Introducing Baby P!!!!

"WE HAVE PRAYED FOR THIS CHILD, AND THE LORD HAS GRANTED US WHAT WE ASKED OF HIM.  SO NOW WE GIVE HIM TO THE LORD..." 1 Samuel 1:27

Tears are streaming down both of our faces as we write this post and stare at this precious sonogram pic for about the thousandth time tonight...  

We are blessed beyond measure and proud to announce that we have been picked as the parents for this sweet, beautiful, baby BOY!!!!  That's right...Baby P is a BOY!!!!  How wonderful it feels to know that...to say that... to see this little face that we have been praying for for so very long!

And here is the greatest news of all... buckle up because this one has definitely taken us for a ride tonight!!!  Baby P's due date is JANUARY 20th!!!  In case you're as shocked as we are, and having trouble doing the math in your head at the moment... THAT'S ONLY 10 DAYS, FOLKS!!!   HOLY COW!!!  Deer-in-the-headlights doesn't even begin to describe us right now. =)

Obviously, we wanted to tell each and every one of our precious friends and family in person who have been so faithfully praying and walking beside us through this journey...  However, Baby P's birth mom could literally go into labor at any minute, so we are on obvious baby over-drive of making all of the necessary arrangements.  We pray that you forgive us and understand that we are not able to tell anyone in person outside of our parents and siblings - everyone else is finding out RIGHT NOW.   We can't wait to give you all huge hugs and thank you for your support in person!  This is COMPLETELY blowing our minds...WE'RE GOING TO BE PARENTS IN 10 DAYS OR LESS!!!!  WOW!!!

There isn't a single detail that I want to forget about this afternoon and evening...I will do my best to give a very brief synopsis right now, but will most likely be adding further details as the week goes by. =)  

Ben and I both had normal work days today...  About 4:00pm this afternoon, Ben called me to come pick him up at the car dealership because the Volvo had to go in for some repairs.  I picked him up, got home about 4:20pm, and then sat down in our room thinking I had a good hour or two before having to get cleaned up for a dinner at Esparza's with some friends tonight.  About 4:25pm Ben came running into our room where I was catching up on "The City" (I'm not ashamed...), and frantically told me that our adoption consultants/attorneys were on the phone and needed to speak to both of us on speaker.  Right then and there, I knew we had been picked.  HALLELUJAH!!!  Tears were immediately streaming down both of our faces...

I'm not going to go into all of the details that our adoption consultants went over with us for several reasons.  The first, is that this is Baby P's story and above everything else, we are protecting that for him.  Of course, we will disclose every last little detail he wants about his birth family as he grows up, but it will be his decision about what he wants the world to know and what he wants to share.  So... all of that to say, if you have any questions... you can just ask him one day. =)

But these few details I will share... WE ARE INCREDIBLY BLESSED!!!  "Blessed" is the word that keeps ringing in my heart and head in regards to Baby P's birth family.  We truly could not have asked for a better situation.  There are some very specific things we have been praying for... and let me tell you, friends... GOD IS SO GOOD... SO FAITHFUL!!!  

Baby P's birth mom (whom I will refer to as "S" to protect her privacy)... S and S's parents are a wonderful, close, loving, CHRISTIAN family - Prayer #1...answered!  And... please remember that we have been open and approved to adopt anywhere in the United States...but...  Baby P is being born right here in AUSTIN, TEXAS!!!  Prayer #2 - answered!!!  And finally... the third answered prayer that I will share with you (although there are many, many more)... Ben, myself, and our families have been welcomed with open arms to be at the hospital at the time of Baby P's birth.  AMAZING!!!  I could go on and on about the love and respect we have for S... and for the maturity and grace she has shown in making all of her decisions....  We can't wait to share her wonderful story with Baby P!

To sum up our call with the adoption consultants... we were floored to receive over 40 PAGES of background information on Baby P... medical records all the way through his great-grandparents on both sides... WOW!!!  The kicker, was that we had to make a decision to move forward within the hour, due to the impending labor that could take place at any moment... At first this was hard for us to fathom...ONLY AN HOUR???  TO MAKE THE BIGGEST DECISION OF OUR LIVES???  The reason we had such a short time span, is that S chose only us.  See, usually the birth moms are made to choose 3 families so that there are some "back-up" plans (especially in a case like S's where she is due at any moment).  If we would have decided to not move forward, then tomorrow they were beginning the grueling process of starting from scratch to find another family.  But, S wanted us...she chose us - she said that she KNEW we were supposed to be this precious little boy's parents!  How forever grateful we will be to her!  Words cannot even describe... 

So here's how the rest of our evening went:

4:25pm - 5:25pm - Phone conversation with adoption consultants and attorney's

5:26 - 6:00 - HAPPY CRYING...PANIC CRYING...ONLY AN HOUR???... LOTS OF PRAYER... and some very wise counsel of two very special social worker friends.

6:15 pm - Conference call with all 4 of our parents... more crying =)

6:20 pm - oops!!  Need to tell our friends we won't be making dinner... can't talk to them in person... just sent a text (they all probably thought we were fighting...haha!)

6:35 pm - We called back the adoption consultants and happily agreed to parent this beautiful, healthy baby boy!!!  We have finally met Baby P!!!

6:40pm - Holly' parents arrive at the house... more crying... 

7:00pm - All go grab a quick dinner where Ben's parents meet up with us... more crying...more hugging...  Ben calls both of his brothers - Uncle Jeff, Uncle Joe, and Aunt Candice (we wish you all were here in person!!!)...

8:00pm - Back to our house... Aunt Neely and Craig arrive... more crying and hugging... are you seeing a theme???

11:00pm - Everyone leaves... and our shock of reality once again sets in... WE'RE GOING TO BE PARENTS... IN 10 DAYS!!!

Needless to say, the next few days are going to be C-R-A-Z-Y!!!  But wonderful!!! 

Tomorrow (Saturday) we'll be running all over town with our mom's to get all of the necessities we will need to bring Baby P home.  Not to mention registering, booking arrangements for our Austin stay, making arrangements for absence from work, etc...  My head hurts just thinking about all of it... but I am SO EXCITED!!!

THREE HUGE PRAYER REQUESTS for the next several days:

1. We get to meet S this Monday at 1:00pm!!!  Please pray that we are able to lift her up, encourage her, and have a beautiful start to such an important relationship.

2. Finances!!!  This seems petty during such a happy time, but this has happened MUCH more quickly than we ever expected and we are definitely short in the financial area.  I mean...9 WEEKS PEOPLE!!!  It will only be 9 WEEKS from the time we were eligible to adopt to the time that we get to bring Baby P home.  How wonderful that it went so quickly!  But, that means that we will have only had a total of 9 weeks to fund the ENTIRE adoption.  Financially, we were planning on having a little more time (ha!) to save and prepare for the funding that we needed.  We are confident that God will provide and it will work out, but prayers in this area would be greatly appreciated!

3. Please pray for our sanity... We are over-joyed, overwhelmed, CRAZY HAPPY, and scared out of our minds!  All normal emotions at the prospect of becoming parents... but all in need of prayer, none the less =)

I can't tell you enough about how much we love each and every one of you... even those faithful prayer warriors whom we have never met in person, but have followed our adoption journey via the blog.  THANK YOU seems so inadequate to describe our feelings...

Here are a few more pics from the evening...  Just a small warning...I look HIDEOUS... no make-up, baseball hat, crying... Apparently, this is my attire for the huge events in my life - I looked the exact same in all the pics from the night Ben and I got engaged - ha!!  But I don't care... I treasure each and every moment!

Ben and I with "Doc", "KK", and Aunt Neely =)

With Ben's parents... Grandma and Grandpa-to-be!!!  We very much missed having Uncle Jeff, Uncle Joe, and Aunt Candice with us tonight!

And here he is again... Baby P!  Hoping you love seeing this sweet little face that we have been praying for for so long! 

Welcome home!!!  WE LOVE YOU, BABY P!!!