Update on Adoption Process

We are still praying daily over which adoption agency and which country God wants us to adopt from. I’ve emailed and talked with about 5 different agencies this week and at times it can be very stressful and overwhelming. Please keep praying for us in that direction. On another note, I am actually working on our first adoption fundraiser. We will be hosting an adoption silent auction and as of right now we will have over 50 items to auction off. I am still amazed at the generosity of everyone who has donated items to the auction. Most of these people we have never even met before; however they were happy to help us out. The best part of the auction is that 100% of all proceeds will go towards the adoption of bringing home our little one. Details will be posted soon!! (If you or your company would like to donate to this auction, please email me at tlc1982@aol.com) We will also be having a yard sale in May or June and then starting in May all of the proceeds from my coupon classes will go toward our adoption fund. Since the Tuscaloosa News ran the article about my couponing, my calendar is booking extremely fast and we are so blessed. God is so good and He is providing in many different ways. Thanks so much for your prayers and your words of encouragement. We are so excited about this new journey!

Monthly Update: 38 Months

35 Months Old





• You love ketchup (k-up)!! You constantly want more when you are eating French fries, chicken fingers or fish sticks.
  


• You love to hold mommy’s hand when you go to sleep at night. We try to get you in your bed around 8:00pm most nights and once you crawl into bed, you want mommy to sit beside you and to hold your hand until you fall asleep. It’s so precious to me and I love those moments with you. Some nights you fall asleep really fast; however there have been nights where I have held your hand for about an hour. J


• You are OBSESSED with Monster Trucks and Nascar Racing!! You usually want to watch these on TV over any of your favorite cartoons. Our favorite races are the freestyle competitions and most of the time you say “Awe Man” or “It Cash (It crashed)” when they crash or flip over. You love the Batman & Spider Man Car the best. You also like to pretend to be a Monster Truck driver when you drive your 4 wheeler around the house. Most of the time we find you running over things, standing on your 4-wheeler while driving it and riding on the back 2 tires. You have no fear child!!


• You had your first scare this month at school! On Feb. 21st (Monday) you fell at school on the playground and hit your head. They thought you had a concussion, so we headed to see your doctor to make sure everything was okay. Turned out you were fine and you were released by the doctor to head back to school. On Feb. 25th (that Friday) you hit your head again during recess in the gym and busted your forehead. After seeing the doctor, we were told that you needed stitches and we headed to an ENT so that they could stitch you up. You ended up getting about 4 deep stitches and 4 stitches on top of that. You were such a trooper!!! However, Nana and Mommy were a complete mess!


• You are talking ALL the time when you are at home with mommy and daddy. We are starting to understand a few of the words and you get so excited when we can understand what you are saying.


• New Words you are saying: “Pig, Batman, Baa (for Sheep), Egg, Cash (Crash), See ya, Elephant, Deep, Wide, Eye, Bear, Apple, Spider Man, Papa (PawPaw), Cacker (Cracker), Pizza, Big,”


• You can say all your ABC’s now and you love to spell things that you see. For example, the other day when we were at the doctor’s office they had a sign that said Alabama. You started telling us every letter.. ALABAMA.


• You can also count to 10 and love to do this when we are going up the stairs to see Mrs. Angie at speech.


• Favorite Movies this month: Bolt!!!


• Favorite Songs this month: Deep & Wide, Wheels on the Bus,


• Favorite Foods: Pizza, Frosted Flakes, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cheese It’s, Ritz Crackers, Soda Crackers, Applesauce, Oranges, Bananas, Fish Sticks, French Fries, Chicken Fingers, Doritos, Tortilla Chips


• You love to visit the fish at school in the mornings. You get so excited when we get upstairs and you run straight to the room with the fish tank. I’m so thankful for this fish tank because it usually makes your morning start off much better.


• You love when mommy picks you up from school!! You usually tell everyone “Bye” and as soon as we get into the car you ask for your juice. I’ve forgotten a few times to have you something and let’s just say that you were not a very happy little boy.


• You are wearing size 3T clothing and you wear a size 8 shoe! Your little feet are so wide.


• You still weigh about 38 lbs (You’ve been this weight for the past year; however, you’re just getting taller!!)

Colton,

You are starting to develop into you precious personality so much more now and we can’t get enough of it. When you are at home with just mommy and daddy you are the funniest little boy ever!! You are constantly laughing and running wide open around the house. You love to ride your 4-wheeler, and wrestle with your daddy and you are still mommy’s little buddy. You are a typical 2 ½ year old boy that loves cars, trucks, dinosaurs and Super Heros! Throughout the past month, you have started talking more and more and we are starting to understand bits and pieces of what you are saying. We love that our house is no longer quiet and that you are trying to express your feelings more these days. We are so proud of all of your accomplishments this month!! You are such a sweet little boy and we couldn’t ask for a better son.

God's Little Surprises

God surprises me every day through my precious little boy and it just shows me how much He loves me. I had talked to Colton's speech teacher Wednesday and we were discussing Colton's improvement since November of last year. He has made GREAT progress and he is constantly saying new words and is trying to talk more. However, we still are having problems with him either answering questions or asking for something. I was a little discouraged because of this setback, however Wednesday night our little man asked me for "toothpaste" and also said the following new words: "cars", "boat" and "pirates". It was just what I needed to hear!!

Lack of Blogging

I know I haven't blogged in a LONG time, but don't worry!! I'll be posting updates this weekend and next weekend hopefully. Be on the lookout for Christmas updates (Even though they are months late), a trip to the Zoo, and a new monthly update on Colton.

Our Exciting News!!!!

Since the beginning of our marriage and even when we were dating, Chris and I both shared with each other that God had given us hearts for orphans and for adoption. We knew early on in our courtship that one day we would welcome a child into our home through adoption and we are so excited to announce that we both feel that God is calling us now to adopt. Yes, we are scared, nervous and excited at the same time, but we know that our God will be with us each step of the way.

Over the past few years, I’ve been amazed at how God works in the most remarkable ways. I’m still reminded daily that He has a perfect plan for us and it is so much better than anything we could have ever imagined. So, let’s take a journey through our adoption timeline up to now:

Summer 2007: Chris and I both feel that God is calling us to adopt. We actually requested adoption information from different agencies and we were about to begin the process.

Fall 2007: We find out that we are expecting our first child. Adoption is put on hold.

April 2008: We welcome Robert Colton Whitaker into our family.

January 2010: We start trying to have another baby because we always wanted to have children that were close in age and because we wanted Colton to have a little brother or sister.

Fall 2010: After months of not being pregnant, we began praying about adding another child to our family through adoption.

December 2010 & January 2011: We contacted different adoption agencies to get requirements and paperwork needed to apply for adoption.

As of right now we are still praying for the following information:
-- Which Adoption Agency to use
-- Which Country to Adopt from (Some of the ones we are considering include: Russia, South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan)

There are so many decisions to be made and we want to make sure that we do what God wants us to do, so we are taking our time right now. Hopefully soon we will have an agency and will know which country our little one will be from.

How can you help us?

Pray!! We are scared, nervous and excited at the same time and we just ask that you and your family please lift us up in prayer throughout the next few months as we embark on this amazing journey.

Please pray for our little one. It is possible that our baby is already in the world at this point or is in his/her mother’s womb. We ask that you to pray for his/her health and that he/she would be taken care of. Please pray for the birth mother and for the one that will be taking care of our little one.

Pray for Colton. Pray that he accepts his new sibling and that everything will go smoothly during our transition time.

Pray for our adoption fundraisers. We know God will provide and we trust Him 100%! We already have a few fundraisers lined up (An Adoption Silent Auction and a Yard Sale) and we will be listing them on the blog as soon as we have all the details. Stay Tuned!!

Thanks again for following our journey and for praying for our family. We look forward to keeping you all updated on our family and we can’t wait to let you know what God is doing in our lives.

Chris, Tara and Colton

Moster Truck Driver

Colton is obssesed with Monster Trucks!!! He would rather watch the Monster Truck competitions on TV instead of any cartoon these days.

Since watching the competitons, he has become a brave little boy and tries to be just like the drivers. Here he is ridiing on his 4-wheeler at home.

Pictures before church

Little man is growing up!!!