Sammy

She is an amazing college student that I was introduced to by my best friend. I don't know her too well, but I do know that she is a wonderful big sister to her siblings, she has a kind and gentle spirit and she loves her Jesus with all her heart, soul and mind. I feel like out of all the pictures I took this one reflects that kind gentle spirit she has. Thanks Sammy for a fun shoot.

Hey all.

I have been really into visiting sites of fundraising families. Families raising money for adoption costs. I have even bough a handful of Christmas gifts from these sites this year. Anyway one of my favorite sites is doing a giveaway. You can check it out at the link below! I am entering to win one of her giveaways. I love her artwork!

http://pitterpatterart.wordpress.com/wp-comments-post.php

On the last day of this wonderful summer we went to visit Brian at NorthBay. The sun was setting and the water reflected a perfect late summer sunset. We took the time to relax some, play in the sand, look for pirate ships on the bay (Bohdan found some), take some pictures and then ended the night by running in the grass bare foot.





Bohdan had a wonderful summer filled with his slip-n-slide, swimming, taking care of his baby brother and learning what it means to love and protect someone. A few highlights of his summer were going to the beach with Daddy and Grandaddy and wiping out on the tube with Uncle Dave, watching the 4th of July fireworks and of course he was thrilled to meet Thatcher.



Audrey turned 2 this summer and is more and more independent everyday. She is learning her colors and loves saying her ABCs and counting. She filled her summer taking care of her baby dolls and her "bear-bear." The highlights of her summer were meeting Thatcher, having Grammy and Grampy spend the week with her and Boh, dressing up for a fancy photoshoot, Uncle Dave visiting and riding the carousel at the fair. And lastly celebrating her 2nd birthday!



Thatcher. Our sweet baby boy. He is growing like a weed. I feel like he is more and more alert every day. He loves to smile and make baby noises. His big brother Bohdan can make him smile every time and although big sister Audrey loves him a little too hard, he loves her very much as well. The highlights of his summer were of course his birthday and also the day he came home after about a week in the hospital. He spent most of his awake time this summer staring and cooing at his toy turtle.




Here are all three of our sweet little pumpkins. We are so very blessed!




So the picture taking was really great that night...but I think I might have pushed it too far at this point. There is a fine line between loving each other and a choke hold. Poor little Thatcher.

We had a wonderful and unforgettable summer. The Lord blessed us so far beyond what we could have dreamed of by adding to our family through the birth of sweet Thatcher Andrew; he is our bright little star. We are ever blessed by the love and tenderness of our charming and big hearted Bohdan John. Our lives would be incomplete (and our days dull) without the whit, radiant smile and sweet spirit of our dear Audrey Rose. Yes this summer was wonderful.

On June 5th 2010 Thatcher Andrew Hamson was born!

It all started at 5:32am. 37 weeks and 2 days. I woke up knowing that it was happening. Not totally sure why or how I knew. I felt...different. I laid their a few minutes wondering what to do. As I looked out the window at the morning sky I prayed. I thanked the Lord for that day, I asked for blessings, and then exclaimed (aloud, but quietly to myself as to not wake up my sleeping husband at this point) THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE, I WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!




I finally woke Brian up and let him know that something was going on...he did not fully "get it" until I scooted to the side of the bed and then exclaimed ALOUD this time, "my water broke!" and broke and broke.

We called family and arranged child care. First from the neighbor across the street then from my sister Megan and her family. Within a half hour we were off on the planned route to Upper Chesapeake Family Birth Place (a wonderful place to have a baby!). And my did the contractions start on the drive there!

As we arrived we were quickly ushered back and it was established that due to how dilated I was, we would be having a planned c-section rather soon and were moved to the top of the list. So off we went to the OR...and soon...Thatcher Andrew was born.

The c-section was a little rough this time around, but hearing the sweet sound of Thatchers first cry was worth it all!




Soon enough it was over and I was in recovery with a rather large baby boy. He was 8 lbs. 12 oz at 37 weeks 2 days, BUT he was perfect!




We spent some time with him, just Brian and I and later that day big siblings Bohdan and Audrey came to meet their new baby brother. Thatcher also got to meet some cousins and Aunties, and Uncle Jay. Both grandparents were able to be there...which is really something else since one set lives in New England and the other was planned to be in China at the time. As it turns out...they were both there that day!



The day was just as it should have been and as it was planned since the beginning time. God brought Thatcher to us in His perfect timing. It was the day the Lord had made, I will FOREVER rejoice and be glad in it.

Well my sister Kelly who is an avid blogger and really quite good as sparked a new interest in blogging for me. In fact if you get a chance go to her blog, check it out. http://raudenbushfamily.blogspot.com/ You will be very impressed.

Anyway, so my sister gave me hard time with my lack of blogging. I admit she is right. I am very good with facebook but blogging seems to be a little harder for me to get to. So once again I will try to start this thing called blogging again. In all honesty I see the value in it and wish it came easier to me.

To be honest the reason why I am so interested in starting anew is due to my sister's new project. Again she is very talented and you will want to be apart of it when she is ready.

Kelly has recently (after a long wait) adopted a beautiful baby girl from China. She has found that as a believer it is difficult to express in full honesty and clarity personal adoption stories, orphan care issues, and other adoptions issues on the many adoption community websites she has been involved in personally.

THUS her newest endeavor. She and her husband are starting and moderating a website devoted to connecting, encouraging and learning together as adoptive families. A place were you can share from your heart about your journey of adoption and "caring for the orphan." Essentially the site is based on the bible verse Ephesians 1:5.

How will she do this?

After the final touches are made on the site and she is ready to launch, she plans to (with permission from the blogger) share quality blog posts and articles that fall into the following categories:

Adoption & Faith, Attachment, Celebrating Heritage, Family stories, Initial Adjustments, Orphan Care, Relationships, and Special needs.

Blog posts like this one could be used:

http://hamsons.blogspot.com/2009/05/logans-adoption-day-may-6th-2009.html

I will be sure to blog again with the link to the website when it is officially launched. In the mean time start getting your blog on like I will be doing. You will be able to submit blog posts and articles for the site to possibly use. Not sure how it all will work yet, but I will be sure to share with you as I know. Until then I think I might be playing a little blogging catch up.