Charlotte, North Carolina

I've shared about our hospital stay and all the emotions that came with meeting Caleb, and now I can share about the rest of our time in Charlotte!

We were discharged from the hospital on February 15th, and we headed back to Wyatt and Lauren's home. They were so excited to meet Caleb! We took him down to our little basement home and settled in!

The days were long. It was just me, Austin, Caleb, and my mom with not much to do! We had a tv downstairs, but it wasn't hooked up to tv. We conected a laptop to it to stream, but we could only stream Netflix and not Hulu for some reason. (And the nerd that I am, I had gotten used to binge watching Shark Tank on Hulu, so I was missing it! lol, I know I'm weird!) We watched A LOT of Friends, which never gets old for me, and we watched a few movies. My mom watched plenty of Andy Griffith and The Brady Bunch on her phone, and we looked for reasons to leave the house! We were BORED!

We'd get out occasionally to run to the store. I remember walking through a local grocery store with Austin while my mom kept Caleb at the house, and we were talking about needing to buy some more diapers soon. We had enough at the house to make it through probably a day or two more, so we were about to buy some. Austin stopped and said, "No. Let's wait that way we have a reason to get out another day." That's how bored we were!!

We tried to go upstairs to visit Wyatt and Lauren and let them love on Caleb as much as we could. They were so happy to have us, and they really enjoyed Caleb. I can still hear Wyatt saying, "Now he's a good looking boy! Really!" This couple is just the sweetest older couple ever, and they loved us and Caleb so well!

After a week in Charlotte with very long days, it was time for my mom to head back home. She had missed a week of school, and it was time for her to get back to her first graders. I was so disappointed, and I was also pretty nervous. We were about to be in another state with a newborn without my mama for the first time! I was nervous and fighting tears, but I knew she needed to go home. On Wednesday, February 20th, Austin drove my mom to the airport as I stayed at the house with Caleb crying for my mama! lol!

That night we knew we needed to get out of the house for awhile, so we found a Mexican restaurant down the road. Let me just say, North Carolina Mexican food is different than Tex Mex!! But it was still good! Austin also got a Roku from Target so we could stream Hulu! The next few days was spent watching Shark Tank, loving my baby, and praying to go home.

We had to wait for the legal clearance to leave the state with Caleb. We knew this was not going to be a quick process, but when you're actually living it, it's HARD! We were prepared for up to a two week stay, but when you have a newborn, all you want is your own bed, your family, and HOME! Wyatt and Lauren were so warm and welcoming to us! They never made us feel as if they were ready for us to go. They cooked dinner for us a few nights and genuinely loved their time with Caleb. However, no matter how nice the place is or how wonderful the people are, nothing beats home! We were really hoping and praying that we would be able to go home on Friday, the 22nd. We were tired. We had already spent quite a bit of money on groceries, a new car seat, fast food, and a Roku! lol Our hopes were WAY up for Friday!

Unfortunately Friday arrived, and we got the news that it wasn't happening. I cried and cried and cried! I had a bad headache from lack of caffeine because I rely on Big Red, and it isn't sold in NC. We were inching closer and closer to March, and we really needed to be out of the apartment by then to avoid paying any rent for that month. Since offices are closed on the weekend, we were now praying for the next Monday.

Lindsay was PRECIOUS and tracked down Big Red for me! It was at a Cracker Barrel just across the state line in South Carolina, just 15-20 minutes away. Caleb wasn't allowed to leave the state, so I stayed at the house in Charlotte, and Austin ran to SC for Big Red! It was a life saver! Then we spent the weekend watching more Shark Tank, Facetiming family, watching Abducted in Plain Sight (weird), and hoping for Monday.

On Sunday we went to Carmel Baptist Church. That's where Wyatt and Lauren and the pastor's wife, Christy, who set it all up for us go. We met Christy's husband, Alex, who is the lead pastor of the church, and the service was incredible! Christy introduced us to several people at the church, and everyone was so warm and welcoming. We also had the opportunity to learn a little bit about Carmel Baptist Church's adoption ministry, and my wheels started turning! So many ideas for the future!

Sunday afternoon we tried to clean up as much as possible because we were hoping and praying that we'd get to go home the next day!
Fast forward to Monday I felt like I was going crazy! Minutes felt like hours as we waited for word on whether or not we'd be cleared to go home.

That afternoon, I got a call from Lindsay!
The first call from Lindsay I ever got was telling me Caleb's first mama had chosen us.
The next call was telling us Caleb was on his way.
And on February 25th, she called to tell us to GO HOME!! It was an emotional and exciting moment, and before I was even off the phone with Lindsay, Austin was calling his dad about a flight!

Austin's dad was able to arrange our flight home, and we scrambled to get everything else packed and cleaned. We were closing the door to walk up the stairs of Wyatt and Lauren's home for the last time, and I got emotional! I was thrilled about going home, but I was going to miss this sweet couple so much! That basement was Caleb's first home, and we will cherish those memories forever! We got upstairs, and Austin and Wyatt took our luggage out to the rental car. I stayed in the living room with Lauren and fought so hard to hide my tears. Lauren held Caleb one more time, and a huge piece of my heart ached!

After the car was loaded, Wyatt and Lauren walked us out to the beautiful front porch. We stood there hugging and saying goodbyes, and my tears just streamed. I truly LOVE these people, and as I sit here typing this, I miss them tremendously! They opened their home to strangers and ended up becoming like family! It was time to go, and I cried for a good ten minutes as Austin drove to the airport. I was just so overwhelmed by the previous two weeks and all the hospitality Wyatt and Lauren showed us. They not only provided a place to stay, but they cooked for us, got to know us, laughed with us, and prayed for us! I really hope we can visit them again one day! The good news is that it's 2019 and technology allows us to stay in touch with ease!

We got to the airport and looked like crazies carrying a suitcase, car seat, duffel bag, multiple backpacks, a portable baby bed, and a newborn! We got through security and waited for our flight!
As we waited, a flight attendant noticed our village shirts with the hashtag on the back. (#AdoptingBabyStarkey) She told us she saw our shirts and congratulated us on the new baby and asked when he was born. She was really sweet. Later when it was almost time to land, she walked to our seats and handed me a card. It was PRECIOUS! She wrote a note to Caleb telling him she could see the joy on his parents' faces and encouraged him to travel the world as he grows, and she gave him his first set of wings! Another flight attendant stopped to talk to us and told us she has multiple adopted children and talked about what the Lord has done in her life. It was so wonderful to visit with these women! Everyone who meets sweet Caleb is touched by his precious life!

We landed in Dallas, and my parents were waiting for us! Pop got to meet his grandson finally, and it was such a sweet moment! We were HOME in TEXAS, and it was the best feeling!

No words can describe how our lives and hearts changed through our time in Charlotte. Obviously we became parents, but we saw God work through His people over and over again, and I can truly say I'm a better person because of this experience. It was so exhausting and incredibly emotional, but it was the best time of our lives, and I'm so thankful God led us there!