Happy half-birthday, baby girl!

Today, Miss Ruthie FERGUSON celebrates another milestone...


Today is her half birthday!

We are crazy about this little lady!

She's been changing and growing so much these last weeks...  


Here are a few of her favorite things:

She loves dancing with her daddy while Mommy makes dinner.
She loves when her brothers talk to her- they always make her laugh!
She likes trying new foods- today she even ate quinoa for the first time and liked it!  
She's sitting like a big girl now and likes to play with her toes.
She REALLY likes splashing in the tub.
She likes being pushed FAST in a shopping cart- it makes her squeal!
Ruthie likes to play with Mommy's hair :).
She also loves to be outside.





 

Isn't she a beauty???


We are SO thankful that God brought her to our family.
We are now, blissfully, 5 Mariposas!

Forever A Family

Daddy Speaks- Adoption is Real

Last Sunday was Orphan Sunday.  

As I mentioned in my last post, on Orphan Sunday, Christians across the world stand for the orphan. We take the weekend to discuss and pray for ways to defend the fatherless…to care for the child that has no family…to visit orphans in their distress.

Niles was asked to share at our church what the Lord had been teaching him regarding adoption...

{I was SO proud of him!}

Niles spoke about the "real" and legitimate effect adoption has on our lives as believers in Christ as well as it's effect on our family.

In case you missed it, you can listen to the audio from the 9:00 service HERE.

We want to say "Thank you" to our church family for the opportunity to share what we have been learning.  We pray that everyone would take some time this week to think about and thank the Lord for their adoption in Christ.  We also pray that you will ask the Lord how YOU could be used by him to minister to the least of these. 

Happy to Report Nothing

Hello friends!  

Thanks for stopping by to check on us :)

Since my last post I am happy to report- nothing!

Well, nothing out-of-left-field-crazy at least.

No unexpected phone calls.

No last minute legal issues.

No heart breaking news.

Just a plain, old, happy life as a family of 5!

We are THRILLED to announce that Ruthie's adoption finalization hearing is scheduled for NEXT Wednesday,  November 6th.  Niles and I will "attend" the hearing in Florida via phone.  The call should last about 15 minutes after which we will FINALLY become Ruthie's forever family and she will legally become a Ferguson.

To God be all Honor, Glory and Praise!

"She looks just like you!"

 "Oh my goodness!  She looks just like you!" said the girl at the CVS counter the first time I ventured out with my baby in SC.  I had been in FL for 17 days and was pretty tan.  And Ruthie and I both have really dark hair...  so I could see our "family resemblance" and it made me smile.  Later  when I started posting pictures of Ruthie and her brothers online  friends would say "she looks like Calvin!" and "she looks like she belongs!"- all sweet and well intentioned compliments.

And yet, they made me feel strange.

I began to wonder how I was "supposed" to respond to these remarks?  Was I "supposed" to tell perfect strangers that she's adopted when they compliment us?  Was it "lying" to let people believe she was biologically related to me?  And I wondered too how should I respond to friends that say she "looks like she belongs in our family"?  You see, I had prepared myself for 2 years to become the mother of a baby that did NOT look like me and assumed we would become a conspicuous family once our Ruthie joined our family. We took classes and did research to equip ourselves to handle the tough questions people might ask us regarding why our family did not look alike- and now all of a sudden we did! 

It seems like a silly thing to worry about, I know.  But as someone who was so publicly working to bring a baby home through adoption it felt like a strange secret sometimes.

I prayed about these feelings of confusion and sought the wisdom of friends and the counsel of the online adoption community.  As is always the case the Lord responded... 

I began to feel great peace knowing our Ruthie was fearfully and wonderfully made by her loving Father.  I felt too that our adoption journey was exactly what it needed to be to prepare our family to bring her home- whether she was going to look like us or not.  And I felt that He was whispering "be still" to my heart full of worry...


So I decided to trust Him and stop my worrying for once :).  

I trust that it is GOOD for me to enjoy my baby girl without constantly "championing" the cause of adoption.  
I trust that I have a lifetime ahead of me of opportunities to talk about adoption and the joy that it has brought to our family.  
I trust that He will not hide His will from me, so I can stop worrying about what I'm "supposed" to do.
I trust that love makes a family, not biology or looks.
  

Now when people tell me she looks like me- I simply smile and say thanks!  

God Changed the Mind of Pharaoh

So there are two reasons why I haven't blogged in nearly a month...

One reason is probably pretty obvious...

Keeping up with these 3 little treasures has taken up every second of every day!

The other reason isn't as cute... 

The day after my last post we received a terrifying phone call from our social worker.

Just a couple weeks after finally coming home with our Ruthie,

one day after our baby turned one month old 

and just days before her baptism 

we heard this news:

"Your adoption is being contested."

The beautiful dream we were just beginning to taste was suddenly yanked away... and we felt broken and helpless.

This helplessness eventually turned into a paralysis for me when it came to things like blogging, planning, even day-dreaming of the years to come.  

I was weak and afraid- just trying to put one foot in front of the other.

But God..

He didn't just leave me in this broken place.  Slowly he began to show me what he promised the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness"

He consistently gave me the grace I needed to make it through the day, one day at a time.   His mercies were new every morning and slowly he began to show me contentment in today-surrendering my tomorrows to Him...

(There's a lot more to share here- in time.)

God also provided us with great counsel and prayer warriors to support us.  One of these great conselors was our home study social worker, Hollie.  

 I will never forget her response on a day that I called her in despair- she said "The same God that changed the heart of Pharaoh and parted the Red Sea is in control today"... 

That soon became my consistent prayer ...

Father, just as you changed the heart of Pharaoh, please change the heart of the man contesting our adoption but unlike Pharaoh let him come to know you as Savior...

As I said above there is a LOT more to share about the last month...

...the grace God gave us each day

...the encouragements we received seemingly out of nowhere

...the most specific prayer requests that God answered

...the heroic actions of our birthmother (who was NOT the reason for the contest)...

But today I just want you to share in our joy 

so I will skip to the end of this chapter of our story.

Today just before lunch I received a call again from our social worker- or so I thought.

Caller ID said:

Suzanne- Bond of Love agency

I answered- "Hi this is Maria!"

and I heard

"Hi Maria! It's "B" (our birthmom)

then she said

"are you sitting down? I have good news for you again"

So I obediently sat down and she said

"I got him to sign all the papers.  Ruthie is officially yours"

It. Is. Over.

To God be all the glory and honor- the contest is over and we can now FINALLY move to finalize our  adoption!  In a matter of months, the baby girl that was born of our hearts on May 8th will officially become a Ferguson.

We are floored by His great love for our little family.

Instead of immediately calling Niles at work after hearing from "B" today, I decided to WAIT to surprise him with our incredible news when he got home.

So the boys and I made signs and got balloons...

When Daddy arrived boys met him outside and made him close his eyes and walk in while Mommy stood shaking like a leaf trying to capture the moment...

 

Surprise!
Please forgive the quality of the photographs (as I said, I was SHAKING like crazy!).

I think you get the idea :) Daddy was thrilled!

Today our family will raise an Ebeneezer to remind us what God has done.  May He receive all glory, honor and praise.

Ruth's BIRTHday!

If you read the post I wrote on May 7th you saw my perfectly made plans for the preparation and arrival of my long awaited baby girl... as I reread those plans today I couldn't help but laugh at myself actually thinking things would go "according to plan"!  When in the last year have thing gone just the way I expected?!?

That being said, there was one thing I COULD expect according to God's Word...

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11).  No matter what happened I could count on the fact God would work every bit of it out for our GOOD...

Here is the story of our sweet Ruth's BIRTHday



Wednesday, May 8th
8:15AM
Niles had just left for work and called me just to chat.  He said that he really wished his "adoption leave" from work could start that day.  He desired time at home, before all our travels began, to calmly prepare and have some time to just sit with the Lord and pray.  We talked more and decided it would be best for him to finish out the week as we had planned- hoping to fit in some quite time before we left.  We said our good-bye's and I went back to making the boys breakfast and planning my day.  That morning my amazing small group had planned to help me deep-clean my house in preparation of our baby girl's arrival.

8:25AM
My phone rang and the caller ID read  "Birth mom-B"!  I held my breath, told the boys I'd be right back and I stepped outside to answer the phone.  I said "hello" and "B" happily greeted me.  I told her I had been thinking about her so much that morning.   And she said "Well, the Lord must have had me on your mind because your baby girl will be born today."  It took my brain what felt like hours to sort out what she said, then I responded "Umm... seriously?"  She laughed at me and said "well, I wouldn't joke about that!  Yes!  She's coming today!"  Then she filled me in on the details- she was admitted to the hospital the night before after several days of pretty strong (though inconsistent) contractions.  Over night she was monitored and continued to contract.  In the morning she was evaluated and the doctors decided to schedule her c-section for 5PM that day.  So I excitedly said "OK!  Well I'm going to call Niles and we are going to find a way to get to FL in time!"  I told her I'd call her later once our plans were set and that I couldn't wait to see her!

I hung up and called Niles back.  The conversation went something like this
"Hey honey.  Umm... I need you to come home.  "B" just called, she's in labor and they've moved her c-section to today at 5 PM."  If I remember correctly his response was something like "What?!?!"  So I repeated the news and told him to turn around and come home :).

After I hung up with him I came inside and told the boys that today was going to be Ruthie's birthday!  They were so excited!  Turner started jumping up and down.  Then my mind started to go 100 mph... something like this:

I need to call my mom and sister.
I need to take a shower.
Must eat breakfast.
We need 2 plane tickets.
I need to take a shower.
Make plans for the boys.
Today is Ruthie's birthday!
My bible study is on their way to help me clean now.
Finish packing.
Shower, must shower before I meet my baby!

I got a hold of my sister and she helped me unscramble my thoughts.  We worked together to get my mom on the phone, she looked for flights.  I called my mother in law- filled her in.  She was on standby to watch the kiddos.  I called my sweet friend Anna and let her know what was going on.  Then I finally hopped in and out of the shower.

9:00AM
Niles arrives home and begins working on booking us a flight.
The beautiful women from my bible study arrive as previously planned to help me deep clean my house.  They excitedly hug me and get to work like Cinderella's helpers!

I get dressed and with Danielle's help and watchful eye I wrap up the packing that I thankfully began the day before! (side note- Danielle is a professional traveler and EXPERT packer!  I couldn't have finished without her!)

11:00AM
We have our plans in place and we're on the move!

Taken just before we left our house!

On our way to the airport!

We quickly unloaded at the airport and say sweet good-byes to our fellas.  They were so excited that their sister was going to be born that day!  We checked our bags and took our carry-ons and empty baby car seat through security in no time at all.  When I was putting my shoes back on after our security check two sweet little old ladies came to ask me "Where is your baby?" referring to our empty car seat.   And I excitedly told them "we are going to go get her!  We are adopting a baby girl that will be born today at 5pm!"  They were so kind and complimentary.  A very sweet moment in the middle of a very surreal morning!

Then we made our way to our gate where we attempted to eat the lunch that our expert packer, Danielle, graciously made for us.

In what seemed like seconds it was time to get on our plane.  We gate-checked the car seat (again we were asked "where's the baby?") and boarded the plane.  We found our seats, second from the back of the plane and buckled up for take off.

Again, time seemed to go in fast forward and before we knew it we had landed and were unloading in Atlanta.  We knew that our time to catch our connecting flight was limited so we rushed across the airport, on and off the tram and speedily made it to the gate.  And they were already boarding!

Again we made our way onto the plane, this time ALL THE WAY in the back.

I won't say the flight was pleasant (it was SO loud!) nor will I say I was feeling well (stress headache and nervous butterflies make a great combination) but thankfully I can say the flight was brief.  All of a sudden we were on the ground in Sarasota, just a 45 minute drive from our baby girl!

4:00PM
Seconds after we landed my phone rang.  It was our FL social worker, Ms. Suzanne.  She said "did you get my message?" Which of course I had not.  So then she said, "B's c-section was moved-up to 3:30."  Not knowing in that moment what time it was I said "ok, we'll hurry!"  Then I realized -WAIT! It's already 4:00!  She's likely already born!"  Ms. Suzanne hadn't heard from "B" since before surgery and didn't have any additional information so we said our good-bye's and hung up.  In that moment I felt 2 very strong emotions- disappointment and relief.  I was disappointed that we'd missed it... "B" really wanted us there and we didn't make it.  But at the same moment I felt relief.  Relief that she was born and for the first time since 5:30 AM I could slow down for a second and catch my breath.  PLUS- my baby was probably BORN already!  That's an awesome feeling. 

Next we went to get our bags and said e-nee-me-nee-miney-mo and picked a car rental place to rent a car.  A few minutes later we loaded up our car, prayed together, plugged the hospital into our GPS and began the drive toward Peace River Hospital in Port Charlotte.

The 45 minute drive was beautiful and surreal.  There were so many emotions we were both feeling it's hard to describe.  The closer we were to the hospital the more aware I was of the fact that I was about to meet both "B" and my baby girl at the same time... We were less than 10 minutes away from the hospital when my phone rang again... it was "B".  I quickly answered  and asked how she was.  She said she was good, that everything had gone well and that she was holding my baby in her arms.  My heart rate picked up to a solid 200 beats per minute and I told her we were almost to the hospital.  She gave me her room number and told us to "come right in when you get here"

5:00PM
A few minutes later we arrived.  Again we sat and prayed in our car and asked the Lord to be with us.  We walked in the front door of the hospital, up the elevator and straight to the maternity nurse's station. We let them know which room number we were there to visit and we asked a nurse to check and make sure it was ok for us to go in.  One of the nurses went to check with "B" and the others, realizing who we were, excitedly congratulated us.  Again, a VERY surreal moment.  The first nurse came out of "B's" room and gave us the all clear to go in.

Niles took these picture just before we entered the room (with our hearts in our throats!)

I entered the room and immediately made eye contact with "B."  I glanced at the baby in her arms but almost felt like I shouldn't look at her too long... my heart almost couldn't take it.  I remember Ruthie's eyes were open and a little of her dark hair was peeking out from under her little hat.  I asked "B" how she was feeling and how everything went.  She said she was groggy but everything had gone well.  

Then she said "Do you want to hold her?"  I had only been in the room about 45 seconds and it was already time... I smiled, took off my coat and reached out to meet my daughter.

I held her, I stared at her and exhaled for what seemed like the first time.  She was perfect... beautiful...content.

Niles and I talked with "B" and her mom for at least half an hour.  We talked about her delivery, about the nursing staff, about her grandfather that was ill and at another hospital... normal stuff!  It was so surreal!  I felt like I had countless other times visiting friends with new babies at the hospital- conversation was so natural, the room was so peaceful.  "B" had mentioned to me before that she wanted to spend a little time with the baby after delivery before we went to our room.  So at some point in our conversation I asked her "do you want to hold her again?"  And she said, "No.  I just need to see you with her."  After a little while one of the nurses came in and "B" asked if our room was ready.  The  nurse said yes and that we could leave any time we wanted.  "B" said we were welcome to stay but that she had already spent time with her and felt we could go whenever we were ready.  So then Niles gave me the small gift box we brought for her and I walked over to the side of the bed again to give her our gift.  It was a locket with her favorite flower, a daisy, on the front.  Inside was the Psalm we have clung to for the last 2 years,
Psalm 91:4:
"He will cover you with his feathers.  He will shelter you with his wings.  His faithful promises are you armor and protection."

She smiled and thanked us.  I hugged her and prepared to say good-bye.  Then another nurse came in to check the baby.  When she was done I told her we were ready to go, but Niles wanted to pray first.  So I handed the baby to "B" and held her hand.  Then Niles prayed over the baby, "B" and her mom and it was an incredibly beautiful time.  Then "B" and her mom gave the baby a final kiss and snuggles and we put her back in her bassinet.  We said goodbye and walked out the room, down a LONG hallway to our new room...

As soon as I was in the hall the tears came... my heart broke for my friend.  

She just made the most beautiful and difficult sacrifice for this precious baby girl and it broke my heart.  And in the same moment I was walking toward "our room" with "our baby"... such a tornado of emotions.

Once we settled into our room we called the boys and they were FINALLY able to see their baby sister!  They couldn't have been more excited!!

Then I called my sister and showed her her "middle-name-sake" and of course we both cried :).

After the calls, we met the pediatrician, met our nurse (and her nursing students), got some pizza for dinner and settled in for our first night!

May 8, 2013 was one of the most surreal and beautiful days of my entire life.  I am so grateful that the Lord was so near to us the entire day.  He sustained us and worked every, single detail out beautifully.  We are so grateful for the prayers of God's people for protection, for travel mercies and for peace.

To Be Continued...

Finally a Family of 5!

Our eagerly anticipated and long awaited baby girl arrived- ALMOST A MONTH AGO!

Everyone, I am over the moon to introduce to you our sweet Ruthie.

Ruth Beatrice

She was born, Wednesday, May 8th at 3:56 PM.  

She weighed 7 lbs and was 18.5 inches long.

SHE. IS. INCREDIBLE!

I am SO sorry it has taken me almost a month to share the story of her incredible "birth"day!  As I am sure you can imagine things have been wonderfully crazy in my life since that beautiful day and every free moment I have had has been spent either cuddling one of my 3 sweet kiddos or NAPPING!  

With that said, in celebration of our Ruthie's first month, I hope to share her birth story tomorrow and give you a glimpse of our last month in subsequent posts.

Before I close today I want to thank you all, from the bottom of my heart for all your prayers, support and kind words over the last two years.  The Lord has done GREAT things- including provide us with a community of support greater than we could ever ask or imagine.  Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for everything.

As I said in my last post...

He has made everything beautiful in its time (Ecc 3:11).  

To GOD be all glory, honor and praise!

6 Days

In just 6 days I will see my beautiful Ruth for the first time!

Our baby girl's birthday will be 5-13-13 :) and we couldn't possibly be more excited.



This week will be full of organizing, cleaning and packing as we prepare for our adventure to Florida!  Miss Ruthie's bag is packed and ready!

Don't worry, her diapers and wipes and bottles are in her other bag ;)

Here's our plan:

Saturday morning, after Turner's soccer game, we will head to Grammy and Gramps' house in Pawley's Island.

Sunday, bright and early, Niles and I will leave the boys in Pawley's and head South for approximately 10 hours to FL. That evening, we will meet the amazing people that are going to lend us their home during our FL stay.  Then we will travel 30 minutes to meet "B" in person for the first time at her home.   We ask that you cover us all in prayer during this time as it will be a highly emotional time for us all (and it will be Mother's Day of all days)... we pray specifically that she will feel our love and admiration for her and that she will know and not doubt the abundant love of our Lord as well.

Monday, bright and early, we will meet "B" at the hospital.  I will then have the absolute honor of witnessing the birth of my soon-to-be baby girl via c-section at approximately 8AM.  Again we ask for your prayers.  Specifically please pray for a safe and delivery for "B".  Please pray for her heart and her body as both will experience great difficulty and pain...  Please pray that the God of all comfort will be near her, especially as she says good bye.  It breaks my heart to even write that... and yet I believe that the Lord WILL "cover her with his feathers and shelter her with his wings.  And his faithful promises WILL be her armor and protection."  I ask again that you lift her up in prayer as often as she comes to mind.

In the hospital Niles and I will likely be given a room to care for and stay with our baby girl for the two days she is in the hospital.  

Wednesday, we expect Ruthie to be discharged and begin our wait to come home!

When can we go home?

We will remain in Florida pending permission from "ICPC" authorities to leave FL and return to SC.  The "Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children" is a federal law which establishes uniform legal and administrative procedures governing the interstate placement of children.  The ICPC is premised on the belief that children requiring out-of-state placement will receive the same protections and services that would be provided if they remained in their home states, and further that all legal requirements are observed. In furtherance of this goal, the ICPC gives the sending state the opportunity to conduct home studies and evaluate the proposed placement. It allows the prospective receiving state the opportunity to determine that the placement is in the child’s best interests and it guarantees both legal and financial protection.

That being said, we are praying that this process will be a speedy one!  We have been told to prepare for a minimum of 7 BUSINESS days from the time papers are signed (which will be on Tuesday).  We ask that you pray for both FL and SC to efficiently review and approve our paperwork so that we can come HOME and introduce Ruthie to her big brother's!

We are overjoyed to be so close and are ever so grateful for your prayers and excitement.

We truly believe that "He has made everything beautiful in its time..."  Ecclesiastes 3:11

To our God be all the glory- forever!

The Lord Will Provide

At some point there may come a time when I am not surprised by the incredible ways God provides for our needs... but today I remain amazed.

Again the Lord has given us more than we could ask for or imagine...


First, we were able to close on the refinance of our home (that we have been working toward since January) last week.  This means that not only do we skip a month in payments (on the EXACT month we bring home Ruthie!) but going forward we will pay $200 LESS per month!   

Then, one day last week we received an unexpected check in the mail for $300 for the settlement of the townhouse we sold 2 years ago! 

Then, the grant that we applied for earlier and were notified about last week was confirmed yesterday- and it is $1,000 MORE than what we even hoped for!  


AND THEN today I go to check the mail and say to the Lord "OK Lord, what's today's encouragement going to be?" only to find a $1,100+ check from the bank from the escrows of our original home loan!  

Seriously?!?!?! 


When the Lord called our family to adopt, nearly 2 years ago, we knew that He would provide every single dollar we would need.  But it's one thing to "know" something and something all together different to "watch" something miraculous happen as we have these last weeks and months... our God is truly our JEHOVAH-JIREH "The Lord our Provider".  We are blown away by his generosity and loving kindness.


Our desire in sharing all of this with you is to encourage you that wherever the Lord leads you He too will provide.   Jehovah-Jireh will never leave you nor forsake you and he promises to provide for all your needs.  Be encouraged and take heart! 



One final mind blowing development- yesterday we found out that we will meet our precious birthmother on Mother's Day.  

  
I can't imagine a more appropriate day to hug her for the first time.





19 days and counting!



 

Grumpy but Grateful

This is the day that the Lord has made;
    let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

One of the elders of our church encouraged our congregation last week to look at each day as a gift from our Lord.  He even cautioned us against having a bad attitude toward the dreaded start of the week... Monday...

Well my Monday attitude arrived a day late...  

2 weeks of an annoying stomach bug for my boys + poison ivy and too little sleep for Mommy= one grumpy me!


But in an effort to "rejoice and be glad" I am going to BATTLE my case of the Monday's with gratitude!


I am grateful because...

...we have received TONS of butterflies!

THANK YOU!  At last count there were 33 butterflies on our door!  

(If you'd like to participate check out this post for details)

...you fine people have ordered almost 20 shirts!  

Thank you all for helping us spread the word and for purchasing tshirts and onesies!  I can't wait to see you sporting your Ruthie T!  Every single shirt helps us raise the final funds we need.

...our travel arrangements for Florida are complete!

It looks like Niles and Ruthie and I will have the privilege of staying in a beautiful FL home of a friend for our entire stay! No HOTEL!!  And thanks to all the tshirts we have sold- we even have gas money :) yippie!

... our "Turner and Calvin" team is assembled!

We are so blessed to have family and friends that have stepped up to help us care for the boys while we are gone to FL!  You guys rock- and I KNOW my boys are going to have a blast while we're gone!  I am so grateful that one more item is off my mental list.

... our loan is approved!

The ABBA Fund has graciously approved our loan request today!  Another step closer to having every bit of what we need to bring Ruthie home!

... our birthmom is doing well!

I just received an email from her saying she is well and looking forward to meeting us :)!

Be encouraged!  Our God is at work and he is moving His people to supply our every need!

Now I'm going to sneak a nap for the next 15 minutes and all will be right with the world.