Henry Adam

April 24, 2013 will forever be a day of gratefulness.  Just a few days before we weren't sure the little peanut inside of me was going to live.  After having one of the biggest scares of my life not knowing if baby 2.0 would become a baby or not, we got to see the first ultrasound of Albright baby 2.0.  I have no doubt in my mind that God's timing for Henry was beyond perfect.  

After finding out the great news I couldn't wait to share with some of the most important people in my life, family!  I held tight to the photo from our ultrasound as we walked up to my grandparents door.  I had butterflies as we waited for them to answer the door.  After a few minutes of visiting I couldn't keep the picture to myself anymore. "Oliver is going to be a big brother!"  With joyful faces and laughter filling the room my grandparents were so excited to become great grandparents again.  

Next up my dad.  I told Ollie "Tell papaw what you are getting for Christmas this year."  Oliver not 100% sure what is happening yet I replied "A baby brother or sister".  From that day on whenever my dad would see Ollie he would ask "Are you ready for your little brother?"  Even up to the last day I saw my dad, I would laugh and say "We wont know boy or girl till baby comes, dad." 

On November 13, 2013 my dad died, never getting to meet that baby he just knew was a little boy.  As I look at Henry I think about how my dad would love his chunkiness and sweet smile.  I picture him carrying him around for hours just like he did Oliver as a baby.  I don't understand why he had to go before he got to meet Henry but I know he smiles down now watching him grow.  

December 22, 2013 we find out that we were blessed with another sweet beautiful little boy Henry Adam!  

January 30, 2014 my mawmaw lost her short battle against cancer. 

April 19, 2014 my pawpaw lost his 2 year battle against cancer.  

That sweet baby who we weren't sure was going to even be a baby was born right in the middle of this.  I don't understand why we had to lose so many loved ones in just 6 short months.  I don't understand why my dad didn't get the chance to meet Henry or why my grandparents didn't get to watch all the grand kids grow.  I don't see why cancer has to take such good people but I know that Henry has brought such joy in such a dark time.  I know that when I was crying back in April 2013 because I wasn't sure if my pregnancy was going to last that God had a bigger plan.  He had a plan for Henry to come in December. He had a plan for our family to see new life and bring joy to us.  

I miss my dad, mawmaw and pawpaw so much but when I see Henry smile, I see all three of them smiling. 

                           The picture from April 24, 2013 & a picture today April 24, 2014

I am so thankful for the time I had with all three of them and will carry those times close to my heart.  I am beyond thankful for my friends who have been there for me every step of the way. Who have gone out of the way to help me during these times. You all will never know how much it all meant!

Albright baby 2.0!

We are so excited to announce that baby Albright 2.0 will be here sometime in December 2013!
I can't describe the joy I felt when I took that pregnancy test as my heart was racing to see what it would read.  Finally the moment came "pregnant"!  I ran down stairs got a piece of paper and a pen and wrote Cory a note "Whoops we did it again!".  Set the test on the note and tried to wait for Cory to wake up.  I finally had to tell him to wake up because I couldn't wait to share the excitement with him. 

Well with all the excited and hugs I couldn't help but starting not feeling good.  It was a Tuesday so I had class and had to take Ollie to my moms.  Of course I couldn't keep it from my mom, so Ollie wore a shirt saying "Big Brother".  She was even more happy then I pictured her being.  But she could tell something was wrong by the look on my face.  She was very supportive and told me "your body is already changing just don't worry." I left for class and tried to just be happy and thankful.  Class started and I couldn't not think about it any longer! This sharp unfamiliar feeling in my lower side was all that was on my mind.  The pain was super sharp on my right side, shot into me, and would last for about a minute then left.  It would repeat about every 3-5 minutes.   I started thinking how I felt when I found out I was pregnant with Ollie and couldn't remember anything that felt like this.  I couldn't remember feeling any feeling like this period! Of course my happy, joyful, excited feeling went to how can this be...what can this be!
 That day consisted of me texting my close friend (Chelsey) and calling Cory just fearful of what could be wrong the day we just found out I was pregnant.  They couldn't have been more supportive and gave me so much hope and positive thoughts. 

It felt like forever but I finally got to see my OBGYN at 5 weeks.  I told her the sharp, painful, weird feeling I had been feeling.  She seemed so hopeful and like everything sounded normal.  She then took us to the next room where we were about to see (hopefully) a tiny baby sac starting.  Well she started looking and the room was quiet as can be as Cory and I hoped and looked at a picture that didnt make much sense to us.  Then my dr goes "Well...." (felt like 10 minutes passed) "This doesn't look good, I am not finding anything and not liking what I see".  I looked at Cory and could tell he just wanted to jump up and hug me as both our hearts dropped.  She went on to tell us it was still early so not to give up and we will start blood work.  Even though it was only 5 weeks and we didn't want to tell many we had our closest friends and family praying for us and baby 2.0.  I cried and cried and was angry with God but tried to understand His doing and trust Him.  The hardest part was it was Oliver's 2nd birthday that day so I just needed to remember how blessed I was already to have a sweet beautiful little boy.
We had another appointment two days later for more blood working AND  more waiting (worst part
)! I could feel the prayers going up because God presence was so strong in our house that week. 

My OBGYN thought I could have an ectopic pregnancy.  Ectopic pregnancy: A pregnancy that is not in the uterus. The fertilized egg settles and grows in any location other than the inner lining of the uterus. The large majority (95%) of ectopic pregnancies occur in the Fallopian tube. However, they can occur in other locations, such as the ovary, cervix, and abdominal cavity.

 Well Friday came and I was going to get more blood taken.  She told us she would plan for us to come back in Wednesday for another scan so to pray and have faith we would see a sac.  Well she called me later that day with wonderful news that the thing she was testing had increased more then she could have ever wished.  We could already feel the prayer working and that God had done a miracle with me and baby!  FINALLY Wednesday felt like we had been waiting for months.  I know my heart was beating faster than ever and Cory was holding on tight to the chair he was sitting in.  As soon as the picture came up on the screen what was black all over the week before had a beautiful (yes beautiful) baby sac!!! God is good isn't He! I couldn't of asked for a better support group or praying family.  We have heard the heart beat and have got to see another great photo of baby 2.0 since then. 

I am so thankful for this new chapter in our lives and couldn't be happier! (I think I speak for the whole family)

I have been getting lots of questions about foster too.  We still want to and have a heart for our future foster children.  We have more classes and training to go through.  We will really be pushing to further our goal of becoming a foster home soon after baby 2.0 gets here.  Thanks for asking and all the support. 

The Cost

Well...tonight was our first foster care seminar.  The night we have been praying for and looking forward to for sometime now.  Overwhelming would probably sum up the night pretty well.  I knew when we wanted to go into foster care it was going to be a lot of work but I don't think I knew it was going to be THIS much.

After the first hour and hearing the "Foster Care 101" I looked at Cory and thought to myself "can we leave?"  I thought "well...we can just try for another child of our own in a few years."  How crazy selfish I know, God then gave me a pretty good slap in the face and woke me back up.

This is what reminded me why Cory and I wanted to do this in the first place and how we will get through it all.  "The Cost"  It cost Jesus a lot to die on the cross for us.  It wasn't easy but there was a huge purpose and plan behind it.  Foster care will not be about Cory or I, it will be about the child who doesn't have a voice.  Who asks why he or she isn't loved.  Who wonders at night why he or she is still hungry and never gets to eat a full meal.  These children don't deserve to go through any of this but they do.  So if it takes 6-12 months of me suffering through the training and preparations that is what it will take.

I think what scares me the most is what if I only get to foster that child in need for a few weeks, a month, 5 months but I have to know God will be using us in those short amounts of time for His plan.  Gods plan is way bigger then my little plan so I just need to let Him take control.

Cory and I also learned tonight we can't do this on our own.  This was very eye opening tonight about how many second party members are involved too.  We most of all need prayers lots and lots of prayers, which I thank you ahead for! Secondly, we are going to need people physically there by our sides which I pray for daily that those people will be shown to us.  Thirdly we need support, this isn't going to be easy but we are willing if it is Gods will to continue on this path.  We pray for those people and that God will show us and lead us to where He wants us.

Once again we are excited and looking forward to whats next.
Thanks for reading!

Waiting & Praying

Hello there! 

Well we had a set date for our two hour conference for November the 8th but it got pushed back to November 12th.  I was a little sad because I am just so excited to find out more but that is just four more days we can pray! I have no clue what those two hours will consist of, I am hoping a lot of questions will be answered.  Which I am sure they will be! 

Cory & I have looked into other foster care programs but the one we are going through right now is with our church at the Austin Stone.  We both feel really good and right about this one.  It is more Christian based and lots of people to talk to who have been through it.  

That is it for now...I am excited to share with yall about what the 12th holds for us!  Please keep us in your prayers and that we will just follow Gods plan in this all!

Thanks 

Ashly

The Beginning!

Hello!

I have been thinking and wanting to start a blog for awhile now but never got around to doing it.  As Cory and I (well really Oliver too) start a new journey in our lives I feel like its a perfect time to start a blog.  Mainly because we will need LOTS of prayers, encouragement and I am sure help along the way of our adventure.  I am truly blessed and excited to see what God has for us as a family.

Before Cory even asked me to marry him we talked about the future, what can I say I knew I was going to marry him 4 weeks into dating ha. We both shared a passion for children and wanting children and becoming foster parents (and adoption too).  Since I was a teenager I have dreamed about becoming a mother and having children of my own to love.  As a teenager I also had a calling to one day become a foster mother.  When I meet the man I was to marry I wanted to make sure he shared the same dream as I did, wanting a family and probably a big family!

I have prayed for years and years for God to use me wherever He wanted me, which of course I prayed extra hard for it to be somewhere over seas.  God has shown Cory and I we are right where he wants us Austin Texas.  God has given us a heart to open our home, open our home and lives to another human we don't even know yet. God has already blessed us with Oliver and he is more then we could have ever asked for.  We want to share that love we have for Oliver with children who may never see that.  A love of a Father who died for them and wants to adopted them into HIS home. 

Cory and I have prayed for this for a long time now and we have watched God move our hearts to where they are now.  Next step more prayer of course then on November 8 we will be attending a two hour conference to see where God will lead us next.  I couldn't be more excited (and scared) I am sure I speak for Cory too, we are ready!

Thanks for reading my first blog stay toned for new updates!