Parke's Beads...

Today would have been Parke's 4 month birthday. I've told several friends lately that this is an interesting milestone for us. I remember when Landry turned 4 months old and Micah commented that she came to life all the sudden. She was smiling, she was acknowledging that she knew if we were there or not, she started showing preferences to different things. We looked forward to this milestone with Collier knowing that the "newborn" days were short lived and soon we would have a baby that would be fun to interact with in ways besides feeding and snuggling. It was a fun transition for us from newborn to baby. 

That would have been today. Parke would have been changing, developing, learning new things. I've struggled with seeing some babies lately and wishing I had him back. I've broken down at the most random times...I can feel it coming on, and can sometimes excuse myself before I make a spectacle of myself boo-hooing over a strangers baby at Target. :) 

Tough times, but God is so merciful. He gives me so many bright spots in my day with sweet memories of Parke. Landry says the most precious things about her brother in heaven, unprovoked. She talks about him all the time, and even said "Something is missing! Oh, it's Baby Parke." the other day. 

We have such precious memories of him, and try to find neat ways to honor him as a part of our family. Here's something we finished about a month ago...

When Parke was at Arkansas Children's Hospital, he was accepted into a program called Beads of Courage. You an read about the program here, but basically they provide beautiful beads for different milestones for critically ill children. While kids are in the hospital, they get different beads for each night they stay, each IV poke, each x-ray, etc. They beads help tell the child's story, and they have them on lanyards that the older kids wear. We saw some kids with 10+lanyards full of beads! 

Since Parke was only there a few days, he had just the right amount of beads for us to put together some sweet keepsakes. 

I knew I wanted Landry to have something special to remember Parke, so I picked 3 beads to make her a necklace. The middle is a blue heart (showing P was a heart patient) and two glow-in-the-dark beads (for x-rays and or echo-cardiograms). After that, I knew I wanted to have a bracelet made for myself. I took the leftover beads into a local shop planning to add some things to it to make it a complete bracelet. Once the sweet owner put it together, it fit perfectly without any additions! I am thrilled with the way it turned out, and I have worn it every day since I got it back. My favorite bead is the big pink heart....it was the "parent bead" given to me at the hospital. All the beads are hand painted and unique. I just love this sweet reminder of our boy! Landry doesn't like to wear her necklace much yet, but she likes to show people and tell them it was from Baby Parke for her birthday. :)

Happy 4 month birthday Baby Parke. Give Jesus a big grin for us! 

Collier's New Friend

This is a happy and a sad blog post. First, I have to admit that my baby boy has no friends. Second, this was Collier's first official play date. All of our play dates seem to be with Landry's friends or older kids who don't want to play with the "baby." :) 

The happy part is, that Collier has a new buddy! And...he got to have a play date that was all about him and had a good time with his friend. Landry was not thrilled about that, and she had some funny things to say before Braxton came over...

She said, 

"Collier, he really wants to play with me. We are going to do girly things, and I will dress him up like a king!"

After I explained to her that they were going to play together and probably not dress up...

"Yeah. They are going to do boy things and probably say, "Hey! Where's my basketball?"" 

And, she was kind of right! 

They took a little while to warm up to each other, but they did end up playing basketball. 

Then we played upstairs and ignored each other for a while...

And, we finally got some hugs in before nap time. 

The boys are a month apart and will be two in August and September. It was so fun to watch Collier play with someone his own age, and it was absolutely adorable that we accidentally dressed them like twinkies. :)

So fun! 

Now, I don't have to worry that my kid is the one with no friends. Ha!

Meet "Dainty"

We have been crazy and traveling. I had the best of intentions to blog every day while Micah and I were out of town because I had a lot of down time while he was working. Well, I hauled our laptop down to Dallas and then realized that I hadn't uploaded any pictures before we left. So, I didn't turn it on once, and didn't get bored for one second. :) I enjoyed the mindless break. 

This was one of the posts I had planned on doing, and I have been meaning to do this for 6 months! So, here it is...documentation of Collier's must-have item. 

"Dainty" is Collier's green snuggle blankie.

Dainty was a baby gift from a sweet friend, and one of many snuggle blankets Collier had as a baby. Around 5 or 6 months, he really started showing that he liked this one the best, and it has been through a lot since then! He calls it "dainty" just because that is how blankie comes out. It's cute, and that is the name that stuck. When he can't find it, he will whine and say, "Dainty dow? Dainty dow!?" (aka: Blankie go?)

Dainty then.... 

Dainty now...

These pictures were taken straight from the dryer. This thing just stays looking nasty! 

Collier decided that chewing on the tag was his source of comfort, and this thing has been CHEWED. I tried buying a replacement, but he knows the difference and only wants the old one. 

13 months....

19 months...

21 months...

Do you think he'll take this thing to college? :) 

I love my sweet boy...and his dainty. We thought that we lost the blankie (for real) one day, and I almost started crying. This will be one of those baby items that I keep forever! 

Do your kids have snuggle items? Do they have one favorite? Landry will pretty much sleep without anything, but getting Collier to sleep without his blankie is a chore! 

Adoption...

We've had a lot of people ask about what's next for our family. Some people have seemed hesitant to "go there" in conversation, and others have been very direct....either way, we know people are wondering. The truth is, we're not sure where our family is headed at this point. Micah and I agree that we want to adopt again, but we aren't sure when God will decide the right time is. 

Parke was a beautiful addition to our family, and the timing couldn't have been better on starting the process, being matched, and his birth. Everything was quick, and we saw God's hand all over the entire situation. 

We knew without a doubt that we were being led to act in those moments, and we see now exactly why we were so motivated....because he was meant to be a Gibson!

As of today, we are not feeling the urgency to pursue another adoption. We are still grieving the loss of precious Parke, and I know that won't stop as our family continues to grow. He will always be our #3, our precious miracle, and the sweetest gift. We are open to adding to our family when the time is right, and we know that we will be at peace when God shows us who our next child is. We've received a few phone calls already with possible babies, but we knew almost instantly that the situations weren't right for us. 

On top of that, Micah and I both feel strongly that our next child might not be a newborn. We are definitely open to that being the case, and if we received a phone call tonight with a 1 year old needing a home, I am pretty confident we would be adding another child immediately. We are just open and waiting for whatever comes. I know that sounds crazy to receive a random phone call, but we have heard of things like that happening. We didn't imagine that things would happen the way they did with Parke, and we know that God hand-delivered him to us....we are confident any additional children added to our family will happen in a similar way. 

 I guess the best thing to say is that I pray we are able to adopt again one day. I do pray that God will bless us and choose us to parent more children through adoption. I can't tell you the joy that filled my heart when I heard Parke cry for the first time. I had no feelings that he wasn't "mine" or that I wasn't his mommy...even with the birth mother in the same room. Parenting is more than genetics, family is more than blood, and Parke reassured me that unconditional love can come quickly and last forever. He confirmed a lot of what was on my heart, squashed any fears I had, and changed a lot of people's views of adoption in his short time here.  

I'm just being honest, I don't think I looked this proud even after delivering Landry and Collier. Getting the "mommy band" put on my arm at the hospital was seriously one of the best moments ever. 

And Micah looked into our little man's eyes and just melted immediately. Even after seeing ultrasound pictures, Micah was in love with Parke. It took Landry and Collier actually being born for him to "bond" with them, but with Parke had him wrapped around his tiny fingers before they even met. 

So, I guess to answer everyone's question....yes. Yes, I believe we will adopt again. It has been one of the greatest blessings and life-changers in all of our lives (Landry and Collier included) and our marriage. 

And more answers...

Yes, if you know of someone looking for a family to adopt a child, you can contact us. 

Yes, we are open to adopting a baby or an older child. 

Yes, we are open to a sibling group.

Yes, we are willing to have an open adoption (level of "open" depends on the situation). 

Yes, we still want our children close together. BUT, we are not willing to pursue getting another baby just to have our kids close in age. It will have to be "our" baby/child, and we know we will have a peace when that happens. 

And finally, YES, we are considering fostering/adopting through DHS at some point. This had not been a viable option for our family when we checked into it before because of the ages of our children, required court appearances, and water issues at our home (we are on a well). However, as the kids grow, this will become more realistic for our family. Honestly, if we would have known everything we were going to go through with Parke, we would have never thought we could have done it. It's amazing how you just DO when you are in the midst of something, and you are able to DO far more than you expected. 

So, there it is. We are content where we are, and staying open to what God has in store for us. Landry talks about her 2 brothers constantly, and Collier goes crazy when he sees pictures of his baby. They miss Parke greatly. He will never, ever, ever, ever be replaced in our family....whether we add more children or not. I am still so thankful for the opportunity God gave us to parent Parke. I am able to look at things a little differently through the eyes of losing a child...things that Landry and Collier do "wrong" are not so bad, and they get squeezed tighter than ever before. I hope that through our experience with Parke, we will be better parents to any children who enter our home. 

Special Time

This past week, I had some special "alone" time with Landry. Collier went to Gigi's (Micah's parents) for 4 nights, and he had plenty of one-on-one time himself! The plan started out at just 2 nights, and then turned to 3 because there was something fun going on that he would really enjoy, and then it turned into 4 nights because Micah's parents were coming up to NWA the next day anyway. I really missed that sweet boy, and Landry asked to go pick him up several times. BUT, we had a blast too. Landry is growing and changing so much every day, and it is fun to totally focus on her for a little while. 

Landry and I went with my mom up to Branson to meet my grandparents for a few days. Landry and Grandpa are best buddies, and she loved having he and my grandmother all to herself. 

Here are lots of pictures from our little adventure...

Grandpa uses a walker sometimes, and Landry loves to hitch a ride. She climbs up there any chance she gets. We hardly used the stroller! 

We went to the Dixie Stampede while we were there. It was one of my favorite shows when I was younger, and it is still so much fun! The food was yummy, and I loved watching Landry soak up all the excitement from the show. 

Lots of the staff were "princesses," and Landry was excited! 

They announced her birthday over the loud-speaker, but we weren't there early enough to hear it. :)

Landry sat on Grandpa's lap almost the whole time and waved that flag like a crazy person! She loved eating the corn-on-the cob and drinking her soup out of the mug. If you haven't been before, there is no silverware...you use your hands for everything! 

We got back to the condo that night, and my Grandmother spoiled Landry a little more. After a long day of shopping and going, a girl needs a good foot soak. Landry asked for one the next night too...she thought it was pretty cool. :)

Besides shopping and spending some quality time together, another highlight of our trip was visiting the Keeter Center at the College of the Ozarks. This place is AWESOME! 

The college students run everything, and they actually grow almost everything they use in their restaurant on campus. 

The waiters are students, the cooks are students...everything. 

We had a 30 minute wait before we could be seated, so we switched things up and got dessert first. 

They have dairy cows where they get the milk that they make into homemade ice-cream. They had lots of flavors, and everything we sampled was really great! 

We got seated, and Picasso and her side-kick had a big time coloring. 

Landry got in the 'kuzzi-pool" the second night instead of a foot soak, and she seemed okay with that. 

And, just in case you were feeling sorry for us leaving Collier behind....

I'm pretty positive he had a lot more fun with Gigi and Papa-D than he would have had shopping and being lugged around everywhere with us! 

Collier is crazy about being outside, and Gigi's farm is the perfect place for that boy to be.

Dirt, mud, good food....it was pure bliss! 

Gigi is a Master Gardner, and her group was opening a new Children's Garden this weekend. Collier got to go to the grand opening and plant some of his own plants! 

How sweet is this face? 

Collier loves to "wee" (aka: swing), and he did a lot of that while he was there. 

Collier with Beemer. Love that serious little face! 

Landry thought every white horse in the Dixie Stampede was Beemer, and she would get so excited!

Packing peanuts anyone? 

Both of the kids had a great few days and some extra attention that they both needed. 

I love getting to spend one-on-one time with my kiddos every once in a while, and it is fun for the grandparents to have them alone too. Their personalities change when they are by themselves! 

Landry also had her friend, Grace, over for their first slumber party on Saturday night. They did great and slept all night together in Landry's bed.  It was nice for Collier not to be here bugging them, and they really played great together. I am looking forward to many precious memories with these little friends! 

Landry kept calling it a "slum" party, and that just kept me laughing! 

Grace's mama and I were both a little nervous about how they would do since this was a first, but I am so happy that it worked out! 

A tea party dinner...

Tons of giggles and snuggles...

And then they drug each other to church the next morning....

These 3 year olds are big stuff! 

Celebrating HER Day

Landry's tea party was such a hit with her, but the celebrating didn't end there. Since her party was early, her birthday coming up was a big topic of conversation...for days! 

This has been my favorite birthday celebration with the kids so far. Landry really understood, and that was so exciting to watch. Precious memories! :)

On Sunday, I took Landry to Wal-Mart (dressed like a princess, of course) and let her spend some of her birthday money. She ran up and down the toy aisle showing me everything she loved. She picked out a Doc McStuffins set and the biggest baby doll I've ever seen. 

On L's actual birthday, we had the best time. When Landry woke up, I went into her room singing and telling her she was THREE! She snapped at me and insisted she was still two. After I explained that it was finally her real day, she was beside herself excited! :) 

We had eggs for breakfast (by request), played outside with Gigi who came to visit, went to the park, at "Chick-A-le" for dinner, and opened more presents. Micah loved getting to watch her open gifts and blow out her candles since he was banned from the tea party!

We gave Landry one of my hand-me-down American Girl dolls and tea sets as her gift. She loved it and named her doll Lindsey (we started with Larry, so it's an improvement). It fits well since this was the doll that supposedly looked like me...even though she didn't have thick glasses or a bowl cut! (Side note: I'm pretty sure my mom didn't like me. Ha!)
It was funny to hear Landry bossing and sassing "Lindsey" that day...it really threw me off at first! :)
I have 6 other AG dolls hidden that will be passed down at some point. After seeing the abuse this one is taking, it might be a while!