Happy Birthday Little Man

Our little baby is no longer a baby...he turns 1 tomorrow.  Next week will mark 6 months that he has been a part of our family. It's hard to imagine "our family" before he arrived. Even though legally the paperwork does not say he is ours yet, our hearts disagree.


Celebrating his first birthday feels a little awkward. We are extremely excited for a day designated to celebrate him, but it's a little strange to not have memories of his birth. We will probably never know many details surrounding his birth.


1 year ago, I was wishing Joel was in Pittsburgh. We had just moved from Chicago to Pittsburgh the week before. Joel's first week at work included leading a group of teenagers to Tennessee for a week. I was miserable. I think that week actually marks the worse week of my life. Our place was still covered in boxes. I was alone. I did not know 1 person. Joel had zero cell phone reception & no internet access.  I think I cried a few hours every day that week, just feeling extremely lonely.  


Little did I know my little son was tucked away in a hospital celebrating his first day of life. A little crazy to think that when I was crying over feeling so alone 1 year ago, our sweet little son who would one day be my little companion all day every day was being born. 


I cannot wait to celebrate my little man's big day tomorrow. Part of me cannot help but be a little sad that we missed out on the first 6 months of his life. We'll never have any birth pictures to show him when he's older or we'll probably never know the exact time of day he was born. We'll never be able to tell him at what age he rolled over for the first time or what his very first food was.  With foster care and adoption comes loss. I am a little nervous to have to explain to him why all of his friends have birth pictures of themselves, yet we do not have a picture of him at the hospital or a picture of him at 2, 3, 4 or 5 months old.  


But really, the joy that comes with adoption far out weighs the loss involved. I know God will carry us through the difficult times with His grace and joy.

Happy Birthday Little Man. 

You are no longer a baby, but a toddler who is growing up way.too.fast.

But you'll forever be our little man.

And our little baby.

You are a treasure. 

You have forever changed our family

and even made Kitty a little jealous around here.

We love you for who you are. 

We love your sweet hugs

and adorable smile. 

We love the way you light up a room instantly.

We love your charm.

We've had 6 months of loving you

and tomorrow celebrate 1 year of your life. 

We cannot wait for many, many more.

We thank God for you. 

We thank your birth parents for giving you life.

We cannot wait to see the person you will become. 

Happy 1st Birthday!

Love, 

Mama and Dada

29 More Days of...

Biking.

Swimming. 

Running. 

It's starting to become a pretty big piece of our life these days. We're 29 days away from a crazy race called The Pittsburgh Triathlon. 

But we're excited. 

Excited for the memories. 

Excited for the adventure. 

But most of all excited to be completing the race to help bring their baby home. 

Do you see this sweet couple?  

They're waiting. Waiting for their little baby to arrive. Waiting on the court systems to finalize paper work. Waiting for the necessary funds to cover the adoption fee's. And waiting for a sweet birth mom to choose them to help raise her baby. 

If you haven't figured it out yet, Joel & I are passionate about adoption. It does not matter to us if that adoption is done through foster care, over sea's or domestically. We believe adoption is a God thing and want to do everything we can to support those going through the adoption process. 

That's why we're raising money to help bring their baby home. 

Then choose to give up your Starbucks this week or pack your lunch for work or choose a free date night. Choose to give those extra pennies to be part of the McKivigan's journey. 

Go HERE to give toward the adoption fee's for their baby. Every penny you give will help Joel  & I finish and will help place a little baby in the arms of Josh & Meg.