A Very Special Christmas...

We are so very thankful for the gift of God's son, and for the gift our special son, Caleb.

God's Gift

Little baby on the hay

Soon there will be another day

When nails shall pierce your hands and feet

As you provide our sin's defeat

Risen Jesus on the throne

We lift our praise to you alone

For you're the gift that we receive

The moment that our hearts believe

-Roy Lessin

Our First Meeting....

One year ago today Zack and I were riding in a van down a bumpy road with a racing heart and sweaty palms.....we were on our way to meet our son! I can't quite express the thoughts and feelings that were going through our hearts and minds during that time, but I can tell you it is a moment we will never forget. When we pulled through the gate and saw the transition home, I thought my heart would explode! We had decided that the families would go in alphabetical order by last name- that meant we were number two in line! When our time came we stood anxiously looking at a door, knowing that the moment we saw our son carried through that door our lives would be changed forever. I still remember his little face. He had just woken from a nap and the sun was so bright that he squinted his little eyes. I remember it all like it was yesterday. That day is still so clear and vivid in my mind. And now it has been a year.

He still squints his eyes when he awakes from his nap- I love that! But so much has changed for him and for us. We have seen him blossom from a scared and unsure baby to a vibrant and lively little man! We have seen Caleb thrive this past year. It has been amazing to watch him grow, learn, love, and live. When we think about where he started as a tiny 5 month old baby found all alone, and how far he has come, it makes us so grateful. We could not imagine our lives without Caleb......

Caleb is not the only one who has undergone change- I have to smile when I think of those first few days and nights in Ethiopia with Caleb. We really had no idea what we were doing. There is actually one picture where I am changing Caleb's diaper and he has diaper rash creme all over his arm...I had no clue how to be a mom- but I learned :) And Zack learned. It was a trial by fire, but we learned, grew, and are better people for it. Of course, we have tons more to learn, but I when I see how far we have also come, I am so thankful.

Perhaps what is the most amazing aspect of all of this is that God took three people, all very different, all very much in need of love, all with very much love to give. We lived thousands of miles apart, and would come together through a series of events coming together at just the right moment, at just the right time. God worked through all these things and and made these three people into a family. What also is amazing is that he would allow Zack and I the opportunity to experience this most amazing journey of adoption and then give us the most amazing child in the world :) What is amazing is that he not only does this for us here on this earth, but also for eternity, by adopting us into his heavenly family through his Son, Jesus. It is simply amazing.

So, we celebrate this special day, and also celebrate all that God has done for us and continues to do for us. He is simply amazing.

Birthday Pictures.....

Finally, I can upload some pictures from Caleb's birthday . Caleb had such a wonderful time at his party. Many of his church friends were there and they had a great time playing. My favorite part was when we all sang Happy Birthday to him. He had the sweetest look on his face....almost like he couldn't believe everyone was singing to him. I was proud of how well he let all the other children help him open his gifts and even play with his new toys. He is a sweet boy. We are blessed!

Caleb is also loving the Christmas season. He loves all the decorations, lights and Santa Clause. He also loves the Christmas parties! I think he has been to at least 3 already :) We try to talk with him each day about the true meaning of Christmas. Because he just had a birthday, he still thinks that Christmas has something to do with his birthday, but today when I asked him whose birthday we celebrate on Christmas, he said "Jesus!" So, I think he is getting it.

Caleb Meets Santa and Celebrates His 2nd Birthday!!!

This past weekend was a busy one for the Caldwell family! Caleb met Santa for the first time, and celebrated his 2nd birthday with family and friends. Unfortunately I am having technical problems so I can't upload the birthday pics... so I will wait until I can upload those to tell you about his birthday- he had an awesome time!

So, back to meeting Santa....Caleb understands who Santa is and what he does, and he was very excited to meet him. When he first saw him at a distance, Caleb was so excited! He looked up at me and smiled as if to say, "Wow- that's Santa!". Then, the closer we got and the more Caleb realized that the point was for him to sit in Santa's lap, the more panic stricken and fearful Caleb became :). All of a sudden, he wanted nothing to do with Santa! Wouldn't even go near him! So we let Santa take a little break and Caleb and I sat in the big chair (this was in hopes that Santa could sneak up behind us and at least be in the picture). As you can see from the pictures , this worked, until Caleb realized Santa was back there....then you can also see what happened :)

Eventually Caleb did calm down long enough to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas, and Santa even got a little smile out of Caleb. It was a memorable first meeting :) Don't worry, Caleb also knows the true meaning of Christmas and about Baby Jesus. He met him too- at our manger scene at church :)

With Gratitude We Remember.....

Thanksgiving is always a time to reflect, to remember, and to express gratitude. We did just this over the weekend, as we reflected on just how much God has blessed our family. He has blessed us in so many ways, of course one of the biggest blessings being Caleb :) The joy he brings to our family is indescribable! We could never have imagined just what a gift he was going to be to us all.

We also remember with thankfulness a year ago at this time...We knew our court date was coming up soon- December 2. I can not explain to you the anxiousness, excitement, fear and anticipation I felt in my body every single waking second as we waited for our court date to arrive....it was the most intense wait I have ever experienced! Anxious to hear news, excited to think about the prospects of passing, fear of not passing and further delays and anticipation for all that was ahead of us. Of course, we were not the only ones waiting to hear- several other families had court the same week, so we were all sharing these feelings!

December 2 came and went, and no news! I did not think we could wait a second longer! December 3 came and went, and still no news!! Worry consumed me as we were not sure why we had not heard any news concerning our court date. December 4th came. A few families heard their news- some was good, some was bad. It was almost lunch time and we had still not heard any news. I was slowly beginning to fall apart. I was at work by myself that day, so I went back into the back room, got down on my knees, and prayed for the Lord to bless us with a successful court appointment so that we could bring home our son. When I came back into the office, I noticed a missed call. Sure enough, it was from AWAA. I wanted to collapse in fear because up to that point many unsuccessful court notices had come via telephone (as our first failed court notice had come). With shaking hands I dialed my voicemail. What I heard elated me! It was the travel coordinator for AWAA telling us we had passed court and to call her asap to confirm our travel arrangements!!! Praise the Lord! I will never forget that moment.

We have come such a long way since that phone call. I truly can not believe that this week will mark a year since we passed court and that our baby will be turning two years old. And soon he will have been with us for one year! We have so much to be thankful for.

As I mentioned in a recent post, we have been seriously contemplating another adoption, and we feel God has made a few things more clear to us. The first is that he desires we adopt again from Ethiopia. The second is that he desires that we trust him and his calling in terms of the child that he has for us-more on what this specifically means for us in a later post. The third is that we not rush the process. We are in a time of transition in terms of careers and residence, so we don't forsee it being beneficial to begin a homestudy anytime soon, as much will likely change in the coming months :) We may, however, begin collecting our dossier in the coming months....no plan is set in stone as of yet.

One thing we know and are thankful for: God has used adoption in our lives to show us more of Himself and who He desires us to be.

Congratulations Caleb!!!

Yesterday we received an email from America World telling us that one of the photos we had submitted for the 2010 America World calender was chosen as the winning photo for the cover of the calendar! Wow! Way to go Caleb!!! This is truly an honor as all former and current AWAA families across all country programs are invited to submit photos for the contest! We are proud of you buddy!!!

Back to Work...& Thinking....

So, I have been back to work for two whole weeks now. So far, I really like my job! I have a wonderful supervisor who is doing a fantastic job training me. I have learned so much about candy and sales ( I work for Hershey as a part time retail sales merchandiser- mainly in convenient stores & food stores). I can honestly say this is something I would have never ever seen myself doing, but so far, it seems to be a great fit :) The schedule is great, Caleb seems to have adjusted well, and the extra money is really helping out.

We have also really been thinking a lot about adoption lately. Most likely because this past weekend we led an adoption seminar at our home church and I represented AWAA at an amazing adoption fair at Southland Christian Church in Lexington, Kentucky. I was able to speak to so many young couples interested in international adoption and gave out all the info I had with me! Praise the Lord! The most exciting time came when I recognized a family that I had met at an AWAA seminar in Frankfort a few months back- they recognized me as well, and came over to chat. During the course of our conversation they told me they had submitted their application to AWAA'a Rwanda program about a week ago!! I was so excited I just wanted to jump up and shout! So, back to our "thinking". We are really thinking about what God would have us to do in terms of adopting again. We both feel it is in our hearts to adopt again, we are just unsure when to start exactly and of a few other details...like country (most likely Ethiopia or Rwanda) and age/sex. We are praying through all this right now. We would be honored if you prayed with us!