Many Introductions!

 
 
  

 
 
 

We had a great day today introducing Tate to several people who will be loving him dearly in the years to come! It was ADORABLE seeing the kids with him...what fun he will have with them in the future!

We are exhausted and the lack of sleep is really affecting us tonight. I am going to try and get at least 3 hours tonight. I don't know how realistic that is, but I am remaining optimistic! :) More pictures will be posted soon, I am sure! 

Tate Kenneth Peakin

 
 
 

Here are several pictures of Tate. The first 3 were taken within the first 5 minutes we met him. It was the most amazing moment! We love him so much! Enjoy the rest of the pictures! 

 
 
 

Tate LOVES spending time with Daddy, and after all of the fun they had today, they enjoyed a relaxing nap together! 

First Bath!

 
 
 
 

A hotel sink isn't the greatest place to give an infant his first bath! Tate hated every minute of it! As you can see in the picture, I was obviously going on about an hour of sleep and am not hiding it very well! :) Tate was calm and content when we had him warm and clothed and Daddy was by his side! 

 
Tate's 1st outing...to Wal-Mart!!!
 
I LOVE this picture!!!!!!!
 
We could just stare at him ALL DAY!
 
His pacifier is hilarious! 

 
 
 
 

Today (and these last 48 hours) has been the most emotional day of Sean and my life! I cannot even find the words to express what we're feeling. It has been a rollercoaster, but we are ecstatic to have our son home! We cannot stop stairing at him...it's all so surreal! We are in love more than we ever knew possible! I don't have a lot of time to say a whole lot, but I wanted to post pictures. I'll write more in a few days! Thanks to everyone for all of the continued prayers! Please continue to pray for Maggie and Brandon, Tates birthparents! We are so grateful for them and are amazed beyond any words at their maturity and their selfless love for Tate. He is so blessed! Right now, Sean and I feel like we are the luckiest people alive! 

It's A Boy!

Well, I can't even find a way to put into this post my current emotions. We have a son! Tate was born on Thursday, October 5th at 7:59 pm. He weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. and was 21 1/2 inches long. Sean and I will be taking him home tomorrow. We'll post a picture ASAP! I am a puddle here at the computer and I can't write much more. Thanks for all of the prayers. We would appreciate ongoing prayer because the birthmother and father still have 5 days to change their minds. We met and talked extensively with the birthfather and hit it off immediately. We are confident that both birthparents know they have made the right decision and this will go through. Although, there are no guarantees in life. Please continue to pray!

A Mother's Prayer

She's in my thoughts, each day I wake,

I wonder how she feels.

I pray for her, with all my heart

God please, do help her heal.

Hold her close & help her Lord,

their love will never part.

Please help her heal & help her smile,

for this will break her heart.

Help her know how much she means,

to a family whose hope was lost.

God, help her know with all our joy,

we'll not forget her loss.

Please give her love & bless her heart,

and help her through each day.

Dry her tears & heal her soul

...for this Dear Lord I pray.




I found this poem tonight and although it's written by an adoptive parent who already has their child, I still can relate to these feelings. I pray everyday for the birthmother of our child. God knows who she is and we know he listens to our prayers. I can only imagine how much gratitude I will have for our baby's birthmother once we receive our baby. I am sure it will be beyond any gratitude we imagined we would have, but our thoughts and prayers are with her everyday even though we have yet to meet her or know who she is. I just really loved this poem and thought I would share it with all of you!

Boating

 
I was the Stewarts' personal photographer while boating yesterday. It was so fun and I got over 100 pictures! Okay, so I may have been a little camera happy, but they're just such BEAUTIFUL subjects! :)
 
This isn't a fuzzy picture, it was taken through a very dirty boat window. :)
 
Bode was lovin' up on his Daddy...
  
and his mommy!

He was such a little sweetie! He LOVED boating and WE all love boating with him, because it forces him to hold on to us tightly!!!

Cutey!

 
 
  
I took these while watching Bode today...he's just plain cute!!!

Cookie Dough

 
Bode loves cookie dough!
 
It was so cute to watch him eat it!
  
About 2 seconds after this picture was taken, Brenda hollered from the kitchen, "Bode, do you need some milk?" The words weren't even out of her mouth and the cookie dough was chucked and Bode was at a full sprint into the kitchen for his milk. SO CUTE! He definitely takes after his Daddy!

LPGA Tour here I come!

 
  
It was a BEAUTIFUL day out today. Sean was ecstatic when I suggested that we golf after church. We went to a little course in Waukee and played 18 holes. We had a great time and I was much improved on the back nine compared to the front nine. I believe Sean said I shaved off about a stroke per hole! I am so good, and I only lost 1 ball! Well, I didn't really lose it...we found it in the creek and were unable to fish it out. Oh well. I LOVE playing golf, I just wish I was a bit more skilled at the game! :)

King Crab

 
I made King Crab legs for dinner the other night and I don't know that I have EVER seen Sean so happy about a dinner I've made!

 
He gets sooooo happy when he gets a HUGE chunk of meat out...it makes it worth all the effort.

  
He ate a TON...this was only one of the plates of crab legs he ate!