Day 201

We were not chosen by this particular birthmother. I know it was kind of unlikely to get picked right away but we both kind of let ourselves get our hopes up. We are okay...we know that this was not our child...it is still hard.

Day 201

So, I received an email from our caseworker that somewhat answers the "how long do we wait before we hear something about this birthmom" question:

"It is different for each birthmother, how long they take to decide. It can range from 2-3 days to 2-3 weeks. If you don't hear from me it usually means I don't know anything. I will ALWAYS let you know the outcome of the decision of the birthmother."

So, that at least gives us some idea of how long we have to wait for the decision...I imagine that since the birthmother is due November 5, she will make her decision sooner rather than later though. :)

Thank you all for your prayers!

Day 199

Haven't heard anything and I don't know when or if we will. Please keep us in your prayers. I think I would prefer morning sickness to this time of waiting...

Day 195

Well, I have been going over how much I want to tell people when Dan and I receive news from Bethany. I truly feel like we really need your prayers right now though...so:

I received word from Bethany this morning that they have an adoptive mother who would like to go through our profile on Friday morning. Now, this just means that we are going to be looked at...it doesn't mean that she has chosen us. However, she does need to make her decision quickly as she is due November 5!

I am asking that you pray that God's will be done. You all know how much I have been longing for a baby. But we know this is in God's hands as he has the baby picked out for us. If this is our baby I ask that you pray for the birthmother as this is going to be the most difficult decision she will ever have to make. If this isn't our birthmother I ask that you pray for peace and understand for Dan and I. This is just the emotional roller coaster that adoption puts you through...

Thank you all for your prayers...we really feel them!

Day 187

First of all, thank you all for your support, your comments, your prayers...All of this has helped me stay positive during what could have been a very trying time. Thank you.

Dan and I registered at Babies R' Us this past weekend. It was fun but a bit overwhelming. We were there for a couple of hours deciding between what was just "stuff" and what we actually needed (did you know there is actually a bottle that will "bring your child closer to nature" by mimicking the feel of an actual breast? Weird!!!). It was fun though. Today I will be going out with my sister-in-law to register at Target where I am hoping to find some non-frilly baby gear...

Well, that is all the updates that I have....I'm going to try to catch a bit more sleep before the day begins. I don't know if Sam is trying to prepare me for motherhood or not but he woke me up at 4am and I haven't been able to fall back asleep since!

Day 183

Oh boy...so, I realized this week that I need to consider myself 8 months pregnant. You couldn't tell from looking at me, but in every other way I am an expectant mother. The hard part about not carrying your child yourself is that not everyone sees you this way...I don't get to make my husband run out in the middle of the night because I am craving ice cream (I am sure he is grateful for that), I don't get to show people pictures of my baby's ultrasound...but I get a whole different kind of 'firsts.' These 'firsts' are not necessarily understood by all of our family or friends. Like today, our profile books came in the mail AND we mailed our check to Bethany to pay for our homestudy/pre-placement services. That is HUGE. Next week we could have birthmothers looking at our profile, next week we could get a call, next week we could be parents (this is unlikely...but it could happen!).

The hard thing about adoption is that I don't know exactly when all this will happen...I don't know when we will get the call. This is what most adoptive parents call "the waiting period.' It could be a short wait or it could be long. I don't know. Dan and I are going to be registering this Friday because if we get a call quickly we won't have time to worry about doing that. I'm a little nervous about how the sales people will respond when they see me, a person obviously not preggo, wanting to register. Such a silly thing, I know. :)

Please know that Dan and I covet and need your prayers. Please pray for our baby and for the choices our birthmother may be struggling to make and please pray for Dan and I as we are less than a week away from being available to be chosen!!!
Thank you all.