Our Adoption Announcement!

We finally got to send out our adoption announcement! Yay! Thanks to a great friend for designing it and for a great photographer for taking the photos. I think they turned out pretty darn cute!

Happy GOTCHA Day!

Today was a BIG day for our family! We had our court date to finalize our adoption and celebrated Jackson's official GOTCHA Day!
I was a nervous wreck. I'm not sure why. From the moment Jackson entered this world, he has been mine. I didn't need a judge to tell me that. I had weird dreams all night about the court date. I dreamt my dad had food catered in and we all went through a buffet line before going before the judge. Weird!
Since we don't have family in town, our great friends Justin and Jessica went to court with us.
Justin was the first person to know about Jackson - before he was ever Jackson. Justin worked with me at the Mission and knew from day one that we were going to adopt the baby...he and Jessica have supported us throughout our journey and love the Little Burrito so much (nickname from Justin!).
We were allowed to take photos during the hearing and I am SO glad. I am kind of a photo freak.
It was short, sweet and so fast that I didn't even have a chance to cry. On the way to the court house I was trying to keep it together. I thought tears would come at any moment. But I did tear up as I rocked my baby boy before his nap today.
Today is such a day of celebration. A day to remember God's faithfulness and all that He has done for our family. Jackson's story truly is a miracle and I am just so in love with my Little Man!
Here are a few photos from our day....

 Justin, Jessica and the Little Burrito

 Let's make this thing official!

 John, Jackson and I with Judge Bonner

Please disregard my shirt hiked up and my pregnant look in this photo. How embarrasing. Might need to do some cropping! :)

 With our attorney

 So thankful for great friends who love Jackson so much!

 Jackson's special day! Happy Gotcha Day!

Can't you tell he is excited about it! 

Weekend Away!

I spent my first weekend away from Jackson and soaked up every minute of SLEEP! I went to a scrapbook retreat with my friend Kim and enjoyed the gorgeous weather, beautiful view from our cabin, hours of scrap booking and hours of uninterrupted sleep in a fluffy king sized bed! Pure bliss!
Here's a few photos from my weekend....


Most of the time I stay in the cabin with a bunch of other girls and we stay up until the wee hours of the morning. This year my hubby splurged and got me a hotel room and I didn't argue! I slept in the middle of this big, fluffy king sized bed and slept the longest and best that I have since we brought Jackson home!





My friend Kim and I - don't judge our makeup less faces. :-) We totally bum out on our scrapbook weekends!


A few of the pages I made this weekend - I spent the whole weekend working on Jackson's album





My work space. This is actually pretty clean. I am by no means a neat scrapbooker...


The view from our cabin. It's gorgeous and peaceful and we usually see deer



Of course I was very ready to see my baby boy!!! How could I not miss this sweet face...



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4 Months and A Birth Certificate!

Guess who's 4 months old today? Jackson Henry! He's so much fun these days....less crying and much more giggling, squealing and smiling. Here's a few things he accomplished this month:

•  He began to roll from his back to his tummy. He can now roll like a mad man and often times he escapes his blanket and ends up on the wood floor when I'm not looking.
• He has started to growl when he gets upset. Especially when we aren't getting his bottle to him fast enough.
• He is sleeping all night (most nights!)
• He has started this new thing where he pooches his bottom lip out and puckers up his lips. Cute faces....
• We started going to Baby Story time at our library and Jackson loves the bubbles.
• He experienced his first Tornado weekend in Oklahoma (it's not over yet. Tonight is supposed to be BAD! They are calling for life-threatening tornadoes. Our bags are packed and we are ready to hunker down in our scardy hole....)

The best news is that we FINALLY have Jackson's birth certificate and we will get a court date Monday! Then everything will be final! We will have our Gotcha Day!
Kind of a crazy story about the birth certificate...our attorney requested it over a month ago and we had yet to receive it. It was the ONLY thing we were waiting on for our final court date so John decided to visit the vital records office yesterday and our paperwork was just sitting there.
They were looking for a birth certificate with mine and John's name listed instead of our birth mother's and/or were looking for Jackson's last name to be the same as his birth mom's. However, our birth mother listed our last name on Jackson's birth certificate.
Thank goodness John went down there or we might have been waiting a long time!
Can't wait to go to court and FINALLY send out our adoption announcements! Yay!

Writing Like a Crazy Lady...

For years I've wanted to attend a Christian Writing Conference hosted by Proverbs 31 Ministries and this July I am going to be there! Woot Woot!
When I stumbled across the website a few weeks ago I thought there was no way I could go - I had just quit my job to stay home with Jackson and the conference wasn't cheap. But I really felt like I was supposed to go since I want to complete my book about our adoption journey. I started praying and it dawned on me that I could invite the lady whose book I wrote because she would probably be super interested in the speaking track of the conference AND if we went together it would cut down on the cost. I e-mailed her, she said yes and we are going to North Carolina in July.
Thanks to my Dad who let me use some of his points to purchase a plane ticket and to my hubby who let me dip into our savings account, my dream to attend this conference is going to become a reality.
Not only will I learn a crazy amount about writing and blogging, etc. I will also have the chance to meet with publishers. Eekk!
That being said, I am writing like a mad woman these next few months to complete my manuscript so that I have something to present to the publishers I meet with.
So if my blog is kind of quite...it's because I'm at the nearest Panera Bread pounding away on my lap top (or I'm changing a diaper!).

Jackson's First Easter...

We missed church on Easter! Jackson had a super weird night last night and when my alarm went off at 6 a.m. to get ready for sunrise service I didn't dare wake my sleeping Little Man. We were up every 30 minutes to an hour with him. I was totally bummed that we missed church, yet I know that Jesus is in my heart and it didn't matter where I was. I could celebrate this day! He is alive! He has risen! In Him we have HOPE!

Besides, on Good Friday, Jackson and I had church in our kitchen. We listened to a CD of old hymns and read the Easter story from his children's Bible. Oh, how I love old hymns. They remind me of my great-grandmother. I want to make sure Jackson learns them. We don't sing them often at the church we attend, but I can remember the words from my childhood. My great-grandmother never forgot them, even when she got Alzheimer's.

Here's a few photos from Jackson's First Easter:

 Jackson's Easter Basket from Auntie M...

 Jackson's Easter Basket from Mommy and Daddy...

 Easter Sunday with my family - Auntie M and Uncle Paulie, John, Jackson and Me and Pop and Lolli

 Next year Jackson will get to hunt eggs and fill up his basket....

 This year he thought he'd try and stick an egg in his mouth...

 Mommy, Jackson and Auntie M

 Jackson with Auntie M and Lolli



Daddy and Jackson

Texas Bluebonnets!

My mom has been dragging me to look at bluebonnets for as long as I can remember. We tease her because she takes so many pictures of them each year and they all look the same. :) Jackson couldn't escape a few photos in the Texas bluebonnets. It's a Texas Thang! He smiled big!

 Sweet Smiling Boy!

 This was John's first picture in the bluebonnets too. It wasn't my first rodeo ;)

Pop and Lolli with Little Man

Words I Needed to Hear

Yesterday I blogged about how difficult it is to find quiet moments with the Lord these days. This morning as I read Jesus Calling, these words encourage me!

"Stillness of soul is increasingly rare in this world addicted to speed and noise. I am pleased with your desire to create a quiet space where you and I can meet. Don't be discouraged by the difficulty of achieving this goal. I monitor all of your efforts and am blessed by each of your attempts to seek My face."

Thank you Jesus for encouraging me....

Yearning...

I'm listening to the sound of Jackson's heavy breathing as he naps and the pitter patter of the rain. I just sat down in my over-sized red chair, cracked open Jesus Calling and soaked in the words that I  so needed to hear.

"Your capacity to experience Me is increasing, through My removal of debris and clutter from your heart. (oh, Lord how I need some clutter removed!) As your yearning for Me increases, other desires are gradually lessening. Since I am infinite and abundantly accessible to you, desiring Me above all else is the best way to live."

For the past few months I have been knee deep in bottles, diapers, and all things baby. Between the feedings, changings, and yes, sometimes screaming, I haven't found much time to crack open my Bible and soak in the sweet refreshing words of Jesus. I have been yearning for quite moments with the Lord, but they don't come as easily as they once did. It seems the moment I sit down to pray, Jackson needs me or my Martha personality shines through and I am overwhelmed by the laundry piled on the kitchen floor or the dishes in the sink. I realize I can pray at anytime and often times I do while I rock my baby boy or I'll have little chats with God between this bottle and that diaper change, but I need more. I am spiritually dry!

I don't even feel like I'm getting my tank filled on the Sunday's we make it to church. Because, seriously, how can you concentrate when your sweet boy poops EVERYWHERE in the middle of service? I'm talking the poopiest of poop diapers. Jackson and his dad had to change clothes! And it didn't just happen once. It happened on two different Sundays! And if he's not pooping, he's up all Saturday night screaming, and we hit snooze when Sunday morning rolls around.

Don't get me wrong, I'm loving this mommy gig! Even though I don't get to dig into the word or pray as much as I did before Jackson arrived, Jesus is never far from my mind. I think of Him each time Jackson smiles. I think of Him when I rock my sweet boy and remember how we were brought together. When I look at Jackson, I can't help but think of Jesus.

A few days ago, Jackson was on a blanket on the floor and we were playing. He was smiling and chattering away and I decided to read him a few stories from his Baby Hug-A-Bible. Reading the simple words about how much God loves Jackson and how He will take care of him, I realized I was getting too hung up on not spending enough time in prayer and in the word. The Baby Bible reminded me that it's really very simple. I have to love God. I have to love others. I don't have to sit down and spend hours and hours in the Word or in prayer. I can talk to God all day long. I can meditate on a single verse throughout my day. I can think of God and praise Him as I kiss my sweet Jackson's cheeks. I can forget about the pile of laundry and the dirty dishes and choose to desire God more than a clean house.

I'm going to have to keep it simple during this season of my life, because being a new mommy is pure chaos at times. I may not (probably won't if I'm being honest) be able to do Bible studies as extensive as I did before Jackson was born. I may not be able to pray for long periods of time without an interruption (unless I'm driving! That's some valuable praying time for me!).

This morning as I was cleaning the bathroom, I felt like God whispered "do something. Start somewhere. It doesn't have to be a big commitment."
I am going to start my Jesus Calling devotion again. It's not much, but it's something. Each day, a few moments with Jesus that I desperately need!