I am IN LOVE...

... with a child that I haven't yet met!  I am completely and totally, head over heals, IN LOVE with a child who has most likely not even been born yet!  While I may not physically feel this child moving inside my belly, I certainly (and without a doubt) feel this child growing inside my heart!  I have a desire and a longing for this child that I cannot begin to put into words.  This child is all that I think about; my first thought each morning and my last thought each night.  I dream about my baby.  Every decision that I make, I make with this child in mind... even the smallest decisions.  I am IN LOVE!

This is WHY I am writing this blog in the first place.  Yes, I want to share the story of our adoption journey with our family and friends and this is a very efficient way to do that.  And yes, I have come to realize that this is a very therapeutic way for this waiting mommy-to-be to share my thoughts, feelings, hopes, and desires and to share our excitement with you in this journey.  Let me be clear, though.  I am NOT a writer.  I am not a novelist, although I do have a secret dream to write a children's book or two (I suppose it isn't such a secret now.  Is it?  HA!).  I don't even like to journal!  The extent of my daily writing comes from lesson planning and updating my Facebook statuses.  The TRUE reason that I am writing this blog is for MY BABY!  You see, this is not Tyler and Leslie Cherry's story.  This is the prologue to OUR PRECIOUS BABY'S story!  I am writing this blog for MY BABY!  My hope is to make a book out of this (I'm pretty sure that I saw a way to do that on Pinterest or something. Ha Ha!) and to give it to my child as a gift so that he or she will never have any question just how much we love him or her...  even before we ever met!  I am IN LOVE!

This is a necklace (created by Kate Clayton at The Adopt Shoppe)  that I purchased from another adoptive mother.  Now if you see me wearing it, you will know exactly what it means.

I am a children's book fanatic!  I am an elementary teacher and I LOVE children's books!  I spend WAY more of my personal money than I probably should on children's books for my classroom.  When I see them, I can't help myself!  Today, I bought a new children's book for MY BABY!!  And you know... when you buy a child his or her first Curious George book, you MUST buy the stuffed animals that go with it!  I am IN LOVE!

Here is Baby Cherry's VERY FIRST Curious George book accompanied by his or her VERY FIRST stuffed animals!

OH... AND WE HAVE MORE REALLY BIG NEWS!!

(Technically, it was yesterday!  It was already past midnight when I published this post.  Oh well!)

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!  We have MUCH to celebrate!!  :0)
Love,
Leslie and Tyler
(and Maggie & Lucy too!)

Loving Our Village!

I am completely in awe of the response that we have received since I first published this blog on Friday!  As of now, we have had 2,540 page views, 429 likes to Facebook posts about blog updates, and 194 encouraging comments on those Facebook posts!  That's in JUST 5 DAYS (Just for the record, I CAN count!  It's just way too early to add Wednesday into this equation just yet.)!!  I can't even begin to count the number of Facebook inbox messages, e-mails, texts, phone calls, voicemails, and face-to-face congratulatory hugs that we have received!

You all are INCREDIBLE!!  We are so unbelievably blessed to have all of you as family and friends!  You know, they say that it takes a village to raise a child.  It is obvious that our precious baby already has the most AMAZING village (HANDS DOWN!) that there is!  There's just no question!!

So... I wanted to take a minute and say THANK YOU!!  You all will NEVER EVER know how much you mean to us and to our growing family!  We are praising God and thanking Him for this loving and encouraging village with which He has so richly blessed us!!

We received this sweet card in the mail and I just had to share it!  Again, we are so blessed!  Thank you ALL for loving and supporting us so much in this journey!  Even more, thank you for already loving our precious baby even before meeting him or her!

 

This treasure is from Rachel, Clay, & Eleanor Pendleton (& Emma)!  What a sweet surprise to find in our mailbox!! We love you, Pendletons!! :0)

Much love to all!

:0) Leslie & Tyler

“And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.” - Matthew 18:5

Since we made our BIG ANNOUNCEMENT on Friday, we have had LOTS of questions and I LOVE answering them (the ones to which I know the answers, anyway... HAHA)!  The first question that I want to answer is WHY we are choosing adoption to expand our family.  


Honestly, we haven't really "chosen" adoption.  We were called to adopt.  God called us to adopt in a way that was so clear that it became obvious that we were supposed to grow our family in this way!


We knew even before we got married that we wanted to have children some day.  It was really just a matter of when.  We began seriously talking about starting our family about three years ago.  Those of you who know me very well, know that I have very annoying chronic migraines (At some point, I may have had to cancel some fun plans with you because of one.  Like I said... SUPER ANNOYING!) and I have to take daily preventative medication for those.  Well, that medicine is not safe to take during pregnancy, so I had to discontinue that for a while.  I think I lasted about 2 1/2 - 3 years without the medication.  I had to start taking the medication again this past November because I was having migraines way too frequently.  We discussed adoption and prayed diligently about it during those months of trying to decide whether or not to start taking the medication again.  We prayed for God to give us guidance and He definitely did!


After several months of discussions, unending prayer, and seeking guidance through God’s will, we received clarity that we are being called to pursue adoption. We really feel that God has led us to adopt, and this is how He desires for us to grow our family.  Matthew 18:5 has been an ever present reminder since making this decision.  “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.” 


Since I was a little girl, I have always dreamed of being a mom.  I am also a second grade teacher; children are my life and they always have been.  Over the years, I have had several children in my classroom that have found their forever families through adoption.  Every child in my class has a life story; all of them are special!  I was always, however, been emotionally moved by the life journey that my adopted students had to tell.  Even at such a young age, my adopted students knew how to express their adoption journey, and God’s will for them to be with their forever families.  I cannot explain it like I wish I could, but God is always speaking to me when I hear each and every adoption story.  My heart is always filled, and my desire to adopt even more resolute, with each precious child’s story.


Even when I was a child, I was fascinated by families who had adopted children.  As we have been reflecting and answering questions and such over the past few months about adoption and why we want to adopt, I kept reflecting back on one very special family from my hometown.  This family fostered and adopted the most beautiful children!  They were (and still are ;0)) just precious and their family was filled with so much love!  I think this was my first experience with international adoption and it was simply incredible and inspired me even when I was a little girl myself!  I'm sure they never imagined that their little second grade "following student" would be inspired to adopt one day herself because of the amazing examples that they have been! :0)


I never could explain why until now, but I have always gotten a little more of an emotional feeling when family and friends would announce that they were expecting a child through adoption.  Now, I know that God has been preparing my heart all these years for my own child!  There are just so many things that are making sense now that I couldn't really explain before.


We are both very excited and humbled about the adoption journey.  Although we are still in the early stages, it has already been the most amazing experience of our lives!  We know that God has granted us the strength, desire, and love to provide a forever home and family for a beautiful child.  We are humbled in knowing that it will be our responsibility to raise a child, showing that child God’s way and providing a loving, fun, and Christ-filled home for our sweet baby!