Liam: Remembering One Year Ago {Part 3}

 The next 31 hours, we traveled! We stopped for bathroom breaks, gas, and occasional snacks but for the most part, we traveled straight through! Somewhere in the middle of Texas, both Tim & I were exhausted and needed a nap, so we stopped, set an alarm for one hour and then back on the road! Ava was an amazing traveler! When our alarm went off, she woke us up saying,
"C'mon!! I have brother waiting for me!!! Let's go!!" 💙

We watched the sunrise in Coahoma, TX! 

Seeing this reminded me of watching the sunrise the day Ava was born, it was so beautiful!

As we traveled, I was getting all the last minute paperwork complete, arranging our breastmilk donors, communicating with agency on status of baby, and coordinating a place/time we would be able to meet him, etc. We were somewhere in NM, still several hours from Phoenix, when I got this email: 

You read that right...birthmom had named baby... LIAM! 😭I'll never know how or why Ava picked this name but one thing is for sure, this was meant to be this baby's name. 💙I read the email to Tim, through tears, and almost at the same time, we said, "well, this is settled! Liam, it is!" Now to come up with a middle name! 😉

We finally made it to AZ! 👏

At this point, we changed drivers again. For the most part, Tim did most of the driving. We joke that I'm a better co-pilot and he prefers to drive, so we make a good team. 😉I can tell you, I was running low on sleep but high on adrenaline so I was determined to make it there in record time (lol)! We made final plans to meet baby Liam with the agency and determined we would have time to unload our van at our destination in Tempe, freshen up with a quick shower, and then drive to meet caseworker! (By the way, we were staying with some dear friends who opened their home to us to stay as long as we wanted!! We had the most perfect setup there with the some of the kindest people on earth, and could not have asked for a better situation. We are eternally thankful for them, their generosity, and care!!)

It was supper time, but we decided we could wait to eat, we were meeting our new baby, afterall!!! By this point, Liam had been released from hospital and was in what is called "cradle care", where a social worker is caring for baby until placement. Lucky for us, our adoption agency director was caring for him! She asked us to come to her house to meet him. At this point, because he was less than 48 hours old, his birthmom hadn't signed papers (this varies from state to state but in AZ the law is at least 48 hours old) yet, so we were told we could meet him but likely couldn't take custody until the next day. We were bummed about that but excited to at least get to meet him!! 

So...drumroll, here we are, meeting our baby BOY for the first time!! 💙

(these pics are a bit blurry because they were taken from video)

Ava's expressions are my favorite!

First family picture of 4!!

After meeting him, of course we didn't want to leave him, and Ava started asking/begging, "Mom, pleaseeee can we take him tonight!?" ...then, the Director said, "Ava, do you really want to take him home with you? Are you ready to be a big sister?" She immediately shouted, "YES, YES YES!! I have waited FOREVER for this!"...So then she told us that she had good news for us...Liam's birthmom had specifically requested we get custody that evening, and not to wait. She had signed a document allowing us to take him that night!! So, we finished up some necessary paperwork and back to Tempe we went!!

But first...it was getting late, so we decided to grab a bite to eat and call our families so they could meet Liam via FaceTime!

Sleeping through meeting the family. 

First night smiles!

The first night (or 3 😉) I held him all night; sleep is overrated, especially when you have a newborn to hold, right?! At this point, we hadn't shared his name with anyone because we were still deciding on a middle name. I'll never forget this because I think it's the sweetest thing - when we arrived back in Tempe to the home we were staying at, the lady of the home asked if we had picked a name. I said not officially yet, still working on that! Her reply, "Well, no rush, Handsome will work for now!!"💙

Night one went very well!!! We were all on cloud 9!!!

To be continued...

Liam: Remembering One Year Ago {Part 2}

 

...I guess I left out one detail...that we had scheduled our annual family pictures for this day! When we got this news, I re-arranged to have them for early morning. 😊I promise, my family LOVES getting pictures taken, and I knew having the photographer show up unannounced and 5 hours earlier than scheduled, it would be justttt fine. 😉

Have I mentioned how thankful I am to have a dear friend who also happens to be a talented photographer?! I literally texted her at 2am to reschedule our session - keeping the reason a surprise - and she shows up, anxious to learn what's happening herself!! What a gift these photos are to us!! Thank you, Roots2Nest Photographs!

So, my parents and photographer arrive! I think these pictures speak for themselves, so here we are telling the family our news!! 

"We got a phone call last night around midnight...ok, let me start over. We got an email around 9pm...."

"Birthmom chose us!! We have a baby waiting on us...it's a boy, in Arizona!!"

 

My favorite reaction was Ava's...these pictures are literally within seconds of each other. 

Calling Tim's parents and my grandparents via Facetime! 

Surprise, Grandma & Grandpa!!! "Yes, I'm serious!!! It's a boy, I'm getting a brother!"

Shortly after telling the family all the details, Ava speaks up and asks, "Mom, can we please name him Liam?? I love that name! Please!!" I told her we consider it. This name wasn't on our list, not because we didn't love it because we know a lot of Liam's 😀Throughout our adoption journey, she had countless name suggestions, some cute and some totally off the wall ideas (lol) - so it wasn't unusual for her to have input but this was the first time she had this suggestion! Stay tuned for the rest of the story on his name. 😌

We did sneak in a couple family pictures, joking that these would be obsolete soon and we would have to re-do them! 😆

We hurried to get the van, loaded up, and hit the road a couple hours later! Arizona, here we come!!!

To be continued...

Huge thanks to my family for filling the gaps of closing up our home, taking care of the dogs, and helping us get on the road as quickly as possible.

Liam: Remembering One Year Ago {Part 1}

*To respect Liam's privacy and the privacy of his sweet birthmother, specific details of his 'story' will be limited*

It was on this day, one year ago, that we first learned about Liam!! I want to start from the very beginning so I don't forget any of the details! 😉

Ava with Cayden (5 weeks old) - notice Ava's cacti dress 🌵

The day started with snuggles with Cayden, my 5 week old nephew! He was visiting for the first time and I gladly held him that morning so his parents could get some rest. 😍

Later we went to a baby shower for Baby Slade! At the shower, several people asked for updates on our adoption journey. We had just walked through a failed situation (which happens when a birthmom choses to parent, choses another family, or baby was surrendered to CPS), so I literally had no updates - no match, no pending cases.

Then...around 9pm, we got an email! A stork drop in AZ!! A stork drop means the baby has already been born, and adoption plan is made but a family hasn't been chosen yet. These are *usually* every adoptive parent's dream. It typically means the birthmom is serious and confident about her decision and because baby is already born, there isn't much time to wait.

We quickly read over the details together and with Cameron & Riley, and decided to present! (Riley reminded me that Tim started singing "If it's meant to be..." ha!) By the time we sent our email asking to be considered, we immediately got an email back with, "We're sorry but we've reached our limit of families for this situation", meaning the agency had enough families already. So we were out.

Let me pause here to explain - this had happened to us numerous times over the last 1.5 years. We were accustomed to receiving news like this. Most agencies put a cap on how many families they will accept for each situation in an effort not to overwhelm the birthparents when they are trying to pick a family. So, we had learned to accept this type of news and move on.

But then...3 minutes later, we got the next email that said: "Actually, the person whose email I read before yours is from MN and unable to present to this mom due to the laws there. If you are wanting to present to this case, I am happy to put you on the list."

I immediately responded with "Ok, we'll present!! Thank you!!"...so our profile book was back on the table!!

By now, it's getting late, and I had offered to take baby Cayden during night shift so his parents could get some rest. As we headed to bed, my last words to Cameron - "call me when he wakes up and I'll come get him"...

It was around midnight that my phone rang. I immediately woke up and as I answered, started heading downstairs, thinking it was Cameron calling. But no. It was a woman's voice. I looked at the number and it said Phoenix, AZ. My heart was racing! I immediately woke up Tim, as she said, "Jaime? This is {caseworker}. I'm sorry, I know it's late there but I wanted to let you know that {birthmom} has chosen you guys and you have SON!!! He's waiting for you here in Phoenix!! How soon can you be here?? I didn't want to wake you but I also didn't want to wait until morning to call you, CONGRATULATIONS!!!"

Wow!!! Talk about all the emotions hitting you at once!! We discussed next steps, what we needed to bring with us, and she reassured us that he would be well taken care of until we could get there. Tim and I got moving on travel plans. Flights at this time were being delayed, no direct flights available that day, etc so we decided to drive. We could be there in less than 40 hours and would have a vehicle with us for our stay. With that plan in place, I told Tim to go back to sleep, I would get everything packed and he could be rested for the drive.

But first...I texted and called some dear friends with the news in an effort to make plans for our morning and travels. Then I did laundry, packed, and got absolutely ZERO sleep because I was on cloud 9!!

Around 3am, Ava woke up and came walking in our room, saw me packing and said, "Mom, what in the world are you doing? It's the middle of the night!!" (lol) I told her I had a surprise for her but it had to wait until morning. She quickly went back to sleep.

The next morning, we called my parents to come over. We had arranged to pick up our rental van when they opened at 10am and hit the road asap!

To be continued...

Introducing Mr. Liam Kade!

 

 Meet our newest lil' bundle!! 

Liam Kade

Born 11/7/20, 4:11pm, 7lbs 6oz, 19"

Liam modeling Mimi's knitted hat, 10 days old

 

Meeting Liam for the first time! So in love!! 

These pictures were taken from video, so although they are a bit blurry, I love Ava's expressions!

First Family Pictures, minutes after meeting Liam

To respect Liam's privacy and the privacy of his sweet birthmother, details of his 'story' will be limited, but know that we LOVE his birthmomma and are so thankful she chose our family! There's no doubt God's hand was in this match, as it couldn't be more perfect. Thank you for following our journey! 

Update

It’s almost time to update our home study— can’t believe it’s almost been a year since we were last approved! We’ve been buried in paperwork, updating documents and checking off all the items “to do”! It was much easier this time around in some ways, simply because we knew what to do and who to contact for certifications and such. COVID did complicate a few areas like background checks and fingerprinting, but thankfully we have an amazing caseworker who knew what to do when these were set to expire and everything was shut down/closed.


We’ve received so many texts, calls, and “check ins” from friends and family over the last year wondering how this process was going. Thank you so much for checking in. We love hearing from you and appreciate your care so much!

So, friends, the answer is- it’s adoption. That means it’s a lot of unknowns, twists and turns, highs and lows. We’ve presented to numerous situations over the last (almost) year and we’ve seen a lot of really sad, difficult situations and also a lot of hopeful ones. Our eyes have been opened to so much that’s going on in our world today, and ya’ll, it’s not pretty. I am thankful for things I’ve never realized I should be thankful for. I’ve prayed very specifically for people I don’t know and will never know, I’ve felt selfish for longing to stay naïve to hardness some endure simply because it’s easier not to think about. I’ve mourned losses that were never truly “mine” but felt like they were. There have been sleepless nights of concern for expectant/birthmommas...like real concerns of their safety, wellbeing. There’s been fraud, yes, fraud, in the adoption world is so prevalent now. I’ve even rejoiced when an expectant mom has decided to parent and not place, or chose another family for her child, because I saw her heart and respected her decision although it meant yet another “no match” for us. It hasn’t been easy. BUT. It’s all worth it!! We know there’s happy, good, and beautiful in the adoption triad also. We’ve had so many people reach out to help us however they can. Just last week I had a local momma who I’ve never even met (she’s a friend of a friend), reach out and offer to donate breast milk when our baby arrives. 😭 There’s good in the world, too, if we choose to see it. So while we wait, we learn! And we are thankful for all we’ve learned on this journey!


Last night at dinner, I told Tim I thought I had everything organized and ready to send to our caseworker for the home study update. Ava heard and excitedly and without hesitation said, “oh, good, Mom!! Our baby (who she has a name for 😍) is waiting on us!!!”

And so, we wait with hope. 💖

Essential Oil Fundraiser

Friends! If you've thought about signing up with Young Living before --now is the time!! 

Starting October 15th, when you sign up (new or reactivating members only) with me and purchase your Premium Starter Kit (which comes with all the amazing items listed below), Young Living will pay us $50 and ALL the funds raised will go towards our adoption! (pssttt, also, in October, YL is offering FREE shipping on your Premium Starter Kit)

To grab your Premium Starter Kit, click here: Premium Starter Kit (my personal favorite diffuser is the Desert Mist, choose it at checkout)

You can learn more about oils by following me on Instagram. Part of your membership is also access to TONS of education, classes, and online support.

Please note: there's no pressure or requirement to "sell" anything with your membership. It simply means have an account and can buy at wholesale. Also, there's no monthly commitment. However, if you want to "ditch and switch" your household products and/or are ready to dive into oils, you can sign up for Essential Rewards. There are so many perks to Essential Rewards! I love having a box delivered each month of items I choose -- from household cleaners, toothpaste, lotion, vitamins, etc!! Here's a summary of ER:

We are so thankful for all the different ways you are helping us bring home a new baby. 💖

T-Shirt Fundraiser

Excited to share our first fundraiser!!

So many of you have inquired how you can help and we got some ideas/input for a t-shirt fundraiser. Bonfire is a shirt printing company with excellent reviews from the adoption community (sample pictured above).

These were all designed by yours truly 🤪 See a design you like but prefer a sweatshirt, tank, etc? Simply let me know, I can make it happen. Or better yet, have an idea for a design? Contact me! 😄

Thank you ALL for your support! We feel so loved! ❤️

Shop here: https://www.bonfire.com/store/jtadoption/
Feel free to share! This store is open to the public.