The day my life changed forever

On January 2nd 2013 my entire world changed forever! A beautiful 6 pound 11 ounce baby boy came into this world and into my heart! I have never known such love. Parker Taylor has been the best blessing and such a wonderful way to end this crazy, hard, emotional yet amazing journey!

At 3:22 I stood beside Andrea as she pushed and push our little boy into this world. She was amazing, Im not sure I could of been as strong as she was! Once he was out Andrea let me cut the umbillical cord! It was the most amazing feeling ever. I watched as they weighed him and I held his little hand. My heart was so overjoyed, it felt as if I was dreaming. Charlie, Parker and I took our first family photo.

After he was cleaned up I was able to breast feed him. It was the most incredable feeling to have him skin to skin with me and be able to provide for him already. He has the most amazing face, its absoulty precioues. He is perfect, every little inch of him is perfect. Im not sure Charlie and I could of created a more perfect baby on our own.

We had to stay in the hospital till Friday and then we had to stay in a hotel till papers were signed and we could cross state lines. We are now finally home and enjoying every minute of parenthood. I cant wait to teach him new things and watch him grow.

Four years ago I would of never dreamed this is how I would be a mommy. But im so glad that Gods plan was better than mine because he sure knew what he was doing. Parker is the perfect addition to our lives. He makes the world go round and I am forever thankful for Andrea and her amazing gift!!

Please keep Andrea in your prayers. She is such a strong and amazing women. She may never know just how precious she is to us. She will always be apart of our lives and we will forever love her for what she did. I pray she will know her true worth and be so proud of the decision she made for us!

3 weeks and counting!!!!

Yes three weeks are counting.....unless little Parker decides to make his entrance earlier.

We got a call 2 weeks ago From GLAD that said Andrea was in the emergency room because she though her water broke. It didn't however she left the hospital at 3 cm dilated!!! She went back to the doctor last Wednesday and still 3 cm and hasn't thinned out. So Parker may actually wait till January 9th or he may come this week, we really don't know. However, Charlie and I cannot wait till he is here!!!

Last weekend I was "showered" my so many wonderful people. Saturday my coworkers gave me a "mustache" bash for Parker! I left there with his bedding, his car seat and stroller, cute clothes and wonderful keepsakes! On Sunday our church family gave us another wonderful shower were we received so much stuff it was crazy!!! We are still putting things away!! We are so blessed to have so many people who already love Parker and cant wait till he gets here. This little man will have so many people to love on him that he wont know what to do with!!!

My wonderful coworkers



This is just half the stuff we came home with

 

At my church shower there were a group of ladies who came who have been praying for Charlie and I to have a baby for a few years! These ladies touched my heart not only by their prayers but with their joy of Parker. They may me more excited than we are!! I wanted to get my picture with them so I can put it in Parker's scrap book so one day I can tell him just how special these ladies are and how God can answer prayers!!

Our prayer warriors

I just finished writing 175 thank you cards, yes 175!!! That's how may gifts we received for Parker, I cry just writing this! This little boy has no idea how special he really is and how much he has affected so many lives and he's not even here yet!!! Praise you Lord for the people who have prayed and are continuing to pray!

As always please continue to pray for Andrea and baby Parker. I'm sure as the days are getting closer that she is getting pretty miserable. Also please continue to pray for peace about her decision to let us adopt sweet Parker! She has no idea how much joy she has brought to so many people! We will never be able to thank her for what she is doing for us! I just Praise Jesus she has entered our lives!!!

Parker's nursey all ready for him!

43 days and counting...

Yep the countdown is on, as of today it is 43 days until little Parker is set to make his debut! We can hardly wait. Ive been doing some shopping and even though I have two showers next weekend I still cant stop myself from buying him things. His room is almost complete, I'm waiting for my applique I ordered that will go on the wall behind his bed and it says:

Not flesh of my flesh, nor bone of my bone

but still miraculously my own, never forget for a single minute

 you didn't grow under my heart but in it!
 

It is the sweetest thing that I could ever say to my boy. I cant wait for it to get here so I can put it up. Charlie and I put up his blue and brown polka dots the other day I today I painted his ceiling fan and put blue polka dots on it to!

 

Last week we received a call from glad that Andrea wanted to talk with us earlier and meet with us on the day we were supposed to do our phone conversation. Oh my nerves were crazy, I was so nervous! We had the phone conversation last Tuesday, Charlie and I were both at work so it was a three way phone conversation with us, Andrea and Julie (from GLAD). It was the best conversation in the world. We feel in love with her, she is such a great person. She asked us questions about our fertility journey and how we decided on adoption. She asked us if we had a name picked out and when I told her what we like she LOVED Parker! We just fell into such a easy conversation, we talked for about 25 minutes and towards the end she said that she wouldn't have a lot of people at the hospital and she was wondering if we would want to be there!!!! I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry! So I did both, we were honored that she would even want us there. We cant wait to be there when Parker comes into this world! We will be meeting with her this weekend, to discuss more stuff but mostly we want to be together so at the hospital it wont be weird. I cannot wait to hug her neck and show her how happy she has made us!!!

 

We have so much to get ready, but for now we are just basking in the joy of our dreams coming true!!! We are just praising God everyday for this blessing that we don't deserve but are lucky enough to receive!

 

Please keep Andrea in your prayers, she has had such a rough life and is going to need extra love after Parker is born! Please pray for peace in her heart and that God blesses and protects her!!!

 

***** Oh AND Andrea was excited about giving us ultrasound pictures of baby Parker*****

Yep its a BOY!!!!!!

There is his little face!!!!

and another...isn't he beautiful!!!!

 



The blog we have all been waiting for!!

 

Yes, this is the blog we have all been waiting for! On Thursday November 8th we received the call we have prayed for. We finally have a birth mom! She is due on January 9th, 2013 with a little BOY!!!!! We are absolutely over the moon with joy, happiness, excitement, nervousness and praise!

Now that I have announced our excitement I must now give glory and honor to our Lord and Savior for giving us this beautiful gift! He is the reason for our happiness and it is him who gets the glory! I want to shout "MY GOD IS GOOD, SO GOOD" He has answered our prayers. For this child we have prayed, and he has given us what we asked of him 1 Samuel 1:27

So on Thursday I was at work and around 230 the phone rings and it was Charlie, now Charlie never calls work so I knew something was up. When I answered the phone Charlie said, "hey are you sitting down" I immediately panic, thinking something is wrong. I said "oh no! What's wrong?" I could tell her was crying and he said as fast as he could, "babe, GLAD called and a birth mom choose us and its a boy and she is due January 9th!" I couldn't even breath, all I could think and say was "why didn't they call me?" ha ha!! And they did they tried my cell and since I was at work I didn't have it with me so they called Charlie. I just couldn't believe it, that this was true. After much of crying from both of us and all my co workers and even the students we all believed that we were getting a baby boy! My heart almost jumped out of my chest. I never pictured Charlie would be the one to tell me, I always thought I would be calling him but it couldn't have worked out any better! It is a moment in my life that I will never forget! For the whole day I felt like I was dreaming I had Charlie pinch me just to be sure.

We came home that night and told our family who is also so excited! We all cant believe that this is finally happening. The past few days have been spent planning and thinking and dreaming and getting ready for our bundle of joy! I alreasy have two showers planned! This baby is already loved my so so many!!!

Our birth moms name is Andrea she is 24 years old. Right now I'm asking for prayers for her, call her by name and ask God to bless her heart. She is giving us such an amazing gift and I want her to have peace about her decision, I want her to know that only God can fill that emptiness in her heart and I pray God will bless her for her amazing choice. Please pray for her everyday and thank God for placing her in our lives. I praise Jesus she listen to him and choose us!

Right now as I write this I am washing my baby boy's clothes. I'm putting his room together and imaging just how beautiful he will be! Charlie said the other day that this boy will want for nothing, and God willing he wont! That's the purpose of adoption, to love this boy more than he could ever imagine! Ive never seen my husband so on cloud nine. Its amazing to see him in such a light, he just glows! Plus he loves to tell everyone that he got to tell me that we were getting a baby! A perfect story to a perfect answered prayer!!!

A little bit about mom!

I wanted to wait to write this blog until we had more information, plus mom really didn't want me to but if you know me I'm going to do it anyway :)
About 3 months after our miscarriage mom was having lots of trouble with what we thought was her thyroid. After months of  abnormal behavior and nights of endless sleep, mom decided to go to the doctor. She had lots of blood test and they determined that in fact her thyroid was out of wack. So she was referred to a specialist at Vanderbilt. We traveled down there and meet with the doctor. We loved her so was so nice and very concerned. Because all of her symptoms didn't start until after the surrogacy and miscarriage we had to tell her our crazy story. She wanted to do testing but she was pretty sure she had Graves disease. Which is when the thyroid is inflamed and begins to attack the body. She told us that the increased hormones given during the surrogacy process caused her to get this disease.

After two days of testing it was confirmed that it was Graves disease. She has three options, keep the thyroid and take medication, radiation treatment to the thyroid or surgery to remove the thyroid. After another trip to the doctor she said the best decision was to have the thyroid removed. We went Monday to see the surgeon and he wants to get it out as soon as possible. She is scheduled to have surgery on November 2nd. It will be about a 2 week recovery and if all goes well and her medication is corrected she should be back to her self in no time.

These past few weeks have been very hard for me. My mom gave the ultimate sacrifice in being our surrogate. She put all the crazy meds in her system, she carried my babies for a small time and then had to go through the pain of losing them and staying so strong while she watched me go through such pain. As if that wasn't enough she has gone through months of pain and suffering and no sleep! She has been going crazy trying to feel better and its all because of me.

I pray that this surgery will make her feel better and things will go back to normal. I am forever grateful for what she did for me and what she continues to do. I pray that I can tell my children just how great their "bobo" is. I thank God for such a wonderful mother and pray that He works this out for his glory and honor!

Please keep mom is your prayers these next few weeks. She is an amazing women and I wish I could take this away from her. She will never know how grateful I am for her!!
****Side note**** Please keep my dad in your prayers as well, this whole process hasn't been easy on him either!!! He is a good, good man!!!

October 16, 2012

Well yet again we are approaching another due date. Had everything worked out (in our favor) mom and I would be preparing for the births of our babies. We implanted 4 embryos but in my head and my heart ( and based on numbers) I believe mom has two of my babies and I had one. However we look at next Tuesday we will not be celebrating birthdays instead we will be remembering our babies and what would have been. This time I'm not dreading this day, I'm a little anxious but I know God has a plan and I know that he loves us unconditionally and he will give me the comfort that no one else can!

Also October is pregnancy and infant loss awareness month. Please be in prayer for all women who have lost babies for it is the most painful experience.

On Monday October 15th at 7:00 I am asking that you will join us in lighting a candle for our babies. This is a worldwide event and if each person lights a candle at 7:00 there will be a wave of light across each time zone. We won't get to light birthday candles but we will light memory candles because those babies have truly changed my life. I will forever be great full for what I've been through and for what God is teaching me. Please light a candle for our babies!


I was suggested a book to read by a fellow lady who has been through everything we've been through and has now adopted a beautiful baby boy. The book is called couples who long for children. It's a devotion book and it has been such a blessing to me. I've been reading it on my days off and have seen so much of my experiences in the pages. I've come to realize a few things. First, I'm NOT bring punished my God!!! For a while I kept thinking what sin have I not asked for forgiveness for that God is allowing such heartache in my life? I've asked Charlie the same thing, " what haven't you asked forgiveness for?" I've been to numerous people and asked for their forgiveness for wrong doings I've done to them. I've begged for forgiveness pleaded for answers and still nothing. But this book says this is God's plan, not punishment!!!! I've had to stop and tell myself this over and over and over. It's not a punishment it's a plan!! Someone else got pregnant because that's Gods plan for them. We can't get pregnant because this is Gods plan for us. We're waiting for our mountain to move so that God can shine through.
Because of this book I've had time to stop and apologise to God for my temper, my doubt, and placing blame on him. I've rejoiced at the fact that God chose us to carry such a witness to others about his greatness, his timing and mostly his love!! Because God loves Charlie and I more than anything and is waiting till just the right time to bless us!!!
Please keep us in your prayers as we go through next week! It's a couple of days that we will give thanks for what God is doing and praise him in the bad times as well! We still haven't got " the call" yet but I'd appreciate your prayers for that too! God bless!!!

Come on moutain.....MOVE!!

 

Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. ²² If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:21

 

 

I was listening to KLOVE the other day on my way to work and a song came on called "only a mountain" by Jason Castro. The chorus says                                                                                         This is only a mountain
You don’t have to find your way around it
Tell it to move, it’ll move
Tell it to fall, it’ll fall
This is only a moment
You don’t have to let your fear control it
Tell it to move, it’ll move
Tell it to fall, it’ll fall

 

I was listening to this song as I was pulling into work the other morning and all I could think was "Have I told my mountain to move" I mean here Ive been praying for God to bless us with a baby

 but have I told my mountain to move and let God bless us. Do I have the faith to believe that my mountain will move and that God will give us what we have prayed for??? So as I was pulling into work I began to tell my mountain to move, I begged an pleaded and and finally I was screaming at the top of my lungs "MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!! Ive been standing behind this mountain for too long and I want my baby, my God is bigger than you" I screamed it over and over and over again in the car. Saying it is one the thing, but here is the hard part, FAITH: "complete trust or confidence in something or someone"

 

Do I have the complete trust and confidence that my mountain will move and God will bless me? Some days I feel my faith is better than other days but I have found that my faith sometimes is a little on the weak side. I have enough faith to get me so far and then I panic. I have enough faith that I have reduced my hours at work, I have pretty much put together a room for a baby and I am mentally and physically preparing my heart and home for a baby. But when it comes down to it do I have the faith to tell my mountain to move and it will? This has been on my mind lately and Ive been praying and praying for the faith to get me through. It seems that all that stands between us and a baby is my faith. But if having faith wasn't so hard it wouldn't be so worth it right?

 

So once again I'm telling my mountain to move, to step aside, to crumble, to do whatever to get out of the way so my God can bless Charlie and I. We have been in this valley for far to long and we are exhausted! We are continuing to pray daily for a miracle and having the faith to believe that he hears us and will bless us with a baby very, very soon!

 

I cant begin to tell you thank you for all of the support we continue to have. Thank you so much for the encouraging cards, texts and kind words. Those are the things that get us through the "waiting" part. One day soon we will get our call I just our call I just know it. I cant wait to write that blog!!!!