Just some pictures :)

You know...I don't like to brag...but I got some pretty cute kids :)

The Story

Thank you so much for your patience as it has taken me longer to get his story on here than I thought it would! So without further ado...here is the story:

As most of you know we were chosen to adopt this baby this summer/early fall. But mid-way through the summer his birthmom decided that she wanted to raise him instead and so the adoption fell through. We were heartbroken and devastated of course but we had no choice but to move on with our lives and just keep praying for the baby and for his mom. I wanted so much to blog about what I was feeling but the hurt was just too raw that I never could...I just felt so close to this baby and to his mom and when she changed her mind everything changed and we no longer had any contact. In September we heard that he was born and that he was doing good...so we continued to pray for his little life and that if by some chance God wanted to open the door for us again that He could...and only He could! Well about 4 weeks ago, late one night I got a text message from his mom...she was checking to see how Natee was doing because Natee had just been sick with a stomach bug and I had posted on Facebook that I had just survived my first night with a puking child (the one thing I dread most about being a mom is having to clean up any sort of puke...except for spit-up...that is different...thank goodness Jon was home that night and he was my hero taking care of everything so all I had to do was rock Natee and only deal with a little bit of throwing up)...anyway...I got off track there...so she texted to see how Natee was doing and it just all lead to us talking about the baby (James) and how she was starting to think that adoption might be the answer. Talk about getting a little excited. So we all took time to really pray about it and see if this is where God was leading all of us. About a week later she came to visit us and boy did we fall in love right away! It was also so good to see his mom again and catch up with her and reconnect. And Natee fell in love right away too...she kept asking for "baby" and looking around to see where he was. After that weekend she had made up her mind that she did in fact want us to adopt him and so we went to the agency and our lawyers and got all the papers signed. We then had to wait for the custody papers to get signed by a judge and that took about 5 days...so on Monday, November 7th we met for lunch and after lunch little James was on his way home with us. It was such a good day :) And then since we have to wait 10 working days before it is all final we had about a week left of waiting...which actually went really fast...his birthmom assured us that she was not going to change her mind...that she had made her decision...but there is a little part of you that is on pins and needles that whole time...I believe that is human nature :) haha! So anyway...the 15th at 2:35 came and went and James is our baby boy now :) We are so blessed and can not say it enough...GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!!!

Well this post has taken me about 2 days to write because I keep getting interrupted! It's definitely taken awhile to get used to having two kids but I think I will do just fine :) I just need to learn time management which has always been my problem....just ask Jon...he hates the fact that I'm always about 5 minutes late to everything...I swear I try I just can't do it...I can't be on time!! Oh well. Well I'd better run here for now...and just to give you a heads up so that you are not confused when you check on us later we are planning on changing his name...we love the name James Michael...it has meaning for his birthmom as she named him after special guys in her life and actually James is Jon's dad's name and Michael is my dad and brother's middle name so it works perfectly in our family too but we want him to have his own name and not the same one as his grandpa...plus there is something about getting to name your own baby...so we are still mulling over ideas and trying to figure out what his name is...we will let you know when we find the perfect one for him! :)

Remember...

...this summer when I showed you this picture of our little ray of sunshine...

...and then I showed you this other little ray of sunshine...

...well here they are together...Sister and Brother!!!

Today at 2:35 p.m. James Michael officially joined our family through the miracle of adoption!

I promise I will have more details to share with you later but I just got him to sleep and I'm wanting a little sleep too! But I wanted to share with all of you our GREAT news! God is good...ALL the time!!!

When I grow up...

...I want to be just like Daddy!

Last of the Summer Recaps!

Okay...so here it is...the last of the summer updates...it's about time...it is November after all! Where did October go? No idea. Anyway...we ended the summer with two events...one being Ole's 1st birthday party...where did that year go? No idea. :) Anyway...here is Natee...all ready in her party dress going to Ole's party:

She looks kinda grumpy here...but isn't she still cute?! She was so excited to go and carry his present in with her ;) And as you can see from the picture below, Ole didn't lack in party goers or presents! Nor was he that interested in opening his presents! And one of the presents I gave him he hated...absolutely hated! He even cried! I gave him some jammies (which he likes) and then I gave him this really cute hat...a dressy hat to wear like to church or something...we tried putting it on and he cried and cried and cried...I still haven't seen him wear it to church so he still must not like it! Oops...I'll have to make a note to myself Ole not to buy you anything like that again! haha!

It was a Noah's Ark themed party and Britt did an excellent job planning his party...it was really fun! And her mom, Lynne, did a super job with his cake...check out that creation!

One family picture before Ole got to dig in!

Mmmm...this cake is really good Oma! I think I could get used to eating this stuff!

And as you can see...Natee took full advantage of Ole being busy with his cake to test out one of his new toys! :)

The last event of the summer was Jesse James Days...it's always the weekend after Labor Day and when it finally comes you know that the summer is over :( But we always have a good time going down and partaking in some of the festivities :) This year Natee was in the Kiddie Parade with her cousins...I think she had a good time and I know that she was the cutest little cowgirl around!

Here's the whole crew...waiting for the parade to start...it's kinda nice having the older kids because then you can go and actually watch the parade and not have to walk it yourself! And if any of you don't know what Mutton Bustin is...just ask my nephew Logan...he was a mutton buster this year at the rodeo and he walked away with a shiny belt buckle to prove it...way to go Logan! (Mutton Bustin is where they ride sheep...they hold on as long as they can...it's one of the best things and cutest things to watch at a rodeo) :)

I love it...Carter looks like he is so bored and Natee looks like she is having the time of her life! :)

And the best part?!? At the end you get a messy push up ice cream treat...yummy!!

Grandma and Grandpa even came down to watch!

And of course...it wouldn't be the Defeat of Jesse James Days without the big parade on Sunday...this is probably my favorite event of the weekend...I know some people can't stand parades but I've always liked them :)

Okay...now you are caught up on our summer...it's time for fall! haha! Actually this fall has been so busy but I don't have many pictures from it. Natee did not go trick-or-treating this year...when it came right down to it we both were like...nah...maybe next year. She was just going to wear her cowgirl stuff again anyway...and she had just as much fun staying home...picking out one treat from our candy bucket (a sucker!) and answering the door with mom...she loved seeing the kids out in all their costumes...and I was very surprised and happy to see that there were really no scary looking costumes this year! I hate those things! Anyway...hope you all have a great weekend!