A Large Meatball Sub

My hand on my boy

Wow.  What a ridiculously crazy, wonderful day.

Proud momma

After arriving at the hospital yesterday, Colleen was back and forth between Asher and his birth mom all day, which was amazing.  My mom got to the hospital in the early afternoon and Colleen's parents arrived a few hours later.  Unfortunately, the grandparents couldn't go into the NICU to see their grandson, but we were able to show them many pictures and videos.  Colleen and all the parents spent many hours with the birth mom, just keeping her company and supporting her.  Please pray that we can become her family for the next few days, and even following weeks, since we will be in Cincinnati for at least a month while Asher is in the NICU.  She wants to have us around and we've had so much fun talking with her.  She seems very set on continuing her plan of giving Asher up to us, but she still has some time before it becomes official.  She's such a sweet girl and we're praying that we can show her lots of Christ's love in the coming weeks.  

I arrived at the hospital a little after 6pm, after finishing up at work and then frantically searching our house for everything on Colleen's list... apparently I need to do a better job learning where Colleen keeps her clothes and toiletries...  : )  Once at the hospital, I went straight into the NICU to see my son... and it was amazing.  He looked like a toy or a doll on display since he was cuddled up in the plastic incubator.  He has such a sweet little face.  I couldn't believe how small he was/is... his body is the size of a Chipotle burrito with a head and extremities.  I couldn't stop staring at him... it really was breathtaking.

Our little man

We were allowed to open up the little doors on the incubator to touch him, but I didn't want to very much... he was just so fragile, I didn't want to break him!  Also, I have notoriously cold hands, so he didn't seem to appreciate it too much when I touched his soft skin.  I tried to only touch his cute little diapered butt and hat-covered head, which seemed to work better.  Those moments first seeing him are ones that I will never forget.

Other than being born premature, Asher is healthy and doing well.  I feel so bad for him with tubes, monitors, and needles in this nose, mouth, hands, feet and side... but he is a trooper.  His weight was holding steady as of last night and only dropped a few ounces today, which is great.  His lungs are still a concern since he is so small, and apparently the next 48 hours or so are very important to his development, so we'd appreciate your continued prayers. I've been posting a few pictures and videos on facebook, so you can get to them at facebook.com/casonwittig if you're my facebook friend. 

*****

Asher's got some pipes, and he's not afraid to be heard!

Today (Thursday) we got to help change Asher's diaper and see him without his striped hat and CPAP.  His little face is so cute!... though all of the apparatus he's had on made him swollen in spots.  He has quite a bit of hair, but seems to have developed early male pattern baldness since there wasn't much on the front of his head.  Hopefully he'll gain some hair on top as I keep losing mine there!  He's quite a squirmy energetic little guy and DID NOT like having his CPAP put back in his nose.  They had to redo it 5-6 times because he kept knocking it out. That feisty-ness will serve him well on the soccer pitch in the 2032 World Cup...  We also learned his official birth stats were 2lbs 8.9oz and 13.25 inches long.  So essentially an extra large meatball sub.  

Right now, Colleen and I are just sitting by his incubator talking to each other and to him.  He's tried to open his eyes a few times, but seems to be sleeping now.  It is incredible just to watch his little back rise and fall with each breath... it seems like he is breathing quickly to me, but we're told he's in a good range.  Even though they have the CPAP on to help keep his lungs open, they switched him over to "normal" air as far as oxygen levels, which is another positive thing.  We have so much to be thankful for. 

*****

We have been overwhelmed by the support of our family, friends, and church via text, email, facebook, etc.  We are so grateful and blessed!  Many have been asking how they can help and about baby showers.  We dont' have many answers to those questions right now, but we'll put the info out there when we have it.  I thought we had until May/June, so we're definitely not as prepared as we'd like to have been!  Thanks again for keeping up with our lives, for your prayers, and your support.  

Cason (& Colleen)

PS - Been having trouble posting videos to the blog, so those will have to go up on facebook... just check facebook.com/casonwittig if you want to see them.  

One more for the Aunties... Whenever I almost don't post a picture, I just think about how Aunti Adrienne has been begging for more... so up they go. 

Asher Ramsay Wittig

As Colleen said in our last post, we are in the process of adopting.  I recently started a post with an update on the how the process is going and about how excited I am to be a dad.  However... what is it they say about the best laid plans of mice and men?... Ah, yes... they often go awry. 

Our birth mother's due date was supposed to be mid-June, so we thought we had plenty of time to get ready... However, this morning, Colleen received a tearful call from her  saying that she'd gone in last night to the emergency room in pain and had delivered through emergency C-section sometime early this morning. Colleen headed to the hospital in Cincinnati right away.  The social worker was able to go to the hospital and said that our baby boy was doing as well... he was 2 lbs 9 oz. They think the birth mother was about 27ish weeks along (her due date has been moved around 3 times in the last few weeks since they didn't know for sure), so he'll probably be in the NICU for many few weeks.


Both of the moms are heading to Cincinnati to be with Colleen and I will probably head up there later with an overnight bag once we know more. Our boy's name will be Asher Ramsay Wittig whenever we get to name him. Asher is Hebrew for happiness... which we definitely are, though my stronger emotion right now is feeling overwhelmed!  (This can't be happening, right?  Just last night I was working on applying for adoption grants and looking for a changing table on craigslist...)



This is the only picture I've seen of my son as well!

 Please pray for Asher's health. I've been told that now is a critical times for his lungs. Also for our sanity... we're obviously feeling unprepared and in over our heads at this point! The birth mother also needs our prayers, as she has had a stressful time and has many difficult emotional challenges to work through. We've met with her a few times, really appreciate her so much, and want to show Christ's love to her in this difficult time.

Thanks for your prayers! I'll try to write more when I can. Also, please don't call or text Colleen right now... you can text, facebook, or email me if you want. mailto:casonandcolleen@gmail.com or 317 883 7227)

Thanks!

- A very proud and overwhelmed daddy

Growing our Family!

Hi Friends & Family!  Cason is usually the one who writes our blog posts but I am blogging today to share some exciting news… Cason and I are adopting!  We are so thrilled to become parents and feel God has led us to this place in our lives.

We had always thought we would adopt internationally, but after talking with our local adoption agency and praying about it, we really felt that adopting a biracial or African American infant was right for us.  In the United States, there far more African American/biracial infants available than families willing to adopt them.  

After going through the home study process, we created a profile book that was shown to expecting mothers.  After just a few short weeks an incredible young woman from Cincinnati selected us – and she is due May 14^th!  The baby is perfectly healthy as far as we know and we have already had a meeting with the birth mother and social worker.  Over the next few months we will meet with her a few more times and then we will head to the hospital to take our baby home after it is born!  We are in the beginning stages of preparing a nursery and getting our house ready for a baby.  I cannot wait to become a mother!!  Here are our "before" nursery pics!

 

The last couple months living in Danville have been really wonderful for our spiritual growth and our marriage.  We have had so much fun together and feel like we are in a whole new phase of our lives.  Pursuing our desire to adopt has added to the joy God has given to us in the last few months.   We are getting more and more excited about the church we have joined and have been getting to know some great people.  Cason has even signed up to go on a soccer ministry trip to Haiti this fall!

God is really teaching us about His provision.  When Cason got a job in Danville, we had no idea that the town had a wonderful local adoption agency that helps facilitate and encourages adoptions, as well as over 600 adoptive families!  In addition to that, the Lord brought us to a wonderful church that advocates adoption and has multiple adoptive families that attendance.

After some months of wondering what we should be doing and seeking the Lord’s guidance, it is encouraging to see Him orchestrating our lives and bringing us specifically to where we are now!  We are so thankful! 

Please be praying as the process does have some unknowns.  The birth mother is allowed to change her mind up to 72 hours after the baby is born.  Please be praying that she remains strong in her decision to give her baby up and that she is confident in our abilities to parent.  Thank you all so much for your continued support and prayers!

~Colleen

Here's one more nursery prep picture!  

There were over 60 holes in the closet alone! That's a lot of spackling  in that room!! So there was a lot of sanding and we were both covered in spackling dust!

Happy Christmas/New Year/2012!

So friends, we’ve failed.  We had the best intentions of keeping up our blog, but we haven’t posted since April… and our last post was presented as “part 1 of 2.”  Not the best on our part.  

Quite a bit has happened since then, so we’ll give you a quick rundown of the highlights... and promise to post more often than every 9 months in the future.  Can’t believe it has been over a year since we were in Kenya!  

*****

After coming back from Kenya right before Christmas (2010), Colleen and I lived with her parents in Wooster, Ohio.  I continued to work for World Gospel Mission remotely as the treasurer for a few months while we settled back into life in the (cold!) US.  In March and April, we took some time to visit friends and family we hadn’t seen since before Kenya, and I started looking for jobs in central Kentucky and Savannah, Georgia.  Kentucky was always somewhere we viewed as a long term destination because of Colleen’s extended family, and Savannah was a dream of mine that we hoped might work out for a few years.  

We have lots of Kenyan decorations in our house

I had interviews in both locations, and came close to getting some jobs in Lexington, but kept getting bypassed for people with more experience.  It took quite a bit longer than I anticipated to find a job, and was scary/frustrating for a while.  

In August, I finally received a job offer for a position that matched my skills and motivations, however, not in Lexington like we had hoped.  On September 1st, we moved to Danville, Kentucky, about 35 miles south of Lexington, so I could start working as a financial analyst for Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center.  It is/was such a blessing to find work, and have our own place again.  

We have liked Danville more than we thought we would.  We are renting a cute little house just outside downtown, so my commute is only 5 minutes or so.  There is a prestigious liberal arts college in town, so it has great restaurants and places to go, along with many festivals and events.  

Colleen's tortoises

Colleen started volunteering at the local humane society almost immediately, so we’ve fostered 11 kittens in our home in the short time we’ve been in Danville.  She’s also been collecting a few animals in anticipation of starting a wildlife education business (similar to what she did in Indianapolis) sometime in the future... we we currently have 3 tortoises who live in our garage, 2 leopard geckos, and a bearded dragon to go along with the constant parade of foster kittens in the house.  It’s a bit of a zoo, but we love (or sometimes tolerate...) it!  I’ve also enjoyed playing indoor soccer in Lexington and I hope to find somewhere to play basketball soon... got to stay in shape as I head into my late twenties!

We have been looking for a church family, but recently decided that we are going to try to get involved at a local Presbyterian church.  It seems to be a congregation that is very service and “others” focused, so we’re excited to be a part of that and find ways to serve the Lord in community.  

We love Kentucky in the fall!

One great things about being in Danville is being close to family.  Berea, where both sides of Colleen’s extended family are centered, is just 40 minutes east of us.  It has been so much fun to be around for Thanksgiving and other family get-togethers!  We had both Wittig and Ramsay family Christmases at our house on back to back weekends, and we also were able to participate in Ramsay/Ambrose family events during the holidays as well.  

So that was pretty easy!  A year of our life in a few short paragraphs!

*****

Those who have kept up with us or followed our blog while we were in Kenya know that we tried to adopt triplets from the Baby Centre last August/September (2010), but the adoption fell through when it was discovered that the triplets had family members who wanted them.  

This past August (2011), we got news that the triplets had finally gone home with their family from the Baby Centre.  We were concerned about the situation they would be going into, but the family members seemed genuinely happy about having the kids.  It was incredibly hard to know we couldn’t get regular updates on them, but we were hopeful their situation would be better than what we had originally anticipated.  We have continued to think about them often and lift them up in prayer.

Recently, we received an update from another missionary family who went to visit the triplets’ family, and the report on their situation was rather discouraging.  

My natural response was to get angry at God and the whole situation... to start asking “why” again.  But the one thing I’ve learned the last 12+ months is that while getting upset and demanding answers may feel empowering temporarily, but it doesn’t really accomplish anything.  Same with expecting things to be rational or fair - all it does is lead to bitterness.  Our experience with the triplets hasn’t damaged our faith in the Lord, but it has caused us to consider how He interacts in our lives - and how we interpret it.  We were so sure about His leading before - that we were supposed to adopt them and stay in Kenya - that it has been difficult to be confident in our understanding of His will since.  All we can do is pray for those beautiful children and trust our Heavenly Father to take care of them.  If you think about it, we’d really appreciate your prayers for the triplets, and for us.  

Still love these kids!

*****

We’ve obviously been ready to have children for quite while, but for various reasons, we haven’t been able to have a family yet.  We are so happy for our friends and family who have been able to have children, but is has been bittersweet to see others grow their families in the time that we’ve been trying to adopt/get pregnant.  Again, it’s hard not to keep questioning and asking “why.”  

Though we don’t understand, and may never, we are trying to trust God’s perfect plan and timing.  Knowing He has a plan for us is the ultimate comfort in the tumultuous busyness and uncertainty of life.  We appreciate your prayers as we continue to journey with the Lord and try to keep on the path laid out for us.  

This year has taught me that things don’t have to make sense for me to put my faith in God... that’s what faith is, I guess.  I think both of us were excited to be moving on with our lives, but the news about the triplets brought back all those feelings of frustration and doubt.  But it also reminded us to be praying for them more, and that our joy should come from the Lord, no matter the circumstances.   

*****

Before we went to Kenya, we knew that going to the mission field was the right path for us; it was so clear in our spirits.  Even though going to Kenya was a sacrifice - possibly in terms of having a family, saving money, buying a house, and advancing our careers - we know in our hearts that serving there is what we were supposed to do.  We made many great friends, had incredible experiences, and deepened our relationship with God and with each other.  We think about Kenya often, and would love if the Lord would lead us back there at some point on our journey.  

However, since we came back from Kenya, nothing has seemed quite as clear, but we continue to trust that the Lord has a plan for us.  We feel a bit like the Israelites, wandering in the desert before they finally got to enter the promised land. God is more than providing for us, just like He did for His chosen people, but He made them wait for years while He molded their hearts to be ready to enter the land of their destiny.  Faith and trust in His timing were key for the Israelites, just as they are for us now.  

Though it is a temptation, the fact that we feel a bit like we’re in “the desert” of our journey isn’t an excuse for being complacent.  We are excited about seeking opportunities to minister at our new church, and seeing what God has for us as we learn to walk with Him everyday.  

*****

Thanks so much for taking the time to read our blog.  If you’re ever in Central Kentucky, please look us up!

- Cason

The Ramsay family from this past summer

Mom and Dad Wittig goofing off at Christmas at our house

Cason's sister, Corinn, and her boyfriend, Caleb, at Christmas

Colleen with our beautiful niece, Rose

Kentucky summer evening

 

Another one of Rose... we love her!

We had to get our belongings from 3 different states before moving to Kentucky

In September, my incredible 92 year old Nana went to be with the Lord.
We miss her, but we're glad she's home!

Air/Road Trip - California

In our last post, I mentioned that we're taking some time to visit friends and family while we're trying to figure out where we want to live and what we want to do next.

We left Wooster on the 25th, and have been traveling around ever since - we've been in Indianapolis, Southern California, and Atlanta so far, and our currently in Marco Island (Florida).  Next week we'll go to Fort Lauderdale to see our almost month-old niece, then on to Savannah and Charleston to try to decide if we want to live there, to do some job hunting, and to visit Colleen's cousin and his wife.

We had quite a few people ask about the sermon series by Stan Key that we mentioned in our last post, so we wanted to link to the series in case you are interested in hearing it.  Click Here to get to the Geography of Salvation sermons through the Loudonville Community Church website.

Thus far, we haven't done the best job about taking photos on our trip thus far, but below are a few of our favorites from California.  Enjoy!

Pale Cason with Mike, our host in California and good friend from college

Mike and Colleen at Thousand Step Beach

Us with Jesse and Vanessa, more friends from college

Colleen made a friend in the tide pools at Thousand Step Beach

Colleen took all of these pictures of beach volleyball - I love this one!

Click Here for an album on facebook of all of the road trip photos we've posted thus far.

Marah

What we've been doing...

It’s been a while since we posted, but we wanted to update people on what we’ve been doing and what our plans are for the future.

Since our last entry from two months ago, we’ve remained living in Wooster with Colleen’s parents.   We’ve been fortunate to go on quite a few trips, including to Chicago, Indiana, Texas, and Kentucky to see friends and family.  We also were so blessed to have some of our good friends drive down from Chicago to spend the weekend with us in Wooster.

Until a few weeks ago, I was continuing to work remotely for WGM Kenya as the treasurer. Being eight hours behind Kenya, in addition to traveling so much, was definitely challenging, but it was great to stay connected to the missionaries and everyone else we were working with.  However, I was glad to turn the work over to someone else in a few weeks ago. 

While at the Ramsays' in Ohio, we were taking care of the their dog's puppies and helping to sell them by updating their blog.  Colleen was on primary puppy duty since mid January and last weekend we took the final puppy to her new family near Chicago.  We (especially Colleen) have loved caring for the puppies and it is really fun to see them go into new homes.  I have been the main updater of the puppy blog, so check out doodlesbyrosie.blogspot.com if you want to see my posts. 

**************************************

What we're doing next...

It has been a difficult few months trying to figure out where God is leading us and what we're supposed to do next.  As far as our immediate future goes, we’ve decided that we are not going to return to Kenya.  We love it there so much, but as we pray about it we don’t feel any peace about that option.  So we do not believe God is calling us to return to Kenya right now.  We’re not ruling out anything for the future and are very open to returning if God calls us back.  We are striving to follow the Lord wherever He leads, and we are trusting that He will show us the way.  The conclusion we've come to is very bittersweet... we're sad to not be returning to all of our friends in Kenya, but we're excited and optimistic about what is next.  

Our plan is to look for jobs in a few different locations and see where God guides us from there.  Living in central Ohio for this winter, after a year and a half of living so close to the equator in Kenya, has convinced us that we need to be somewhere warmer.  I keep saying that every time it snows here, it moves our search 100 miles further south… I think at this point that’s pushed us down to somewhere in Panama!  For now, however, we’ll be job searching near Lexington, KY, Charleston, SC, and Savannah, GA.  If anyone has contacts in those areas, it would be great to start making connections!

Photo of Rose by Brian Ramsay

Now that I am no longer working for WGM and the puppies are all sold, we’re going to start traveling again.  We took the last puppy to Chicago last weekend, and got to spent time with our sister and brother-in-law.  Next week we’ll be going out to California to visit some of our good friends that we haven’t seen in a long time.  Immediately after returning from California, we head out on a road trip to Florida, Savannah, Charleston, and a few other places… we’re really excited to visit Fort Lauderdale, so we can meet our niece, Rose May Ramsay, who was born on Saint Patrick’s Day! 

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Where we are...

It has been wonderful to be home and we are so thankful to John and Eileen, Colleen’s parents, for having us stay with them since we returned.  We really needed time to unwind and process our time in Kenya.  It has been great to be back in the US, and to spend time with friends and family, however, we do miss Kenya.  The relationships and camaraderie that we had with the church youth group, the missionaries, the football team, and other friends, are things that we think about every day. 

We also miss the triplets (in you don’t know who we are referring to, you can look back at this post from November).  For the first month or so after we returned, I cried myself to sleep a few times a week, just aching for them (and feeling sorry for myself).  We are in a better place spiritually now, and though we aren’t able to understand the “whys” that we have asked a million times, we love the Lord and are trying to trust and follow Him.  However, it is still so difficult to be separated from the kids that we love, and to know that they are still at Baby Centre with their situation in limbo. 

One thing that has been comforting to us, is a sermon series podcast we’ve been listening to called “The Geography of Salvation,” by Stan Key, pastor of Loudonville Community Church in New York.  One sermon in the series is from Exodus 15, about Marah, “the bitter place” that the Israelites come to when they first start wandering in the desert after God frees them from slavery in Egypt.  Marah looks like the oasis that they’ve been praying for, however, when they arrive, the water tastes horribly bitter.  They grumbled against the Lord, and He rebuked them, but then led them to Elim, which was a real oasis with fresh water for them to drink.

In many ways, we feel like we were at the bitter place, and maybe we still are to some extent.  It sure seemed like God led us somewhere, answered our prayers, and then what we thought He had promised became a bitter and painful situation.  The comforting part of the story from Exodus is that God was leading the Israelites the whole time, even directly to Marah.  And immediately after "the bitter place," the Lord led the them to a new place of respite.  

Even though we don’t understand what happened in our situation, and the wounds are still fresh on our hearts, we believe that if we trust and follow the Lord, we will be brought to a new and better place.  From our finite perspective, it is tough to comprehend why God would lead His people directly into trials, but we have to believe that everything happens for a reason and that all we can do is trust Him.  Through this, we are praying and trusting that the Lord will watch over our precious triplets… their futures are in His hands just like ours. 

Thank you so much for your prayers and support over the last two years of our life that we’ve blogged to the world.  We’re sorry that two months elapsed between posts this time, but we do plan on keeping this blog updated, wherever we end up in the future. 

-Cason

Here's a few photos from the last two-ish months... 

My friend, Dave Haire, and me at the Evansville Zoo

At the end of January, we went to Texas to see our great friends Joel & Jenny Mostad and (almost) one-year-old Jeremiah

A few puppy pictures! (to see lots more, check out doodlesbyrosie.blogspot.com)

Colleen and her mom went cross country skiing in Ohio

 Snowy Ohio... this is the reason we're thinking about moving south!

Thanks so much for reading!