February

Our profile can't be accessed on the website anymore!! This is the official "You have been chosen by a Birthmother" moment! :)

Although J was set on us since January she hadn't been working with our agency and so it took a while to get that process going.

Lately it has been a little crazy around here! 

-We are getting everything ready for the little one to arrive.

-Our little nephew Camden was born 7weeks early! The poor little guy has been in the NICU for three weeks now and they aren't sure when he will be able to go home. Kyle got to go visit him, but I haven't yet. We are in love with him already!

-I'm pretty sure I'm going to make a paper chain with the amount of weeks left in J's pregnancy (tomorrow makes 14 weeks left!)

-Kyle is so loaded with schoolwork this semester. The poor guy has been doing homework from  sun-up to sun-down.

-I got sick for a solid THREE weeks and the DR. said it was probably Mono. BOO! I have been trying to start running again and I feel like a blob of tiredness.

-It snowed again last week and we are getting so sick of winter. Usually we love snow, but we were all sorts of annoyed. Thinking SPRING!

-February is the busiest month of the year for me at work and it takes all of my will power to concentrate when I am there these days. My boss keeps saying that I am having adoption symptoms just like a pregnant woman.

-I have bought a few clothes and things for the little man and I am had to slow myself down! I have 14 weeks to go and I know I am having at least one shower before he comes so I don't want to over do it. (My favorite outfit is this little flannel shirt and jeans, I can't get over it)

-Kyle works at the zoo and they have noticed what a hard worker he is so they are giving him a lot more hrs. He is hoping that at some point he will go full-time with them. He loves working there.

-February went by so fast... I hope that March, April, and May will!

It's a boy!

We are so lucky that we have such an awesome Birthmom! She let us come for her ultrasound today. It was quite the run around getting there because the first hospital couldn't take her appointment so we had to go to another hospital in the area that could get us in (long story). The ultrasound ended up being the 20 week super in depth one so it was awesome to see that. We found out that it is a BOY... we weren't surprised, for some reason we have been referring to the little one as "Him" for a while now. He is healthy and right on track for his June 6th due date. The 4D ultrasound is so cool and we got an awesome picture of his face, what a cutie! After the appointment we went shopping for a little outfit with J and had so much fun with her.
WE ARE SO EXCITED!!

Feeling the JOY!

(Written Feb 1st) We are very open people. Sometimes too open... we tend to over share. So have we told every person we have come in contact with about J choosing us?? YES! Most people are so excited, some cry tears of happiness for us, and some look cautious. We feel so good about everything that has happened and we want to be able to share our joy just like anyone else would about a future child on the way. We understand that some of you are worried for us, in fact we worry too. Nothing is final until after placement and so many things could happen in that timeframe. We get that and understand how serious that is. Our thought is... is there anything in life that is really guaranteed? No! We can't waste our time living in fear of possibilities.

For now we are feeling the pure joy of what this moment is!

Our Birthmom J

(Written Jan 27th) We met our Birthmom on Saturday (Jan 26). Were we terrified... yes. The night before Kyle had to work and I was home alone to think about every little thing that could go wrong. Was it going to be awkward, what  if she hates us, etc. etc. On the drive down I was shaking and Kyle kept repeating how nervous he was. We really had no idea how this was going to go because she said in her email that she was considering placing. So we didn't even know if she had made a decision to place yet. Finally we got to breakfast were we met J, her daughter M and her caseworker. Her caseworker is so sweet and helped us start the conversation, we are so grateful that she came with. We small talked for a while and then J and her caseworker told us why J liked us. Apparently I didn't pick up that they were saying that J had chosen us to be the parents, until the caseworker said "I told J that she should look into other families, but she didn't want to. She knows you guys are it." We kept talking and then suddenly breakfast was over. So we got in our cars and left. We were thinking wow that was quick and we knew she had chosen us, but she hadn't said it directly yet. As we were driving away we got a call from them asking us to meet at J's apartment to talk more. We are so glad that we did because talking more really cleared things up. We really got to know J and felt so comfortable with her. She is someone that any adoptive parent would be lucky to have an open adoption with. She is funny, down to earth, and supportive of how we want to parent. She has been through a lot in her life and we think she is so strong! She is just wonderful! We also got to play a little bit more with M, possibly the cutest little girl on this earth! While we were at her apartment I couldn't help but straight up ask her... "So you have chosen us for sure??" She said yes, she said there is something about us that she just loves and especially after talking we just match. What a relief! She had actually chosen us before we even met, meeting just sealed the deal.
We talked more than two hours like we all were good friends. We actually have a lot in common.
We feel very good about this adoption and we can't believe that we are so lucky to have found a Birthmother so fast! Those pass along cards worked!! We know that Heavenly Father has had a hand in our process and we are so excited for little baby Ewert that is coming our way!!

What's mine is your's.

I can't get enough of this song. So touching.

Sympathy Symptoms

(Written Jan 31) It has been almost a week since we heard the awesome news from J and we have been on cloud nine!!

I'm pretty sure I have some sympathy pregnancy symptoms going on over here.
Nesting: We bought a crib and set it up, ever since that night I have spent all my free time organizing our apartment. It started with our closet and it hasn't stopped. I didn't realize how strange it was until tonight. I thought... when do I ever organize and clean for the fun of it, NEVER! (for Kyle it is a normal thing, but not me.) So yeah total nestage happening people.
Pregnancy brain: I know this sounds weird, but I'm kinda useless. Especially at work. I find myself getting so distracted and forgetting everything. Tonight I forgot where I parked at the gym. Am I a spaz most of the time? YES, but this is extreme people!
I was talking to my friend about it and she thinks that my hormones are kicking in because I know it is coming soon. I kinda love that I am experiencing this because I have to miss out on other prenatal things about our little one. At least I can connect with her/him somehow.

We find out the gender of the little one on February 12!! Can't wait. Amber my sister in law is rooting for a girl for Jaycie to have a bestie and I love it. We are not partial either way. I keep imagining how cute a little boy would be and for some reason we keep accidentally referring to it as a he on accident. But then I think of little girls and how fun that would be! Seriously split! Either way a healthy baby is all we care, we are so in love with this little one already!

Open or Closed

Our Birthmother letter mentions that we would love an open adoption. This is true. We have been to many classes and done research and we feel like open adoption could be a wonderful thing for us, our child and the birth family if everyone is on the same page and communication is clear. Our opinion about open adoptions is that our relationship with the Birthmother is like other relationships. You start small and as trust, love, and friendship grows the relationship grows bigger as well. Obviously the details would be discussed personally with the Birthmother and how it starts will depend on that discussion. But we also want Birth mothers and families to know that if they feel like a closed adoption is something they need we are willing to do that as well. We know that everyone is different and that some Birthmothers need that distance and we understand. Every situation is so different so we have no idea what the future will hold, but we are excited about it!