Our Adoption Journey

...A Work In Progress...

2009-03-24T08:43:00.007-05:00

I am terrible at keeping this updated. It's definitely a work in progress. What's been going on with us? Jaydon is signed up for Tball for the first time. Brady is working on getting over his ear infections and bronchitis. He is really wanting to walk and we are hoping his first tooth is coming through. So we are busy with Brady alone...ha! I will post some new pics later today hopefully.

We went to Village Confections last Saturday morning for beignets and coffee (or sprite). This is a great way to support The Christmas Village. They do this every Saturday morning and it was so much fun. Brenda has been working on the new website for the CV and you should check it out...it looks great! http://www.thechristmasvillage.org/

The Village of Hope (adoption agency) is going well. We have so many stories of how God has used our story of both boys to give hope to couples who are feeling exactly how we felt before Jaydon. We are amazed at how God brought us through all of those difficult years to learn and grow closer to Him, but also that now He is allowing us to use those experiences to share our story with other couples. Just simply awesome!!

Buddy's birthday was yesterday and we didn't get to really celebrate at all. Hopefully we will eventually do something special for him. He bought me a ticket to go see Paula Deen tomorrow. My mom and sister are going with me too. I am excited about getting out and having a great time with them.

Buddy's schedule has been pretty hectic lately and usually doesn't ease up until after summer is over. So, we are truly just beginning our busy season. We are so excited that in July, Buddy is going to Brazil for the first time with Upward to lead sports camps. God has continued to bless him with opportunities to do what he loves to do most, travel abroad and sports! I ask that you will join us in praying that God will prepare the hearts of the people that He has in the path of this team that is traveling to Brazil, as well as safety in all the traveling to reach these beautiful people.

We are both blessed to be doing what we love to do. God truly has given us the desires of our hearts. What else is there to say, other than Thank You, Father!!

2009-02-03T11:28:00.002-06:00

Jaydon riding his big boy bike and wearing his daddy's hat!

All of us at Bass Pro Shop getting Santa pics made.

Brady sitting in his seat for the last time...he loves bathtime!

2009-02-03T11:09:00.002-06:00

Brady playing with Jaydon's Toys....Jaydon telling Brady how to do it right!

Brady's car that his birthmother gave him for Christmas.

We had to take a picture of this...Brady fell asleep on Buddy's face.

The day it snowed....I was still in the hospital.

Jaydon with Buddy's hat on...he is thinking!

...New Beginnings....

2009-02-03T10:40:00.003-06:00

I know it's been almost 2 months since my last update; however, all is finally well here at the Knott house.....YAY!! We have all recovered from surgery, illness, and lack of sleep...well maybe not that one!

Buddy is enjoying the busy life of the children's ministry and all of the sports. He has been able to ref soccer a few times. He has been blessed with so many wonderful volunteers throughout the kick-off of the new Crest Kid's ministry. We are amazed everyday at how God has moved in the lives at Ridgecrest. We are so blessed to be a part of something that makes an eternal difference. And of course, if you know me, you know I can't say enough about our Pastor. He is awesome, not because of anything he does....but when he speaks, you don't see the man, you really know that God is speaking directly to you through his vessel... Amazing!!!

Well, Brady had is first Christmas, and it was wonderful. He really loved playing with the paper and all of the toys he did get, but also his brother's toys too. Jaydon was so animated, as usual, when he opened his presents this year. He sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, and talked about Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus in the manger....somehow Jonah sometimes ends up in that conversation too. Jaydon loves to pray, and he prays for everything. We love to listen to him talk to God. He never misses an opportunity to thank God for all of his grandparents dogs....he might forget everyone else, but at least one of the dogs usually get mentioned.

We are so amazed at God's love for us. We have 2 wonderful boys who keep us busy busy busy, but we never knew for sure a few years ago that these days would actually come. We used to talk about and dream about the days when we could hear our children running through the house....and now that happens (at least one runs and one crawls). Our journey is just beginning. I hope to be able to keep you updated along the way this year.

.....Being Thankful......

2008-12-02T13:52:00.005-06:00

Brady loves to do what his brother is doing at all times!

Mommy's sweet boy!

Our "lil" man...or BIG man now!

Couldn't be Happier...God is so Good!

Brady loves being up in the air....of course I love doing it too!

Happy Baby!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with our families. Everyone (except Wendy's girls...we missed them!) came to our house for the big meal. We are so blessed to be able to be so close to our families. We had fun playing, talking, cooking and eating. God has blessed our family so much.

We can't wait for the Christmas holiday to get here. We look forward to spending more time together with our families. We put our Christmas trees up....and yes that is trees. Jaydon says one is his and the other is PawPaw's. But in actuality one is the glass ornaments and the other tree is the boys tree. We had so much fun putting them up and decorating them this year. Jaydon was a big help. Brady loves looking at them, but hasn't really tried to do anything other than suck on the ornaments that he can reach.

It is our prayer that everyone will take time to help some families and children this Christmas that may be less fortunate. We have a tree at our church that we can choose different children to buy gifts for and there are many throughout the community. We love doing this every year, you think that you are going to give a blessing to someone else, but it's you that ends up feeling blessed. There are so many people in need this year. God has blessed us so much, and it is a joy to be able to help someone else.

Merry Christmas!

....Long Time Coming.....

2008-11-05T11:06:00.004-06:00

Granny getting Brady all nice and warm!

PawPaw taking Jaydon around to play the games!

Me with the Ole Miss Rebel and the Lil Pumpkin!

MawMaw having fun with Brady...keeping him warm in her sweater!

Brady in his walker....showing us how much he loves it!

I am sure everyone is tired of waiting on my updates....I apologize for the delay!

Things are going wonderfully here. Jaydon is really in to football! He loves to play outside with his daddy. For the Trunk or Treat at Granny and Papaw's church, Jaydon was an Ole Miss Football player. Of course Buddy had a lot to do with that costume...ha! Brady was a sweet first time pumpkin. He wore the same outfit that Jaydon wore on his first Halloween! We had a blast with them that night, even though it was cold.

Brady is going everywhere in his little walker now. He likes to be able to go, but doesn't like it when he gets stuck somewhere. He is finally taking naps in his bed now....yay! This is a long time coming, because for so long we couldn't lay him down because of his stomach issues. He is doing so much better with all of his issues. We do have a flare up every now and then, but for the most part, he is doing great.

Church, of course, is wonderful! I still say we have the best pastor and music pastor combo that I have ever had the privilege to worship under. There isn't a Sunday that we don't come home and just take a deep breath and thank our gracious God for allowing us to be fed spiritually week in and week out. And it never ceases to amaze me how my quiet times are usually right on target with what our pastor preaches on that Sunday. It is awesome to see God work.....and feel it too!

The adoption agency is going well. We are at our max. right now with couples. Just waiting on God to send the birthparents to us. We are so blessed.

Brady's birthmother visited us this weekend. Her dad also came for the first time. It was fun to watch him interact with Brady. Brady just loved him. He just talked and talked to him. Of course, Jaydon loved her dad, because he rode a "motorbicycle" to see us! We all had a good time that day. It was emotional, but good!

We are looking forward to all of the holidays coming up. Spending time with family that we don't get to see very often, and focusing on the birth of our Lord! What a wonderful time of year!

....Can't Wait.....

2008-09-13T17:46:00.005-05:00

Brady Cameron getting ready to say something....

Brady holding his toy frog with one of the frog's eyes in his mouth!

Hello everyone....sorry it has been way to long since I have updated! We have been extremely busy. There is a ton of things for me to tell you about. First, Brady is doing great. He is so much better! That is such an answered prayer. Thank you to everyone for all of the encouragement and the prayers. We go back to the gastroenterologist on Monday to get our next set of instructions which are supposed to include starting baby food.....wooohooo!

Jaydon is still growing like a weed. He is so funny (as you can see in some of the previous pictures I have posted). I am so blessed!

As far as everything else....church is awesome! We love Ridgecrest and we love our Pastor. God really has a special plan for our church to reach our community and the world for Him. We have so much excitement for what God is doing in the midst of our church!

One new thing that is going on in our lives is that Buddy and I are the directors of a new adoption agency called The Village of Hope. We have partnered with The Christmas Village (where Brady's birthmother stayed) to create this ministry. We are so excited and have had a great response from couples so far. We are trying to keep the cost low and the often unavailable resources a reality for these birthmothers and couples.

We can use your prayers and support in this new ministry. We have been swamped with calls and paperwork, but it is all so much fun. We know that God has allowed us to go through the journey that we have to bring us to this point of helping others. How great is our God?

I hope to give updates soon. Keep watching....

2008-08-11T09:55:00.002-05:00

Getting ready to take Jaydon to the beach for the first time.
Jaydon walking in the sand for the first time!
Jaydon doing what he loved to do....play in the sand!
Brady Cameron getting ready to go to the beach for the first time....he's not liking the glasses!
All 4 of us....first family vacation!

....Back from the Beach....

2008-08-11T09:42:00.002-05:00

Well....we survived taking an 11 week old baby and a 2 year old to the beach...ha! We had a good time. Jaydon didn't like the water, because the waves were too big the first day we took him out there due to the tropical storm or whatever it was (...I didn't watch any television when we were there...). But when the waves were huge, Buddy, my nieces, and our girls from Natchez had a blast riding the waves. Jaydon liked playing in the sand.

The most fun was the fact that Brady Cameron didn't like his carseat....the entire way there and back. We had noticed this before we left, but thought he would be okay on the trip...no such luck... he screamed everytime we put him in it. So the day after we made it home, we bought him a new carseat. So far, he likes it.

Today Brady is 12 weeks old. Can't really believe that. He has gotten so big. He is starting to really get his own personality. He still spits up the entire bottle about once or twice a week. But, that is so much better than every day, multiple times a day.

Times are busy, but great around here. We are enjoying having 2 little ones. I joked with my parents before Brady was born that I wouldn't be out of the house for about 2 years. But, things aren't that bad! So far we have been blessed, even though Brady has had so many stomach issues....the boys are really exhausting at times...but so much fun!

God is good!

Baby Dedication

2008-07-27T17:11:00.002-05:00

This past week Buddy and I were just curious as to how much Brady weighs. We noticed a drastic change in his size over the last week or so, and we just couldn't stand it any longer so we took him up to our pediatricians office to have him weighed.....Boy were we in for a shock! Brady weighs....10lbs 6oz! YAY!!!! He is really putting on the pounds now! He is still struggling off and on with the stomach issues....for example....We had the worst trip to Target the other night. Brady spit up an entire bottle all over himself, me and up and down the toy isle that we were on. Needless to say, it took us a while to clean everything up and also put back the toys that Jaydon managed to get off of the shelves while we were preoccupied with cleaning and changing Brady. I am sure it was funnier for those who were watching us than we felt at the time....now we laugh about it!

Today was wonderful....we had baby dedication at the church and Brady was dedicated during that service. We enjoyed spending a few moments prior to the service joking around with the other families that were also participating. Hopefully I will show pics as soon as I get them from my father-in-law. He was nice enough to bring his camera and do all the work for us. We are very thankful for that because we just participated and enjoyed.

Our pastor has been preaching a series over the last few weeks about revival, and I am just amazed every Sunday at how this man just removes himself and lets God really shine through him. He is a wonderful pastor and we are so blessed and privileged to sit under him week in and week out. God is so good to us.

We are so excited about the new Crest Kids Sunday School kick off this coming Sunday. There are so many people who have worked tirelessly to make this happen. Our church is full of talented and very giving people. We pray that God will open the floodgates....and bring the children of our community to Him through this new avenue.

More updates to come......hopefully I can try to update a little more often now that we are somewhat on a schedule.

2008-07-14T12:56:00.003-05:00

Jaydon holding his baby!
Brady Cameron getting ready to go shopping with Mom!
Taylor, Jaydon, and Kaylee keeping up the McCon tradition by climbing up in tree at PawPaw Con's!
Jaydon playing on the piano at PawPaw Con's!
My cousin Jason is teaching Jaydon how to ride a big boy bike....already? I don't know who had more fun.....
Mommy and Jaydon at PawPaw's Pond

Brady Cameron is so happy to finally see his PawPaw Con.

Brady Cameron smiling at PawPaw Con!

....Getting back on track....

2008-07-14T12:27:00.003-05:00

For those of you have been waiting on an update on how we are doing, I apologize. We have been so busy that I have barely had time to check my email. Brady is doing well. At our last doctor's visit he weighed 8lbs 130z. We are so excited that he is finally gaining weight quickly. The doctor told us to do every bottle with rice cereal in it, instead of every other because he was still spitting up a good bit. So, we have started that process. After doing that for a few days the doctor wanted us to go back to any formula that we were comfortable using. So we have officially started back on the soy formula. So far we are doing pretty good. He did spit up an entire bottle yesterday, but I don't think it was related to the formula. He is still grunting and acting very uncomfortable, but the doctor assured us that this was just a reaction to movement inside his body (stomach, intestines, etc.) He is apparently very aware when something is going on in his body. The doctor said he is not in any pain, so we will just have to endure this until it works itself out. That was not so fun to hear, considering this keeps all of us at night....for the most part. But we were glad to know that it was not pain related or something worse going on.

We have gotten Brady out a good bit. He went to church the first time last week. That was fun to watch everyone with him. We also were able to take him to see PawPaw Con (my 93 year old grandfather). He was so excited to finally see him in person. He held him almost the entire time we were there. It was so wonderful to be able to share Brady with him. He is always so supportive of our journey's through adoption. He always likes to hear exactly what happened and when. So this trip was really special for all of us.

Of course, we have taken him to MawMaw and PawPaw's a few times. He is totally spoiled when we are there...(which we all knew would happen...ha!).
We also have gone to see Granny and Papaw too. We all went out to eat at Cracker Barrel, which was fun. That was our first time to go out to eat with both boys. Jaydon loves playing with his lawn mower that they bought him that blows bubbles and sounds like a real lawn mower. We all said too bad it doesn't really cut the grass, because he will cover every square inch of their front yard.

My dad is in the Ukraine right now on a mission trip. If you are reading this I hope you will pause for a moment and pray for God's protection on the group that is there. Also that God will prepare the people's hearts that they are going to come in contact with through their medical work. So far things are going really well, they have treated many people and the first day that we heard from him there were already 25 people who have accepted Jesus, our Lord. The next day, I think my mom said they treated more than 200 people. We are so thrilled that God is continuing His work through this team in the Ukraine. These people are special in God's eyes and we are so proud that this team has a heart for the Ukrainian people. The families that are back at home here have come to love the Ukraine just as much too, after seeing the pictures and hearing the stories, it is always amazing to see just how Awesome our God truly is. It hard to wrap your mind around how great He is and how deep His love is for all people from every walk of life. I am very blessed to have a family and church family that sees the importance of mission work, and obeys when God calls them to go!

2008-07-01T10:41:00.003-05:00

Okay...I again apologize for those of you that get updates only from the blog. Let me start by saying today, we had our court date for the finalization of Brady Cameron's adoption. It was so wonderful. Our judge was so compassionate and truly a blessing to us. Judge Grant (Rankin County) made everything so easy and truly a pleasure. He waived the 6 mos waiting period for us and we were just thrilled that things went so smoothly. The pictures are of the Judge, our attorney, and Buddy, Brady, and me.... Jaydon was at school. We didn't want to run the risk of the judge not signing everything because Jaydon was running around screaming....ha...no really he wanted to go to school and we had court at 8:00 am. Once we got there we were glad that we didn't make Jaydon come with us because we had to wait a little while for the judge to get there. We can't believe that this is already finalized....with Jaydon he was almost a year old before we went to court. So God has truly blessed us in every aspect of this adoption.

Okay...for the update on Brady....he is finally doing much better. We went to the Pediatric Gastroenterologist last week and he diagnosed him with a severe case of Reflux. We are having to give him medicine once a day and rice cereal in every other bottle and feed him every two to three hours....it's more work on us...but it seems to be working so far. His diarrhea seemed to also work itself out. The doctor said that he was having that as a response to pain. It all seems to be getting better with this new treatment plan. Thanks for all the prayers for Brady. It has helped us get through a stressful few weeks.

Tomorrow is the big day....SHOTS!!! We will finally be able to get out in public...and we get to see how much he has gained.

Hopefully we will be able to get all the family together for a celebration dinner sometime this week. (We did that after Jaydon's adoption was finalized.) We have so much to celebrate!

We are so excited about our future....and we can't wait to keep you updated as our journey unfolds.....

....Waiting on the Results....

2008-06-17T12:52:00.004-05:00

Okay....the latest is that we are now on Soy formula and waiting on some results from the doctors office. This will tell us if Brady Cameron has a stomach bug or exactly what is going on...hopefully. He is tolerating the soy well....hardly any spit up compared to before...but the other is still a problem. He is terribly uncomfortable and screams because he hurts. It is hard to be in this position of not doing anything for him...but hopefully we will be able to find something out soon.

They did tell me to go get some "Gripe" water....I had never heard of it. It is an all natural liquid that is supposed to help with cramping, gas, etc. So, I have been giving that to him as directed and it seems to help for a few minutes but not as much as I hoped it would. He does seem a little less irritable after he has taken the gripe water, so maybe it is working some.

Aside from all of that, things were wonderful and busy this Father's Day weekend. We had lots of company and we enjoyed it. Some of our friends/family from Natchez came up to see all of us and to see Brady for the first time. They were so excited. They brought gifts for Jaydon too. He got a new elephant (or HELEPHANT as he says it) from his PaPaw CB and MaMaw Joanne and from Mrs. Pat and Mr. Roger (or Raager as Jaydon calls him...like he is from up north..) they gave him an Ole Miss basketball (in one of the pictures) and he loves it. They also got Brady some cute LSU things....like a pacifier and sippee cup. We really enjoyed our visit with all of them and wish they all lived a lot closer than they do.

We also celebrated Father's Day with both sets of parents this weekend, one on Friday night and one on Saturday night. But after all of that, on Saturday evening Jaydon put on Buddy's tennis shoes and kept saying they were his and walking around in them.....so I just had to post a picture of him with them on for you to see. The other picture is of Brady wearing his MawMaw's spiderman outfit. He looked so cute in that outfit, but he only got to wear it for a few minutes, because that was on one of the days that he was still spitting up really bad, so the outfit had to be changed.

We are so thankful for our friends and family. We were so blessed to be able to spend good quality time with them this weekend. We hope everyone else had as much fun celebrating with their families.

....I will let you know what the results are as soon as I hear from our pediatrician.....

............Is that right?.......

2008-06-12T15:51:00.005-05:00

Okay, we went to the doctor yesterday and Brady Cameron now weighs....7lbs...! Can you believe it? I wondered if the scale was right at first. He totally skipped the 6's and went right on to the 7. We were so excited and thankful. After celebrating for a minute then he spit up all over his daddy and we realized that we needed to bring up the whole formula thing again. So the nurse said she would call me and let me know what the plan is for his formula. It wasn't long and my cell rang and she said that we needed to go back to the formula that we were previously using......ugh! So now we are back to formula #2 again. So far, the spit up has slowed down drastically. They think he may have a small intolerance for lactose. Well, when he spits up the entire bottle....it doesn't seem so small to us...ha! Nevertheless, changing back has helped, and we will watch for the other problems we were experiencing.

After getting Jaydon and Brady Cameron home yesterday....in the rain, I decided that I would put my plants out so we wouldn't have to water them later. Great Idea......Jaydon always wants to help with the plants, so we went out front to get the ferns off the stands and put them out to get some rain.....and of course that is not all that got rain. Jaydon has never really played in the rain...so he took this opportunity to do so. He thought it was so fun. Meanwhile, I was trying to get the camera, listen for Brady Cameron and make sure to put all of the flowers and plants out there too. It was quite funny I am sure if someone would have been here to watch me run around trying to get all of this done. The truly fun part didn't begin until I tried to get Jaydon to come back inside. He didn't want to have anything to do with that. Brady was crying because it was time for him to eat and Jaydon didn't care at all....ha ha. He thought I could just go get his brother and we could all go in the rain and play. The one thing I said that got him in was that MawMaw and PawPaw were coming over to see him. He quickly let me get him all cleaned up....inside.....yeah! I was able to feed Brady, bath Jaydon, bath Brady Cameron (because he spit up all over everything), change my clothes, cook Jaydon some supper all before my parents actually got here. Sometimes....it amazes how much you can do and not realize that it was much at all until you sit back and think about it.

We had a great time yesterday evening. Jaydon really played hard with PawPaw outside playing baseball. MawMaw took him out front to ride his bicycle and by the time they left....he was so irritable because he was worn out. Once we got Jaydon in the bed, then Brady Cameron decided we had not been paying enough attention to him, so he decided to cry like he has never cried before, so we freaked out a little (mainly because Brady is not a baby that cries much at all). After we got that worked out Jaydon started crying (very unusual). So, needless to say, all of you who have children know what we experienced last night.

But all in all, yesterday was jampacked with fun, trials, and more fun. We prayed for these two boys for so long that all of the crying and fit throwing is so worth it and ALMOST like music to our ears.

Once again, we realize how blessed we are to be able to experience the fun with our sons. We cherish it, even when it is the not so fun part of parenting.

2008-06-10T14:37:00.010-05:00

The past few days have been wonderful yet exhausting. Brady Cameron is still having trouble with his formula and our pediatrician is on vacation, so we will ask the nurse tomorrow when we take him to be weighed. We think he has gained a little, so we are anxious to see exactly how much.

He still smiles more than anything and holds his head up. If we could just figure out this formula to help his little tummy....we would be great! Some of the young couples in the church are bringing supper over tonight for us. We are so blessed to have families that are willing to do things like that for us, especially considering this is a large church and I hardly know any of them by name at this point. But, we are truly blessed time and time again.

My energy level is starting to fade a bit...ha ha! Just from the feedings in the middle of the night, but now that VBS is over for Buddy, he has been such a big help. We have a system going now. I am so thankful for him and the love that he shows me and the boys, even if it is at 3 or 4 in the morning.

I did manage to cook a big meal yesterday, thanks to the crockpot! I am learning that time management has a whole new meaning now! Honestly things have not been that bad. We are so thankful to live near family now and that has really helped when we really needed help.

I will update again....hopefully tomorrow to let everyone know how much Brady Cameron weighs.....we are hoping at least 6lbs now....but we will see.

....Another Formula....

2008-06-04T16:17:00.005-05:00

Today has been so fun....last night Brady was up most of the night grunting and squirming. We are now trying our third type of formula per our doctor's encouragement. I hope this one works. Two bottles down and so far so good. We will see.

After the second bottle, I put him in his bouncy seat that Buddy put together today and sat in front of him with the camera taking pictures. I couldn't believe I caught a big smile. I was so thrilled.

Buddy has been very busy with VBS this week and Jaydon has been going also. They have both been exhausted when they get home, so not a lot of things going on here at our house in the evenings with those two. Buddy did capture some good pictures of Jaydon yesterday. I can't remember if I posted it or not that when we start taking pictures of Brady or really anything.....Jaydon says, "Take a picture of Jaydon". We just laugh and say okay. He poses for them most of the time. He is so entertaining right now. We laugh quite often around here with Jaydon. Fun times at the Knott house!

....Daily Life With Brady.....

2008-06-03T15:46:00.003-05:00

I apologize that it has been a while since the last entry.....but we have been a little busy.....ha! Things are going better than expected here. Brady is a very good baby. We are dealing with the typical baby stuff, like trying to get the right formula for his stomach and things of that nature. We went to see our pediatrician for the first time yesterday and things went really well. Brady had gained some weight....he weighs 5lbs 11 1/2 oz. So we are excited about that. Everything else so far is good also. We took lots of pictures of the visit. Everyone just laughs because we take pictures of everything.

Brady still lifts his head whenever he wants to and earlier I had him leaned up in the corner arm of the couch and he lifted his head and pulled his body up as if he was trying to sit up.....I know....you don't believe it. I wouldn't either if I hadn't sat here and watched this baby do it myself! Hopefully I can get it on video.

Our company as finally started to slow down and a new normal is setting in. Jaydon is still doing great with Brady. He loves him. Yesterday when he and Buddy got home, the first thing Jaydon did when he saw Brady in the swing was lean over and kiss him and tell him "It's okay, Jaydon is here". It is so sweet to watch him love on Brady Cameron.

Our birthmother is doing really well, she and her mom came over Saturday afternoon for their first visit with us and Brady. It was awesome. Brady's birthmother just held him and watched him. She fed him and burped him (which she wouldn't do in the hospital). It was very sweet to watch them kiss on him and just stare at his little features. Of course, Jaydon put on a show for them. He played with everything imaginable so they could watch him. They even bought Jaydon some pool toys so he wouldn't feel left out that they had bought Brady something. They both go above and beyond trying to include Jaydon into the situation, which we are so thankful for.

As each day passes, we realize more and more how blessed we are to not only have a new baby, but to have a birthmother and grandmother that will forever be able to tell Brady Cameron themselves how special he is and how much he is loved by everyone. We all talk about how God obviously has something really important for Brady in the future and we are so excited to have a little part in it.

Thank you to all of those that have prayed for us and continue to. We are so blessed and God is so good to our family.

...Let's Catch Up....

2008-05-27T14:20:00.002-05:00

Wow...How do I describe the emotions and feelings that have been going on since our last post? We had a very emotional week at the hospital last week. Our birthmother was so wonderful and strong. She really has given God all the glory for her being able to go through with this process. I am so grateful that God chose her for us. What a blessing.

This adoption process has been hard because we are so emotionally invested with our birthmother. So when the time came for her to leave the hospital on Thursday, let's just say words can't describe that moment in my heart. I was not expecting to be there for that, but she requested us to come up to the room...for which I am grateful. Her mom was also there for support and she is such a wonderful grandmother to Brady already. She loves him so much. I was so glad that she made it back to be there for her daughter during this terribly difficult time.

It was twice as hard because we found out that morning that Brady had to stay another night in the hospital due to his temperature not being what they would have liked for it to be. She wanted to make sure that one of us would be staying with Brady at all times. I decided to stay at the hospital from that point on. It was really weird to be in the hospital, but not be the one that actually gave birth to Brady. It was an experience that I will never forget.

We had the opportunity to educate some of our nurses on our particular adoption journey. They had not experienced anything like this before. It was really fun explaining everything to them. Our night nurse, Stephanie and our day nurse, Jackie, were the best! We became really attached to them and they loved on Brady.

We finally got to come home on Thursday afternoon. It was so weird seeing 2 carseats in my van. Buddy and I just laughed about it. Jaydon is so excited that he has someone to sit by him...even though Brady can't talk to him yet...! Jaydon is so good with Brady, he loves to hold him and when he is done holding him...he his done! He moves on to one of his toys or something else. So far, we have been blessed in that area!

Brady had to have a Bili-blanket for 2 days due to being Jaundice, but thankfully we took that back yesterday. We are so glad we are done with that big thing! Brady is glad too! He looked like a glow worm when he had it on. We took some pics and I will upload them this afternoon or tonight for you to see.

Many of our friends have called and emailed to check on us, and many are hearing about it for the first time and are shocked. To that we are sorry that we didn't keep everyone in the loop....we tried to guard ourselves as much as possible once again during this process. God protected us and provided a wonderful, yet difficult experience for us.

Brady Cameron is so loved by his birthmother that she cared more about his needs than her wants. She is so strong and courageous that it amazes both of us on a daily basis. I am happy to say that we have maintained contact with her everyday since she left the hospital. She is doing much better and she still says that God is the reason for that.

What a wonderful love story that we get to tell Brady Cameron about how God loves him so much that he gave him a special family.....We will tell him of how he is loved not only by us, but by his birthmother and how she sacrificed for just for him!

2008-05-19T23:56:00.004-05:00

Brady Cameron Is finally here!!!!! Weighing in at a whopping 5lbs 9oz....and 19 inches long.

We are overwhelmed right now for many reasons. We will update as soon as we can. We will be coming home on Wednesday if everything goes as planned.

Our birthmother did excellent. She is so relieved to be done with that part of the process. When she held him is was such a wonderful sight....she looked at his fingers and toes. We laughed about several things. Her mom, sister, and a friend were in there with us. She has a very sweet and wonderful mother.

We will be at the hospital most of the day tomorrow, and everything else is out of our hands.....and in God's!

We put pictures on here of Brady with his Big Brother who was so excited to see him and cried to keep holding his baby! Jaydon loves his brother....(I am sure that will change once we get them both home for a while...ha )

MawMaw and PawPaw loved looking at their new grandson, although one of the pictures you can see Jaydon making sure of what his PawPaw was doing with Brady!

Granny and Papaw helped out by getting Jaydon and relieving that worry for us. They loved seeing Brady have dark hair like Buddy. So now we have Jaydon who looks like me and Brady who looks like Buddy. God really works all of this out when it's in His will!

Aunt Wendy, John, and the girls loved giving sugar to Brady. Ashlynn kept on asking if she could kiss him.....We are so blessed! Hope you enjoy the new pics!

Love to all!

Change of Plans...

2008-05-18T23:12:00.003-05:00

Okay, we were in for a surprise tonight when we went to church. I ran into our doctor before church started and we were talking and I was giving him an update. He then proceeded to tell me that he wanted us to come in early in the morning and he would probably go ahead and put her in after he checks her. WHAT???? Shocker!!! So then I had to tell our birthmother when she arrived at church that our doc wanted to see her after church to get an update from her....Needless to say, he said the same thing to her and we both freaked out again like we did the day we found out she was dilated 2cm. So, she got upset her way, and I did my way. But, once again, my family to the rescue. Buddy was so positive and encouraging. He kept telling me that God is in control. He is going to take care of us regardless. So eventually I calmed down and realized that I had taken my focus off of Him for a while and needed to regroup.

The latest is that we go in the doctor's office at 8:30 in the morning. Then if she is at least 3cm he is going to put her in the hospital and get everything going. So our baby will be here sooner rather than later.

We will update once we hear from the visit and have access to a computer, but for now I wanted to update you with some pictures of the three of us and some of just Jaydon. He had a blast eating cheetos this afternoon and decided he wanted me to take some pictures of him sitting under the tree out front....which has never happened before. He usually doesn't want to sit still long enough. But this was his idea for me to go get the camera! Too Funny!!!

....In these last days......

2008-05-18T15:28:00.003-05:00

Okay, we had an awesome worship time this morning. After church, we took our birthmother out for lunch to celebrate her birthday privately with just us and my parents. We had a great time. She really enjoyed the fun conversations and laughing at Jaydon being silly and his blessings that he had to say 4 or 5 times throughout the lunch.

Afterward, I drove her back to the church to get her car. We talked all the way there and laughed. We also sat in the parking lot and talked once we had reached the church. We speculated on when the baby would come and how everything will play out (which we do everyday). We planned a few things in our minds of what she wants to happen and when after the baby is born.

I know it sounds strange to be discussing things like that, and trust me there are times that I sit back and think....this is so weird....in a good way! But, as our time together comes to an end, we have laughed and joked around about our journey thus far. She can't wait to stop having to wear maternity clothes. I just laugh! Because there was a time in my life that I would have done anything to be in her position (of wearing maternity clothes), but God had other plans.

She tells me all the time how easy I have it not having to go through all of weight gain, uncomfortableness, and pain. I tell her I know....and laugh. Because now I have no desire to have to go through that myself. It's funny how over time God can change your heart's desire. When you focus on him.

We really are going to miss spending our special times together. Tomorrow morning we have a doctor's appointment and we will find out what progress she has made since last Monday. She told me she was up all night hurting really bad and she started timing them and then she would stop. So we will see tomorrow.

I hope that if you are reading this you will stop for a second and pray for everyone involved in this process, from the physicians to the nurses and of course all of us too. But I ask that you especially pray for her as this is a very difficult time that we are about to enter and even though you can be prepared in some ways, I know from past experiences that there is no way that you can prepare yourself for what's about to happen.

I thank you in advance for the prayers. We know that we have had many people across several states praying for us already and we can sense that and we feel it. I might post again tonight after church, but if not it will be in the afternoon, after our doctor visit.

....Much Needed Advice and Encouragement......

2008-05-18T07:36:00.004-05:00

Wow...were do I begin to say how blessed we are to have such wonderful family and friends. Yesterday was our birthmother's birthday. We had so many activities going on that we were committed to so we tried to do our best to fit them all in. My sister really was a lifesaver by keeping Jaydon, and my parents helped with things too. What a blessing in the midst of a busy day.

We were in awe of how God orchestrated so many things yesterday, from many conversations of adoptions to receiving some much needed encouragement from some of the women in my life. I not only realized once again that God is in control of this entire situation, but He also has designed my family and the friends that our a part of our family to be more than one could ever need or ask for in a family situation.

One of the last places we went yesterday was to a graduation party, it was there that I realized that God had handpicked the women to be in my support system, to help guide and teach me things, not so much through words, but through their own experiences and lives. In the past few years I have watched so many of these women go from one phase of life to the another, and all of them showed grace and a renewed, deep, passionate love for God in the midst of some of the deepest pain that a person can experience. It amazes me when I sit back and remember several of these women taught me some important Biblical principles that have really stuck with me all of my life. I am not sure if they realize what an impact they have on my life.

Nonetheless, God put so many people in our path that I had no idea that could teach me and help me by just watching them. It is really neat to open your eyes and look around and actually see God's design and plan for this area of your life and how He has protected those relationships all along the way.

I said all of that to say, as we celebrated Brady Cameron's birthmother's birthday, I was once again reminded in a physical way of how overwhelmingly I am blessed.

Today, we will go to church and be able to praise God for who is and the great things He has done and going to do. As it says in Matthew 6:19-21, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also".

I pray that when anyone looks at my life....they will not have to question what I treasure and where my heart is. Happy day to all and Happy Birthday to Halleigh!!!...we will continue on our journey and update you along the way.

......Waiting Waiting Waiting.......

2008-05-14T11:00:00.000-05:00

Okay today I decided to start a blog to document the journey of the birth of our second son. I have never done this before but here I go....

Let's catch everyone up to date. We are adopting another boy. Our experience this time is so different from Jaydon's adoption. We have been involved in every aspect of this pregnancy. I go with our birthmother to the doctor, go shopping, out to eat...etc. We have really built a deep relationship with her. We love her aside from the journey that we are on together. She is a very wonderful girl.

We went to the doctor on Monday, and found out that she has already dialated two centimeters. So, we were so excited, and then by the time she and I got downstairs to my vehicle, we were sick to our stomachs. We couldn't think, we didn't know what to do next. Our baby is not due until the first week of June. So, we thought we had some time left.

Now that the shock of the whole thing has finally worn off, we are back to reality and realize we had to get a plan of action together. So, she packed her a bag, and I went to do some serious shopping. We have laughed, worried, and laughed some more about the doctor's visit and how we reacted. She has continued to have contractions, but not close enough that we can time them yet.

We have been trying to find the perfect outfit for him to go home in and finally yesterday, Paw Paw came through for us. She wanted him to wear something with LSU on it, and my daddy found the cutest outfits and booties. I took them to her and she just went crazy over them. How blessed are we to have PawPaw?

Today, she is doing a few things at the Christmas Village and I am still washing baby clothes and getting things in order at our house. We can't wait to see how this all plays out and we pray that we can keep our stomach's under control.

We know that our God is in control and He has prepared the way for us, regardless of the outcome. He has blessed us with a wonderful, supportive, and loving family that has been our strength at times when we didn't think this was possible. We give all praise and glory to God who tells us in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you,....... plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

We hold true to the promises He gives us and pray that we keep our focus on Him.