Summer Part I: May & June

We had the best summer but it sure was busy. I'm extremely behind on updating the blog with summer pictures so I'm going to break them up with multiple posts. These are all pictures from the fun we had in May & June.

 

 

Uncle Coop graduated from NC State back in May and we took Camden to his graduation. Camden surprised us by doing very good at graduation and I only had to take him out at the very end. 

 

Little Baby Bum, snacks, and headphones kept him busy.

This boy loves a lawn mower and has to ride every single time his daddy cuts the grass.

 



 

My second Mothers Day was special and I got my number one request: A NAP!

 

Camden LOVED going to his daddy's softball games and playing with friends.

 

Running the bases before the game started.

 

 

They had a good season and they won a game. This is a BIG DEAL since they just formed the team last year. Very proud of Connect Church.

 

As I expected, he picked up right where he left off last summer when it comes to swimming. This boy is a FISH in the water.

 



We enjoyed grilling with friends and these three are going to be the best of friends as they grow up. Eva is such a great friend to the littles.

 



Spending time with his cousin, Avery. They have both grown so much this year.

 



FATHERYS DAY WEEKND

 

For Father's Day, we celebrated with Craws dad on Saturday night. We ended up going to Carolina Ale house and they were having a fun event outside for children so we let Cam join in on the fun. He loved the water slide and lets just say I ended up covered in mud.

 



The next day we celebrated with my family. We took Cam swimming and we had so much fun just being together.

 



 

Date night at Ruths Chris for Kelly's birthday.

 



 

My little ham.

 





My Second Mothers Day



There are no words that could possibly describe what this boy means to me. We celebrated my second mothers day this past weekend and it still feels surreal that I am a mother. My heart truly aches for those that are anxiously awaiting to be mothers for the first time because it truly is the best job in the world. My prayer is that God fulfills their promises soon.

 

My only request for mothers day was to have a chill day and a long nap. Craw made it happen and it was the BEST day! It started with the perfect home cooked breakfast and then we went to church. After church, we came home and we took the best nap ever. We ended the night by having dinner with my parents. We saw Craws parents the day before so it was the perfect weekend.

 

I love his boy with all my heart and I am blessed to be his mother.

 



First Mothers Day | 2018



My first Mothers Day was one to remember. Craw and Camden spoiled me big time and it was so nice to spend the weekend with all of my family. I also got some surprises from Wee School and they melted my heart. We decided to celebrate with my mother-in-law on Saturday so that she could get more one-on-one time with Camden. We had a wonderful evening with Craw's family and I got an early Mothers Day gift by Camden falling asleep and snuggling in my arms. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

I learned that the day before Mothers Day is Birth Mothers Day. I had no idea but was so excited to learn that its an actual day for women to be recognized for making very brave choices. I will say it until the day I die...Camden's birth mother is my hero and I loved knowing that there is one day a year that we can publicly celebrate a woman I have never met but owe everything to.

I woke up on Sunday to Hank ferociously barking at something in the kitchen. Craw was already at church so I knew he must have done something. I walked in to breakfast on the table, a handwritten letter, a necklace with Camden's name on it, and a Mothers Day balloon.  The balloon was the source of Hanks barking. I took my time getting ready with Camden and just enjoyed the time spent with just him. After all, he is the reason I was able to celebrate. When we got to church, I was surprised with a beautiful butterfly painting of Camden's feet. We love Mrs. Jennifer!

One thing that I LOVED is when it came time for the mothers to be recognized during the church service, the speaker asked for all women to stand and be recognized. Every woman got a rose and I LOVED that he did that because you never know what someone sitting in the congregation may be going through. It made my heart happy for sure.

After church, we went to Olive Garden to celebrate with my mom. We enjoyed lunch and the time spent with each other. For moms gift, we gave her a weekend away at the beach with just Hillary and I (& Camden). I can't wait to do that this summer.

My one Mothers Day wish was for a long nap and Craw made it happen! It was the best Sunday afternoon nap and Craw even got Camden to sleep so he got to enjoy some down time. After my nap, we took Camden to the park for a little while and enjoyed the rest of the day as a family of 3 (plus Hank). It was very relaxing and the perfect end to a perfect weekend.

My first Mothers Day was spent doing exactly what I wanted with the people that I love most and I will always thank the Lord for making me Camden's mama.

Before My First Mothers Day

Mothers Day. This was such an exciting day growing up as we would celebrate my mom all day long. We would get flowers, make cards, and help dad plan a special day for her. It wasn't until I got married and started having a desire for a baby that I realized Mothers Day is a tough holiday for many. In fact, Mothers Day can be a super sad day for a lot of people and I'm not just referring to people that desire a baby but also people that have lost a mother. My mom lost her mother at a young age so for her, there has always been something missing.

Six months after we got married, I experienced my first Mothers Day from a different perspective. I can vividly remember thinking to myself, "I hope next year I get to celebrate this day as a mother or at least a mother-to-be." We knew we didn't want to wait long to have kids so this was a perfectly normal thought. Fast forward 12 months and here we are at Mothers Day again but this time, no baby and no bump. We were full force in to trying so I wasn't too upset but I can remember feeling a small void in my heart but I tried to remain positive as surely next year was my year.

365 days pass again and this time we had been trying for over a year and still nothing. I had just been referred to a fertility specialist and a high risk doctor. The high risk doctor told me it wasn't safe for me to get pregnant because of my Crohns and I knew that a baby wasn't anywhere in my near future. This was last year and it was the hardest day of the entire year.

I didn't want to go to church but I went anyways. I didn't want to watch all the mothers stand and be recognized when my heart was aching for a baby. I didn't want to hear one more person say "isn't it about time for yall to have kids". I didn't want to be on social media the entire day because I couldn't bare to see all the moms posting pictures of their babies or cute bump pictures or pregnancy announcements. In fact, I'm pretty sure I didn't even acknowledge my own mom on Facebook last year. I cried ALL DAY LONG. Craw can attest to this. I cried the entire church service. I cried at home while cooking lunch for my own mother. It was just a BAD day.

I made Craw promise to take me out of town the next year because I couldn't sit through one more Mothers Day. I love my mom and my mother-in-law but we had already planned to let them know we would be out of town. I just couldn't do it. Thankfully, we didn't have to because God had a perfect plan all along.

Last Mothers Day, adoption was not even on our radar. Craw had already told me we weren't adopting first. The high risk doctor had just told me that he didn't think it was wise for me to get pregnant right now so I legit thought all hope was lost. In fact, it was the first year where I didn't look ahead thinking maybe next Mother's Day I would have my baby because I realized it wasn't in the cards for us.

Here I am, 365 days later, with a perfect little boy that has let me and his daddy love him for 4 perfect months. In fact, if you do the math, his birth mama was already pregnant with him last mothers day and he was a little tiny thing growing in her belly. Our baby that God handpicked for us was already being formed while I sat in church bitter and crying and begging God to grant the desires of my heart. He was already intended for us by God an entire month before we answered God's call to adopt. How amazing is that?

All this to say, I have every single emotion running through me while thinking about my first Mothers Day. I'm excited because I can finally celebrate as a mama. I'm honored because God gave me the most perfect little boy. I'm thankful because God granted the biggest desire in my heart. I'm also sad because I know that there are so many women out there that want this exact same desire to be fulfilled. There are also women that have lost babies and children and this day is extremely painful for them. Then there are those women that are facing their 1st...or 10th...or 25th Mothers Day without their moms and that is something that is hard for me to fathom because I love my mom so very much.

This day is for all of us.

The moms that aren't moms yet. The moms that just became moms. The moms that have been moms for years. And the moms that are no longer with us.


This will be a memorable first Mothers Day for me and I'm so thankful that God saw fit for me to be Camden's mama.

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