It's a Boy!

We are so excited to let all our family and friends know that on Friday afternoon we were matched with a birthmom who is due with a boy!!! Her due date is December 1, however she is being induced on November 17. She is having the baby in Utah, so we are flying out on the 14th, and we plan to be out there for 2 weeks (that's how long it takes for Utah and Kentucky to agree to let us take the baby home). I knew that it could come quickly, however, I didn't think it would come this quickly so my mind is racing! Right now I am so thankful that the Lord put the desire in my heart last week to get the nursery ready and make a place in the kitchen for all the bottles. So the basics are done...he can sleep, be clothed/diapered, and eat.

On Friday morning I was packing and making preparations for us to come to TN for the week-end where JP ran his first (and he says his only) half-marathon (he did awesome!!!). Somewhere along the way...I can't quite remember all the details...Olivia casually mentioned "I wish I had a baby brother." We had been talking with her about eventually getting a baby, and she actually even helped pick out the color for the nursery; but at that point we weren't matched, though we did know our profile was being shown. It was exciting for JP and I to tell her just a couple hours later that she is indeed going to have a baby brother. We "practiced" getting on the airplane, picking him, getting back on the airplane, bringing him home and showing him his new bedroom and crib. She loved it and wanted to play that "game" over and over. Now my prayer is that the excitement of the "game" for her carries over into the reality. We really would love every prayer you have for our sweet little girl who is about to become a big sister.

I know everyone has tons of questions so I'm going to do my best to keep up with the Blog as we move forward...but please forgive me if I fall behind some. The next weeks are going to be very busy. This week we are not only going to be preparing to bring a baby home and travel, but we have some urgent items to take care of for our home study since it's not even done yet. Our case worker is coming to the house on Monday and then we have to travel to her office on Wednesday to get the necessary visits done. In addition, we have some paper requirements to meet for the agency in Utah. Please pray for us!

We also ask that you pray for the birthmom. We got to talk with her on Friday, and from our perspective it went great. She is a dear sweet lady who is funny and easy to talk to. We had a good laugh over one of our profile pictures. Olivia loves the show "Wonder Pets" where 3 baby animals rescue other baby animals. Well, a while back JP found a turtle in our neighborhood, and we had a "Wonder Pet" resuce mission to take it back to the neighborhood pond. We got pictures of Olivia holding the turtle and throwing it back in the lake that we included in the profile. She laughed at that because her two other children also love that program and they sing the theme song to get everyone working together to clean up..."what's gonna work? team work." Well, at one point on the phone we were all singing the theme song together. It was a fun moment...and it reminded me of how God worked in our conversations with Olivia's birthmom. Among all the emtions and awkwardness He gives us moments of connection and fun. What a good and awesome God!!!!

We feel fairly confident in this situation, however we know that even the "safest" adoption situations are never 100%. We know that at times the birthmoms we never expect to change their minds actually do once the baby is born. What we do know is the birthfather has already signed his waiver, she flew to Utah to have the baby because of their adoption friendly laws, if she does follow through she will sign her waiver 24 hours after the baby is born, she cannot change her mind after she signs the waiver, and if she does change her mind the only money we will will lose is our travel money. Please, please pray for her! Her well being and the well being of the baby is upmost in our hearts! Our greatest joy is her greatest loss...this is one thing we never forget. So while we need lots of prayers, please don't forget this birthmom does too.