Meet Ryan Matthew!!

THE STORY:

We got one of those calls-out-of-the-blue-that-turn-your-world-upside-down on Monday evening, Aug 17, at 7pm. Rebecca, our case worker from Bethany, called saying that a baby boy had been born on Sunday morning, and she was asking if we’d like to consider being his adoptive parents. She told us the details about his case, and as she spoke we were thinking and listening carefully, and looking at each other going “can this really be true? It certainly sounds like a good fit!” After learning as much as we could from Rebecca, we told her we’d discuss it and call her back with our answer.

We felt total peace about it from the beginning, and it didn’t take long before we were ready to make that return call to Rebecca to tell her YES!!!

We drove to the hospital in Coupeville (N end of Whidbey Island) on Tuesday evening and met him for the first time, and Wednesday night we brought him home!!!! It took us two round trips to the hospital (approx 1.5 hours each way), plus much additional discussion, to reach a final decision on his name. Most people have months to consider and discuss name options for their child; we had 2 days!! We’ve had name ideas in mind over the years, but they just didn’t seem to fit him. So, we brainstormed and polled people and have come up with RYAN MATTHEW SMALL. Ryan means "little king" and Matthew means "Gift from God".

There is one caveat to this story. His birthmom claimed some Native American heritage, so Bethany has to go thru the formal process of getting each band of the Cherokee tribe to release their claim on this child. The likelihood of him being taken away is small, but it is still possible because the birthparents’ rights have not been terminated in court. So, we are reservedly claiming him as our own and getting attached. The reality of what just happened is still sinking in. The nurses loved him at the hospital, and said he was a great baby, and we have found that to be true. He eats very well and fast, his bodily functions are very regular (we’ll take diaper donations! , he sleeps very good, and cries very little so far.

We had absolutely no idea this scenario could happen for us since we were in the foster-to-adopt program thru Bethany, and we were expecting to get an older child. All we can say is that GOD IS SO GOOD and He loves to give his kids extra-special blessings (Psalm 37:4 – “Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart”). Having a newborn baby boy was certainly our #1 dream, but we really didn’t expect it to happen. But God knew this was going to happen! We can look back and see how He was getting us prepared and setting the pieces in place. It is AMAZING how many similarities there are between Ryan’s story and Abby’s.


Here are some of the loving nurses who took care of our son at the hospital. Our caseworker, Rebecca, is on the right.




Mommy holding Ryan....3 days old






We stopped at Randy's sister Annette's house on the way home on Wednesday to pick up Abby and let them meet Ryan. Abby was pretty tickled with her new brother! And so was everyone else...



Ryan Matthew...3 days old...


Thursday morning we were home as a family of FOUR! Does Randy look sleep-deprived? (YES)


Ryan found his thumb on Day 4, but hasn't sucked it again since (that I know of)


Judy's Aunt Carol came to visit on Thursday and brought a blackberry pie. YUMMY!!


Our good friends Gary and Mary (Grandpa & Grandma) Jennings visited on Friday.

Uncle Kevin and Auntie Laura came on Saturday. Laura had been here on Thursday and Friday also. She's been a great help!!


Nephew Luke with his new cousin Ryan


Abby loves her baby brother! She wants to know where he is first thing in the morning, and checks on him frequently throughout the day. She loves giving him kisses, showing him books, and tries so hard to play with him. He's just not ready for it all yet! All he wants to do is sleep and eat.

Daddy loves holding his little son, and is already getting him used to the sound of sunflower seeds being removed from the bag and split between his teeth.

Thru all this, I've been hobbling around on a swollen, very sore ankle. I had had a red spot on my ankle for a couple weeks, but it didn't bother me at all so I didn't do anything about it. But then it swelled up and got very sore on Monday or Tuesday. I went to the doctor on Friday and found out that I had a spider bite that got infected. It's slowly on the mend.

Where Is Abby?

I had just hit the snooze and rolled over, hoping for at least 9 more minutes of blissful sleep, when Randy came in and said "Where is Abby?" He always goes in and checks on her and gives her a good-bye kiss before he leaves for work, but when he went in to say goodbye, he couldn't find her! Of course, I got out of bed and prepared to help him search, but he had located her by the time I got out of our bedroom. Here is where he found her:

Do you see her? Neither do I! But she's UNDER her crib behind the blanket screen, scrunched in somewhere around the suitcases that are stored under there. She was stirring when I took this picture, so I know she's there. I don't know how Randy figured out she was under there. It was very dark when I took this picture. I just aimed my camera toward the bed and hoped I would get it in the picture.

She has been sleeping "in" the big bed for the last 2 days. I guess she decided she didn't need to sleep in her crib anymore. And actually, she was settling in and sleeping in the big bed very well during her nap and nighttime...or so we thought. Altho last night I got up to go to the restroom at 2:30, and noticed that her door was wide open. I looked and thought I saw her in bed, so I went back to bed. Randy also got up and noticed the door open, but he determined she WASN'T in the bed. He found her in the living room sleeping in/on the throw blankets we have by our cushy rocker/swivel chair. He put her back in bed, but I guess she decided to get out again.

She obviously was very active last night. I'm guessing this is going to be a challenging day dealing with an almost 2-1/2 year old who didn't get a good night's sleep.

Another "Adventure in Abbyland"!....

More Silliness

She figured this out all by herself! :)


And this too... (turned the garbage can upside down and stood on it to reach the drinking fountain at church)


So VERY proud of herself!


All ready to go on a walk with Daddy. Daddy put the hat on, but I'm guessing she put the sunglasses on....do you agree? :)

She really wanted to go outside during one of the really hot days, so I let her go out and play in the shade right outside the deck door. I was inside staying cool(er). She made mud out of dirt and water from her spray bottle, and then spread it on her arms and legs and the deck. Seems like I read that mud helps cool you down...she must've read the same book! :) I took a couple pictures before she noticed I was there.

She earned herself a cool-water bath for this act. It was all worth it!!

#1 Husband Award

And the winner this week (and for the rest of my life) is....RANDY SMALL!!!!!

During my lunchtime on Friday, I wrote a list of the things I wanted/needed to get accomplished on Saturday. It included picking beans, canning beans, making apple pie and freezing apple pie filling, picking plums, making plum-bluberry jam, preparing my Sunday School lesson, cutting up the watermelon, and making lunch for Sunday. Some may look at that list and think "so what?". When I looked at it, I knew how much work was involved in those things and knew I was going to be exhausted by the time it was over. And I expected that much of it would get delayed until a later date (which isn't a very good option since much of it HAD to be done by Sunday, and other parts of it HAD to be done due to fruit/veggie readiness and lack of good storage options).

In steps my wonderful, self-sacrificing husband Randy. He looked over my list and said "how can I help you get this all done?" He chose to put aside his own to-do list and was a GREAT helper all day! His help included taking Abby on a walk and bike ride so I had the house to myself (and the associated peace and quiet which allowed me to think clearly), picked plums, snapped, washed, and put beans in the jars, cut up the watermelon, washed dishes, and determined that we could take left-over pizza from Friday night to church on Sunday so I didn't need to prepare another meal.

When all was said and done, I had canned 5 quarts of apple pie filling, 4-1/2 pints of plum-blueberry jam, had 3 quarts of beans in the fridge ready to be canned once I got more beans to make it worth it, and my Sunday School lesson was ready to go. The only thing that didn't get done was the apple pie, which was fine because it didn't have to happen.

THANK YOU, HONEY!!! I LOVE YOU!!