Feb. 28, 2016
After church today as I was writing out my grocery list, my phone rang. When I saw who it was my heart started pounding fast and my stomach starting turning. The person on the other end was a very good friend of mine. Normally when I get a call from a friend my reaction isn't like that, but this time was different. This friend said to me "is your hubby home? Can you put him on speaker?" And so this begins....our journey to begin as a family of 4....we hope.
We have known about a situation, but it was also something that we put into God's hands to work out the details. This is scary for us. We don't know what will happen, but we do know this, this little boy is due in 10 days and God is at work in this. Our friend put us in touch with these expectant parents and it is a connection that I could have only dreamt of. I don't believe it's coincidence that this friend and I met many years ago. I feel God was at work back then. So tonight I pray hard. I am scared and not sure what will happen, but God does and I trust Him as he leads us down the path we should follow. Lord I ask that you calm my anxious heart. Tomorrow night we will Skype with the expectant parents. Prayers that this conversation calms all of our nerves and helps answer any questions we might have.
Feb. 29, 2016 5:00am
We just received a phone call at 3:40 AM. The expectant mom has gone to the hospital and she is dilated to 4cm. Her water has broke. So baby will be born on leap year. My heart is racing. I am not sure what to do. We have a ton of stuff legally to get done and I have no idea where to begin. I am anxious for daylight so that I can talk with our social worker. We might be taking a road trip very soon.
Feb. 29, 2016
This afternoon I had a very nice conversation with this baby's birthmom. I am so amazed by her strength and courage. I have good feelings about this but am cautiously excited. I am trusting God to lead the way and hold all of our hands through this process. I cannot begin to understand the thoughts that are running through their minds, but I do know this, they love this little one beyond words. Nothing will ever change that. God is at work and we trust him. Meanwhile, the stack of paperwork sits on our counter. Let that all begin...
March 1, 2016
We had our home visit with our social worker this morning. For the first time since this began I am starting to feel somewhat (using that word lightly) organized. Things seem to be falling into place. There are still a lot of unknowns to navigate through, but we are doing this as a team. It is crazy the amount of people it takes to get things started in an adoption situation. Birthmom sent us a photo of baby. Baby is SO precious and we can't help but get a little excited. We keep reminding ourselves God's time, not ours.
March 1 5:15pm
We just received this message:
"Hey guys I just wanted to let you know that we would like you to adopt our son."
After reading that I screamed. Branden was in the bathroom and I knocked on the door and told him to get out NOW! We then cried in the arms of eachother. I cannot explain what it feels like when you hear the news that you are going to be parents and he's already been born. This is the second time this has happened to us. Our boys will share a very similar story of how we learned of them. Our first we had 12 days notice, this time we had 12 hours. God has a sense of humor.
March 3, 3pm
We are getting everything organized to head out to the state birthparents and baby are in. We will leave Sunday morning. I am a basket of emotions. Our son will stay with his grandparents so we can focus on them and this situation. We keep asking God to hold our hands through all of this. Baby remains in the hospital, but is doing well. Arrangements have been made for him if he is discharged before our stuff is all complete. My friend (the one who first introduced us to this situation) arrived there today and she said that baby is doing wonderful and the birth family has been talking about how excited they are to see us. We cannot wait.
March 6, 2016
Today we began the drive to go and meet this little boy and his birth family. I have been an emotional wreck. One moment I'm in tears and the next I feel like I could lose my lunch. All of these feelings are normal. I am having flash backs of the drive we made 3 years ago to meet J's birthmom. So many feelings come flooding back. Meanwhile, J is having a blast at grandma & papa's house playing and riding on grandpa's tractor. We are so grateful they were able to take him so we can focus on meeting everyone in this little guy's birth family. I received a message today from one of her relatives and she said how excited she was for us to come and what a blessing we have been to this birthmom and her family. I reassured them that they have been a blessing to us! Without birthparents we would not be parents. For that, we are forever grateful. Baby boy got discharged today. He does have some medical needs that will require surgery and we are completely ready to take on those as they come our way. Meanwhile, I cannot wait to hold him!
March 7, 2016
Today we met baby boy's birth mama & daddy. We had a wonderful and emotional conversation with them about all of their hopes and dreams for him. His birth daddy summed it up best "we just want him to be happy and well cared for." We promise to do our best to honor those wishes! We met them again for lunch and baby boy & his birth paternal grandma was along as well. There were many tears shed, but they reassured us that this adoption will take place and that we can begin announcing it. Our hearts are exploding. We were invited to his doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon. We are anxious to attend and see how he is doing.
