It’s been two whole years since I’ve written my last blog post. The Bathons have been a little bit busy….Haha! I would like to say that I will be more consistent here, but I think we all know that is not going to happen, especially with all of the exciting NEW things our little family has going right now. I figure this will be a good space to share when I get the chance to sit down and actually write.

As it is for most of you, this is my time of reflection and goal setting for the upcoming year. I try to sit down when I can and reflect on what God has done in the past year and pray about changes and growth for the next year.

When thinking about 2018, I get very emotional. We thought 2017 was the year of big changes, but we had no idea how much growth we would experience in 2018. And man, are we thankful!

It has been an emotionally tough year, but we can honestly say it has been the BEST year of our lives.

God has placed so many amazing friends in our lives and strengthened established relationships this year! We have felt so much love and support. We will never be able to thank them enough for standing with us and praying continuously.

In March, we were blessed with our four day old, sweet little boy. Back in November of 2017, Jer and I felt called to become foster parents. A short, four months later, we got the call that would change our lives forever. A 6 pound, baby boy was waiting on us to come pick him up from the hospital. We had no idea what to expect, as we had never experienced parenting let alone having only 2 hours to “prepare.” 🙂

We walked into the hospital room and there was our son…Now, I didn’t know if I would be able to have him in my care forever, but he was my son. Whether he became a Bathon or not, he was my son. Amongst the unknown, one thing was clear. He was my son.

Fast forward 9 months, we still have our sweet boy in our care. We have loved watching him grow. He is smart, strong and has such a sweet personality. We can already see an empathy gifting in him, even at a young age.

I’ve watched Jer become a father overnight. I’ve watched him fall in love with our little man. We’ve grown together as husband and wife. God has directed and protected our little family every step of the way.

Even though our lives are a little more crazy, I’ve never been MORE in love with my husband. Our hearts have grown in ways we never thought they could.

This little boy has changed our lives.

Our lives are by no means perfect, but God has given us so much joy and it’s hard not to share it! We said from the beginning of our foster journey that we were going to celebrate every moment we get as a family.

Our life is really messy, but it’s so beautiful because of Jesus.

God’s growing us. We definitely don’t handle confrontation as well as we should, we get angry and passive aggressive, but God’s working on all of this in us. He’s growing our hearts in love we never thought could be there. HE does that! Not because of our “perfect” circumstances. We have JOY because Christ loved us so much that He died on our behalf and rose again so we can live with Him forever. I get the question all the time, “Why are you so happy all the time?” Well guys, THAT’S WHY: JESUS!

We’re not some “special” couple or family. God stands in our mess and lifts us up! And we’re so glad we said yes to His calling on our lives.

This year has been filled with joy beyond what we can comprehend. It’s been scary, but God has wrapped us up in a tight hug reminding us constantly of His goodness.

We are so grateful that our family of three is still together!

Here’s to 2019, friends! May you look to Jesus for it all!