I held my SON!!

We got to hold Ethan this afternoon (and feed him and change his diaper.) Bio grandfather has not resurfaced and we are hoping the situation will fade out.

Birth mom put our chosen name, Ethan Michael, on the birth certificate!!! If all goes well, we may be able to take him "home" tomorrow.

Thanks for the prayers. Will post pictures when I can.

In need of some prayer power...

Birth mom's dad is trying to talk her out of the adoption. Our worker is with her and diffusing the situation and we will wait until called to go meet our baby.

Here are the stats:

ITS A BOY!!!!
5# 14 ounces
20 inches long
born around midnight

If we get to adopt him, his name will be Ethan. (Middle name still up for discussion)

Please pray for the situation to improve and for us to bring Ethan home on Sunday.

Still waiting

We are still waiting to go to the hospital. Birth mom was induced at 3 pm yesterday and was only 1 cm dialated. The social worker will call us when baby is born and they are ready for us to go to the hospital. We are only 45 minutes away so won't take us long to get there.

The three of us are feeling a little anxious today and speaking with the social worker helped. I keep praying that everything goes well and covet the prayers I know we are getting from our friends and family.

We'll post again when we can!

And we're off...

Got the big call today....birth mom is being induced!!! The ultrasound showed low amniotic fluid and so they are inducing her. We do not know the sex of the baby, but will be meeting him/her very soon!! We have to meet with the social worker here at 5:00...yes...5:00 pm and then we will leave.

Please pray for a healthy labor/delivery and baby! I'll update when I can!!

Tin Grins are in!!

Lots of metal in our house right now!! I don't know if you can tell, but both got pink & blue bands in honor of our upcoming adoption. TOO CUTE!! Jordan did rather well at the orthodontist, despite the fear of pain after having the palate expander the first time around. I guess we'll be making a lot of soup and scrambled eggs for the next couple of days.

Summer rain

Had a warm summer rain this evening. You can't tell, but the kids are playing in the rain. And then...we were blessed with a beautiful rainbow!!

Getting ready for the big day!

Baby blanket...check. Diaper bag with stuff...check. Bear from Mommy, Daddy and big sister, Jordan...check. Carrie met with social worker yesterday and apparently cried a lot. I can't imagine how hard this decision is for her. They talked logistics if she would decide to parent and she realizes she can't keep the baby.

Ultrasound scheduled for July 30th, next MD appt. tomorrow. All systems are go for our baby to be born in the next few weeks. They put together a hospital plan and Lance & I will get there as soon as we can...hopefully before the baby is even born. She would like Jordan involved and so we may try to get her up there at some point. (She is very excited about that!!)

We are starting the paperwork here and our attorney said things should flow quite easily!!

Please continue to pray for Carrie and our baby and all involved in this adoption!!

Steamy, hot weekend!!

It was a great weekend to be in the pool, which we did on Sat & Sun! Colleen and the boys were here and we had a great time! I think Shane is on target to be taller than Jordan...and John Wesley! :) Sadly, they left today...but we get to see them for Uncle Zane's reception in October!!

Well...

we have a little more information. Birth dad is caucasion, has dark hair & is about Lance's height. Birth mom has dark hair and olive skin....going to be a beautiful baby! We don't know much about the health of the baby, only that birth mom drank a few times and smokes 1-2 cigarrettes a day. She goes back to the doctor on Monday and meets with her worker again on Tuesday. She is not naming the birth dad and so we wait 30-35 days to be clear of him claiming the baby.

I have a huge sense of peace about this situation and feel God's hand guiding us each step of the way. As long as it sounds like the baby is healthy, we will expect to go to the hospital in a month!!

By the way...for those who have wondered...Lance is fine. Treated for a sinus infection on Monday and was back to normal by Tuesday (after only 2 doses of antibiotics!) Thanks for the concern.

Lance & Jordan have left to go to the airport to pick up Colleen and the boys! I'll post pictures of their visit next week! They are in for a HOT weekend!

Big meeting today

Our birth mom is meeting with her agency today. Lance will not officially commit to this adoption until we get more information about the situation. I am praying that this works out and that Lance feels comfortable enough to say it is a go. Feeling very anxious today (& a little emotional). This rollarcoaster of adoption is crazy!!

Update

Got an e-mail from the birth mom's worker. Dr. appt. apparently went okay. No other details. They have a meeting on Thursday and we hope to get much more information at that point.

More waiting...

I should be a doctor...

I diagnosed Lance with sinus infection and I was right! Glad that is all it is. I was afraid of a flu bug and with Colleen and the boys coming this weekend, I didn't want the rest of the house to be sick when they come. Doc gave Lance some good meds and he is on the mend.

No news from the adoption agency. We continue to wait. UGH!

Whew!

What a week it has been. We are busy preparing to be gone in case this adoption goes through. Things are looking good so far. Birth mom goes to the doctor tomorrow and her worker will meet with her this week to finish up the paperwork on her end. We need the birth father to be named and to sign his rights over and agree to the adoption. Otherwise, that could put us at legal risk for 30 days while they exhaust efforts to find him. If all goes well with the birth mom, she will sign paperwork 72 hours after the baby is born and that is it. No waiting period...no turning back and we sigh a big sigh of relief.

Jordan had a few friends in on Friday night and Paulo and Ju joined us for the evening. We have our mission trip to Brazil mapped out for August, 2009. It is very exciting!

Lance fixed the deck and did some other "honey -do" projects this weekend. THEN...he woke up rather sick this morning. Chills, fever, cold symptoms...he is misserable. As if we are not busy enough...he has to get sick. He still has post -class papers and reading to do. YIKES!

Well, I'm going to get some work done so I can take Jordan to Youth Group later.

Please continue to pray for our birth mom, our baby and the adoption in general. And please pray that Lance feels better soon (and that Jordan & I stay healthy). Thank you!

Could this be it??

We are being considered by a birth mom!!!!! Actually, her words were, "I would like to place my baby with the Whorton's". OH MY!!! Birth mom, Carrie, is meeting with her agency on Thursday and we should know more after that. (They are supposed to call us.) No, we do not know what gender the baby is, but he/she is healthy according to the ultrasound.

Oh yea...baby is due August 17th. WOW!! My head is swirling!!

Now...there is the real possibility that she will change her mind...before or while at the hospital. Please pray that she is strong and can proceed with this decision.

Cautiously optimistic.... :)

I am so ready...

Ready for Jordan to be home. Ready to return to life as normal working Mon, Wed, Fri and home Tues & Thurs. Ready for this three day weekend that starts tomorrow.

It has been a long week with Jordan at camp. I keep thinking, "Wait until I tell Jordan...." I have sent her about 5 letters...not sure how many she has received. I'll bet she has a lot of stories about camp. I can't wait to hear them!!