Wednesday, July 16, 2008

SURPRISE!!!! VERY BIG NEWS!!!!

Well, we have had one of the most eventful, amazing, overwhelming, and surprising weeks. :) How's that for a start?

Last Thursday, I came home to a message from the adoption agency we used for the boys telling us that they had a potential birthmom and wondered if we were interested or if we knew of anyone that might be interested. To say I was shocked by this message is an understatement! I quickly called Andrew and told him I had already promised the boys a trip to the pool but would call the agency back at nap time to see what was up. Andrew couldn't believe I could possibly wait. :) He called to get the details and then called me back. We immediately knew that we were to say yes. Andrew called the agency right back (they had called several families) and said we would be interested. The next step was for the birthmom to learn about us and decide if she was interested in us. To make a long story short, within 12 hours of the initial phone call we found out the birthmom wanted to meet us!

We were ecstatic and shocked. We have been planning to begin the adoption process again and had even met with a different organization and planned to sign with them very soon. We had also planned to begin our homestudy in June but due to illness on our part and the social worker being on vacation it had been delayed. Wednesday night, we had the discussion about whether we should delay a little longer or go ahead and Thursday came THE CALL. We woke up Friday and wondered if it had all been a dream and have had the deer-in-the-headlights, pinch-me-is-this-real feeling ever since.

So we found out yesterday that today would be the day that we would meet C. We drove to KY and had lunch with her. I had put together a small photo album of our family to show her and she brought pictures of her daughter. We really, really liked her and she liked us! She would like for us to parent the baby - yes, she chose us! She will call us when she goes into labor!

Here's an important detail, she is due on August 30 - yes, approximately 6 weeks from now! And the other important detail, IT'S A BOY! We are SO EXCITED and SOOOO SURPRISED!!!! It's been hard to hold in for the past week but we wanted to wait until after we knew if the birthmom had chosen us since we really weren't in process. :)

Here are a few more details - birthmoms do change their minds over half the time and while we do not feel that is very much of a risk in this situation, we are still cautious. The main concern is some potential birthfather issues - we are really praying that it will not cause problems. We pray for her and we pray for the baby that whatever the outcome, it will be the best for all involved. We will travel to KY for the birth - she thinks she may go early. We are not sure how long we will be there - maybe a couple of weeks.

So our lives are a little turned upside down right now - in a good way. And if you see us smiling cheesy smiles that won't stop, you'll know why. :) They boys don't quite understand but they are looking forward to a baby (they have been for awhile, now!). They assure us that they will be big helpers. :) Anyway, God may be growing our "meant-to-be" family very soon!

If you had told me a week ago that I would be writing this post, I would NOT have believed you - this is so unexpected!! And if you have any newborn things you don't need anymore, please send them our way. We weren't planning on this and don't have much - we thought we would have awhile whenever we did start the process! :) So, SURPRISE! It looks like we are probably going to be parents again!

38 comments:

Heather L. said...

Congratulations!!! it's all SO exciting!!!! We will be praying for all of this and waiting, waiting for the baby's birth!!! YEAH!

Loraena Tuttle said...

This brings back SO MANY memories!!! I am truly excited for you!!! We met Eliana's bm 6 weeks before her due date, too (and Ellie was born 1 wk early).

Regardless of the outcome, you are in for an emotional roller coaster! Cling to the Lord - He is sufficient for all of it - grace in the shocking reality of a NEW BABY, or pain of unexpected loss - I know because I've experienced both and God is GOOD! I'll be praying...

Kimberly said...

YEAHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I am SO excited for your family! Another boy! Fabulous! 6 weeks will be here before you know it. Praying for you guys!

Paula said...

Yippee!! I'm so happy for you. You and I both are waiting for our little babies and they are due on the same exact date (Aug 30) !! Wow!! Yes, Loraena is right, we are in for an emotional roller coaster. We'll cling on to Jesus together sista!

Unknown said...

I am thrilled to see your news! We will continue to pray for your family! We love you!

Alicia said...

That is absolutely wonderful! What a blessing exceedingly, abundantly all you could ask or think. God is good.

Kate Ambrose said...

Alaina!!! This is amazing news! I'm so excited for you and your whole family! Seriously, this is shocking, but I can so easily see the hand of God in it. Our prayers are with you guys, and the birthmom/baby. *hugs*

The Cook said...

OMG!!!!!! I am so happy for you. Our boys will be so close in age!

Barbie said...

Wow Alaina!! I have a big cheesy smile from reading your post!! CONGRATULATIONS! I will certainly be praying for all involved. What a gift your family has been given. God sure has some wonderful surprises in store for His children!

Brian and Raendra said...

Wow! What exciting news! We will be praying for your family. We love you!

Thad and Ann said...

OMG!!! I'm SO excited for you! :) I'll be praying for you, 6 weeks will be here before you know it. :)

Amy K said...

That is so wonderful! It is so exciting to see God grow your family!! I'm glad the meeting went well. This will be a busy summer for you!

We have two bouncy seats (one of them vibrates) and a bassinet that you can borrow (I told Catherine she can have it in Dec., though, but you'll probably be done with it by then anyway). I really enjoyed having the baby close by in a bassinet for those middle of the night feedings. We have a swing too but it's not the greatest.

SOO exciting! :)

Micah said...

I have been waiting for this post ALL DAY!!! YEAH! I am so happy for you all, and will continue praying so hard that everything will continue to go so smoothly. Love you all!!!

p.s. Don't stay up too late picking out names ;)

Heather said...

I am crying as I read this - and so excited. Honestly I could not be more excited for two people right now.

Gretchen said...

Yeah! That's great news! How crazy if we were in Ky at the same time?!! We will have to keep tabs on each other. We'll be thinking of you. Three boys, you know I think that's the coolest!

Anonymous said...

Yay! We are so excited for you! praying that all goes well and you bring home your new little one very soon! :)

Anonymous said...

Barbara D.
Your mom just called and I am thrilled to hear your news. We will be praying for the whole situation and thank the Lord with you for such a special blessing.

Anonymous said...

you know i'm excited (as is luke:)!!!!!!!:) you guys are in our prayers. this is all so crazy and awesome.:) (carly is pretty pumped too:)

Jen said...

I am with Micah--I like checked almost every hour today and kept telling myself not to call or bug you. :)

I am SO happy for you all and can't wait to see your little guy in October.

CityStreams said...

That is huge news! Congratulations Alaina. I'm so excited for you. Keep us posted on things you need. I have lots of hand-me-down newborn stuff.

Yay! How exciting! (another big cheesy smile)

Monica said...

Wow! Wow! Wow! This is such exciting news. I'll be praying for you both as you prepare and for this mother's health as well. Congratulations.

Margaret said...

I can't wait to be an aunt again!! :D

EmilyAnne said...

Alaina, I'm sorry I missed your instant message. We are in process of moving around the corner, and the girls and I were running a load of stuff up to the other house.

I am SO excited for you! I love to see how God works. The timing, the connections. Congratuations! I will continue to pray for you and process and the baby and the birth parents and your boys. Love you!

Alyssa said...

Wow! And I thought nine months was barely enough time to prepare for a baby!!

How exciting for you!

Deb said...

Found you from Paula.
That's super exciting news for your family.
If we had a boy I'd send you stuff right away. I'm sure the gifts will start pouring in.

Merrilee said...

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm so happy for you and your family!!!!! Just another part of your life that was "meant to be!!!"

jennie said...

So excited for you!! Wish I could pass some stuff along, but you know.... Our boys will be very close in age. Will be praying that all goes well and smoothly.
PS.. Get some sleep now :)

Smith Family Blog said...

As I read your post, I went back and forth between being weepy and just having the chills! How awesome is God?!

We will be praying that everything goes better than you could ever ask or imagine! And we know God can do it-- just look at this last week!!!

Katrina said...

*HUGZ* Alaina! (and andrew and the boys!) I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU GUYS!!!! :) :) That's like...overwhelming news!! :) God's timing is perfect, I am sure. :) :)

Mama10EE said...

Oh my gosh Alaina, this is AWESOME!!!! I can't believe this is happening for your family so soon. I will continue to pray hard for you and the birthmom and the baby over the next months. I do have a few things I could send your way....e-mail me your address at jennifer_erin @ hotmail com and I will see what I can come up with! How exciting. A NEWBORN!

Karen said...

That is BIG news—woweee—you're going to be a mommy again. How wonderful is that? So very, very happy for you. There definitely is a plan for your family.

Congratulations and I look forward to seeing how it all unfolds.

Karen

Mary said...

I am so excited for all of you!!!! You will be in my prayers.

Jodee said...

I found you from Paula too!

Congratulations! What a wonderful surprise!

I would love to send you a little something for your new baby boy. Could you please e-mail me your address through my profile?

Holly Trawick said...

Oh my goodness! I am so excited for you! I will be praying for you!

LauraG said...

How exciting! Sounds like the Lord's Hand for sure. What a blessing.

Kelly said...

WOW! Can you see my cheesy smile across the country?! I am SO SO SO SO happy for you!!!!!!! And I can't even express how totally encouraging this is to me! SO SO SO encouraging!!!!

I am jumping for joy in my heart right now. I wonder if this is a little bit like how Elizabeth felt when Mary walked up to her?

Niki said...

Alaina and Andrew: CONGRATULATIONS!!! We are so happy for you guys! Hugs from the Tshibaka Clan!

Chris Sapp said...

Congratulations!!! How wonderful and blessed you all are as a family! In my prayers!!!