10-25-13 Our baby Kaleyah Joy Frederick is born!

On Friday October 25, we had a normal Friday. I worked. Joel and Elijah had Daddy day and spent a little time at pumpkin patch.  The bigs went to school.  After school and work we went to Pumpkin Patch with the Boyd School where Joel shared about his experience working at the Boyd School.  what he said to those boys was very encouraging.   He told them that God put a dream in their heart and to never let anyone take that dream away. He talked to them about Gods love for us and that Jesus gave His life on the cross for our sin.  I think some of them really listened.  Elijah spent the evening at  Boo at the zoo with his little buddy, Noah. After the Boyd School event was over we swung by to pick him up and headed home. We arrived at home about 9:30 PM. Caris was holding my phone as we got out of the car and headed into the garage and she said" Mom you have a text.".    The text said our birth Mom was in the hospital. She had gone a couple of nights before with pain and a couple of months before that she had gone and was diagnosed with a kidney infection.  Joel and I agreed that we should follow up on this.  We texted back and it was clear we were not speaking to our interpreter.  The text continued to come through that she was having a baby but not right now. We assumed it was another false alarm since Kaleyah was not due for 9 more weeks.  The texts continued. We would ask questions with no answer. Then the text came through at 10:30" the baby is a girl?"  Then more texts saying the baby is born.  Communication was difficult because I was obviously texting someone who spoke Marshallese and little English. And they put a question mark after everything.  After several minutes of texts that did not make much sense, Joel contacted our attorney and he called and confirmed that our baby girl had been born. He could not get any information except she was in NICU.  My first reaction was "its too early" and I wanted to cry but I immediately felt comfort as I was reminded that this was Gods story and He was not surprised at her early delivery. God had it planned all along.  Psalms 139 speaks of how God knows us, He created us. Verse 16 says "your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."  God ordained the night of her birth and I have to trust in His plan. The next day we had planned for my family to come over to our house, take the kids to Pumpkin Patch and hang out and watch the football game.  We do this each year to celebrate Dads birthday. However, our plans were suddenly changed. I called my Mom around 11PM and told her the news. My sister was at her house. She had driven in from Mobile that day and spent some time with her friends. I asked her to come and help me pack and clean so she did. She spent the next 5 and 1/2 hours at my house , being my brain since mine was not functioning at full capacity. She encouraged me to prepare for a miracle and pack things for Kaleyah. She was with me from midnight until 5:45 AM.  Joel slept so he could drive the next morning.  Isaiah was up with Joel and I as we were getting the news about Kaleyah. He kept coming in our room to find out what was going on. He was not reacting much but he later confessed that he was a bit nervous about the situation.  I woke Caris up to tell her that her sister was born. She had crazy eyes and it took a few minutes for her to understand what I was saying. I Told her Aunt Leslie was coming over to help me pack for our trip tomorrow. Caris got up when Leslie got there  She stayed up with us for awhile.  At some point she stopped and said "wait, Kaleyah is born? she's here?"  I explained to her that yes she was born. We laughed because she was so out of it when I woke her up she did not even realize what I was saying.  She thought the birth Mom was in labor but did not realize her sister had been born. Joel got up at 5:45 and we loaded the van and the whole family headed to Arkansas. We arrived at the hospital around 4:30 and Joel and I met Kaleyah Joy Frederick around 5:15. I cried for just a minute the first time I saw her but then I pulled myself together so I could hear and try to understand what the nurses were telling us.  This was the first time we had any information on her condition. They told us she was healthy for a preemie. She had no birth defects or obvious diseases. They said there was no condition which caused her to be born early, she just was. The sweet nurse Jessica explained how things work in the NICU and what we could expect from Kaleyah.  She was very good at explaining things in a way we could understand with out making us feel stupid.. She was a very good nurse.  The kids were not allowed to come into the NICU because of it being FLU season. They were disappointed but had good attitudes considering the seriousness of the situation.  Kaleyah Joy Frederick was born on Friday night, October 25, 2013 at 10:23 PM. She weighed 4 lbs and was 16.75 inches long. She was beautiful and had a head full of hair.  I'm here to tell you, when I laid my eyes on her for the first time, I knew she was mine. My heart felt the same as it did when I first saw Isaiah, Caris and Elijah.  They are all my children. God had given her to me in a different way but she has been in my heart since before she was in her birth Moms womb.  I can't say it was love at first sight because I had loved her since August of 2012. I loved her before I even knew her birth Mom. I loved her before I knew she was a girl. I loved her and prayed for her before God formed her. She had been mine all along. God had put me and my family on a journey to find her to adopt her as He adopted us.  Now I could see her, my baby girl. My beautiful island princess. Kaleyah Joy Frederick.  She is a miracle.   God put a love in my heart for this baby that He formed. He knew her before He created her and he created her to be my daughter. Just like He created me to be His daughter, and for that I can never thank him enough. 

Well I wanted to say that I am thankful for the arrival of Baby Samuel Leonard Yarbrough.  I am a bit late with this news.  Sam was born the end of August.  I prayed for this baby.  Sams Mom Michelle was the one God put on my heart when I first started this adoption process.  Michelle and I had never discussed adoption before. I had no idea why God impressed on my heart that I  needed to tell Michelle about our call to adopt.  I even kindof shook my head and decided God was not really telling me that. But I felt him say, she will walk with you on this journey.  I did not follow up with what I now know God told me to do.  Talk to  Michelle about our adoption.  On the day Joel announced to the church that we were going to adopt, I went to Michelle before church and told her that Joel was going to announce this and she said "We need to talk more about this.  "  later at our annual church picnic she shared with me that she and her husband had been considering adoption.  I had no idea.  Wow!  Who am I to question God?  I tell my kids sometimes that I always have  a reason for the things I tell them to do but I doubted God when He told me to talk to Michelle. I told Michelle what I knew God had put on my heart and now I knew the reason.  That was September 2012.  Now baby Sam is here.  The little guy I prayed for so much.  He is the 2nd Marshallese baby to come to our church. The first one, Natalie, was another special frined that I could not wait to share our story with becasue I knew her Mom would be interested in it.  Here we are one year later with Natalie and Sam home safe and sound with their forever family.  It is amazing to see God do what He says He will do.  He is faithful.  He calls us, he equipts us, He provides for us and sometimes He even  uses to accomplish His purposes in the lives of people around us.  He gives us special friends to walk our journey with us.  I feel like these babies are part of my family and honestly, they truly are.  They are part of our church family and our Marshallese family.  Sam is actually the blood cousin to our baby Kaleyah Joy so he truly is family.  But we claim Natalie too.  These three will be three peas in a pod.  I just know it.

This week we have celebrated a big milestone. Elijah turned 5!  Where have 5 years gone?  On Mo

nday, he had cupcakes at Boyd School and they sang Happy Birthday to him.  Tuesday Oct 8, was his actual birthday.  He went  to school and it was picture day so he had to dress nice. We had cupcakes at snack time to celebrate.  Then when school was over, his best bud, Gianni Brown came home to play. They played all afternoon and around 5 we had a Star Wars celebration. The Grandparents came over and one other friend, DJ Mizel.  He received Star Wars toys, Star Wars PJs, Star Wars video games and a nerf gun.  We dressed in costumes and had a Star Wars parade. Isaiah downloaded the Star wars them songs at Elijah's request. Elijah came out to the them song dressed as Obi Wan Kenobe and Gianni was dressed as a  Jedi Knight.  Then came Caris and Princess Lea and I as Queen Amadala. Last the music changed to the Darth Vadar theme song and Isaiah came down as Darth Vader. The two Jedis began to fight him and they won the Epic battle between good and evil.  Elijah said the Star Wars parade was one of his favorite parts of the celebration. He had a star wars cake from Publix that was super yummy and we had hot dogs roasted over the fire pit.  He played on the trampoline, play set in the back yard and in the house.  It was a really fun night.  The night ended with he and his big brother playing lego star Wars on the Xbox.  The big kids were really good to make his day special.  Caris has been practicing powder puff football.  She will play in the game in two weeks. She has emphatically begged me not to come watch the game. I even told her to stop cause she was hurting my feelings.  She is adamant she does not want me to come.  Isaiah rode on the Freshman float dressed at Buzz the Yellow Jacket in the homecoming parade tonight. He and a group of his friends went to decorate the float and prepare for the parade after school.  The sweetest thing was when he was in the parade and saw his lil brother standing on the side of the road he jumped off the float and ran to Elijah to give him some candy and a hug.  It was really sweet.  Tonight, we have had fun in our back yard hiding out and planning to sabatoge any yard rollers that dare come to the house. The big kids wanted to go rolling which we didn't really want  them to do. Joel told them they should stay home and help him booby trap the yard to which they surprisingly said YES!  Its really a good feeling when Joel or I come up with something the big kids actually want to do.  Its rare these days that they want to hang out with us.  Elijah and I laid on the trampoline for  awhile while the big kids sat in their secret hiding places with their attack plans ready. Isaiah and Caris decked out in all black while Elijah has on his Jengo Fett costume.  While we were on the trampoline I had to make  a phone call. Elijah got bored and went to the swing set with Joel for a while. Then he crawled back on the trampoline with me and said "you stink as a Ninja!"  I guess talking on the phone does not make for a very sneaky Ninja. It has been a fun night with the family, just hanging out together at the house in the yard. Its getting past bedtime. Caris is falling asleep on the couch and Elijah is playing his new video game. Joel and Isaiah are manning their post in case the rollers really come.  I think Isaiah has sat in one place for about two hours now waiting for his attack. I for one am getting ready to go to bed.  I'm thankful for my family and special silly nights like this where we enjoy being home and being together.  Even if we are planning to scare people in the dead of night.  That's what they'll get for rolling this yard!  LOL   The five Freds don't play.  :)

All in one day

When I came home from work and picking up three kids from three schools, I checked the mail.   There was a check made out to Joel that we were not expecting.  More adoption money!  Wow God, u continue to amaze me! Thank you for providing the way to Kaleyah Joy.  

Overwhelmed and overjoyed!

I want so badly  to sit and write for days of all the things God is teaching me .  But since I don't have much time let me quickly say that Lifesong for orphans just awarded us a matching grant!  Just this morning I was praying and asking God to provide for the adoption.  I know He's already got it covered.  However in my finite human mind I want to see proof.  God is giving me little glimpses of proof along this journey. Proof that He called our family to adopt Kaleyah Joy, proof that I'm not really in control of anything and proof that He is alive and working in our lives. And He is faithful to His promises. To God be the Glory!  Thank u Jehovah Jireh, my God who provides. 

Pink Snow cones are the best!

Its been a while since I updated. A lot has happened!  I have had technical difficulty so I apologize for the delay.  On August 2,  our family was in Dauphin Island visiting my sister.  We were on the beach. We were waiting to hear from our attorney about our birth Moms ultrasound.  We knew it may be sometime soon but we didnt know exactly when it would be.  As we were enjoying the beach, I was taking pictures for a gender reveal just in case we heard something while we were there.  Joel decided to take the kids for snow cones and I stayed at the beach with my Mom and sister.  I talked to my Mom about how I guessed we would not hear anything because it was already Friday.  I also told her that I had been planning a gender reveal where Isaiah would rap and we would post it to facebook. However, Joel would get the news first.  I wondered if he would do a gender reveal on me.  The timing was just perfect for that conversation because little did I know, Joel was planning my gender reveal at that very moment.  When he and the kids got in the car to head to Island rainbow, he had a text revealing the gender of our baby.  He didn't tell the kids but when they were ordering snowcones, he ordered a special surprise snow cone for me.  When they returned to the beach, Joel was taking pictures of the kids and I knew something was up.  Then he motioned for me to come join them.  He video recorded himself explaining to me that in the cup, which was covered with a paper bag, was the color of our baby's gender.  He told me to drink the snow cone and the gender would be revealed.  I was so excited and nervous at the same time.  As I drank the juice I saw PINK!  Its a girl. I started jumping up and down and screaming before my lips ever left the straw.  Caris my 11 year old patted me and told me to calm down but I was still jumping up and down and was so happy.  the kids were happy too.  Even little elijah said "Yeah a baby sister!"  The video is priceless and I will post it as soon as I can.

Next we celebrate Caris' 12th birthday on Labor day. We went horse back riding. The whole family went. It was a fun outing. The night before, Caris and I went to the late movie about her favorite group, One Direction.  We rang in her birthday right after the movie. It was a fun way to celebrate her last year before she is an official teenager.  UGH!  Im not ready for this! Middle school has been adjustment enough.  ONe step at a time.

Some awesome news is that baby Sam was born and is now home with his parents.  The adoption went pretty smoothly and after a two week stay in Arkansas, they are home adjusting to their new life.  Two down, one to go.  Its such a beautiful  experience to see babies that God put in your heart long before you knew them, here at home with their Mom and Dad.   Babies you have prayed for and details you prayed for come to life.  Its amazing how God moves and works in our lives.  Its personal. He knows us, He hears us and He gives us the desires of our hearts.  It has been wonderful to walk this adoption journey with these two families and its beautiful to see them now, with their babies.

Sams parents delivered our ultrasound pictures and video and a recording of Kaleyah's heartbeat.  That is a precious gift we did not originally expect.  To see her ultrasound photo and hear her heartbeat makes it more real, while still seeming like a fantasy.  Its getting closer and I will have a baby soon. Wow!  Its amazing to imagine.  I dream of dressing her and loving her and brushing her thick black hair.  I search  pinterest for ideas for baby clothes, photos and even first birthday ideas.  I cant wait to have her here.  Although I have much to do in the house to get ready.  I planned to use the month of Septemeber to concentrate on the house. Instead, Ive concentrated on work and being busy each weekend.  Oh well. It will get done eventually.

On the financial end of adoption, we were awarded a $1000 grant recently.  that was such a blessing. We are waiting to hear from Lifesong for orphans and still plan to apply for more funding. We are doing some fundraisers to help support our orphan ministry fund to help all three of our families and any others who decided to adopt in our church family.  I dont mention money to focus on our need but to give God glory for providing for this adoption through many different ways.  He is faithful.  On that we place our trust. Not on the balance of our bank account.

Last we just got back from a fun family weekend. We went to MS to my youngest cousins wedding and that was a fun event.  Visiting with the Stinson's is bitter sweet now.  Its always  good to see everyone but its a blatant reminder that my Daddy is not here and my Grandparents are not here.  However, we always have the Hope of eternal life.  I know I will be with them again whenever Jesus comes to get us or I die.  That will be a beautiful day either way.  After the wedding Saturday night we headed to Monroe, Lousianna to Duck Commander. Joel surprised the kids with this little trip.  We attended church with many of the Duck Dynasty stars.  We wmt a few of them and Isaiah and Caris got a picture made with Si.  We appreciate their show and their Faith which they openly share on the show.  They are the real deal. To see these stars and millionares in church worshipping with their family, is a true blessing.  It was a great weekend.

This coming weekend, I am looking forward to spending time with many adoptive Mommy's at the Unfailing Love conference.  We have 4 of us from church going and my neighbor who is visiting our church.  I cant wait to be encouraged and learn more about adoption and orphan care.  I know God will bless our time together.  Im really looking forward to it.

Oh and tomorrow is national talk like a pirate day!  I've heard that Krispy Kreme is giving away a dozen free donuts to everyone who comes in dressed like a pirate.  I will be pulling together my most impressive pirate costume tonight and head to Krispy Kreme in the morning. Don't be jealous.  You can go too.  Aye, aye Matey!

One down, two to go (at least)

Now it's public knowledge and I can share the awesome news.  Natalie Kate is home with her parents, Erick and Alyson.   There are two other couples on the Marshallese adoption journey with us.  We have met and talked and updated and prayed for each other.  When we were matched, we hoped and prayed the other couples would have babies before us. Erick and Alyson were matched three weeks ago.  Last Saturday morn they received a call that baby Natalie was born. A few hours later they headed to Arkansas to get their baby girl.  We had just arrived at the beach when we received a text saying she was born and they were on their way to get her.  As we have enjoyed our vacation with our family, we have been texting and calling and following the beautiful story of their adoption.  We are so thankful to our God for answering the prayers of many for this sweet family. I am so thankful to God for answering my prayers even down to small details.  As we wait for our baby to come in December it sometimes seems unreal.  But this is proof that God is moving and working in our lives and the lives of others. It is real.  So the next couple  Mike and Michelle are expecting baby Sam in August.  We continue to pray and anxiously await their adoption story to unfold. And then during the busy Holiday season, we will have our baby.  We hope to find out soon if we will have a baby boy or baby girl. We are planning our gender reveal so hopefully we will have some news soon!!  Until then my heart is full of our LORD and how He speaks to our hearts, gives us desires and brings them to fruition. One year ago I had never heard of the Marshallese people.  Now we have a missions partnership, new friends pastor Mithan and Mrs Robin Loska, and one baby home and two more on the way to be part of our church family and part of our hearts !  Praise be to our God.  I'm so thankful He allows me to be part of this adoption journey. I pray more will join us to adopt Marshallese orphans and orphans all over the world.  

Epic fails and fat lips

First of all, just let me say that I have had some very strange physical problems in the last two months.  I have been breaking out in hives multiple times per week and I have random facial swelling.  I don't mean my eyes swell or my lips swell.  I mean random parts of my face swell.   For example, one half of my bottom lip will swell up or one eye lid will swell.  Even one nostril will swell.  And when I have random swelling its never the same place twice.  U never know which part of my face will swell.  Lucky, it only lasts for a few hours.  I have been to the dr twice to try and figure out what is wrong with me.  The Dr says its due to stress.  I am going to an allergist soon to make sure these are not allergic reactions.  However, Im pretty sure i'm just a freak. 

Well we tried to Skype with our birth Mom tonight.  Let's just say it was an epic fail.  She could see us but we could not see her.  We were in a loud place so we could barely hear the translator.  We were all sweaty and things were chaotic.  Elijah was wiggling and acting silly as usual.  I felt like a crazy person smiling and waving at the iPhone without being able to see the people who could clearly see me. They were talking but I was not responding to everything they were saying because I could not hear them well.  

Our attorney told us it would be good for our birth Mom to see us and hear about our intentions to return to Arkansas yearly and allow our baby to keep in touch with her/his heritage.  He thought it would help her be confident we were the kind of family she would want to raise her baby.  

Well, we didn't get to tell her any of our future intentions.   I don't know what we said.   Who knows what she is thinking About us. I can only imagine.   She saw us as we really are.  She did not see the cleaned up, quiet, impressive family that I imagined she would see the first time we skyped.  We did not engage in a deeply meaningful conversation with her.  She saw the real, everyday, a little bit crazy Frederick family.  Hopefully we did not scare her.  

I was really bummed when it was all over and guess what?   The bottom left part of my lip started to swell. 

But the truth is, adoption is not a cleaned up, quiet and impressive situation.  It's messy, chaotic and crazy.  But God can make it into something beautiful.  God and onlyGod  is growing our family into  something beautiful through adoption.  On our own we are sweaty, chaotic and crazy but God, through His Grace, makes us beautiful, fat lip and all.  

Thank u LORD for this beautiful adoption journey.