For This Child We Have Prayed! (and prayed and prayed :)

18 months, 8 birthmoms and 5 matches later……… I’m proud to introduce our daughter Alexandra Elise White (Allie). She was born December 14th at 3:50 am. She came into this world weighing 4 lbs 12 oz and 18 ½ inches long.

This journey has not been short of a complete miracle by God. Until the very last minute, he was changing hearts and minds to bring this little girl into our home.

We received the call at 1:20 the morning of the 14th to get to the hospital now. So we jumped out of bed called our sitter for Mason and within 15 minutes were heading to the hospital. We were not sure how much we were going to be able to participate in the birth but we were thankful that the birth mom was allowing us to come. When we arrived, they had me go straight back. I walked into full on labor. (That’s to put it mildly). So my 12 weeks of Bradley classes and extensive cheerleading background kicked in immediately. I was going to cheer her on until the end. Within 2 ½ hours, out came our girl.

Crystal (Birth mom) was so gracious and allowed me to take the mommy role on immediately. First, I cut the umbilical cord, which if you know me I’m so proud that I did not pass out. Then I was able to help weigh her, hold her and feed her. It was a magical moment. One of the nurses took my cell phone and videotaped me holding her the first time. On that video, is a very sweet moment between Crystal and I. It is one that I treasure and look forward to showing Allie one day. This was very difficult for Crystal. She truly loves this little girl. She allowed Kevin to come back and see her and we all had special time bonding together.

Our joy was Crystal’s pain. As we rocked this little girl the tears did not stop flowing from Crystal’s eyes. This of course broke our hearts. We didn’t want her to be hurt anymore than she already was. Only as God does, He brought us all a butterfly moment. If you’ve followed my blog, Butterfly moments are those moments when God blesses you with the small things that are very big to you. No one else may notice but you know specifically that the presence of the Lord is there. That is what happened in that hospital room. One of the nurses, 61 years of age, went over to Crystal and held her and shared her story. She said “I understand how you’re feeling Crystal b/c when I was 16 I was pregnant. I chose to place my child up for adoption”. She continued to share her story for the next 10 minutes about how God worked in her life and she knew she was making the right decision. Then she said that her daughter now 35 came back to find her. When she sat down, she thanked her for allowing the opportunity to have the life she did. She told Crystal I couldn’t give her what her adoptive family could and although it was a difficult decision I’m so grateful that I made it.

As you can imagine, there was not a dry eye in the place. The following 10 days have been nothing short of stories just like that one. I would have to write a book to tell you all the amazing miracles God provided. I will say that Satan has been working overtime to try and have all of this fall through but God is so much bigger!!

I think it will take me several months to process all that God has taught me and how I’ve grown during these past two years. The one thing that I know I’ve learned is that God’s timing is not our timing. If we are patient and wait on him, He WILL Blow our socks off. We almost gave up. In fact, we had and God allowed this story to unfold. In brings me to tears to think, I would have missed out on this blessing. God has not only given us the blessing of Allie but of Crystal. I believe God has put her in our lives for the long haul and I’m so grateful. I want Allie to know that she loved her enough to give her a home that she at this time cannot provide. What a picture of God’s love for us. We are all adopted if we are believers in Christ. He knew that we could not save ourselves. He sent his Son as a gift to give us eternal life. As His Father, He watched his son pay the ultimate price so we could be adopted into His family. Thank you Lord for adopting me and opening my heart to adoption!!


*** We have many pictures and videos to come! (We've posted some pics below)

Allie Girl

All God's Grace in One Little Face

Well our sweet little girl has arrived.  We are not able to share details until next week.  We are asking if you will please, please pray over the next 8 days.  When we have the official word, we will share her whole story.  God has been doing so many miracles and I can't wait to share with you every detail.  Thank you for supporting us to help bring our little girl home.  We have been overwhelmed by your generosity.  Love you all! Praying you have very Merry Christmas. 

Let's Bring Allie Home

Well we are officially ready to launch our fundraiser. We know this is a hard time of year. So the best way to help is spread the word about our $5 challenge. You can pay with your debit, credit or pay pal account. Then we can watch our Chip In increase as we try and reach our goal.

We want to give you an update about the adoption. It looks like our Birth Mom is going to be due closer to December 15th. We have hit a bit of a snag in the process. She falls under IGWA. This means when the baby is born she will need to go into foster care for 10 days. After the 10 day period, we will have a court hearing and there the Birth Mom would sign over her rights. This can be a bit complicated because #1 she has 10 days to think about her decision instead of 48 hours. #2 if the tribe comes to contest the adoption they would win. (Actually a tribe has more rights than a mom.)

So here are the praises God has shown us in all of this. God has allowed us to really create an amazing bond with our Birth Mom. She is precious and we have had some sweet time of fellowship with her. I have been going with her every Tuesday to doctors appointments and then to lunch. Another praise is we have been able to choose the foster family for our little girl. They live 5 minutes from our house. They are going to allow me to watch her all day until bedtime. We want the bonding process to begin right away. The third blessing is her tribe is located in Alaska. Our prayer is that since it's around Christmas they will not make the trip. There is alot to pray about in this situation. It's not going to be easy. We have had our moments of doubt but truly believe that God has written this babies story. We continue to pray for steadfast peace that He has given us. Thank you for all your help and encouragement. You will never know how much it has truly blessed our lives.

I will keep you posted as we learn new information. I will also be posting some Miracles of Mason this year. We have video that will move you to tears. To see what God is doing in his little life is truly Amazing. Have a blessed week!

The Wait may be over, need I say more. The Whitehouse may soon become a family of 4!!!

As I look back on our adoption journey, I’m forever grateful for God’s amazing patience and love He has granted both Kevin and I.  This process has taken a toll on us in every facet of our lives.  We hold on to truth that God has an amazing plan for our family.  Although the journey has been difficult it will be worth every tear cried and every dollar spent. 

Over the past 2 ½ months we have been presented to 7 birth moms. We have had four matches and 3 fall through.  Many of these girls have been in jail or are just coming out of jail.  All but 2 have been on drugs and have colorful rap sheets.  However, I will say with each one God reminds me of His grace that covers All our sins.  Who am I to think what I do is any worse?  I’m just grateful not all sins land us in jail.  I know I would be there.:)  Despite the history these girls came with, Kevin and I told the Lord we would walk through every door presented to us.  I would be here all day if I told you every detail of each girl.  Some girls we found out quickly just wanted our money. Some were lying about the amount of drugs involved.  Yet with each “no” told to us came a sting that I cannot describe. 

When we received the call that our 3^rd match had fallen through, we were done.  We honestly didn’t know what God wanted us to do.  With each match comes a price tag of hundreds and thousands of dollars.  At this point we might as well be flushing money down the toilet.  So we went back to our knees and began to pray and ask God for wisdom.  Should we go back down the IVF route? Should we be looking other places? We were at our breaking point.  We met with some dear friends for dinner that night.  As we sat around the dinner table and opened God's word, the words in James pierced our hearts.  The verses we have read and memorized began to permeate throughout our soul. 

   “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to him.”  James 1: 1-5

As we left that night, we prayed for wisdom and for God to give us a clear picture of His direction for our lives.  On Monday, we were being presented to our 7^th BM.  We didn’t give it much thought b/c we were one of 7 families being presented.  So that day I called a doctor to discuss the option of IVF.  We made an appointment for that Wednesday.   I went up to Allie’s room and sat in her rocker and cried and prayed. I couldn’t figure out why God would shut the door the year before to IVF and now open it again.  We really felt Adoption had called our name. 

The phone rang an hour later. It was the Jessica (adoption worker). She said “Wendy sometimes I hate making these phone calls.” Which I then interrupted and said,” yeah I know she didn’t pick us”. “Then she went on and said and sometimes I love to and this is one that I love.”  At that moment, I fell to my knees and cried and babbled all kinds of things.  I started praising the Lord, explaining about my call to the doc.  All to find out I’m on speaker!!!!!  This poor girl I’m sure had some serious second thoughts in that moment.  I literally couldn’t believe it.  After a few minutes, I gained my composure.  We set up a meeting with her on that Thursday.  When Kevin and I met her, we had a great conversation. We’ve been able to pour God’s love onto her like a fountain.  Then last Tuesday, she wanted me to go with her to her doctor’s appointment.  I went and was able to hear the babies’ heart beat. She wanted me to feel her move.  She introduced me to the doctor as the babies’ mom.  I can’t tell you what my heart and stomach were doing at that moment.  I told both she and the doctor that she was our angel.  She is blessing us with a gift that is indescribable.

Kevin and I are going to meet with her again this Tuesday. Then we’re down to weekly doctors visits.  She is due on Christmas day.  I’m praying that the baby will come early or after this date.  This is a hard decision for her and I don’t want every Christmas for her to be filled with a difficult memory. 

As you pray for Crystal (Birth Mom), pray that God will wrap His loving arms around her during this journey.  Please pray for this sweet baby girl.  There are some things that she has been exposed to during the pregnancy. We are praying that God will put a hedge of protection around her little body.  Finally for our family that God will give us wisdom as we meet with Crystal.  We want this to be a comfortable process for her.

We will be having some online fundraisers to help with the process. We have saved a good portion ourselves. As I’ve explained before, the adoption process can be quite costly.  If you could spread the word we would greatly appreciate it.  We will post more on this later in the week. 

Thank you for taking our family on your journey through life.  Your prayers and words of encouragement are forever held in our hearts.  Have a blessed week!

FALL IN THE WHITEHOUSE

This month has been action packed with a wedding,  our 9 year anniversary, high school reunion, pumpkin patches and a fun Trunk or Treat!!!  We do not stay bored in the WhiteHouse.  Enjoy all of our fun Fall activities below.  Stay tuned to our blog, we have some news to share in the next couple of weeks.  Love to you all!!

It's a Bird, It's a Plan, Nope just my SUPER MEN!!!!

I'M ONE LUCKY GIRL

MY DADDY MY HERO

                                                            Mason's buddies Isaac and Layla

Mason Loves His Girls Ava and Ella

                             

What can I say, Our boy is a CHICK MAGNET!!

Hunsader Farms

First Trip to the Pumpkin Patch and had a great time! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for going with us.  Very special day!!

Highschool Reunion

You know you're getting old when you have your 20th High school Reunion. :) What a special weekend with friends.  My Lifelong friend Heather flew into town. We were able to spend a wonderful girls weekend together.  The last time we did something with just our moms was high school.  We had a wonderful time laughing, crying and sharing all that God was doing in our lives.  Truly blessed by these ladies. 

Pumpkin Carving

Here Comes the Ring Bearer

Congratulations to Dr. Tyler and Dr. Laura Sexton!!  What an honor to have our family part of your special day.  Your love for Mason is a blessing beyond words. We love you both!!

Determination

Coming from a elementary teaching background, I always enjoy trying new things with Mason.  I like to be creative and give him new experiences.  However, many times I know I do it to appease myself more than him.  Take finger painting for example.  Last year he and I went to the teacher store and I bought him all the supplies to paint.  I was so excited to get home and try our new activity.  Much to my dismay it lasted about 5 minutes and paint went everywhere other than the paper.  So last week I tried again.  We lasted about 10 minutes and after smiling for the camera he gave me a look like, "Mom give it up I'm not into painting".  Have no fear there is always next year!!

Man's Best Friend

As the saying goes, a dog is a man's best friend. Growing up we always had cats so Riley has been a new experience.  She and I have had our moments but when I see how she is with Mason it's all worth it.  He LOVES this dog!  I'm forever grateful for the love she gives to Mason daily. They are buddies and love to play catch together.  I've always been grateful that God created animals.  Watching my little boy light up when Riley attacks him with kisses makes my day! Riley we're glad you're in the WhiteHouse!!

Mason's First Day Of School

I have to admit, as a teacher, I never understood the concept of the "Boo Hoo Breakfast" for Kindergarten parents.  As a parent, I realize this is an essential!!!  Mason started his first day of preschool last Monday.  In the state of Florida, when a special needs child turns 3 they must receive therapy from the public school system.  So two mornings a week my little one is off to his first experience with school. He has loved every minute of it and we are so grateful for the opportunity.  As a mom, I can't believe this day has already arrived.  After I dropped him off, I called one of my former parents.  She would always cry for days when her kids went back to school.  I always in a sweet way gave her a hard time about it.  I called her and asked for forgiveness b/c I said this is the worst concept EVER!!!! We had a good laugh and cry!! We know God has great things planned for Mason this year. He's already started to win over the ladies.  His daddy has taught him well.