10 things...

1. Matty loves his firetruck. Anything he can use to pull himself up is his favorite thing. We have lots of bruises popping up on his forehead from him forgetting he cant walk yet and taking some serious spills...We got him a t-shirt that says..."I do all my own stunts" Very appropriate for him right now.



2. Matty has also found a love for sweets...He would have devoured this whole plate if we let him...a boy after my own heart! He is getting all 4 front teeth right now at the SAME TIME! Poor guy...can imagine the pain!!??! He loves eating tiny pieces of real food so he can rub something on his gums.



3. What a fun night. Matty got to hang out with his cousins and Aunt Candace! Sweet pic!



4. Taylor loves Matthew. He told Candace that he thought they should go out to dinner with us so he could be in charge. But, he changed his mind when we started explaining how to handle a poopy diaper. "I'm out" he said! HA!



5. Matthew meets his first Christmas tree! I LOVE CHRISTMAS! We got all our Christmas stuff up on the inside of the house. Hopefully the rain will stop so we can get the lights up on the outside.

6-10

6. Happy Birthday to Lindsey! We had a fun dinner for her birthday and then birthday cake after...there is nothing this girl loves more than birthday cake!



7. Happy peeps chowing down!



8. Here is proof of the blister I got (see my pinky toe) running in heels through La Cantera trying to track down a birthday cake for Lindsey. I , of course, forgot her cake at the dinner and I injured myself trying to rectify the situation. UGH - thats what you get for being forgetful! All I can say is my cheeks and sides hurt from laughing so hard by the end of this night! Can you get the mental picture of me literally running through La Cantera in search of a birthday cake - all dressed up in heels...Oh, I provide myself with my very own comedy...



9. The girls at the end of the night...and Brian snuck in the back ground..always the comedian.



10. I am THANKFUL for my friends and family! Love you all!

Blog Book

Check this link out. You can get your blog printed out in a book format. Very cool!

http://www.blurb.com/book/blogbook?ce=google_blog&gclid=CNDH7NXp2o8CFUV0OAodDQfH8w

7 months!

Goodness..there are so many things I did not know 7 months ago that I know now.

A few months back when Matty had his double ear infection, I remember holding him ALL day and just thinking about all these things. I journaled some of them...

I didnt know how, when you were so tiny, my chest would ache and feel tight because I loved you so much!
I didnt know that how intense the joy is when you smile at me.
I didnt know that I would love 2 little teeth SO much. I mean, who cares right, everyone has teeth! But those first two teeth are the cutest things I have ever seen.
I didnt know that your giggle would sound like a cackle and that I would do just about anything to hear it.
I didnt know how much I would care about a really good poopy diaper...means all the pipes are working right, and I didnt know that would matter so much to me.
I didnt know how I would think, almost every day, about how to get you to understand how much you are loved. I dont know how to do that. I didnt know it would comsume my thoughts. I am going to mess this up at some point, if I havent already. Are you going to know, even then, how much your Mommy loves you? Oh Lord, I hope you know.
I didnt know that your name would be who you are...Matthew Josiah...God totally named you!
I didnt know how much I would care about your fine little brown hair...every one of them. I look at them when you are sleeping and when I am feeding you and I think they are precious. I love your hair. It is fuzzy and fine and I love it. Scripture says that God knows the number of hairs on our head. I get that now...I get why He cares. We are His children and you are mine and I care about every little hair on your head.
I didnt know that having you would heal a place in my heart I did not know was wounded.
I didnt know that loving you would teach me more about how much God loves me than anything else ever could
I just didnt know...
I didnt know that I would pray for you to be passionate and funny and loving...I wonder who you will be!
I didnt know that your Daddy is who he is...you have brought out the life in him and awakened a place in him that I did not know was there.
I didnt know your Daddy would cry when he talks about how much he loves you and how worth it you are to put his whole heart on the line...
I didnt know that I would want to take ALL the ache in your ears and put it in my body...I hate it when you hurt
I didnt know how precious 2 little fat feet would be. Knowing those are the feet you will walk on and run on as you grow.
I just really did not know!



Kai and Matthew in a stare off...Kai is thinking, "Why does he get to live inside ALL the time?"


Bo an Kai and Matty. Bo LOVES Matthew. Kai could care less. I think she just realized Matthew lives here about 2 weeks ago. Bo knows where to go for a little treat.


We spend all this money on toys and this is what they really want!


I have a high chair...SO BIG!

"Hey, Mom, these sweet potato puffs are so good! Are you bringing me more...dont hold back on me!"

Does anyone care about the adults?!?

Well, here is a little glimpse in to some time we have had with friends lately...Sorry, no Matthew pics in this one..oh and PS - in case you are wondering...YES, I have red hair...well, auburn really! :) HA! What a rebel!


This is the one pic I took from a retreat we went on...my friends Jenny and Michelle!




Our crazy friends and family! Love em all! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN! 33! Wow - so young we are!

ADOPTION UPDATE

Just a little update on the adoption...

THE FACTS:

We are now in a stage of waiting to hear something as to the next step. We are unsure what that will be, and unsure when we will hear...so, we drag on...

WE ARE PRAYING, PLEASE PRAY WITH US...for:

1. That God would protect and secure Matthew's future...in his home - our home. We are claiming the promise we know God has already given us...that He will be Matthew's protector and savior.
2. That we have the grace to approach Matthew's birth family with a spirit of patience and love. That they might see Jesus in this whole process
3. That the adoption would end soon..that we would not have to go all the way to trial.
4. Pray for our attorney, Victor. He has asked for prayers for wisdom and discernment. He is a great man and says he can really see and feel a difference in cases that he is prayed for. PLEASE pray God would guide his very thoughts and decisions in such a way that we would see victory swiftly and peacefully.
5. Pray for JASMINE, our birthmother. She gave her life to Christ...made a decision to accept Him as her savior last night. She is a sweet child of God and I pray for her protection and that the Lord would hold her VERY close to himself as she walks through life in very hard and dark circumstances.
6. And, of course, that Matthew's adoption would be FINAL SOON! That we will be able to change his name to MATTHEW JOSIAH GARRISON!
7. Protection over our minds and hearts...that we would stand in God's promises and not fear.

HOW ARE WE?

We are doing well. We are enjoying our son. Enjoying our family. Matthew is changing so much and he KNOWS now, more than ever that we are his mommy and daddy. There have been great days and hard days. I told a friend the other day that when we are in the times of lull...when things are stagnant, I only think about the adoption and the battle a few times a day. When we are in times like this, we think about it 30 times a day. It can be mentally and spiritually comsuming which makes us very tired. As Matthew is becoming more and more attached to us...crying when we leave the room, stops crying when I hold him, the more real all this becomes to us. This is his home and we are his parents. Brian said the other day that, although this battle has been long and hard at times, he would NOT ever go back and do anything differently. He loves Matthew more than I can even put into words. Matthew is 7 months old and Brian still, often, looks at him and tears up. The joy he brings to our hearts and the love we have for him is overwhelming. Our hearts literally ache sometimes when we look at him and hold him...how do you articulate that kind of love? I hope, somehow he feels it and lives in it. We are ready for this to be over and to look at our son and KNOW that the courts have officially said - this is OVER, he is yours. Today is a good day. Yesterday was a great day. Tommorrow... I trust is in God's hands and I know that we need Him to be very near us.

Thanks, as always, for taking part in this battle. PLEASE, PLEASE pray!