May, 19, 2010: Bringing Home Coop!

When we pulled in Grandmother DeeDee (My Mother) and Grandmother DarDar (Michael's Mother) were already outside waiting on us.
Mother took this picture as we had just pulled up and were getting Cooper out of the car.

Before we knew it both Grandmothers were right there leaning in wanting to see him. Mother was trying to take pictures and see him at the same time.

This is one of my favorite pictures. We were both so excited to be bringing Cooper home. And of course I had a Target bag. Doesn't everyone make a trip to Target before they pick up their son?

We came right in and got him out of the car seat to show him off. Shug was trying to check him out. This was the first of MANY kisses to come from Shug!

Could my smile be any bigger?
I was just a little happy.. Just a little!

Michael could not stay long, because he had to go back to work. That was so hard! Because we got Cooper so quickly, Michael had already planned a very important meeting that people had flown in to be apart of. But we had a nice little photo session before he left!
Daddy with Coop!

Grandmother DeeDee (My Mother) Grandmother DarDar (Michael's Mother)

Us changing Cooper's diaper for the first time!
Do you see him crying.. He was not happy about being put down!

But I think that was the ONLY time he was put down ALL day. I also think this was the last time I held him for hours! The Grandmothers hogged him quite a bit! But that was fine! I just loved knowing that he was home with us!

We did try to put him in the swing to see if he would like it. Can you say.. Life Saver! The Hardy's let us borrow this since Hayes is to big for it now.. Cooper has and is LOVING it!

Grandmother DeeDee with her first Grandchild!

Grandmother DarDar loving on Cooper

He looked so beautiful in his coming home outfit!

Whitney was our first none family visitor and she brought us a nice surprise!
She let us borrow their BIG BLUE BOW!
It's a BOY!
Whit hanging the bow!

Shaun and Ashley brought us dinner that night. They did good.. They brought Zoe's!

Me with Ashley and Whitney holding Cooper!Shaun, Ashley, Michael with Cooper, Me, and Whit

Once Daddy got home and settled in, he spent some good time with Coop.

As Mother was holding Cooper he feel asleep with his feet resting on Kenzie..

I have had some pretty great days in my life! My wedding day was pretty awesome! But I can honestly say that this was the BEST day of my life! This was the day I had been wanting and praying so long for... It was perfect! I hated that Michael had to work, but the Grandmothers made it so special. Just the three of us sat around the den all day just loving on Cooper. We did not turn on the tv or anything like that. We just sat with the lights dimmed, in a hushed voice, and loved the fact that this little boy was ours! This is a day that I never want to forget! I never want to forget hardly being able to sleep the night before, getting ready to leave, waiting on the birth mother to bring Cooper out, Seeing her come in with him in her arms, watching her hand him into Michael's arms, and having to watch her say Goodbye. I never want to forget seeing the look on the Grandmother's faces as they saw him for the first time or bringing him into the house. I want to remember it all..
Every Wonderful Detail!
This was the day I had dreamed about! And I had just lived it! I had just lived the most wonderful day of my life!

Wednesday, May 19: Cooper's Gotcha Day!

Let me begin this post by saying.. Let the pictures begin..

If you know me.. You know that I love to take pictures and take lots of them.. Well if think I took lots of pictures before.. That was nothing....

MASSIVE amounts of pictures are about to be posted.
I would love to say I slept like a baby on Tuesday night and woke up well rested... Laugh with me! Yep, we all know better than that! I was SO excited I could hardly stand it.
I woke up bright and early and started to get ready....
Of course, Michael was on the Auburn Message Board... Cooper this is your daddy's favorite place in the house.. In front of the computer in his office!

My mother got into town Tuesday night and helped me finish getting everything ready. She brought loads of stuff. She brought the outfit that Mac came home from the hospital in for us to bring Cooper home in. I thought this was so special!

Shug and Kenzie were still not sure what was happening. We thought we better get one more picture of them.. Who knew when they were gonna be in a picture again!

Michael and I as we were on our way to the agency!

On our way we stopped by and got some flowers to bring the birth mother.
We were suppose to be there at 10:00 am... We were a little early.
Rick and Susan were there waiting on us. We waited in Rick's office for the birth mother to bring Cooper into to us.
We gave someone our camera and I told them to shoot, shoot, shoot.. They did...
Due to the fact that this on the web I have decided to leave out all pictures that include the birth mother. But trust me when I say she is a wonderful young women who will always be our hero!

I wish I could explain how I felt as I saw her walking towards us with Cooper.
5 years worth of emotions, desires, wants, and God's promises all rolled into one!
This was a moment I wanted to remember for the rest of my life!
I wanted to remember everything about it...
Here she is handing Cooper over to us!
Michael's smile, My tears......they say it all!

We just looked at him and looked at him..
He was all ours!

After awhile I asked to take him back to change him. When the birth mother saw the outfit I had she said, "Oh No.. You are putting him in THAT". All I could say was "Yes" with a huge smile!

Once I changed him we took more FAMILY pictures. The birth mother had brought her camera too.. She asked to take our picture. I guess my hair was pushed back, because she said, "Wait". And came up to me and pulled my hair in front and said, "I have told everyone about your hair".
That really made me smile!
His little bitty, lovely feet!

The way he looked at us that day was priceless.... It really was like he was thinking, "Where have y'all been? I have been waiting on you!"Us signing the paperwork!

Putting Coop in his car seat for the first time!

Our family walking out of the agency and on our way home!
Cooper had 2 grandmothers that were there waiting!

On our way home I sat in the back with Cooper. I took a picture with my phone and texted it to everyone I knew..
He was the most beautiful thing I had every seen and he was ours...
We were on our way home..
All 3 of us!

Tuesday Night: A Meeting to NEVER Forget

As I have the music pumping and I am cleaning my house like a crazy women I hear a knock on the door and see a red cap flying! Ok so maybe it was not a Super Hero, but she might as well have been at that moment. Cortney shows up with a basket FULL of baby necessities. My best friends from college, Rachael and Cortney went in together and got us sheets, lotion, baby bath, and the list goes on and on.... This was MUCH needed, we had none of that stuff and were bringing home our baby the next day! WOW, what awesome friends we have!

Now, if you ask Cortney she will tell you.. I was trying hard to fake it.. But I was FREAKING out.. I was so worried about what Rick and Susan were going to say when we went over there.

I was shaking on the way over to their house. Rick let us in and lead us into their sitting room. When we walked in we saw Susan sitting on the couch holding a baby. I remember looking at her with tears in my eyes and asking, "Is that him, Is that my baby?" She said yes and asked if I wanted to hold him... UHHHH, well of course!

Let's freeze for a moment...

This is not the way I expected to look when meeting my son for the first time.. Dirty from cleaning, hair in a pony, sunglasses on head, and hot pink work shirt still on! I did have a super cute dress picked out for the next day! But... I would not have changed a thing! And let's be honest.. Me in Pink and Michael in an Auburn Shirt, how perfectly us!

After washing my hands, I walked over to Susan.

This is her handing me my son!

We have taken well over 1,000 pictures since this moment.. But this will always be one of my very favorite ones!

I think this picture truly is priceless!

Mommy and Daddy staring at the answer to so many prayers!
Look at him looking at us!

After we sat down, Rick did go over Cooper's medical records. We already knew that Cooper was 2 months early and spent those months in the hospital to gain weight and grow (When he was born he weighted not even 3 1/2 pounds). We also knew that shortly after getting out of the hospital a family member took him out and he got sick. He ended up at Children's with a viral infection. Rick explained that while at Children's Cooper was very sick. He was on a ventilator and had to have a blood transfusion. He went on to say that Cooper has been cleared and is very healthy now, but has been through a lot.

While holding my son and waiting for the bomb to drop... the conversation moves on to other things. I realize.. there is no bomb... Rick just wanted to re-explain everything to us!

Sigh of Relief!

To be Honest... We really think that Rick and Susan knew that the next day was going to very emotional, especially with the birth mother there. So they wanted us to go ahead and meet Cooper!

Hum... maybe..maybe not..

Handing them back Cooper was very hard.. But I knew that I was still not ready and needed a little more time. I wanted everything to be perfect!

No matter what the true reason for our visit was, I left feeling SO much better..

I knew that the next day we were bringing home a

BEAUTIFUL BABY BOY!

side note: thank goodness Rick had his camera ready as he knew what was about to happen. This is one moment that I did not have my camera. I would have been so upset if we did not have these pictures.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010: If you don't think God has a Sense of Humor!

Tuesday I was excited.. We were one day closer to picking up our baby boy!

One day closer than I ever thought!

Around 1:00pm I pulled up to the bank and got a call from the agency. Susan was explaining how the baby was tired and needed to go home. Of course I said, "I know, we are so ready for him to come home too". She continued to explain that the agency was loud, they had another baby there, and home was the best place for him. And I continued to say, "We think home is the best place too". Here I am thinking she is just being nice and then she says....

"We think he needs to go home.. now"

Me: "NOW.. As in when"

Susan: "We can try to have the paperwork ready so y'all can pick him up today"

Me: "No"

FREEZE...

I know you are thinking I am crazy right about now. Yep, you read that correct.. I said No.. But let me explain why.. I wanted to bring my baby home to a CLEAN and CALM home. I was not ready. My house was not clean, my dogs needed a bath, and we needed STUFF. I needed a little time to be calm for my baby! When my house is not clean I am not calm (this is an understatement)..

I then said, "Can we pick him up tomorrow morning?"

We decided on 10:00am!

Now, let's go back a little... You are right! There is a 5 day waiting period in Alabama and the agency does usually keep the baby for those 5 days, but this situation was different. Everyone at the agency felt good about this and so did we, plus we are trusting God!

They also explained that the birth mother asked to be there the day we got the baby. We said that would be fine.

After getting off the phone I went to work and said, "Sheryl, I need to go, NOW". She was wonderful and understood.

The PURE craziness began..THEN!

I called my mom and she left right away!

I went to the grocery and went home to clean...

I must admit...I COULD NOT WAIT!

Later that evening I got another call..

Rick asked that Michael and I come over to their house so he could go over the medical records with me. Of course I freaked out! What is such a big deal that we need to go over to their home. I asked if this was a deal breaker and he said that he did not think so, but I was still VERY worried!

I could have never guessed how that visit would have gone!
Now, if you do not think our God has a sense of humor...

Just think about how we started that Tuesday and how we were about to end it!

Monday, May 17, 2010: A Day of Waiting!

I woke up Monday morning very anxious! Thank goodness, Rick had told us that he was not expecting the birth mother until later that day. I was still on pins and needles! I was working and teaching the little angels that I also love so much, but I wanted and needed to hear about my angel.

It was around 3 or so when I got the call. Rebecca called to let me know that the birth mother was there and had brought the baby. She was signing the paperwork then. My eyes filled with tears and I thanked God over and over!

In Alabama, birth mother's have 5 days to change their minds. After having a birth mother change her mind and the agency having to go to the adoptive parents home to get the baby (I shutter to think) our agency made a new rule. Rick and Susan keep the babies themselves for the 5 days.

Our 5 days had begun... As long as nothing happened we would be picking up our baby boy on Saturday morning..

Mine and Michael's families made plans to come!

Friends planned a shower for Friday Night..

We were ready for Saturday!

I had it all planned out!

Oh God....You sure do have a sense of humor!

Sunday, May 16th, 2010.. Meeting the Birth Mother!

So I admit.. I tried on just a few outfits and decided on my signature color! PINK!

We sat through church.. I also admit.. Not really concentrating too much on what Craig was preaching about... I was thinking about what was going to happen at 2pm!

What I will always remember about that morning was telling everyone.. Seeing every one's eyes get big and then fill with tears... Everyone we told teared up! This was something they had prayed long and hard for too!

We went to lunch at Moe's with a bunch of friends and then it was almost time!

We got to the agency early and talked a little with Rick (our lawyer and owner of the agency). Finally she was there...

I gave her a hug and the first thing she said to me while touching my hair was, "I love your hair". The pink will get you every time!

She told us about her baby boy! We asked questions and so did she. I lost it when I explained how much we would love and adore this child. I looked at Michael, he had teared up too. I will never forget her saying how much she loved us. She said she knew she had just met us, but she loved us! Then she said...It was us! It was us she wanted to be this child' mother and father. I wish.. I wish there words to explain the felling I had, but no word is great enough. Michael and I both just got up and gave her the biggest hug.

We all had a good cry!

We talked for sometime more.... I wanted to meet him.. I wanted hold him.. But I knew we had many steps before that.

We got in the car and Michael grabbed my hand and said, "This has been a big day, let's pray!"

I wonder.. Will this child EVER know how much he was prayed for?

Will he ever understand?

Sunday went wonderful and PERFECT (could have not asked for anything more)...

As great as Sunday was... Monday was huge....

The birth mother had to sign the paperwork and had to hand her child over to the agency.

Monday is gonna be a big day!

*** I am writing all of this to remember. I know as time goes so will my memory. I want to remember every detail about this time in our lives. As I am writing and rememebering everything I am balling my eyes out. I just can't believe all of this has happened and happened a whole month ago!

I am reading and hoping that I have written the correct words. The words to explain how wonderful all of this was. But I realize no words can ever fully explain...

5 years of hoping and praying.....

This was the moment in my life that no words are great enough for!

"The Call"

I have always said that I will never blog without a picture! A picture is worth a million words! And yes this is true.. But no picture does any justice for the call I received on Friday, May 14, 2010!

This Friday started out like most of my Spring Fridays do.. Since I do not work on most Fridays.. I woke up cleaned a little, caught up on a little DVRed shows, and went outside to get a little sun. While outside reading, Whitney called and we decided I would meet her at the Ross Bridge pool! I went over and we talked and got some sun! I had Parents Night Out at the gym that night, but did not have to be there until 5pm. So we decided O'Carrs chicken salad and fruit plate was calling our name...

While at O'Carrs my phone rang... Once I saw it was the Adoption Agency I asked Whit to excuse me for a minute so I could step outside and return the call. When I called and started hearing Rebecca (our social worker)... well I... I stopped hearing anything after I heard, "There is a baby boy".. She continued to talk and talk.. Finally I said, "Rebecca, I need you to be quiet for a minute.. I am about to throw up".. Not really what I thought I would say, but hey! Finally I started breathing again and I asked her to continue. She told me about the 3 month old baby boy that they had just learned about the day before. The Birth Mother wanted to meet us on Sunday.

I called Michael and then went back in to Whitney.. I remembering asking her, "The baby is 3 mths, do I care he is not a newborn? Do I care?" Of course her response was, "No you do not care". And she was right.. I did not care at all!

Oh course I could not concentrate on anything and my mind was racing.. I stopped by the agency to talk with them some more. Just the week before I had gotten my hair done and had gotten my summer PINK in it. Rebecca and Susan (Susan is the lawyer and owner's wife) told me NOT to change the pink. They said the birth mother was young and would love it . I trusted them! And then I had to go to work.. WORK????

Saturday morning we went to breakfast and thought about what might be about to happen.

I was so excited I could hardly contain myself, but I knew.. I knew that a lot had to happen before that baby boy was ours.

Our journey to become parents has been a long one. It has been filled with many tribulations. We know all to well the felling of disappointment. I have learned to be very guarded. Getting your hopes up too much is not good. As Michael use to tell me.. The higher I go, the further down I have to fall. I fell many times!

I was excited, but very scared!

Neither Michael nor I slept hardly any on Friday or Saturday night!

Sunday was a big day! One of the biggest in our lives thus far!