update

So.. it finally happened!

February 22, 2018February 22, 2018by Sheridan JohnsonLeave a Comment

Image credit: here

So during this adoption process, it feels like there is a WHOLE lot of hurry up and then wait… so we got stuck in the waiting part for the past 2-3 weeks (but if we are honest.. it’s been in the waiting process for well over a year or so)!

Let me back track a little for those of you who have not been following along my rollercoaster of a journey with them-

• Our foster sons entered into our home on October 31st, 2016 after already being in care since December of 2015. They came all together as a sibling group of 3 and they are our biological nephews that we were never really close to/around due to the boys parents lifestyle choices (drugs, alcohol, theft.. the whole works). We never knew they were in foster care until one day we got a call from Shane’s half sister begging for us to take her boys into our house in hopes of one day adopting them. After a WHOLE lot of prayer, we said yes. This is the first post here where I described each one of the boys, and it’s funny looking back and seeing how hopeful we were in the fact that we could do the adoption fast.. haha nope (gotta love CPS).

• Then when we thought the trial would FINALLY happen, it got rescheduled again and I didn’t know how much longer we would have to finally wait for an answer from the Judge! Little did I know God was working everything out for us..

• THEN this happened and we couldn’t have been more ready to move forward with our lives and our family!

• I tried my best to prepare the boys for the final visit and they did a LOT better then I thought they would have done!

• And then we celebrated having our boys with us for ONE whole year! (plus I gave a little insight on why their older brother was place elsewhere).

And now that we have thoroughly caught up on all the important aspects of this case, we can FINALLY say that we WILL be adopting our boys within the next few weeks (will post an exact adoption date as soon we set one)! We are currently just waiting on our adoption worker sending all of her information to our lawyer and once all of that gets turned in and submitted, we should be pretty close to being able to set the date for the adoption!

We cannot wait to share their pictures (unblurred) with all of you and their NEW names (they both wanted to change their first and middle names–just like we did with Gracelynn).

Stay tuned for some amazing things happening in the Johnson household! ♥

Adoption, baby, foster, monthly update, pregnancy

16 week check up for baby Johnson

August 21, 2017August 21, 2017by Sheridan Johnson3 Comments

So last week (on Tuesday 8/15/17 to be exact), I had my 16 week well check with my OB to check up on baby Johnson!

I had to take my two boys with me (my 6 yr old and my 3 yr old foster sons) which surprisingly they did better than I anticipated, knowing that most appointments take me 1-2 hours to complete.

I hate weighing in each appointment, but this week I actually lost 2 pounds (which did not bring up any concern), and knowing that my heart rate and Blood pressure are within normal limits, and all my labs are looking great definitely made me feel good.

I saw my doctor first this time, and we talked about not revealing the gender until birth, which hospital we were still going to deliver at (since I have to register at 20 weeks gestation), and basically just if I had any concerns (which I did not at this time). I then went to go get my ultrasound done (which was awesome because my boys got to see the baby on the screen for the first time and were truly AMAZED by it!

The heart rate for the baby was 147 BPM which was great, and then we got to see him/her kicking and moving around so much and it just melted my heart. I love knowing that their is a little precious life growing inside of me, but since I can’t feel him/her that often yet, knowing that the baby is ok is just so reassuring. Everything turned out great and there were no concerns at this time.

At my office during the ultrasounds, they offer one complimentary session of having all of the baby’s workup (heartbeat, measurements, etc) sent directly to your cell phone through a link, and you can save all that information to your phone. It was so amazing!! They said next time they will start billing the insurance if you want to continue using that route.

You guys, I am so excited and happy for our precious baby, and I can’t wait to see what these next 24 weeks hold!

I wanted to leave you with a couple of pictures as always:

Psalms 127: 3-5 describes how truly honored and blessed I am that God gave me and Shane another chance at having a baby (and a completely healthy one at that)!

Adoption, foster, monthly update, photography

Our foster baby turns 2 months old!

July 7, 2017July 7, 2017by Sheridan JohnsonLeave a Comment

Height: N/a Will be determined next week at doc appt. for her 2 month well check

Weight: 10 pounds taken on home scale.

Likes:

-To be talked to (she smiles SO BIG if she knows who you are)
-To kick off her blankets when she is awake
-To eat, she loves her bottle! This month we have had to find the perfect formula that worked for her (Organic earths best formula) since she appears to have a corn sensitivity.
-To be held. Hates to be put in her playpen/crib until she is in deep sleep.
-Her bath.. only when it’s the right temperature and the A/C is off.
-To meet new and exciting milestones each week!

Dislikes:
– Cold water touching her body..ever.
– When she has a booger in one of her nostrils. This baby has got the tiniest nostrils I have ever seen, and we have to plunge her nose at least 2X/Day to make sure it is clear enough for her to breathe effectively.

Teeth: No teeth! She literally has the cutest gummy smile!

Language:
She is cooing and interacting so much lately, it is adorable!

Milestones: She celebrated her first holiday (Independence Day)

Upcoming:

Family visit (2 hours next week on Tuesday and then 1 hour every week after that)

MD appt: 2 month appt/shots next week

monthly visits with ECI team

Monthly visits with team (now just legal worker and case worker)

I wanted to leave you here with a couple of cute pictures!!

Adoption, Family, foster, monthly update, Uncategorized

Baby girl turns ONE!

April 3, 2017by Sheridan Johnson2 Comments

So our foster baby has officially turned 1!! This will be the last monthly update, and it is kind of bittersweet, because she is the baby in our crazy household!

Height: 26 in.

Weight: 17 pounds 12 oz. (she gained another pound in a month! YAY!)

Likes:
-To be held–especially from mama or nana
-She has still been teething and loving to try different textures in her mouth
-To stand. Literally baby girl won’t crawl, or walk, but wants you to walk her around all day, lol!
-To be around Brielle. Seriously the cutest relationship ever!
-To cuddle!
-To do what she wants, without you taking it away from her (even for her own safety).

Dislikes:
– Her hip helpers. They allow her to sit straighter and work on being in the 4 point crawling position, but she does not see the benefit in wearing them at all.
–To be left alone.

Teeth: No teeth! I am amazed that she still doesn’t have any!

Language:
Spits bubbles now, says hi (still working on the wave), dada and trying to do more sign language!

Milestones: She celebrated her first birthday, and first St. Patrick’s Day!

Upcoming:

Family visit (2 hours every week, on Tuesdays)

MD appts: All of her specialist are complete for another 6 mo. and finally finished her last MD appt. this morning with her 1 year well check! Such a busy month!

Bi-monthly visits with ECI team

Monthly visits with team (now just legal worker and case worker)

Now I will leave you with some adorable pictures of the party! (the faces are blurred due to them being my foster children and it’s against policy to show their faces)

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She loved trying cake for the first time at her party! It was so cute to see her lick her fingers!

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I loved that we got to celebrate this amazing “First” with her, and LOVED all of our family/friends that got to attend (over 40+ people!) and come and meet all of our children for the first time!!