We're expecting!

Yes, you read that title right.  Brandon and I are now what some might call "paper pregnant"!

We were contacted by a dear friend on the afternoon of April 8th about a birthfamily who was looking for adoptive parents for their child.  We were actually visiting a maternity home in Wichita when we received the message, and spent nearly the entire trip home on the phone.  First we talked to the friend of my friend's mother, then I called one of our adoption group friends; then we talked to the friend's mother's friend's cousin (the baby's grandmother); then I called our lawyer and another adoption group friend; then while I was on the phone the birthparents called and after talking with our lawyer we called them back.  We had a pleasant and brief conversation and set up a time to meet them the next day.

Since then it's been this strange mix of excitement and fear for us.  We've met and talked with them several times and they have met with our lawyer and started some of the necessary paperwork.  The most important thing for us now is that we all get to know each other, so that we all feel comfortable in the decisions we will make moving forward.  This is especially important because nothing is final until 12 hours after she has given birth and they sign the papers that tranfer parental rights to Brandon and I.  Please pray for all of us!

Brandon and I realized that there is not really anything we can compare this experience to.  It's somewhat as if we are pregnant, but have a much shorter time to prepare and no certainty that there may be a baby in our arms at the end of it all.  We want to allow ourselves to be hopeful and to prepare our hearts, but it is very difficult when you feel such an instinctual need to guard them at the same time.  So for now, we're doing the things needed to prepare our home.  We finally got a mattress for the crib and started looking at strollers and car seats.  Fortunately, the nursery was already painted some time ago.  I'm glad we took it a little at a time.

If God has chosen this child for us, we will be parents of a beautiful baby boy in a little over two months!  If you are hearing this news here for the first time, please don't be offended.  We've found it's somewhat difficult to start a "we're pregnant" conversation when we physically aren't and there is still so much uncertainty.  We have been so blessed by the outpouring of support and love from our friends and family.  Thanks to each of you for standing by us as we've walked this journey.  Perhaps we might find the end of the path just over that horizon.

With love,
Janell

Journey Update

I can't decide if I have less to blog about in the last few months, or if the new job has me busy enough that I haven't had as much time.  Either way - it's time for an update!

I am enjoying my new position and the people that I am meeting along the way.  There are so many wonderful folks involved in supporting the Symphony and I am really honored to be working with and for them.  Brandon's role at work is changing as more people are added to his team and they gain more and more clients that have to be up and running by the end of the year.  He says he's ready for Christmas.  :)

We've been watching our plants and flowers spring up around the house and working on little projects here and there.  I think this may be one of our longest runs without some sort of major home improvement project in the works!  Instead, I've been concentrating on learning to sew and creating new jewelry to sell at a consignment boutique this month.  That has definitely kept me busy.

Brandon is back to cycling again and went on a nice 45-mile ride last weekend.  He thinks that these "little" rides are no big deal and I wonder what he's thinking!  I've joined friends at a couple of 5K races and enjoyed the spring weather while I pounded the pavement.  Who would have guessed that I would enjoy running?  It is a lot more fun when I have friends to do my races with though.  Now if I could just get more motivated to train in between those races!

We have recently visited a great facility in Wichita called Circle of Love Maternity Home.  It is a place where birth mothers who are making an adoption plan can live while they complete their pregnancy and be cared for and nurtured by the staff.  It's a lovely place and only open since October, so we are going to place our profile there as a tool for the counselor to show birth mothers what an adoptive family looks like.  It's a possibility that after she shows them, they might want to know more about us and we could move on from there.

Last, but certainly not least, I want to share that we are currently in the midst of a situation that puts us closer than ever to our dream of adopting.  It's really too early in the process to share a lot of details with the whole world, but we would appreciate your prayers and thoughts as we make decisions in the next few weeks.  When the time is right, I will update you all with more information.  Hopefully it will be a big announcement!