Update on our New Family!

Happy Friday Friends and Family,

Sorry for not updating y'all since we brought Crosbee Lane home, but that is exactly what we'll do now!

We’ve been home now for two months and are enjoying every second with our new daughter. She is beautiful and we can’t say enough how thankful we are to Crosbee Lane’s birth mom for allowing us to be her adoptive parents. It’s been such a blessing to have her in our lives.

Since being home, we've started her on a schedule and she's doing great with it. She only gets up once in the middle of the night, if at all. She eats like a champ and she's been smiling a lot lately and likes to mimic our mouth movements as she wants to talk so badly! She makes cooing noises and loves to people watch! Currently, she weighs 10-1/2 lbs.

Both of our families have visited and they all adore her. She's also adored by everyone in church which is also a blessing since we are so far from our families.

At the beginning of November, we went back up to Ohio for a wedding and visited our friends there. We were also able to introduce Crosbee Lane to her furry sisters, Brooklyn and Queens, our black labradors whom are living with our friends until we find a home here in TN.

Zach is a doting father already. He comes home from work and whisks Crosbee Lane away from her mother to have Daddy-Daughter time. He is very involved, changing dirty diapers, giving baths and feeding her. Zach has also taken Crosbee Lane to work a couple of times with him just so he could spend more time with her.

Whitney is enjoying being a stay at home mom. She loves spending her days with Crosbee Lane. Whitney and Crosbee Lane go to Bible study, out to lunch with Zach and enjoy coffee dates with friends. They also like just staying at home and letting the day go by just staring at each other.

We’re so thankful to God for providing this beautiful, sweet blessing of a daughter. We thank him daily. Please continue to pray for Crosbee Lane’s birth mom, especially during this holiday season.

Merry Christmas.

We decided to imitate Crosbee Lane in this photo. She did NOT want her picture taken.

Everyone Loves Fridays

We showed up at the hospital this morning at 9:30 and six hours later after saying an emotional goodbye to Allicia, Crosbee Lane was physically handed over to us. We've had legal custody of her as of 3:30pm yesterday, but the time with Allicia and her family was needed for her and for closure.

Green Day (it's a band) sings a song entitled "Wake Me Up When September Ends", which is our strong desire. Tomorrow begins a new month with our new family in this new kind of love we are in.

Insights so far: #1, There are a lot more idiotic drivers on the road when your infant is in the back seat. #2, Jared Galleria must also sell infant formula b/c it costs as much as jewelry does. #3, Skin to skin touching rocks. #4, Crosbee feels like her parents are part of the paparazzi with all the pictures we've taken (see a select few on Zach's Facebook as having her in our family is FBO). #5, Crosbee probably broke the Guinness record for longest duration of hiccuping by a four day old (record pending).

This early morning as we were praying for energy and patience, we didn't think we could make it. And yet we did b/c our God doesn't give us more than we can handle. This week proved two things to be true: God answers the prayers of His people, and this baby loves to sleep.

Oh Our Goodness, Oh Our Goodness!

As of 3:10 PM CST today Crosbee Lane is legally ours to care for and mold into Christ!!!!

And yet she's not ours yet.

We agreed to allow Allicia to have one more evening with the baby as this hospital frowns upon the infant being discharged before the birth mother is. Allicia elected to stay another day, and really had an emotional straining time signing Crosbee over to us. Even though she is 100% confident we are meant to be Crosbee's parents, this is tough on all.

God is so good and we know more personally that fervent prayer works out His will. We miss Bee like crazy as we didn't hold her at all today, but she's not ours, she's God's and He's chosen us to show His love to her.

If things go as planned (which very minimal has this week), we will arrive at the hospital tomorrow morning at 8:30 AM, sign some paperwork, wait for Allicia's doctor to make his rounds and discharge her and then Crosbee Lane will leave with us. At that time we'll post pictures.

Please continue to lift Allicia up in prayer. We are ecstatic to share this BEAUTIFUL baby with you. We are so blessed for the support system we've had so far.

Day Two of Three Stewarts

Today was tough for all parties involved in this beautiful baby's life. We got a few precious moments with Crosbee but for the most part of the day we gave Allicia and her family and friends time with her as the grieving process for them has begun.

Prayer Requests:
1. Allicia is at a high pain level from her C-Section.
2. Allicia is saddened by letting go of Crosbee, a very expected emotion.
3. For us to be patient and supportive as this process is unpredictable and emotional.
4. Tomorrow after 11:35ish, Allicia will sign Crosbee over to us legally and we're praying for a court date tomorrow afternoon.

C-Bee had two great feedings today and passed her first test, hearing. She also sneezed four times in a row, which we got on video! There is a possibility she leaves the hospital with us tomorrow, but we'll wait for God's timing and be very grateful for each special moment with our daughter.

If and when papers we've signed become legal in court, we look forward to sharing some of the hundreds of pictures we've taken, on Facebook. Thanks for all the prayers, they got us through today.

She's finally here!

Crosbee Lane was born at 11:35AM CST in Joplin, MO. She weighed 7 lbs, 5 oz, and her length is 19 3/4 inches. We are 94% sure she's a redhead, which would be awesome.

We spent all day next to Allicia, the birth mom, who was so brave and patient. We didn't hold C-bee (potential nickname) as much as we desired but we did enjoy sharing her with close friends and family of Allicia's.

Crosbee isn't drinking her formula yet, but when she gets hungry enough she'll be chowing down in no time. Without digesting much at all she did manage to explode in her cute little diaper twice. She slept most of the day secure in the arms of loved ones.

She's a beautiful gift from God, as your excitement and continued prayers are for us as well. We'll try to update each day this week.

Last Day of just 2 Stewart's

With much excitement and anticipation we write our friends and family 12 hours from God adding our firstborn, a girl, to answer our prayers from the past full year. The nursery is set up, the crib is adjusted, the car seat has been figured out, and we own all the cute onesies on the planet.

We arrived in Joplin, MO this afternoon and took Allicia (our birth mom) out to dinner. It was a great time as we told her how many people are praying for her and how proud we were of her for being so strong these past 5 months we've known her. She is so beautiful and will be the woman God uses to change our lives forever tomorrow morning.

There will be a C-section birth at 9:30 AM tomorrow and we'll meet her!!! We will wait to post pictures until after Allicia signs the baby over to us legally, which typically is 48 hours post birth. But we will update this blog each day this week. We are so grateful for your prayers and are blessed to have so many people excited and supportive of us.

Allicia is family

Hey friends!
Last Thursday and Friday we spent significant time with the birthmom of our baby girl in Joplin, MO. We flew into Tulsa, drove to Joplin, got Zach a much needed haircut, and then met the woman God is using to change our lives forever at a frozen yogurt shop. Allicia came with her handsome little 3 year old son and her mother. It was a time of natural laughing and getting to know one another, exchanging gifts, and then they drove us around Joplin to witness all the tornado damage. Joplin needs prayer and is trying to recover well.

After resting for a bit, we met Allicia, her son, and her mom at a favorite place of Zach's (Zach went to college in Joplin) and that conversation was a bit more serious. We shared how grateful we are for having Allicia in our lives, and how impressed we are with her for making this life-giving/life-changing situation. We walked around the mall a bit after that, chasing her son and laughing some more.

We then thought we had said our good-byes, but Allicia texted us wanting to do breakfast the next day, which was a great sign. We like her and she told us that she couldn't of prayed for a better couple for the baby girl she's carrying.

As the Lord wills and gives, a C-Section has been scheduled for September 26th, which is two months from yesterday. Whit has been working hard at completing our Tennessee home study, and we are still earnestly praying for our house to sell in Ohio, even though so many good Christians have cared for us as family in Franklin. God is good and we thank Him for you!

Meeting the Birth Mom

We just wanted to give all our friends and supporters a head's up that on July 21-22 we'll be meeting the birthmom of our baby girl for the first time. We've talked with her on the phone and have emailed her frequently, but we just can't wait to meet this amazing woman God is working through to change our lives.

We've been in Franklin, TN for over 5 weeks now and have been extremely busy. Zach is the Senior Minister at Franklin Christian Church, and the church has been gracious and loving towards us. We are still earnestly praying for God to sell our home so we can purchase one down here and get the nursery all ready to go.

Thanks so much for the prayers and support, you are changing a baby girl's life forever and we thank God for you always.

Answered Prayers Galore

Many of you have heard, others haven't, but as of May 9th, we have been matched with a birth mom! Her name is Allicia and we spoke with her on the phone last evening and felt an instant connection with her. She is sold out to adoption, and wants the baby to be raised in a good Christian home. Our baby girl is due in late September.

In so many ways this is an answered prayer b/c we are moving to Franklin, TN at the end of this month. Zach has taken a Senior Minister position at a great church there, and this also will allow Whitney to be a stay at home mom, which is a priority to us. Had God not matched us with a birth mom before our move, we would've needed to begin the Home Study process all over again, post-poning our hopes to adopt for months. Since we've been matched with Allicia, even with moving, we are going to be parents early this Fall. Words can't describe how good God is. The amount of money we had in our adoption fund was the amount of money needed for this adoption to take place.

We are so thankful for the numerous loved ones that have supported us, from prayers to money to encouragement and now anticipated excitement. Continue to pray for Allicia and our healthy baby growing inside her generous womb. Hopefully this July we will be able to meet Allicia face to face and continue our relationship together.

We are so elated with joy and are still struggling to process how gracious God has been.

Praise God for Providing

It's been three weeks since we've been activated. Three weeks of praying. Three weeks of hoping. Three weeks of waiting. At some moments, we have been able to keep up our normal routines: work, eat dinner, be with friends, read our Bibles, work out. Most of our moments, however, are consumed with thoughts and prayers for our first child. So three weeks may not sound like much to you, it's been a while for us.

We have not lost hope, or trust, or faith in our God. Speaking with Zach's dad yesterday, he remembered us informing Zach's parents about being infertile and the cost of adoption ($30,000), and Zach said, I just don't see how God can bring us that much money in order for us to adopt. If you look at our thermometer, b/c of sacrfices in our home, and b/c of so many generous friends, old and new, God has provided the $30,000. Speaking with one another about it last night, it's amazing He's provided the money we thought was impossible to obtain only 4 months ago.

So now we are waiting. We thank you for your prayers. God has our birthmom picked out already and He is caring for her. He has our beautiful baby picked out, and He is caring for him/her. The wonderful news is since our activiation, 8 other families have been given a baby in our agency. Parents are being made, and this is great news. We are praying the moment our lives wiill change forever is just around the corner.  

BIG NEWS!

As of this afternoon, we have been activated! What this means is that from here on out, at any moment, a birth mom from anywhere in the United States could look at information about us, and choose us to be their baby's parents! It's going to be breath-taking to see how God aligns us with the birth mom we all have been praying for.

Earlier this week, we sent a $10,000 check to our adoption agency. This was the fee to become activated. This will allow our agency to look deep and wide across the country for a birth mom for us. This would not have been possible without the many generous friends that we have. Your great desire to give has enlarged our hearts to become more of a giving couple. We are blown away by the church stepping up and being the Acts 2 church. From the prayers, and the financial donations, and the Tastefully Simple parties - we have a sincerely amazing chapter to add to our testimony. Thank you so much.

We began our paperwork on September 15th, did a little bit each night, had a lot of help from friends and family, and now, four months later, we're going to allow God to work with our agency to bring us our first child.

What we expect next is a lot of prayer, and then a phone call one day from our agency saying something like, "Your baby has been born in (pick a state). Can you fly out tonight to meet your child?" How crazy is that?!

God is so good. He has brought us closer to Him through trial, and we could not be more grateful for this journey (by the way, we picked out first and middle names last night, boy or girl)!