The Lord has truly been doing amazing things in our lives, and just when I begin to feel overwhelmed and stressed that we won't be able to do this, the Lord gently reminds me that He has it all in His hands!
Our birth mother's name is Dana, and we have been in touch a few times since she chose us. We informed her that we were also expecting a baby, and told her we would also love to have her son as our own. She said she is delighted with the fact that he will have a sibling, and things are moving forward! We then had to mail down $5,000.00 to retain her lawyer in Virgina, and $3,500.00 to retain our lawyer here in Maine. We are not sure where we will get money for the remaining expenses, but are trusting the Lord in this. We have already spent almost $20,000.00 on this process. It's all worth it, but money is stressful! Angel Adoption was not too impressed that we were still wanting to adopt even though we are pregnant... it's their own personal opinion and thank the Lord that Dana still chose us! If she hadn't then they would have put us on hold until after we had our baby... crazy if you ask me!
We have also picked out a name for the baby - Benjamin Tyshawn Dayfield - Dana asked if we could fit the name Tyshawn in his name, and so to show respect we made it his middle name. Benjamin means "son of my right hand", and she was very happy his name was going to be Biblical.
Our second born (due August 3rd) is doing well! We heard the heartbeat last week and are so thrilled that the baby is healthy and doing well.
It also looks as if we will be closing on our new house very soon, which is another stresser, but a good one! The Lord is truly our Provider! We are very excited to close soon and get settled before April. Benjamin will arrive sometime around April 28th, she is going to have a c-section, which works out great because then we know exactly when we have to be there for the birth. We will travel down by car and they say it could take up to 10 business days to get the paperwork cleared for us to travel over state lines with him. Justin will have to fly back for work, and I'm talking my mother into flying down to travel back with me and Benjamin (it won't take much convincing, she is very excited :).
Much prayer is needed! Pray for Dana during this time, pray for her heart and emotional state. Pray for both babies that they remain healthy and growing the way they should! Also, Dana can back out at any time, even up to 2 months after we have Benjamin (or until we appear before the judge to make him legally ours) - pray she does not recant - that would be unbelievably hard. Pray for money, that it would come when needed for this process and that there would be no question that the Lord is in this! And lastly please pray for us... that we would remain clinging to the Lord and each other during this time! Thank you so much for your love, support and prayers!
Here is our puzzle so far:
