Home Study Approved

Goodness gracious! I've been looking forward to typing out that post title for a while now. We are officially home study approved and our literally just waiting for "the call" saying that we are matched. I feel like I have every single emotion running through my mind 24/7. One minute I'm so excited I could shout to the heavens and the next minute I'm crying. I also feel anxious, fear, and sadness thinking about the choice this mama is about to have to make.

SO MANY EMOTIONS!

From every adoptive mom I've spoken with and every adoption blog I've read, these emotions are all very normal. So much is about to change in such a short amount of time. Even my friends that have given birth say they go through many of these emotions the day they find out they are pregnant. Am I really ready to be a mom? My heart says absolutely but there is always that thought in the back of my mind that says everything that I know right now is about to change and that is a little scary.

The home study process was surprisingly very smooth for us. I LOVE the agency we used for the home study. They were a pleasure to work with and they made everything feel so easy. I'm also a type A person so when given a list of all of the documents we needed, I pretty much had copies of everything within a days time. The background checks were super easy. Again, I cannot say enough good things about how the process worked for us.

The last visit with the social worker was the home visit. We gave her a tour of our home and showed her the baby's room. She needed to know the measurement of that room but other than that, everything was a quick walk through. She didn't look inside cabinets or closets so it was really just like having a friend over.

We received our completed home study in the mail on November 20th. We were so excited and it was the very best mail day. We immediately sent a copy to our agency and began working on our profile book. I made the book from scratch and we received it in the mail this weekend and mailed it to the agency today along with a check for the first payment installment. I can't believe that we are nearing the end and are in the "waiting" phase now. Our part is done! Now we wait to get matched and then wait for the baby to be born.

I messaged our agency this morning and there are currently 2 waiting birth mothers that they plan to match within the next month. This was very exciting news. I'm not sure how many waiting adopting families they may have but I'm just praying that God is going to match us to the birth mama that he has handpicked just for us

Lastly, I posted this photo yesterday on Facebook of our profile book and I want to document what I wrote alongside the picture.


"Tomorrow is the day we mail our profile book to our agency. The profile book is the one shot we get to show a glimpse of our lives to the birth families. Will you join me in prayer over the hands this book will touch? Our prayer is that it will fall in to the hands that God has handpicked for our family. More than anything, we pray for the lives this book may touch as I fully believe this book is a major part of our story AND their story. I pray that the birth family we match to will truly see the love that Jesus has for them."

Thanksgiving 2017

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are having a tough time getting back in to the swing of things today. Craw and I had Friday off so we had a 4 day weekend and it was glorious. We kicked off Thanksgiving weekend by heading to see Craw's family on Wednesday night to eat. This was the dinner that GG always hosted and when she passed, Craw's mom took over the hosting duties. We had a great time seeing his extended family and enjoying a family fun game night. We headed back home later that night to prepare for Thanksgiving day.

We woke up Thursday morning and Craw made cinnamon rolls and we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving parade together. We usually make a butter braid but we sadly did not get one this year to cook on Thanksgiving morning. For lunch, we went to my Aunt Debbie's house and enjoyed lunch with all of my family. I sadly realized that we take lots of pictures with my family but not enough with Craw's family. We need to change that for Christmas.

Craw and I went back to his family's house Thursday night for another family dinner. Sadly, I did not take any pictures. We went Black Friday shopping super late Thursday night and we enjoyed our time. However, I got to a point where I lost all of my energy and all I wanted was my bed. Three Thanksgiving meals and driving back and forth will do that to you.

Friday we decorated for Christmas and I am loving my two new adoption ornaments from mom and Mama Teri.

For our anniversary, I bought Craw tickets to the State/UNC game. We went on Saturday and we had the BEST date day. That game was a little scary the first half but State pulled out the WIN.

We finished out the weekend with a low key day on Sunday. I snapped this picture of sweet Hank and it is for sure one of my new favorites. Craw and I talked about how this is hopefully our last Thanksgiving as a family of three. Next year, we hope to have a little baby tagging along with us and we absolutely cannot wait!



Life Lately

Today is going to be a random assortment of life lately pictures. Life has been SO busy. I feel like I always say that but here we are a week away from Thanksgiving. How is that even possible? October was a complete blur for me and I am really trying to focus on saying no to more things and enjoying some down time.

I sure do love this guy. I really did luck out in the husband department. With my Crohns, there are many days when I come home from work completely wiped out and Craw always steps up and helps out around the house.  So very thankful for him.

This is my other favorite guy. He is just the sweetest most cuddly dog ever! I love my sweet Hank.

November is Adoption Awareness month. I saw a friend share this picture on Facebook and loved it so much! Obviously adoption is something that is very important to us and I love that there is a whole month dedicated to bringing awareness to the beauty that is adoption.

Last Thursday was World Adoption Day and it was a trending hashtag on Instagram. The symbol for this day is a smiley on the hand. People were drawing all types of smiley's and taking creative pictures using the hashtag #worldadoptionday. Craw and I loved being able to participate in this and we can't wait to hopefully have another little hand in the picture next year.

Speaking of adoption and Baby Bolton, I ordered this cute diaper book bag on Amazon and LOVE it.  The reviews were really good and I can't wait to use this. I even got Craw's stamp of approval.

Last Saturday we got to spend some time with Eva. She is getting SO BIG and I cannot believe she will be two in January. She loved playing with Craw.

I got to work on my swaddle game and Eva thought it was funny. She definitely loves her babies.

So that's a wrap on life lately. I am hoping to be back soon to provide an update on the adoption.



Three Years



Three years ago today, my life was changed for the better. Some days it feels like we've already lived a lifetime and then other days, it feels like yesterday when the church doors opened and I saw my groom for the first time. I am reminded daily what a commitment marriage truly is and how Craw is my perfect gift. I am blessed that God chose me to be his wife.

I always joke around and say that he is the nice one but its the absolute truth. My favorite thing about Craw is that he will literally help anyone. And by that I mean, it's nothing for me to get a call saying he just picked up a stranger and took them to Mcdonalds to get them a meal. This is usually followed by me giving him a lecture of how he should NEVER give someone a ride that he doesn't know but at the same time, I'm so darn proud he is my husband. He is an encourager, motivator, emotional supporter, and definitely the calm to my crazy. That is key when he is married to a wife that freaks out about everything. All this to say, I cannot imagine life without him and I am honored to say that I get to love this man for the rest of my life.

2018 is going to be a year of change for our family and we are so very excited.

Happy three years, babe! This is going to be our best one yet and I am so happy I get to watch you take on your next role as a daddy.

Crohns Disease

Crohns Disease. AKA my intestines hate me.

I was diagnosed with Crohns Disease in September 2015...nine months after we got married. I had been really sick for a couple of years and doctors had a tough time figuring out what was going on. I quickly realized that the biggest advocate for my health was ME. It took some trial and error and switching doctors but the day I was diagnosed was actually a happy day because it no longer made me feel like I was going crazy.

I've had 4 hospital stays in three years, my most recent being January 2017. The hospital stays are basically for me to receive IV steroid treatments and pain meds while I go on bowel rest meaning clear liquids only.

My body has rejected 3 medicines so far and we are about to try a fourth one. This is pretty typical for chronic diseases as it takes a while to figure out what works as all people are different. For the most part, I have been managing the symptoms well for the past two years. I definitely have days where I can tell my body is flaring but I really try to listen to my body and give it what it needs...that being a bland diet and rest!

I have the BEST support system in the world. Craw has been my rock. I often say that dealing with a wife with a chronic illness is not what he signed up for when he married me but he quickly reminds me that it is exactly what he signed up for. He's seriously the best. He never complains and does whatever it takes to make sure I'm receiving the best care possible. My parents have also played a huge part in making sure I know I'm not alone in the journey. There were times I could see myself falling in to a depression after each hospital stay and they made sure to support me. Plus, mom makes the best chicken and rice which is PERFECT for a bland diet. My in-laws, friends, and church family have also been a huge support to me. Crohns can be a very silent disease as a person can look fine from the outside but feel like they are dying on the inside. That can be hard for people to understand. My friends quickly realized that there would be times I may have to miss events on short notice and they completely supported me.

Living with Crohns is definitely a roller coaster: emotionally, physically, and mentally. While Crohns does play a big part in my life, it does NOT define me. I am so thankful that I am able to live a normal life as there are people that deal with much worse.