Family Day

Feb 2 is forever going to be Family Day. That is the official day that we got physical custody of Jerrett. Many families of older adoptees celebrate Gotcha Days. we love this idea but are planning on calling it Family Day instead. It is the day that God made us a family and that is totally worth celebrating. The day started with TJ heading off to work and Jerrett and I getting ready to run into town. I asked Jerrett what he wanted for his special day breakfast. He chose to go get sausage rolls and a donut. While we were in line, a little old lady came up to me and told me that I have the most handsome well behaved little boy that she had ever seen. I had never seen this lady before and more than likely will never see her again but she really made my day. It is amazing how God can send random people into your path at just the right time! Anyway, the donut lady made Jerrett a special donut per his sweet request and we sat down to eat. As always, Jerrett said the prayer before we began. He will not touch his food unless a prayer is said. I love this about him! Anyway, another older gentleman walked up and told us how it had touched him to see us pray before we ate and that Jerrett knew how to pray at such a young age. TJ and I never taught Jerrett how to pray or a simple prayer to repeat. What he says just comes from his thoughts that morning. He is a sweet boy. So once again, it was nice to have someone comment on how we are raising our son! God was really reinforcing some things on our special family day. Once we got started eating, we began to talk about why Family Day was so important. Jerrett knows that he is adopted and that the baby in my belly is not adopted. But we made a point to not talk about baby on J's special day. I told him that Mommy and Daddy and he were going to celebrate this day every year as the day that God blessed us with him and created our family. He sat there for a minute and then told me that not all of his family was there to celebrate because his Uncle Chris was a long ways off and that we needed to take him a donut so he could celebrate as well. J is my brother's biggest fan and vice versa. I love that he has such a close relationship with his uncles! When I told him that we could not go see Chris today but that we would see him soon, he told me still his whole family was not there. That on the day that we became a family, God had also brought him Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Chris, Uncle Russell, Aunt Bizzy, Sam and Dotty (mom and Dad's dogs), as well as his cousin Wyatt. I told him that yes God had made all of those people his family as well as many others. I am just excited that he is stating to recognize what family is.
So after donuts, Jerrett and I headed out to run a few errands and then TJ surprised Jerrett by taking off from work and meeting us in town. We then took Jerrett to PetSmart which is one of his favorite stores so that he could see all of the animals and pet the cats. To Jerrett this is almost as good as a trip to the zoo. We hung out there for a little while before asking Jerrett what he wanted for lunch. we took him to eat a special lunch of his choice then headed home for naps. That night we ate a special dinner per J's request again. He wanted spaghetti and meatballs, salad, garlic bread and brownies. Silly boy. We spent the whole night together just playing together and being a family. There was no better way to spend our time than that.

I cannot believe that it has been a year since we brought Jerrett home. He has grown so much and changed. The sweet chubby faced toddler we brought home has quickly grown into a big boy in front of our faces. It is so bitter sweet. We missed out on so much when he was little and now the time is passing in a blur. I am so blessed to have a husband who works hard enough that I get to stay home and cherish every minute with my sweet boy. I know that there will become a day where he does not want to be with me every second of every day, but until then, I am going to relish in the fact that I have a baby boy who needs and wants his momma all the time. I am so proud of the little man that he is turning into. I can see God working in his heart and in his life. He is a blessing to all of those who know him and I cannot imagine not having him in my life. Jerrett Devon is our son and it is perfectly clear to all who know us, God created him with us in mind. I love you so much Monkey and thank God for you every single day!

One year

One year ago today, TJ and I were holed up in a cubicle in the SD DSS offices. We had a stack about 4 feet high of paperwork that we had to go through. It was all of J's history. The little bit of family history there was and lots of medical records and therapist notes. We sat and read through it all. Made for a really long day! The good thing was that once we finished, the case worker told us that we could finally go over to the foster family's home and meet Jerrett! We were excited and nervous and all sorts of emotions wrapped into one. I do not think that there is any way to prepare your self for that moment.
We arrived at the house and was introduced to our sweet little boy. He was a mop headed little boy with the brightest smile that I had ever seen. Thanks to his foster parents, he already knew who we were and called us mom and dad. I think that about brought both of us to tears. It was such an amazing and emotional day.
We got to go back to their house that night without the case worker and really get to spend time with Jerrett and the family without an audiance. It meant so much to us that they invited us into their home to share a meal and to have a more relaxed atmosphere. We had a great time not only getting to know J but also his foster family. We found out that not only had we been praying for J and for the foster family where he was but that they had been praying for us as well! You can't tell me that is not a God thing! We were so blessed to get to know that family.
Once we left the house, we drove back to our hotel and just looked through all of the pictures that we took. That is our son. We just knew it. The love was overwhelming and we just knew that this is what we were created to do. Jerrett was our son in every way already.
It has been a crazy year but we would not change it for the world.