Josiah Matthew Morrow | cell phone pictures

Josiah Matthew Morrow

Cell Phone Pictures

I should be editing, but my sweet baby boy is asleep in my arms. He already took his nap, but he went back to sleep after I picked him up from his crib.  The crib that my sweet friend Kristin Botello has been loaning me since the day we transferred him out of his bassinet.  The bassinet that my friend Melissa Hall loaned me.

He's sound asleep in my arms.  I love this.  I will not edit.  I will hold him.  I will enjoy his breath against my cheek.  I will smile at the way his little lips make an "o".  I will listen to him breathing deeply.  I will thank Jesus for this moment.  And I will not put him down to edit!

Instead, I will share some pictures that are on my phone.

Just a few of my favorites!

Enjoy!

HE'S AWAKE.

To be continued...

Josiah Matthew Morrow

Dear Little Man

My Dear Little Man, My Bubba, My Sugar Bear, Sweet Muffin Butter Cup, Little Booger,
Stinker Bear, Bubster, Bubbers, Shooey Looey, and Little Bear,
Tomorrow you become MINE.  And Daddy's.  Tomorrow you become a Morrow.
I have dreamed of this day for approximately 19 years, but who's counting?  You are the product of answered prayers.  You are my miracle baby.

"I want a black baby, I think they are the cutest babies in the whole wide world!"  "Well Mary, you're marrying a white boy, I don't know if you'd noticed that yet, BUT you can't have a black baby!"
I was 17 years old, and engaged to your daddy, the day I uttered this to my momma.  Little did we know, that you CAN marry a white boy and have the cutest baby in the whole wide world!  (Your sisters are the prettiest girls in all the world too!)

I want you to know, the night before you become "ours" - that we didn't get "stuck" with a black baby.  I PRAYED for a black baby, specifically!  There will probably be mean kids in your life who will tell you we got stuck with you, but it isn't true, you were PRAYED FOR.  And I don't want you to fall for the line that some people say that they don't see color, just a sweet face, because I DO see your color.  And it is breathtaking.  Your skin is a wonderful chocolate color that is the perfect blend of the prettiest browns in all the world!

You are perfect, my sweet love.  I will never tire of telling you that.  Late at night, when your tummy is hurting and only momma holding you close helps, you are perfect.  You have the sweetest little personality mixed with wonder, spunk, joy, stinker-ness & ridiculously amazing giggles.  You are perfect.  When you bonk your sisters upside the head. Or pull their hair. Or scratch their legs because they won't give you what you want. You are perfect.

You were brought into a fallen world, into a messy world, into sin, strongholds and struggles. But YOU.ARE.PERFECT.  I am claiming this because Christ makes us perfect in His sight.  He adopts us.  He makes us His very own.  He teaches us how a REAL daddy gives up His life, and loves sacrificially, selflessly, ALWAYS, for those He loves.  He gave you an earthly daddy, who loves you very much, and is such a humble, gracious picture of our heavenly Daddy. He brought you into our lives through adoption and we are praying for Him to make you perfect in His sight.  We know He answers prayers and how we thank Him for YOU.

I can't wait for tomorrow.  I can't wait to share your name with cyber world.  I can't wait to share your picture, my perfect little man.  You will no longer be an orphan, but a Morrow!

Love,
Your momma

In you the orphan finds mercy.

Hosea 14:3

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

James 1:27

Father to the fatherless, defender of widows — this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families.

Psalms 68:5-6

And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.

Matthew 18:5

I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!

Matthew 25:40

Quick this & that...

• Our court hearing did NOT happen this past Monday.
• Yes, we grieved, but we're ok now!  :)
• Our new court hearing is set for July 16th.
• Yes, we are super psyched about this!  :)
• And last but not least... our little M.J. is coming for a 2 night, 3 day visit to our house for Respite Care while his Foster Family takes time to focus on their precious family!
• We're ECSTATIC!!!
• Please help us pray that the adjustment time is simply a few hours instead of the entire time he's with us.  

We received a very AWESOME gift on our door step today and Matt put it together this evening:  

• We'll share a picture of the finished product with 2 boys enjoying it, soon!

Thanks for keeping up with our little journey!  Love you guys more than you know!

Update | Court

Bubba had Court last week.
It was interesting, as usual.
Family Court pretty much sucks...
Our family received happy news tho - we found out the adoption will be finalized
sometime between June & August.
No, it wasn't this past December, or January as originally told to us, but that's ok.
We trust in a Higher Power.  He decides what date needs to be our Adoption Date!

:)

“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40: 31)

Wordless Wednesday

Bubba is 1! :)

Happy First Birthday to our sweet baby boy!!!

At 12 Months, you...

• have two bottom teeth that are super cute when you smile
• spin in circles while you're standing until you fall on your bottom giggling
• raise your hands in the air like you're praising Jesus
• walk backwards just to show off
• jumped on the trampoline w/ your sisters for the very first time...and LOVED it
• cried when we took you off the trampoline
• have learned how to vrooom a car all over the place
• think mama is the greatest thing since applesauce  :)
• cry when you're the center of attention in the living room and one of your "fans" aka sisters leaves the living room
• holler joyfully for da-da when you wake up, even though you know mama is the sleepy head in bed  :)
• have successfully been able to eat mashed chicken, carrots, cauliflower & sauerkraut mixed into tasty soups w/ broth on the GAPS diet over the last 2 weeks
• have been weaned off your Nutramigen AA formula!!!
• celebrated your First Birthday with da-da, mama, gabi, sara & emma

We love YOU!  You are the greatest little guy on the planet!  We are SO thankful to Jesus for blessing our lives with you.  You are THE BEST thing to ever happen to the Morrows!  Happy Birthday precious little one!  We love you to infinity & beyond!  

Baby is 11.5 Months!!! :)

I'm behind on updating this again...you'd think we had family in town and Christmas or somethin'!  Ha!

Our perfect baby boy, at 11.5 Months, you are...

• still the giggliest little thing we ever did meet!
• cutting your 2nd tooth and hardly complaining about it
• had a "pass" with CINNAMON sticks thanks to Aunt Kimber's homemade cinnamon applesauce (she gave us a case of jars baby!!!)
• running like a sports star!
• LOVE, LOVE, LOVE family worship - especially when daddy sits on the floor with you along with his iMac!  :)
• incredibly fond of Uncle Steve, Aunt Kimber, Ethan & Eli!
• incredibly fond of Uncle Steve's guitar!
• went to your first Christmas party @ Daddy's work and everyone gushed over your cuteness :)
• celebrated your First Christmas!!!
• enjoyed carrying various Little People Nativity toys around the living room all throughout the month of December
• received several gifts from DHS as well as family members
• helped sing Happy Birthday to Jesus by squealing happily along
• had your first snow fall and your second; absolutely LOVED looking at it through the windows, but momma thought it was too cold for you to play
• partook in your first New Years Eve party & were even crazy enough to stay up and welcome the new year in along w/ family & a few friends!  :)
• you are dearly, fiercely, tenderly loved little one...we were so, so, so thankful to be able to celebrate Jesus birthday with you!  :)

We love you to the moon & back,

Your Morrow Family

Baby is 10 Months Old | better late than never...

Baby Boy turned 10 Months Old over half a month ago! HA!

Our sweet, precious, scrumptious boy, at 10 Months you are...

• walking like crazy
• running away from us anytime we pretend to chase you
• losing a tiny bit of that chunky monkey chub
• still giggling like crazy
• clapping anytime anything wonderful happens
• enjoy family worship like never before
• flip OUT when daddy leaves the room
• squeal deliriously when daddy enters a room
• SICK of applesauce
• bananas about bananas
• think bath time means it's time to severely drench momma
• love exploring cabinets & drawers
• enjoy drinking water from your sippy cup and spitting it out (ha!)
• still hate taking your medicine
• helped pick out your First Christmas ornament
• not too sure about the Christmas Tree's prickly branches
• enjoy putting EVERYTHING in your mouth
• TEETHING your first tooth! (I don't think that's proper grammar)
• went to the beach for the VERY first time...and LOVED it!
• met more family over Thanksgiving and had EVERYONE gushing over your absolute cuteness!
• and most of all, you are an absolute joy to your sisters and your daddy & mama!

Updates...

Bubba had his 9 Month Well Baby appointment this week.
He weighs 20 pounds and a few ounces.
He's 26 inches long.
He seems to be right on target w/ everything.
No shots this time.  Thank YOU Jesus!!!
Dr. Harvey rocks!  He visited w/ us for about 30 minutes and just caught up on
all our little adventures w/ DHS and FPIES. He is never in a hurry.  He makes time for all my mommy fears, reads up on weird stuff like fpies and sends us to great specialists.  We LOVE Dr Harvey!!!

We also had our in-home meeting with our Primary Case Worker yesterday.
It went super, duper smooth.  Can I get a fist pump?
So next Wednesday is the Criteria Staff Meeting which means the Primary Case Worker sits down with some VIP's and requests that the Morrows get to adopt Bubba!!!!!   :)

God's grace throughout all this just blows our minds away!

And in FPIES news, Bubba's body still only accepts bananas & apples.  He has failed our tries at fresh pears, fresh grapes & Gerber Bananas... We are still asking the Lord to simply heal our little guy but in the meantime, this mommy sits down every night for about 15 minutes pouring over as much fpies info as I can get my hands on.

Thank you for your continued prayers!

Answered prayer request

For those who were praying for us on Wednesday, thank YOU!  Our Primary Case Worker called us on Friday, after over a month of not responding to my emails & phone calls.
She is coming Wednesday, Oct 24 for an in-home meeting.
We are RELIEVED!!!
Please continue to pray for favor for our family.

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands! Psalm 90:17

Also, it appears Bubba had an FPIES reaction to Gerber bananas.  At this point, we are just going to stick with FRESH FRUITS.  No more pre-made stuff.  It's just not worth it!
Thanks for those who are praying for the Lord's guidance as we journey through these unknown waters with our sweet baby boy.

Love,
The Morrows

Baby is 9 Months Old

Baby Boy turned 9 months a few days ago.  I can't believe how fast the time is passing by!

Baby boy, at nine months, you are...

• simply the love of our lives!
• crawling VERY fast, all over the place
• pulling to a standing position without any help
• creeping all around the living room on your perfect little feet
• able to stand in place without holding on
• thinking very hard about taking your first step
• still lovin' every single second of your precious life!
• the giggliest kid we have ever met in our lives
• extremely curious
• and loud 
• LOVE singing loudly
• good @ interrupting when daddy's reading
• so, so brave
• able to hold down bananas and apples (thank you Jesus!!!)
• flawless in our eyes
• dearly & fiercely loved by your morrow family!!!

Wordless Wednesday

FPIES {Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome}

It has been a rough few months.  Because little man is our foster baby, we can't talk publicly about exacts.  But I can tell you that he has something called FPIES which stands for Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome.  I want to raise this awareness for our family & friends, to help keep our baby safe.  If you'd like to be included in the email, please be sure to let me know!
Everyone else, click on HERE for info on what FPIES is and please be praying for our Baby.

Thanks so much,
The Morrows

7 Months & 8 Months

I'm behind on updating this blog.
Bubba turned 7 months last month.
Which means he turned 8 months this month.
Am I smart, or what?
He is now...

• crawling
• pulling to a standing position
• cruising around on 2 feet as long as he has something to hold onto
• saying "nanananana" almost as much as he says "dadadadadada"
• giggling just as much as before whenever something tickles his funny bone and trust me, it doesn't take much!
• continues to not sleep much
• but when he IS sleepy, he nuzzles himself close to my neck and rubs his face all into me like he's trying to remember my smell before he konks out.  And it is precious!
• he also likes to sing himself to sleep after he's done nuzzling.
• it makes us all smile really big
• he is a total church distraction...as in, once it's quiet, he thinks it's time to talk.
• either that or he thinks he's helping the pastor preach.  
• i don't know, but it's totally distracting in a really cute way
• i just smile and tip toe out of service every sunday with our bag of toys  :)
• i love him!
• he enjoys bath time more than ever before
• i end up almost as wet as him with all the splashing he does
• he's still a total chunky monkey
• we are wild about our chunky money!
• his case worker LOVES to come visit us and play with him
• we LOVE her  :)
• she loves him  :)
• there's a lota love!
• this kid is the BOMB DOT COM!!!
• we go see a specialist this Wednesday about some feeding issues he's having.
• we'd appreciate prayers
• and last, but certainly not least, we got to see his BFF's picture this week
• and we are all just rejoicing!!!

Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies. 

- Psalm 36:5

The Hearing | A Short Story

     He waited in his pickup for her.  Where was she?  He was always early.  He prided himself in this.  She, on the other hand, was always running late.  His mind kept racing to all the 'what-ifs' as he waited in what was quickly becoming his torture chamber.  And then finally, he saw her pull up in her mini van.  And she was smiling all big with not a care in the world.  What was wrong with her?  Did she forget why they were there in the first place?
     He expressed to her how he had seen a million single women walking around the parking lot and any of them could be "his" mom.  She looked into his worried blue eyes and asked Jesus to continue to strengthen her.  For herself.  And for him.  And then she reminded him WHO tells the rivers where to go.  And then they prayed together.  And then, he became her strength again.
      They walked hand in hand into the building, with a 7 month old baby in their arms.  She had visions of the first time she'd ever stepped foot onto the premises.  They'd received a call the night before and were asked if they'd be interested in fostering a 5 week old baby.  The next morning, she walked in that building with 3 little ducklings and walked out 30 minutes later with 4 little ducklings. It seemed like just a second ago... and now here they were again.
     And he'd been right, there were lots of single women around the entire place.  A big portion of them fit the description of "his" mom.  They could be in for some negative news today.  And God would STILL be their God. And He would still sit on His throne.  And He would still be Sovereign.  And they would still honor Him with their lives.
      An hour and a half later, they were standing in front of the Judge's stand.  But they knew who their real judge was.  And they knew He was on their side!
     The defense asked questions.  Other's asked questions.  The plaintiff (I really don't know what she was so we're calling her that) straight up told the judge "his" mom needed more time.  "She might come around if she were given more time."  And their hearts stopped beating.  And their breaths caught.  And was the room spinning?  And why was it so hot all of a sudden?
     And then the judge said the most beautiful words they'd ever heard, "She's been given enough time!  Bio Mom's Parental Rights, Terminated.  Alleged Bio Dad's Parental Rights, Terminated.  Other possible Bio Dad's Parental Rights, Terminated."  And someone sitting behind the Judge got up, quickly walked out and came back into the room and handed her a little blue Ty Beanie Bear & smiled at her.  She gave it to "him".  He quickly found the tag and started chewing on it.

To be continued sometime in December...

   

Wordless Wednesday

Baby is 6 Months Old!

• Baby is 6 months old
• Happy Half Birthday Baby!!!
• He weighs 17 lbs and something ounces
• He is our chunky monkey
• and we LOVE him that way!!!
• He has decided he's not so sure he wants to sleep at night
• Nor does he find sleeping during the day much fun
• Eating is fun-ner!  :)
• Can we say Growth Spurt?!?!?!?
• He still giggles like it's his favorite hobby EVER
• oh my goodness guys, he is THE BEST thing ever!!!
• he loves when I nibble his toes
• so I nibble them a lot :)
• he can now sit up by himself for small increments of time
• and he is VERY proud of himself when he does that
• if he could clap, he would totally clap for himself when he sits up!
• he continues to find music to be a wonderful thing
• he loves family worship - his favorite thing to do is watch us sing while he "sings along" too!
• he is extremely vocal
• he doesn't cry much
• but he talks your ear off
• he reminds me of my almost 9 year old...  :)
• they're little parrots!
• LOL!!!
• his entire composure changes when "da-da" gets home!
• his face lights up and his arms & legs start moving like crazy
• if he could get up and run to him, he totally would!
• Have I mentioned what an insanely awesome thing it is to have Baby Boy in our home?
• It is insanely AWESOME!!!
• we have run into some issues with baby food however
• and we can't share details
• but we could REALLY use some prayer backup in this area
• we also have another court hearing in about a month
• we could REALLY use prayer for that as well!

Philippians 4:6-7 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Baby is 5 Months Old

Little Man is 5 Months old.

• he had a HUGE court hearing earlier this week
• his case worker is happy with the way it went
• we are too!
• he continues to fill our days with incredible joy
• he is the giggliest baby I have ever met
• he has learned how to make the "da" sound
• when combined together it sounds like da-da
• yes, I have video footage of this
• he has started putting himself to sleep when I lay him down for night bedtime
• this is HUGE!!!
• he enjoys sticking his feet in the pool
• he is rolling over from back to tummy with ease now
• the Halls are letting us borrow their exersaucer
• little man LOVES it!!!
• he loves being able to sit upright and look at all the toys on it
• thanks Halls!  :)
• he is sleeping better at night, only getting up twice between midnight and 6am
• he still isn't a good napper during the day, but that's ok
• his favorite past time is still being held and being talked to
• we do A LOT of that
• I can't believe he's already 5 months old
• we are eating up this sweet baby time with him
• I'm afraid of blinking because every time I do, he's changed massively before my eyes!
• we are SO thankful for being chosen to be his Foster Family
• and we're praying that the LORD will allow us to be his FOREVER family too!
• we had a blessed Father's Day  :)

Just around the riverbend...

Brother Bear is almost 5 months old.
He is precious beyond words!  Matt & I still fight over who gets to hold him.  No, for real.
He is like the cheese in our mac!  The icing on our cake!
Getting to be his Foster family is one of the most awesome things ever!

And right around the corner is a major important Court hearing.  *ahem* {Read between the lines.}
It makes me want to break out into Pocahontas's song "...just around the riverbend..."

For those who have been following us through this journey & cheering us on, thank you!  For those who don't quite understand why a family of 5 would feel the need to take on another child, but you are curious to see how this turns out, thanks for sticking around!  For those newbies, welcome!

We're not able to share distinct details about Brother's case.  But we can let you know how we need prayer and what is sorta going on.

We need prayer for this upcoming Court hearing.
What is sorta going on is that it's a MAJOR Court hearing.

Dontcha love how technical I am on here?

LOL!!!

In other news, Summer's been nice with Brother here.  My girls are content to sit around and watch Little House on the Prairie as well as work on their tans.  Brother already has a superb tan!  ;)

And you know how you don't really appreciate things until you are at the brink of possibly losing them?  Well that doesn't really apply to your children, nor Foster babies, because well, they are YOURS and you wouldn't ever want to think of losing them, but for story's sake...when Brother had a visitation with his momma...oh however many months ago that was: I had to come to grips with the fact that his momma is HIS MOMMA, and she very well may be rehabilitated and she very well may get to have him back.  And let's just say that it wasn't a pretty thing to see me try to come to grips with this. I had to go to my happy place and stay there in order to keep from losing my sanity, for sanity's sake. {And in the process I cocooned myself at home, keeping him safe and continuing to work on our bonding.}  And here we are, months down the road from all that...and he continues to thrive and grow.
He is safe here.  He is loved here.  His sisters shower him with sweet baby talk and tickles and lovin's and he just giggles like crazy and eats it up.

His momma...oh how I wish Jesus would fix her up.  I love this baby so much that I wish he could someday have a healthy friendship with her.  I know that would be healing for him.

Maybe that is just around the riverbend...