1 Corinthians 2:9

Hello blog world! I am so excited about starting this blog for a few reasons:

1.       I created this blog almost a year ago and it’s taken me this long to actually post something so…IT’S ABOUT TIME!

2.       I’ve been doing a lot of thrifting and crafting that I’m excited to show off!

3.       And the most important reason is that I have some pretty exciting news that has turned my life upside down and I am bursting with joy to tell everyone!

I named my blog “Sweet Tea and the Salty Sea” to represent life’s ups and downs and all arounds. The story I’m starting my blog off with couldn’t be more appropriate because it is exactly the ups and downs of the past year of my (and my husbands) life. Warning: this will be a long first post but stick with it because the full story must be told to get the whole picture. To God be the GLORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy!

In August of 2010 I found myself on my knees in the middle of my bathroom floor laughing, crying, and praising God in disbelief of the TWO pink lines that just appeared on the little white stick that was sitting on the counter. I couldn’t believe it and immediately called Kev to come home for lunch that day. We celebrated with great joy and couldn’t wait to tell our family! Just 7 short weeks later I was in that same bathroom horrified at the sight of blood. We lost our sweet child at 7 weeks and it was devastating. I know it’s cliché to say unless you’ve been through it, you can’t understand it but it’s the truth. It felt like a heavy weight on the center of my chest making it hard to breathe. Kevin and I left town for a few days to grieve and try our best to move on so we could get back to “normal”.

Just 4 short months later to our surprise I was feeling all the same symptoms and I just knew I was pregnant again. It was December and almost Christmas so Kevin and I both agreed that  I would take a pregnancy test Christmas morning so if it was positive (which I really had no doubt) we could have the best Christmas present ever. About 5am Christmas morning there they were again, those two pink lines. I couldn’t wait to wake Kev up so I tip toed into our bedroom and whispered in his ear. “We’re pregnant.” All we could do was hug and it was really hard to fall back to sleep. We prayed in our Christmas morning praising and thanking God for coming into this world as a baby and for blessing us with a baby. It was a great Christmas! We heard the baby’s heart beat at 6 weeks and we were on cloud nine. It was always in the back of our minds that something could happen so we were a little reluctant to tell people and a little reluctant to fully celebrate and allow ourselves to become attached. We went in for our 12 week appointment and there was no heart beat. The baby had stopped growing just a few days after we heard the heart beat. This time proved to be more difficult. I went to the hospital the next morning to have a D&C to remove the baby. I am still amazed at how calm I was during it all. I definitely cried a lot and hurt terribly but it was amazing at how easily God gave us such trust in Him. We knew his plan was greater. We wanted His plan over ours. We moved on with that truth.

Before Kevin and I were even dating we both individually thought adoption was something we felt called to do.  There are many reasons why we both had this passion for adoption but two are primary.  The first is that the bible says we are called, instructed, and created to care for the orphans of this world.  Kev and I began reading a book called Adopted for Life by Russell Moore where Russell makes the plea for the Christian Church to be the leaders of adoption! We give a big AMEN to that!  The second reason is because we have been adopted.  God in His loving-kindness rescued Kevin and I from the orphanage of this world.  We were eternally fatherless, but God saved us, and made us His daughter and son.  This blows my mind every day; that the God that created the world called me to be His daughter.  So as an example to the world and an expression of the joy we have in being adopted by God, we wanted to adopt a child (or 2 or 3 or 4…).

Going back to that Christmas morning when Kevin and I were celebrating the news of our pregnancy, my sister and her husband were brand new foster parents to 2 beautiful blonde haired, blue eyed boys. This is an important part of our story because it was those boys, my sister and her husband that made a light bulb go off in our heads. My sis and her husband joined the foster care system as foster parents with the intention of adoption. They took the boys into their home with complete trust in the Lord. Their story is a beautiful testimony of God’s work but that’s another blog. Kevin and I realized that we wanted to pursue the foster to adopt route as well. We wanted to love and protect children in any way we could, even if that was only for a short while. So we began the process. Home studies, paper work, background checks, the whole nine yards. All our friends and family knew about what we were doing and were aware that we wanted to adopt.  As the process was wrapping up we received a phone call late on a Wednesday night from some dear friends.  They were having a conversation after church with a friend (who happened to be the wife of my OBGYN).  She was asking them if they knew of anyone who was interested in adoption because her husband had a patient who was in need of a loving family for her unborn child.  Our friends spoke up about us and long story short, we were connected with this story, met with the Dr. and his wife, discussed our willingness to go through this process, and joyfully waited for more information.  We were blown away by this door being opened, particularly that this baby was due the week of our last miscarriage.  We were sure this was God writing a beautiful story for our lives and future family.  The weeks went by with an abundance of prayer and support from family and friends asking that God’s will would be done in this situation.  As the mother’s due date drew closer and closer Kevin and I grew more and more anxious.  We weren’t getting any good news, no advances in the legal process, no updates from the family and one day we received the new….. the baby was born and the birth parents are going to keep it.  It was another blow to our hearts.  Of course we were happy that the birth parents made the decision to raise their child, and obviously it was the Lord’s will that they do so. We prayed then and we continue to pray that God would perform a mighty work in that family and that through the process He would make Himself known.  It was still a difficult time and for the first time Kevin and I really had some doubts. We began asking, “Why Lord? What are you trying to teach us?  Why does it seem that we pray our hearts desire and the outcome just isn’t the same?”  I’m sure many of you have had those moments where there are no good answers.  Kevin and I sat and talked about the whole situation and just grieved.  But a couple of days later Kevin was studying in 1 Peter when the Lord used a passage to speak meaning and peace into our lives.  Peter says don’t worry if you are having to endure times of trials and difficulty for these times exist to prove your faith!  We saw the point.  Through the whole situation we never lost faith.  Even in the most difficult times, we always held onto the promise that the Lord is good. The desire of our hearts is what He desires and has planned for us!  Little did we know what the Lord was planning all along for us just 3 short weeks later.

On a Friday afternoon I received a call from the Dr’s wife again.  It seemed as though they may have another adoption opportunity.  We were all shocked!  This opportunity typically comes around every 3-4 years and here was another one just 3 weeks later.  I told Kevin and we were both very cautious to get excited.  We surely were not going to get our hopes up to experience another dose of heartache.  The Dr’s wife told us that there was a girl coming into the office on Monday and she would have more information then.  We sent out a mass email/text/call to all our prayer warriors to get on their knees.  Lord may your will be done.

Monday came and there was a flurry of texts.  Text one - Noon:  The birth mother is confident she wants a loving family to adopt her child (we scramble to get the legal stuff worked out).  Text two – 1:00pm – The birth mother is in the hospital, but we don’t expect to deliver until tomorrow! (Kevin and I start freaking out a bit) Text three – 3:00pm – the birth mother signed papers giving Kevin and I joint custody of the unborn baby (Kevin and I really start freaking out, rush out to stores to start buying baby stuff, since we had NOTHING!)  Text four – 4:30pm – She is 2cm (We have some time)  Text five – 6:50pm – She is  4cm and her water just broke (still could go slow, we have time, shopping away) Text six – 7:18pm – She is 5.5cm (O.K.!)  Text seven – 7:37 She is 9.5 GET TO THE HOSPITAL  (We drop everything, bought nothing, and headed to the hospital)

We rushed to the hospital to arrive 20 mins before a healthy baby boy was rushed into our room.  Still being cleaned off and bundled up we got to see this little miracle for the first time.  Kevin and I were full of awe, tears, and laughter.  Joined by my parents and Kevin’s mom and Dad, we simply soaked up every second.  I was given a wrist band and every right to this baby boy as if I had given birth to him myself. We were moved to a Mother/Baby room  and Kevin and I were still in a daze from all that had happened.

We loved him immediately, but after spending the night with him we experienced a different type of love I never knew existed.  The next morning around 6am the nurse came and got him for his check up.  An hour went by and he still wasn’t back.  Two hours went by, then three.  Where was our baby boy?  Kevin called the nurse and a case worker from the hospital came in.  She told us the baby was with the birth mother.  Our hearts sank and the all too familiar chill came over us.  Now was the time we had been tested for.  “Will you trust me?” you could almost audibly hear the Lord say.  It was probably the longest 2 hours I have ever had to endure.  Is the mother changing her mind?  Is all of this going to be another trial?  We just waited, prayed, and trusted.  After the 2 hour mark the social worker came into our room and assured us that the birth mother was still firm in her decision, but the grandmother was not!  They asked if we would meet them.  Kevin quickly said, “Sure, let’s go”.  I was a bit more nervous.  All the negatives rushed into my mind, but Kevin was sure… we prayed for courage and walked the short walk down the hall to their room.  We entered the room to a sensation I will never forget.  You could feel the Holy Spirit of God all over that room. Questions were asked of us and Kevin expressed to the family our heart’s desire for adoption and the family immediately calmed down. Tears and hugs followed and we were able to walk out of the room with complete assurance that this boy was ours and began praising God!

So today we celebrate 2 weeks with our new son.  We have waited (very difficult I may ad) to share our joy with most the world until the 14 day waiting period for the mother to change her mind had run out.

So without further ado…… Kevin and I introduce our beloved son, Abraham Lyle Guffey, born 8/15/11 at 8:19 pm. 7lbs 14oz, 20 in long.

I'm two weeks old today and mommy bought me my first pair of jeans, but the don't quite fit me yet!

This blog post is devoted to Dr. Stacy and Miriam Boyd, Kelly & Julie O'neal and all our friends and family who have been so supportive and generous with gifts, food, and prayer.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!


"No eye has seen no ear has heard, nor any heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him." 1 Corinthians 2:9