Man being a wife is awesome and being a mom is awesome too!!! God is good....he had much more in store for the Cortez family! So much in store that we saw, Anita and Chris have three children, Melissa and Donald have a daughter....All of this going on and having my little sister asking me when we would have another child....My fears of Christian's birth kept me from pursing any more children. During this time we had been faithful members of Bay Area Fellowship in Corpus Christi. Jeremy would rock with the band every time the doors were open. I had a sense of loss. I wanted to have another child but like I mentioned I was really scared. I had mentioned to Tanya many times but continued to say no....I pursued other things placing Christian in little league sports, watching Jeremy graduate, moving up in my job and going back to school to obtain my masters.

I remember the day clearly when I was sitting at lunch with Donna and Josie, two co-workers that I REALLY look up to. Donna was telling us about her experience with adoption and then finding out the Lord had blessed her again with Addie...I was truly interested in what the Lord could do for me. I began to pray and ask God that if he could assure that I could have a daughter I would do it one more time. MAN...don't challenge God is all I have to say. That day at lunch with Donna and Josie was the start of many more trials and tribulations...I remember it clearly.

It was June 2004. IN NO WAY WERE JEREMY AND I LOOKING TO ADOPT A CHILD....Josie began telling me about a young lady and her story...Donna was there with encouragement. I thought about her and pondered on the idea....I had not told Jeremy yet but called Tanya...(Tanya, Do you remember this?) We discussed it and Tanya as her usual self prayed for me. That night I mentioned it to Jeremy... he was NOT interested. His words,"Why adopt a baby when we can have our own?" He also said..."We don't have the funds to do this." He knew that adoption could be very expensive.

I did not know why God had this in store for us but he did. Tanya and Richard came down that weekend.... WE STAYED UP REALLY LATE. We talked about everything, we prayed about everything. The biggest one was for finances...Man, God had a plan. Jeremy and I agreed on it. The plan was IF we did not take a financial hardship in pursuing this adoption and take away anything from our current family, then we would pursue this.

Before moving on we felt that we should discuss this with the people in our lives that were close to us. So, we called our family and through out the hypothetical question...."IF we were to adopt a child would you accept them like our own?" I WAS REALLY SCARED ABOUT THE RESPONSE FROM MY GRANDPARENTS.....Thank you Lord for being by them...My grandmother was extremely for it. She told me, "Chris, of course!" Poppa said, "It would not be any different than Christian." Now was for the hardest part: money.

As mentioned before, God had the plan written before we even though about this....Money is nothing to the Lord and he has shown that to us day in and day out....You can't go to heaven with your riches. It is what you do here with it that will change the lives of many many people.

I was giving a presentation to a Foundation there in Corpus Christi....one man raised his hand and asked the final question. It went a little something like this, "IF you could one thing now what would it be......" My response (I did not even process what I would say, it was like the Lord was that man and was trying to teach me to have faith in him) was that, "my husband and I may have the opportunity to adopt a child and we have prayed that if the Lord would like us to do it then he will remove all barriers." Lord you did just that!!!!

More to come...

One and half week later we got to come home. First, it was Christian...he was to sick to come home with us after the normal stay of 3 days.....then it was me....YUCKY me... I was to sick to come home...so Christian and I stayed there. We spent many of days wishing that I could get better and then FINALLY the day came....WE GOT TO GO HOME! I remember the ride home...I had to stop at the Wal-Mart to pick up one last item....Jeremy you remember this???? Then we got home. Christian and Jeremy sat in the same chair that he sat in with his daddy....The rocker is still in our home today... We came home to our one bedroom apartment (the den was converted into Christian's room). We spent the day laying in OUR bed looking at Christian...He was so alert and was such a wonderful child...He slept through the night at one month..I remember my grandmother telling me that if he sleeps he is happy and not to wake him up. She was so right!!!! Christian was truly a great blessing. I was so scared first that we would not make, then that I would not be a good mother, and then most of all that I would not know what to do. I can remember my pregnancy like it was yesterday..I ate so healthy, no soda, and walked alot. I remember stabbing Donald's hand while at Denny's because he was trying to take my sausage (do you remember this Donald). I remember Jeremy catching me eating chocolate covered dough nuts under the pillow, and most of all I remember the Whataburger I ate at the hospital despite my nurse telling me not to eat. All of that was wonderful...BUT I remember saying that I would never do that again....I told Jeremy that IF God could assure that I could have a daughter I would do it one more time BUT ONLY IF.....

More to come...

Christian's original due date was on March 17, 2001. I had a wonderful pregnancy. No complications...only gaining enough weight for my baby Bug and working pretty close to my due date..... On March 16, 2001, I was admitted into the hospital. You know... things should have gone smoothly and I really thought that Christian would be born on St. Patrick's day...IF he had he would have the name Patrick but nope....he had his own story. Christian was wonderful the labor was horrible...Christian was officially born on March 22, 2001....Yes SIX days later. I was in the hospital in labor for almost SIX days...Christian decided he wanted to bake a bit longer. This was one of the most scariest SIX days of my life. Christian was born and rushed to the NICU. He stayed there for three days in an oxygen tube...I didn't get to see him but for about 2 maybe 3 minutes when he was born...the next time I saw him was the following day...I was way to sick to go see him and he was way to sick to come see me. Jeremy said that he would never forget the first time he saw him....He was in the oxygen tube and he said he was sucking on the tube that surrounded his head... ALL of the babies were screaming at the top of their lungs... Not our Christian....He was alert and very happy. Jeremy took a snapshot of him to bring back to me BUT before he could do that he said he called his name.."Christian, he turned his head and looked for his daddy." He knew his voice and was interested in seeing him...

More to come....

The start of the Cortez Family.

On May 18th, 2000, Jerome and Christina Cortez were married...It was a beautiful, sunny day. The church was great (on the NAS-CCAD military base). We had family and friends there and Lord blessed such a wonderful day. They later honeymooned in San Antonio, TX. Staying at the Days Inn on IH-10 and participated in all kinds of festivities in San Antonio (Fiesta Texas, Sea World, Riverwalk, and many wonderful places to eat). The week had to end and it was time to return to our normal days in Corpus Christi, TX.

On July 7, 2000, I remember laying in the bath tub and having a dream (as I often sleep in the bathtub, I know...it is not safe). I was talking to my mother. She mentioned to me that I was going to have a son. We had a conversation that was long. I woke up by feeling water on my face. This woke me up. I told Jeremy about the conversation. He informed me to go to bed...I told him no really I had this dream. He would not listen telling me to go to bed....I left to store to by a pregnancy test, got home and sure enough I was pregnant. I remember this day like it was yesterday. He would not believe and continued to say, "Go to bed Christina!" I eventually went to sleep but left the test for him to see.....he woke up in the morning and asked what does this mean????? Exactly what it shows, I replied. I took another just to make sure...

I was extremely scared. We had just gotten married. We were living in a one bedroom apartment and barely made 18,000 dollars. I remember telling Jeremy I could not do this!

More to come....