We're Getting A Baby!!!

WE'RE ADOPTING THAT LITTLE BEAN!!

Baby Thompson is due November 19, 2014 

& this ultrasound was taken at 9 weeks.

Currently baby is 12 weeks if my calculations are correct. :)

So here's our amazing story of how this little miracle came to us.

On April 14 Crockett left Michigan for an 8 week training school in California and I headed for Texas to spend time with family while he was gone. Shortly after I arrived I got a text from a sweet Michigan friend telling me she was pregnant and thinking about adoption. She said if she and the father did decide on that route she wanted to choose Crockett and I as the parents. She has known us our entire time in Michigan and has listened to our story and been there along part of our journey to become parents. She knew we were pursuing adoption and waiting to get to our next unit to start the process over. I began praying that God would calm my heart and not allow me to get my hopes up. I prayed that the baby would grow healthy and that I would be a voice of encouragement to our friend no matter what decision she made.

At the end of April we found out we were going to be stationed in Kansas next. We immediately found a home and I began researching adoption agencies and fertility specialists in the area. Based on our previous research we knew adoption wouldn't be cheap. We had pretty much decided on starting an online giving fund for friends and family to donate to our adoption and then taking out a loan to cover the difference. The agency we were talking to requires that the adoptive parents have the full adoption amount in cash to begin the process. We were looking at taking out about $30,000 in private loans and waiting up to 2 years for placement.

Then, on May 10 I woke up to a beautiful text message. Our friend and the baby's father had gone to an appointment for the baby the previous day. The message read, "We've definitely decided to give the baby up for adoption to you and Crockett!" I can't tell you how ecstatic I felt!! I called Crockett and he was so thrilled. We told his family first at lunch and then my family later that day. Everyone was so excited! The next day we announced it on facebook and the outpouring of love I've received has been so humbling and just overwhelming. 

So many friends and family have walked with us along this journey these past 2 and a half years. So many shoulders have let me cry when month after month we weren't pregnant. Dear friends who've listened to my rants and raves when I was frustrated over failed treatments and painful procedures. It's like we all just got this amazing news together!

So right now birth mom is keeping me updated with appointments and how she's doing. We aren't going through an agency since we know her which will save us tens of thousands of dollars. Crockett & I will pay for a lawyer to handle all the legal aspects of this adoption and we will head to Michigan when it's go time and then take our new bundle back to Kansas just in time for Thanksgiving! 

Can I just tell you how much I admire birth mom? I loved her before this because she is a sweet and precious friend who I really enjoyed hanging out with and getting to know over the years. She was one of the constants from day 1 for us and it was always fun when she was around. But this whole thing has brought me to a whole new level of love and appreciation and respect for her. She knows that right now is not the right time for her to be a mother and that she couldn't give this baby everything she would want to. She knows that Crockett and I have prayed for a child and that we are so ready for this. She is the bravest and most selfless person I know. I can't even imagine a more selfless thing to do. She is a hero. She is my personal hero. I never thought the fate of motherhood for me would be in the hands of another woman and yet, here she is... making me a mother. I will never be able to thank her properly. And I will always hold her in my heart.

Up next is planning the gender reveal party! Birth mom will find out the gender in 5-6 weeks and we'll get her on the phone to tell the people that need to know to prepare the big surprise. Crockett & and I plan to find out at the party at the same time all our friends and family do!! I CANNOT WAIT TO KNOW!! (We may or may not already have both boy & girl names ready to go. Shocker, I know.) After that my seester is planning a baby shower for late summer. Then school and work will start in the fall and we'll have just a few months to get ready for baby! 

I just can't even believe that after all this time I'm finally about to hit "publish" on the blog that announces WE ARE GOING TO BE PARENTS!