We have been praying for this blog post to come since we started our journey over a year ago......
This is the letter that we were finally able to send out today....
Dear Friends and Family,
It has been a very long year for our adoption journey. We could not have made our way through it without the love and support of every single one of you. There have been many situations that have come up with our adoption journey that we have felt like we needed to keep to ourselves. As supportive as you all have been, we were the ones that signed up for the times of heartbreak, and we didn’t feel it was fair to subject all of you to those feelings.
However, today we have news that might be worth sharing. Most of you didn’t know that Jill and I planned a little Mexico getaway for her birthday. We have been involved in parenting opportunities with Gladney for more than a month now. Up until 15 hours before our flight took off we were not even sure we were going to take the trip. We hadn’t even packed our bags. Our caseworker, Jennifer, insisted that we get on the plane and go enjoy ourselves...So we did.
After landing on Sunday, we had a few hours of sun to enjoy ourselves, and it was one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen. We woke up early Monday morning, and rushed down to the pool on such a beautiful day. As we swam across the pool to the tanning platform with our umbrella drinks, we couldn’t help but feel like we were supposed to be there at that exact moment. Before situating herself for a little nap, Jill checked her phone. And there it was…. an email from Jennifer….. the one we have been waiting for. Without saying a word, I watched the expression on Jill’s face change. I knew what she was reading. She covered her mouth with her hand while continuing to read. My heart was pounding just waiting for her to tell me what she was reading. Then I saw a single tear run down her face from underneath her sunglasses. She looked into my face and said the words we have wanted to hear for so long…..”We have a baby”!
We rushed back to the room to call Jennifer. While waiting for her to call us back, we sat at the end of the bed and prayed together. We wanted to thank God for orchestrating our path to lead us to such a beautiful place to hear such beautiful news. We then recorded a short video from our balcony to document this wonderful moment in our lives. This video would soon be sent to our beautiful birth mother that she would tearfully share with her family.
Soon after, Jennifer called. I hit the voice recorder on my phone so we would forever have the phone call we have been longing for. After getting all of the details from Jennifer, we were over the moon! We had scheduled a Skype call for the morning after our return home, and a lunch date for the following Monday. We looked at each other, and said “I want to go home”! We knew that there was nothing that we could do from home, and that God had let us know that he wanted us to be there. So we stayed and just enjoyed a beautiful relaxing week filled with happy hearts and handmade baby poncho shopping.
This is the news that we can share… Our birth mother’s name is Maycee. She is a beautiful young mother to a gorgeous two year old daughter. Maycee has been with Gladney since February soon after finding out that she was expecting. Being the courageous, terrific, and completely unselfish person that she is, she decided to make an adoption plan for her baby. She had searched for months through profile books without truly feeling called to a family. A little discouraged, she searched the #Gladney on Instagram. After scrolling down she found a picture of us. She then looked through the rest of our photos, and found the link to our blog where she would learn even more about us. She told us that she knew instantly that we were her child’s parents. She had made a list of everything that she was looking for in a family, and said that we met every criteria then some…..and we cried again. She went to her caseworker, and told her that she wanted to match with us, and they gave her our profile. We just felt blessed that she could find us almost by accident and that we would have such an instant connection. Our closeness grew even more during our Skype call. What normally lasts 15 to 30 minutes lasted nearly 3 hours. We fell in love with everything about her and her beautiful daughter.
She is pregnant with a healthy baby boy. Her due date is September 27. After the baby is born, he will be moved to transitional care where he will live with an amazing temporary family for 31 days. This is not ideal for us or for Maycee, but this is the best thing for all of us. We trust Gladney with the adoption plan for this child, and if this is what they say is best for us, Maycee, and the baby, then this is what we will do. During transitional care we will receive daily pictures and updates from the transitional family. I know we will be going insane for the whole month, but we just have to pray, prepare, and be patient until the day we get to bring him home.
So to make a long story short…...WE HAVE A SON!! We know that every adoption is different, and that everyday is a roller coaster. We know that nothing in life, or adoption, is ever guaranteed. We know that every adoptive family is asked to open their hearts to a child that can never be promised to make it home. But we have to take God’s hand and let Him walk with us. Adoptive parents and birth parents alike want one common thing, a great life for their baby. There will be rejoicing for this baby boy no matter what happens before he makes it home. We just thank God for bringing Maycee into our lives, and filling our hearts with more love than we could ever imagine. She will truly be seen as our family for the rest of our lives! In a thousand years we would never be able to show her how grateful we are for her. The sacrifice that she is making to bless us with this incredible gift is nothing short of miraculous. Please join us in praying for Maycee’s safe upcoming delivery, but also that God takes her in His arms and comforts her with peace in her heart.
SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!
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