Coach Hammond: A.K.A. Levi's Dad (Updated 5/29/13)

Yesterday, in "Coach Hammond: Man of Many Hats (and One Very Special One),"  Coach Matt Hammond of Lewisburg High School told his family's story of adopting Levi.  Today, in question-and-answer format, Coach Hammond reflects on the last 14 1/2 months as Levi's dad.

The Hammonds: Trish, Maddie, Levi, & Matt (Coach)

What is your favorite thing to do with Levi?

Our living room looks like a Toy 'R Us store.  We've just basically set up a barrier all around (with couches and furniture) , and inside that area is his playpen, except it's huge.  I love sitting right in the middle of the floor with him running all over and throwing things at me.  He ran up to me yesterday and charged into me like he was a fullback trying to clear the hole out, bounced off of me and fell, and just started laughing.

When we put him to bed every night, for whatever reason, I started flipping the ceiling fan with my hand and it will spin a little bit.  So every time before we put him down, he will reach up go, "Ugghhh!!!" and try to grab that ceiling fan.  He's just funny.  He has started to take on our personalities, good or bad.

He's so cool.  He's so awesome.  We're so blessed.

Is anything different because Levi is adopted?

He's MY son -- 100%.  Maddie loves him to death, and he's 100% her little brother.  He is 100% Trish's little boy.  He favors us.  People say he looks just like us, and they have no idea he's adopted.  He's Matt Hammond's kid.

What about Levi's birth mother?

Stephanie* has sent him a birthday card, sent him a Christmas card.  We haven't gotten too close, but we're not going to hide her (from Levi).   

We feel like what she did was very courageous, very selfless.  To carry a child for nine months and have that be a part of you and give him up because you can't give him the life that a child deserves is a very courageous act.  

We're very grateful for Stephanie.  We don't judge her in the least.  We don't know what she's involved in now, we don't know what she was involved in before.  All we know is that she made a very courageous decision to allow us to adopt Levi, and we will never forget that, and we'll never stop being appreciative for that.

Levi's got a story.  Hopefully at some point, he'll be proud of that story and be able to encourage other people that are in similar situations, whether it be a couple that's looking to adopt and don't know where to turn or a young lady that's kind of hit some trouble and maybe made some choices that weren't the greatest, but there is a way out that doesn't had to end bad.  I hope that's the case for him.

*Not her real name. 

What did the heartache of the two miscarriages and the ultimate adoption of Levi teach you about the heart of God?

He knows what He's doing.  As a follower of Christ, there is going to be purpose and there is going to be meaning and God is going to receive glory out of your life, even in the darkest of moments.  We could have never envisioned that day (the day of the first miscarriage)-- it was dreary, it was rainy, it was a perfect day to receive horrible news, and we walked out of that hospital, and were both just devastated.  We could have never envisioned less than a year later holding a new baby in our arms and calling him "my son" and filled with such joy and happiness . . . to know that that day we walked out of the hospital on that rainy, cold February day -- as devastated as we were -- that my God was in heaven saying, "Yeah, you're upset now, but I'm going to take care of you; I'm going to handle it.  I'm in charge, and I know what's best for you, and I know what's best for your wife and what's best for your daughter."  And I couldn't imagine my life without Levi; I just couldn't.

If there is a definition of God's hand moving pieces, it was certainly our adoption of Levi. 

We never set out on this journey thinking it's our responsibility to God to adopt a kid or it's our civic duty to take care of the less fortunate.  That never entered into our minds.  It was just wanting to have another kid, and this opportunity presented itself.  Looking at it now, it was obvious God had a plan, and God had something in mind for our lives, whether it was that first thought in my brain or Trish's brain that, hey, you need to adopt, and then us finally saying okay, let's do it.  Every door that had to open, opened perfectly.  That was obviously God's hand in it.

Thanks, Coach

Many thanks to Coach Hammond for so eloquently telling Levi's story -- his family's story.  As the Lewisburg High School baseball team starts playoff action this week in their quest for the school's first state title (after coming up just one game short last season), check out the guy driving the bus, dragging the infield, throwing batting practice, keeping stats on the iPad.  That's Levi's dad.

Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

May 29, 2013 Update

Part 1 of this story talked about the many hats of Coach Hammond.  As of last Saturday, you can add another hat, that of state champion.  Congratulations, Coach!

Lewisburg Patriots: 2013 4A State Champions

Adoption Stories: It All Happened So Fast

... and with just a click, it was gone.

Months of soliciting recipes.  Weeks of gathering stories and photos, categorizing recipes, changing it all when more copy arrived.  Ten days of formatting, re-formatting, tedious proofreading, editing, re-formatting again.  A furious last edit.  And then, this morning, with just a click, it was out of my hands and on the way to the printer.  Flavors of Forever Families: A Collection of Recipes and Redemption Stories will be a reality by the end of the week.

There were about 10 of us who looked over at least part of the final project.  Even so, there will still be some things that we missed, I'm sure. None of us has ever produced a book before.  I hope everyone who invests in this project by purchasing cookbooks finds at least a few new favorite recipes, but the purpose of the book is adoption.  To tell the stories.  To pave the way for more stories of adoption.

I have given you a preview in blogs past of some of the stories that will be included in the book:
     "Temporarily Todd"
     "Growing Paynes"

Here is another adoption story that had me frozen in worship as I entered the story into the book this past weekend:

It All Happened So Fast

by Vicki Sharp

The Sharp family: Steve, Elliott, Vicki, & Sarah

Our story started on September 14^th, 1985, the day God put us together as one.  We thought we would be like any other normal couple and be able to conceive children.  However, God had another story planned for us.

Over the next six years, we both visited several doctors and had many tests performed to discover that they were not really sure why we couldn’t have a baby.  So we started sharing with our family and friends about how we wanted a baby.  One night a friend called and asked if we would like to try to adopt a baby.  She had met a woman during a meeting about tough love with teenagers.  She said she had a girl working for her who was pregnant and didn’t want to tell her family.  She agreed to let us adopt her baby and ten days later we were the proud parents of our son, Elliot.

We thought Elliott would be our only child, but he decided he wanted a baby sister or brother so he started praying.  A couple from church had adopted children from the state so we decided we would try.  We attended classes and were approved to adopt.  Meanwhile, a cousin of Steve’s called and asked us to come and talk to a girl about adopting her baby.  However, she had left a message that she had given the baby to another couple.  We didn’t want to give up so we continued to pray.

One day while I was working in the church nursery, another friend told me she had been talking to a girl that was trying to give her baby up for adoption.  We received a call early one morning from our friend asking us to meet the girl now because she was in labor.  Steve was very shy about praying out loud, but after a heartfelt prayer from him, she said she wanted us to adopt her baby.   So seven days later we had a new baby girl, Sarah.  We truly believe that only God could have planned our adoptions. 

Steve passed away to be with the Lord earlier this year, but he was always eager to share our story; he always said it was his testimony.

 
This weekend, Vicki handed me two treasures: Steve's life story as he had written it when Elliott was six years old and a letter Steve had written to his small group leader after Sarah's adoption.  I could hear Steve's voice in my mind as I read his own words of praise for what God had done in building his family through adoption.  Steve's words are included in Flavors of Forever Families.  I pray that his story continues the legacy of adoption that he built in his own family.

More stories will follow throughout the week on this blog as we move toward the book's release this weekend.  The books will be available for $12 at CHC Southaven and CHC Hernando this Sunday.  We will release info next week on online options.  I want to personally thank you on behalf of the families who will move closer to bringing a child into a forever family for your investment in the steps of faith.

Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al