Finally, Saturday evening, January 1st, we had time to share this post with our awesome news. We had also planned to fast on Sunday because we needed help finding our baby. Now we were fasting for so much more!
Sunday we found a volunteer to teach my Sunbeam class for an unknown amount of Sundays. We also asked one of the Young Men to check on our cat. We told everyone we ran into that we were matched and we were driving to Texas. We were hoping we could meet with Amanda and her family to get to know them better and take photos with each other. Sunday night we packed because Monday night we were having my high school friends over for a get together. We hoped to leave really early Tuesday morning. Then Sunday night we went to bed dreaming of our soon-to-be baby girl.
Early Monday morning as Ron is in the shower getting ready for work, his cell phone rings, but nobody hears it. Then as he's leaving for work, and just as he's about to open the garage door to leave (around 6 am.), he hears his phone ring. It's our caseworker - she tells him Amanda went into labor at 11 pm. and our baby girl was born at 12:07 am! AND she has a bunch of blond hair! Ron wakes me and wide-eyed, but still not fully awake, I say, "No way!"
After that our morning is a blur of activity. We rush around our room throwing clothes in this bag and that bag. We had packed for a road trip, not a flight, so we had to make some changes. Ron checks the airline prices and it doesn't look good. All the airlines are sold out and the only flights left on priceline are beyond expensive! There is no way we can afford to take Zachary with us. We hurry to call Grandma Nancy and luckily she can take him. What a relief! We switch all the bags so we only have to take carry-ons. We ask grandpa to come take us to the airport and pick up Zachary. He can! Everything is falling into place except we still have to go to the bank. We had tried to arrange a loan on Friday, but the departments we needed were closed by the time we arrived. We rush to the the bank Monday, only to find that our loan still isn't ready. (Oh yeah, we're never getting a loan from them again). We tell them we have to get to our flight to meet our new daughter, so the manager agrees to help us. After a few phone calls she figures out what to do to get our loan funded (took forever!). We could not get out of there fast enough! Two hours later, we were rushing home to meet grandpa and head to the airport. Unfortunately there is nothing we could do to rush the airline or the airplane so we tried to just relax and enjoy the trip.
By the time we actually arrived in Texas and hopped in our rental car it was nearing 8 pm! It had taken so long to get there and we were so close and so anxious; it was all I could do to stop myself from frantically running everywhere we went! We hurried to the store to buy the best flowers and chocolates we could find and we were finally, finally, finally at the hospital. We took a deep breath, looked at each other and reached for each others hands.
This was it.
We had made it.
This was the moment we had been waiting for...we were excited and nervous as can be!
We went inside the hospital and found Amanda's room. We had only talked to her on the phone and she had still never seen a photo of us. We knocked on the door and her mother came out in the hall to greet us. I gave her a big hug and I could tell she instantly liked us. I'll never forget her eyes and smile accepting us and approving us. We talked in the hall for a minute while we waited for the nurse to finish in Amanda's room. She then led us in the room to meet Amanda and our baby girl.
Words really can't describe the experience it is to meet the woman who gave birth to your child and to hold that child in your arms. The child we searched and waited and prayed for...I will never stop being amazed at adoption; how hard it is and yet how amazing, too.
When it was my turn to hold Lexi for the first time, I gazed at her tiny little body in my arms and told Amanda, "She's beautiful."
We stayed a while, but not too long. It was getting late and Amanda looked tired. We said goodbye and made plans to come the next morning. We headed to our hotel room to get some sleep too.
The next day was a Tuesday. Texas law has a 48 hour waiting period before Amanda could sign; she couldn't sign until Wednesday. Amanda talked with the hospital staff to make sure we could see Lexi in the nursery. She needed to get home. I couldn't believe it was time to say goodbye to Amanda and her mom...we had only just met! I hope the memories I do have will stay with me so I can tell Lexi when she's older. I really wish I could have taken more photos like we did with Zachary's birthfamily. The discharge staff came and Amanda gave Lexi a kiss and said, "See ya'll later" in her Texan accent. (I LOVE her accent.)
I felt the familiar pang of heartache for our baby's birthmother - at the same time feeling joy for the sweet new life she was giving us. I wanted to tell her she couldn't leave yet - we hadn't had enough time! Everything was happening so fast. On the outside I was calm, but on the inside I was in turmoil.
Then Ron and I were left alone in Amanda's room with Lexi. Somehow the hospital staff had forgotten about us. They had told us we couldn't have a room to spend time with our daughter and soon we would be sent to the nursery - so we took advantage of their forgetfulness.
We held her. We fed her. We loved her.
It was quiet and peaceful.
We hoped the next day she would be part of our family.
We peeked out the door once in a while, wondering when our quiet room would be taken away. A couple of hours passed and a nurse came back in (looking confused) and told us we had to go to the nursery. It was bright and noisy and there were nurses everywhere, but we wanted to stay with our daughter a little longer. We held her and fed her more and then it was time to say goodbye for the night. We hoped it wasn't goodbye forever. We had to leave her in the hospital until Amanda could sign the next day. We headed for the hotel and one of the nurses said, "Get some good sleep; it may be your last night of rest." (So true.)
The next day at 9 a.m. (nursery hours) we arrived again; hoping this time we could leave with our daughter, but we didn't know when. I felt calm and peaceful again. I knew Amanda would follow thru with her plan for Lexi. Around 1 p.m. the social worker arrived and we signed something (I can't even tell you what). Amanda had decided to place Lexi with us. We now had a daughter and very few things for her (a car seat, stroller, diapers, one pj, one blanket, two outfits, some hats and mittens.) Next thing we knew we were walking out the doors of the hospital and buckling her seat in the car.
We were in shock.
Still shocked that this complicated sounding adoption was happening with ease.
Shocked that we had just matched on Friday and now (Wednesday) we were in Texas putting our baby girl in our rental car.
Shocked that we were so blessed to adopt two beautiful, healthy children from two amazing birthmothers.
A week later we were approved to go back home and the real adventure began. We missed our sweet little Zachary and we needed to introduce him to his new (11 day old) sister.
The past six months were perhaps the most stressful of my life. But I've learned again that I can do hard things. Or as Ned Flanders would say, "With God on your side, you can't fail."
A new story about a family of four was about to begin...
Sunday we found a volunteer to teach my Sunbeam class for an unknown amount of Sundays. We also asked one of the Young Men to check on our cat. We told everyone we ran into that we were matched and we were driving to Texas. We were hoping we could meet with Amanda and her family to get to know them better and take photos with each other. Sunday night we packed because Monday night we were having my high school friends over for a get together. We hoped to leave really early Tuesday morning. Then Sunday night we went to bed dreaming of our soon-to-be baby girl.
Early Monday morning as Ron is in the shower getting ready for work, his cell phone rings, but nobody hears it. Then as he's leaving for work, and just as he's about to open the garage door to leave (around 6 am.), he hears his phone ring. It's our caseworker - she tells him Amanda went into labor at 11 pm. and our baby girl was born at 12:07 am! AND she has a bunch of blond hair! Ron wakes me and wide-eyed, but still not fully awake, I say, "No way!"
After that our morning is a blur of activity. We rush around our room throwing clothes in this bag and that bag. We had packed for a road trip, not a flight, so we had to make some changes. Ron checks the airline prices and it doesn't look good. All the airlines are sold out and the only flights left on priceline are beyond expensive! There is no way we can afford to take Zachary with us. We hurry to call Grandma Nancy and luckily she can take him. What a relief! We switch all the bags so we only have to take carry-ons. We ask grandpa to come take us to the airport and pick up Zachary. He can! Everything is falling into place except we still have to go to the bank. We had tried to arrange a loan on Friday, but the departments we needed were closed by the time we arrived. We rush to the the bank Monday, only to find that our loan still isn't ready. (Oh yeah, we're never getting a loan from them again). We tell them we have to get to our flight to meet our new daughter, so the manager agrees to help us. After a few phone calls she figures out what to do to get our loan funded (took forever!). We could not get out of there fast enough! Two hours later, we were rushing home to meet grandpa and head to the airport. Unfortunately there is nothing we could do to rush the airline or the airplane so we tried to just relax and enjoy the trip.
By the time we actually arrived in Texas and hopped in our rental car it was nearing 8 pm! It had taken so long to get there and we were so close and so anxious; it was all I could do to stop myself from frantically running everywhere we went! We hurried to the store to buy the best flowers and chocolates we could find and we were finally, finally, finally at the hospital. We took a deep breath, looked at each other and reached for each others hands.
This was it.
We had made it.
This was the moment we had been waiting for...we were excited and nervous as can be!
We went inside the hospital and found Amanda's room. We had only talked to her on the phone and she had still never seen a photo of us. We knocked on the door and her mother came out in the hall to greet us. I gave her a big hug and I could tell she instantly liked us. I'll never forget her eyes and smile accepting us and approving us. We talked in the hall for a minute while we waited for the nurse to finish in Amanda's room. She then led us in the room to meet Amanda and our baby girl.
Words really can't describe the experience it is to meet the woman who gave birth to your child and to hold that child in your arms. The child we searched and waited and prayed for...I will never stop being amazed at adoption; how hard it is and yet how amazing, too.
When it was my turn to hold Lexi for the first time, I gazed at her tiny little body in my arms and told Amanda, "She's beautiful."
We stayed a while, but not too long. It was getting late and Amanda looked tired. We said goodbye and made plans to come the next morning. We headed to our hotel room to get some sleep too.
The next day was a Tuesday. Texas law has a 48 hour waiting period before Amanda could sign; she couldn't sign until Wednesday. Amanda talked with the hospital staff to make sure we could see Lexi in the nursery. She needed to get home. I couldn't believe it was time to say goodbye to Amanda and her mom...we had only just met! I hope the memories I do have will stay with me so I can tell Lexi when she's older. I really wish I could have taken more photos like we did with Zachary's birthfamily. The discharge staff came and Amanda gave Lexi a kiss and said, "See ya'll later" in her Texan accent. (I LOVE her accent.)
I felt the familiar pang of heartache for our baby's birthmother - at the same time feeling joy for the sweet new life she was giving us. I wanted to tell her she couldn't leave yet - we hadn't had enough time! Everything was happening so fast. On the outside I was calm, but on the inside I was in turmoil.
Then Ron and I were left alone in Amanda's room with Lexi. Somehow the hospital staff had forgotten about us. They had told us we couldn't have a room to spend time with our daughter and soon we would be sent to the nursery - so we took advantage of their forgetfulness.
We held her. We fed her. We loved her.
It was quiet and peaceful.
We hoped the next day she would be part of our family.
We peeked out the door once in a while, wondering when our quiet room would be taken away. A couple of hours passed and a nurse came back in (looking confused) and told us we had to go to the nursery. It was bright and noisy and there were nurses everywhere, but we wanted to stay with our daughter a little longer. We held her and fed her more and then it was time to say goodbye for the night. We hoped it wasn't goodbye forever. We had to leave her in the hospital until Amanda could sign the next day. We headed for the hotel and one of the nurses said, "Get some good sleep; it may be your last night of rest." (So true.)
The next day at 9 a.m. (nursery hours) we arrived again; hoping this time we could leave with our daughter, but we didn't know when. I felt calm and peaceful again. I knew Amanda would follow thru with her plan for Lexi. Around 1 p.m. the social worker arrived and we signed something (I can't even tell you what). Amanda had decided to place Lexi with us. We now had a daughter and very few things for her (a car seat, stroller, diapers, one pj, one blanket, two outfits, some hats and mittens.) Next thing we knew we were walking out the doors of the hospital and buckling her seat in the car.
We were in shock.
Still shocked that this complicated sounding adoption was happening with ease.
Shocked that we had just matched on Friday and now (Wednesday) we were in Texas putting our baby girl in our rental car.
Shocked that we were so blessed to adopt two beautiful, healthy children from two amazing birthmothers.
A week later we were approved to go back home and the real adventure began. We missed our sweet little Zachary and we needed to introduce him to his new (11 day old) sister.
The past six months were perhaps the most stressful of my life. But I've learned again that I can do hard things. Or as Ned Flanders would say, "With God on your side, you can't fail."
A new story about a family of four was about to begin...
I cry every time I read the fantastically beatiful adoption stories of your family. What amazing little blessings they are. I can only imagine the many times you've cried. I'm so thrilled for all of you. And so glad you share these FAITH BUILDING experiences! Much Love, Cami
ReplyDeleteOh, thanks Cami - miss you!
ReplyDelete