Our Birthmom

So, I decided I should post some pictures of the beautiful woman who gave us our precious angel. Her name is Nekeita, and she is amazing. When Dustin and I first met her there was an immediate connection. She gave me the biggest hug, and from that second on there was this amazing bond between all four of us.

Gabral is Carter's older brother. He was 2 at the time and a pure delight to be with. I will always remember the first thing he said to me, which was, "Heeey!" It cracked me up and I fell in love with him.

Our first day together we had a great time. We came to Murray where we had to run some errands for Nekeita. We then ended up at Joe's Crab Shack. The food was fabulous and we were all able to put away some serious seafood.

We then went to Fashion Place Mall, and were able to buy Nekeita somethings she would need while completing her stay in Utah and at the hospital. While we were at the mall Nekeita asked what we would be naming the baby. We told her Dustin Carter, and she reached down, held her belly, and said Hello there Dustin Carter. From that moment on, we knew we were going to be the adoptive family for her.

We continued to spend the entire day together. We were able to talk and have some serious heart to hearts. Nekeita is funny, outgoing, loving, and one of the sweetest women I have ever met. I just feel like she is now so much a part of me!

When we dropped Keita and Gabral off that night, we had agreed to get together the next day to go to Logan to meet Dustin's family. Little did we know how much our plans would change.

Saturday morning Dustin and I were having a stressful day trying to figure out finances, plane tickets, etc. and all it was going to take to become parents within a week. When I finally got to the point of such frustration, we decided to just put things aside and head to get Keita for an outing. As we were pumping gas, I received a phone call, and Keita's water had broke. Drastic change of plans, head for the hospital. There were so many tears of joy from all of our family and Dustin and I braced ourselves, we were going to become parents that day.

After gathering all we needed, and giving Keita time to get to the hospital, Dustin and I headed there ourselves. When we got there Keita was ever so grateful to see us, and feeling a little overwhelmed. All she could say is, "Well, we are no longer going by my schedule, Carter thinks he has to come today!" So, several hours went by, and at 6:47 pm on July 26, 2008, Keita brought into the world our little man. I was by her side the entire time, and she asked me to cut my son's imbilical cord. As I saw Carter for the first time, tears filled my eyes. Well, Keita had told me no tears allowed, and was quick to cover me by saying, "Linds, did something get in your contact?" When I gave Keita a hug, there was so much unspoken love and appreciation between the two of us, no words will ever describe that moment between 2 mom's for the same child.

Keita was then gracious enough to allow Dustin and I to spend as much time at the hospital as we wanted. Which was almost all the time. We spent the first night together, all 3 of us in Keita's hosptial room. Dustin was a huge help, and waited on Keita hand and foot. He wanted to make sure she was comfortable and spend as much time with her as he could.

As Carter continued to be in NICU, Keita would call down and get updates. As much as I think it hurt Keita to have involvement, she knew the hell we would have been going through, not knowing how our son was doing. She was simply the best birthmom we could ask for.

As time came to say goodbye, we made sure only little items got into my contacts. There was a peace between the three of us as our time together drew to an end. Keita wanted to get back to her life, and Dustin and I wanted to start ours. So, as Keita was readying to leave the hospital there were many thoughts, pictures, and love between us all.

Our birthmom was a simple miracle for Dustin and I. She was exactly all, plus more, that we had hoped for. She was loving, understanding, and included us in everything, through it all! Keita, I only pray that one day our paths will cross again. Until then, we love you and thank you...for giving us the best gift in the world!

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Carter's First Trip to the Pool!

Well, this has been quite an enjoyable week. I have started doing water aerobics with my sister and my mom. It is actually a lot of fun and I feel great afterwards. So, Dustin and I decided it was time to introduce Carter to the pool.

On Tuesday night, Dustin, Carter, and I went over to the community rec center and took Peanut for a swim. I am not going to say Carter loved it...but I don't think he hated it either. There was so much for him to take in, he just sat there gnawing on his hand, looking at all he could. It turned out to be a lot of fun. We spent an hour in there and with the water being so warm, Carter was very chill. We are hoping to make it a weekly thing.

Being able to be the first to experience all of these little moments with Carter is the best thing in the world. I love to see what he is going to do, and what each breath is going to bring him. I love my little man, he is amazing!

My First Blog!

So, I am very excited to start blogging. I used to be a journal writer, but now due to a busy schedule and exhaustion at the end of my days, I am going to try to be a blogger. We will see how well and how long that goes.
Dustin and I just received our letter from our attorney to finalize Carter's adoption. We are so excited for the day to come that we no longer have to worry about something happening to Carter. We are pretty sure that there won't be any problems, and we haven't had any, but it will be so nice to have it officially official.
Every day I look at Carter and I think how lucky Dustin and I are to have the cutest little man in the world. Now, I know those of you who have your own kids may think otherwise, but I am pretty sure our little boy is darling! He truly is such a delight for Dustin and me. Being a mom has turned out to be such a wonderful experience. I love being mom more than I ever thought possible. I am already talking to Dustin about how we are going to try to raise money so we can adopt again in a year and a half. I want a little girl now that we have a little boy.
As the holidays have past we have began discussing our next adventure. We are hoping to drive to Washington state in March to visit Liz and see that area. I have never been to Washington or Oregon, and need to hit those two states in order to be on track again for my goal.
Anyway, I will be writing about our holiday and posting pictures hopefully later on. I just wanted to see what my little blog would look like with an actual blog. Ciao for now!