You Might Want To Read This...

Jim and I are pleased to share with our dear friends and family that at this time we have been chosen to be the parent of a little boy.  Little Man is set to make his debut in February.  We are very excited to share this news with you and want to say thank you for all of the prayers, donations and kindness we've received.  There are also some things you might want to know.

What Happened
On Friday, as we were leaving town to go to Denver so I could run a 10K race on Saturday morning (2nd overall female, by the way... I'm totally not sorry for bragging about that!), we received a call from an unknown number with our adoption agency area code.  I made Jim pull over, a whole few houses away from our own, and wrote all the information I could on an oil change receipt as the case worker shared that we were someone's top pick!
Through a series of calls and emails over the weekend we ended up speaking with her Monday afternoon.  We had a great chat, a lot less awkward than we were expecting, and after we hung up it was minutes later we heard back-- she had officially chosen us as the parents to her son. 
So we filled out the paperwork and got the funds on the way to where they belonged and...
went back to work.

What's Next
Being chosen doesn't mean our uncertainty is over.  We will continue to get to know the woman who chose us through calls and emails and hopefully we will affirm her decision through these calls.  However, her decision is not 100% final.  She has every right to change her mind until a few days after the birth, or until she signs her release forms.  Hearing the experience of giving birth and the glorious moments of holding that baby afterwards, her decision may become a difficult one to follow through on... maybe even impossible. 
After she makes that decision, if she has still chosen us, we have to stay in the state of birth until all of the legal documents are sorted through on the right desk-- which is typically two weeks or so.  So we will be living in a hotel with a newborn!
Even after that, there is a six month period before the adoption becomes finalized.  Very rarely does anything happen after the birth mother signs the forms, but technically the state and home study have to prove that we are fit parents and they determine that in the first six months.

The next step we are unsure of is a potential visit to the area the baby will be born in.  We could then meet the birth mother, visit the hospital, etc., and make the delivery a lot less awkward since it won't be the first time we're meeting.  However, travel is expensive and takes vacation days, things that are a hindrance for us right now.  But we will be hoping to find a way to make that a reality somehow. 

No Details
There are a few things Jim and I will gladly tell you.  We have been chosen (yay!), and Lord willing, a little biracial boy will be born in February and we will be bringing him home a few weeks later.
We will tell you that we respect his mother and we believe that she is making a wise decision in making an adoption plan (not because she chose us and we're happy about that, but because it is truly a good decision for her situation).

We will not be telling you details about her life, out of respect for her and the baby.  We don't want anyone making assumptions about the woman who is giving us the gift of parenthood.  We also want our child's adoption journey to be their story, something they can share instead of hearing it from others. 

So if you ask a question please don't be offended if we don't answer.  We aren't hiding something from you, we are protecting what isn't ours to share.

Help
Because there are a few who always ask (thank you, so much, by the way), we just ask for prayers for the right decisions to be made for that little boy.  For wisdom on our part in how to love the new people in our life-- a whole family, in fact.  For his mother, who is going to have some tough days ahead.  And for our (hopefully) son, that he will be who God wants him to be.

Thank you
Again.  From the bottom of my heart (and Jim's too) for the prayers, the love, the support (financial and otherwise) that you have given us.  Even if this particular situation ends differently than we hope, we are still so grateful to have you all!