A Crib for my birthday!!!

Yesterday was my 32nd birthday! And it was a happy day! I got to go to Babies R' Us on a date (decided not to register there!) and was taken out to lunch. My sweet heart mom-in-law brought me a basket of baby goodies and helped me paint a bookshelf for the baby's room. One friend brought me flowers and another made me a cake! Oh and did I mention the crib? It came in the mail yesterday!!! It was a happy day!

I also want to update everyone on the fund raising. We have raised 64%!! That's great! We still need to raise $4500! Thank you everyone for your amazing generosity! We are truly blessed. Tears came to our eyes yesterday as we opened gifts from you our friends and family.

Please continue to tell your friends and family and donate if you like! We're almost there :) It will be so fun to introduce our little bundle!

A baby in six weeks!! What?

Yup, this is a crazy story! I've been waiting to update the blog until we knew a little more and had some elements set in stone. So, here is what's been happening in Feleighpe's road to parenthood...

We have been accepted by the agency and were set to attend their orientation on April 30th. We started fundraising! Two weeks ago, we got a call from a friend of a friend who lives in another state. She knew a girl who wanted to give her baby to adoption and she had told this girl about us. A week and a half ago, the girl told our friend that she wants to give her baby to the girl in Texas! We have since talked in depth with our friend about this girl and as it stands we are all going forward. She wants to give her baby to us! She is due in early June!!! Yup, 6 weeks from now, we could have a baby!

The last 2 weeks have been full of emotion, scurrying, and busyness! Since this adoption is not through an agency, the process is quite a bit different, and quite a bit less expensive. I have written our birth mom a letter and she has received it. We have a home study started, we have a lawyer, we painted the baby's room, I'm gathering newborn supplies from friends and family (as a shower will have to wait until after baby comes), and we are still raising funds for the adoption.

Our total cost for the adoption is now $12,000 instead of $24,000!!! This is great news. We are currently at 40% of our goal! Meaning that we still need to raise $7,200! This is amazing and we are praising the Lord for what He is doing. Would you please consider giving to our adoption fund? Every little bit helps. If 100 people give $25 each, that's $2500 putting us much closer to being able to go forward!

Thanks so much everyone for cheering us on, for praying for us and for giving to our family! It's amazing!

Here are a few more details for you folks that love details :) We don't know if it's a boy or a girl and we will be surprised at birth! Our birth mom is set to be induced so we will travel to where she is and be there at the hospital for the birth. I don't know yet if we will meet her. Yes, we are freaking out a little (this is an 8-week pregnancy for us!) We are also ecstatic and cautious about going forward. Adoption isn't over until it's over. Daily, I'm praying for our birth mom and the baby. But I simply cannot pray that she'll give her baby to us. Right now, this is her baby. I'm praying for God's will to be done for her, for the baby, and for us. Holy Spirit, intercede on our behalf. We need You. The birth mother seems confident in her decision and she made it months ago. But, you just never know. Please join us in praying for everyone involved, especially for the baby. We would love to know and raise this little one!

Thanks friends. With love and hope...

Painting baby's room...

Hey friends!

This weekend we painted the baby's room! It's blue!

It's a blue that can go either way... we'll add pinks or... browns :)

It's fun to be preparing for an actual baby!

Our fundraising is underway. We are currently at 12% of our goal! Please pass our info on to your friends and family who may want to help.

Thanks everyone! Fun times!

I'll write more soon.

A Post I Never Published

This was written on April 10, 2010 (a year ago)

I went to the doctor on Tuesday and we have good news! My endometriosis has not grown in the last 4 months! This is a small miracle considering that I've been doing nothing (medically)to treat it. Most of the time, if I'm not treating it, it's growing. So, praise the Lord! This is incredible news for us. It's so tiring trying this treatment and that treatment and changing the hormones in my body every few months. Felipe has never known me without it... so maybe now he's getting to know the real me :). I joke, "maybe I'm not sooo moody!" When I saw the doctor, he asked how I was doing. I said, "Well, I'm only taking one medicine (for thyroid) and I haven't seen you in 4 months! I'm doing great!" He smiled. And on top of that, physically, I feel really good. I still have one ovarian cyst and one small fibroid (tumor), but for now, they are nothing to worry about.

When we finished fertility treatments, I thought it was totally over. But when we went to the doctor in December and found that endometriosis had returned and cysts were growing, it was very disheartening. I look forward to a day without doctors.

I find it completely amazing how my heart has changed through this process. There has to be a God! I mean, we've always wanted to adopt, regardless of what happened. But I didn't know how I would feel if we weren't able to have a baby. I'm the girl who used to follow pregnant women and get lost from my mom in the store. I wanted to be a doula (a birthing assistant), I wanted natural childbirth and the whole nine yards. I actually wanted pregnancy as much as a baby. But, in the surrender of it all, something amazing has happened. I still get that glowing feeling when I see a pregnant girl, but I don't feel the deep pain that I once did. I don't feel envy anymore. I was in a baby store the other day and asked a girl for help in the stroller aisle. Side note: seriously, how many strollers does one person need!? For crying out loud... why are there so many to choose from? I felt so overwhelmed like I do in the tooth paste aisle! Girl at Buy Buy Baby was very helpful. She asked me how old my baby was. I told her with all the giddy-ness I have that I'm adopting!! I feel pregnant, but I'm not nauseas or bloated! Another side note: people used to say things like that to me about adopting... well if you adopt, you won't have to go through birth and all the bad things. Just FYI: only I can say things like that. It's like you can say something about you being overweight, but your friend just shouldn't :) And timing is everything. My heart had to get there. And today, I can look on that side of this.

Walking through the journey of infertility is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, even if I believed in the whole hate-your-enemy-thing. Felipe and I know a pain that I never knew existed. And we are learning the secret of contentment in it. I believe it comes from thankfulness. Now don't get me wrong, I had some shaking my fist at God, cursing him and yelling at Him moments. I was devastated. Yet, in the quiet, when I could force my will, in my darkest hours, through my sobs, I thanked Him. His word tells us to give thanks in ALL things. So, I thanked him for endometriosis. I thanked him for each day we didn't have a baby, for when we got to go on a bike ride without getting a babysitter, for sleeping in, for the pain, for the loss, for our embryos, for our friends and family, and for His sacrifice for us. I thanked Him for the joy I knew would come in the morning... or is it mourning.