Behold… our baby girl!!!

I have dreamt about writing this post for, oh… 7 years AND 7 weeks now… but I have barely been able to make myself a cup of coffee, which if I may add, is was generally my first cognitive waking thought. I stir, I blink and I think coffee! My husband and I sometimes have Saturday morning coffee duels…. basically the one who can shoot the word out first has the honour of being served coffee by the other. Aren’t we romantic 🙂

SO! The worthy reason for this… umm monumental life change that has affected more than just my coffee routine?  Well it’s simply, magnificently and once unimaginably…… BECAUSE THERE’S A MOST BEAUTIFUL LITTLE BABY GIRL IN OUR HOUSE! Not my newborn niece BUT in fact OUR VERY OWN DAUGHTER!

I need to read that again….
A BIRTH MOM CHOSE US and we got ‘THE CALL’ every adoptive parent longs for, announcing our daughters arrival… !!!

SO let me tell you the story from the top…. it’s quite amazing!
(and if you are still in the waiting – be encouraged!)

It was an ordinary Monday morning (but not), my hubby woke me up to share a cup of COFFEEEEE with him before he went hi-ho (even tho we don’t technically sip from one mug – coffee is all about sharing isn’t it – that’s what I love most about it – the conversations & moments around it). Ok I’ve made my coffee point… moving on to more noteworthy subjects…

I was busy listening to see if that was the garbage truck I could hear and wondering if we’d put our bin out yet WHEN THE PHONE RANG. Hubster leaned over and read out the number. Now there are 2 people we know who live in that area: our very close friends aka ‘the smoonks’, who were hugely instrumental in lovingly nudging us towards our first thoughts of adoption AND OUR SOCIAL WORKERS.  I said “answer, it could be the smoonks” but in my heart I was hoping it would be our social workers. (I haven’t wanted to live thro this ‘waiting for the call’ season, wondering whether every ring of the phone would be them but on this occasion I broke that self-imposed rule 🙂

And then it all played out in fast-slow-motion.

Hub was saying hello to our social worker and looking at me with a nodding-wide-eyed-chesire-grinface. Next thing we were huddled with the phone pressed between our ears and sobbing the eyes of our hearts out – whatever that means – it’s what it felt like! There were just these cries coming from all parts our being. Overriding immense joy flooding thro, mixed with the sluice-gate release of a very very very deep longing which has obviously been attached to yearrrrrs of desiring to be parents. The unbridled sound of these two emotions must have made all within earshot wonder if we would ever make it back to the land of cognition.  With each bit of news received, we would let out another unrivalled and in sync laughblub……
“A birth mommy has chosen you”  wooooooohhhaooooooowhahahahawooooaw
“It’s a little girl” wooooohhhaoooooow wooooawwoooooohhoowhahahaha wooooaw
“Can you pick her up today”  wooooohhhaoooooowwooooawwooooooh hoowhahahahawooooawwooooohhhaoooooowwooooaw woooooohhoowhahahahawooooaw!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Something like that!  🙂

I have since been so mindful of how this phone call redeemed the last one, on the day that my ears first heard that we would be journeying forward on what would be a 6 year road of hoping to be parents. For one we were together this time. My husband often goes into work before I rise… but not on this Monday. I am so grateful that we shared this moment in person with hugs and jumping and laughing aswell!

I remember looking at my allman at one point during the phone call and his whole face was scrunched up in the most unreserved way…. the way that is normally not socially ‘pretty’… it made me laugh and love him even more! (Soon I shall dedicated a whole blogpost entirely to him and his phenomenal hubdadness!)

Our beautiful social worker then ended off by saying “bring a car seat and formula…” and we were like ok, ya, definitely (and mental noting to go out and buy ‘said’ items asap)….. and then she continued saying something along the lines of “sorry you can only pick her up this afternoon” (as they had some immovable meetings) and we were like…. ummm this afternoon is fine, we have…. aggghhh you know….. just a couple things to go and buy…. LIKE EVERYTHING!!! Cos the forest family, monchichi and 1 zillion teddys that I own, aint going to sustain a little life! I never did get that rocking chair sorted out, that I spoke of in rocking my achtung heart post. One part of me chided myself for not having organised the baby room sooner…. but you know what it allowed for? It allowed for us to receive! And boy have we received!! The generosity and love around us has blown us away. We will never forget it! Family, friends and so many people we don’t even know, have come bearing meals and gifts. IN AWE! In the time given, we were also forced to not be self-sufficient and gladly received mounds of secondhand items that were not as shiny as the ones we would have bought…. but were wrapped in love!

I might post later about how the next most beautiful 7 hours unfolded, maybe with some pics too…! But in an idiom nutshell we got up and running on lots of adrenalin, grace and help from our beloved families and friends who surrounded us, shared insights and hand me downs and by that evening we had our baby room set up and our hearts and household were filled with a new kind of love, delight and adoration for our baby girl… and gratitude for God’s lavish love and new unfolding story in our lives !

7 is our number! Biblically it represents perfection and in the Hebrew, seven ([b’v, – Sheh’-bah) is from a root word meaning to be complete or full. I always choose 7 – God’s perfect number! We waited 7 months from handing in our profile and all final forms, in our 7th year of marriage with 7 hours notice!
We surely have been blessed seven-fold!!