Our little man turned 3 years old a couple of weeks ago. For some reason, that milestone really jumpstarted my impatience regarding the adoption process. My thoughts started turning to how far apart in age our kiddos will be and all the scenarios that go along with that. I had to keep reminding myself that it will happen on God's time, not ours. Well, my impatience was short lived, because we finally got the news we've been waiting for...a birth mother picked us as the adoptive parents for her child! Our agency sent us a 2 page social summary on the birth mother including her age (24), race (Caucasian), medical history (wears glasses, history of anxiety), a little bit about her and her personality (Christian, in college, describes herself as "outgoing", says she enjoys movies, family, reading and writing), some family medical history (history of alcoholism and high blood pressure in the family), and information about the 2 potential birth fathers (both aware of pregnancy, both African American, one she has a restraining order against and the other has another baby due with a women he is currently in a relationship with). Based on the paperwork and discussion with the social worker we know that she and her mother came to the agency to develop her adoption plan. Originally they requested a bi-racial couple and a couple with no children. The agency did not have any bi-racial couples to show them. They showed several scrapbooks to them, some with children and some without. The social worker said that she picked us even though we had a son because she felt so good about us after seeing our book. Like all adoptions, there were a couple risk factors with this one as well. However, this has been the least risky one we've reviewed so far. She used Xanax for anxiety and drank alcohol prior to finding out she was pregnant. She does report that she feels awful that she used these substances and has not used any since finding out about her pregnancy (which was when she was about 8 weeks along, we think). She is under OBGYN care and has been taking prenatal vitamins. She has had one ultrasound and should have had a 2nd on August 19th. This would have been her 20 week ultrasound (due date is January 19th, 2012). Results of these medical visits and ultrasounds were not available as of Friday but our agency will be obtaining them. The next step is to fly to Kansas and meet her and her parents which we will most likely do sometime in September. This is all very exciting but I think we're also a bit guarded. A lot of things have to fall into place before we finally bring this baby home. We'd love it if you would please pray with us during these next steps.
Please pray for the health of this child, that the mother would make wise decisions regarding her health, use of medications, etc, that God would protect this child even if the mother isn't, that we'd have patience and peace as we go through these next steps, that we'd trust in God's plan and not get anxious about all the scenarios that could happen (like the mother changing her mind, father not wanting to sign away his rights, wondering if this is for real or if it's just another scam on the birth mother's part in order to get money, etc). We've seen what the power of prayer can do and believe that prayer is the reason we have Hayden. We would be so, so thankful for your prayers over this adoption. We truly have no control over this situation, over the mother and father's decisions, over what the mother eats, drinks, takes, over her feelings about the child, etc. So, we have to turn it over to God and trust in the fact that He is in control. For now, we can cling to Romans 8:28 which says "For we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
