Gifts for the trip!

I was soooo excited when Morgan, a co worker told me about this plane ride idea on Pinterest. Of course, regardless of my busy schedule.. I looked it up and fell in LOVE! 

At 3:30 AM Chelsea and I were up embroidering so we decided to start and finish the project! These are goodies as "apologies" (if he's bad on the plane) for the nearby passengers! We may give a few out on the large plane but def plan to give everyone on the plane ride into Paducah a treat! And yes, we get to fly into Paducah! And OUT of Paducah! woo hoo! 

Filling up the treat bags with candy and a pair of ear plugs 

Chelsea working hard 

Tying some ribbon. Krew (my puppy) never leaves my side, bless his heart he's trying to stay awake! Milly (my other puppy) on the other hand, is sound asleep with her daddy! 

Soooo excited to hand these out! Thanks Pinterest! Well hopefully be coming home with our baby boy very soon! Today was our birth mothers doctors appointment and she hasn't dilated any and everything looked great! We got a recording of his heart beat today and our B-mom said she will give us ultra sound pics! What a blessing! Thanking God each and every day for leading us down this path :)

14 days or LESS

Today is October 28, 2013. This past weekend was pretty amazing, but sooner rather than later we'll have an even more amazing weekend, the weekend we get our baby boy.

First off, let me share some POSSIBLY exciting news... our social worker called today and said our birth mother's doctor's appointment has been moved to tomorrow because she is having Braxton hicks contractions and they want to make sure everything is okay. It's not uncommon, its actually a common thing for pregnant women to have Braxton hicks. Braxton hicks are not true labor pains or contractions but is usually the baby "dropping" and they become more frequent throughout pregnancy. This could not mean anything or she may go tomorrow and be making progress... we'll see! She is officially 37 weeks today!

We had a baby shower yesterday and it was AMAZING!! We have received so much love and support, it amazes me. This has been a difficult road, and we are about to experience either the best time of our lives or one of the worst (if she changes her mind). Nothing will get us through this other than prayer and the support of our loved ones.

17 days away!

Today is Oct 25 and we are only 17 days away from Carter's arrival! Wednesday the 23rd our birth mother had a doctors appointment at 315 and we were told that everything was going great and his little heart was beating 150 BPM. 

I wanted to share the project Chelsea and I worked on. First off, I am IN LOVE with the preppy boy clothes. One day I discovered these precious cardigan onsies with a boy tie. They would be PERFECT for take home and newborn photos! I wanted a few of them but they were $40 each! I was so pumped when I discovered a DIY tutorial! So Chelsea and I went to work! 

I found a package of 4 carter long sleeve striped onsies at JC penny for $15!! 

Onsie before,..

So, you cut a line up the middle and see some knit fabric on it and add some buttons and you get this! 

I'm in love and addicted!! 

Nesting

I thought I was "nesting" before, but apparently not due to the way I am acting now haha. I am trying to hard to be prepared. We're down to 24 days until the induction date and 23 days until we fly to Utah. 

This is my freezer crock pot meal list I have started to make. My plans are to go to the grocery Sunday after the baby shower and spend the entire evening making meals. So far, I have 10 different recipes so I plan to make each one at least twice. I would like to get about 5 weeks worth of food in bags and into the freezer. The last thing I want to do is to come home and worry about cooking haha. 

And this is my research book. This semester hasn't been too bad but this is my least favorite class. I have two 10 page critiques to do and a 15 page Evidence based paper to get done before we leave! Ahhhh! 

I have the laundry caught up and all clothes from the baby shower washed and hung up. Everyday we find more and more to do in order to prepare for our little man! 

Some terms to be familiar with

We've had some wonderful resources and we are being educated on reminding our friends and family of a very important term... "Your own" 

Carter WILL be OURS. So when asking if we will have other children it is important to refer to them as adoptive or biological.. Not " will you ever have children of your own" 

Please keep that in mind :) 

Now for the rest... I wanted to post these terms as I am learning them too! 

When the birth mother chose us that is known as "being matched" pretty self explanatory :) 

Now. When the mother terminates her rights that will be known as "placement" and Carter will go into our custody.

We will go through the ICPC process which will allow us to leave the state of Utah and this can take up to two weeks. 

Six months after "placement" we have to undergo some home study visits and six months later we will " finalize" 

Finalization is when Carter officially becomes a Hamby. Until then, he is ours but we will still have another court appearance 6 months later to complete everything. 

I'm still learning, so as I learn I will update! 

25 Days away and our birth mother has dilated!

We received an update from our social worker last night, and our sweet birth mother found out at her doctor's appointment that she is now dilated 1 cm and will now begin weekly appointments. We are approximately 35 weeks along now, so I pray she can continue to keep him in there so we can grow and develop.. Yes I want to meet him and hold him.. like RIGHT NOW! But being a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit nurse, he needs to stay put!

Cory and I finished all the paperwork this morning. We had to send a letter from the bank showing proof of our loan and contact Humana to explain when we can pick him up and he can go onto our insurance. I love my husband so much, but somehow I find room in my heart to love him more and more every day. He has been SUCH a trooper and helped so much here lately. We have the house cleaned, laundry and dishes caught up, went grocery shopping yesterday and he has helped contact everyone this morning.

I am still praying hard for the health of our birth mom and for her strength and hoping she does not change her mind if it is God's plan for us to have this baby boy.

I am nervous. I am excited. I am ansty. But it will be here before we know it!

Overwhelmed with support

Sunday, October 13th was an overwhelming evening. Chelsea, spent hours and hours planning and preparing for the baby shower that was being held at my house for Jennifer Leonard and I. Everyone that came blew me away with the love, support and excitement they showed. Whether a person just came to hang out and celebrate, brought gifts, brought a letter for the alphabet wall, brought food, or brought something for leonard's wreath... every bit of it meant the world to me!

We had such a wonderful time, and I think it is safe to say that Carter will never wear the same outfit twice! It is so exciting to share the excitement with those I love the most, and these co workers have truly became family. Most of the girls that came were co-workers and others were close friends and I don't think I can ever express how much I depend on them. I even had two of my best friends drive in from Nashville to join the celebration, thanks girls!! All of these girls are my rock and I am forever grateful for them.

29 days...

We are 29 days away from meeting our little man... Unless his momma delivers early. 

 

Carter is growing in my heart each and every day. When Cory and I lay down at night and have family time, which consists of the puppies laying on one of us and wanting a good belly and back rub before bed. This is the time that we lay and talk about our day and the plans for tomorrow... And it has now become the time that we discuss Carter.

I'm realizing how much my life is about to change and how crazy it is to already love something/someone so much who isn't even here yet. 

I cannot wait to experience every moment of his life. His first tooth, his first haircut, his first steps, and his first date. 

We have even joking about who's boy he is going to be. I def think he will be a mommas boy, but I'm sure he'll always think daddy is more fun. When it comes to the pups, Cory is always the one who gives them treats and table scraps and when they act up he makes me get on to them... For some reason I think he'll do the same with Carter, haha! 

As always, we are praying this experience continues to move along smoothly and that we will hold our boy very soon! 

One month.. what are we doing?

Today is Oct 11th, which means we are exactly ONE MONTH away from meeting our baby boy. I am getting nervous, HA! I pray daily for a healthy child and that he stays inside mommy until his due date..

What are we doing??? UM, Running like chickens with our heads cut off!!! I get my baby in 30 days, we leave for Utah in 28 days. Out of the next 28 days I work 14 days... and I have two showers on my days off which means I only have 12 days until he is due to get things done! This includes schoolwork, house work, packing and paperwork! AHHHH! It def won't go by slow haha!

I cannot wait to fill these empty shoes with his sweet little feet! As you can see, we had some "pregnancy" photos done. Thanks to Teris Moodie! She did a wonderful job, was so prepared and full of neat ideas! Bless her heart, she had a lot to work with, I think I just go downhill every year, getting old stinks ;)

This picture says it all! Waiting, that's what we have been doing for almost a year and a half and wouldn't have it any other way. Of course, we only started the adoption process two months ago and are already expecting him, but from the beginning of trying to conceive to now we have been waiting! I cannot thank God enough for making this process fly by. Of course being matched does not mean it is final... and we are scared to death.

 

But there is nothing we can do but pray. We pray our birth mother keeps her strength and that it is God's plan for us to have this child.

 

We pray that the 24 hours at the hospital goes smoothly. In the state of Utah, a birth mother can sign away her rights at 24 hours of age. Our social worker will be there with us and anything can happen. Within the first 24 hours, if the mother still allows me to be in the room and allows me to have a band then we will have access to Carter.

 

So yes, there is a chance she can change her mind and we never see him.... or we won't see him until after 24 hours... or We could get him and anytime within those 24 hours she can take him back or just ask to visit him and he'll go to her room. Whatever she decides I know it is in God's hand. So yes, I am scared to DEATH! But there is nothing we can do now but pray.

 

So I am trying to make the most out of every moment and only think the best right now. I pray financially everything works out. We have to pay for 2 plane tickets, possibly 14 nights in a hotel, food and a rental car plus a large loan. As we prayed about adoption and I read, everything said not to let finances prevent you from making the decision... so I am following the Lord and am certain it will work out.

 

I cannot wait for everyone to meet our baby boy. Please continue to pray for him and his birthmother!

A middle name was chosen!

Cory and I named Carter pretty easy. I made a list... forever ago! I have a folder in my phone and put boys or girls names in it all the time as I come across unique ones that I like.

Carter was always one of my favorites. I had narrowed his name down to Carter, Maddux, or Miles. I asked Cory to make a list and he quickly responded with " I don't see why we dont name him Carter, I really like that name and it's on your list." No arguing there... Carter it will be!

Unfortunatley, Carter doesn't have an awesome meaning. It means " To drive a cart" haha. So who knows, maybe that means hell be a Nascar driver or something.

Next... The middle name! This was a tuffy! I wanted a really "weird" "unique" name. Cory had some good ones, but none of them would stick. We sent messages back and forth daily of ideas, talked about it, looked up ideas and none of them were what I was looking for.

Cory threw out the name Ryan.. Carter Ryan Hamby ... I liked it... I liked the name Ryker, so my idea was to make up a name and combine Ryker with Ryan and name him Carter Ryken Hamby. It looks cool doesn't it?

Cory quickly threw that name out haha!

We finally narrowed it down to: Carter Nolan, Carter Deshan, or Carter Elijah.

Elijah means " The Lord is My God"

The name flows... and how awesome is that meaning? The LORD is My God and he has been my rock through this process. Without a doubt, this would be his name.

We didn't use any names from family members, mainly because we didn't want to hurt anyones feelings and we thought we wuld come up with names that we just really liked, that made it fun!

One request from our birth mother was that Carter: "Loves God" How perfect is his middle name now? I plan to raise him in church and raise him to be a Godly man. My discipline will be be based on the bible and Carter will know that The Lord is HIS God.

32 Days away from my sweet babies due date.... Beyond Excited!!

Trying to quickly prepare

33 days away from our sweet baby's due date. 11/11/2013. This came so soon, thankfully... so now we must prepare! If you don't know me well there is one thing you must keep in mind.. I am a BUSY BODY. I don't require much sleep and I stink and saying no to things... I am the type of person that feels like one way or another I can fit everything that needs to be done in a day.

That being said... I know I can manage my school work and this sweet baby.

But who wants to spend their first week in the hospital with the baby and typing research papers for class? Not me!

So, I have made a list.. I call it "My nesting list" because I am without a doubt in nesting mode, and kinda freaking out with emotions! First thing is first.. school. I have made a list so I can attempt to complete every assignment that is due in October and November... the deadline I gave myself is next Tuesday! 

I think I can... I think I can... I KNOW I can...

Next... food! I found a neat blog, and it gives you an idea on making crock pot meals (my fav) and it'll be TEN weeks worth of food! YES PLEASE! So if it is possible I would like to make a ton of crock pot meals and fill up my freezer so when Carter gets home I don't have to worry about dinner and all that jazz.

Lastly, PACKING! What if we get the call that she is going into labor? I want to be ready to catch the first plane and be there for the delivery!! So yes, I also plan to go ahead and start packing.

 

You may want to pray for my husband haha. I think I am about to be a cleaning, packing, momma to be fool!

"For this child I prayed..." 1 Samuel 1:27

Wow. I am still in shock with the fact that I am going to be a mother and Cory will be a father and as a team well raise a wonderful child. We spoke to the birth mom this afternoon and it was an amazing experience. It was a wonderful opportunity to get to know each other and ask questions. The conversation lasted almost an hour! We were matched with a social worker, her name is Jodie and shell be our go to person from here on out. The plans are for us to fly down two nights before and have dinner with our sweet birth mother then well go to the hospital the following day.

 I'm crying as I type this... The mother said I could be in the delivery room! God has led us down an amazing road and I think this experience will be wonderful. To be there for her, and to stay connected with her will be the most amazon thing. I am blessed to have found someone who wants to be a part of their child's life and someone who we can share Carter's life with. 

Please continue to pray! We still have a long journey ahead. This def came much quicker than expected so we are trying to get our finances in line and prepare for this amazing miracle. There is always a risk. A risk that the mother may change her mind or the risk that something could be wrong with Carter. All I know is that every ounce of faith is in my God and he brought me to this, therefore he will get me through it!

One of the best days of my life

Today... October 4, 2013 I received a call from the agency: A Guardian Angel. Chris, the sweet lady that works with adoptive parents called me.... I knew what this call was about. She was going to tell me whether or not we were chosen. After having my hopes up, I decided it was best to tell myself we would not get chosen to prevent too much heart break. So when the phone rang, and I saw It was her I ran to my bed and cried. 

I didn't want to answer the phone...

I didn't want to hear that we weren't chosen...

I was getting ready for work; home alone with the pups. Before answering I started crying. Chris was in wonderful spirits but I thought that was just her personality. Then she said it "congratulations!" I couldn't talk.... All I could do was cry. We prayed SO hard for this day and our dream is finally coming true! 

After crying and thanking her, we got off the phone and I had to call Cory. 

This was the funny conversation. I called Cory and was crying so hard with excitement and I couldn't talk. When he answered he could tell I was crying...hard. He started to get on to me, and told me I have to stop getting my hopes up because we will prolly keep getting Nos for a while. I was still crying so hard I couldn't tell him that she DIDN'T say no, she said yes. FINALLY I took a deep breath and screamed CORY SHE PICKED US... YOU'RE GONNA BE A DADDY..... In mid sentence he said "wait? R u serious? Mariah! She picked us? I was getting mad that you were letting yourself get so upset" I died laughing and said no dummy, these are happy tears! 

The mom had SEVEN profiles to chose from and she chose US. I cannot imagine how hard this has been for her. So thank you for praying for her! 

Our baby boy is due Nov 11. More than likely shell be induced a week early and we will fly to Utah the day before and meet her. Then go to the hospital the following day. 

Prayer is a powerful thing. I have wanted to be a mother since I was 2 years old. Cory and I have prayed for a child for 17 months, and it's finally here!! I know he will be perfect! And this would have never been possible without The Lord. Thank you all thanks for any of the financial support we have gotten through orders, thanks for the prayer support for us and the birth mother. I cannot wait to meet our precious child and I cannot wait to hold him and call him our son. We are ready. We are ready for whatever God has planned for us! 

Wait, wait, wait

It has been about 36 hours since the birth mother viewed our profile. What went through her head? Did she like us? Did she say absolutely not when she saw our profile? I have no idea. Wednesday felt like the longest day ever. That was the day the agency presented our profile to her and there was a possibility we could find out that night. I thought the next few days were going to be so long and nerve racking, but I'm thinking I was wrong. I have leaned and put every ounce of faith in God. I have prayed and I have asked for requests and I have been pushed into scripture and grown a very strong relationship with The Lord. As hard as it will be to hear she did not pick us, if that happens I know I will believe it was because this wasn't our "perfect match" and it wasn't Gods match. 

At first I wanted prayer request for Cory and I but now I realize that this mother needs prayer. She needs prayer to maintain the heroic decision that she has already made for her son and prayer that she will have the strength and knowledge to make the right decision as find Gods match for her.

If you have a moment will you pray with us? Pray for us? And pray for the mother?

I hope I can give you the best update ever soon, well just have to wait and see! 

Our first presentation to a mother

I cut off some of the information, but this is a photo of what I saw on our website... Yes a BOY, yes he's Haitian, and YES we want him! He is due Nov 11, 2013! 

So. I contacted the agency, left a voicemail, sent an email and quickly called my consultant. Tracie was amazing and quickly told me what all to get together! The contacted me the following day, TODAY and gave us all the mothers information and background. The whole situation is PERFECT!! I feel God has led us here and this match is for us! We will see! Chris, from the agency was the sweetest woman ever and told us what to send and Cory and I ran to FedEx and overnighted the goodies! We will know any day if she says yes or no to us... I'm praying.... I'm praying this is our match and I'm praying for the strength if we do not get picked and I pray that God makes it crystal clear to the mother and leads her to the right decision. I know Gods timing is perfect so I am ready when he is! 

This is an exciting update to share with you. Please pray with us!!!