the call

This was written on May 10th.... 

This week has been great for us. It marks our next step in our adoption journey. We have been chosen by a birth mom and dad. That means that they saw our match letter with pictures and liked us (crazy people). They want to meet us to see if we will move forward with being officially "matched" with them. This news is amazing, exciting, and not as shocking as we thought a call like this would be. We have been praying very specifically lately. I've heard from the Lord to "be expectant" on Mother's Day. So when the phone rang my heart stopped for an instant and then a sigh of relief came over me and I said, "this is it!" So far, this scenario has just felt right. It has wonderful written all over it. As excited as we are, we must still remember that this is in the very early stages. Nothing is final until relinquishments are signed after the baby is born. So, please rejoice with us, but also know how delicate and variable the situation is. 

Here are some things we know: 

• The sweet baby girl is due August 11th. Clearly August is awesome. Maybe she'll be born on my birthday (and Lindsey's).   
• Birth mom and birth dad are together and are both participating in the agency's services (counseling, etc.) 
• They want an open adoption and we do too! The term "open adoption" can be anything from letters/pictures being shared to having visitation and a closer relationship. We won't know specifics on this until later and we actually may not know until we are living it, to be honest. We will have to follow the Lord's guidance for navigating an uncommon relationship. 
• Birth mom is having a healthy, normal pregnancy, so baby girl is healthy. yay!
• Baby girl is biracial. Thank you, Lord! I cannot wait to eat her up! 

Here are some things you can pray for: 

• We meet birth mom and birth dad on Monday, May 23th at 2:30. I'm very nervous about this part. It is the hardest job interview you'll ever go to. These people have to like us and think we are wonderful enough to parent their child. To be in their shoes would be hard- no one would be good enough to me. I already have visions of my red face, nervous chattering, and sweaty armpits. What a sight! "Pick me!!" is what that vision screams. 
• The health of sweet baby girl August- health is always a pregnancy concern. 
• Decision making for both parties is huge right now. Not only do they have to choose us, but we have to choose them. Pray that we would all feel confident to move forward or not and that we would have a comfort level with the whole situation to speak our minds. 

Here are some things to remember: 

• We are in a very preliminary stage right now and anything can change in an instant. Nothing is final until way later and nothing is even official at this point. 
• Please be excited for us and ask questions about the process. I never mind explaining how it all works. I am breathing this stuff right now and I realize most people haven't had the exposure to it. 
• Please be sensitive. There may be information about our family situation that we aren't comfortable sharing with others. If we say that we aren't comfortable sharing something, please don't take offense. There may be things that will be part of our child's story to tell if she sees fit one day. These things are not important things you'll need to know in order to love her- trust me. It is just a privacy issue.   

Thank you for reading my ramblings if you've gotten to this point. We want to include you along the way as we move forward with this wonderful journey God has taken us on. We look forward to sharing the next steps with you soon. We love you very much and are so thankful. Keep praying!