life with gabe
i've been busy with adoption work lately which is super fun and exciting. it is also a sweet reminder of all the phases of adoption feel like. ...some sweet reminder some hard!
y'all know i don't think before i blog. i just start writing. so some of this may seem scattered, may not make much sense and could seem pitiful...ha but whatever.
before i get into how fun life is with gabe i want to relive some of the moments of the adoption process.
the first thing is making the decision to start the process. kinda scary! it's not as simple as having sex and being pregnant. i used to complain that most people just got to have fun sex and have a child. LAWD the adoption process is MUCH less fun ;)
i'm NOT saying that getting pregnant is easy for everyone. i'm NOT saying it's not as special. it is EVERY bit as awesome as adoption. but a part of me thinks that God called us to adopt so that i would completely appreciate G.
for me it's easy to love a child that you worked SO LONG and hard to receive. i guess being pregnant is hard too! i wouldn't know. i do know giving birth is. praise Him i didnt have to do that. i tell people i'd be asking for an epidural 3 months in to my pregnancy.
i would, however, enjoy the eating for 2 bidness...pass the cake!
unlike getting pregnant i felt like i had to "pass" all these tests to be approved! do we make enough money (umm no!) are our physicals up-to-date?, we had so sign a million things saying they could check out every area of our lives, write self studies, do blood tests, take pictures, write cheesy reports about ourselves, show proof of gun safety, have a grease fire extinguisher....just to name a few! :)
again, much more complicated than having sex :)
BUT PLEASE know I am NOT complaining.
i'd do anything asked of me to be G's mom. it is the most amazing, fun thing God has ever blessed me with. yesterday i just looked at him and smiled with an overabundance of love. he couldn't be more perfect for us.
another reason i've thought a lot about adoption lately is because Moses Heath Smith was born this past Thursday. YAYYYYYY.
so we had lots of talks with G about moses being born.
he kept asking if moses was out of Hannahs belly.
PERFECT chance to talk more about his story :)
so i talked to him about how he (G) came out of Angie's belly. (can i say her name bc i just did...) but that God chose jay and me to be his parents. i tried to explain that it is extra special that angie gave birth to him all the way in texas but that God put him in our lives so that he could have us as well as ALL of his extended family in his life.
he seemed to somewhat get it. we talked some more about angie. and a little about his birth father. who died this past march :(
did i tell yall he died? sad. but i did print out his obituary and ALL the sweet comments people wrote about him so that G can read it one day. i REALLY wanted to reach out to his birth fathers parents and tell them i had a small part of their son running around over here in GA but i legally cannot do that.
anyway, all of this stirs up emotions in me about his birth mom. i am being patient (sometimes impatiently attempting patience) waiting for her to email more often. i have offered to facetime or skype but she's not ready. i can totally respect that.
i have saved some school projects etc to send to her one day.
again, i just wish she could experience G! oh what a precious gift he is. gosh, he's so funny, smart and kind-hearted! i know she'd enjoy him.
BUT i will wait. and i will continue to enjoy and treasure being his mom.
here's a few things i ADORE about this kid:
- the way he greets me when i get home "mommaaaa!!" or "hey mom!" is shouted with such delight.
- how he always remembers to sing the blessing at supper. even if we forget
- hearing him repeat scripture after jay at supper. sweetest words ever spoken.
- him asking for help with bedtime prayers. PRECIOUS. then he gets on a roll and prays for EVERYTHING. its borderline obnoxious yet endearing.
- the kids loves to dance. and it is hilarious. it's been a while but last night we turned on some old school rap and he went to town. it is too funny. he's got some serious signature moves.
- oh gosh, hearing him say he's doing something because he is the "ma - aa - an!" is awesome. jay has being saying that to be for years so hearing G say it is great. he tells jay he's the "bo - o - oy!:
- even though he definitely has his moments he truly has an obedient heart and we are so thankful.
- i like the way he says certain words. like "torn on the tob" "diet toke" "aunt plaire" (claire) "tantakes" "all daboard!" (he stands on our stairs and yells that for us to get on his train.)
- last week he thanked God for Jesus during his prayers. i almost cried.
- although he does typically ask me to "turn off my Jesus music" when i'm listening to pandora. uhh, sorry Lord.
- he has a fantastic memory
- he has a forgiving heart. i'm embarrassed to admit all the times i've had to ask him to forgive me but he always does and gives wonderful hugs.
- the kid can tear up some donuts. i bet he could win a contest.
- i told him his new velcro shoes were "rockin" a couple weeks ago. he says it every time he wears them now. too cute.
- people love him everywhere he goes. complete strangers stop us to say how cute he is. i agree. he's pretty darn cute. adorable even.
- he could live off of pancakes, popcorn, corn on the cob, quesadillas, mac & cheese, watermelon and fruit snacks. oh and ice cream & donuts.
- he can beat box. and reminds me that i CANNOT
- he likes saying his whole name gabriel wyatt lesley. in fact yesterday he told his sunday school teacher is name was wyatt.
- homeboy loves christmas. can i get an amen?!
- oh he asks me anytime i come in from exercising "did you ride your bike today?" every.dang.time.
- he thinks all jay does at work is sing
- oh he also thinks mr. jay is some man that is in our backyard with aaron & eli white. he doesn't seem to get that mr. jay is his dad. it is too funny (and kinda sad)
- somehow he knows if i'm sad or dont feel well. maybe all kids are like that but he simply knows when i need extra loving. it is so precious to me.
- hearing him say i love you never gets old
- also hearing him say our weekly goodbye is too fun. last week was "get in line porcupine!" always entertaining. i think my favorite so far was "stay funky little monkey!"
he definitely has his moments. sometimes he cries for no apparent reason OR bc of something ridiculous like....
- why cant i play with dads pocket knife?
- why don't we own a train?
- why can't i (me) make a train ride into our front yard?
- his bed is too hard
- there is yogurt on his pull up
- we ran out of muffins
- he wants to wear a sweater when its 80 degrees
- he asked for mashed potatoes and then acts offended when they are served
- his sippy cup is blue and he wanted green
- i wont let him eat popcorn (tot-torn) off the floor in target
- he wants to fly in the airplane that he just saw in the air. (legit 10 mins of big tears.)
- he wants black butter (syrup) squirted directly in his mouth
- jay put on boots G swore were mine saturday and he cried off and on whenever he thought about it that day.
i can go on....................
but bottom line, i will gladly trip over trains, tools, motorcycles and puzzle pieces...deal with slightly insane tantrums and try to figure out what food he DOES like today for the joy of being his mom.
i don't deserve him. but i am honored that God chose me to love & raise him. i hope i honor Him in this calling. but just like G, i am SOOOOOOOOO thankful God quickly forgives when i screw up (daily.)
y'all know i don't think before i blog. i just start writing. so some of this may seem scattered, may not make much sense and could seem pitiful...ha but whatever.
before i get into how fun life is with gabe i want to relive some of the moments of the adoption process.
the first thing is making the decision to start the process. kinda scary! it's not as simple as having sex and being pregnant. i used to complain that most people just got to have fun sex and have a child. LAWD the adoption process is MUCH less fun ;)
i'm NOT saying that getting pregnant is easy for everyone. i'm NOT saying it's not as special. it is EVERY bit as awesome as adoption. but a part of me thinks that God called us to adopt so that i would completely appreciate G.
for me it's easy to love a child that you worked SO LONG and hard to receive. i guess being pregnant is hard too! i wouldn't know. i do know giving birth is. praise Him i didnt have to do that. i tell people i'd be asking for an epidural 3 months in to my pregnancy.
i would, however, enjoy the eating for 2 bidness...pass the cake!
unlike getting pregnant i felt like i had to "pass" all these tests to be approved! do we make enough money (umm no!) are our physicals up-to-date?, we had so sign a million things saying they could check out every area of our lives, write self studies, do blood tests, take pictures, write cheesy reports about ourselves, show proof of gun safety, have a grease fire extinguisher....just to name a few! :)
again, much more complicated than having sex :)
BUT PLEASE know I am NOT complaining.
i'd do anything asked of me to be G's mom. it is the most amazing, fun thing God has ever blessed me with. yesterday i just looked at him and smiled with an overabundance of love. he couldn't be more perfect for us.
another reason i've thought a lot about adoption lately is because Moses Heath Smith was born this past Thursday. YAYYYYYY.
so we had lots of talks with G about moses being born.
he kept asking if moses was out of Hannahs belly.
PERFECT chance to talk more about his story :)
so i talked to him about how he (G) came out of Angie's belly. (can i say her name bc i just did...) but that God chose jay and me to be his parents. i tried to explain that it is extra special that angie gave birth to him all the way in texas but that God put him in our lives so that he could have us as well as ALL of his extended family in his life.
he seemed to somewhat get it. we talked some more about angie. and a little about his birth father. who died this past march :(
did i tell yall he died? sad. but i did print out his obituary and ALL the sweet comments people wrote about him so that G can read it one day. i REALLY wanted to reach out to his birth fathers parents and tell them i had a small part of their son running around over here in GA but i legally cannot do that.
anyway, all of this stirs up emotions in me about his birth mom. i am being patient (sometimes impatiently attempting patience) waiting for her to email more often. i have offered to facetime or skype but she's not ready. i can totally respect that.
i have saved some school projects etc to send to her one day.
again, i just wish she could experience G! oh what a precious gift he is. gosh, he's so funny, smart and kind-hearted! i know she'd enjoy him.
BUT i will wait. and i will continue to enjoy and treasure being his mom.
here's a few things i ADORE about this kid:
- the way he greets me when i get home "mommaaaa!!" or "hey mom!" is shouted with such delight.
- how he always remembers to sing the blessing at supper. even if we forget
- hearing him repeat scripture after jay at supper. sweetest words ever spoken.
- him asking for help with bedtime prayers. PRECIOUS. then he gets on a roll and prays for EVERYTHING. its borderline obnoxious yet endearing.
- the kids loves to dance. and it is hilarious. it's been a while but last night we turned on some old school rap and he went to town. it is too funny. he's got some serious signature moves.
- oh gosh, hearing him say he's doing something because he is the "ma - aa - an!" is awesome. jay has being saying that to be for years so hearing G say it is great. he tells jay he's the "bo - o - oy!:
- even though he definitely has his moments he truly has an obedient heart and we are so thankful.
- i like the way he says certain words. like "torn on the tob" "diet toke" "aunt plaire" (claire) "tantakes" "all daboard!" (he stands on our stairs and yells that for us to get on his train.)
- last week he thanked God for Jesus during his prayers. i almost cried.
- although he does typically ask me to "turn off my Jesus music" when i'm listening to pandora. uhh, sorry Lord.
- he has a fantastic memory
- he has a forgiving heart. i'm embarrassed to admit all the times i've had to ask him to forgive me but he always does and gives wonderful hugs.
- the kid can tear up some donuts. i bet he could win a contest.
- i told him his new velcro shoes were "rockin" a couple weeks ago. he says it every time he wears them now. too cute.
- people love him everywhere he goes. complete strangers stop us to say how cute he is. i agree. he's pretty darn cute. adorable even.
- he could live off of pancakes, popcorn, corn on the cob, quesadillas, mac & cheese, watermelon and fruit snacks. oh and ice cream & donuts.
- he can beat box. and reminds me that i CANNOT
- he likes saying his whole name gabriel wyatt lesley. in fact yesterday he told his sunday school teacher is name was wyatt.
- homeboy loves christmas. can i get an amen?!
- oh he asks me anytime i come in from exercising "did you ride your bike today?" every.dang.time.
- he thinks all jay does at work is sing
- oh he also thinks mr. jay is some man that is in our backyard with aaron & eli white. he doesn't seem to get that mr. jay is his dad. it is too funny (and kinda sad)
- somehow he knows if i'm sad or dont feel well. maybe all kids are like that but he simply knows when i need extra loving. it is so precious to me.
- hearing him say i love you never gets old
- also hearing him say our weekly goodbye is too fun. last week was "get in line porcupine!" always entertaining. i think my favorite so far was "stay funky little monkey!"
he definitely has his moments. sometimes he cries for no apparent reason OR bc of something ridiculous like....
- why cant i play with dads pocket knife?
- why don't we own a train?
- why can't i (me) make a train ride into our front yard?
- his bed is too hard
- there is yogurt on his pull up
- we ran out of muffins
- he wants to wear a sweater when its 80 degrees
- he asked for mashed potatoes and then acts offended when they are served
- his sippy cup is blue and he wanted green
- i wont let him eat popcorn (tot-torn) off the floor in target
- he wants to fly in the airplane that he just saw in the air. (legit 10 mins of big tears.)
- he wants black butter (syrup) squirted directly in his mouth
- jay put on boots G swore were mine saturday and he cried off and on whenever he thought about it that day.
i can go on....................
but bottom line, i will gladly trip over trains, tools, motorcycles and puzzle pieces...deal with slightly insane tantrums and try to figure out what food he DOES like today for the joy of being his mom.
i don't deserve him. but i am honored that God chose me to love & raise him. i hope i honor Him in this calling. but just like G, i am SOOOOOOOOO thankful God quickly forgives when i screw up (daily.)
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