"Dear friend," a letter to Mothers in waiting...

My dear friend,

I have started this letter to you many, many times in my head. But sometimes it's hard to put into words all I am thinking. I may have met you before, or I may have never said a word to you. But I think of you often. 

I wonder, have I bumped into you at the grocery store? Maybe we are friends on Facebook. If we haven't met, maybe it would help you to know that I was once right where you are. And I have not forgotten how it feels. 

I remember the times when it seemed that every woman I met was expecting a baby. And my arms felt so very empty. So. Many. Times. 

Now it's me. I'm the one chasing a very energetic toddler. I'm the one who has that glow and the telling bump out front. 

If we haven't met, let me tell you a little about myself. For almost ten years of marriage, I was the one with the empty arms. And it hurt. So bad. I have not forgotten the hurt or the many tears. The wondering why? Then a little over two years ago, through the miracle of adoption and the sacrifice of a loving birth mother, God filled our arms. Quite full. :) We adore our busy, strong willed, but sweet and sensitive little girl! Then this fall, we got quite a shock!! In my womb, which I thought would always be empty, God placed a precious little being inside. And there she grows daily. 

I'm in my third trimester, and frankly, I think we are still in shock. It amazes me that there is a little person growing inside me!! 

But I think of you. Maybe I bump into you in the store. Maybe it hurts you to see me. I wish I could share my story with you and give you hope. Hope that through adoption, or pregnancy, or even opening your home to share your love with another's children, that God would fill your heart to overflowing.

I'm praying for you! That this time of waiting will all be worth it. That God would bless you exceedingly, abundantly above all that you could ask or even imagine!

~Charity

(photo credit goes to Brittany Fogleman - a wonderful friend and supporter through many of my ups and downs and a very talented photographer!) 

She's Ours

"Is she yours?"

I got asked this question recently. My answer was simple: "Yes!"  I didn't feel the need to explain. Because Joy belongs to me. To us. She came to our family in a very special way, but she belongs here. She's ours!

I was reading in Romans about God adopting us into His family, and remembering this time a year ago when we were waiting for our girl to come to us. At this point, we knew about a little girl, but she wasn't "ours" yet. She belonged to someone else. A very special person that we have grown to love. Joy's birth mom. Her first mom on this earth. And now Joy belongs to us because her first mom chose us.

I remember that first morning waking in the hospital with Joy by my side in her little rolling nursery bed. The door opened early - I think it was about six - and at first I thought it was one of the hospital staff bringing something by. (Remember, I was asleep and I didn't have my glasses on.) It was Joy's birth mom. We were surprised by her visit, we didn't know if she would come by at all, but we were so very glad she did! I asked if she would like to hold Joy, and she did for a moment. I'll never forget what she did next though, after holding her for that brief time, she handed Joy back to me and said, "Go to your mama."

You see, Joy is ours. Not just because a judge said so. Not just because social workers or attorneys said we will be a good family for Joy. But because a very special lady put her own desires aside and made a choice out of a very hard core love. She chose us for her baby. She made the best and hardest decision she knew how to make. Out of strength. Out of love.

Yes, she's ours! Without reservation. without explanation. without qualifications. She belongs to us.

And we are so thankful!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
November is National Adoption Month. I wanted to share just a bit of our story.

A Very Eventful Summer

We have had very busy, but blessed summer!! I don't even know where to start. It has flown by so fast! (and yes, I realize that the "summer" isn't technically over, but with September here and everyone back to school - including my sister - it sure feels like fall is around the corner!)

June:
My sister finally made it home from college after (almost) traveling the nation coast to coast! :)

Our little Joy turned 6 months old!

We celebrated Father's Day with Mark's family a week early. I love this family picture! (Taken on my in-law's front porch.) 

We celebrated Mark's first Father's Day! 

And of course, a very busy VBS week! Joy's first Vacation Bible School! Doesn't she make the cutest little pirate? :) 

July was probably our most eventful month all year!! 

First another holiday with our little girl! These "firsts" are so much fun!!

The next day she turned 7 months old!!!

A couple of weeks later Tuesday July 15, 2014, was a day we've been looking forward to for YEARS!! Our baby girl became officially OURS!!! What a very special day!!! SO much joy! :)

We were so glad to have so many of our family and friends here for that extra special day! 

Then the following Sunday was another very special day!! We dedicated our Joy to the Lord and promised to raise her according to God's Word and to teach her about Jesus!

In August we took a trip to our church's family camp, once again in beautiful Dickson, TN.
It was wonderful visiting with so many of our friends and family (although the time there is never long enough...)

I got an early birthday gift while I was there! My dear friend Brittany "snapped a few" pictures of our baby girl! ;) She took Joy's official 8 month pictures as well as some beautiful pictures of Joy in her special dedication dress! (Mark's aunt made the dress years ago and almost all of the girls in that family have been dedicated in it!)

Our baby girl is growing and changing so very fast right now! She started crawling right about the time we went to camp, and now is working on walking! She'll be up and running before too long! She's got her first tooth (or teeth?? she's already working on her third one in about that many weeks!) and she's now sleeping in her own room.

A "Joy"-ous Update

Thank you all so much for your sweet comments on our "Hospital Story!" :) It's naptime once more, so I'll attempt to update you all on our baby girl! 

Joy continues to be a "Joy!" She is a very easy baby! She is growing by leaps and bounds like all healthy babies do and is getting quite chubby!! :)(SOOO thankful for her health - I feel so blessed!)  Yesterday was a landmark day in our house - she slept about ten hours the night before and I got her first real (non-dreaming) giggle!!! ;) 

She is much adored in this house! She is such a doll baby and soo sweet. She loves her daddy - she went on a shopping trip with him just yesterday evening and enjoyed just looking up at him! (Mommy stayed home and finished dishes and laundry!) ;) 

Having a newborn is quite an adjustment!! (Yes, you long time moms can say you said so...) ;) Even with just one. I think the hardest thing was not getting sleep! (And I wasn't even recovering from childbirth!) Change is always an adjustment for me - and adding a new member of to the family is quite the biggie!! I am so thankful for how the Lord is helping me personally grow - parenting is about my growth as a person almost as much as it is in caring for a child, isn't it? 

I love looking into those little eyes and see her expressiveness, to hear her talk to me (may she always talk to me as easily as the babbles come!) I love watching her grow and seeing each new milestone - then look back and miss the bitty baby stage! (But we are OH so glad for more sleep!!) I love looking at her and thinking about all the things we will do together and the places we will go. My prayer is that she will have a tender heart toward God.

We are starting to get a bit of a routine now, and maybe I'll get back to blogging a bit more, or maybe I won't. It seems I just think I'm getting things figured out and things change. I know that's no surprise.... ;)