Not our girl this time...

Well, it turns out the birth mom canceled her appointment today and has not rescheduled it yet. I'm so okay with this but I do understand now how people have said "adoption is not for the faint of heart." I have an incredible peace about this and feel blessed to have been surrounded by so many prayers. Perhaps these prayers gave the birth mom the strength she needed today to choose to keep parenting and what a blessing for that baby!! I know our Kaycee will be presented to us at just the right time. For now this was like Braxton Hicks contractions-- not the real thing but just a little something to get you excited for a few minutes!!

Do ta do ta do

Ok so I feel like that stage of pregnancy where I think: "Will the doctor induce me tomorrow-- could tomorrow be the day our baby comes..." Not likely that we would get her tomorrow anyhow but we SHOULD know something tomorrow night. Geeze-- I have a super busy work day tomorrow which is good to keep my mind off of it all! Today I had such a peace about the whole thing-- either way it's all good. When I do think about it and imagine what she looks like and all I get excited and giddy!! Ok-- gotta stop thinking about it and keep turning it over to God for He is in control of this situation... do ta do ta do ta do...
Here are some of the new books we got about adoption for the kids: God Found Us You, A Mother for Choco, A Blessing from Above and tonight we read The Little Green Goose! I wanted to share images of the books but haven't figured out how to do that!!
Ok now let's see if I can sleep tonight-- might need to listen to a meditation CD...

Patience...

So today we heard some more info on the young birthmom and her situation. She has a meeting with her social worker on Friday at 2pm and that's when she may be shown our profile-- seems it's little more complicated that I originally thought as the state is involved also.... I pray for patience and know that if this is our Kaycee I'm prepared with diapers, bottles, car seat, crib and a couple outfits for her!!

Kaycee-- is this you??

So we have had our daughter's name picked out for a couple months: Kaycee (K= Kierstin C= Chris) and having the birthmom pick the middle name. We pray for Kaycee and her birthmom every day and we know God has her picked out for us. So.... we got a call from our social worker tonight and she said she wants to send our profile to a birthmom who has a 2 month old African American baby girl and has decided she needs to place her with an adoptive family. OK so I'm trying so hard not to get too excited as we could possibly have our lil' Kaycee home with us as soon as this weekend! Ahhhhhhh!!!! How exciting!! Ok- but it may not be Kaycee and this babygirl may be someone else's adoptive baby girl so for now we are just praying for the birthmom, the baby girl and everyone involved in this situation. We are asking you all to pray for this baby girl and especially her birthmom as her heart must be breaking right now with this decision. God has amazing strength and will bring her through this... as for us we wonder tonight--- is this our Kaycee?????

"Paper pregnant"

So now we are "paper pregnant" (I read that term on another blog and thought it was cute!) No we are not matched or anything but all our paperwork is in so we wait....
We are getting things ready for a new baby in our home. Since I got rid of all my baby stuff, we have to start over!! Chris and Luke set up our new crib and stroller this weekend. I just want to have things ready even though it could be a long wait-- I don't want to set it up when we get matched and then possibly be disappointed if something doesn't work out. This way it is set up for whenever she arrives!! My friend and neighbor, Joy told me she wants to have a baby shower for us! So sweet and exciting! I told her I would prefer a "Meet the baby" shower after we have officially adopted-- again so we don't set ourselves up for disappointment. It's never a done deal until papers are signed and a baby is in our home. Heck, no one has looked at our profile yet since it's only been a week!! I'm in that mode of wanting to be prepared but not too much!! Does that make sense?? I did buy some bottles and a few onsies and a car seat too... Tee-hee!!

What is a Semi-Open adoption??

We have been asked about our adoption and different elements. We have chosen to opt for a semi-open adoption after educating ourselves on the different types (open, semi-open & closed). Here is some information on semi-open adoption...

Common Elements of Semi-open Infant Adoption

* The expectant parents choose a family from written, non-identifying profiles.
* An adoption agency or third party mediates the contact between the parties before and after the birth.
* Birthparents and adoptive parents know each other only by their first names.
* Adoptive parents may be present at the birth and may have met the birthparents before the birth.
* All correspondence is sent through the adoption agency or third party.
* Post-placement meetings are arranged and supervised by the mediator.
* Adoptive parents often share the child's pictures and letters with the birthparents, but may also include gifts, videotapes, etc.


Advantages

The advantage of semi-open infant adoption is that both families have the opportunity to develop a relationship over time. A semi-open adoption gives everyone the freedom to communicate with the assistance of a trained mediator.

Perhaps the greatest advantage of this plan lies in the area of sharing information. In semi-open infant adoptions, current information can be passed on with ease, over time. A child's adoption story continues beyond birth, and his or her questions can be answered as they arise.

So there you have it!! :)

OFFICIALLY WAITING!!!

I'm so excited-- we are officially in the "waiting stage!" I went on Bethany's website tonight and saw our profile with video on it so it really feels real!! We have planned several things for over the next several months so we don't put our life "on hold" while we wait but everything can be changed if needed! We are praying for our little girl(s) that God has chosen for us and her birthmom on their journey to our connection. So now we wait...