My adventures

I worked Friday and just hung around. Nothing too exciting there, except for buying wine at Target for the first time. 

Yesterday I told B that I would pick her up and bring her to the post office so she could mail something to her 2 year old.  After that, we decided to go to this place where you paint pottery.  I've always wanted to do that, but never really had an excuse.   This was a great one!  We were able to sit and paint while we talked.  I picked a small owl and a picture frame for the nursery and she picked a small puppy to put in the baby room and an airplane for her 2 year old.  I thought it was very sweet that she wanted to paint something for the nursery.   I'm sure the little owl and the puppy will sit next to each other on a shelf in his room and it will be a great reminder of the time we spent together while we waited for this baby's arrival.
We talked about a lot of things such as music, what her son was like when he was little, and her friends. 

Finally, I asked her about the name.   I don't think I wrote about that here....   
See, I have been thinking about names for months.  Brandon and I narrowed down our favorites and found one we really loved a couple of weeks ago.    A few hours after we made the decision on our favorite name, we got an email from B with a list of names that she liked.  She asked if we liked any of them.
I was in a bit of shock, because I had no idea that she would want to name the baby.  
Her case worker told her that really, even though she will fill out the birth certificate, we could change his name at the time of finalization.    B understood, but said she really wanted us to all come up with something together.
So, we wrote her back with our favorite name as well as two others.
She didn't happen to like our favorite name, so I've had to go through a bit of grieving. 
At first, the thought of never being able to name a child tore me to pieces.   In the end though, I have to remember what kind of a blessing this could be to our son. Someday he will know that we all chose it together and that his birth mom wanted to be a part of it.
So it has been down to one of the names on our list and one of the names on her list.
Finally, yesterday, I asked her what she was thinking.  She said she was going to go with the name on our list. She said she liked it better and thinks it's a good name.  She said it's cute and it will look good on a job resume someday.
Sorry - I'm not going to tell all of you yet!   If you are reading this, and you know it - don't post here.  I will do an announcement once he's arrived with his full name.

Anyways, after we got done painting our pottery, we went next door to a frozen yogurt place.  At first, she was pretty unsure about it, because she said she doesn't like yogurt that you get at the grocery store.  She sampled a few things and finally decided on some Mango Sorbet and Raspberry Sorbet.  She LOVED it. 
She kept saying, "wow, two new experiences today!"

Then, on my way back to my friend's house, I got a flat tire in the rental car.   Right on the highway while I was talking to Brandon on the phone.  I have never gotten a flat tire while driving and I was not happy.  
While I was waiting for the roadside assistance to come, a highway patrol officer pulled up behind me and asked me what was going on.  She said it was not safe for me to stay there and we proceeded to go VERY slowly in the car to the next exit.   Then, she decided to start changing the tire for me.   It started to rain right as she was finishing and right as the roadside assistance showed up.   They finished things off and I was on my way to the rental car place.  This time, the closest one was not where I had picked up the car, but it was at the airport.   Let's just say, I cried in front of the rental car agents.... and eventually they helped me get things straightened out and I have a different car now.

Today I'm going to spend some time with my friend I am staying with as well as another adoptive mommy friend.   It will be nice to have some girl time and do something fun.   It is lonely being away from home, but things like this really do help keep my spirits up.   I am so thankful for everyone who is helping us.      I'm going to have to buy stock in Thank You Cards after all of this!!

Quick Travel? Maybe!

First things first: Let's just say, between both sides of our families, we may be building some sort of football team.
That's right, this baby is another boy! 

Luckily, we have lots of friends and family who have boys, so we get lots of boys clothes without doing any shopping.   Of course, I did have to shop a little.

We talked with the expectant mom on the phone and she is very sweet and very laid back.  She indicated that she might want one of us in the delivery room with her, which is such an amazing blessing.  Of course, that could change and she has every right to change her mind when the time arrives.  I really view the hospital as her time, so every question she had about how WE wanted things to work left me dumbfounded.

After her initial appointment last week, they moved the due date up to August 1, with the idea of having a c-section about a week or so before that.   Well, things might be working a little quicker than we had anticipated....  we might need to fly down to Arizona much quicker than we had anticipated.   I won't know for sure until next Thursday. I'm freaking out a little.   I'm a planner by nature and this baby is showing us that you can't plan for him completely!  We don't have flights, we don't have a place to stay yet... any of that!   But I have to believe it will all work out.

I have had so many emotions these last couple weeks.   We are so excited and so happy. It seemed as though we would never get to this point and here we are.   Of course, I'm feeling a little stressed (ok, maybe a lot) with everything that needs to get done over the next couple of weeks.   I'm feeling a LOT emotional about my journey towards motherhood. There are a lot of fears that a prospective adoptive family has that parents through birth don't.  There are also a lot of added "steps" to the process of course. We've had to do more paperwork, have more discussions, and think about every item that goes along with traveling on perhaps short notice.

But another amazing emotion has also come through this journey - GRATITUDE.    I am so grateful for the support of our family and friends. Even the support from people that barely know us.
I am also so grateful for the expectant mother who has allowed us to talk with her and be a part of this process.  I'm sure that someday, we'll say we love her and she will be a part of our family.   That is one amazing piece of adoption.
I am also so thrilled because I have met some amazing adoptive moms through an online community and I will even get to meet a couple of them when we are traveling!  I have a feeling that life long friendships can come from journeys like this.

Thank you to everyone who have donated money to our travel fund or donated items to our fundraiser garage sale.    Tears come to my eyes when I think about it how all of you have a hand in bringing our baby home.