MERRY CHRISTMAS 2013 AND HAPPY
NEW YEAR!!
Well... this is a difficult
letter to write this year! It should be easy since the best thing that happened
to us, happened this year, but for some reason, I’m having a hard time putting
it to words. So instead of the usual recap of our year, let me tell you a
story. This is the story of how Timothy became our son…
Twelve years ago this coming
March, David and Trisha were married. They had the normal newlywed dreams; finish
college, have kids and live happily ever after. Step one was complete so, on to
the kids! Like a lot of “New parents to be”, they assumed it would be easy. 3, maybe 4, months later they would be sharing the exciting news of an upcoming
birth! It was not to be. After 3 years of trying, they started asking the
doctors what could be wrong. After many, many… MANY doctor appointments, it was
determined that nobody had any idea what was wrong. By this time, they had been
hoping to be parents for almost 7 years. After much prayer, they weren’t sure
what to do next. Then, along came their good friends, Renee and Tim who knew of David and Trisha’s desires. Their daughter had recently
done an internship at a local adoption agency. In October 2011, they invited
David and Trisha to attend the agencies annual banquet. They were nervous, but
thought it would worth learning about adoption. The banquet was a turning point
in their lives. Trisha went home, excited, crying, happy and sad. So many happy
people holding their new babies was hard to see, but somehow was exactly what
they needed to see.
Trisha and David were now on
fire for adoption. Immediately after the banquet, they went to the angency's
website and tried to sign up to be adoptive parents. With a heavy heart they
discovered the agency was not accepting new families at that time. They were
very confused. Maybe it wasn’t the path God wanted them to take? Trisha decided
to send an email to the director of the agency in the hopes there was a waiting
list. The director was very nice and said they should just check the website a periodically,
and eventually they would open it up for new parents. They checked the website practically every
day. In January of 2012, the director sent Trisha a personal email and let her
know that the website would be opening for applications the next day! First
thing in the morning they logged on and downloaded the “pre-application” and the
paperwork began! After turning in the
pre-application paperwork, they were approved to complete the FULL application.
For five months Trisha and David gathered every bit of documentation about
their entire lives. Once it was all completed, it was 1 ½ inches thick! Shortly
after that, their approval came through!
Next step was to go to an
all-day class in August 2012. Then Dave and Trisha had to have the house ready
to be inspected by a social worker. They had never cleaned their house so much
in their lives! It turned out to be much easier than expected and they passed
with no problems.
Now came the hard
part. The waiting!!! In an open adoption the adoptive parents make a flyer
talking about themselves and their family. Then, the birth parents come to the
agency and are given several flyers from adoptive parents who would be a good
match. The birth family decides on a couple to meet face to face. Assuming the
meeting goes well, the birth parents choose the adoptive family to care for
their son or daughter. Trisha and David were shown to several birth mothers
over the following months. When they knew they were being shown, and were not
chosen, it was the worst feeling ever. They knew the baby would be in a loving
home and would be well cared for, but it was hard to lose each one.
Finally, in January 2013,
they got THE call. In an ironic twist of fate, Trisha didn’t hear the phone
ring, so the agency called David at work. So in their case, the HUSBAND got to
tell the WIFE they would be having a baby! They were chosen by a young couple
who wanted to give their baby the best chance he could have. They all meet one
day in the town where the birth parents attended school. The
meeting went VERY well. The birth parents, the birth grandma, the social worker
and David and Trisha talked for over 2 hours. After the meeting, the birth
parents officially choose David and Trisha to be the parents of their son! The
birth mom was due April 26th, 2013. It was an exciting, yet hard
time for David and Trisha. The birth parents can change their mind on a whim up
until paperwork is signed 48 hours after the birth. So, David and Trisha did
not want to get TOO excited. They did not get the nursery ready, or buy
anything other than the bare essentials.
At 11:54 pm on April 25th,
Dave and Trisha got the call they had been waiting for! The birth mom was in
labor! They had just gone to bed, so they quickly got up and started getting
ready. They didn’t think she would have the baby on her due date, so they
didn’t have their bags packed yet! Oops! They got ready as fast as they could,
and headed for the hospital 2 hours away. They arrived at 3am. Within 30 minutes,
the birth grandmother, and the birth great grandmother arrived. After greeting
the birth parents, Dave and Trisha headed for the waiting room. Within a few
minutes the birth great grandmother joined them. They spent the next several
hours talking and getting to know each other.
At 1:46 pm on her due date,
April 26th, Timothy came into the world. The birth parents
called Trisha and David back to meet him about 45 minutes after he was born.
Words can barely describe their joy when they first held him. He was so perfect
and beautiful, but it was so hard to believe that it was real, and that he
would really go home with Dave and Trish. After all, the birth mom can still
change her mind at any moment, could they really get excited about him?
However, Timothy proved too amazing to allow them to be reserved. The nurses
allowed Dave and Trish to go with and watch him get his first bath and his
first meal. They couldn’t stop staring at the amazing perfection in this tiny
baby. God did a good job on this one!
The next 2 days were a bit of
a blur. They got to meet more of the birth parents extended family, and were so
blessed that they all loved and accepted them. At the end of the 48 hour waiting
period, they were so nervous. They sat in the waiting room while the social
worker went in to talk to the birthparents. This was it. They were either
leaving as parents, or were leaving the car seat with the birth family because
it was not going home empty. When the social worker came back out and told them
the paperwork was signed, Trisha burst into tears. It was really going to
happen! She was so blessed that within moments of crying, the birth grandmother
came over, hugged her, congratulated her and told her she was so happy for
them. That is one amazing woman! Trisha hugged her back and doesn’t remember if
she was even able to say anything to her. She just hugged her and thanked God
for sending them such an amazing birth family.
Once the paper work was
signed, they spent a few minutes with the birth family talking and taking
pictures. The birth family left the hospital first and Dave and Trisha were
left in the room with their new SON! They were finally parents! They had to
wait about an hour for the discharge paperwork to come through. During that
time they just held their new son. It was such an amazingly emotional time! All
those years of waiting, and he was finally going home with them! They left the
hospital in a state of wonder, shock and awe and took their new son home and
looked forward to the major changes in their lives to come.
When Timothy was 6 months
old, the legal and final adoption took place on October 30th, 2013.
They stood
before a judge and he was legally declared their son!
So, that is our story for
you. Timothy has been such an amazing blessing. God sure knows how to write and
create stories that we never could have imagined or understood how happy it
would make us.
