Malorie & Jacob's Adoption Adventure: Part 3
We are just under a month away from the baby's due date! I can't believe how fast it's gone, although it does make sense considering we've only known about him since the beginning of November!
We have been so blessed by friends, family, co-workers, acquaintances, and even people we haven't met! These blessings have included help with funding, giving us clothing and other baby items, fantastic conversations, and lots of prayer. We are humbled by and grateful for so many people and things since we announced our intentions to adopt, and even more so when we announced that this baby boy was coming.
Because of our tight timeline, November and December (already crazy busy months in both ministry and a school and coaching setting), were a whirlwind. We completed our homestudy in 3 weeks - a process that generally takes at least 3-6 months. I would come home from practice and Jacob and I would sit at the kitchen table filling out another round of paperwork while eating dinner. We also had to complete 10 hours of online training. We retained a lawyer, we did some work around the house, bought a crib, set up a baby room, reorganized the kitchen cupboards so that we would have room for bottles and formula, and Jacob built a changing table. In this time span we also had extra church events, 4 cheerleading competitions, spent 4 days in Iowa with Jacob's family and hosted my family for 3 days.
January is slightly less crazy, but only slightly, and for that I'm actually grateful. I'm not very good at waiting. A busy January means that I have things to distract me until baby is born. And once he is born my assistant coaches take over all cheerleading practices and competitions, I'm taking leave from work to focus on the baby, and I'm guessing I'll have a lot of puppy cuddles and baby cries.
I'm so excited.
On Tuesday we're going to see our birth mom again. We're going to finalize the adoption conditions and go over the birth plan. Other than that there's not much left for us to do until we get the phone call to go to the hospital.
As I mentioned earlier, we've been incredibly blessed by the love and support that has been poured out to us. If you're still looking for ways to help us out, here are some things you can do.
We have been so blessed by friends, family, co-workers, acquaintances, and even people we haven't met! These blessings have included help with funding, giving us clothing and other baby items, fantastic conversations, and lots of prayer. We are humbled by and grateful for so many people and things since we announced our intentions to adopt, and even more so when we announced that this baby boy was coming.
Because of our tight timeline, November and December (already crazy busy months in both ministry and a school and coaching setting), were a whirlwind. We completed our homestudy in 3 weeks - a process that generally takes at least 3-6 months. I would come home from practice and Jacob and I would sit at the kitchen table filling out another round of paperwork while eating dinner. We also had to complete 10 hours of online training. We retained a lawyer, we did some work around the house, bought a crib, set up a baby room, reorganized the kitchen cupboards so that we would have room for bottles and formula, and Jacob built a changing table. In this time span we also had extra church events, 4 cheerleading competitions, spent 4 days in Iowa with Jacob's family and hosted my family for 3 days.
January is slightly less crazy, but only slightly, and for that I'm actually grateful. I'm not very good at waiting. A busy January means that I have things to distract me until baby is born. And once he is born my assistant coaches take over all cheerleading practices and competitions, I'm taking leave from work to focus on the baby, and I'm guessing I'll have a lot of puppy cuddles and baby cries.
I'm so excited.
On Tuesday we're going to see our birth mom again. We're going to finalize the adoption conditions and go over the birth plan. Other than that there's not much left for us to do until we get the phone call to go to the hospital.
As I mentioned earlier, we've been incredibly blessed by the love and support that has been poured out to us. If you're still looking for ways to help us out, here are some things you can do.
- Pray
- For us
- We've never been parents before. We have no idea what we're doing.
- That Jacob stops being afraid to change diapers (not afraid, just wants it to be pass fail with his own kids....)
- That our home and hearts are prepared for what is to come
- For our birth mom
- That she is comfortable and feels well this last month of pregnancy
- That she continues to feel peace in her decision to give her baby for adoption
- That she has or is able to find the support and love that she needs through this experience.
- Financially - we still have to pay for half of our homestudy and for our birth mom's legal fees. We also don't know if any surprise medical expenses will come up during or after the birth.
- You can still buy a shirt that directly supports our adoption. We receive a portion of the profit from each shirt sold. Since we've already completed a campaign and a minimum order, you can buy one and it will be guaranteed to print, then shipped directly to your house.
- Our GoFundMe is still live.
- Baby items - we've received many gifts, and I honestly have no idea how prepared we actually are. We created this Target Registry awhile ago and didn't tell anyone, then slowly deleted things as we were given them or bought them. If you are wondering if you have something that we could use, or are looking for things we would specifically like to have, go ahead and check there.
- **Please don't feel like you have to buy us some sort of gift. We have mainly used this as a reference point, and people keep asking me what we still need. I never remember what we still need.
Again, we are so grateful for all of you and all you've done. Please continue to pray for us and we prepare for our next adventure!
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