Happy Birthday, Laya!

I don’t think I have ever been more excited to wake up at 3 a.m. as I was today. Today is the day we have prayed for, planned for, and counted down to. Today is the day we finally meet our angel.
We picked up Jessica, and were at the hospital by 5:15 on January 2, 2012. Soon after that, she was taken back to Labor and Delivery to get ready, and then we were brought back to her room to wait out the last few moments that stood between us and realizing our dream of becoming parents. While we were waiting, Jessica reported she was feeling some mild contractions, which was confirmed by the monitors that had been applied.
Around 7:30 they came and took her back to the delivery room, and left us to don the “father suits” (aka blue paper scrubs, shoe covers, and hair covers. We were brought into the room after the c-section was under way. We were careful to keep our eyes OFF of the surgical area, which was not hidden by more than a drape 3 or 4 inches tall. We overheard the OBGYN say that she was in active labor, and we later found out that if she had not had the c-section today, she might have suffered from a ruptured uterus.
Layla arrived at 7:54 a.m., weighing 7 lbs 5 oz, and measuring 19” long. (for my friends in the medical profession, her APGARs were both 9!!) The moment they pulled Layla from Jessica’s womb marked the beginning of so many things for us! The next several hours were a mixture of every emotion possible. We were thrilled, overwhelmed, terrified, anxious, and a thousand other emotions that cannot be put into words. The hospital where she was delivered was very small, and not very familiar or comfortable with adoption, which led to a lot of frustration over the next few days. Some of the staff even tried to convince Jessica to reconsider her decision. I was allowed to hold Layla for a few seconds after we stepped out of the delivery room, before they took her to the nursery. For the next several hours, we were only allowed to see her through the nursery glass. We waited anxiously for Jessica to be out of recovery (she did well with the c-section) and back to the room, and then had to wait on Layla to have additional tests/x-rays, before the 3 of us could finally see Layla for an actual first meeting. Throughout the day, we were introduced to many members of Jessica’s family, none of which who were supportive of her decision to place Layla for adoption. We handled their looks, remarks, and attitudes with grace (if I do say so myself) that we can only attribute to the result of lots of prayers.
The day was filled with lots of visitors (Jessica’s friends and family), and trying to juggle spending time with Layla (which we were only allowed to do in Jessica’s room), communicating with friends and family who were anxiously waiting on information about Layla, and figuring out how to be parents to this new arrival. By 10:00 that night Josh, Jessica, and I were all exhausted. We left the hospital and headed back to our hotel room to spend what would be the last night with just the two of us.

Happy Birthday, Laya!

I don’t think I have ever been more excited to wake up at 3 a.m. as I was today. Today is the day we have prayed for, planned for, and counted down to. Today is the day we finally meet our angel.
We picked up Jessica, and were at the hospital by 5:15 on January 2, 2012. Soon after that, she was taken back to Labor and Delivery to get ready, and then we were brought back to her room to wait out the last few moments that stood between us and realizing our dream of becoming parents. While we were waiting, Jessica reported she was feeling some mild contractions, which was confirmed by the monitors that had been applied.
Around 7:30 they came and took her back to the delivery room, and left us to don the “father suits” (aka blue paper scrubs, shoe covers, and hair covers. We were brought into the room after the c-section was under way. We were careful to keep our eyes OFF of the surgical area, which was not hidden by more than a drape 3 or 4 inches tall. We overheard the OBGYN say that she was in active labor, and we later found out that if she had not had the c-section today, she might have suffered from a ruptured uterus.
Layla arrived at 7:54 a.m., weighing 7 lbs 5 oz, and measuring 19” long. (for my friends in the medical profession, her APGARs were both 9!!) The moment they pulled Layla from Jessica’s womb marked the beginning of so many things for us! The next several hours were a mixture of every emotion possible. We were thrilled, overwhelmed, terrified, anxious, and a thousand other emotions that cannot be put into words. The hospital where she was delivered was very small, and not very familiar or comfortable with adoption, which led to a lot of frustration over the next few days. Some of the staff even tried to convince Jessica to reconsider her decision. I was allowed to hold Layla for a few seconds after we stepped out of the delivery room, before they took her to the nursery. For the next several hours, we were only allowed to see her through the nursery glass. We waited anxiously for Jessica to be out of recovery (she did well with the c-section) and back to the room, and then had to wait on Layla to have additional tests/x-rays, before the 3 of us could finally see Layla for an actual first meeting. Throughout the day, we were introduced to many members of Jessica’s family, none of which who were supportive of her decision to place Layla for adoption. We handled their looks, remarks, and attitudes with grace (if I do say so myself) that we can only attribute to the result of lots of prayers.
The day was filled with lots of visitors (Jessica’s friends and family), and trying to juggle spending time with Layla (which we were only allowed to do in Jessica’s room), communicating with friends and family who were anxiously waiting on information about Layla, and figuring out how to be parents to this new arrival. By 10:00 that night Josh, Jessica, and I were all exhausted. We left the hospital and headed back to our hotel room to spend what would be the last night with just the two of us.

Waiting

Today is the end of an era. After today, we will no longer be just a married couple; we will officially be a family of 3! I don’t know if the magnitude of this has really hit either one of us, but at least we are holding it together today (so far, at least). Last night was (obviously) New Year’s Eve and we celebrated in style. We were back in our hotel room by 7:30, and in p.j.’s by 8:00. We watched Auburn kick Virginia’s butts (War Eagle!) and then made it long enough to ring in the New Year in Eastern Time with Dick Clark and see the ball drop in Times Square. Surprisingly, it took me a while to fall asleep, even with the whiskey spiked hot tea I had been advised to drink, but we were able to sleep pretty well, and catch up a little on the sleep we have missed the last few days.
Today has been relatively unproductive, but down time has been nice. We went to IHOP for our New Year’s dinner, definitely a first for us. We did manage to get our family all (mostly) set up on Skype, so that they can see Layla in person, rather than just in pictures, even if we can’t see (and in some cases hear) them. We also made a run to pick up some things to make our stay more comfortable, including some basic grocery items, and a couple of bag chairs (until they get our recliners in the room), and pillows, as we are sleeping on the smallest pillows I have ever seen. I mean seriously! I have throw pillows at home larger than these pillows are!
We have to be at the hospital tomorrow by 5:30, so I plan on trying to be in bed by 7 or 8. Falling asleep might be a different story, but I hope to get some rest. People keep telling me I won’t be able to do that again for a while.
The next time I write, I will be a mommy! P.S. Josh wants everyone to know that the “War Eagle” was NOT from him. J

A journey of 1000 miles

We loaded up our new Yukon, which was bought especially for this purpose, and set out 12/30/2011. Destination: Laredo Texas. We departed a family of 2, but will return with a new member of our family. We are making the 1000+ mile trip (and that’s just one way) for the second time in as many months. The first time, we came to meet with the wonderful, brave young woman who has trusted us with one of her most precious possessions, her child. Her name is Jessica, and we found each other on Facebook. We have been in contact since May, but were not officially “matched” in adoption terms until late September. We met with her in November, and spent time getting to know her and her other 2 beautiful children. We were lucky enough to be able to accompany her to a doctor’s appointment, where we heard the most wonderful sound, the heartbeat of our daughter.
We have spent the last few months busily preparing for the arrival of our new bundle of joy. Our home office was given a new life as a trendy pink and zebra print themed nursery, fit for a diva, and the closet has been filled with more tiny clothes than she will likely be able to wear. We have been blessed by the generosity of friends and family, as they have offered to lend and give us baby items and other assistance to get started with our new baby girl.
After dropping Sam, our first “baby” (a teacup poodle) with family, we started the 18 hour drive early Friday morning, with the hopes of making it all the way to Laredo before we stopped for the night, and had to unload the vehicle. We had the SUV completely full from top to bottom, with additional luggage stashed on the luggage rack, and a borrowed platform attached to the Reece hitch, a last minute addition, which turned out to be completely necessary (Thanks Heath!). However, we only made it as far as Sequin Texas before we called it a night.
Friday was a very emotional day for me. We were overwhelmed with texts, calls, and messages wishing us well and offering love and prayers, and I found myself crying at each gesture, and sometimes for no reason at all. In fact, at one point during my turn to drive, when I had gotten myself worked into a tearful frenzy worrying if other kids would like Layla and if she would ever be asked on a date, I woke Josh, who was sleeping in the passenger seat, with my sobbing. Also, as luck would have it, I had begun developing a sore throat earlier in the week, and as a precaution had gone to the doctor to get started on an antibiotic. Saturday morning I woke up to find that I had left my voice somewhere between Louisiana and Texas, and could literally talk no louder than a whisper. At the advice of family and friends, I began attacking my laryngitis with a battery of home remedies, and some suggestions that I think were purely for the entertainment of others. Armed with a cup of hot tea, we reloaded the vehicle, and set out for a second day of traveling.
We reached Laredo mid day on New Year’s Eve, and were so glad to have quickly found a hotel with a small kitchenette (a necessity for as long as we will be staying), which did not require us to take a second mortgage on our home. Then came the lengthy process of unloading the vehicle and settling in to what will be our home for the next one to three weeks. I am sure that the staff got much entertainment at seeing Josh straining to push the luggage cart, which was loaded to capacity, while I attempted to help guide it while balancing an armful of odds and ends.
After that was done, we went to pick up Jessica and take her to the hospital, for pre-op lab work. It was great to see her again! There was none of the nervousness from our last meeting, and we were all much more comfortable, and at ease with each other. After completing her lab work and a comical dialogue with the unfortunate phlebotomist who made the mistake of asking me if I had children as he was drawing Jessica’s blood, we went to get a bite to eat. Jessica played along easily with the confused phlebotomist, adding to his bewilderment by pointing to her stomach and telling him that that was MY baby she was carrying. We talked easily over dinner, and really enjoyed each other’s company. She had told us many times how much Layla usually moves, but as luck would have it, she was quite and still the whole time we were with Jessica.After dinner, Jessica was sleepy, so we dropped her off at her friend’s apartment where she is staying, and after one more stop to pick up more hot tea, honey, and other ingredients sure to either restore my voice or kill me, we returned to our hotel, to spend an exciting New Year’s Eve watching football and sipping hot tea.

Vacation!

We have had the BEST week! We left last Saturday on our way to Tybee Island, GA. Neither of us had ever been there before, and we were excited to discover new territory, and spend time together. Josh has been working 12-15 hours a day for the last couple of months, so we were looking forward to spending some time together while we were actually awake. On our way over, we stopped to visit with some good friends, Kathy and Chris, and meet the latest addition to their family. We miss those guys, and it was great to spend a little time with them.

We LOVED Tybee Island! The condo we rented was wonderful, the atmosphere there was great, we had gorgeous weather, and of course there was the food! From our balcony or the beach, you could watch dolphins swimming by and playing all day long. One evening, we were walking along the beach at sunset, and a pod of dolphins surprised us right off shore. We were able to wade out in the water, and watched as they swam, played, and fed like 20-30 yards from where we were standing. Unfortunately, my battery on my camera died just as this began, so we don't have good footage :-(. We spent most of our days looking around in shops, exploring the island, and relaxing on the beach or by the pool. We also visited the Tybee Island light house, where we made the climb up 178 stairs to the top. The view from the catwalk up there was amazing! On our way home, we stopped in Savannah and spent the day. We checked out River Street, had lunch at Paula Deen's resturant (completely UNDERwhelmed with the food), and ended the trip with a walk through Forsyth Square. It was a great trip! After the events of the last year, this time away TOGETHER was exactly what we needed. I am including a few pictures from our trip.

Sunset on the Beach

Preparing for a very unsuccessful crapping adventure

At the top of Tybee Island Lighthouse

A glimpse of one of the many dolphins we saw

Still waiting....

I wish that I had some good news to report on the adoption front, but I do not. There have been some possibilities, including one that we felt fairly certain about, but in the end, none of them worked out. I know that means they were not "Our" child, but I am sure I would have loved them anyway. So, I guess I will try to be patient and wait on the wonderful, beautiful child that God has out there waiting for us.
On another note, we are packing for vacation! Yea! However, I am beginning to think that God is messing with me. We had a vacation scheduled in April, but the day before I flew out, our area was devastated by tornadoes, and even though we were fortunate enough to not have any damage, we also did not have power. We did have a generator, but since that requires someone to be here to run it, we decided to stay here and salvage our freezers full of food. So now we are booked for another vacation, this time on Tybee Island, and now there is a hurricane headed up the east coast. Geez! I guess we will be putting life to the expression "come hail or high water" because we are going on vacation. I need this trip so badly! After the crazy year we have had, some time away is just what the doctor ordered.
Maybe the next time I post I will have some exciting baby news to share, but until then, please continue to remember us in your prayers, and our baby, where ever they are.

Thanks!

Mel

Waiting....

So, the homestudy is behind us. No problem (just like everyone told me). The social worker was very nice, and she didn't even run a white gloved finger over the ceiling fan blades, or comment on how well I had done ironing my curtians. I guess I went a bit overboard, but I didn't want to take a chance. So, now that all of the paperwork is in place (for the most part), and our profile books and information have arrived at the faciliators office, we are ready and waiting, literaly!
I was crazy to think that the waiting was going to be the "easy" part of this process! In my naive mind, I thought that it would be easier when all of the busy work was through. But this waiting with nothing to do is not as easy as I thought it would be. We have been clients for exactly 3 weeks, and I have called exactly 3 times, every Friday, to check on the progress. When I called today, I found out that our profle book had been presented this week to a birthmom who is expectng a little girl, but that she selected a couple from California. I am trying not to be too upset, and to look at the glass as 1/2 full. We have already been presented and it has only been 3 weeks, and now that another couple has been matched (and I really am happy for them....40% happy, 60% jealous), that is one less couple that we are "competing" against, so to speak.
I know that God knows the child that we are meant to parent, and I am trusting Him. With that said, I can't help by wish He would hurry up and bring that child to us. I am praying for patience, but also for us to be matched quickly....is that contradictory?