Next Year

As soon as we go through all the pictures, I'm planning on posting lots from our Christmas.  We had such a good holiday, but there was a part of me that felt a little sad.

Somewhere in Ghana, a little one did not have a family to celebrate with.  I'm guessing that they did not listen to the story of Jesus' birth or receive any gifts.  As I watched Judah playing with his new toys, get smothered with hugs and kisses, and eating all kinds of good food, I knew that our other child was not having the same experience.

The song above played on the radio all through the season.  Even though it was written about soldiers being away from their families during the holidays, it reminded me a lot of our situation and missing our child on Christmas.  We had such a good week celebrating with Judah, but there was part of me that kept wondering how our Ghanaian little one was doing.

Waiting is so hard.  We are so ready to see the pictures and learn more about who they are.  If you think of us, could you pray for our little one?  Prayer is "powerful and effective" (James 5:16).  And when we "call upon him, and come and pray to him, he will listen"  (Jeremiah 29:12).

And pray that next year, he or she will be home with us.

{Judah} 15 Months Old

No more monthly posts for this little guy...but Judah is changing fast so here's an update of what he's like at 15 months old.

Signs "more" and "all done" (we haven't really worked on any others so he's got these down)

Still puts everything in his mouth

Says hi, bye, mama, dada, all done, night night, hi, bye, uh oh, moo, meow, and pants when he sees a dog

Jabbers all day long

Still taking 2 naps a day

8 teeth, plus some molars

Has some rough days in the church nursery :(

Favorite foods:  bananas, yogurt melts, chicken, bread, cheese, puffs, applesauce, macaroni and cheese

loves to "sweep" the floors

loves being read to and brings us books

wiggles his little bottom into our laps

loves "Super Why"

started walking on October 6th, now is practically running


 and weighs 25.6 pounds!

First Trip to the ER

One of the hardest parts of being a mom is having sick kids!  Judah has been such a healthy boy and we haven't had to experience anything worse than a cold and cough.  But yesterday morning, we had to run Judah to the emergency room due to a really scary case of hives.

On Thursday night, Judah was getting a bath when we noticed a couple really small red dots on his belly.  I didn't think too much about it, so we put him to bed and he slept all through the night.

When he woke up Friday morning, he had hives all over his stomach, back, neck, and thighs.  It was so sad looking.  He didn't have a fever though and seemed to be acting fine.  Since I didn't use any new soaps or try any new foods, the pediatrician's office said to give him a little bit of Benadryl and call back if he looks much worse in 24 hours.

Judah seemed to be his normal little self; playing, taking great naps, etc.  The Benadryl seemed to be making the hives smaller and more pink than red.  So I was shocked to see how terrible he looked on Saturday morning -- huge hives were everywhere.  All over his face, inside the diaper area...pretty much covering his entire body.  I called the doctor again and they said that since their office was so full today and some of the hives were starting to have a purplish tint underneath, we better head to the hospital.

It has always been one of my worst fears to have a really sick kid.  I rode in the backseat with Jude and was silently praying during the car ride.  I can be an easy crier and the tears were flowing!  When we walked into the ER, I was surprised that we saw a familiar face because we knew the nurse from church.  I felt such a sense of relief knowing the nurse taking care of Judah.  I do not believe this was a coincidence and immediately felt comforted that God was listening to my prayers.

The visit took a few hours.  Judah did pretty well considering it was nap time and so many people were coming in to examine his mouth, ears, etc.  There were definitely some tears but he did fine sitting in our laps.  The doctors thought he probably  had some kind of virus which caused the hives.  The inside of his ear was a little red with a little fluid, but was not infected.  (Yet!  Hoping for no ear infection coming our way.)  He was given a prescription for some steroids and we went home for a long nap.

The steroids seem to have helped, but he still looks pretty bad.  We are so thankful it turned out to be nothing worse and hope that he looks better by Christmas.  No one ever said being a parent was easy! :)



I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas celebrating with your families!

7 Months Waiting

We're still here...waiting...hoping everyday for that phone call!  A referral would make a nice Christmas present, don't you think?  :)

Hopefully I there won't be many more of these monthly updates and we'll have good news soon.

To our newest little one- we are praying for you everyday!

6 Months Waiting

We reached six months of waiting on Thursday.  This was a really tough month.  We were hoping that our referral was really close, but it might be a little longer.  It's hard, but we're learning to be content with what we have and to use this time to draw closer to the Lord.

I've had to read many of the same verses over and over to turn my mind back to Jesus when I get stressed or upset about our adoption.  Our pastor has started a series on James and we have received a lot of encouragement from these sermons.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:2-4

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

Psalm 46:10

And this verse has been my favorite lately.  It keeps popping up and I am going to trust that someday I will be able to look back and see how God used this time of waiting to work for the good.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us...

Ephesians 3:20

We would appreciate any prayers you could say for our family and the others waiting in our program! :)

Halloween 2012

Judah became Tigger once again for Halloween night.  We visited both grandparents' houses and Judah's soon-to-be Aunt Morgann, who is engaged to my brother.

This Week

We've been having a fun and really busy week.  On Sunday, Judah got dressed up in his costume for our church harvest party.  Drew's grandma found a Tigger costume a couple of months ago and it was really cute for his first time dressing up.  He wasn't thrilled to have the hood on, but once he saw himself in the mirror he thought he looked pretty funny.

We got to see lots of his friends dressed up but also had time to play with his cousins.  Penelope was dressed as a pig, but when you put her with Tigger she looked like Piglet. :)

On Monday, we had a playdate with  my Mops group to a pumpkin patch and farm.  This boy loves goats.

On Tuesday, we dressed up in some skeleton pajamas from Grandma.  We went to a friend's house to eat "Krispy Skremes" and watch "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."

Judah's first time trick or treating pictures coming soon! :)

5 Months Waiting

We're still waiting for that call...really hoping it comes any day now.  I'm starting to get a little jumpy when my phone rings.

Thankfully it has been one of those months where it seems like we have something going on everyday.  It's nice to have Bible studies, Mops, Mom & Me, Wednesday night church, and errands to run to help keep me busy.  And, good friends of ours will be bringing home their precious little girl from the DRC soon.  I can't wait to meet her! :)

Not too much else to say about waiting this month.  We'll just keep praying for our little one. :)

Jude's 1st Birthday Party

We celebrated Jude's first birthday with family at our house.  He had an "African Safari" party and enjoyed eating lots of icing from his first slice of cake.  Jude had so much fun opening presents and chasing his cousins.  Here are some pictures!

{Judah} 12 Months (1 Year!) Old

This has been the fastest, most memorable, and best year I have ever had.  I cannot believe how quickly it has gone by, but I also can't imagine life without my little Judah!

At 12 months, Judah is very busy all day long.  Our days usually look something like this:  (Recording so I don't forget someday...)
*wake up around 7:00
*nap #1 around 9:30-11:00
*afternoon is for playtime and running errands
*nap #2 around 2:30-4:00
*bedtime around 8:00

He is still not walking by himself yet, but is getting really good at pushing around a walker and cruising the furniture.  He did take about 3 steps the day of his birthday party so I think he's really close!

We have started whole milk and it's going OK.  He will drink little bits at a time with his meal, but isn't a big fan yet.

Jude is also fascinated with buttons on clothes, likes to bang pots and pans, and likes to look through books...especially books with flaps that open and pictures underneath.

At his 12 month check-up, we saw that Jude is 31.5 inches long and weighs 24 pounds!

He is starting to talk and babble a lot more.  Jude can definitely say mama, dada, and yells "hi Bah" (hi Belle) to our cat.  It's fun to hear him chattering to himself in his crib or while he's playing.

Highlights of the month were going to his first Pumpkin Festival and celebrating his cousin Penelope's 1st birthday!

 Walking to the festival with Daddy

 with one of his favorite people, Penelope!

 Yum!  First taste of pumpkin ice cream

 First carnival ride with his buds...Jude wasn't too happy until the cars started moving.

We love the P-Fest!

Jude was entered in the Precious Pumpkin Baby contest, along with about 60 other babies from our town.  He did not win, but it was fun to see his picture up at the grocery store that week.

This sweet girl also turned 1 three days before Jude.  Love my little nieces!

My baby is a year old!