The Beauty of It All

Dearest Child of Mine,

Now that I've told you (in great detail) about how we came to adoption, I want to tell you about what makes it so very special and beautiful.

Shortly after I told my parents (your Nonni & Papa) that we wanted to adopt, I had a long phone conversation with Papa. You know what he told me, dearest child? He said that adoption, in a way, was the most special way a baby can come into a family. He went on to say that our future child (you), will be loved so much because he or she will be handpicked by God. I love that. You were hand picked by God to be in our family. Isn't that wonderful?

Not only were you hand picked, but because you were adopted, so many of our friends and family (and even those who we hardly knew) were involved in bringing you to us! You see, it's not enough that your father and I wanted to adopt. The adoption agency (Bethany Christian Services) really wanted to make sure that we would be good parents for you. In order to do prove this, we had to ask a lot of people for their help! Lots of people helped us make our lives ready for you. They were all so excited and filled with joy for us, and I reminded everyone who helped us that they were helping us bring you home! They loved hearing that.

So this, my dear little one, is the tale of the special people in our lives who helped to make your adoption possible.

Auntie Amy, Auntie EllenAnn and Auntie Tamara (mommy's friends) did a lot of work, too. They had to write...and write...and write about every little thing they knew about us. They needed to answer a lot of questions that the adoption agency had for them. I can't remember too many of those questions now as I write this, maybe they will read this someday and remind me so that I can add some examples! If they hadn't had taken the time to write all of things that they did, we would not have been able to adopt you.

Pastor Keith and his wife Katie did a lot of work, too. Pastor Keith was mommy and daddy's when they went to Trinity Church of the Nazarene. He was the one who married your daddy and I. Pastor Keith's wife Katie and your mommy share a special bond. We used to go to dinner once a week and catch up on each other's lives. Katie was a wonderful mentor to me, and I was so sad when Keith and Katie moved to New Mexico several years after your daddy and I were married. Anyway, because our adoption agency was a Christian one, we had to have lots of forms filled out that proved that your mommy and daddy are Christians who believe in the Lord and follow His will. Pastor Keith and Katie were so thrilled about us adopting that they were more than happy to write about our testimony and church history. They were two more people who helped to bring you home!

Some of the people who helped were people who we didn't even know very well. Some people at my school had to help, too, because the adoption agency wanted to make sure that your mommy had a job and that she could make the money to pay for all of the things that you would need when you were growing up. The very nice lady at Central's district office wrote a letter that the adoption agency needed. She asked me lots of questions about the adoption process and actually started to get a little teary eyed when listening to me talk about the miracle of it all.

Daddy had to go to his work, too, and ask for a letter from his boss. His boss was very excited about your Daddy becoming a daddy and told him that he would make a fantastic father someday. I think that Daddy needed to hear that. He's a little nervous about being a father, you know. He wants to do it right! I'm sure he'll be a great dad, though. Fortunately for you, the dogs have done a lot to "break him in" for you. I'll write more on that in another post...

What I'm trying to say, my dear little one, is that without the letters and help from our bosses, we wouldn't have you in our lives!

And those are just some of the examples of the special people in our lives. I want you to know that lots and lots of people cared about us and our family that they were willing to do whatever it took to bring you home to us. Not every child can say that over fifty people helped to bring them into this world, but you can, my dear little one!

Finally, Daddy and I needed help getting ready for you. We had been waiting until I was pregnant to buy things and set up your nursery. Now that I was "paper pregnant" (and waiting to be matched with you and your birthmom), your Nonni and I could go to town getting all of the things that you would need! You probably figured this out by now, but your Nonni absolutely could not wait to be a grandma. She even talked about grandkids in giving a toast to your daddy and I on our wedding day!

Nonni and I spent a very special Saturday going shopping. We picked out a beautiful nursery set and bedding at a shop in Clovis, and brought it home. I felt so special that day and became even more excited to meet you!

Once again, your daddy and I realized that we could not get our house ready without the help and support of the people around us. We had a "baby proofing blitz" one Saturday in October, and we invited our families to come help us. Your daddy and Grandpa Mike went to the hardware store and got daddy's garage ready for you (the adoption agency wanted to make sure that you couldn't hurt yourself with all of the things that daddy has in the garage). Your Aunt Erin, Auntie Beth and Grandma Max spent the day getting the adoption profile ready. They did lots of gluing and cutting! Your Papa, Uncle Grant and Uncle Tom did a lot of hard work, too. They took down everything in home "office" and moved it into our bedroom. When they were done with that, they set up the beautiful nursery that Nonni and your mommy picked out. If you're wondering what your mommy was doing during this time, well, she was running around like crazy trying to answer everyone's questions!

And what was Nonni doing? This is another example of how much she loves you. She ironed. Everything. She ironed your bedskirt. She ironed your sheets. She ironed the ruffle on your mobile! When you look at the pictures of your nursery in your baby book (and in this blog), be sure to notice the nicely ironed mobile ruffle. And be sure to thank your Nonni for that nicely ironed mobile ruffle.

When all was said and done, our house was ready for a baby and waiting for you to come into our lives. We had plastic things in all of our outlets (so that you wouldn't electrocute yourself), child proofed all of our cabinets (I think it worked more to keep your daddy out of the cabinets than anything), made sure that nothing in the garage or house could hurt you, and transformed our office into the most beautiful nursery in the world.

Here's the before (our home office):

And here's the after with all of your family. They loved you so much that they spent all day setting this up!

While we wait for you to come and fill this nursery with memories, I spend a lot of time in here. I love just walking into it and thinking of the day we bring you home and add to our family. Your Grandma Max, Nonni and I have also been buying clothes and books for you. We have girl clothes (in case you're a girl), boy clothes (in case you're a boy) and gender neutral clothes (in case we don't find out if you're a boy or a girl until the last minute!). Grandma Max has bought a lot of books for us to read to you. A lot of them have to do with explaining the adoption process, because it is so special and such a part of our family story. Grandma Max understands what your daddy and I are going through right now because they adopted your Auntie Beth many years ago!

I hope you like your nursery and everything in it, because a lot of loving hands help to make it possible for you! Now go and call Nonni and thank her for ironing the ruffle on your mobile. I'm sure, that even as a baby, you appreciated it very much :-)

Love you lots,

Your Mommy