Adoption Story Part One: The call that changed everything

January 17, 2018. The day that changed my world for the better. The day that I finally became a mama.

I’m sure you have all heard of crazy adoption stories but truthfully, we never expected one. Usually, people pursuing adoption get matched and have a few months or weeks to prepare for their baby. I assumed this would be how our adoption worked. In fact, my agency said they rarely have “stork drops” and almost every adoption they do is well known in advance. I should have known right then and there that our story would be different.

I got the call at 1:33 pm on Wednesday, January 17th. A baby boy had been born that morning and the birth mom knew she couldn’t keep him given her current circumstances. The hospital contacted our agency and asked if they had anyone that could take this baby. The agency immediately contacted me and my heart dropped the minute I saw a Florida number calling. I was at work and walked away from my desk, hands shaking and heart beating 100 miles a minute. I assumed she was about to tell me we had been chosen. Instead, she said that there is a baby boy waiting on us and asked how soon we could get to Florida. I hung up the phone to call Craw and he said he couldn’t even understand what I was saying I was freaking out and crying so hard. All I could get out is that we have a son and we have to get to Florida ASAP! To make the story even crazier, Wilson was in the middle of receiving about 2 inches of snow so flying was out of the question. We both left work and met up at the bank to get the remaining money we still owed. It was a blessing we got there before they closed. We called our parents and texted our friends asking for help as we didn’t have a single baby thing ready to go other than the car seat.

I’m still in awe at how everything unfolded. By the time I got home, we had friends packing up our car for us with everything a newborn would need. God is so good! We hit the road at 6 pm that night and the first hour was horrible. The roads were SO bad and we really had no business being on the road. We took things slow, said a lot of prayers, and Craw drove very carefully. Once we got out of NC, the roads were good. 

We drove all night long. The anticipation of knowing we were getting closer and closer to our son was killing me. I couldn’t sleep at all. We arrived at the hospital at 4:45 am Thursday morning. We weren’t supposed to meet our social worker until 9 am so we got some sleep in the car. First time I’ve ever parked and slept in my car. We woke up and made a target run because I needed to freshen up and we wanted to get our baby an outfit.

At 9 am, we walked in to the hospital and waited for our social worker. We assumed we would be taken straight up to see him but as soon as we got there, we were informed he was being transferred to another hospital for further testing on his heart. Talk about a whirlwind. After more waiting, we laid eyes on our son at 11:12 am Thursday, January 18th. Our “gotcha” day. 

I will share more of the story in the days to come but for now, please enjoy pictures of our son and our first moments with him.

Camden Ivey Bolton
7 pounds 12 ounces
21.5 inches long





 photo signature_zps6fb6277e.png

A Season of Waiting


Patience. I would definitely say this is one of my biggest struggles. I've often been told not to pray for patience as the only way to truly learn to be patient is to go through times of waiting. We are in a season of waiting right now. And if I'm being honest, it's tough. Waking up each day wondering if today is the day we will get the phone call saying a birth mom has chosen us is hard. I try not to think about it too much but it crosses my mind at least once a day.

The fact is, the entire adoption process is just one big waiting game. It first started with waiting to get approved by the agency. Then we had to wait for the home study to be completed. Then we had to wait for the agency to receive our profile book. And now, we are waiting for the phone call officially saying we are matched. After that, we will wait for the due date, then wait for the 48 hour revocation period to pass once the baby is born, then wait to receive permission to travel home, then wait for a court date to legally become a family. See what I mean? All we do is wait.

I will say that this season of waiting has really made me stop and put 100% of my trust in God. It's easy to let doubt creep in and take over when you are in a season of waiting. Is 2018 really our year to bring home our baby? What if a birth mom doesn't like our book? Is there somebody out there that will like our book? How soon will the birth mom be due? Will we be able to find a place to stay relatively cheap when the time comes to go get the baby? ALL THE QUESTIONS!

When my mind starts to wonder and doubt starts to take over, I literally have to shut my brain off and start praying. Even if it's in the middle of the work day and I'm sitting at my desk in the middle of a project, I close my eyes and start praying. I also start quoting scripture. I do whatever it takes to get the doubt and fear out of mind. I also try to stay busy! It's tough...but it works!


I'm hoping and praying that we hear something soon. But if not, I know that God's timing is perfect and we need to be patient. What's that saying?
"Patience is a virtue"?
I can see why!
 photo signature_zps6fb6277e.png

Christmas and December

Can you believe it's already 2018?  This post is a tad bit late but that's okay because I had 12 days off at the end of the year and I enjoyed every single second of my time away from work. Craw was also off so we were able to enjoy the holidays with each other and our families.
We kicked off December with our second annual Jammy Cocoa Christmas. We "borrowed" the idea from Shay and it truly is such a fun night. I host dinner at my house and we usually make our own pizzas. The kids will usually build a ginger bread house while dinner is cooking. After dinner, we pile up in separate cars (boys vs. girls) and we head to Dunkin Donuts where we enjoy coffee and donuts in our pajamas. Then we ride around looking at Christmas lights while listening to Christmas music. It is so much fun! We were missing Luke this year but I'm sure he will be ready to go next year plus one more little baby.
We took Anna Blake to Christmas at Peace and had a great night with her.
Craw and I enjoyed spending my birthday with each other and I even let him play a round of golf. #wifeoftheyear
<
Sweet Hank on Christmas Eve. We were watching the Panthers game and Craw would not put him down as he said he was the Panthers good luck charm. HA!

We got a sweet photo with Craw's family this year. I failed to take pictures at Christmas so I'm thankful for this one.

 

The day after Christmas, Craw and I left for Williamsburg, VA with my parents. We had planned to go in November but I had a Crohn's flare the weekend they went and was unable to go. We had a wonderful time but BOY WAS IT COLD! We literally froze. We went to Christmas Town at Busch Gardens one night and it got below 30 degrees. It's safe to say the lights were beautiful but we just couldn't hang in the cold.
We ended out the year with friends and I even got to snap a photo of this cutie. I love the portrait mode on my iphone and I love when I get photos like this one.

Hoping and praying that 2018 is our BEST YEAR YET!

 photo signature_zps6fb6277e.png