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Friday, December 9, 2016

Our Journey To Gideon Video

I finally sat down to compile all of the photos and videos from our whirlwind of a journey to Gideon. Not a day goes by that I don't break down in tears in awe of the story God is writing for us. We serve such a kind, personal, generous Father who adopted me out of sin and darkness when I deserved death. Thank you Jesus for salvation and thank you for Gideon Aaron.


Thursday, December 8, 2016

Gideon 1 month old

Yesterday marked 1 month of life for Gideon and today marks 1 month since we got the call about him. Man a lot can change in 30 days! The past month has been a whirlwind...2 relaxing weeks in Las Vegas with our boy and ever since we got home, things have been nuts. Poor Gideon contracted the nasty coughing virus that big brother and sister had but we are hanging in there. He is so sweet, calm, beautiful, and the perfect addition to our family. It feels so right having him home, we love you so much Gideon Aaron! I can't believe God chose me to be your mama!

  • 9lb 4oz (taken today at pedi), not sure on length, we go back in a month for his 2 month well check
  • Gideon was circumcised this morning at the pediatrician so we are having a relaxing home day while he rests (okay so we've been having home days for the past month haha). It was sad to bring him into the room and see all the tools set up but Lucy and I waited in the lobby and it was quick and it will be worth it. 
  • Like I said above, Ford and Lucy got a nasty cough/cold virus after their strep/ear infections cleared up and unfortunately Gideon got it. We were doing a good job of keeping all of the kids separate but after Thanksgiving Jon went back to work and I was caring for all of them on my own so it was pretty inevitable that he got it. Luckily he does not have RSV and is doing a good job of eating/sucking so we are just doing albueterol breathing treatments every few hours (Ford had to do these a lot as a baby). Gideon loves the treatments and I know he will be better before we know it. 
  • He is drinking 3-4oz of formula every 3-4 hours during the day and night. He had been on Similac Sensitive for spitting up but was having issues pooping so we switched to Gentleease and things have been great. We use Dr. Browns bottles and those have been great too. Ford is really helpful and feeds him about once a day, I love watching him be a big brother!
  • Sleep has been all over the place this month but I have to remind myself, he is a newborn! He had his days and nights mixed up while we were in Vegas and then coming home we've gotten on a better routine but being sick has been rough for him. He was sleeping flat in the pack and play but we moved him to the Rock and Play this week because he was coughing and choking on phlegm, ugh. We have been using the SwaddlePod but he seems to be getting too big for it and we are only doing his bottom. I think we will switch to a regular swaddle soon.
  • I moved him out of newborn clothes last week and into 0-3m and 3 month... still a little baggy. He is so skinny with the longest feet which is so new for me since Ford and Lucy were always short and chubby. He is basically wearing socks, footie pajamas, and hats all day, every day. Gotta keep this boy warm!
  • I have been wearing him in the LilleBaby the past few days and he passes right out. I much prefer a structured carrier than a wrap, lots more support and I just feel more comfortable with it on.
  • Ford and Lucy are doing really good with the transition. Ford is so helpful and sweet, I melt into a giant puddle when he talks to Gideon and gives him his paci. Lucy is really sweet with him too, saying "baby", and "I know" when he cries. Lucy is also a sassy, independent 19 month old so she is having tantrums and breakdowns but not related to baby Gideon. 
  • Poor guy has bad baby acne but I can tell it is getting better. He is biracial, first mom is white and dad is black, and has the most beautiful skin color! His hair is really dark and fine and I am anxious to see if it falls out and becomes more "black". 
  • I have only given him 3-4 baths which he doesn't like... I've been bathing him on a yellow foam mat and will get out the Angel Care bath seat soon.
  • He mostly chills in the boppy lounger, rock and play, Lille baby, or couch... poor 3rd baby I haven't even gotten the swing down! I am going to soon though. 
  • He is getting the hang of the Wubbanub paci which has been a life savor for us to stretch his feedings or keep him busy. F and L never took them and I used nursing as a pacifier way too often so I am excited for this! 
  • We haven't been out and about much but he has been really good on the go when we have. I had all 3 kids at Hobby Lobby last week and propped up a bottle while we walked around, so nice! Hoping that this weekend we can go to church and introduce him to our church family and then go out and about more!
  • If you didn't read the story behind his name, you can read more here.

















Tuesday, December 6, 2016

A family of 5

I explained more about my obsession with Christmas cards in last week's post but wanted to share the photos we took on Thanksgiving morning. Luckily my sister is super talented and we met up at a park 2 minutes from my parents house and these took us 5 minutes. Score. I am so thankful we took these photos before our entire household got plagued with the never ending sickness. This is the most put together I think we will look in the next 6 months!
















Sunday, December 4, 2016

Gideon's Name


I have had so many people ask me about Gideon's name and I finally sat down and wrote it down. The Lord is really cool you guys and my current prayer is that I can go forward living with as much reckless abandon and surrender as I have in the past few weeks. Exactly a month ago today is when our world was turned upside down...

Friday November 4th we got the news that 'M' had baby girl and couldn't place her for adoption, and we were absolutely devastated. My two friends from church immediately came over to cry and pray with me. My friend Heidi is a mom of 4 and told me the whole drive over the Lord put story of Gideon on her heart to share with him. He was faithful, asking for wisdom, brave, and obedient to what God was calling him to. He freed his people from idolatry and defeated the Midianites with only 300 soldiers and the Lord by his side. I wasn't really familiar with the story but once she shared it and we prayed I thought 'Okay God, please show me a sign that you're still with me like you did with Gideon. Give me faith and wisdom.' The very next morning another friend of mind Lindsay sent me this text "Woke up with judges 6:12 in my head. Praying that over y'all". Judges 6:12 reads "When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” God you are with me, you've never left my side. 2 days later, Ford and I are watching a kids movie on Netflix and one of the characters is named Gideon. I thought to myself 'this is weird, I'd never really known anything about Gideon and now his name/story keeps coming up. 3 times in 4 days". Also in that 4 days I told so many friends that when we got back into the adoption game, I just wanted to get a call that a baby had already been born. And that I'm sure it would be a boy. My heart couldn't take a long match again. That next afternoon, Tuesday November 8th, is when we got a call from our social worker Amanda that there was a baby born on Monday and it was a boy. It was in that moment that I told Jon I feel like God had been preparing us for a son and his name was to be Gideon.

The next day, Wednesday, we Skyped with his first mom 'R', Thursday she officially chose us, relinquishment was signed on Friday, we flew to Las Vegas on Friday evening, and we met Gideon that next day. His middle name is also incredibly meaningful. Aaron was chosen by his first mom and she told us she chose it from the Bible. In the Bible, Aaron is Moses' older brother and the first high priest of the Israelites. He was instrumental in helping Moses lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.

We believe that our Gideon is a strong and mighty warrior who is being used by God already. #GideonAaronHart #hartlittlesadopt#adoptionisbeautiful

The story of Gideon is in the book of Judges and here is a good site detailing it.













Friday, December 2, 2016

Our Christmas Card

I was with a few girlfriends last week and 2 ladies were handing out their Christmas cards and said "Oh my gosh, I can't believe I am giving mine out before Ruthie Hart!". Yes if you know me, you'd know that we take our Christmas card photo in October, our Christmas lights are usually put up the first weekend of November, and I have my cards in the mail before Thanksgiving. The past few weeks have put quite the delay on my OCD-ness of the holidays but you better believe that while we were in Vegas, I was planning out Christmas card photo wardrobes and keeping a list of my favorite Christmas Cards on Tiny Prints. Gideon and I arrived home on the night of November 22nd and Thanksgiving morning, the 24th, my sister took our photos...there is no time to waste y'all! My older sister is a budding and super talented photographer, thank you Jesus ha! By noon on Thanksgiving (our meal was at 3pm), I had chosen my top 5-7ish photos, narrowed it down to a handful of card templates on Tiny Prints and had Jon make the final decision. Our cards were ordered that evening, printing the next day, and on their way to us the next. This is the 3rd year in a row we've used Tiny Prints (2015 and 2014) and I am here today to brag on how much I love this company (remember how they gifted us our 20 adoption profile books earlier this year...#awesomecompany). The highlight of using Tiny Prints for me this year was being able to import our Christmas card list of addresses from last year, add a few new ones, and not have to deal with getting arthritis writing 150 addresses. You can even have them send them for you (I gotta re-think this next year... I used a cup of water and a Q tip to seal every envelope, there was no way I was licking them!). There are a million options for holiday cards, my little Libra heart could barely choose my favorite 10, gorgeous designs, and everything is customizable (I have a thing for scalloped edges). If I haven't talked you into ordering from Tiny Prints this year, I don't know who will. Christmas is 3 weeks away folks and Tiny Prints is offering 40% off all cards through Sunday 12/4 using the code DEALFORDEC. 

Find Tiny Prints


Everyone needs a few Reese's Peanut Butter Cups while stamping cards







Our favorite gift this year!



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