Tuesday, May 22, 2012

God Said Yes

As you know, Sam and I have prayed for children for many years (in fact, many of you have joined us in this prayer).  This prayer has always been answered with wait.  Friday, our prayer was finally answered with yes when our son, Joseph Dean Parks, was born.


I've been in love with this little guy since January when we found out about him and his birth mom chose us to be his forever home.  Every since then, I've been telling myself that birth mom could change her mind and decide to keep him, but in my heart I loved him already.

His birth story goes like this:

Thursday evening, I told Sam that I was going to stay up until I finished my student assessment portfolios so I could take them to school with me on Friday and not have to stress about them if Joseph made his appearance over the weekend (his due date was May 26th).  I finally finished at 12:30 a.m. and went to bed.

Around 1:30 a.m., my cell phone rang.  It was birth mom telling me that she was headed to the hospital and we needed to start that way too.  I woke Sam up, we grabbed our stuff, and we jumped in the car to head to Lawton.  At 2:40 a.m., my cell phone rang again and, over his crying in the background, birth mom said, "Courtney, you have a baby boy."  I will never forget that phone call!  Our precious baby boy was born at 2:36 a.m.  He was 7 pounds 7 ounces and 20 inches long.  We drove as quickly as possible while still being careful and arrived around 4 a.m.  We were taken to the nursery where we met our sweet little man.


The tears couldn't be contained any longer (let's be honest, I had already cried multiple times on our way down) as we sat there looking at the child that is the answer to our prayers.   The next few hours/days are a blur of paperwork, visitors, crying, lawyers, diapers, and court dates.

I've want so badly to blog about Joseph many times in the time leading up to his birth and since, but Sam and I made an agreement that we would wait until everything was legal.  Well, he's ours now (as long as mom doesn't change her mind in the 30 day grace period) and I'm so excited to share him with you!

And, because I'm a proud new momma, here are a few more pictures of our little guy:
Sam has really fallen into the role of Daddy.

He's just so perfect!

Here is Joseph on his birth date with his cousin Bryar who was a day short of two months old.  I can't believe the size difference!

19 comments:

  1. oh congrats courtney! that's so exciting! God is good!

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  2. OMG -- So happy for you two !!! and now baby makes 3 !!!! I thought about you both all weekend.. !!! I am so proud and happy for you !!

    My piece of advice --
    All you have to do now is avoid falling into the trap of trying to be supermom. Take each day one at a time, and each morning as new start. No matter how long you waited, wished and prayed for this moment and this child, there will be days in your future when you grab a glass of wine, sit on the couch and cry, and wonder if you did the right thing -- THAT NORMAL !! that just means you are a good mom and dad !!!

    We all do it, whether parents are brave enough to admit it or not, we don't always know the answers and sometimes is a scary/frustrating trip and other days, when they smile at you and say I love you Mommy / Daddy -- you heart melts and you wouldn't trade it for the world -- no matter how much laundry is waiting to be done :)

    again, Congratulations to you both !! I can't wait to hear all the blogging about your new family and all the projects you'll be doing for baby Joseph ....

    Cheers Niamh

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  3. A beautiful little boy for big sister Aubrey to watch over from heaven, congratulations - what fantastic news.

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  4. Congrats, Courtney & Sam! I'm so happy for you and your family! Joseph is adorable!!

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  5. I have goosebumps! Congratulations! And yes, even though you have waited so long for him, there are going to be days when you want to pull your hair out and just can't wait for bedtime! Can't wait to meet him.

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  6. I cried reading this the whole way through! I can only imagine the joy hearing his cries for the first time over the phone. God is SO good! I'm beyond happy for you and Sam. You are an incredible mommy! He is beautiful!

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  7. Congratulations! We are so excited and happy for you!

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  8. How awesome! I am so excited for you!!

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  9. We are so happy for you and Sam! What an incredible blessing for two people who truly deserve it and we look forward to seeing more pics. Congratulations!!

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  10. : ) you are both so awesome. Joseph is so lucky to have such great parents.

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  11. Congratulations Courtney! He is beautiful! 1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him." What a blessing! Enjoy every minute with your sweet baby boy!

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  12. I'm crying as I read this and looked at his picture! He is so adorable and I am so happy for you guys. What a blessing and he will be blessed to have you guys as parents!

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  13. God is great!
    I love him already, this sweet little baby!
    Xoxo

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  14. I'm so excited for you guys!!!! This is an amazing answer to so many prayers. God is always in control and this is an AWESOME reminder!

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  15. We are so very happy for the two of you! Congratulations!

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  16. Wow, Courtney! That is an awesome "first." He is beautiful and I am so excited to you and your husband! What a huge, incredible blessing. Thanks for sharing your sweet news!

    Cheri

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  17. I snuck over here from Cheri's blog because I couldn't help myself when I read that you adopted a baby. Our four children are adopted and I just had to read your beautiful adoption story and congratulate you. So, I hope you don't mind congratulations from a complete stranger! Enjoy that handsome little boy!

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  18. Congratulations! Enjoy every minute...

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  19. Congats! cant stop crying so happy for all of you -norma

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