We are Mommy & Daddy!!!

10 weeks ago, our lives suddenly and unexpectedly changed.  It changed in about the most dramatic way I can fathom!  A black and white kind of difference.

God surprised us like only He can.  

After trying, praying, crying, trying some more, and yet trusting Him for children for 7 years we found ourselves crying for joy and praising God for answering our prayer in a matter of mere hours!  Never underestimate God and His plan.

We're rejoicing as we share with you ....... our new family!!!!

These precious little dolls are our children, our Little Lady and Little Bear!!!

 

Folks, we have adopted sibling toddlers!!!

Our son, Little Bear, is 3 years old.  He is bright, inquisitive, and very compassionate.  His big smile will melt your heart!

 His ocean blue eyes will draw you in.

And he hugs long and strong!  Better than any child or adult I've ever known.  We LOVE our Little Bear's hugs!!

Our beautiful daughter Little Lady is 2.  She is fun, energetic, and chatty!  (A true Southern gal.)

She is blessed with the most beautiful brown eyes and eyelashes I've ever seen!

She's a sweetheart and the best little mommy to her baby dolls.  She loves to sing and make up her own songs.  Her latest (and my personal favorite) is "Jesus loves me, SO MUCH"!  I'll never tire of hearing this sweet one proudly sing that out!

 
They're 11 months and 1 week apart, and they love each other so much!  What a wonderful thing it is to have children who cherish each other.... well, most of the time!
We practically have twins, and that was actually something God has laid on our hearts years ago.  Heath and I have always been drawn to the idea of girl and boy twins to be the most precious!  (We always have desired to have at the least 1 child of each gender.)  That was no coincidence since God knew these children would be ours since the foundations of the earth were made.

 

Our family is nothing less than a testament of God's sovereignty and faithfulness, and the children are sunshine in our newly "awakened" life!  Our long 7 years in the desert has come to an end, and now we're learning each and every day how to parent because--let me tell you-- with two toddlers there are plenty of teachable moments...
                                                                                                           for Heath and I!

 

Our friend Lee-Anne Fenwick, who graciously took these gorgeous photos of our new family, adopted their 3 children and knows the ins and outs of it all.  I had to laugh when she asked if they have "rocked our world", because that is a good way of summing up our experience so far!  Imagine us being married almost 9 years with agendas all about the two of us, living in a quiet, tidy home, and all of a sudden enter two beautiful & busy toddlers.  Lol, yes our world has been officially "rocked"! 

 

God is who got me out of my perfect little organized box into the beautiful mess He calls my destiny.  I told Him this year in January that I am in complete submission to His plan and purpose in my life.  My expectation fell to the wayside, and His direction became my new compass.

We began this process with a specific idea in our minds, but we also told the Lord to close doors no man can open and open doors no man can close to direct us to the baby He wants for us.  This is how he did it.

1. Instead of international adoption it's a domestic...technically, independent.  HUGE change, and I can touch more on that in another post.

2.  Instead of having a 1 1/2 + year wait from our start to bringing home baby, we had only 5 months.  Only about 3 weeks after our home study was completed, and about 12 hours from the initial phone call whether to pursue these children or not!  We literally had 5 days to transform a room for the children.  We had to buy everything from scratch.  We had nothing!!!  That week was a blur, and yet I still found the time to get my hair cut and highlighted.  (I knew that my personal time was ticking fast!)

3. Instead of a baby (1 year or less) who basically just poops, pees, eats, cries or coos and sleeps..... we have a toddler(s) who have, of course, have mastered walking running, talking for the most part, who are learning to potty train, and wants to do everything Heath and I do.  Big change! lol 

4. But, perhaps the biggest change of them all is the fact we have adopted TWO precious children whom the Lord has called us to raise in His love and carry down our family legacy.  Two closely-knit biological siblings who already have bonded with others, which is both good and also rather complicated.  God double our family, Hallelujah!  What a redeemer He is.

(Just to let you in...  this photo sure captures Little Lady and Little Bear's little personalities well.  LOVE!)

Now what?  I know you want to hear more details of the adoption, and I wish I had all night to talk to you, but now I have early mornings every day so I really need to get to sleep.  I'll write again, and I'll try to make it sooner!  I feel like there's so much to share.  Thank you all so very much for waiting to hear the news!  It's been the most blessed, wonderful and yet hectic and frazzled 2 1/2 months of my life.  I really haven't had much time or energy to blog, and I wanted to wait until some of the legalities were sorted through before we went "public" with the good news. 

I hope you leave my blog after reading this realizing how God loves YOU and has a plan for your own life far greater and beyond what you can imagine.  A real plan.  One that if you don't stop crying out to Him and seeking Him, you will also experience!  No matter how cynical and depressing this world may seem, please.  PLEASE hear me on this....

God works miracles today.  He redeems His children!  His promises never ever come back void.  They can't, because He is Truth and cannot lie.  :D  That's good news!!!

~Mommy

All photography is courtesy of Lee-Anne Fenwick Photography in Louisville, Ky.

*In order to maintain extra privacy, I've replaced our children's real names with nicknames that accurately describe them. :) **
 

Take a Walk With Me

 

I've been super busy but won't you come and take a walk with me, and we can spend time together!  I probably know most of you, but there may be a few reading whom I've never met before.  Let me first say thank you so much for reading, and I plan on being very real in sharing my heart in this blog.  Welcome to life with the Cates!

 

It's been absolutely gorgeous weather the past couple of days, so even though I've been almost "pull my hair out" busy, I've made myself get out and exercise!  I'm so glad of this because especially on lovely days like these when the temps hover around 70 in the morning and the birds are singing, I find being outside an enormous stress reliever.

 

Before I continue on my walk with you, I guess I should share a few of the things that have been filling my days and nights....

 

First of all, full-time working couples and those with children already, I have no idea how you manage to go through the extensive adoption process and still do all the necessary things!!  Like showering for instance.  (lol)

 

I'm preparing for my very first speaking engagement tomorrow night at a ladies banquet.  I'm thrilled to have been asked to do this!  You know, when you tell the Lord you want to be used, He WILL use you!   I don't consider myself a speaker, but He told me I am.  When God speaks, things exist.  So, I'm a speaker!!

 

Everything filling my days are blessings to say the very least, but this time of year is full already.  But when you add making a (pivotal) profile book, researching and applying for grants and loans, which then require more emails, letters of rec, and fundraisers, there isn't much time to even make a cup of coffee in the morning!  Much less laundry, meals, or sweeping the mounding drifts of pollen we have from our shaded lot.  (Please tell me your driveway is covered, too!)  Well I actually love having an excuse to be outside, can you tell? :)

 

I'm currently doing a fundraiser of Derby pies for a $20 donation, and it's been an enormous blessing!!  My friend Shareen Dunn and her family have always loved my family recipe of Derby pie, and she was the one who came up with the clever idea.  Especially with living in Louisville and the Derby being this weekend and Mother's Day fast approaching there are many reason for dessert.  But really, when is a pecan and chocolate filled buttery pie not a good idea?

 

 

So, I'm learning how to make a pretty and tasty pie when you "mass produce" it.  Making one is easy.  Making 8 takes more strategy with the timing of my oven, etc. I'm learning fast what to do and not to do!  A good thing to remember is to go ahead and set your butter out and even eggs.  Also when the ingredients are all out, pecans already chopped, and your kitchen is as relatively tidy as possible, the process goes much more smoothly!

 

 

Heath and I are constantly smelling these heartwarming pies and just the wafting fragrance smells like God is answering our prayers!  We are so thankful to have so much support in all areas by not just family and friends, but even strangers who don't know us well.  I wish I could personally give every one a big hug who is helping along in this process! 

 

 

Lee-Anne Fenwick is a new friend and neighbor of ours. She so graciously surprised us by taking giving us our adoption announcement photo session as a gift!! She's very talented in her developing photography business, and has a heart that is goes very deep for orphans.  Lee-Anne and her husband have adopted 3 children, and she has been so supportive of us.  Thank you so much, Lee-Anne!

 

 

Well, as you can see this was a beautiful day to take a walk/run.  I walked most of this time so I could take some pictures to show you the beauty in our neighborhood.  I love this quiet boulevard that's just a block away.  The middle is serene park with a wide sidewalk and benches, and either side are lovely historic looking homes as you can see from above.

 

 

A little farther down, you'l find pristine lawns with a white picket fence which is something I thought only existed in the movies!  Look at the darling window box in the distance.

 

 

 

You know what Mom said last week is right!

 

The sky does seem to look bluer .....

 

 

And the sun does seem to shine brighter ....

 

 

When there is a baby on the way!!!

 

 

I had Pandora on Jesus Culture, loud enough I could sing to (yes, I do!) but also quiet enough I can hear Spring singing around me.

 

 

My heart also sings a tune that of praise....

 

God is so good, so faithful and He Redeems!

He is The Anchor that holds!!!

 

 

So if you come to my house right now, you'll may happen to find my bed unmade, clean laundry in piles (with full hampers), and white coats pockets to repair and iron. Probably a trashcan brimming butter wrappers, empty bags of chocolate chips and lots of banana peels because they're cheap and fast to eat. A green pollen covered porch that needs sweeping and a car that needs to go through a monsoon to get clean. A desk with lots paperwork to be filled, emails to get returned and songs to be learned for Sunday. A kitchen timer going off as the baker is blogging. ;)

 

 An apron clad girl may greet you with her wet hair in a very messy bun, day old make up with camel back full of coffee (ok, maybe not that).

 

 

But I can guarantee what you will find is the most content and happy couple who may be tired but is brimming with joy and peace in even the most hectic environment!  There is a girl here with a heart that's growing larger everyday with love for a baby that has been prayed over for many years.  

 

You will leave knowing that there are two people who will do whatever God tells them to do to find the family they've been promised!!!

 

 

~Leslie

 

 

  

 

 

 



Why Hello there, so nice to meet you!

Hello out there, all!

This is the first of many posts to come, but wanted to get started telling you all about our excitement over starting this amazing journey toward adopting our baby. Leslie & I have been praying and seeking God over this for quite some time now, and are thrilled to finally get some of the process under our belt!

As of now, our home study is complete!!! This is one of the biggest first steps, meaning all of our preliminary paperwork is in and sorted, and the social worker/counselor has completed the necessary work to approve our home for accepting a child.

Currently, we are pursuing a domestic adoption through an adoption certified lawyer here in town. We have looked into the state of Hawaii thus far, and it seems there is a high likelihood of getting a referral from a birth mother before she delivers the baby, meaning we could likely get a travel call to pick up our new baby from the hospital! Leslie & I both have dreamt of this -- hoping to get a newborn (although that is very difficult to do through most adoption pathways, that's why we're so excited about this possibility).

We have a lot of praying and seeking still to do, as we will need God's help to prepare our hearts and home for the coming baby, and we will need a financial miracle to finance this adoption. We both agree that the tens of thousands of dollars this will require, although a daunting figure, is nothing compared to a lifetime together with our baby.

"And my God will supply every need of yours, according to His riches in glory in Jesus Christ!" ~ Phil 3:19

Courtesy Lee-Anne Fenwick Photography 

We would greatly appreciate any support you can provide. A Paypal donate button is available on the right sidebar of this blog for those who are able to assist us at this time. We ask you prayerfully consider assisting us in bringing home Baby Cates.

Thank you all for your love and support through this time. We both are looking anxiously to the day when we can finally hold our baby in our arms! We will continue to post updates here as they come, and share the love and excitement we're holding throughout this "skinny pregnancy."

- Heath