The Walker Blog

Where to start?? Right after Mindy Jo passed, Cathy had the opportunity to help a friend of one of the MOMS Club members. The family had a cat named Hobo and they had to relocate for health purposes. They asked if anyone could take Hobo for a few months until they were able to bring him to their new place. Cathy asked Steve about it and he said sure. We had Hobo with us for just over a week when Hobo's mom called to say that they'd be able to take him sooner than they had hoped! Just when Toebe was getting to love Hobo, it was time for him to go. This left Toebe very sad and he walked around the house crying and looking for Hobo.

Our neighbor Wendy wanted to adopt a puppy from the Wake County SPCA and had told Cathy about it. Cathy went online to the SPCA's website and saw that they had an October special... $20 cat adoptions! So on Wednesday, October 27th we went to the SPCA to see the kitties and fell in love with two. One was named Quincy and the other was Perry Como. We decided to adopt them both, and we renamed them.



Cathy's parents are coming today for a week long visit and then Steve's dad and Sue Ann are coming next Wednesday through Saturday for the holiday. We're very excited to spend time with them and for them to spend time with Gus!!

We'll post again soon! In the meantime, be sure to check Gus's blog every Tuesday for updates and pictures!!!
:)
The Walkers

So it's been over a month since we last posted and so much has happened! In case you didn't know, Gus has his own blog (he's such an over-achiever) and it's updated every Tuesday. You can find the link to his blog on the side of this blog... definitely subscribe so you can follow his growth and development. He's now 20 weeks and has quite the personality.
Gus will light up when he sees his mom. He is, hands-down, a mama's boy. He loves-loves-loves Cathy. He should, she is staying home with him and they spend their days laughing, snuggling, and getting to know each other. Gus is a VERY happy little guy and is always laughing, chatting, and smiling. He likes to be talked to, and will eagerly talk back when he's being engaged in conversation.

A few weeks ago we had dinner at McDonald's (yes... not the healthiest choice, but it was 7pm and we needed to get Gus home for bed) and had salads. Well, we paid for it because we both came down with an EXTREME case of food poisoning. We both were up all night throwing up, and thankfully our neighbor Wendy came over in the morning and took Gus for us so we could sleep. She also ran to CVS and got us some crackers, Pepto and Gatorade. She's an amazing friend!

Two weeks ago we drove up to Indiana to surprise Steve's dad for his 60th surprise birthday. It was a wonderful occasion and it really meant the world to his dad for us to come up. He got to see Gus and he and Sue Ann were both amazed at how big Gus had gotten! It was a quick weekend trip, but we went to the oldest orchard in Indiana, and we enjoyed our time with them. They're planning on coming to see us for Thanksgiving, and Gus will be six months!

Back at the beginning of September, Cathy's parents came for a visit and we went to the beach with them. It was a great visit and they were surprised to see how big Gus had gotten as well. They had not seen us since July 11th, when we left Michigan to come back to NC. The visit with them for Labor Day was amazing and we had a wonderful time with them. They'll also be coming back to NC for Thanksgiving, which should be absolutely amazing to have both of our parents here together! It'll be a very special holiday for us!



Cathy has been asked by Scholastic to stay on as an advisor for another year. It's hard because she's not in a classroom, so she won't have the chance to go to NYC again (the other advisors get to go back to NYC in February), but she's excited to still participate and be as involved as she can be.

Her business has taken on a new set of products just for parents. She's excited to start making items that parents can use (chore charts, calendars, etc.) and can make them year-round. This summer she did a lot of business with teachers, and did more business this summer than last summer. She would have had more business if she had been here in NC during the peak months (June/July).

Steve is still with Burt's Bees and is as happy as ever. He's been adjusting to some changes that have been implemented, but is as eager and excited to go to work each day as he ever has been. He loves what he does, and is so good at it.

Saturday is Cathy (and her twin brother Scott's)'s birthday. She'll be 34!  We'll be going to Outback for dinner, because it's Cathy's favorite place to go! Our friend Jen will be coming with us and it should make for a nice birthday for her. She's so happy to start her 34th year with Gus. She's wanted to be a mom for the longest time, and her birthday will be very special because of having Gus in her life.

The weather here in NC is FINALLY starting to cool off. We're looking forward to the leaves changing colors and the weather to get out of the 90s and 80s and start cooling into the 70s and 60s!

We'll write again soon!

We have had quite a few weeks! We traveled to Michigan on April 30th (Friday) and were in town for Alex's First Communion on Saturday, May 1st. We had a great visit with Cathy's side of our family and enjoyed seeing Scott, Christie, Alex, Lily, and Cathy's parents. We decided to take Cathy's mom and Christie to dinner on Monday, May 3rd to Outback Steakhouse, to celebrate Mother's Day (we wouldn't be in MI for the holiday).

While we were at dinner, Cathy got a message on her phone from Fb from her cousin Jessica that had her phone number and it said to call her. Cathy told her that she'd call her after dinner.

Cathy's cousin Jessica lives in MI and is a nurse. She has a co-worker named Sharon. Well, Jess is on Fb and has been following our journey with us, as many of you have as well.


So a few weeks ago, Sharon came to work and was telling Jess about some things happening in her family. Sharon's sister's daughter (Sharon's niece), had just found out that what they thought was the flu, was actually a pregnancy. So the family was a little concerned and were trying to work out what they were going to do. The niece is a minor, and bascially decided that she wanted to find an adoptive family to adopt her baby.

So Sharon was telling Jess about this and Jess mentioned to Sharon that we were in NC and in the process of adopting. She told Sharon that we had our home study completed and were on the website and waiting for the right match. Jess gave Sharon the link to our profile on the CAS website, just for them to see it if they were interested.


Well... they were interested.


When Cathy called Jess, she told her the story (way more details than she is putting in here) and said that basically, they had chosen us to adopt their baby. We were in shock. When Cathy asked when she was due, Jess said May 28th.

So... Tuesday the 4th started our quest for an attorney in MI because our agency only deals with NC children due to the Interstate Compact Agreement. We talked to Jess a lot and got more and more information.

On Wednesday, we said goodbye to MI and hello to Indiana. We still were trying to work out information with an attorney. We had two that we were talking to and trying to find the right one for the best price.

While in Indiana, we decided to bring home a new puppy that Steve's dad had found. She is super cute and her name is Elphaba, we call we "Elphie" for short. She's really Ned's dog.


We drove back to NC on Saturday the 8th. We got home pretty late... it was after 9pm. Got up on Sunday and did laundry, Steve put together the new crib that Cathy's parents had bought for us while we were in MI (the old one was missing parts to connect the drop down side... and the company informed us that they don't make replacement parts, so her parents just bought us a new one). Then Steve mowed the yard and did the bills.


On Monday, Cathy had lunch with some friends, took Elphie to the vet, got her Rx sunglasses, and got her nails done. Got home and chilled for a little and then headed off to Burt's to pick up Steve for our Old School Showdown at the Old Durham Athletic Park. The Bulls were playing at their old stadium for one last game. We got there around 5:00 and found an awesome parking spot. Then we realized that the gates didn't open until 6, so we just sat in the car, slowly watching everyone start to arrive and park.

At 5:40ish... Cathy got a cell phone call from Sharon. Instantly she was confused, because she had only been texting Sharon, but she answered the phone and Sharon said, "Hi... it's Sharon. I wanted to let you know that she's in labor..." so a little bit of panic ensued, but we left the parking lot immediately, headed home, called our parents and freaked out a little (A LOT), and got home around 6:00. We threw as much as we could into bags and packed the baby stuff that we thought we'd need, and loaded up the car.

Our neighbor, Wendy, is a life-saver. She came over with blankets and clothes, and said she'd watch the cats for us. She also said she'd watch the dogs overnight, and take them to the vet in the morning to be boarded. We were on the road by 7:30 pm.

We drove through the night and at 3:40 Cathy got a text from Sharon's sister (the birth-grandma) that said it wouldn't be long and the birth mom was doing well. Then at 3:51 I got another text that said, "It's a boy!" I started crying... not only was I excited that the baby was born, but I was exhausted, stressed, and a HUGE ball of emotions! Oh, and I was in the middle of WV. HA!


We ended up getting a picture of Gus a few hours later and that's what killed us. Seeing that he was real and was going to be our son was too much. We both cried and kept on trucking to MI.


We went straight to the hospital and arrived there around 8:30. The nurses were aware of the situation and knew that we were coming. When we got there, they showed us to the room and we walked in and met his grandma and mom. They were very kind, and baby G was laying in the crib thingy. Then his birth grandma picked him up and brought him over to us and gave him to Cathy to hold. She instantly broke down and was crying like a baby. It was amazing to hold him for the first time and to realize that he was her son! Then Steve held him and he started crying too and it was an amazing first moment as a family.


We stayed in the room with them for a while and then they wanted the mom to take a shower, so we headed out of the room and into the room that they had set aside for us to stay in. It was very thoughtful. Cathy was given the other id bracelet (the baby and mom have to have the same matching numbers on their bands) and we went to the room. We talked to the grandma for a while and got some info and just tried to settle our nerves.


The remainder of the hospital stay is a blur at this point, but we spent most of the morning of the 11th with him. He was 6 pounds 8 oz at birth, 19 inches long and his head was 12.75. He has blondish hair with some red, but not a lot. He has beautiful blue eyes.


We asked if they had a preference for a name and they said they wanted us to name him. We started calling him Gus from that point on. :D Cathy's parents, Christie, and Lily came up to the hospital on Tuesday night to meet him, and they were in the room with everyone. It was very neat to have Gus's birth family there with his adoptive family. One big group all together for the love of one beautiful baby boy.


The mom was released from the hospital on Wednesday the 12th around 11:30. Then Gus was released around 1:30. We were able to say our "see you laters" to his family and it wasn't an awful exchange. We are going to have as open of a relationship with them as they are comfortable with.

We headed to our extended stay hotel with Gus and enjoyed spending time with family. Over the course of a few days, we were visited by several friends and surrounded by Cathy's side of our family. We feel so fortunate to be here in Michigan with family to be apart of the first moments of Gus's life.

There have been some ups and downs during our stay, and we have moved hotels... but it's pretty good. Steve has to fly back to North Carolina while Cathy and Gus stay in Michigan and wait to be cleared from the Interstate Compact. Gus is a great baby and is growing each day! His looks have changed so much from the 11th to now!!

Be sure to check in for more updates on our family!!
:)
The Walkers