Five Months Old!

Spending some time on his tummy mat!

I snapped this picture right after he rolled from his back to his belly for the first time!  Doesn't he look surprised?  "Wow!  I didn't know I could do that!"

Luke and Molly

My future is so bright, I gotta wear shades!

Luke was laying out in the front yard with Sissy on her quilt when Andrew came by and got some great shots!

If you click on the picture for a bigger view, you can see my first tooth!

Fun Facts About Luke

Fact 1

Luke has found his feet!  It is so adorable when babies find their feet and grab their toes!  He hasn't tried to put them in his mouth yet, but I'm sure it's coming!

Fact 2

Luke cut his second tooth!  He now has two wittle toofers on the bottom.  He cut the first tooth without much ado, but he made up for it with the second tooth.  It was quite the painful affair for him and robbed us both of much sleep.  His normal bedtime is 8:00, but the day he cut the second tooth, he didn't go down for the night until 2:00 a.m.  How I praise God for our homeschooling lifestyle that allows us to adjust our schedule for these "real life" happenings!
Fact 3
Luke's favorite pup is Molly.  He looks for her and smiles when he spots her.  He also recognizes her name and will look for her when he hears us call her. 
Fact 4
Luke is a VERY ACTIVE little guy!  When he is awake, he does not stop moving.  He is looking, grabbing and lunging all at the same time, making holding him a two-handed effort.
Fact 5
Luke is still a great little sleeper!
Fact 6
Luke still doesn't have much of an interest in solid foods, but I will keep offering them.

 

What Evil Lurks in the Woods . . . . .

Congratulations to Christian who has been cast as Peter in the Henry Players production of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe!  The show will run at the end of June.  The choreography is being done by someone who works for Disney, and Christian says it is amazing!  He was outside working on one of the fight scenes and reluctantly posed for the camera.  (The monk costume is not part of his costume as Peter, but he said it helps him get in character.)

Storms . . . .

The sirens began going off late this evening around 11:00 p.m. so we all made our way to the basement.  The kids are smiling in this picture, but it was a somber time in the belly of our house as we listened to the pounding wind and rain outside, the weather radio, and got updates on the tornado's location from Christian's ipod over the next couple of hours.  The next morning, we learned just how devastating this chain of storms were as we received the following e-mail from Doug Phillips at Vision Forum.  Please pray for the Lee family!

"Tom Lee was a man who always had a sparkle in his eyes and a Gospel message on his tongue. His family is one of those that people describe as “energy givers.” When Tom, his bride and his family of thirteen children would arrive in town, it always meant encouragement.

Last night as tornado storm winds approached the Lee home in Alabama, Tom gathered his wife and thirteen children in the den. They huddled and they prayed. Two minutes later the tornado descended upon them. The house was instantly destroyed as beams and cinder blocks rained down upon them.

But in his last great act of fatherhood, Tom Lee had the presence of mind to throw himself on top of his children, including his first-born son Jordan. Looking up at his father Jordan saw the blood in his father’s mouth and witnessed as the breath began to leave his father, but was able to hear the last words of his father’s crying out to God for the safety of his family. Then the spirit left the body of Tom Lee.

There were other injuries including children trapped under a piano and between beams. Medical assistance was nowhere in sight for many hours. There was just too much damage in the valley, too few support teams, and inaccessibility was a problem. Eventually they came.

This morning some children have been released from the hospital while others are still being evaluated for injuries.

Jordan Lee has not had time to grieve. The mantle of responsibility has been placed upon him immediately. Shortly after his father’s death, and while some children could not be rescued without assistance, Jordan called his friends—members of the Vision Forum staff, Kevin Turley; my former co-elder at our local church, Bob Welch; and others. Like his father, Jordan had a manly presence of mind and was able to take the necessary steps to see that his mother, brothers, and sisters would be rescued.

It was a late night here in San Antonio, in North Carolina, in Tennessee, and elsewhere as we worked together to get teams organized to drive through the night and bring assistance to the Lee family and others who have been devastated.

This morning the teams arrived. Reports are coming in from the ground. Just moments before posting this article, Vision Forum Ministries conference coordinator Kevin Turley described the scene as total devastation. He is presently helping a woman who is screaming looking for her daughter and grandchildren on a plot of land which once contained a house and is now completely flattened.

The woman was standing outside and screaming for help:  “They are gone...they are gone!” she wailed. “I told them to leave and they would not leave...!”

Several of the men who were my teammates for the Into the Amazon Expedition have been working through the night and are also on the location as of now. Food, clothing, and medical supplies are in great need, but especially water.

It is clear that the police and local authorities are overwhelmed and unable to handle the scope of the problem.
“Thank God, The body of Christ has been activated,” Kevin just told me. “We are getting calls and reports of tractors, trucks, and Christians from all around who are on their way to bring help.”

Growing So Fast!

Luke has a new high chair!  After doing some research and getting my friends opinions on what they like the best, the Eddie Bauer wooden high chair was my choice.  My first three all used a high chair that was made of plastic and was a booger to clean, so my criteria was that it must be easy to clean, and well made (I want it to be used by grandbabies too).  After the decision was made to purchase an Eddie Bauer, the hunt was on!  All I could find was cherry or black finish, and while I love both finishes, I don't want them on a high chair because they will show chips and scratches.  Luke's buddy, Nate, has an Eddie Bauer high chair in a lighter finish, so I knew that at one point they were made.  I found this one in great condition on craigs list and for a great price.  I bleached it from top to bottom and both Luke and I love it!  The seat cover that came with it was nasty, so into the trash it went.  I found a cute cover at etsy.com, homemade by a grandmother who started making them for her grandkids.  It's made in a cute frog and toadstool pattern (click the picture to see it larger).

Bath time after dinner!

Precious angel!

I took this pic of Andrew and Luke with my phone Sunday night -- I know it's blurry, but I love it!

Fun Facts About Luke

Fact 1

Luke loves to stand up!  When anyone is holding him while sitting down, the only position he is happy in is standing up on their lap.  He's one strong little guy!

Fact 2

  Luke still likes to sleep a lot.  Two hours is the maximum he can stay awake at any one time, which is why he has to take a quickie nap in the evening.  His schedule looks something like this:

6:00 a.m. - Bottle and then back to sleep

9:00 - 9:30 a.m. - Wake up, bottle and play time

11:00 a.m. - Nap

12:30 p.m. - Wake up, bottle and play time

2:00 - 2:30 p.m. - Nap

5:00 p.m. - Wake up, bottle and play time

6:30 p.m. - Nap

7:00 p.m. - Wake up and play time

8:00 p.m. - Bottle and down for the night

Fact 3

Luke cut his bottom left tooth today!  It's too small to take a picture of yet, but I'll try to get something up soon.  Might have to wait until he's asleep . . . .

Fact 4

I am now buying 18 month clothing!  Luke now weighs 19 lbs., which means that we are looking to buy another car seat for him.

Fact 5

Luke moves like an inch worm around his bed.  He likes to scrunch his chubby, little legs up under him, and then push forward with them.  I guess that would be a form of crawling (he does it when he's laying on a blanket on the floor too) but he hasn't mastered using his arms in conjunction with his legs to get around yet.   

Fact 6

Luke loves to smile!  He's always got a smile on his face when we're here at home.  He's a little more somber when we go out because he seems to be wary of strangers.  He makes us laugh sometimes, because he will be crying, but also trying to smile!

 Fact 7

Our family is enjoying Luke immensely!  He has brought such joy to our home!  We want to multiply that joy, so we have begun the process to add to our family again.  No news to share yet!

Momma's Birthday!!!!!!

It is with a grateful heart that I praise the Lord for preserving my life for another year!  I am humbled each and every morning when I awake and realize that I live and breathe and have my being because the sustainer of all life has been gracious to me.  Oh that I may love Him deeper and serve Him better in this next year of my life!

My family was so sweet to me today!  They gave me a beautiful cameo for my birthday (I love antique jewelry), and then we spent the afternoon in Macon touring a historical home, the Johnston-Felton-Hay House.  The Hay House is an absolutely gorgeous mansion that has been privately owned by three families, and is now owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.  Our family walked away with the message that you can have an abundance of earthly riches and have the best of everything, but there is still an appointed time for each of us to die.  When we each breathe our last breath, we take nothing with us from this earth.  Only what is done for Christ will last!

Carrabba's won the vote for dinner.  Luke had been so good all afternoon, but he was at his limit by the time we got there.  He didn't make any fuss while we were in the restaurant, but I was doing acrobatics keeping him quiet!  Following dinner, we took a detour and took Luke for his first visit to the Bass Pro Shop.  There was lots for him to see there and he was quite happy!  When we got back in to McDonough, we made a stop at Marble Slab Creamery for some birthday ice cream.  Yum!

My new cameo - love it!

Luke ready for a day on the town!

This is one of the happier pictures of Luke traveling - he is not so keen on his car seat.  It is a good thing when his thumb goes in his mouth, because it signals that he is about to drift off to sleep.

Whew!

Luke's first trip to the Bass Pro Shop!

It's Official!

LUKE IS A THOMAS!!!!!!

At 8:30 a.m. on April 18, 2011, Judge Wade Crumbley signed our Petition to Adopt, making Stephen Luke Thomas a permanent member of our family!

Judge Crumbley, our family, and the attorney representing us, Arnold Ernst, who is the husband of Ronnie Fishbein, the attorney who has represented us throughout our adoption journey.

The process was very quick -- Mr. Ernst swore Tom and I in before Judge Crumbley in his chambers on the third floor.  We were asked to state our full names, and then Mr. Ernest asked us questions pertaining to the Petition to Adopt.  Each question was answered in the affirmative (verifying Luke's date of birth, where he was born, etc.).  Surprisingly, the whole process took less than two minutes!  After the Petition was signed, we went down to the second floor to the Clerk's office where our attorney filed the original with the Court and ordered the birth certificate.

Waiting outside the Clerk's Office

I love this pic!!!!  But it's blurry, you say!  I KNOW!!!!!  It is becoming increasingly difficult to photograph Luke due to his constant movement!  I think we need to put the Nikon on the "active" setting (that's probably not what it's called, but I admit to being photography illiterate!) to keep up with his action!

Either Daddy changed the camera setting, or Luke slowed down enough for a photo!  His little overalls say "Thomas" on the front.  I stumbled across them one day on ebay and got them for $1.50.  The mom who was selling them had a son named Thomas, and she paid $50+ for them.  Whew!  Better her than me!

Following our trip to the Court House, Daddy treated us to a celebratory breakfast at Cracker Barrel (I cringe to think of how much trans fat we ingested . . . . . ).  It was a great morning for all of us, and we had a great time celebrating our little man, Luke!!!!!

After we got home around 11:00 a.m., Luke practiced his walking exercises with Christian and Andrew.

I love this one -- "Are you sure Mom said you could do that?"

"I'm getting the hang of it!"

Getting ready to wind down our morning with a diaper change and a nap.

He was squealing with delight!

Luke was quite the trooper this morning! I pulled him out of bed at 7:20 a.m. to get him ready to go to the Court House, which is earlier than he is used to getting up.  When he does get up, he usually eats and goes back to bed for another hour.  Because of our busy morning, he had to get up early, stay up, and he missed his morning nap.  I finally got him down for his nap around 11:30, and we didn't hear a peep from him until 3:30 in the afternoon!

As I think about the events of this day, my heart is full of a multitude of emotions.  First and foremost is joy and gratitude to the Lord for bringing Luke to our family!  I am so happy for our family -- that Tom and I have the privilege of raising Luke as a covenant child, and that Christian, Andrew and Sarah know the joy of a younger sibling.  I am happy for Luke -- that he has a mom and dad who love each other deeply and are committed to one another unto death, that he has older siblings who dote on him and enjoy his company, that he has a church family that prays for him diligently, that he has grandparents who think that he is the cat's meow, and that he has so many people who love him and pray for him!  

My heart also feels immense relief -- relief that a journey that started four and a half years ago, long before Luke was ever conceived, has finally concluded today.  I thought that the adoption process would be the healing balm to my heart following our failed infertility treatments.  I was wrong.  It was simply a continuation of pain and disappointment.  I know that each failed adoption that we persevered through was a stepping stone to bring us to Luke.  Our adoption journey didn't look at all like I thought it would, but it happened exactly the way that God ordained and I embrace it fully and thankfully!  The view from the top of the mountain is never fully appreciated until you remember the struggles you faced and surmounted on the way up.

Mixed in with the joy, gratitude and relief is an element of sadness.  I know that my joy comes because of a great sacrifice made by a young lady named Haley.  When I gaze into Luke's face, I am reminded every day of her selfless choice to give him more than she was able to give him at this point in her life.  I know that she rejoices with us today, but she drinks a bittersweet cup.  

I have come to realize that the relationship that Haley and I have is uncomfortable to some -- open adoption they call it.  There have been times when it has been uncomfortable to me.  My heart nearly broke in two at the hospital to see her agonize over her decision to relinquish her rights to parent her own child.  I think one reason that some people might be uncomfortable with our open adoption is simply because the concept is foreign to them.  I believe that closed adoption portrays the birth parents and adoptive parents as enemies of one another, so the perception is that I am fraternizing with the enemy and endangering Luke.  Haley most assuredly is not my enemy.  Nor is she a co-parent.  She is the woman who chose life for Luke and gave birth to him.  Her genetic blueprint is written on every part of his DNA.  She is no more and she is no less.  She is his birth mother, the mother of his birth.  She wishes she could have parented him.  I wish I could have given birth to him.  God ordained the part that each of us is playing in this adoption triad, and we must all embrace our respective roles and push forward.

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
   when I was made in the secret place,
   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
   all the days ordained for me were written in your book
   before one of them came to be. 
Psalm 139:13-16

Guilt is a common feeling that many adoptive parents feel, because there is the perception that they have taken the child away from its mother.  In this way, I feel that open adoption is far superior to any other form of adoption.  Haley CHOSE Tom and I to parent Luke.  We didn't take him from her.  She CHOSE to give him to US believing that we can give to him what she can't -- a loving, stable two parent home.  With that knowledge comes an enormous sense of entitlement -- we are doing exactly what she asked us to do.

As an adopted child myself, Haley represents the birth mother I never knew, and I have had to come to terms with some issues over my own adoption.  I am thankful that Luke will never struggle with the questions that have haunted me my whole life -- who do I look like?  Where do my physical characteristics come from?  What hereditary health issues lurk in my genes?  I am always looking at people, wondering if I share their biological lineage.  For as much as adoptees love and are grateful to their adopted parents and families, the unanswered questions always linger.   The biological ties that adoptees have to their biological families -- known or unknown -- cannot be ignored.  I don't want Luke to ignore the fact that he looks just like Haley.  I think that knowledge will bring him a sense of satisfaction someday.  Everything I have read about open adoption says that the children of open adoption "get it."  In fact, they "get it" better than the adults do.  They know who their parents are, and they know who their birth parents are, and they are OK with it.  Any anxiety they may feel as they process through the reality of their adoption is relieved when they know that they are loved by both their birth mother and their adoptive parents.  

I look forward to writing about open adoption as time goes by.  Everything is going well at this point.  Haley is extremely respectful of our role as Luke's parents and our family's privacy.  She has never demanded a thing, and we have been accommodating when she requests to see Luke.  We all agree that his interests are most important, and that we will all do what is best for him as he grows.  That said, I need to call it quits for the day so that I can do what is best for Luke when he wakes up at 7:45 a.m.!

Here is a bonus pic - I have two rose bushes at my front porch that have erupted in a glorious splendor of blooms!  Click on the picture to see larger view!  We cut them way back this past fall, and I think it made a huge difference in their yields.  

This is our roly-poly American bob-tail kitty girl basking in the shade of one of the rose bushes.  She was quite the picture of contentment!

BUBBY

 I don't get my picture taken very often with Luke since I'm the one who is usually holding the camera, so if someone happens to have a camera in their hand, I say, "Oh!  Oh!  Take our picture!"  Yay!  Another memory captured!

I took this one on the way home from church last night.  He reminded of me of Linus -- clutching his blankey and thumb in his mouth!  EXTREME CUTENESS!!!!

 Andrew as Linus in "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown"

Fun Facts About Luke

Fact 1

Luke has a very strong attachment to me.  I would be lying if i said that I wasn't happy.  This is what I prayed for!  It does have its challenges, however.  If momma isn't holding him, he's not happy.  He'll tolerate Daddy, sissy and brothers for a bit, but then he's just got to have momma.  I'm eating it up while I can -- the day is quickly coming where he will be Daddy's little shadow. 

Fact 2

Luke is becoming mobile.  He is all over his bed, making it difficult to keep him covered up.  I have to put a thicker sleeper on him at night to compensate.  He has learned to get up on his knees, but hasn't learned how to make everything work in order to crawl.  After I laid him down for a nap yesterday, he inched his little legs up until his bottom half was standing, yet his head was laying on his bed.  Think of the letter "A," the top of the A being his little rump.  It was quite cute!

Fact 3

Luke no longer likes his binky.  Now, this is a mixed blessing!  It was very difficult to break Christian and Andrew of their binky habit, so I'm glad that he has given it up at such a young age.  However, I have lost some control.  If he started to fuss in the car, in church, in the store, wherever, he was easily quieted with his binky.  Now, I have to come up with some other source of pacification.  (Is that a word?!) 

Fact 4

Luke has given up his binky because he now prefers his thumb.  I'm glad that his thumb is readily available, but sometimes he forgets to leave it in his mouth and he gets mad when it is gone.

Fact 5

Just in the last 24 hours, Luke has started noticing our food.  He stares intently at it, tries to grab it, and drools profusely.  I was hoping to wait a few more weeks to start introducing solids, but I think I may have to do it sooner than I planned.  It's all good though!  We are so thankful for a healthy little boy who is thriving!

Fact 6

Luke thinks his name is Bubby.  Seriously.  We've gotten into the habit of calling him Bubby for some time now.  Yesterday, I kept calling, "Luke!"  "Luke!"  trying to get him to look at me.  No success.  Finally, I called, "Bubby!"  and he immediately looked at me.  Oh dear.

Luke is Four Months Old!

 I laid Luke down for his nap on his belly this afternoon, and he immediately flipped over to his back!  The kids and I had been outside taking some pictures, so I had my camera was able to snap this picture of him just as he flipped.  Doesn't he look proud?!!

The Thomases have been BUSY!  I know -- you would never know it by looking at this blog.  I am ashamed at how little I have posted lately, especially given all the fun things we've been doing.  I prefer to let the pictures tell the story on our blog, and it's kind of hard to post pictures when I keep forgetting my camera.  Ugh.  We've spent a lot of time with friends the last two weeks, and how many pictures do I have to show for it?  NADA!  I'm going to try to do better at multi-tasking!

Got some sweet pics of my kiddos today!  It's not easy getting a four-month old to look at the camera and smile, especially when there is so much to look at outside.  Our kitties got excited that we were out there with them, so as I'm trying to take pictures, the kitties were rubbing against the kids' backs and legs -- very distracting!  Little Luke was far more interested in those kitties than he was in looking at the camera!

Most of our animals play nice together.  MOST.  Baxter likes to chase the cats up trees.  This is Klondike and Molly who play nice.

Luke has gotten strong enough to hang out in his Johnny Jump Up!

Exercising those back and leg muscles with Andrew!

Fun Facts About Luke

Fact 1

Luke has very sharp finger nails.  And they grow very fast.  I do my best to keep them trimmed, but he always seems to get me with the one little bit of nail that I couldn't quite get.  I noticed today that not only did he get my neck, but he got his little face.

Fact 2

 Luke's little hands are in non-stop motion!  He is grabbing at everything, and it is good to keep him focused on grabbing an inanimate object.  If he manages to grab a human body part, count on it being a little painful.  Luke can pinch!  HARD.  Of course, he doesn't know that he is pinching -- he's just randomly grabbing at whatever is within his reach.

Fact 3

Luke can roll from his belly to his back!

Fact 4

Luke can babble with 3 hard consonant sounds -- b,  d and  m.  He loves to "talk," and when he really gets going, the drool goes flying!

Fact 5

 Luke is sleeping great!  Last night, I laid him down in his bed at 8:30, and I didn't hear a peep from him until 7:45 this morning!  Happy, happy, joy, joy!

Fact 6

Luke is starting to notice our food.  He is thriving on his liquid diet, but I will start introducing very simple, solid foods soon.