They're everywhere. You just have to have your antennae up to notice them.
Exhibit A:
Jason called his employer's human resources department yesterday to find out what we need to do to get Joy covered on our insurance.
Phone rings...
"Thank you for calling Human Resources. My name is Joy. How can I help you?"
Seriously, y'all.
God's fingerprints.
Have you seen them lately?
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Monday, March 31, 2014
So Much. So Fast. So Excited!
Y'all, this is insane.
I don't think I'll ever get over this. And that's totally okay. Because we will always have this amazing story to tell.
If you've been keeping up with us, or stalking us, or both, you've heard that we were matched with a BirthMom last Monday. Yay!
It's a girl. Yay!!!
She's due on MAY 16TH!!!!!! Say wha?!?!?!?!?!?
When I got the call, our adoption facilitator shared all of this and said, "Not only did they choose you, but she has a doctor appointment tomorrow and would like you to attend if you're comfortable."
(insert shocked silence here)
My first instinct was to proceed with caution. We should probably meet before we jump into the world of doctor visits, right? Seemed more appropriate, more "normal," if you will...as if anything about this so far has been normal - ha!.
But if this was our baby and we only had about 8 weeks before she arrived, shouldn't we soak up every moment of this pregnancy? Absolutely! So with Jason's blessing (he was out on business travel), I made the 90-minute drive to meet BirthMom for lunch and a doctor appointment. I can't even begin to explain how nervous I was. At one point, I was so panicked I wanted to turn the car around. What if she didn't like me? What if I accidentally said something that offended or hurt her? What if she took one look at me and changed her mind?
Turns out I had nothing to worry about. Don't get me wrong - it was the most awkward, bumpy experience. My first words afterward to myself were "Man, that was weird." But despite the choppy conversation and long, uneasy pauses, there were moments of chemistry...and one moment of total serendipity.
Our baby will be born at a hospital in Ft. Worth - the same hospital where BirthMom was born while her mom was on staff as a Labor & Delivery Nurse.
I was born at that same hospital. While my mom was on staff in Labor & Delivery.
Do you have chill bumps yet? Because I tremble every time I think about it.
God's fingerprints.
After about an hour of talking, we went to the doctor's office. I got to meet the woman who's been caring for our BirthMom and our Baby Girl, and loved how her face beamed when she realized who I was and why I was there.
Then we got to hear the heartbeat.
I'm in tears as I recall the most beautiful sound I've heard in 7 years. The rapid woosh-woosh-woosh of a precious life. In that moment, all I could do is cry and pray and thank God that this sweet young lady chose life for her baby...our baby.
The doctor said Baby Girl is progressing well with no major issues or reasons for concern. She's measuring right on time and is tracking to be about 8.5 pounds at birth. We go back next Tuesday, April 8th, for another checkup, and then we start weekly appointments after that.
I'm on pins and needles waiting for the 8th to get here because they're planning to do an ultrasound.
That's right! I get to see our sweet little bundle of JOY in one week!
Oh, the miracle of life! It truly is a miracle - Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Can't wait to share more with you as the days go by!!!
xoxo,
Jenn
I don't think I'll ever get over this. And that's totally okay. Because we will always have this amazing story to tell.
If you've been keeping up with us, or stalking us, or both, you've heard that we were matched with a BirthMom last Monday. Yay!
It's a girl. Yay!!!
She's due on MAY 16TH!!!!!! Say wha?!?!?!?!?!?
When I got the call, our adoption facilitator shared all of this and said, "Not only did they choose you, but she has a doctor appointment tomorrow and would like you to attend if you're comfortable."
(insert shocked silence here)
My first instinct was to proceed with caution. We should probably meet before we jump into the world of doctor visits, right? Seemed more appropriate, more "normal," if you will...as if anything about this so far has been normal - ha!.
But if this was our baby and we only had about 8 weeks before she arrived, shouldn't we soak up every moment of this pregnancy? Absolutely! So with Jason's blessing (he was out on business travel), I made the 90-minute drive to meet BirthMom for lunch and a doctor appointment. I can't even begin to explain how nervous I was. At one point, I was so panicked I wanted to turn the car around. What if she didn't like me? What if I accidentally said something that offended or hurt her? What if she took one look at me and changed her mind?
Turns out I had nothing to worry about. Don't get me wrong - it was the most awkward, bumpy experience. My first words afterward to myself were "Man, that was weird." But despite the choppy conversation and long, uneasy pauses, there were moments of chemistry...and one moment of total serendipity.
Our baby will be born at a hospital in Ft. Worth - the same hospital where BirthMom was born while her mom was on staff as a Labor & Delivery Nurse.
I was born at that same hospital. While my mom was on staff in Labor & Delivery.
Do you have chill bumps yet? Because I tremble every time I think about it.
God's fingerprints.
After about an hour of talking, we went to the doctor's office. I got to meet the woman who's been caring for our BirthMom and our Baby Girl, and loved how her face beamed when she realized who I was and why I was there.
Then we got to hear the heartbeat.
I'm in tears as I recall the most beautiful sound I've heard in 7 years. The rapid woosh-woosh-woosh of a precious life. In that moment, all I could do is cry and pray and thank God that this sweet young lady chose life for her baby...our baby.
The doctor said Baby Girl is progressing well with no major issues or reasons for concern. She's measuring right on time and is tracking to be about 8.5 pounds at birth. We go back next Tuesday, April 8th, for another checkup, and then we start weekly appointments after that.
I'm on pins and needles waiting for the 8th to get here because they're planning to do an ultrasound.
That's right! I get to see our sweet little bundle of JOY in one week!
Oh, the miracle of life! It truly is a miracle - Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Can't wait to share more with you as the days go by!!!
xoxo,
Jenn
Monday, March 24, 2014
Whoa Baby!
This is surreal.
I just got THE call. The call that every adoptive parent dreams of. The one that you think will never come.
"They picked you!"
What?!?!?!?
They picked us. Wow.
More details to follow. Just thought you'd want to know.
They picked us!!! US!!!
Wow.
Thank you, Jesus!!!
I just got THE call. The call that every adoptive parent dreams of. The one that you think will never come.
"They picked you!"
What?!?!?!?
They picked us. Wow.
More details to follow. Just thought you'd want to know.
They picked us!!! US!!!
Wow.
Thank you, Jesus!!!
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Flip Flops
Not the kind you wear on your feet...although I am *totally* ready to bust those suckers out!
No, these flip flops are the kind you get in your tummy when something major is on your radar. The kind that have to remind you to breathe.
Our fingerprints came back clear (not the piece-of-cake you think it might be) and we just scheduled our Home Study with our social worker!
Breathe.
I have a little bit of peace knowing we're off to a good start, mostly because the cleaning ladies just left our house. I know our home doesn't have to be spotless. There won't be a White Glove Inspection. She won't blacklist us from ever adopting because of those scuff marks on the wall. So I really should relax and just...
Breathe.
But how can I?!??! We are slowly inching closer and closer to a dream that started over two years ago. And - truth be told - it started much earlier than that. We've been aching for a baby since the day we knew we were losing Kate. And now it seems like it's finally going to happen.
Breathe.
So will you please keep this Home Study in your prayers now through March 27th? Pray for peace in the midst of nerves and chaos? And most of all, please pray for our baby girl and our birth parents. Pray for LIFE, health, and - again - peace.
And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go BREATHE!
SQUEEEEEEEE!!!!!!
No, these flip flops are the kind you get in your tummy when something major is on your radar. The kind that have to remind you to breathe.
Our fingerprints came back clear (not the piece-of-cake you think it might be) and we just scheduled our Home Study with our social worker!
Breathe.
I have a little bit of peace knowing we're off to a good start, mostly because the cleaning ladies just left our house. I know our home doesn't have to be spotless. There won't be a White Glove Inspection. She won't blacklist us from ever adopting because of those scuff marks on the wall. So I really should relax and just...
Breathe.
But how can I?!??! We are slowly inching closer and closer to a dream that started over two years ago. And - truth be told - it started much earlier than that. We've been aching for a baby since the day we knew we were losing Kate. And now it seems like it's finally going to happen.
Breathe.
So will you please keep this Home Study in your prayers now through March 27th? Pray for peace in the midst of nerves and chaos? And most of all, please pray for our baby girl and our birth parents. Pray for LIFE, health, and - again - peace.
And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go BREATHE!
SQUEEEEEEEE!!!!!!
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Update
No cute title for this one - just a quick update. More for me than anyone else, as I really want to start documenting our journey now.
After getting all our ducks in a row, we actually decided - for several reasons - it was in our best interest to switch agencies. Fortunately, the new agency was almost identical in their application process and we were able to quickly reassemble our files and get them turned in.
We met with a fab woman from Legacy Adoptions and shared our story. Everything she shared with us sounded great, so we handed in our application and family photo album and finally got the process going!
Since then, we've had our background check run and cleared, and then went on to have our fingerprints done. This is a new law, by the way, that just went into effect about 6 months ago, I believe.
So now we wait for those results to come back, and then we can schedule our home study. That will likely happen around mid-March, and with a 2-week processing period to document their findings, we should be completely cleared for a match by early April!
Needless to say, we're relieved to nearly have the most laborious part of the process behind us. I'm working a little each day to make sure the house is in order for our visit from the social worker - purging old stuff we don't need, organizing, etc. I guess you could call this an early "nesting" phase. They say your house doesn't have to be pristine in order to have a successful home study, but if you know me... Well, let's just say I'll probably be scrubbing baseboards right up until the doorbell rings!
So...(deep breath)...that's all for now! Thank you, as always, for your prayers, encouragement, and thoughts of us and of Joy. We will continue to share updates as they happen!
Love,
Jenn
After getting all our ducks in a row, we actually decided - for several reasons - it was in our best interest to switch agencies. Fortunately, the new agency was almost identical in their application process and we were able to quickly reassemble our files and get them turned in.
We met with a fab woman from Legacy Adoptions and shared our story. Everything she shared with us sounded great, so we handed in our application and family photo album and finally got the process going!
Since then, we've had our background check run and cleared, and then went on to have our fingerprints done. This is a new law, by the way, that just went into effect about 6 months ago, I believe.
So now we wait for those results to come back, and then we can schedule our home study. That will likely happen around mid-March, and with a 2-week processing period to document their findings, we should be completely cleared for a match by early April!
Needless to say, we're relieved to nearly have the most laborious part of the process behind us. I'm working a little each day to make sure the house is in order for our visit from the social worker - purging old stuff we don't need, organizing, etc. I guess you could call this an early "nesting" phase. They say your house doesn't have to be pristine in order to have a successful home study, but if you know me... Well, let's just say I'll probably be scrubbing baseboards right up until the doorbell rings!
So...(deep breath)...that's all for now! Thank you, as always, for your prayers, encouragement, and thoughts of us and of Joy. We will continue to share updates as they happen!
Love,
Jenn
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