David's Baptism

David's baptism was the same weekend as the shower. Busy boy! It was wonderful and David actually slept through the entire baptism. He raised his head a little when the water went on his head. After his baptism, our friend Carmela did the children's sermon and talked about waiting for his arrival. It was such a sweet, sweet day and we praise God for our miracle baby. Here are some pictures and the videos of his baptism and of the children's sermon. For all my ladies who waited so long for their babies and for those still waiting, it is worth the time to see it. Have a wonderful evening!

With Grandparents and Great Grandparents

With Oma, his Great Grandmother

With Grandad

With Mimi (look at that sweet face as he pulls her hair!)

With his "Sassy" (Sandra) who made his gorgeous gown

 

 

 

 

Time to Catch Up!

I've got to catch all of you up on us! It's hard to begin to sum the past seven months up. I've tried to keep up with David's little world by doing his baby book using a digital scrapbook and then publishing it when it gets to the maximum pages (99 pages).......
We published volume 1 when he was 16 weeks old ;) 
Here is a glimpse of the first four months. It doesn't really show the whole page, so you can click HERE to take you to the site that it is on. 
Volume 2 is in progress and I will figure out a way to catch everyone up soon! Have a wonderful Tuesday night!

| View Sample Photo Books | Create your own Photo Book

The Day He Was Born...

and his first days at home....

 Thank you Lexie for the beautiful pictures!

Welcome to the Blog, David!

We are back...and we brought HIM with us :)

Enjoy this look back on the past six months and there will be more to come!!

Love, Rachel, Daniel, and DAVID!!!!


 

Tuesday

Pray for Tuesday....We will be back! :)

We are Alive!

Hello, Everybody! We are still here and can't wait to really update the blog :) Our final court date is in early June and I can't decide if I want to "come out" on the blog and on facebook with our little one before then. Things have been bumpy so keep us in your prayers, but all is well right now. I'm still reading everyone, but ever since I started using Google reader I have become a terrible commenter! Just wanted to let you know we are still around! Have a great week!

Great Day!

Got some GREAT news today....but we still aren't final! Keep the prayers coming and I'll be a normal blogger again in about a month! (We did have some great steaks at The Courtyard tonight to celebrate ;)

I posted new paintings for February tonight on our website: 
We are doing a "diptych" on the 11th for Valentine's day....It is two paintings that make one BIG painting. Wouldn't that be a fun date night? It's called "Tulips for Two"

Also, we are doing these sweet bluebirds...we LOVE birdies at Paint The Town ;)

Thanks again for the prayers and I'm still reading all of your fabulous blogs...awards coming soon!

Congrats!

Congrats to A at Remember All The Way! This has been a long time comin'! So excited for you and your family!! Ya'll keep praying for ours, too :)

Still Here...

Hey! We are still alive :) Enjoying the snow day and ready to cheer on our Tigers tonight. War Eagle and please keep us in your prayers!!! Hopefully, we will be able to give you an update soon.

FYI

Thank you for this post, Laura. Praying for your Zoe right now!

Miracles, Continued....

Hello everybody! So many requests have been made for an update, so here goes.... He is here. He is perfect and beautiful. He eats good, sleeps good, and smiles all the time. He is incredibly loved and incredibly blessed. Down side - he's not officially ours SO we have to lay low for a bit. Please know I am reading all of your blogs :) I am looking forward to the day that I can tell you and show you our sweet baby boy. Please please please keep us in your prayers right now. As soon as we have the green light, you will all be in the "know". Love you all!!

A Miracle

It was a Tuesday. Lunch as usual at mom's store. I get a call on my cell phone from my friend who is a local ob-gyn. A baby boy will be born soon who needs parents. His mother does not want to meet his adoptive parents and has signed away her parental rights. I'm shaking. My mommy looks at me: "is it a baby?" I nod and call my very caught off guard husband. He wants to know more and so do I. That afternoon we visit her office and find out more. He will be born soon and he's perfect. He needs a family and that family is us.

While we talk to her, Ashley goes and buys 2 dozen baby blue cupcakes. We spend the rest of the evening knocking on the doors of just a few of our closest friends, handing out cupcakes, hugs, and the best news ever. Daniel gets so distracted he backs into a ditch and pops a tire. Thank you, Taylor, for changing it!

The next few days we spread the word to friends and family. We are still in shock. Then, our small group goes into action: ripping up carpet, painting, and starting online registries. I stand in awe in the middle of my house, listening to this amazing group of men and women who have prayed so diligently for this child. Laughing and crying with joy as they paint and move furniture. We, baby included, are so so blessed.

His name will be David Holman. David meaning "blessed" and Holman after Daniel's paternal grandfather who passed away this past year. He will be born very soon and we will be at the hospital patiently awaiting his arrival. This is what he looked like last week: 

 

Thank you, my friends and family, for your constant and generous support. Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare for his arrival. Pray for his birthmother as she prepares as well to give us this most amazing gift. Although papers have been signed, his birthmother will legally still have some time to change her mind. Pray that she will feel peace in her decision for this precious baby. For those of you awaiting your special little ones, always know that you remain in my prayers. As we approach the season of miracles, remember that they can still occur. We are looking forward to ours very very soon! More to come!

I'm Alive

FYI: I'm alive and super busy. I'm still reading what's going on with ya'll ;) I'll be back very soon with info on what's going on with us. To be continued.....

We Are Outta Here!

Great News! My mom's culture is back (to determine why she had the fluid) and there were no malignancies found AND the doctor does not think that the fluid will return. She got her chest tube out this morning AND she is getting discharged at three o'clock today! PTL!!

I spent the night in her room last night. Her pain worsened around nine o'clock and she decided that she wanted to get out of the bed and back into the chair/recliner that she sat in for most of the day. I protested, but she was determined to get in that chair. Sure enough, after getting some pain meds and getting in that chair: she slept great until about 7:30 this morning (with limited vitals checks, etc). With her in the chair, she suggested that I sleep in her bed. So me and my big blue sleeping bag slept in the hospital bed last night. If a hospital worker came in during the night they would see me in the bed, I would point to mom in the chair, they would giggle and then do what they came in there for. We are so glad to be going home!

Mom got some cute flowers today that had a built in Kipper dog in it made with carnations: Do you see the resemblance? 


In some sad news, Ashley's grandfather did pass away around ten o'clock last night. Please continue to keep her family in your prayers. Thank you for all of your prayers and have a wonderful Saturday!

Hanging Out

Have I ever blogged this much? We are in a room in the "step-down" unit. She still has her chest tube as you can see below, but doesn't she look great for one day out of heart surgery?? (BTW: she had no idea I was taking this picture)

Checking Email and drinking a Caramel Macchiato

Hopefully we will get some good rest tonight. Continue to pray for us as well as Tracie's family. Also, my precious friend Ashley will probably lose her grandfather this weekend. Please keep Ashley and her family in your prayers as well. They have been through a lot. Have a great Friday night!

Night at SVE

Good morning! My mom is doing well this morning. She's had some nausea/headache, but she will be moving to a room today :) I went to see her at 5 am then at 9 am and she looks better every time I see her. Last night, after the afternoon visiting time, my Aunt Trenia and I got out of the hospital and went to dinner. Coming back, I started getting nervous about staying in the hospital waiting room alone (I think Trenia was thinking the same thing). Going into the waiting room, there were a few people there and one girl told me that I looked familiar to her. Turns out, we had a mutual friend and were in a wedding together once! Her name is Tracie and her father is also in the CVICU. She had her two friends Natalie and Aldger were with her until around midnight and I think I talked their ears off (I'm really good at that!). There I was thinking I would be watching Hulu all night by myself and instead I made some precious new friends who kept me thoroughly entertained and giggling all night. Tracie, if you are reading this: I cannot thank you enough for your presence last night - you are truly a blessing. I settled into one of those fold out chair beds (and had all of my electronic devices plugged in all over the room!) and drifted off around midnight. 
I woke up when Tracie started stirring around five and went in to check on Mom. She has had GREAT care since she arrived and her nurses have been wonderful. While visiting with Mom, I realized I didn't turn off my cell phone alarm and went back into the waiting room to find both mine and Tracie's cell phone alarms going off (cue: IPhone Marimba). What a mess we sounded like! Since then, more family has arrived and we are hoping she will be in a room before the one o'clock visiting time. 
So far: surgery has gone well, she's well taken care of (and will get her chest tube out tomorrow morning), and I actually slept, sound and safely, last night. So today, continue to pray for Mom's healing, but add one more: Tracie's father is having trouble coming off of the ventilator. Please keep Tracie, her father, and her sister in your prayers today. They have been such a comfort to me recently and I pray that they will be comforted this weekend and that their father will be healed. 
Updates will be coming and have a great Friday! 

Recovery

Mom's been moved to the CVICU (Cardiovascular ICU) until at least 9 am. Her nurses said she is "as stable as a rock" and lobbied for her to go to the step down unit, but her doctor wants her overnight in the ICU. They will culture the fluid and get results in about 3 days in regards to why she had the fluid. Her pain is being controlled and she has won over all of her nurses (of course :) 
Thank you for your prayers!

Out of Surgery!

We arrived at St. Vincent's East at about 5:15 this morning (an hour drive from our home...I've always wondered what 4 am looked like ;) Mom is already out of surgery and is in recovery. They had to go in through the front (they had planned on going in from the side) and got 1/2 pint of fluid. They made the pericardial window and placed drains in to get the rest of the fluid out. She will be in recovery for another hour and in the hospital for a couple of days. Keep us in your prayers :)

Prayers for My Mommy

Hey! I wanted to ask all of you for your prayers this Thursday. My precious Mommy is undergoing surgery to correct her Pericardial Effusion (fluid around her heart). They will drain the fluid and culture it to find out why it is there. Also, she will have a stamp sized section cut from her pericardium to evaluate (a pericardial window). I'm not sure what time her procedure will be, but remember her this week as she gets ready for her surgery. 

Sweet Sister and Sweet Mommy

I love you, Mommy!!

Lost Lives, Give Life...

Today, October 15th, is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. So, today I am praying for all of you out there that are remembering all the babies you never got the chance to meet and those who were gone too soon. Here is how this day is remembered: 

To celebrate the memory of these babies, I encourage you to visit one of my favorite blogs (As mentioned Here) to help save the life of a child. The blog is called Stuff Christians Like and they are having a day to raise funds to purchase malaria nets for the Nakaseke District of Uganda. 100% of the money goes to purchase these nets. More than a million people a year die of Malaria. Most of these are under the age of 5.

1 Net = $10 = 1 life saved

When you purchase your net, you will be sent GPS coordinates to go to Google Earth and check out the location of the person that YOU saved. You can click here to visit SCL's blog article or HERE to donate. After you donate a net (or 2 or 3 :) you can put in the comments of the SCL blog post that you are donating in memory of your baby or in honor of those celebrating Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day.