It's official!! Kade is a Phillips!!
On December 14th were celebrating at the court house downtown Charleston. Judge Cate deemed our family an appropriate fit for Kade and granted our adoption be finalized. We are over the moon excited!
January 04, 2013
Adoption FInalization
January 03, 2013
Kades Birth Story (Part 2)
Trey and I both spent the evening enjoying time with Kade and V. We were able to have him "room in" with us and not go to the nursery unless we asked for him to. We got to all experience his first bath together and really spend time bonding over this new little life.
At about 9pm Trey went home to be with Kipton and the dogs for the night. I stayed in the room with V and Kade. The night was long but we made the best of it. I slept on the oh so comfy hospital couch and we put Kades bassinet in between the couch and V's bed. We took turns caring for him throughout the night.
Trey came back to the hospital the next morning and brought us breakfast. V had to have a procedure done that morning so she was out of the room for a few hours. Trey and I relished those first moments alone with our new son. It was nice to be able to just relax and be the three of us for a while. When V got back she took the afternoon to rest. Her family came later that day and had about a half hour alone with Kade.
After her family gave him lots of love the social worker arrived for V to sign the relinquishment papers. We took Kade down to the nursery to allow V and the social worker privacy. I know in a lot of adoptions the adoptive parents have anxiety about the birth mom changing her mind, but I can honestly say I did not doubt V's decision. I knew with everything in her she wanted to be able to parent her baby boy, but she also knew that was not the best option for herself or her baby. We were only in the nursery for about 20minutes before the social worker came down to get us. She was all smiles and said "Congratulations Mom and Dad. You have a son!" Tears of joy just streamed down my face and Trey and I hugged for the longest time. It was the happiest most surreal moment.
Going back in V's room with Kade was difficult. We knew emotions were high and we wanted to be sensitive in her time of loss. We went in and hugged but promised we weren't going to do the emotional thing then and we would wait for the big goodbye tomorrow at discharge. We spent the rest of the evening watching movies and chatting. That night Trey and I decided to both go home to get one final nights rest.
The next morning we got to the hospital bright and early to pick up Kade from the nursery. We spent some time alone together in the nursery before we made our way down to V's hospital room. That morning was full of goodbyes and lots of emotions. We gave V a charm bracelet with Kade's name on it, his birth stone and a hand stamped charm that said "always in my heart". We promised her to love and take care of her son and Trey let her know that this was only the beginning of our relationship.
After V was discharged we had a few hours before our lawyer came to meet us for our discharge. When she arrived we had some papers to sign and were given instructions on the next steps. Once we were given the all clear to leave the hospital there was no looking back. We buckled Kade into his car seat, Trey pulled the van around and we were off to introduce Kade to his new brothers.
The overall hospital experience could not have gone more smoothly than it did. The Lord definitely had his hand in this final part of our adoption. I can not wait to share with you as this boy grows. He is a handsome little guy.
At about 9pm Trey went home to be with Kipton and the dogs for the night. I stayed in the room with V and Kade. The night was long but we made the best of it. I slept on the oh so comfy hospital couch and we put Kades bassinet in between the couch and V's bed. We took turns caring for him throughout the night.
After her family gave him lots of love the social worker arrived for V to sign the relinquishment papers. We took Kade down to the nursery to allow V and the social worker privacy. I know in a lot of adoptions the adoptive parents have anxiety about the birth mom changing her mind, but I can honestly say I did not doubt V's decision. I knew with everything in her she wanted to be able to parent her baby boy, but she also knew that was not the best option for herself or her baby. We were only in the nursery for about 20minutes before the social worker came down to get us. She was all smiles and said "Congratulations Mom and Dad. You have a son!" Tears of joy just streamed down my face and Trey and I hugged for the longest time. It was the happiest most surreal moment.
Going back in V's room with Kade was difficult. We knew emotions were high and we wanted to be sensitive in her time of loss. We went in and hugged but promised we weren't going to do the emotional thing then and we would wait for the big goodbye tomorrow at discharge. We spent the rest of the evening watching movies and chatting. That night Trey and I decided to both go home to get one final nights rest.
The next morning we got to the hospital bright and early to pick up Kade from the nursery. We spent some time alone together in the nursery before we made our way down to V's hospital room. That morning was full of goodbyes and lots of emotions. We gave V a charm bracelet with Kade's name on it, his birth stone and a hand stamped charm that said "always in my heart". We promised her to love and take care of her son and Trey let her know that this was only the beginning of our relationship.
After V was discharged we had a few hours before our lawyer came to meet us for our discharge. When she arrived we had some papers to sign and were given instructions on the next steps. Once we were given the all clear to leave the hospital there was no looking back. We buckled Kade into his car seat, Trey pulled the van around and we were off to introduce Kade to his new brothers.
The overall hospital experience could not have gone more smoothly than it did. The Lord definitely had his hand in this final part of our adoption. I can not wait to share with you as this boy grows. He is a handsome little guy.
December 05, 2012
Kades Birth Story (Part 1)
It was a Friday afternoon just 3 days before V's due date. Kipton and I had just gotten home after a morning play date with friends from our MOPS group. I heard my phone ringing as I was busy changing his diaper before laying him down for a nap. I'll call whoever it is right back, I thought. After Kipton was snug in his bed, I checked my phone to see a missed call from V. I immediately got excited but brushed it off thinking this wouldn't be THE call.
I dialed her number back and she answered so calmly. I asked if she had called and she said "Yeah, my water just broke." (AHHH!!!) My response was...are you serious?! I was so excited. After my nerves calmed down I told her we'd meet her at the hospital soon. Next, I called Trey to tell him to rush home from work and then called my mom to come sit with Kipton while he napped then take him to her house.
I was rushing around the house making sure we had everything in our hospital bag, making sure all of Kiptons things were together for my mom and taking care of the dogs before we left. Once Trey and my mom got to the house we were on our way! The drive to the hospital was busy. We were both calling and texting everyone we knew letting them know that the time had come. When we were almost to the hospital we just looked at each other and realized that our baby was coming. This was it!
At the hospital, we parked the car in the garage and entered the elevator to the hospital. I remember being so excited I told the people on the elevator we were there to have a baby. They looked at us a little funny and then I realized they were looking for a pregnant belly. Trey explained we were adopting and they didn't look so puzzled anymore. They both congratulated us and wished us luck and with that we were off to the labor and delivery floor.
When we got to the room V was there with a friend. She was getting her IV and they were doing the final paperwork for check in. She looked great. We could tell she was uncomfortable but she was handling it so well. We talked about how she was feeling and how she absolutely hated needles. We all began taking bets as to when the little man would enter the world. (We were all way off!) Not long after we'd been there I got a text from a dear friend of mine, Adrienne. She was on the same floor of the hospital visiting friends who had a baby the day before. I stepped out the room and met her by the nursery. It was good to have a friend there to hug me and pray over me. All the anxiety and nervousness melted away. I was ready to experience the next few life changing days and be the support that V would need.
Back in the room V's friend was leaving and V was requesting her epidural. The epidural was probably the hardest part for her. They poked her several times before they got it placed in the right spot. It was very painful for her....and for my hands. ;) At 4 o'clock she was still only 3cm dilated. Shortly after 4 her mom and her sister arrived. To say the room was tense would be an understatement. We did our best to be friendly and make the mood calm and relaxing for V. At 5pm the nurse came in the room to check on us and V said she was having a lot of pressure. The nurse checked her and suddenly told her not to move. She called in the doctor and other labor and delivery team and within seconds the room was being transformed for V to start pushing. V literally laughed Kade out. Within 2 pushes our little man was out in the world. Born at 5:22 pm on October 12th. I had the privilege of being able to cut his umbilical cord before they put him on V's chest.
He was perfect. Clear lungs, loud curling cry, head full of jet black hair and the juiciest little lips you ever did see. After V held him and the nurse wiped him down, I was able to do skin to skin with him. We were so blessed to have an amazing nursing staff who treated us like his parents from the first second he was born. I'm thankful to them for giving us that experience and for V to be so gracious to allow us to be present during his birth. I will always cherish those moments.
I dialed her number back and she answered so calmly. I asked if she had called and she said "Yeah, my water just broke." (AHHH!!!) My response was...are you serious?! I was so excited. After my nerves calmed down I told her we'd meet her at the hospital soon. Next, I called Trey to tell him to rush home from work and then called my mom to come sit with Kipton while he napped then take him to her house.
I was rushing around the house making sure we had everything in our hospital bag, making sure all of Kiptons things were together for my mom and taking care of the dogs before we left. Once Trey and my mom got to the house we were on our way! The drive to the hospital was busy. We were both calling and texting everyone we knew letting them know that the time had come. When we were almost to the hospital we just looked at each other and realized that our baby was coming. This was it!
At the hospital, we parked the car in the garage and entered the elevator to the hospital. I remember being so excited I told the people on the elevator we were there to have a baby. They looked at us a little funny and then I realized they were looking for a pregnant belly. Trey explained we were adopting and they didn't look so puzzled anymore. They both congratulated us and wished us luck and with that we were off to the labor and delivery floor.
When we got to the room V was there with a friend. She was getting her IV and they were doing the final paperwork for check in. She looked great. We could tell she was uncomfortable but she was handling it so well. We talked about how she was feeling and how she absolutely hated needles. We all began taking bets as to when the little man would enter the world. (We were all way off!) Not long after we'd been there I got a text from a dear friend of mine, Adrienne. She was on the same floor of the hospital visiting friends who had a baby the day before. I stepped out the room and met her by the nursery. It was good to have a friend there to hug me and pray over me. All the anxiety and nervousness melted away. I was ready to experience the next few life changing days and be the support that V would need.
He was perfect. Clear lungs, loud curling cry, head full of jet black hair and the juiciest little lips you ever did see. After V held him and the nurse wiped him down, I was able to do skin to skin with him. We were so blessed to have an amazing nursing staff who treated us like his parents from the first second he was born. I'm thankful to them for giving us that experience and for V to be so gracious to allow us to be present during his birth. I will always cherish those moments.
Our hospital stay... TO BE CONTINUED...
November 17, 2012
I'm Back
I am happy to say that I'm back in the blogging world! The last couple months have been CRAZY and not having a home computer or internet has made it extremely difficult to update the blog. I appreciate all you sweet friends who have written me to check on our process and now I'm here to share whats the latest in our families journey.
1. Our DRC Adoption
The beginning of this month marked 6 months since we got our Congolese daughters referral. To be honest, I thought at this point we'd be getting ready to make travel plans to bring our girl home, but unfortunately that's just not how it's gone. Currently, we are waiting on her birh certificate to be issued and then our lawyer will be able to apply for the adoption judgement through the court. Once this happens, she will officially be legally ours!! That day can not happen fast enough. It is my prayer that we will pass court by the end of the year.
We haven't gotten an update on Cora since August. We are working with a third party service to arrange visits and regular updates. They have visited her orphanage several times and have not been allowed by the orphanage staff to complete the visit. We were told the situation was being worked on and our lawyer has gotten involved to help set up a successful visit. As soon as we have new information directly pertaining to Cora I will update here.
2. Our Fundraising
On September 18th we reached the status of being fully funded for both adoptions!! PRAISE GOD!! We had applied for several grants and received the news on that day that Gift of Adoption had awarded us a $5000 grant! That grant along with a grant from Show Hope ($5000), a matching grant from Hand in Hand ($2500), lots of fundraising, sacrifice and hard work has brought us to the point of having enough to financially pay for our Congo adoption and our domestic adoption. That's roughly 43,000 dollars people!!!! Can you see how amazing our God is?! He is undoubtedly the father to the fatherless. How blessed I am to be in the center of His will for these precious children.
3. Our Domestic Adoption
Kade was born on October 12th at 5:22 in the afternoon. He weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 18.5 inches long. This little boy is a pure blessing and the past month has been a true testimony of our faith in this adoption...we have an amazing son who God specifically grafted into our family. There are no words to describe the amazing reality of this redeeming story. I plan to do a post about his birth and our time in the hospital. Stay tuned for that post soon.
As you can see our adoption story is still unfolding and I am so thankful to have the means to share with you all again. It is good to be back!
1. Our DRC Adoption
The beginning of this month marked 6 months since we got our Congolese daughters referral. To be honest, I thought at this point we'd be getting ready to make travel plans to bring our girl home, but unfortunately that's just not how it's gone. Currently, we are waiting on her birh certificate to be issued and then our lawyer will be able to apply for the adoption judgement through the court. Once this happens, she will officially be legally ours!! That day can not happen fast enough. It is my prayer that we will pass court by the end of the year.
We haven't gotten an update on Cora since August. We are working with a third party service to arrange visits and regular updates. They have visited her orphanage several times and have not been allowed by the orphanage staff to complete the visit. We were told the situation was being worked on and our lawyer has gotten involved to help set up a successful visit. As soon as we have new information directly pertaining to Cora I will update here.
2. Our Fundraising
On September 18th we reached the status of being fully funded for both adoptions!! PRAISE GOD!! We had applied for several grants and received the news on that day that Gift of Adoption had awarded us a $5000 grant! That grant along with a grant from Show Hope ($5000), a matching grant from Hand in Hand ($2500), lots of fundraising, sacrifice and hard work has brought us to the point of having enough to financially pay for our Congo adoption and our domestic adoption. That's roughly 43,000 dollars people!!!! Can you see how amazing our God is?! He is undoubtedly the father to the fatherless. How blessed I am to be in the center of His will for these precious children.
3. Our Domestic Adoption
Introducing the newest Phillips....baby Kade.
Kade was born on October 12th at 5:22 in the afternoon. He weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 18.5 inches long. This little boy is a pure blessing and the past month has been a true testimony of our faith in this adoption...we have an amazing son who God specifically grafted into our family. There are no words to describe the amazing reality of this redeeming story. I plan to do a post about his birth and our time in the hospital. Stay tuned for that post soon.
As you can see our adoption story is still unfolding and I am so thankful to have the means to share with you all again. It is good to be back!
August 10, 2012
I Asked For It
This post was written on July 5th. I am just now getting around to sharing it…
I asked for it. It’s all my fault; I’m not going to lie. I told God I was open to caring for all the children He had intended to bring into my home. I told Him it didn’t matter their story, their location, their agency, age, race or gender, I would be open to any child He specifically had in mind for our family. (Although in the back of my mind I was thinking he’d have a limit that was in line with mine….oh how God has a sense of humor.)
Today I’m mainly talking about our foster son, W. W came into our lives on a Friday afternoon. In a matter of 5 minutes, his worker marched him through our door, told me his name, gave me a small box of all his belongings, handed over our foster parent agreement and said her goodbyes. W came with his head down, eyes glued to his slow shuffling feet and hands tightly folded in front of him. He didn’t know anything about me, about our home or about his new “brother” who was overly eager to play immediately. This little boy had every right to be unsure because he’d just been uprooted from everything he’d ever known…again.
Prior to his arrival, I was preparing for an angry little boy with uncontrollable temper tantrums. Upon his arrival, I quickly learned of a little boy who’s never known a stable home and is desperate for attention and praise. Within 10 minutes after the worker left, I had a little boy whose charismatic personality was quickly surfacing with the help of hugs and a big boy cup of juice. By Friday evening, I learned W was incredibly smart, very observant, gentle, had great manners, was 100% potty trained (BONUS!) and absolutely soaked up every ounce of love, affection and positive praise he could get. I also knew that night that this was a very dangerous situation the Lord gave me because I was falling in love with this little boy who was already calling me Mommy and it hadn’t even been 24 hours.
Tomorrow will be a week we’ve had W. It has been a week of adjusting to being a mom to two boys who already fight like brothers. ;) I was really worried before we were placed with foster kids that I wouldn’t be able to love them as much as I love our biological son, Kipton. I can honestly say, this week the Lord has worked on my heart and made it so easy for me to have a deep and genuine love for W. I love him as if I would have birthed him. My heart hurts when he hurts, and I jump with joy when he is excited about something he accomplished. I love him and care for him as if he’s always been mine. It is so hard to think he could be taken from us at any time. I hate not having control or being able to protect him from every wrong and injustice in this world and broken system. My heart aches at not being able to love him forever and give him a stable home where he will know Jesus and the dynamics of a true family.
Today the Lord really opened my eyes to His vast love for me. I know I love W with a deep love, but that love and protection I desire for him is not even a fraction of the love my Savior has for all of His children. I can not even fathom that great love, but I am so thankful for it!! I am so thankful for Jesus’ model of love and kindness. It is with His love that I am able to give this sweet little boy everything I can. I am not guaranteed a certain amount of days with W, but each day I have I will show him how much Jesus loves him and how much he desires for him to have a relationship with him.
My heart may ache for this little boy, but when we say his nightly prayers and his sweet little 3 year voice echo’s mine it is all worth it…even if just for a little while. Thank you Jesus for our time with this sweet child.
Don’t forget this week is our featured week on Give1Save1! Head on over to check out their website then come back and donate to Kade and Cora’s adoption through our Paypal link to the left!!
I asked for it. It’s all my fault; I’m not going to lie. I told God I was open to caring for all the children He had intended to bring into my home. I told Him it didn’t matter their story, their location, their agency, age, race or gender, I would be open to any child He specifically had in mind for our family. (Although in the back of my mind I was thinking he’d have a limit that was in line with mine….oh how God has a sense of humor.)
Today I’m mainly talking about our foster son, W. W came into our lives on a Friday afternoon. In a matter of 5 minutes, his worker marched him through our door, told me his name, gave me a small box of all his belongings, handed over our foster parent agreement and said her goodbyes. W came with his head down, eyes glued to his slow shuffling feet and hands tightly folded in front of him. He didn’t know anything about me, about our home or about his new “brother” who was overly eager to play immediately. This little boy had every right to be unsure because he’d just been uprooted from everything he’d ever known…again.
Prior to his arrival, I was preparing for an angry little boy with uncontrollable temper tantrums. Upon his arrival, I quickly learned of a little boy who’s never known a stable home and is desperate for attention and praise. Within 10 minutes after the worker left, I had a little boy whose charismatic personality was quickly surfacing with the help of hugs and a big boy cup of juice. By Friday evening, I learned W was incredibly smart, very observant, gentle, had great manners, was 100% potty trained (BONUS!) and absolutely soaked up every ounce of love, affection and positive praise he could get. I also knew that night that this was a very dangerous situation the Lord gave me because I was falling in love with this little boy who was already calling me Mommy and it hadn’t even been 24 hours.
Tomorrow will be a week we’ve had W. It has been a week of adjusting to being a mom to two boys who already fight like brothers. ;) I was really worried before we were placed with foster kids that I wouldn’t be able to love them as much as I love our biological son, Kipton. I can honestly say, this week the Lord has worked on my heart and made it so easy for me to have a deep and genuine love for W. I love him as if I would have birthed him. My heart hurts when he hurts, and I jump with joy when he is excited about something he accomplished. I love him and care for him as if he’s always been mine. It is so hard to think he could be taken from us at any time. I hate not having control or being able to protect him from every wrong and injustice in this world and broken system. My heart aches at not being able to love him forever and give him a stable home where he will know Jesus and the dynamics of a true family.
Today the Lord really opened my eyes to His vast love for me. I know I love W with a deep love, but that love and protection I desire for him is not even a fraction of the love my Savior has for all of His children. I can not even fathom that great love, but I am so thankful for it!! I am so thankful for Jesus’ model of love and kindness. It is with His love that I am able to give this sweet little boy everything I can. I am not guaranteed a certain amount of days with W, but each day I have I will show him how much Jesus loves him and how much he desires for him to have a relationship with him.
My heart may ache for this little boy, but when we say his nightly prayers and his sweet little 3 year voice echo’s mine it is all worth it…even if just for a little while. Thank you Jesus for our time with this sweet child.
Don’t forget this week is our featured week on Give1Save1! Head on over to check out their website then come back and donate to Kade and Cora’s adoption through our Paypal link to the left!!
August 09, 2012
Give1Save1 Week: Our Little Girl
***Forgive the blurred faces in the pictures. Due to privacy reasons I am not allowed to share Cora’s face just yet, but trust me, it’s beautiful!***
When most parents talk about their 3 year old girls they talk about how they love playing with their dolls, playing dress up, and getting spoiled like the sweet little princesses they are. This is how it should be. This is how I long to talk about our little girl. Instead, when I talk about our Cora I can’t tell you that she loves to be cuddled and spoiled or that she is learning to be tough because her little brothers are constantly rough housing with her. I can’t tell you what her favorite toys and games are or if she has a friend to play with and I can’t even tell you if she’s ever heard the name of Jesus. I hope one day to know everything about our little girl and be confident in the young lady she is, but right now I just can’t . And that is hard.
What I can tell you is this little tiny girl has captured our hearts. We know she lives in a very rough orphanage in the Congo’s capital city, Kinshasha. We know if she’s lucky she gets one meal a day. We know there are anywhere from 30-50 children living in this small, dirty orphanage that would not meet the most lenient standards in America. It is not a place anyone would want their child. With that many kids in the home, not enough supplies, clothes, beds, food/water and supervision there is lots of room for harm to come to Cora. In fact, she has already had a terrible incident that we just learned about.
Cora and another child were playing near the kitchen area and she fell into a large pot over an open flame. Her poor little three year old self didn’t realize the dangers of getting too close to the large cooking pots. She was probably just wanting to be near the food to ensure she would get her one small meal that day. Cora suffered from a terrible burn all along her right arm. She was in desperate pain and had no mommy or daddy to snuggle her up and rush her to the ER. She was hurt and alone and crying out for relief. I am half a world away and the thought of this scenario playing out makes my stomach turn.
I want to shout across the earth…WE ARE COMING FOR YOU! HOLD ON JUST A LITTLE LONGER SWEET CORA! We are coming.
If it were up to me, we’d be on a plane tomorrow to bring our daughter home. Unfortunately international adoption, well any adoption really, just isn’t that simple. We have several hurdles we have to jump over before we can bring her home. One of our biggest hurdles is the financial aspect of Cora’s adoption. We still owe about $5,000 in fees for just Cora’s adoption. Is this something you could help with? Could you partner with our family to help Cora come into her forever family? I know not everyone has a lot of money to spare, but everyone could spare just $1. Would you be willing to donate a dollar or more to help bring our little girl home?
If you feel a tug in your heart to help Cora come home, please donate through our paypal button to the left of the page or visit Give1Save1 between Aug 6th-12th. All donations go straight to the adoption fund, nothing else. Thank you so much for your willingness and support. Blessings from our family to yours!
August 08, 2012
Happy Birthday to My Husband!!!
Today is a day to celebrate the man that God chose especially for me. He is all the typical things you would normally say when talking highly of your spouse…a wonderful father, wonderful husband, lover and friend, but above all that he is the my hero and the man I adore having by my side.
Trey, my love, thank you for being an overcomer in life. Thank you for rising up from your not so ideal childhood and growing into the man of God that He desires you to be. Thank you for leading our family in faith. Thank you for being the best provider a family could ask for. Thank you for always having your priorities in line and putting your family above all other worldly distractions. Thank you for always taking the trash out and killing bugs on command. Thank you for being loyal, kind, compassionate and tender hearted. Thank you for being an example to our children of what a father and husband should be. Thank you for your patience and always finding teachable moments with our children. Thank you for letting me sleep in on the weekends. Thank you for allowing me to dream big dreams and never making my dreams feel impossible. Thank you for putting up with my womanly crazieness and still loving me through it all. Thank you for putting your macho manlieness aside and letting our family rock a mini-van. Thank you for always making my heart beat a little faster and always bringing a smile to my face. Most of all, thank you for taking a chance on love with the crazy seventeen year old version of myself. God bless your soul. You are truly a cut above the rest. I love you with everything I am. To the star and back 300 times, always and forever.
Happy Birthday Trey!!!
Don't forget this is our featured week on Give1Save1! Head on over and check us out then come back to donate your dollar!
Don't forget this is our featured week on Give1Save1! Head on over and check us out then come back to donate your dollar!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
