3 Steps Forward, 2 Steps Back

Let me first of all say that God is STILL on His throne!  He is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow!  His goodness is infinite!  Nothing and I do mean N.O.T.H.I.N.G. comes into our lives that has not FIRST been gently sifted through His loving hands.  All that happens is to ultimately bring Him glory.
I believe this with EVERY fiber of my being.

Second of all, our Birth Mom continues to amaze me.  Her selflessness and love for her son melts me and literally brings tears to my eyes!  The Lord has GREAT and I do mean GREAT things in store for her future!  She may not know it, but I do!  I asked her if she would be willing to pump milk for her son for the first 2 weeks to give him a healthy start and she didn't even have to think about it, she just said "yes, that is way healthier for him!"  Are you crying too?  Umm yeah, she's amazing!  Please keep praying for her!  Our family loves her so much!

Third of all, baby's daddy has decided he'd like to father his son.  He doesn't want our family adopting him.

God is STILL ON HIS THRONE!  He is still IN CONTROL!  He works ALL things out for OUR good!  Nothing takes Him by surprise.  He is creating baby boy so tenderly in his momma's womb. He knows this baby, calls him by name and loves him more than our family ever could.

We are having a DNA test done when baby is born.

In the mean time, please join us in praying for God's will to take place.  That's all we want is for His Name to be glorified.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.  -Ephesians 3:20

Answered prayers...

"I have not changed my mind on adoption and would like to know if you would still consider it."

I woke up from my nap yesterday to that question.
It was our precious Birth Mom.

See, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too hard for Me? (Jeremiah 32:27)


She's in.
We're in.
It's a GO!

I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. (Jeremiah 31:3)


I cannot put into words the emotions that come with having a conversation like that.
One second you think you're back at ground zero with waiting for a baby and the next second you're given this beautiful, precious, priceless gift from THE MOST selfless person I have EVER met in my entire life!

She is amazing, this birth mom!  I just can't get over how the Lord is writing this story.  Her story.  Baby boy's story.  Our story.
I'm pretty sure it's going to be a happy ending kind of story...  :)

Thank YOU Father for answered prayers!!!  I really just don't even know what to say, but Thank YOU!!!


The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them. (Psalm 145: 18-19)


Please help us pray for:

1. Birth Mom & the things that go along with giving a baby up for adoption - her fears, her strength, for the Lord to draw her to Himself, for healing & wholeness, for the family & friends who support her decision to rally around her and just TOTALLY be there for her during this time.  
2. Baby - to be healthy  :)
3. Funding for our attorney.  Everyone keeps saying "God will provide"... so I'm going on their faith right now!

Your father knows what you need before you ask him. So do not worry, saying 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today's trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:8b, 31-34)

More of our Story

It's late.
I can't sleep.
It may be due to the freight train over worked, exhausted, only-averages-5 hours-of-sleep-per-night husband.
It may just be that so much has been going on.
And yet not much has been going on.

Let me back up...

Last Monday, I signed onto Matt & I's joint FB acct.
I had a private message from an old friend.
She was given the name of a birth mom, with the request of helping her find an adoptive family.
She said the Lord laid our family on her heart.
She messaged me late Friday night.
I didn't get the message until late Monday evening because I hadn't been on FB.
I called Friend that same night.
Birth mom was expecting a boy.
Next month.
"HOLY COW is this really happening?" was what was going through my mind.  Matt was away, so I hadn't even gotten to share the news with him.  Mind you, DHS was our plan all along for adoption.  Not a Private Adoption with a precious birth mom!

Friend gave me birth mom's number.

Matt arrived.  I shared the news with him.  We were both ecstatic!  We knelt down & prayed to Father.  Gave it all to Him.  Asked Him to guide us.  Thanked Him for this wonderful, wonderful gift.  My whole body quivered from excitement.  ALL NIGHT LONG!

I got in touch with birth mom the next day, Tuesday.
She is precious!  I immediately fell in love with her.
She loves her baby so much and wants only THE BEST for him.
We scheduled a face to face meeting for Wednesday.

"HOLY COW is this really happening?"

Remember, we'd been planning DHS all along.  They cover most of the costs & do all the hard stuff for us.  So Matt & I had to scramble to figure out what we would need to do to be prepared for a Private Adoption by next month when baby boy is born.

We texted & emailed our Prayer Warriors to kick it into high gear for us.

We prayed with almost every breath we took for Father to continue to give us the answers we needed and to make things perfectly clear for us.

We made a ridiculous amount of phone calls to important people who knew people.
We got in touch with a friend of a friend who very recently did a Private Adoption so she could run me through the process.
We got in touch with 2 attorneys.
We crunched numbers to see how much money we would need to beg Father for.

And then I got a text.
She was ill & rescheduled for the next evening.

So I called her the next afternoon to see how she was feeling & to get her address.
Then she didn't respond to my phone calls or texts.

And hasn't responded since...

And I still love her.
And her baby.
And I'm shaking as I'm writing this because I don't know how this story ends.
And I know I shouldn't worry.
But how do you not worry when a young woman needs a home for her unborn child and voices that to you and then doesn't respond to your outreach?
I do NOT know how to NOT worry about this situation.

Matt isn't worried.
He so calmly says "God's in control."
And sometimes I believe it with my whole being.
And sometimes I just want her to call me, and then I'll be okay.

I was great all weekend long.  I threw myself into praying.  And it strengthened me.
But this week has been hectic on my emotions!

Yes, DHS seems to be moving things along finally.
And no, I NEVER imagined the Lord would bring us a newborn.
But after speaking with her.
It's all I've imagined.
A precious little bundle of newness all sweet & snugly being handed to us, by his momma, who loves him so much that she's chosen US to take care of him for her.

So there you have it, more of our story... just hadn't felt comfortable sharing it until now.
And if you'd like to criticize my lack of faith, don't.
I know I'm lacking in that department, otherwise I'd be as peaceful as I was this past weekend.  :)
But if you'd like to encourage me.
I would love that more than you know!

UPDATE!!! 1 step forward!

We had a meeting w/ our DHS Adoption Specialist last night.  We received an invitation via mail for this meeting.  We weren't the only ones that were sent an invitation - there was a mass of people there.  Standing room only.  The question was brought up more than once why she wasn't returning phone calls or emails.  (We were relieved we weren't the only ones struggling w/ lack of communication from her!)

Her reason:  She is the ONLY Cleveland County Adoption Specialist that works w/ the parents.  There's another lady that handles all the Cleveland Co. kids that are up for adoption.  This alone explains A LOT about the lack of communication.

Please pray for her.  

Matt & I were able to speak privately with her.  We asked when we should expect to be open for Adoption.  She said "as soon as the Home Study Reader gets back with her".  We were told by a friend that should only take a couple of days.  Due to her workload, we're graciously waiting a few weeks before giving her another call & email.

However, it does seem like things are moving along now.  

The Lord keeps reminding us that these things are happening in HIS timing, not DHS.  His timing is a little unbearable at times,  but that may just be the drama queen that sometimes sneaks out in me but we are once again strengthened by hearing it could be soon!

Isaiah 30:18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

Thanks for the continued prayers friends!

Love ya'll,

Mary

Continuing to wait...

There's no updates because well, there's NO updates.
We were told we would be cleared for adoption/fostering (if you have a question about the adoption/fostering, email me, it's not something I will talk about publicly due to not being able to monitor who read this public blog) by mid-December, according to our Home Study Agent.
I've put in 6 phone calls to our DHS "Adoption Specialist" and 1 to her Supervisor since mid-December.

And nada folks.
Not a single returned phone call.

I don't know who to call next.

I don't even know where her office is located so I can show up with a plate of my mouth-watering chocolate chip cookies.

I am an extremely patient person.  I don't mind hearing them tell me it will be another 2 months for any progression.  But I don't like not know what's going on.  That's what makes this hard.

So I know I have a lot of lurkers who read this but don't comment, if anyone knows who I'm supposed to call, please either comment here or email me @ tomorrows_memories@sbcglobal.net

In other news, I had a wonderfully relaxing visit in South Texas with my parents.  I am energized and ready to face this year head on!  :)

Blessings,
Mary