The Day We Became Parents

I've read many posts about "the call" and dreamed about how ours would be written- where we would be, if I would cry when we got the news, if my heart would immediately melt when we saw our baby's face... so here it is, the story of the day we had a face and name for the baby we've loved for so long.

Thursday night was probably the breaking point of the wait so far. Honestly, the last few months have been PAINFUL but Thursday night I just didn't hold anything back and just cried for a long time. Will was absolutely precious and stayed up with me to comfort me and remind me of God's faithfulness in the evening moments when I felt like my prayers were not being heard. I was so exhausted from praying the same prayers and petitioning the Lord to complete the good work He had begun. Friday morning we were still tired from a long night and I fought tears. I said to Will that I didn't think I could make it another day without knowing who our baby was. I ached for him so badly and just wanted to know him.

For Pastor Appreciation, our church gave us a night's stay at the Wynfrey Hotel in Birmingham, along with a gift card to Shula's restaurant. We already arranged to spend our evening there and were going to dinner with two other staff couples. We left around 2 for Birmingham, and I was fighting a bad attitude because I was just so bummed that yet another week was passing with no news.

On the way to Birmingham I recall pleading silently with the Lord "there is still time! You can do this, Lord!" Will was doing his best to encourage and uplift me, being the charming best friend that he is. We were singing along to the radio when suddenly my phone said "Call from 971-..." and I froze. 971 was the AGCI area code!!!!

I looked at Will and we were both freaking out. I answered the phone and T, our new case manager, answered, saying that she wanted to check in with us since we were now her clients. She answered a question I'd asked about updating our FDL and then said she wanted to give us a "pre-referral call." Huh?? I'd never heard this term before and she clarified that she had a little boy she wanted to talk to us about. We needed to be near a computer to look over some documents to continue with the phone call.

We were about 20 minutes away from our hotel, so we had to get off the phone and call her back when we got there. Before we left she told us his birthday, 10-12-11. The next 20 minutes were a mixture of agony over traffic and sheer joy from the prospect of having a son!

When we got set up in our hotel room we called T back and she went over the legal and medical paperwork on our son. I can't share his given name with you online but we plan to keep it as his middle name. We heard all the details they had and before we even saw his face we were over the moon for him.

Then, our case manager sent us a WONDERFUL email with 9 precious pictures. He is ADORABLE!!! He has big brown eyes, a dimple on his chin, long dark hair and the prettiest skin coloring. We're smitten.

After finishing our call with T, we began the adventure of contacting our International Pediatrician and sending off the paperwork to get his approval. Will & I looked at the pictures of our son probably a hundred times in the next hour, and we made phone calls to our family.

We also got ready for our already-planned dinner date with our friends/ fellow staff. While I was primping, Will went out and got me a flower "from our son" :)

Flower from our son to me!

In the hotel elevator on the way to dinner- we're so excited that we have a big secret to reveal at dinner!

It was so fun sharing pictures with our new friends and celebrating the milestone together.

After dinner, we changed clothes and headed to the mall (which was connected to the hotel) on a quest to find SOMETHING for baby McGee. After searching several stores we settled on a little summery outfit and pajamas. We expect that our baby will come home when he is 6-9 months and since we're in Alabama now, we'll be stocking up on warm weather clothes now! :)

We went to bed and stared at the pictures of our son all night. Even though we had a late check out in our hotel, we woke up at 7 am anxious to look at the pictures again and head home to share the news with our friends.

We spent Saturday on the phone sharing the news about our sweet boy. He is precious and I'm a proud mama. When I went to CVS to get my printed pictures I told everyone near the checkout that this was MY SON! I can't believe I can say that now! My son!

And might I brag a bit on the Lord?

I will say that this last few months have been really hard, and I have definitely been through the sanctification process during the hard waiting season. I won't say that "it all disappears when you see his face" because I think that those hard months made it worth it to see him. I could also see that some of those days when I ached and pleaded for news of my son, he wasn't even born yet! He was born on October 12, and we became next in line for an infant boy on August 27th. The Lord ordains it all to be, folks. I'd also like to say that I know that there was and is a purpose to the hard times...the times when we can't see what the Lord is doing and why we're waiting. We won't always get those answers here on earth, but we can trust that our hearts will never be fully satisfied here until Jesus comes back to redeem earth once and for all. I'm thankful that the Lord is patient and that my righteousness does not depend on my patience or faith but that Jesus's death on the cross and resurrection are the sole reason that I am now a part of God's family. That is a reason to bless God- that even in the hard times I can trust in God's redemption.

And can I also say that the Lord was absolutely gracious to give us a referral when I didn't think I could handle it anymore, but that His goodness was not dependent on if we did get it then, or if my mind actually exploded from impatience. :) 

Also, it was purely the Lord's blessing for Will and I to not only be together during the call, but to be en route to a nice weekend away where we could celebrate our news with new friends, and also have a special memory of the call. I'll never look the Bham Winfrey the same. ;)

After over seventeen months of being on the waitlist, we finally got the call we'd been dreaming about. We have a handsome tiny boy who already has our hearts wrapped around his CUTE little fingers.

If you are around I'd love to show you his face- it is so sweet and you'll love him too, I know it!