Happy Birthday Kody

As you can tell I haven’t blogged in awhile. Not much time for blogging when so much is going on. It’s been a busy summer filled with traveling, visiting friends and hanging out with my kids. This is how I have spent all my summers since I became a mother...including the summer of 1997.  My daughters were 8 and 9 years old. Our family had done so many cool things during our vacation from school and work.  It was such a fun age for the girls and I was enjoying motherhood at it’s finest.  Although I can’t remember exactly what I was doing on July 19, 1997, I'm guessing I  was probably at the pool with the girls. After swimming we may have had a snow cone, maybe we went to park. I’m not sure. But, I know I was not thinking about a baby boy being born in a small West Texas hospital.  I didn’t know then and wouldn’t know until several years later how the birth of this child would change my life forever. But, God did. And honestly that fact brings me to my knees. God knew before the foundation of the earth that I would be the mother of 3 beautiful children. This boy born on July 19, 1997…. 14 years ago today was mine and God’s plan to get him in my arms was perfect. Sure there were difficult times, a journey that was so hard at times; honestly I didn’t believe I would make it, full of heartache, pain, and more tears shed in those years that I ever thought possible. (Definitely another blog post) But, God’s timing was perfect and the way He brought our son to us was perfect.

Jeff and I were so excited when I was pregnant the first time. We were looking forward to having a baby.  We did all the normal things parents do and including a sonogram.   Twenty-three years ago sonograms were not as reliable as they are now. After our sonogram, the doctor told us to expect a boy.  We were thrilled and convinced that Mason Lee would be our first son. I still have the adorable cross-stitched picture that I finished the night before I went into labor…..“Mason’s Room” . It was just waiting to be hung on the wall when we brought our baby boy home. But, God blessed us with an adorable baby girl, Kayla Ann. This beautiful daughter could not have brought us more joy. She was a reminder that God is in control and not us. 18 months later, God reminded us again and blessed us with another daughter, Krista Jane. It may be hard to believe, but there were no more conversations about trying again for a boy.  Our family was complete and we were happy and content with our complete family.  There was a peace among us that God knew best. But, His best is better than our best. It makes me smile just thinking back all during those years and even  though we didn’t know - God had a wonderful surprise for us.

Kody Lee Carter came into our life summer of 2000.  The girls met him at Vacation Bible School and came home saying we should adopt him...which might have been a nice idea, but at the time he was not up for adoption.  One year later, we received a call that began a journey that changed our lives. The adoption process could begin.  It took another year before he joined our family and 3 more years before he was ours in the eyes of the courts. But on this summer day - July 19, 2011…my heart is overflowing with gratitude to a loving God that is sovereign and has a plan for my life that is better than anything I could have imagined.

Happy Birthday  Kody Lee Carter! I love you more than words cans describe!