Court Date...Almost

On March 18, 9am there will be a termination hearing. If all goes as planned the birth parents will give over their rights and we will be on our way to be legal guardians of Caleb.

There is one thing that could prevent this: the birth father need to be served papers in person by Sunday. This could be difficult, he is hard to reach and wants nothing to do with the pregnancy counselor at the adoption agency.

Continue to pray friends! Pray that the birth father would be served papers in person by Sunday evening, that he signs them, and that the birth mom does not change her mind.

Come on now, 'fess up!

I went to a staff meeting today....

And found a note that said
"Kristin and Jon,
Congratulations on your adoption! Many people are praying for you as you take care of Caleb. You are a model for many Christians to respond to the littlest in the world by adopting and giving them a new family just as the Lord adopted us into His family!
I'm sure there are lots of financial needs so please put this to good use to serve your family in any way you see fit.
Love in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior!"

And attached to that note was an envelope

And in the envelope was two $25 gift cards

So fess up! Who blessed us like this? We are so appreciative to you.!!!

To a dear blog reader, Ida-- THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I was so surprised to get a gift card from you in the mail! Can't wait to use it to spoil Caleb (or buy necessities:)

Caleb's nursery part #1

Paint is finished on Caleb's nursery. Next step: working on the details :)

Dear Miche Bag,

I am so sorry that you are feeling neglected. I didn't realize how much I missed you until I went to the hardware store today with you in tote. Oh, how I miss you!

I still love you, I love how I can have one bag and interchange the shells and the straps. I love that I can change your looks depending on what I am wearing, I just love everything about you.

You are not being traded in, oh no my friend, do not be down trodden. I could not give you up. I just need to let you know for this time in my life, I am toting around something else....

A diaper bag. Yup, I am one of those women. Forgive me. I will be back. And we will have some dates soon. But for now, I need to take an extra five minutes to leave the house so that I can fully stock the bag that keeps Mr. Caleb happy.

Thank you for your understanding. I still think of you often.

40 Days On

On the first day of Lent, there are some many people who are planning on what they are giving up for the 40 Day Season. Lent is the celebration leading up to Easter that many Christians participate in. I grew up never knowing much about Lent, and thought that it was just a Catholic celebration and because I was not Catholic, I did not have to participate. True, and false. I was not Catholic. And I did not have to participate, but in the past years I have done something for Lent that reminds me about the debt that Jesus paid on the cross, something that draws me into a deeper relationship with my Savior, something that takes a little extra work for 40 days.

This year for Lent, I am not giving anything up, I am calling it a "40 Days On." In the next 40 days, I want to take big steps to grow my faith, my knowledge of God, my dependence on the Lord, my knowledge of scripture, and protect my temple that God has given me.

1. (Re) Start Memorizing the Psalms of Ascent. I started doing this, and then Caleb entered my world. Babies make life so much more time consuming, enough said. I will be preaching on one of the Psalms of Ascent in March, and want to have 4 Psalms memorized by Easter. What a glorious way to grow in my relationship with the Lord!

2. Spend time EACH day in prayer and scripture. I was in a good routine doing that and then I let life with Caleb take over....now, back to it.

3. Lose 20lbs in 40days. It will take some focus and hard work, but in order for me to be the best woman that God has created me to be, with this one body that He has give me, this needs to be done!

What are your plans for Lent? Do you celebrate it?

Leaving you with a video of my sweet boy.

"Why didn't anyone ever tell me I was black?"

How my heart would hurt if those words ever came out of Caleb's mouth.

I have heard of a story where this happened to a white couple who adopted black children. Out of the mouths of babes, right?

Why the problem? At face value, to a white woman, I would be encouraged to hear this, knowing that his ethnic difference from the family was the focus of his upbringing, that he was loved simply because he was a child that God had created and because he is a part of our family.

What a disservice we would be doing to him if we didn't teach him about his heritage. He is African American being raised by a white family, there will be enough confusion in that, let's at least teach him to appreciate his heritage.

Not only it is a disservice, but it is unbiblical to "act colorblind." People who say that they are, are lying and wrong. Really? Like you can't notice that I have a black boy in my arms? God created cultures and elasticities and celebrates them throughout scripture, why shouldn't we raise Caleb the same way?

Saying that, our goal will not be to point out Caleb's differences, but to love him as best as we can, to parent him as best as we can, to raise him in our own familial traditions, as well as being real with his heritage. We want to be open and honest with Caleb, answering any questions he may have, about his birth family, adopted family, questions about adoption, his black heritage and anything else that he is wondering. We don't want to hide anything. I hope he lets be on a learning curve, because I have no idea how to do this:)

Now that I got that off my chest....I can cuddle with my peanut who decided to grow overnight and stretch out of preemie clothes and move into newborn sizes. This mumma's heart is not ready for her boy to grow so fast.

Now that there is a baby in the house....

-I need to work on my photography skills to take some great photos of the little guy

-I am cleaning more than ever

-I do more loads of laundry and dishes on a regular basis than ever before

-I am constantly clipping coupons and finding ways to save money on diapers and formula

-I know why mothers drink coffee

-I desperately need to get myself onto a schedule. Caleb is on a great one....now, about me.

-One of the greatest sights is the two men in my life asleep on the couch together

-I feel like all is right...we have our boy

-I recognize the faithfulness of God

-I fall in love with Caleb more and more each day

-I fall in love with my husband more and more each day as I see him as a daddy