Sunday, December 12, 2010

Christmas Came Early....

Dear Readers,

I am excited to share with you that I am now the proud mother of TWO girls! On November 23, our new baby girl was born, and we were chosen to become her parents one week and one day later.

God's timing is amazing. First, our homestudy was completed rather quickly. We wanted to complete it so we'd be ready to wait in late winter/early spring; however, the training (required and held quarterly) occurred on a day we could attend, so we went. Furthermore, our social worker was available for interviews (for our homestudy) at an early date, so we did them. Paperwork wasn't nearly the hassle it was the first time; this time we had copies of nearly everything.

On Monday, 11/22, my daughter and I went to lunch with our former social worker (who had moved to another state). L and I discussed our plans regarding children. We talked about baby names and motherhood. Little did I know my daughter would be born a day later!

That week was Thanksgiving, so we traveled to visit both sides of our family. We got to spend a little over an hour with my husband's grandfather who had fragile health but still a great spirit.

The Monday after Thanksgiving, he passed away.

Then, as we were preparing to go out of town for his funeral, I made a phone call to our second agency (in another state) to ask the social worker a question. She told me it was interesting I called because a couple would be looking at profiles that night. Would we like ours, that just was shipped to the agency the previous week, to be shown? I called my husband and we said yes.

That night we were at the visitation. It was wrapping up when I noticed a text on my phone from the social worker.

CHOSEN.

The next few days were a whirlwind of nerves and excitement. We attended grandpa's funeral, made phone calls, sent e-mails, gathered paperwork, did laundry, packed, prayed, and prepared to leave home. Imagine our amazement at the circle of life---a death and a birth.

This past Monday, we met our daughter (whom our older daughter licked a lot--yes, licked). And Tuesday morning, we went to court to get custody of her.

The exciting part is that our first daughter and second daughter were both born in the same town, and both parents want open adoptions. Therefore, we have a whole new set of family in that town! What fun visits there will be!

I want to fully respect the privacy of both my daughter and her biological parents; therefore, I won't publicly blog about any specifics of their lives, situations, etc. However, I will say that our daughter's biological parents are beautiful, kind, mature individuals, and I can't wait to get to know them better.

This adoption was a total whirlwind. Many are stunned, us included, on how quickly this process went for us.

Having two babies, essentially, is overwhelming yet so joyful. Miss E can't keep her hands (or lips) off her baby sister. When our baby cries, Miss E gets close to her and says, "Shhh, baby, shhh" in a gentle voice.

My poor husband has a house full of girls! Imagine a lot of laughter, tears, PMS, dating, and shrieks! :) Thank God my husband is an excellent father. I was sharing this with Miss E's birth mother---that I am so thankful my husband is engaged in his children's lives. He's not on the sidelines with his eyes on the TV, or he's not on the golf course, or he's not drinking beer in a bar after work. My husband is a champion father. I am blessed.

Our new baby girl is African American---large eyes and lots of hair. She can cry really loudly! She doesn't like being cold (which means boo on diaper changes). She's already smiled a few times, and yes, I've already read her some books. :) She's healthy and strong---ready to see what God has in store for her.

My cup runneth over.

I cannot believe God's goodness. Nothing brings me closer to Him than adoption. Mostly because adoption---one, renders me powerless and makes me re-realize that God is indeed in charge and two, I am in awe of God's trust in me to raise these precious babies and forever be in relationship, we hope, with their biological families. What responsibility! What blessing! What joy!

We have so much to be thankful for this Christmas.

8 comments:

  1. Wow - what an amazing story!!! Congrats you guys - we are SOOO happy for you! And you're right- you have an amazing husband, but don't forget that you're pretty amazing yourself!! We are BEYOND THRILLED for you all! (And I love that E licked her new sister. That's a greeting I can imagine our new baby getting too...)

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  2. AHHHHH! Congratulations to you and your entire family! Have a great holiday!!!

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  3. Such wonderful news! Thinking of you and baby girl's birth family.

    Ty was the same I-hate-the-cold baby. I had to put a blow dryer on him when he got out of the bath so that he wouldn't scream. We also used a wipe warmer that helped a lot with diaper changes! :)

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  4. What an exciting story to read first thing on Monday morning, Rachel! Thank you for sharing this wonderful news from your family! I can't wait to hear more stories about sisterly bonding! Which at this age means, yes, licking! :) Ha ha!

    Congratulations!!!

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  5. Congratulations. Had tears in my eyes!
    So happy for your family!!!

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  6. I am so glad you re-posted a link to this post - amazing story!! That simple text carries such a powerful message, reminds me of how our Heavenly Father sends the same message. Chosen. Amazing!

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