Nesting

Is it possible, do you think, for an adoptive mother to experience "nesting"?  I'm going to guess that it's possible because I'm pretty sure that's what I'm doing right now.  I work all day, then come home, do my normal housekeeping routine, then begin tackling some random project that I feel NEEDS to be done right now.  Thankfully, most of my urges have been to do projects that have to do with the baby's room.  We're at 33 weeks today, so it's probably time to start preparing for the idea that baby could be coming close to any time now.  Haven't even started thinking about packing my hospital bag, but maybe that will be one of my crazy nesting urges on another day!

Things continue to progress nicely for our baby girl.  Birth mother says she continues to make her presence known by moving & kicking just as much as possible.  We can't wait to have her moving & kicking in our arms.  I've never been so ready to lose sleep from a baby being up all night.  I'd rather be tired because a baby needs me than because a process needs me.  There are just so many tasks to check off that it doesn't seem like any one human can really conquer the entire list before time is up.  There are so many needs that other people need to have met, many of which tend to fall under my realm of responsibility.  I am ready to make that transition from my current "job" of making the adoption process move forward to taking on the job of simply being "mother of 2 girls".  Lord, help me enjoy these days leading up to this exciting day that we are SOOO looking forward to.  Help us not to overlook the lessons You would have us learn & experience along the way - enjoy the part of the journey we are on.

Making Progress

Today was a good day.  Truth be told, I started off the day very somber, burdened by the weight of the previous night's stresses.  However, a few stresses were able to be released as some issues were resolved.....for today at least.  Birth mother & I made a quick trip to her DR's office to check something off of her "to do" list, & it turned out to be a much more productive trip than either of us had expected!  We were able to check off "task #1", the reason we stopped by in the first place.  However, on our way out, I suggested that we stop by the hospital pharmacy to pick up her prescription that we both had forgotten to pick up the day before when we were there for her DR visit.  From that stop at the pharmacy, we were able to find out that the insurance issue she's been battling had finally been resolved!  Huge answer to prayer!  Those few little words from the pharmacist instantly changed both of our demeanor.  A HUGE burden had been lifted from us both!  Praise the Lord!

Moving backward a day, let me tell you about birth mother's & my sonogram visit.  Let me tell you - I have never seen such a detailed sonogram before in my life!  Because she's as far along as she is, the baby has developed to a point that allowed us to see various organs & baby movements that most parents don't get to observe due to their sonogram being closer to the 1/2 way mark in the pregnancy.  We learned all kinds of things about our baby!: that they have a full head of hair (long enough that it was waving in the amniotic fluid), all the organs are working properly & growing at the rate they are supposed to, the length of their legs, arms, hands, feet, etc, & so much more!  It was a beautiful time as a mother to witness God's creation as it was in progress.  Now, let me announce to the world what everybody's been dying to find out...the gender.  As of early to mid June, the McMurray family will be adding a new baby..............

                                                                      GIRL !!!

ADOPTION JOURNEY!!!

I wanted to start this entry with the above picture so that you will know the undertone from which I will be writing today.  If you aren’t aware of the journey we are currently on, let me fill you in.

About 3 weeks ago, Jonathan & I were chosen by a birth father & birth mother to adopt their unborn child (we don’t know gender yet), due June 16!  We were elated!  After almost 2 years of following leads, praying for God’s direction, & simply waiting on God’s timing, we finally were seeing His plan at work!  After a few conversations with the 2 ladies that helped put the birth family & us (adoptive family) together, we planned a dinner meeting on Easter Sunday evening.  We met the birth parents along with the 2 ladies for dinner at a small, local restaurant.  Things went really well, & Jonathan & I walked away knowing this was the child we were meant to bring into our family.  What a good feeling, but not without a simultaneous feeling of being overwhelmed by all the things that would need to be done in such a short time.  Oh yeah…remember her due date was June 16, so we had roughly 8 weeks to get all of our ducks in a row.  Recently, it was determined that her updated due date is June 1, so we lost over 2 weeks of time to get things done…..yeah…….

It’s only been a little over 2 weeks, but we have already secured an attorney that we really love & have already started the legal process of making this baby a McMurray.  The birth mother wanted to deliver somewhere other than her current community with her current doctor, so I’ve found a DR that will take a 33 week pregnant woman that meets her needs.  There are still MANY things that have yet to be done, but not all of them are 100% within my control.  It definitely takes a team effort to knock out each task, but sometime life forces one or more of the team members to deal with other things before participating in the details of the adoption process.  What does this mean for this adoptive mommy?  It means I have NO CHOICE but to look to Jesus for peace.  Once again, Jesus is allowing yet another difficult life experience to be used to teach me to live in a whole new level of trust & peace in Him.  When I don’t have any control over the next step in the process, Jesus reminds me that He’s walking (or sometimes sitting) thru this journey with me.  All He asks of me is to play my part, always be prepared, & wait patiently for Him open the next door.  

Please don’t ask me to share intimate details about the process at this point.  For anybody that knows me well, you’ll know that my personality is such that I enjoy sharing with others about what’s going on in my life from a very HONEST perspective, happy or sad.  This being the case, you may sometimes wonder whether my posts are TRUE reflections of how I’m feeling.  Truth – the adoption process is NOT always “sunshine & rainbows”.  Sometimes it feels as though you are in the middle of a hurricane.  I will do my best to reflect things as they really are without compromising my commitment to our birth family (see picture above).

Hopefully more awesome updates to come SOON!