A New Hope on this Roller Coaster Ride!!!

Wow, what a roller coaster ride!!! About six weeks ago, we received the terrible news that the previous birth mom/dad we had been matched with had moved out of the apartment prior to the birth without saying anything to the agency; we had been scammed. But how quickly new hope arrives!!! Last Friday, 8/14, we received news that a new birth mom has already chosen us!!!! What we know about her is that she is 4'11' and 113 pounds, brown hair, blue eyes, and that she is in Houston. We don't know anything about the birth father or the sex of the baby- we may find out the gender in October. She is due on Dec.14th, but originally they said Nov. 27th, so...the next appt with the doctor may give a better approximation? We are INCREDIBLY excited, and will love and pray for this baby and birth mom just the way we did the last one- with abandon, no matter what the outcome.

Because many of you have asked, here are our thoughts on the previous failed adoption (this was written before this new match):

Yes, God allows pain and evil to occur in as much as He gives all people free will. These birth parents were given free will, and they messed up royally and broke our hearts, yes. But God is comforting us and holding us up right now, like any loving father would. "The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble. And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You." (Psalm 9.9-10) How in the WORLD could I hate Him when He is the one who first LOVED me and sent His Son to die for me? There is no greater love than that, and I shouldn't need any more 'proof' that God loves me beyond him being willing to die on a cross for me (and for those birth parents who scammed us, for everyone; for you). "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8. He chose (and continually chooses) to love us abundantly and lavishly (even to death on a cross), and we did the same thing in preparing for that adopted baby girl. We knew there was a chance that the birth parents wouldn't choose to give up the baby, but we wanted to love on that baby and those birth parents anyway during those months of waiting. That's the same thing God does for us (to a million-times greater scale)- loves us even when we deny him and turn our backs on Him and pretend He doesn't exist (just like those birth parents did to us in the end). To God, we are worth it. Our eternal salvation is worth it. My and Andy's eventual pairing with a different baby is worth the pain of this couple who didn't end up choosing us.

That cliche saying that what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger is TRUE. "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 2 Corinthians 4:17 This failed adoption situation has already brought Andy and I closer, brought both of us closer to God, and will only make us stronger in the end. I have full confidence in that. Every 'bad' or 'tough' situation I've been through has been turned into some good in the end. None of those things have been easy or always pleasant, but they have taught me so much and made me a better person because I leaned on God and sought to figure out what His plan was; what He was trying to teach me through each thing, and became closer to Him because of it. "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28.

THANK YOU to everyone who has been supporting us through this.

Matched Again Already!!!

My facebook post when we got the news on Friday, 8/14: "Aaaahhhhh, GOD IS SO GOOD!!!! We're matched again!!!!!!!!!! She's due Dec.14th and they don't know the sex of the baby yet. We're SO excited!!!! If you pray, please be praying this match works out!"

Out of order: Katy Friends had a Beautiful Shower in Honor of Norah!

This post is out-of-date, but I wanted to include pictures, and I guess I've been slacking in my blogging lately! :) Our wonderful friends from Katy hosted a fabulous shower in honor of Norah Jane on June 13th, 2009. It was a such a special event that I can't wait to tell Norah about in the future. I definitely left feeling prayed over (and more importantly, so many prayers lifted for Norah and the birth mom), and also feeling so blessed to have so many people supporting us. We appreciate it more than I can possibly say!! Ephesians 1:16 says it better than I can: "I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers."

Some more pictures...

The shower was at my great friend Heather's house!

Thank you VERY much to all of the friends who were the hostesses (Aimee, Amanda, Heather, Janet, Kim, Lacy, and Laura), and to everyone who came!

Cute, precious gifts for Norah!!

And I can't leave out the YUMMY, yummy food!!!

Only 6 more days until we meet little Norah Jane!!!

First Contact with the Birth Mom

Wow, what a surreal experience getting to speak to the birth mother for the first time last Tuesday... What could I really say to express what I was feeling? She is absolutely giving us the most precious gift of all (and I told her that and we both got teary) but how do you say that with meaningful enough words?? It seems virtually impossible.

I spoke with her for about 40min and she was very, very sweet- she seems very excited for us (she told me, "have your family there, have the camera ready, bring the camcorder!, children are such a blessing" etc). She also still seems confident in her decision to place her baby girl with us. She said she and the birth father are both positive that they chose the right family when they chose us. And there was such a 'God incidence' involved in them choosing us, too (not suprising!!): she said that when they were given ~50 profiles of waiting adoptive familes (from the agency) to choose from, they were 'accidentally' given two of ours, so when they had each looked at them and were ready to discuss who they thought they should choose, they BOTH had our profile in their hands! Just amazing... She told me about her other four kids; what they like to do, what their passions are. She told me where she and the birth father are from. And she also said that she would like me and the birth father to be in the operating room for the birth, which is AWESOME!!! I will get to see this miracle up close and get to see baby 'Norah' right away!!!!!

Please continue to pray for the birth mother and father and of course, Norah. Pray that she would be able to hold off until the c-section date next Friday. WOW- next Friday, Andrew and I will be parents. We'll be leaving for Houston next Wed, and Andrew's aunt and uncle are letting us stay in their home while we are there for probably over week. You two are wonderful- thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear ..." 1 John 4:18. The Bible says that God is love, and He alone is the reason that Andrew and I have no fear as we enter this next week of meeting the birth parents and becoming parents ourselves! He truly has given us peace that passes all understanding, because we have seen how He has provided, strengthened, and prepared us for each step of this process, and we have full confidence and peace in the fact that He will continue to do so.

C-Section Date!!!

Rene went to the doctor this morning, and they scheduled a date for the c-section!!! Friday, July 10th will be the big day...the day we finally get to meet our precious Norah!!! However, I'm wondering if she will even make it that long- Rene is already 1-2cm dilated and 50% effaced, so I figure Andrew and I better get that infant car seat installed ASAP and get some bags ready!!! AAAAAHHHHHH, I am excited beyond words!!! The fact that it will be on a Friday is unusual (and wonderful for Andy's work situation). We will likely be driving to Houston the evening of Wed, 7/8, meeting Rene for the first time on Thurs, 7/9, and then the c-section will be Friday. We found out that we will be required to stay in TX (meaning Houston in our case) until all ICPC paperwork goes through, which usually takes a week. We'll be able to take her home from the hospital before then, but we can't bring her across state lines until inter-state paperwork goes through in both TX and LA. Thus, we may make it back to Lafayette on Sat, 7/18, or Sun, 7/19?

We will definitely keep everyone posted- by the way, I will start making a LOT more blog posts than mass emails ;-)

A prayer for Norah based on Psalm 139:13-18 "Lord, we are so thankful that you created Norah's inmost being; you knit her together in her mother's womb. I praise you because she is fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Her frame was not hidden from you when she was made in the secret place. When Norah was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw her unformed body. All the days ordained for precious Norah are written in your book before one of them comes to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand."

Three more weeks..........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Tough Step

I turned in my letter of resignation last Friday, June 12th, giving my boss 3 weeks notice. Though I have absolutely LOVED working with and supervising the tutors, desk workers, and lab workers in the Learning Center, I feel it is my calling to stay at home with the soon-to-arrive Norah Jane. It is a tough step to take because I will miss the students and my Junior Division co-workers greatly, but I know I will never regret the time I will be spending investing myself in loving my child and my husband. I pray that a new Learning Center Coordinator would be found quickly and that the transition would be as smooth as possible for the sake of the students who work here- how fantastic they truly are!

Only about 3.5 more weeks until the baby arrives!!! Rene is 35 weeks tomorrow and will have another appt with the doctor tomorrow as well. We trust there will be good news! It is almost impossible to wrap my mind around all of the changes that are about to take place, but yet I feel ready and am more delighted than I can express to see what the future has in store.

Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6. Andrew and I only have one chance to do this right and to love Norah with all of our hearts, and I believe that for us at least, that means me staying at home.

Friends showered us with love

The birth mom is now 34 weeks as of today! Very, very exciting to think that the baby will be here (via c-section) in about 4.5 weeks!! 'Norah' is already so blessed- my co-workers had a shower for us on May 29th, and Andy came too- how funny to watch him looking at some of these items with a look on his face that said, "what is that for"?? No, J/K, he LOVED it and thought the outfits were just as cute as I did :) Thanks to ALL of you- especially Susie and Francine, who organized it.


My awesome Lafayette friends (Mel, Steph, Courtney, Norma, Vanessa, and Kari) also had a beautiful shower for us last Sat, June 6th at Steph's house. What a sweet, sweet group of people we have supporting us. One of the best parts of the weekend was having my mom, sister Kelly, and Bryan here to celebrate with us. I can't wait for Norah to meet each and every one of you!!!

The birth mom is struggling- please be praying for her- she has had high blood pressure lately.

The baby seems to be developing just fine- praise God!! A short countdown continues....