A Precious Moment

We were shocked and speechless.  After I hung up with Liz, Chris and I stood in the kitchen, silent.  Our jaws were dropped, and we intermittently let out a laugh of disbelief, but then returned to our previous silent state.  Our response was so drastically different from the last time we were chosen by a birthmom.  This was so unexpected, yet so wanted.

This was the same birthmom from the circular email that broke our hearts and made us cry.  This is the same birthmom that we repeatedly asked Liz about when we were deciding whether or not to say yes to the baby boy.  This is the same birthmom that we asked about first thing after we found out our adoption fell through.  This is the same birthmom that my best friend and Chris were praying would pick us after she had already chosen another family!  We wanted this baby girl the moment we read about her and her birthmom.  And we were going to get her.

{For the sake of confidentiality, I'll refer to our birthmom as Abby and her mom as Leslie.}

We had an appointment to meet with Abby and Leslie the following Wednesday.  We were going to meet them with Liz and Abby's caseworker at the Bethany headquarters in Grand Rapids, MI.  We were excited, anxious, unsure of what to expect, and above all grateful.  How could we, in a brief hour meeting, communicate our gratefulness and respect for the sacrifice she was making?  Would I still be at a loss of words like I was in my kitchen?  It didn't occur to me til the morning of the meeting when I spoke to my best friend that I was going to be in the same room as my future daughter.  So many emotions yet I lacked the ability to articulate any of them.  Chris and I woke up early and left home around 8 Wednesday morning to make the three hour drive to Grand Rapids.

We got there a little early, prayed in the car, and then went into the building.  We were led to a room with chairs and couches, like a lounge, so that we didn't bump into Abby and Leslie in the waiting room.  Liz came in and prepared us for the meeting.  She had emailed us a document a couple of days prior that Abby would have to use to ask us "get to know you" type questions.  Liz prayed for us, and then we waited. A theme in adoption.

We didn't have to wait long before Leslie, Abby, and her case worked came in.  {I'm not going to go into detail here about Abby and what she is like, mostly because those are precious details I'm saving to tell my daughter.}  Chris and I hugged Leslie and Abby, and we all had a seat.  We spent the first half of the meeting asking lots of questions to get to know one another, things like hobbies, favorites, and how Chris and I met.  They were both very forthright about us being included at the hospital and hoped we could have our own room to be with the baby.  We were able to tell them our plan to name the baby Amelia Rose, and they loved it.  Abby, Amelia, and I would all have "A" names.  Chris attempted to put into words what we were feeling, thanking Abby for choosing us, and before he choked up he told her, "You're my hero."  We exchanged email addresses (we had one of specifically for them to use that didn't have any identifying information in it) and cell phone numbers.  Leslie said that Abby had a doctors appointment on Friday, and she would text me how it went.  We all took pictures together and hugged again before we said goodbye.  They said they hoped to see us sooner than later.

After they left the room, Liz debriefed with us.  It couldn't have gone better.  Liz was leaving town for the next week, so a part of us hoped the baby wouldn't come til she came back in town so she could be a part of the hospital experience.  Chris and I left and, of course, went to get a bite to eat.  What we do best!  We were relieved, excited, thankful, and partly still in disbelief.  I still had last minute projects to finish up the nursery, and I exchanged alot of the gender neutral clothes we had bought for pink and ruffles.  Leslie texted me Friday while I was at Wal-mart buying spray paint for some of those projects.  She said the appointment went well, and the doctor felt like the baby could come any day.

More to come,
Amanda