Sophie update

Sophie with Aunt Nicole
Sophie with Grandma and Grandpa Reed

Tanner wanted to hold the baby. He was so cute with Sophie.

Her new dress from Aunt Nicole

Our 4th of July shirts. Sophie's shirt says Daddy's Little American Beauty.

It's Jon's favorite onesie of hers.

A friend of ours is a photographer and as a gift to us, he took pictures of Sophie.

The best family picture yet.

This is my favorite picture of Sophie. She loves to pucker her lips.

Life has been utter bliss, with a little less sleep. We are truly in heaven with our sweet baby girl. She is absolutely perfect and we love her so much. We ended up staying in Illinois for 10 days. It was a little long, but wonderful at the same time. We had nothing to do and no one to share Sophie with. We just had 10 days to just hold her and love her. It was wonderful! It really gave us the chance to bond with Sophie and to get to know her a little. She is such a good baby, we just feel so blessed. She is a pretty good sleeper and she eats very well. She doesn't cry too much, except when she's hungry.

Our trip home was a little scary. Everything went really smooth, Sophie slept most of the way, and then we got to Wells, MN which is about 40 minutes south of Mankato and life got difficult. We happened to be listening to the radio and they began doing a weather report, reporting a tornado warning. My parents had just arrived at our house and I knew they would start to worry once the tornado sirens went off. Anyway, Mankato received golf ball and quarter size hail with extremely strong winds. No tornados touched down in Mankato, thank goodness. My mom was a little scared and the house has some hail damage, my hostas were shreded, but other than that everyone was fine. The storm was heading east, so we thought we would just wait it out, well things changed. It decided to head south and we got hit. By the time we realized how bad it was going to get, we were stuck and had to wait it out in the car. I have never been so scared in my life. The car shook and it rained and hailed like nothing I've ever seen. Luckily the hail we got wasn't quarter or golf ball size, or our car would have been damaged. I prayed harder than I've ever prayed while sobbing and fearing for the life of my baby girl. Sophie was an angel through it all, she was happy as could be, completely oblivious to the danger outside. The Lord watched over us and we were protected. It didn't take long before the storm passed through and the winds died down and the rain stopped. As we drove away, about two blocks from where we were the wind had snapped two power poles in half and the power line was going across the road that we needed to be on to head home. We had to detour through the town and we saw many huge trees blown over in he middle of the road. As we drove, it became more and more apparent how much the Lord truly had watched over us and blessed us. We ended up with several more detours, and eventually arrived about three hours later than planned.

My parents and sister, Nicole, were here anxiously waiting to meet Sophie and to see that we were finally safe at home. We had a wonderful welcome with signs saying It's a girl, balloons, and flowers and dinner. We have the most wonderful friends who are so good to us. Thanks Carrie, Shannon and Rita for all you did. My family was here for a week and a half and we thoroughly enjoyed having them here. They loved holding Sophie and feeding her and just watching her. Sophie is the first grandchild on my side of the family, so she is quite spoiled. My parents were such a big help to us, staying up with Sophie and relieving us early in the morning, so that Jon and I could get some sleep. Thanks so much Mom, Dad and Nicole. We love you so much.

Sophie is doing so well and is growing so much. It is killing me knowing that she is getting bigger. I want her to stay my little peanut. I am loving motherhood and I just couldn't be any happier. Thank you to all of you for your kind thoughts and prayers.

Happy Fathers Day

I just wanted to wish my sweetheart a wonderful Fathers Day, on his first Fathers Day. He has been such a great father these past five days. I can't believe we've had our sweet baby girl for five days, it just doesn't seem real, although sleepless nights make it feel a little bit more real. She has her days and nights a little mixed up I think, she is wide awake right now and slept most of the day, but so did I. I felt so bad, because he should have been the one sleeping while I took care of Sophie, but he wasn't quite as sleepy. He spent most of the day holding his baby girl, and I know he was in heaven. I think he would have to say this was one of the best days of his life. Jon takes such good care of Sophie and I think she loves to snuggle with him on his chest. I know he loves it. You are a wonderful father and I look forward to learning more about being a parent with you, and many more fathers days. I also want to wish my dad and Jon's dad a Happy Fathers Day. We can't wait for you to meet our little Sophie.

Bath Time

Tonight we gave Sophie her first bath since coming home. She did so well. She didn't like having her hair washed, but once we finished her hair and gave her, her binki she was happy. She didn't cry or fuss through the rest of her bath. She was a little angel. Dad just couldn't resist taking some pictures.

The Best Birthday Gift

Today was my birthday, and I received the best birthday gift ever. Not only was my baby girl Sophie, born this week, but her birthparents signed the papers today. We weren't too worried that would change their mind, but we are filled with joy, knowing that she truly is ours. I have never felt so much joy and love. I fell in love with my little Sophie just moments after meeting her. She wrapped her little spirit around my heart and hasn't let go. She has filled my life with so much joy and happiness. I told Jon, that life feels more complete now that we have Sophie in our lives. I know I will never forget this birthday. We didn't do much to celebrate, except to go to dinner, but I didn't need much celebration, just time with my baby girl. I am so grateful to Sophie's birthparents for their selfless sacrifice. Sophie's birthparents are married and already have four kids of their own. Sophie's birthmother also had two other babies for her own sister, who wasn't able to have kids of her own. When she found out she was pregnant with Sophie, she and her husband decided they couldn't keep Sophie. They talked with their four kids and told them they were going to give another family who couldn't have children the chance to have a baby. I don't understand it, but I am grateful. They have truly blessed our lives. I don't know how either of them could hold this sweet baby girl and say good-bye, knowing they would never see her again. It breaks my heart just thinking about it and I have shed many tears on their behalf, but I am filled with gratitude that they were willing and able to do it. I pray every night, that they may be filled with peace and strength, knowing that their sweet baby girl is with a family who will love her and care for her. Sophie is already loved by so many, who don't even know her yet. Those who meet her will be able to feel the sweetness of her spirit and instantly fall in love with her. I love my baby girl so much and I am eternally grateful to her birthparents for giving me this wonderful blessing. I have never met such an amazing woman as Sophie's birthmother. I pray that she knows the love and appreciation I feel for her. I don't know how a mother can give her sweet baby girl to another, but I will love her for giving me the chance to be a mother also.

Baby Sophie

We are so happy to announce the arrival of Sophie Lyn Harper. She was born Tuesday June 15th at 4:36 pm. She weighed 6 lbs. 11 oz. and is 19 inches long. She has a head full of light brown hair. We have been so blessed with this little bundle of joy. She is so sweet and we love her so much already. Did you ever think you could love someone after only knowing them for 24 hours. Thanks for all of your love, support and prayers on our behalf, it has paid off. Sophie was released from the hospital this afternoon and we truly enjoy having her with us. Tonight will be our first night of many sleepless nights, but she is worth it. We have much to learn, but we are anxious and ready. We can't wait until you get a chance to meet her.

It's a girl!

We are so happy to announce that we have been chosen for adoption. We received a phone call from a birth mother last Thursday, telling us that she wants to place her baby with us. We were so excited. We had actually heard about her from our caseworker a month earlier and we tried calling her, but she never called us back. Exactly four weeks later, we received a call from her and after visiting with her for 45 minutes, she was certain that we were the couple they wanted to place their baby with. She called today, to let us know that she had a doctors appointment and the baby is healthy and doing great. They also did another ultrasound and found out that the baby is a girl. We are so excited! Words can't express our happiness and gratitude at this time. Our baby girl is due Thursday July 1st.