Nate's First Birthday and June Progress Report!

Today our sweet baby Nate is 1 year old! I can't believe it! It feels like its going too fast yet I want time to hurry up so we can travel to get him! The estimate for travel as of right now is sometime in between April and September 2016.

We received a progress report on Sept 2nd that was written for June 10th (9 months old) and the pictures we received are from May 25th (8 1/2 months old)... go figure! The report states that he is doing well. He has 2 pairs of front teeth (they didn't go in to any more detail so I have no idea where... I'm guessing 2 top and 2 bottom) and he is pulling up and walking around holding on to things. They say he sleeps well and eats well (still on formula and taking supplementary foods in between). In the pictures he is standing up in his crib and also playing on some stairs. He looks happy and healthy which is what we have been praying for!

We had a birthday party for him tonight and it went really well other than him not being here of course.  We had a lot of family and friends come celebrate with us! We did a Thailand theme and Conner made his speciality mandarin chicken and we had some sushi. Not really Thai food but we wern't real confident in our Thai food making abilities... After dinner with the grandparents, every one else came over. Thank you to everyone who came or called us! It really meant the world to us! We didn't open his presents until everyone left. When we started opening, it was just Conner and I and Conner looked at me and said, "It's not fun opening your kids presents, is it?" Nope. It sure isn't. BUT we are trusting in the Lord and His timing. We know we will travel in His time and that is all we can pray for :) 

We have such great family and friends and we love y'all so much!! Here are a few pics from the party!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NATE!! WE LOVE YOU! 

The non-Thai but delicious dinner we ate with the grandparents before everyone else came over :)

Nate's Thailand themed cake! Publix did a fabulous job! We also saved/froze his smash cake for when he gets home... not sure how it'll taste though :/

Blowing out the candle! Conner's mom saved Conner's first birthday candle and so we used it on his cake! Thanks, Mimi!! 

The grandparents!! 

Conner with Will and sweet baby Alexandria :)

Sweet Kaylie dressing up and celebrating Nate! 

My sweet friend Madison and her husband Blane came :)

Our friends Crazy Will, Sweet Sherri, and baby Alex who is only 6 weeks old. So precious!! 

My cousin Rachel, Sam, and cute little Kaylie Bug. Kaylie was very entertaining during the blessing!! 

Our sweet neighbor friends Ron and Sherri! Our dog Abby and their dog Millie are besties :)

Our best friends Drew and Ashley! They are such a blessing to us and love Nate so much!

Our friends (of many, many years) Micahel and ML! ML is the artist of the "Waiting for You" board in our adoption pictures and she also made a beautiful print for Nate that sits on his bedside table. Y'all are the sweetest :)

Nate's Uncle Brandon and Aunt Kennedy. Yes, they took a picture of themselves and cut them out and brought them to my house because they couldn't be here tonight. How SWEET is that!!

You can't really read the signs they're holding but they say "Happy Birthday NATE!" AND, they're wearing hats! Y'all are hilarious and I love you. 

Nate's Papa and Gramie! They are already setting Nate up for his camo wardrobe! 

Nate's PawPaw and MiMi who are always bringing him surprises for when he gets home :) 

We weren't able to get a picture of everyone who came but we truly do appreciate every single one of you! We love y'all and we'll keep you posted :)

Please be in prayer for early travel dates!

We have been MATCHED!!

The long awaited (1 year and 12 days to be exact) day has come where we have been matched with our little BOY!! We are over the moon excited to finally see the face of our precious baby!

So, on Monday, June 22nd,  I received a call from Holt (our agency) notifying us that they matched us with a little boy :) Luckily I was at home working on some school work when I received the call. It was about 3:30 pm so I immediately got off the phone (after jotting down a few details) and called Conner who was at work. I told him (well, sobbed) he needed to come home IMMEDIATELY so we could meet our baby! It took him about an hour and a half before he got home (the LONGEST hour and half of my life!). When he got home we looked over all of his information and pictures. He is seriously the most precious thing in the world! Later on, we started cooking dinner and invited family over to meet him. It was so fun to be able to surprise our family with the news! Some were able to come over and some we had to FaceTime or call. Everyone was super excited and just loved him instantly!

We are naming him Nathan and calling him Nate. These are roots from his birth/Thai name. He is 9 months old and healthy! He lives with his foster mom and foster dad. They have grown children that are out of the house and have fostered several children before Nate so he is in very good hands! His reports say that he sleeps through the night and is a very good eater! We are aware that this will likely not be the case when he arrives home but we are so glad to know he is happy and healthy with his sweet foster parents. We have received some pictures but I am not able to post them since this is not a password protected site :( Thailand is super strict about posting any pictures or identifying information about Nate so we have to keep his privacy safe.

We are hoping to be able to travel to Thailand before Nate turns 2 years old (Sept 2016). Holt estimates travel anywhere from 10-18 months from match. I know this is a very long time to wait but unfortunately it's just the process Thailand requires. The Thai government has to approve the match between family and child and there are several families in front of us so... we wait. But that's OK because we are rejoicing that the Lord has led us to Nate! He is happy and healthy, loved on and cared for, and we are one day and one step closer to meeting him and bringing him to his FOREVER home!

We are SO thankful that we have family and friends that love us so perfectly. Many, many people have expressed love and support for us through out the whole journey and it really means the world!

We are expecting to receive another update on Nate at the end of August so we will keep you posted!

To our prayer warriors, these are some things we have been praying over: Please pray for Nate (health, happiness, adjustment, attachment, and most importantly that he is loved and cared for in the wait), his biological mother and father (peace and that they would know the love of the Lord), and his foster mother and foster father (that they would love and care for Nate as their own, be able to meet all of his needs, and just blessings upon them and their family for such an amazing and selfless act of caring for Nate and the 18 other orphans they have cared for).  Overall, that the Lord would be preparing Nate's heart and our hearts for his arrival. And of course, a speedy travel date! We want to get to him as soon as possible!!  We appreciate all of your prayers! God is so good and we feel so blessed to be Nate's parents!