Casen's Gotcha Day - October 1st, 2013

After an entire year of adoptions we are finally done with all the red tape, paperwork, follow up visits and court appearances. We have been extremely blessed to not experience any problems with any of our adoptions, but the process is still a little grueling. We were once again surrounded by family as we stood before a judge and officially added the fifth Gordon to our little tribe. Hooray for being done with adoptions... at least for a long while! 

The boys all needed a little snack. Thank goodness there were plenty of Grandma's around to help them out.

Pictures of all five of us are always a crap shoot. You get what ya get these days.

Thankful for how these three love my three. We couldn't do life without their help and we for sure wouldn't have survived the last year without their endless sacrifices and love. SO thankful that I have the family I do.

DiDi and her Gordon boys. We're thankful that Chris's family also loves our fellas so much!

Our last little Gotcha.

Tuck had plenty to tell the Judge. He's a hoot! But here we are. All five Gordon's. What a great place to be!
We are so thankful for the three boys God chose for our family to love. I can't imagine life without any of them. We have been exceedingly, abundantly blessed.  

Bennett's Gotcha Day - August 15th, 2013

We FINALLY got to finalize our sweet Bennett Harris's adoption on August 15th. It was a long road with a few bumps in Texas, but it was well worth it! We got to go to court in Sayre which made it extra special because some really special people got to come/be involved. Tucker wasn't sure what to think of the court room and the official business. When the clerk, a friend of ours, asked everyone to rise for the judge Tucker said, "Oh no!" SUPER loud and provided a good laugh for everyone in the court room. I hope we added a little funny to a very serious day for everyone else who was waiting to see the judge that day. We're so thankful for the blessing of adoption in our life and all of the support from our friends and family that have made it possible. 

Our sweet lawyer, Molly Priest and Judge who gave all three boys surprises after the official proceedings were over. She was awesome!

The whole crowd. We're blessed to be loved so much by so many.

Bennett and Granna we're both super excited for him to officially be a Gordon!

August 15th made it hard for every one from my family to come because one of our favorite girls started kindergarten that same day. 

Man oh man, do I love this boy! He is definitely in my top four favorites of all time! 

Di-Di and her Gordon Boys.

Chris's Dad and Grandma Chloe came over from Elk City to be apart of Bennett's Gotcha Day!

These boys LOVE their Granna girl! We wouldn't have all survived this long without her endless help, advice, patience and support. I have the best Momma!

Two down, one to go!!!

Big Moments & Small

Today two cool things happened.
#1. A lady came and cleaned my house for me! Before Casen's arrival Chris and I tried to plan for what our new life would be like. One of the things I knew I'd want done, but wouldn't always have the time and energy to do was to have a clean house. When it's dirty it bugs me. I notice the dust. The grass on the floor. The spots on the mirrors. etc... This week I'd had enough. I can't do it, there's no time or energy left by the end of the day. At least not yet so we called a lady from our church who cleans houses. She came over this afternoon and ever so sweetly cleaned my house! It was GLORIOUS! I feel so much better knowing my house is clean. Everywhere I look I notice how nice it looks. Thank you Gloria Gurley! You are my new best friend!!! It was such a blessing to me!
#2. Gloria and I share a special bond. She adopted her only baby 36 years ago. She told me today that she and her husband, James, had tried to get pregnant over several years and even had two miscarriages. After her second miscarriage they decided not to keep trying. It was too hard. She was eager to pursue adoption after visiting with another adoptive mom, but James was hesitant. They learned they could adopt inexpensively through DHS and after some time his heart soften and they decided to pursue an adoption. They said they would take a baby under three years old. Gloria smiled and tears filled her eyes as she told me about the day they got the call that there was a baby waiting for them after waiting for 22 months on the DHS list. She was at work and couldn't get home fast enough to share the good news with her husband. Two days later they drove to Oklahoma City and met Steven. Their five month old baby boy. She said they were in a room and two people came through the door. A lady and a large black man carrying a baby. As the approached them she held out her hands to the baby and said, "Come here Steven" (who until that moment had been called Shawn) and he looked at her like, "where have you been, Mom?" and came flying into her arms. What a beautiful story! That is a moment you don't ever forget.
Motherhood is made up of moments. Lots of good and lots of bad. Some memorable, but many fade into what becomes the background of our lives. I remember the precise time and place we found out each of our boys were going to be ours. The flood of emotions I felt at that news and meeting them for the first time. I know what that adoptive momma's heart feels like wondering if the bottom is going to fall out with so many things out of our control. But the little things are already fading away. It's harded to recall what Tucker was like as an infant or if Bennett was bigger or smaller then Casen at this age. And that was just a few months ago. As this sweet lady mopped and dusted and scrubbed my house for me she blessed my in ways she probably didn't intend to. She reminded me to soak up this time when my boys are little. Love them extra and rock them without apology. A dirty house will always be there but my babies will only be babies for such a short time. I will always remember the big things, but I want to treasure the smaller ones too. I want to be able to tell new moms stories of my days as a rock with a smile and clarity over sweet memories. The days are long, this is all too true, but the years are so short. Tucker will be three years old in just over a month! How? I don't know. But I do know that even in the moments of frustration and feeling overwhelmed that my calling to be the best momma I can be to these three precious boys remains.

My Three Sons

*Warning: Totally honest post ahead. Read at risk of thinking I've totally lost my mind! (Heck, I probably have!) This is a release and processing place for me. I also want to remember the truth about these first days of having three babies.

Everyone keeps asking how things are going? How we're making it with two babies and a toddler? And the honest answer to that is - holy cow it's a lot! I am overwhelmed. I feel a like I'm treading water and running from one mini-disaster to another. The squeaky wheel definitely gets the grease around here. But the hard part is that this is an endless cycle. Three on one for most of the day is tough!
At the the same time, if I'm being really honest, I feel guilty. I worry that taking on three boys under three was a bad idea. What if it doesn't get easier, like everyone promises? What if we bit off more then we can chew and mess all three of them up forever?
I feel like I'm missing out on precious moments that I'll wish I could remember, but I'm so overwhelmed and flat exhausted that I don't feel like I can really take them in. I want to remember what Bennett was like as a baby. His sweet smiles and content personality. He is just a little charmer and you can't help but smile when you look at his chubby cheeks. I want to remember what Casen was like as a baby. His bright eyes and super soft hair. His beautiful dark skin and tiny fingers wrapping around mine. I want to remember this inquisitive stage that Tucker is in where you can almost watch his brain grow, learn and develop, but my patience runs so short and I get so frustrated with him continually asking me questions that I snap at him even though he's really done nothing wrong. My nerves are raw and a two year old acting two is rough. I don't know that my memories will be very clear in the years to come, shoot next week.
I'm constantly playing catch up with a sink full of dishes and the ever growing laundry so the boys can have clothes to wear and bottles to drink from but anything past that seems out of reach. I haven't cooked a real meal or cleaned much past spills in the month since we brought Casen home. I'm not sure that Tucker has eaten anything healthy in that time frame either. I barely get a shower so I look like the wrath of God all the time. (Yay for visitors!) And as my husband and I pass each other trading off one baby for the other the thought of who we used to be pre-boys crosses my mind and I barely recognize the mere children we were at the time. I know, we asked for it! I couldn't do it without Chris and my family!!! They have been AMAZING! Truly I am married to the best Daddy I know and I was born into the greatest family on the planet. My Nana, Mom and sisters have gone above and beyond to help us. Really. I don't know that we'd have survived past the first  RSV ridden week without them.
Adoption. is. hard.
Parenting. is. REALLY. hard.
In this instance where we have been overly blessed all at once it's hard because God in His wisdom made it so you can't have babies any closer then 11 months apart. He knew three months and three weeks is just too close for anyone's sanity. But here we are because this is how He chose to build our family. And I know it's His plan. But for now when I feel like I can't see the light of day through dirty diapers, snotty noses and constant needs of these tiny humans that have been entrusted to me I'm needing Him to remind me that this is His plan and more importantly that He will see all five of us through these trying days often. Sometimes moment by moment.
Pray for us. Pray for patience, gratitude, rest and sanity. I want to do the very best I can at this Mom job I have. I know it's important. I want to raise wise, adventurous, compassionate boys who love Jesus, each other and their Momma.  I want to look back on these days and see how they refined me to look more like Jesus. But man, in the middle of this season it's hard to see past the immediate.
Thank you friends for this little venting session. I feel better.

Casen's Newborn Pictures

I'm so incredibly blessed to be friends with the immensely talented Holli B. She has been a huge blessing in my life since high school for lot of reasons beyond photography. But she has also done newborn pictures of all three of my boys. Every time I'm amazed at how great the images are at capturing these first precious moments. If you have a wedding or a baby coming up she is wonderful!!! Visit www.hollib.com to peruse her talent. For now enjoy how she outdid herself in capturing my sweet new baby. 

Casen's Birth Story

Casen's birth was like his entire adoption -- totally different than the other two. His was the only one that we had a pre-existing relationship with his Birth Momma. We've known K for almost three years and have walked through Tucker's adoption, maintaining a relationship, unknowns and plenty of surprises with her. We have watched her roller coaster life from a distance and been able to be one of the very few constants. Our relationship has been much the same as everything else in her life - it's had plenty of ups and downs. But we know her. We know where she lives, how she lives, who she lives with and it is unsettling when she's not carrying your child. But when she is it was hard. Really hard sometimes. I'm friends with her on Facebook (which I do NOT recommend to any other prospective adoptive Mommas out there) and so I know a lot or at least a slice of what's going on with her day to day. It's scary when you know the things that she's doing that could affect your baby. It's hard to trust, forgive, love unconditionally and hold your tongue sometimes.
We also weren't seeking this adoption. With both other boys we put ourselves out there and were ready to add to our family. Three months and three weeks in between middle and little is a lot closer then we had planned. We were asked without seeking. The answer was easy and immediate for us, but it still was different.
Just like every other step of the process Casen's delivery was different too. I went with K to her last doctors appointment the Wednesday before his arrival. She was anxious, uncomfortable and tired of being pregnant. I was anxious, antsy and worried after waiting the longest we'd ever waited for a baby. September 10th to February 4th is a long time to us! The doctor told us that if Casen didn't come over the weekend he would induce K the following Monday morning at 5:30 am. She was determined to get things started so we tried a couple of labor inducing wives tales that didn't work and I headed home, well back to Purcell where the big brothers were staying with my Nana. When I got back to town I went to get a manicure since the boys were both sleeping. As I was leaving the nail salon my mom called to tell me Tucker woke up from his nap running a fever and our plans for the next few days derailed. Chris and I decided for the boys and I to stay put in Purcell and he'd come to us Thursday after work. Both boys continued to get sicker. Snottier. Coughing more. Fussier. Great! Just what you want a few days before a new baby is born into your family. We called our doctor and I asked nurse friends who all said just wait it out. So on Saturday night Chris and I headed back to Sayre for church leaving our partially sick children with my family. On Tuesday both boys tested positive for RSV and remained in Purcell for a full week after Casen came home. We quarantined the older boys at my mom's house and Casen stayed with my Nana. I went back and forth between the three boys with showers and changes of clothes in between. It was a rough week for all of us!
Chris and I headed to Lawton late Sunday afternoon and had dinner with K. As we settled into our hotel room my nerves won out over sleep until about 1 am. I knew we had to get up extra early, but knowing our baby was coming the next day left me restless. I had never known with certainty I was going to meet a son the next day before.
At 4:15 my alarm went off and as I opened my eyes something else happened. Sharp pain shot through my left eyeball. I tried to blink, wash it out and had Chris look to see what was in my eye. Nothing helped. It watered for the next three days without relief. It got a little better during the middle of the day Monday and I was at least functional, if not totally comfortable for Casen's birth. Long story short... I couldn't open my eyes hardly at all. I was in pain for our entire hospital stay and had to have conversations with my eyes closed. I took showers in the dark and was fairly useless to my sweet husband when it came to caring for our new baby boy. We called our Sayre eye doctor who called in some drops for me on Tuesday and they helped a little bit. My mom made me an appointment with an eye doctor in Purcell late Wednesday afternoon where I learned I had torn my cornea. When I opened my eye Monday morning my saggy cornea stuck to my eyelid and it tore when I opened my eye. Neat. The doctor had to make a clean cut around the affected area and I had to wear a band-aid contact (who knew they had those?) for two days and he put me on pain medicine because of how rough I felt. But by Friday afternoon I was feeling MUCH better! Just what every girl wants to hear... she has something else that's saggy, right? This can happen again so he gave me some cream and eye drops to use daily to help prevent it reoccuring. It was super painful, but thankfully eyes heal quickly! Now back to the baby...
We picked up K just after 5 am Monday morning and headed to the hospital. We got her all checked in and hooked up and they started her pitocin around 7:30. She was dilated to a three. The doctor came by and broke her water around 10:30 and K dilated slowly through the day, about half a centimeter a hour. K had two friends to support her all day, my mom and sisters arrived around lunch time and our adoption caseworker came early in the afternoon. We all left her alone around 3 to try to rest and but not long after one of her friends came to get us saying she was ready to push.
K was such a trooper! No epidural and you could barely tell she was even in labor. As a contraction would hit she would close her eyes, take a deep breath and if you weren't paying attention you wouldn't of even know she was in pain. We rushed back to the delivery room and things started moving REALLY quickly! The nurse checked her and confirmed she was at a 10 and began to prep the room. K asked her to hurry, but she didn't think it was urgent yet. K finally called out for people to get in there because he was coming. The nurses didn't even get the bottom of the bed down or both of her legs in the stir-ups when Casen Cole Gordon made his quick enterance. The doctor had just slipped his gloves on in time to catch our new baby boy! K didn't even really push and he was here! Chris got to cut his umbilical chord and the nurses took him to clean him up.
It was over almost before we knew what was happening. As I held K's hand and watched our baby come into the world I was overwhelmed with all that was taking place. It was like I was hovering over the room watching all of the activity. I looked around and into many faces amazed that Casen was here. I hugged this woman who had made me a mother twice as tears streaked down both of our faces, speechless at her gift and her place in my heart. K isn't easy. Our relationship is often awkward and sometimes difficult, but she has given two of the greatest gifts of my life and for that I'm forever grateful. The intimidation I worried over during Tucker's adoption is gone and the possessiveness I felt has been replaced with understanding that there is a special place for both of us in our sons lives.
We welcome our third baby boy! Casen Cole Gordon was born at 4:11 pm and weighed 6 pounds and 14 ounces. He was 18.75 inches long with lots of dark black hair and looking nothing like his brother like we all expected he would. He was super alert for quite a while right after he was born. His big eyes taking in this new world of his and lots of new people. K chose Cole because her middle name is Nicole. We love that he will walk through life with a name from his First Momma and one from his Forever parents because he is a precious combination of both parents and holds pieces of all three of our hearts.
We fell in love just as quickly the third time as we did the first and second. What a blessing this boy is already to our family! Adoption amazes me every time. It's such a beautiful picture of how much God loves us and how He blesses and grows families. We are so confident that the three boys we have were supposed to be ours. Each of their stories and how they became Gordon's is equally special and a miracle. We are so thankful for these two special ladies who have allowed us the honor of parenting the best three fellas in the whole world!

Home Stretch

We are down to the last two weeks before Baby #3's due date. I'm not sure how that's possible. In many ways it has seemed like he will never get here and in other ways it feels like the time has passed in the blink of an eye. This is the longest we've ever waited to get a baby. We've known he was going to join our family since September 10th, almost five months of waiting to meet him. We are so anxious to meet him and love him! I can't help but moon over Tucker's baby pictures and hope he is as beautiful as his big brother was when he arrived!
I think the lesson God had me learn as we walked through Tucker's adoption was about his sovernighty. About His plans and not mine. About surrendering and trusting Him and how He wanted to build our family.
This time I think the lesson is more about His faithfulness and guidance. I group Bennett's and Casen's adoptions together because most of the journeys have been shared. We have seen Him provide and come through in so many ways! From a free crib to over 3,500 diapers given to us by our church family.
Financially is one of the most evident ways we've seen God's faithfulness. We started this adoption journey with about $12,000 in savings. This was huge for us. We worked hard to have that money to cover most of one adoption. But then we found out that we'd need to cover two. We had NO idea where that money would all come from. With a lot of sweat equity and the loving support and help of our friends and family we raised almost $7,000 by selling t-shirts, having garage sales, doing a lunch and from the sweet donations of friends who gave their commissions for parties. We also applied for every grant we could find. We got turned down from several, but four of them awarded us money that totaled $12,500! We are going to be so close to two totally paid for adoptions! The ONLY way that this happened is because of God's faithful provision! There is no reasonable explanation for how we have come up with over $30,000 in less then six months. No explanation. It's so humbling to look at the figures and see how things have come together. When I look at all of this I don't doubt that these two boys were meant to be ours.
Thank you to all who have prayed, encouraged, donated, helped and loved our family through these days of change.
Would you please pray extra for us in these last two weeks before Casen arrives? Here are some specific requests...
For K, Tucker & Casen's Birth Mom: Pray for peace, comfort and grace. Pray for her protection! She lives in a much different world then we do. Pray for people to love and encourage her in her decision to place. Pray for grace and comfort as she makes the hardest decision a mother can make. Pray for a healthy last two weeks of pregnancy and a smooth delivery.
For Casen: Pray for his health and well being. Pray he delivers easily and that our attachment to him is seamless and easy. Pray for protection over these last days he spends in K's womb.
For Chris & I: Pray for peace. No matter what. We've both worried a lot more with this placement then with the other two that something could fall through. The thought is heartbreaking, but the reality of adoption is the Birth Mom can change her mind and often does. Pray we are able to extend love and grace to K in a way that points her to Jesus regardless of her decision to add to our family or not.
For Tucker & Bennett: Pray for a smooth transition to the changes they won't really understand. Pray for patience and calmness for these two big brothers as we learn how to do life with three sons. Pray they fall in love with Casen easily and that we become a family of five as smoothly as we became a family of four.
Thank you friends for your love and encouragement! We can't imagine doing life without the amazing support system we have. We are blessed beyond measure!

Tiny Brothers

I was worried about how Tucker would handle the transition from only child to big brother. I fretted he would feel mistreated or overlooked. I worried that I'd created a high maintenance creature that I could no longer maintain. I think I was more concerned about how Tuck would handle Bennett then I was about any other part of our adoption, even the Birth Mom backing out. 

I don't know why I worried so much because he has been so good! Beyond any hope I had. His personality is pretty aggressive usually but from day one he has been very easy with Bennett. He is also very concerned with where Ben is and if anyone jokes about taking him with them he freaks out! 

I can't wait to watch these tiny brother become friends as they grow up. I hope they will always turn to each other and that they will have a close bond. Both Chris and I are very close to our siblings and I want that so badly for my babies. 

 Parenthood is my favorite show on television! I cry every week. Sometimes more than once. The friendship that the siblings on that show have is what I hope my kids look like someday. Witty banter. Dependability. Encouragement. Friendship. Support without question or expectation of pay back. Just pure love for each other.

 These sweet boys are so precious to my heart! I can't wait to add a third to the mix in a few more weeks! I can't believe it's already time for our family to grow from four to five. It's gonna be a lot of crazy and a lot of love around our house!

Although I never imagined myself as a momma of all boys now that I have them, I wouldn't want it any other way. I love that they will be adventurous and loud and rough and I also love that they will always love their Momma. I have gotten the privilege to be their favorite for at least a small portion of their lives and I'll treasure these days always. Sweet brothers. I'm a lucky girl!

Help Another Adopting Family!

Go to this blog http://expecting-from-ethiopia.blogspot.com/ for more information on how a little money will go a LONG way to help bring more babies into forever homes! This family needs funds quickly so they can travel to bring their son home for good. Please take a look! There are some great things that will be raffled next week and you are helping an awesome family and a spectacular cause. Thanks friends!

Maternal Instincts

Before Tucker was born I worried about an endless string of things. Some turned out not to matter, but others I was happy to have thought out. One of those things was maternal instincts. I wasn't sure how much of those instincts you always hear about came naturally to all females and how much of them were an emotional by-product of carrying a baby. Of creating a life. I worried I wouldn't get a full dose and in some way, beyond my control, I would fail my child just because I couldn't be the one to give him life. I had relinquished the fact I'd never know my babies from the inside of my womb or know what it felt like to breast feed them. I was ok with those things, but I wanted to do all I could in all other areas. I still do.
In the first hours of Tucker's life some of those concerns were quieted. He responded to me quickly. He attached to my heart just as I attached to his. I remember sitting in the hospital room alone with Chris and Tucker when Tuck started to fuss and I rearranged him to my shoulder and quieted him with pats and bounces. Chris asked me how I knew to do that and I realized it wasn't learned, it was instinct.
In the first weeks of Tucker's life I worked to adjust to having this other life in my charge and began noticing others noticing us. One of our first trips to Sam's an older gave us a dirty look and as we rounded to corner I was ready to go give her a piece of my mind! My defensive momma bear instinct reared its head for the first time.
Gratefully, I realize now that because I adopted I'm no less of a Momma then all of my friends who've carried their sweet little lives inside their bodies. It took a while for me to feel like I had officially joined that club. I remember reading other blogs of new mommas and still feeling on the outside of some secret club. I didn't feel justified in some ways. And just as any of them feel right before another life enters their family this week I've been emotional and extra clingy to my two little boys.
Things feel like they're starting to settle down and normalize after adding Bennett in October and the rush of the holidays. I feel normal. It's normal to have a baby again. Tucker's routine is back in it's normal swing. Chris and I are a little more coherent and a little less sleepy all the time. But just as things seem to be evening out... sometime in the next three weeks we will throw all of those comforts away to welcome our third son into his forever family. While I'm so excited to meet Casen and fall in love with him and start this whole baby process over, I'm also nervous. Much in the same way as I was three short months ago before I knew what life would look like with two children. The unknown is nerve wrecking.
A lot of this is probably self doubt. Can I really do it? Three under three. The two youngest just three months apart. How will I feed them both at the same time? How will I carry 50 pounds of car seat plus the babies in them all while hold the plump hand of my sweet toddler everywhere we go? Will I ever go anywhere again? Am I the right person to handle such a big undertaking?
But then I'm reminded of why we're here and who is holding MY hand. It's evident every where I look, especially with our finances. When I look at the figures of these adoptions and I'm blown away with the ways God has provided enough money to bring these boys of ours home. For almost double Chris's yearly salary to have been saved, scrimped, raised, donated or granted is still unbelievable to me. It is no small feet or accident that this is how our family is being built. I know that beyond a shadow of doubt. Tucker. Bennett. Casen. Were all chosen to be Gordon's long before Chris and I could've planned or hoped for it to happen.
I look at my babies and I'm in awe that out of all the babies in the world I got the very best ones. So I think I got all the instincts that matter. My boys are just that. They are MINE. And to me they are perfect and I love each of them with all my heart.
While the next stage of our adventure may be rocky and difficult at times I know that we are surrounded with love and support. Who knows what life will look like a month from now for our family, but I cling to the promises we've been given and firmly believe the truth that's found in my adoption verse, Ephesians 3:20-21. I will admit I didn't think the "exceedingly, abundantly" part would mean in number of babies! But I'm excited that it does and can't wait to wade through this next chapter as we meet the newest Gordon.

The Best of 2012

2012 was a pretty great year for our family! We made some great memories and accomplished some big goals. We also found out some pretty wonderful news about how our family would be growing. So here are some highlights!

I got to take a once in a lifetime trip with four of my five roommates from college to New York City! We had a blast together and made so many new memories! I can't believe we all turned 30 in the year since we were there! Love these girls and all they mean and have added to my life while at OBU and since.

Tucker turned two years old! 

Our big brother moved back in for another summer as youth intern and Tucker's personal playmate. We're so thankful for JK and the extension of our family that he is. 

I got to watch these three beautiful girls graduate from high school! We've walked together since they're freshman year and I'm just so proud of who they became while I had audience to watch!

I cut nine inches off of my hair and had five others who joined in growing their hair out for a whole year and donating their length to Locks of Love! So proud of these kids!!!

We made some great memories at the pool!

I got the pleasure of spending the weekend before Falls Creek setting up our cabin with these babies of mine. What a wonderful weekend it was! It was a honor to pray over them as for them as they took the lead in our cabin. We are so blessed by great students who love each other, their peers, us and best of all our babies!

We spent many hot days on The Fiesta! My sister and her husband bought a snazzy boat and we took full advantage spending days together on the water. 

Our park in Elk City has a train that runs all summer long every evening. Tucker LOVES it! We took a ride nearly every time we were in Elk. 

In September we officially gained another brother in law. Jared put a ring on my baby sister's finger and we all got to be there to celebrate!!! 

Chris and I celebrated our 6th anniversary and I tried on my wedding dress. It's a little lumpier then it was six years ago, but it still zips! 

We got to take a ride on Thomas the Train with DiDi. Tucker LOVED it!

We found out on August 10th that Bennett Harris Gordon would be joining our family in October. On October 13th we finally got to meet this little blessing and fell immediately in love with him!

We also got to introduce our boys to each other. 

Family of FOUR! For a few months at least! We also found out on September 10th that Tucker's birth mom, who is pregnant, wanted us to parent her baby as well. We can't wait to meet Casen Cole Gordon sometime around
February 6th, 2013!

We made our way back to Elk City park in one of our many stop to look at Christmas lights. Tucker also enjoyed riding the carousel and train while we were there.

Becoming a Momma of two has proven to be just as big of a blessing it was to become a Momma of one. Motherhood is the greatest calling, challenge and blessing of my life. I'm so grateful this is my life and these are my boys! We truly believe love makes a family and ours is overflowing with it!

Bennett's Birth Story

Adoption births are always a little different because there is a chance that the adoptive parents could miss the birth. If you are delivering the baby yourself there is no chance of that. We are six and half hours away from Odessa, Texas where Bennett was to be born so we knew there was a chance we would not be able to make it in time. But it was really important to our Birth Mom, J, that we be there waiting for Bennett as soon as he arrived. We wanted to be there, obviously, because no one wants to miss that.
On Wednesday night, October 10th, Tucker and I skipped church and headed to Purcell after his nap to attend a close family friends funeral on Thursday morning. Tucker was going to spend the weekend with my mom and I was going to come back to Sayre Thursday afternoon because we had our Big Weekend (aka Disciple Now) that coming weekend. I made it to Weatherford, about an hour away from our house, and I got a call from Holly Ann at Addy's Hope Adoption Agency. She told me J had started to bleed a little and was heading to the hospital to get checked out so she just wanted to put us on stand by. J thought it was her mucus plug but she wasn't sure. Chris was still in church so I couldn't discuss what I should do with him so I called my mom. We decided I would keep driving east and she would meet me in Oklahoma City to get Tucker and then I would immediately head back to Sayre to get Chris. He would spend those few hours making sure he had everything covered for the weekend and all our stuff was packed. I dropped Tuck off and was heading home when I got a call that it was a false alarm and she was not in labor yet. She was just dilated to a one and the doctors didn't think anything would be happening anytime soon. Chris and I half expected to be woken up in the middle of the night to drive there and debated driving halfway just to be closer, but decided to stay put because of the weekend's event. No news of anything on Thursday. I was home without my toddler as a distraction so I did what any antsy, nesting Momma would do -- I cleaned.
Friday J had a doctors appointment and was dilated to a two and was still bleeding, but not much. So we busied ourselves with more cleaning and Big Weekend preparations. The day flew by and before we knew it we were surrounded by our big kids, friends, supportive adults and sweet college kids who were all making Big Weekend a success. Friday night went off without a hitch! Saturday morning as I made my way to the church I got a text saying that J had woken up with heavier bleeding so stand by. I didn't go to the morning service, but helped with lunch prep instead. Just as the kids began to filter through the lunch line I got a call. I passed off my all important bread serving duty and hurried down the hall where I could hear. Holly Ann told me she thought we'd better head that way!
Within thirty minutes we were on the road heading west towards our baby. We left our youth group in the hands of our eldest son, Jonathan (our 23 year old former intern who lived with us for almost two years) to the sounds of our kids cheering and precious adults praying over us. We drove straight to Odessa with only one stop in Amarillo for gas and lunch. We pulled into town about 7:15 that evening. We called Holly Ann and she said to go grab some dinner and we'd meet her back at the hospital at 8 o'clock. We were driving around looking for something to eat and we got a call from her. She told us to turn around and haul it back to the hospital. J was dilated to a ten and was pushing. We met Holly Ann's husband in the hospital parking lot as Holly Ann rushed upstairs to be with J. I tried to compose myself and gather a few things we'd need right away out of our hospital bag. We hurried up the elevators and my sweet husband made small talk with Holly Ann's husband. I was too nervous/anxious/excited to carry on conversation. We sat in the waiting room for just a few minutes, but it felt much longer. We got a text with a picture of our sweet baby and tried to tell what we could from that. We sat anxiously and sent texts to those who were praying for us.
Holly Ann came to the doors and motioned for us to come with her. She told us he was doing great. Bennett weighed 6 lbs. 12 oz. and was 20 inches long (just like his big brother). We walked down a maze of hallways and soon stood outside the hospital room we would occupy for the next three days. Holly Ann asked if we were ready and with a deep breath and a nod we entered a room and became parents of two.
One of the nurses was holding a tiny bundle of sweetness and she handed him to me. As the tears cleared my vision I got my first glance at Bennett Gordon. My heart plummeted deep in love just as it had two and half years earlier in a very similar setting. Chris looked over my shoulder and held us both as we took in all of our new son's facial features. He was just beautiful! We got footprints and took a few pictures before being ushered into the nursery for our little bundle to be warmed, measured, bathed and vaccinated. We spent a while in there watching our African nurse, Betsy, take care of Ben.
We spent the rest of the night just staring at our boy, texting and calling family and friends, and skyping with his older brother who was pretty worried about where his parents were and what we were holding.
Sunday, October 14th, we had the extreme honor to get to meet and visit with J, Bennett's Birth Mom. From the beginning of this process she has wanted this to be a closed adoption. She didn't want to meet us or see the baby at all. This is her sixth baby, but the first one she has placed for adoption. This wouldn't have been what we would've chosen, but we are also very supportive of what she felt like was best for her. On Saturday while we were driving Holly Ann told us that J had expressed some interest in wanting to meet us so we began praying we'd have that opportunity. On Sunday, before she left the hospital, J decided she did want to meet us. We spent about thirty minutes with her and got to say thank you and assure her of how we would raise Bennett. We got to update her on his first 24 hours of life and hear her heart about her decision. It was precious and a time I will always treasure. I'm so glad she gave us a chance to see her face and know a little bit of who she is. Even though she doesn't want a continued relationship or knowledge of Bennett she is still a part of our family and his story. What a blessing she is to us!
We spent Monday and Tuesday at the hospital. They don't release babies until they are 48 hours old at that hospital so since Bennett was born at 7:50 pm we spent another night. On Tuesday, October 16th, we were released from the hospital, but not from the state of Texas. There is an interstate law that doesn't allow adoptive parents to take their new children over state lines until proper paperwork has been filed and approved in the county of the baby's birth, Austin, Tulsa and then go back through all those channels. There was some miscommunication on how long we would have to stay so that Tuesday night we drove straight from Odessa to Shamrock, which is less then 40 miles from our house, and stayed in a hotel. We waited around to hear the entire next day in the hotel lobby and finally heard there was a mistake and we wouldn't be going home within 24 hours. So we had my mom, who was already on her way to meet her newest grandson, stop and pick up a packed travel trailer of Chris's dads. The plan was always to stay in the trailer, but when we thought we'd only have to stay a short time we didn't have people bring it over to us, as was planned. Chris set up the trailer in the dark and we spent a VERY cold first night as a family of four.
We spent the next week living in I-40 West RV Park in Shamrock Texas. I stayed with the boys the whole time while different family members came and went. Chris also went back and forth for work and laundry purposes. After lots of red tape we finally got the word we could complete the last few miles of our journey and bring Bennett home on October 25th.
We are adjusting and loving having two boys around. While we were in Odessa we found out that our February baby will be another BOY!!! My Three Sons around here in just a few months. Until then we are soaking up these two brothers and preparing for the upcoming holidays.
We have felt all your love and prayers and are so grateful to be surrounded by such wonderful friends and family. We are truly blessed.

Tucker's 3rd Gotcha Day!

We celebrated Tucker's 3rd Gotcha Day! How has it been three years since we finalized his adoption? I don't know really. Since we weren't sure how long we would be in Texas we couldn't plan ahead. Our sweet family gathered at Rodney's Pizza in Purcell to celebrate another year of Tucker officially joining our family. 

The whole gang. Our newly pregnant Aunt Sassie wasn't feeling very well so she missed the party, but we want her to take good care of our little Lobster until he or she makes their entrance in June. 

Granna and Popper loving on Baby Bennett. It is such a blessing to me to watch my parents love my boys!

What a difference three years makes!

Opening his surprise.

Blowing out the candle and getting ready to enjoy some yummy cookie and ice cream.

Every year this day brings such special feelings and memories. It just doesn't seem possible that it's been three years since a judge officially made Tucker ours and no one can ever change that. We are thankful for this boy and our wonderful family who love us so well! I can't imagine doing life with anyone else.