My last post was about our gotcha day with the newest love of my life, Tyley Sue. The past 3 years have been a whirlwind and I've not blogged because I was living, enjoying, and soaking it all up. Soaking up all of the little moments I could. The past 3 years have brought our family many changes! I am hoping to start blogging regularly again to help me get my feelings down on paper. I will start with an overview today and then dig in a little deeper to big moments in future posts.
1. Ministry: Tyler was the student pastor at Mt. View Baptist Church until November 2012. We moved to Family Baptist Church where he served until just last week. The year and a half that we served at Family brought a lot of changes in our family that we couldn't have foreseen and it made that year of ministry a little, okay a lot, more difficult than we expected. However, we made great friends, grew in our relationship with the Lord and our relationship with each other, and served our church and community in the best way we could. We are moving on now to Tyler's home church where we are just sitting and waiting. Sometimes God asks you to be still for a while before He reveals the next step in your life to you and I believe that's where we are at right now. We were clearly told to plant a church a few months ago (I will get into those details in a separate post) but now we feel just a certain that we are being told to take care of our family first. So we are waiting on God's timing, which as we've seen in the past, is always perfect.
2. Elijah Ray: So, God's plan was for me to have another child after all! On October 1, 2013 Elijah Ray Jones was born after the miracle pregnancy experienced by ME! The girl who was told she wouldn't carry a child, carried a child! God answered our prayers after our prayers changed. For years I wanted to experience carrying a child, feeling him move inside of me, knowing I was nurturing and growing a baby. I had two close friends that came and told us they were pregnant, and then there I was again, feeling the desire to be pregnant. So, I prayed that God would take away my desire to carry a child unless that was His plan for me. Four weeks later, I took a pregnancy test and say a + sign come up. I'm telling you, I lost it. I wasn't sure if I was even seeing right, so I took it out to Tyler and he hit his knees and began praying, thanking God for our miracle. I'll never forget standing in our living room, at the edge of our hallway seeing my husband kneeling at the couch in praise and thankfulness for the answer to our years of prayers. God continues to prove to us that He is FOR US. That He loves us. That He will not only supply our needs, but our DESIRES too. My son is a testimony to answered prayers, just like my daughter :)
3. Special Needs: I never thought I would be a special needs mom. If you would have told me that, I would have never believed it. I would have doubted how strong I can be. I would have worried about the details. Yet here I am. The mother to a special needs daughter. A daughter that is so unique and so special that doctors don't even have a name for what she has. A daughter that has stolen the hearts of most who have taken the time to know her. I'm her momma. Her biggest fan. She has taught me so much in her nearly 3 years here. Our family has been changed by her and I wouldn't have it any other way. Does that mean that I don't hope for the best or pray for a miracle still? No. I absolutely pray that God will heal her, but I also pray that He will use her and us regardless of His plan. If it's to heal, let it bring Him glory. If it's not, let it bring Him glory. No matter the road ahead of us, my prayer is for it to touch others and bring them to a relationship with Christ.
I will be digging into these life changing events in future posts, because as you can tell it's too much for one little post :)
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Tyley Sue Jones
So, I'm a horrible blogger, haven't posted in a long time, but I have excellent excuses. Let me recap what's happened in the past 3 months. We got an offer on our house, got a call from the adoption agency, got our little girl 2 days later, moved into my grandmother's old house 2 weeks later, got the permit to build our new home, and it's been a whirlwind since then! So now I will expand a little bit on the actual call from the agency!
We actually got a call on a Tuesday June 4 from Susan at our agency. She asked for us to come into the office on Thursday at 1 pm. I just said okay and hung up. Then I panicked because I had no idea why they were calling us in. I was going through every possible scenario. None of which included a baby! So, I thought, if there is a baby they will want me to bring the carseat, so I called back and asked if I should bring anything. They said no, just to come on in. Needless to say, the next two days were the longest ever. Thursday morning I actually worked until about 10:30, then we headed to Birmingham. Once we arrived at the agency(nearly 30 minutes early) we sat in the lobby waiting. Almost immediately we heard a baby crying. Tyler looked at me, and said "There IS a baby here". I replied "Yeah, but not OUR baby, there is no way, because we didn't bring a carseat!" So we waited a few more minutes, and Rick took us to his office. He asked about our house, our jobs, and all the while I was thinking, "is this really what they called us down here for?!" Then Rick told us there was a situation, a birth mother had come in, with no prenatal care and had already delivered a baby. At this point, he said and "the baby is already here". Still, not believing we would hold our baby in our arms that day, I said "Like here? Like the baby I hear crying kind of here???" Without speaking a word, our social worker walked in with the most beautiful baby girl I've ever laid eyes on. As I sit here and write this, I have tears coming to my eyes remembering the sight of my husband holding her for the first time. All he could say is "she's gorgeous, she's gorgeous, she's gorgeous!" Still in disbelief, and shock, I said " I didn't even bring a carseat!" I had so many things going through my head, but I can't remember now what they were! I was just so shocked, and still am sometimes!! We were at the agency about an hour or so longer, signed some paperwork, got some history on the birthmother, and they sent us home with a carseat and diaper bag with enough things to get through the night.
On the way home I sat in the backseat with Tyley Sue and just looked at her the whole way home. I of course called my mom, dad, nana, and Tyler called his family too .We sent immediate pictures of her out on our cell phones. When I called my mom and told her that I had Tyley Sue in the care with me she about fell apart on me. I was in a weird calm state through all of this, through all of the phone calls. My grandmother didn't believe me at first, I had to tell her 3 times before she believed it all. My mom and sister immediately went shopping for us, I told them I needed bows, lots of hairbows because she had a head full of hair! The hour and a half drive home seemed longer because I couldn't wait to get her out of the carseat and hold her again!
Once we arrived home, we had about 10 minutes of peace and quiet with her before our family started to arrive. Around 4:00 my parents came over, then his, then aunts and uncles, and friends. The last bit of company left around 11:00 that night. Our family and friends blessed us so much that day alone with gifts and neccessities that we didn't have yet. With my house filled with boxes preparing to move, all of the added baby stuff and people about sent me over the edge with my OCD like behavior! The next day we continued to have more company coming over to share our joy with us. Later that afternoon, I had a few moments of quiet with just Tyler and Tyley Sue, it was that moment that a flood of emotion hit. I cried for the first time, and it wouldn't stop. I sobbed. I was so overwhelmed, so joyus, so scared, so unprepared, so happy, so many things all at once. I prayed, and was so unbelievably thankful for Tyley. My God had come through in an unimaginably good way. His timing was perfect, and I am so glad I had to wait. All of the tears and heart ache were suddenly sooooo worth it. He had been knitting together a precious baby girl in another woman's womb for ME!
Since then we have written back and forth with the birthmother, I have been able to thank her for her unselfish act of love. She has been able to tell Tyley Sue about herself and her biological father. I am saving all of the letters for Tyley to look at one day when she is ready. We have been to doctors appointments, and our friends and family have had 4 baby showers for us! We have been so blessed with great friends and family who have showered us with more than we need for Tyley Sue. It has been an amazing 3 months. Tyley weight 7lb. 2oz. and was 19 inches long when she was born on June 3, 2011. Her last weight at the doctor about 2 weeks ago was 9 lb. 15 oz. and 22 inches long. She is now cooing, and smiling a lot. She has a cute little personality starting to develop. She is my little blessing. Her daddy's little girl. She couldn't be more perfect!!
We actually got a call on a Tuesday June 4 from Susan at our agency. She asked for us to come into the office on Thursday at 1 pm. I just said okay and hung up. Then I panicked because I had no idea why they were calling us in. I was going through every possible scenario. None of which included a baby! So, I thought, if there is a baby they will want me to bring the carseat, so I called back and asked if I should bring anything. They said no, just to come on in. Needless to say, the next two days were the longest ever. Thursday morning I actually worked until about 10:30, then we headed to Birmingham. Once we arrived at the agency(nearly 30 minutes early) we sat in the lobby waiting. Almost immediately we heard a baby crying. Tyler looked at me, and said "There IS a baby here". I replied "Yeah, but not OUR baby, there is no way, because we didn't bring a carseat!" So we waited a few more minutes, and Rick took us to his office. He asked about our house, our jobs, and all the while I was thinking, "is this really what they called us down here for?!" Then Rick told us there was a situation, a birth mother had come in, with no prenatal care and had already delivered a baby. At this point, he said and "the baby is already here". Still, not believing we would hold our baby in our arms that day, I said "Like here? Like the baby I hear crying kind of here???" Without speaking a word, our social worker walked in with the most beautiful baby girl I've ever laid eyes on. As I sit here and write this, I have tears coming to my eyes remembering the sight of my husband holding her for the first time. All he could say is "she's gorgeous, she's gorgeous, she's gorgeous!" Still in disbelief, and shock, I said " I didn't even bring a carseat!" I had so many things going through my head, but I can't remember now what they were! I was just so shocked, and still am sometimes!! We were at the agency about an hour or so longer, signed some paperwork, got some history on the birthmother, and they sent us home with a carseat and diaper bag with enough things to get through the night.
On the way home I sat in the backseat with Tyley Sue and just looked at her the whole way home. I of course called my mom, dad, nana, and Tyler called his family too .We sent immediate pictures of her out on our cell phones. When I called my mom and told her that I had Tyley Sue in the care with me she about fell apart on me. I was in a weird calm state through all of this, through all of the phone calls. My grandmother didn't believe me at first, I had to tell her 3 times before she believed it all. My mom and sister immediately went shopping for us, I told them I needed bows, lots of hairbows because she had a head full of hair! The hour and a half drive home seemed longer because I couldn't wait to get her out of the carseat and hold her again!
Once we arrived home, we had about 10 minutes of peace and quiet with her before our family started to arrive. Around 4:00 my parents came over, then his, then aunts and uncles, and friends. The last bit of company left around 11:00 that night. Our family and friends blessed us so much that day alone with gifts and neccessities that we didn't have yet. With my house filled with boxes preparing to move, all of the added baby stuff and people about sent me over the edge with my OCD like behavior! The next day we continued to have more company coming over to share our joy with us. Later that afternoon, I had a few moments of quiet with just Tyler and Tyley Sue, it was that moment that a flood of emotion hit. I cried for the first time, and it wouldn't stop. I sobbed. I was so overwhelmed, so joyus, so scared, so unprepared, so happy, so many things all at once. I prayed, and was so unbelievably thankful for Tyley. My God had come through in an unimaginably good way. His timing was perfect, and I am so glad I had to wait. All of the tears and heart ache were suddenly sooooo worth it. He had been knitting together a precious baby girl in another woman's womb for ME!
Since then we have written back and forth with the birthmother, I have been able to thank her for her unselfish act of love. She has been able to tell Tyley Sue about herself and her biological father. I am saving all of the letters for Tyley to look at one day when she is ready. We have been to doctors appointments, and our friends and family have had 4 baby showers for us! We have been so blessed with great friends and family who have showered us with more than we need for Tyley Sue. It has been an amazing 3 months. Tyley weight 7lb. 2oz. and was 19 inches long when she was born on June 3, 2011. Her last weight at the doctor about 2 weeks ago was 9 lb. 15 oz. and 22 inches long. She is now cooing, and smiling a lot. She has a cute little personality starting to develop. She is my little blessing. Her daddy's little girl. She couldn't be more perfect!!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Blessed.
I spoke with our social worker Wednesday and she recommended living in my grandmother's empty house instead of my parents. This will allow us to avoid them having to have backgroud checks, and the possibility of that holding us up is just not an option for me. So, next week we are gonna get hard core and start cleaning out my grandmother's and packing up my house. It's going to be a blast (haha)! Really though, I'm getting super excited about everything, but with that excitement comes the super nervous part of me!! I'm praying everyday, and I keep handing it over, but then taking it back. You would think I would learn to just let Him have it!! I am still in awe of how everything has been provided. I'm such a blessed little lady!! I keep thinking about what our little one is going to look like. I have no idea, it's going to be such a surprise to see if it's a boy or girl, black, white, hispanic, asian...I just don't know, but that's somehow becoming a really nice thought to me.
I feel like God has taught me so much over the past nearly 4 years in this journey. Soooo, I thought I would share :)
1. God sometimes gives us pain to reveal our hearts. Not because He's mean or wants to test us.
2. God doesn't reveal the whole big idea, the whole picture, the step by step plan of how it's goinig to work because He wants us to keep coming back to Him for the next piece of information we need. If we had it all, why would we need Him?
3. Sometimes, the pain that we endure is prolonged because He has the absolute perfect blessing waiting for us in the end.
4. We are not in control. God uses circumstances in our lives to remind us of this. Infertility is mine. Adoption is mine. It can be the death of a loved one, or the loss of a job. When we think we are in control, it's just an illusion.
5. I have some friends who are well off financially, they conceive for free. It's not fair. We aren't rich, we get to adopt. I know the blessing of adoption will far outweigh the cost though.
6. God is good. No matter what. His timing is perfect, and mine is not.
7. Adoption is expensive. I didn't think we could afford it. But when you lay it all at His feet, and let Him have control, He will provide. It's amazing to watch Him work in a way that you know is humanly impossible.
8. When God moves you to do something, don't wait on all of the details, don't wait to plan it all out. Stepping out in faith is scary, scary stuff, but it's the most rewarding stuff you will ever do!
9. Just because I'm adopting, doesn't mean I don't ever hope to conceive, but because I'm adopting, I'm okay with never conceiving.
10. The past year of preparing for adoption has been the most scary, awesome, nervewracking, humbling, uncomfortable experience ever, period, the end.
I feel like God has taught me so much over the past nearly 4 years in this journey. Soooo, I thought I would share :)
1. God sometimes gives us pain to reveal our hearts. Not because He's mean or wants to test us.
2. God doesn't reveal the whole big idea, the whole picture, the step by step plan of how it's goinig to work because He wants us to keep coming back to Him for the next piece of information we need. If we had it all, why would we need Him?
3. Sometimes, the pain that we endure is prolonged because He has the absolute perfect blessing waiting for us in the end.
4. We are not in control. God uses circumstances in our lives to remind us of this. Infertility is mine. Adoption is mine. It can be the death of a loved one, or the loss of a job. When we think we are in control, it's just an illusion.
5. I have some friends who are well off financially, they conceive for free. It's not fair. We aren't rich, we get to adopt. I know the blessing of adoption will far outweigh the cost though.
6. God is good. No matter what. His timing is perfect, and mine is not.
7. Adoption is expensive. I didn't think we could afford it. But when you lay it all at His feet, and let Him have control, He will provide. It's amazing to watch Him work in a way that you know is humanly impossible.
8. When God moves you to do something, don't wait on all of the details, don't wait to plan it all out. Stepping out in faith is scary, scary stuff, but it's the most rewarding stuff you will ever do!
9. Just because I'm adopting, doesn't mean I don't ever hope to conceive, but because I'm adopting, I'm okay with never conceiving.
10. The past year of preparing for adoption has been the most scary, awesome, nervewracking, humbling, uncomfortable experience ever, period, the end.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Big Changes Ahead
Well, we got an offer on our house over the weekend. We got exactly what we were asking for it, which is a huge blessing! I know that God is providing in every sense of the word for this adoption. In the beginning I wondered how in the world we would have the money to do this, but He continues to show us the way!! If everything goes smoothly we should close on the house around June 14. So today I called our social worker and cleared things with her about living arrangements while our house is being built. She is going to be checking with the agency director about the legal aspects of a possible placement while living with my parents. It may not even be a problem because a placement occurring in the next 3-4 months would be extremenly quick she said, but since we are open to any race she said it would be possible, and we would just want to go ahead and be prepared for it. I just can't believe all of the big changes in our lives right now. Selling a home, building a new one, living with my parents, officially being on the waiting list for a child. It's just so much all at once, but I know that God is working it all out. Although, I do feel a little nervous. I wonder if that ever goes away?? I mean, when will I get to a point in my relationship with God where I don't feel scared, or nervous at all? I do trust Him and I see how He has worked this all out for so long. I started thinking about the day we bought our house, we debated on a 30 year or 15 year loan. We went for the 15 year, and if we hadn't we wouldn't have enough equity in it to pay for the adoption. So over 4 years ago, God was working it out; knowing our entire marriage together that the fertility treatments would fail, and we would be here today, so excited about the adoption of our child! Please continue to pray for us, pray for God's provision financially, and for our birthmother, and for peace within my mind and spirit as all of these changes take place---because I am such a worrier even though I try realllly hard not to be :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)