Photo Shoot 2014

We recently had another photo shoot with the talented Alison Umbarger.  There are so many cute pictures that I'm having a hard time deciding which ones to print to hang in the house.  What do you think?  Here are some of my favorites:

Which are your favorites?  

I'll post some of my favorite "outtakes" later...

Faithful, Bold & Brave

Forever ago, when we had just brought Caleb home, my church had a shower for us, and one of the gifts I received is a beautiful, hand-made piece of wall art that has Caleb's name and the meaning behind it painted on it (in colors that coordinated perfectly with the rest of his room, I might add).  Fast-forward to today and Caleb must know that there is something special about that wood hanging on the wall because in the past few weeks whenever we walk by it, he points and says "Ahh!" (meaning, "Please read that to me, Mama.").  I am more than happy to oblige him because it just gives me another opportunity to tell him about the kind of man I pray that he becomes:  one who is faithful, bold and brave, just as Caleb in the Old Testament was.

Caleb, may this sign serve as a reminder to you of the hopes we have for you and of the only One who is truly faithful - for it is only with him that you can fully achieve such lofty aspirations.
Thank you, Christina, for such a thoughtful gift.  It has been and will continue to be the prompt for many meaningful conversations. 

Leaps and Bounds (...and Baby Steps)

So this started happening a few weeks ago:

Caleb is officially walking without help from anyone.  Yes, he falls to his bottom every now and then, but for the most part, walking is his primary means of mobility.  And of course, we've completed all the necessary baby-proofing...because nothing three feet and below is safe from his grasp now! 
On this special milestone, I find myself thinking back to a year ago when he was so small and when no one knew what sort of health repercussions he would suffer as a result of his premature birth.  All kinds of scary sounding medical words were tossed around by various health practitioners, conditions that we might have to deal with indefinitely, and I remember most of my time being preoccupied with scheduling and attending a myriad of doctor's appointments. 
Now, over a year later, Caleb has been thoroughly checked over by all the doctors and specialists, and miraculously, nothing abnormal can be found.  On the contrary, by all accounts, he seems to be a healthy, happy, normal toddler.  He's closing the gap between where he is developmentally and where other full-term 15 month old babies are (not too shabby considering they had an extra three months in the womb!).  He's growing like a weed, and in his last check up, he was at over 50% for height and weight of other babies his age (not his adjusted age).  He has five teeth now, and he's (finally) started to sign words like "please" and "all done" to us during meal time.  He loves his books, and he can identify many items in them by pointing at them when asked where the item is.
I know it sounds like I'm bragging...Maybe I am a little, but mostly I am just so grateful.  This could have turned out quite differently (and it still could), but the Lord has been so gracious to us.  So when Caleb is taking all of the contents out of the bathroom drawers and laying them in the floor (or the bath tub) for the fiftieth time of the day, I pray that I would be thankful for that because he's just doing what normal toddlers do.  And when he picks up every last thing he can find in the floor and puts them all in his mouth, may it remind me of God's goodness and faithfulness to us.  And when he pokes his grubby little fingers at my mouth and nose over and over again throughout the day, may it be an obvious reminder to me of the amazing miracle that this little guy is.

Baker's Man

All the "pat-a-cake" playing over the past year has really gone to Caleb's head.  Combine that with the fact that he's quite mobile and able to open cabinets and drawers without difficulty, and this is what we have:

"Mom, where do you keep all your cake pans and baking supplies?"

"They're not in this cabinet..."

"Here they are!"

"Now can you show me how to bake a cake - pronto!?  Every person I see tells me to bake them a cake as fast I can!"
Heaven help us when he can reach the flour and sugar...

Tybee Island 2014

Just a few weeks ago, Caleb made his first trip to Tybee Island, a place that holds many fond memories.  It was technically a girls' trip, but we let Caleb, Cousin Logan and Uncle Heath tag along too.

On the way down, we stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel.  Just one year before, in July 2013, we had waited in the rocking chairs at a Cracker Barrel while we waited for ICPC approval to return to Georgia.  Back then, we held a 5.5 lb. baby in our arms while we waited.  This time, we had about 20 pounds more of baby and a few more smiles and squeals. 

Once we hit the island, it was pretty much all beach time:

 Caleb enjoyed the beach more than when we went last October, but he hasn't quite figured out how much fun playing in the sand can be...which was perfectly fine with Mommy.  He mostly just people watched (and watched the military drills that were taking place just off shore).

 And we had to stop for the obligatory Jaws photo op, of course:

I'm sure this will be the first of many fun trips to Tybee!

Why We Chose to Adopt: An Open Letter to Caleb

Dear Caleb,
I know you are not able to read this or understand it right now, but I wanted to write it down now while all of the thoughts and feelings are still fresh in my mind.  I have made this an "open letter" so that other people can read it and hopefully get closer to understanding adoptive parents' perspective.
It was about one year ago that we met you for the first time.  It was a day like no other, and it was certainly a day that I will never forget.  When you were placed in our arms, our lives were changed forever and for the better, but that single day was a long time in the making.
Ever since I was young and first heard of the concept of adoption, it was always something that interested me.  As I grew as a follower of Christ, I learned of how adoption was a beautiful picture of the Gospel - how we were adopted by God to be his sons and daughters, to be Christ's brothers and sisters - not because of anything we had done or because of who we are but because of God's mercy and compassion and His plan of salvation through the work of Jesus.  When I first learned of this profound truth, I felt the calling to one day adopt children of my own.  When your dad and I met and were married, we agreed that adoption would certainly be in the future one day.
In my head, I always assumed that we would have one or two babies the natural way before we adopted.  I wanted to be that super cute family with two kids who are the spitting image of mom or dad and a couple of kids with darker skin who clearly came from a different part of the world or from a different gene pool.  But as the saying goes, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry...Thankfully, God's plans never do.
When most people learn that we adopted, they usually assume that your dad and I have been unable to have children naturally.  They would be correct.  We struggled for three years with infertility - a painful, laborious three years full of uncertainty about the future and our next steps.  While I know people do not mean any harm when they make this assumption, it's part of the reason that we waited so long before pursuing adoption.  In my head, I didn't want you or others to think that we just chose to adopt because it was our last option, because you were our second choice.  I desperately wanted our adopted children to know how much they were loved and wanted.  So we kept deciding to wait to adopt, to see if the Lord would give us a child the natural way.  All the while, a still small voice in my heart kept asking, "Why don't you just begin the adoption process now?"
We finally came to a crossroads in January of 2013 where we had to decide if we wanted to pursue IVF.  The costs were high for such a procedure and success was not guaranteed.   The weight of infertility already weighed heavily on our shoulders; I feared what the additional weight of spending tens of thousands of dollars on a procedure that may not work would do.  And I still couldn't shake that small voice telling me to pursue adoption now. 
So we made the decision to take the money that we would have spent on IVF and begin the adoption process.  It was like we were finally free from this burden that we had been carrying around for months and years.  And it's funny how when we were finally in the Lord's will, things became so effortless and smooth.  (This is not to say that IVF is not the Lord's will for others - it just wasn't for us.)  We sailed through the home study process, and we presented our profile for the first time for a baby boy in July 2013.  That baby was you, and of course, we were the family selected for you. It all took about six months - from filling out the paper work to bringing you home - less time than a typical pregnancy.
So if you ever wonder why we adopted, know this:  we adopted because it was God's will that you be our child.  It was no small coincidence caused by our inability to conceive.  On the contrary, it was a huge miracle brought about by the hand of God himself, using seemingly tragic circumstances to bring about good.  Thousands - even millions - of details had to fall exactly into place so that you would end up in our family.   I now know there was a purpose for our infertility...so that we would meet you.  If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a single thing about our story.
Love always,
Mom

You've Come A Long Way, Baby!

One year ago today, we found out that Caleb was going to be our baby, and we finally saw pictures of our boy.  Here was one of the first pictures we ever saw of him:

I loved him from the first instant that I saw this picture.  He was probably 4 lbs. when this one was taken.  Compare that to this picture from today:

He's over 25 lbs. today - most of which comes from his cheeks...
One year ago today, Caleb was in the hospital waiting for his family to come get him.

Now, he's got a mommy, a daddy, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends who absolutely adore him.  And he's probably the happiest baby I've ever known.

Back then, none of us knew what sort of health repercussions there would be as a result of him being born so early.

Now, by the grace of God, he's just as healthy as can be.

You've certainly come a long way, baby!

From October 2013