. One curly thing poking up from the crown of my head. I am not one to shy away from birthdays though. I love each age and I am proud to be where I am, so bring on the thirties and the gray hairs! (I just a box of dye anyway ;))

Last week we lost power and about the same time heard a helicopter. We looked outside and there was a helicopter flying low pulling new power lines to new towers that were just built. It was amazing to watch. The chopper would fly so low and steady. And then to add to our excitement a guy climbed the tower to attach the lines. It was worth the temporary loss of power. :) That is what the random picture is. (can someone tell me why I can't move pictures on this thing!? So annoying) 

Ok, nap time is coming to an end in our house so I will hurry up and get some pictures added to this post and say goodbye for now! 

A brand new car!

Since being at home I have seen Price is Right for the first time in ages, so I hear the announcer voice when I think of our "Brand new car!!!". The Lord laid the possibility of a new car on our hearts last week. Now doesn't seem like the time to buy a new car. We are now a one income family and we've worked to eliminate debt in order for that to be possible. Thankfully though, God is our provider and not ourselves. The government program, CARS, or Cash for Clunkers ended this weekend and Al's T100 qualified since it only gets 16 miles to the gallon. Through Averitt Express, Al gets an employee discount through Nissan. Averitt is Nissan's carrier so the discount is the same as what Nissan employees get. Al went to the dealer and found a Nissan Versa at a great price. After much prayer, counsel and a long day of waiting, we bought the Versa. After our Averitt discount, Nissan rebate and the CARS promotion we were able to get a great price as well as a great interest rate. Our payments won't be much over what we will be saving in gas each month. We are thankful and so excited! We've never had a new car, we've always bought used. It will be a fun car for us to run around in. And we still have the 4Runner for bigger loads. We are so thankful for this gift from the Lord. 

Our big boy is almost 3 weeks old and such a good baby! He sleeps great, is rarely fussy and he eats great. He loves to sit and talk to us and we love to sit and talk to him. He smiles and coos when you talk to him. He is adorable if you ask me. He loves to hang out in the sling close to momma and prefers a nap on your chest over anywhere, but he does sleep great in the crib at night. 

Al checking things out

2 weeks old!

Jeremiah in his "Bobby" onesie. Gideon gave it to him and Gideon calls Spider Man, Bobby

Headed to church for the first time!

Grandpa was telling him stories.

Jeremiah thought Grandpa's stories were funny!

Jeremiah William is 2 weeks old ! Yesterday I took him for his 2 week weigh in and he had gained 1/2 a pound so he is now up to 8lbs 8ozs. No eating problems here! We are adjusting to our new way of life. Dad flew in on Saturday to drive Mom back to Tulsa. We had such a great visit with Mom and I was so thankful to have her here for 3 weeks. I know everyone at home missed her, but we were so glad to have her. They drove out yesterday morning and made it safely to Tulsa yesterday evening. Jeremiah had his first fussy day in honor of Grandma and Grandpa's departure. We survived, but this momma was thankful he is a good baby. Made me sympathetic to all the moms out there with fussy babies. We have loved all our visitors and the delicious meals. I have tried to take a picture with each visitor, but I think I have done a bad job at it. So... if you come visit, insist that I take a picture!

Wow, 2 weeks have flown by and each day we love this little guy more. God is faithful! Jeremiah loves to be swaddled tightly and takes the best naps on mommy or daddy's chests. He loves to sing, "He's got the whole world in His hands" and each night we make up a new line according to what we are praying for right then. We sing about Daddy at Averitt, Martha in Africa (our sponsored Compassion Intl' Child), all his cousins, grandmas and grandpas and a special baby Jeremiah is praying joins his list of friends soon. Tonight maybe you will be in our song! He's got the whole world in His hands! 

Geez, Martha. Where have you been!?

Getting ready to head to the hospital in their custom shirts

 Finally a family of 3This is the "promise" outfit  

Jeremiah has the best aunts in the whole wide world! He can't wait to meet the rest of them!

He's here, he's here! Jeremiah is 8 days old today and we are in love. In the words of Elf, "I'm in love, I'm in love and I don't care who knows it!" We went in last Tuesday at midnight to induce labor, but Dr. Presley was still pretty confident that we would have to have a c-section. God had another plan and we had a peaceful, relaxed and dare I say... fun delivery. It wasn't something I would like to repeat next week or anything (especially, not the recovery!), but it was better than I could have ever expected. After being on a drip of Petocin (sp?) all night Dr. Presley broke my water about 6:30am and the real contractions began. I progressed slowly at first, but then quickly started dilating and before I knew it they were telling me I could push when I was ready. After about 30 minutes of pushing, Jeremiah was born! Al, mom and Becky were there. Becky and Al held my legs and counted through the contractions for me while mom got to experience the birth of her grandson. It was a miraculous day for sure. My heart melted as soon as I saw his beautiful face. He has the sweetest dimpled chin just like his daddy. I prayed for that chin. :) 

Becky had to leave on Thursday to get back to work, we were sad she had to leave, but look forward to a visit from her, mom and my brother over Fall break. She didn't get to have much time with Jeremiah, but she got to take us home from the hospital. 

Al's family came in on Friday night and were able to stay until Monday morning. Jeremiah got lots of cuddle time in with his cousin Weslee, Aunt Angela, Memaw and PaPa. Mom is here until Tuesday, Dad is flying in to drive back with her. I am looking forward to introduce our boy to more family. 

We have had a great first week. Yesterday Mom and I got out and ran some errands. It about did me in. :) My pain has been getting better each day. Today we went to a movie, Julie & Julia (great by the way) and I expertly nursed in the theatre and changed a diaper in the public restroom. I was pretty proud of myself. 

Jeremiah is sleeping well at night and eating great. Thank you for your prayers for our labor, delivery and our boy. We have felt them. We love our boy so so much and I had no idea how much more I would love my husband after meeting our son. Life is good. 

10 Years of life, love and lots of laughs!

Today Al and I celebrate our 10th year of marriage. We bought and fixed up our first house together. Bought our first dog. Sold our first house. Moved to Tennessee. Lived in our first apartment. Found out what it was like to tour with a band, (Al, not me!) Met new people & made life-long friends all along the way. Bought cars, sold cars, bought a motorcycle, sold a motorcycle. Moved into our second apartment. Hosted a couple interns. Bought our second house. We have faced the struggles of infertility. Known the joy of seeing a positive on a pregnancy test and felt the heartbreak of losing two precious babies. We've said goodbye to loved ones and welcomed new life and new members into our family. Rejoiced and cry together to see our healthy boy in ultrasounds. It hasn't always been easy or carefree, but God has remained faithful. We are closer as a couple, closer to the Lord as individuals and we've conquered strong holds and broken down walls we never wanted to face. 

Ten years ago I was marrying a man I thought I knew through and through. I thought I loved him more and knew how to love him better than anyone else ever could. I had no idea! I am thankful to say that the man I married 10 years ago is not the same man I am married to today and I am am confident he would say the same about me. Today's husband is stronger, bolder, more handsome and a better husband than I could have imagined. What a great 10 years! 

I am so thankful for God's fulfillment of His promise made to us

 about our 10th year including a baby boy, Jeremiah. We are going to celebrate

 our anniversary with baby boy kicking away strong and healthy in my belly and for that, we are so thankful! 

God is good and as much as I love my husband more today than I did this day in 1999 and as much as he loves me now, our relationship is only stronger and greater because of our love for our heavenly Father. One thing that Pastor Holder told us in our pre-marital counseling was, "Keep God the center of all you do. Question everything against His will for your family." Good words to live by, we haven't always hit the mark, but we have tried! Thank you to all who have poured into us over the years. We know there is more growing to be done and more that the Lord has to teach us and we are so excited to see what the next 10 years holds!