Our "Matching" Story

           We are MATCHED!!! The adoption process so far has been such an incredible experience for Nate and I. A lot of people have been asking me how everything happened, so I thought it would be fun to tell the story of how we got matched. Just in case anyone isn't familiar with the term "matched" this means that we have been chosen by an expectant mother to become the adoptive parents of her child. It is a very exciting step! :) Also, out of respect for the expectant mother's privacy, we will not be giving any identifying information, so please don't be offended if you ask us a question and we choose not to answer.

The best Christmas gift I could have ever dreamed of.

        About a month a half ago, we received a message from an expectant mother. We had already spoken with a few other expectant mothers and while they were all amazing, something felt different as we spoke with this expectant mother. The conversation flowed easily and we had a lot in common. Nate and I both told each other that we felt like this might be the right match for us. On November 11th we got a call from our case worker and she said that the expectant mother whom we had been speaking with had chosen us and then asked if we would like to begin the matching process. I ran to Nate's work on my lunch break to tell him the exciting news and we called our case worker to tell her that we felt great about everything and that we wanted to move forward with matching. Our case worker invited us to come to the agency to sign the paperwork and we called the expectant mom to formally ask her to be matched with us. I probably sounded like the most awkward person ever as I asked her, but she excitedly said, "I was hoping you were going to ask that!"

This was the day we were matched with our sweet expectant mama. :) 

        The next thing we did was schedule a time to travel to meet her. A couple weeks later we found ourselves in an adorable diner with her and her mom. I had been really nervous to meet her because I was worried she would change her mind, but as soon as we started talking, it was like we had been friends forever. She is amazing, smart, funny and beautiful and I still can't believe how lucky we are. Her mom was so sweet and you could just tell they are both amazing people. She gave us some ultrasound photos and told us he had been really active that morning. She said she had asked baby boy if it was because he was excited to meet his mommy and daddy. She also asked us if we had picked out a name for him and when we told her the name we really liked, she began calling him by that name. As we hugged goodbye, my heart felt so full of love for her, her mom and the sweet baby boy we all love. It is amazing how people can go from strangers to family so quickly in the adoption world.

Look at that button nose and those lips! He is so adorable!

       Since our meeting, she had a doctors appointment and sent us a recording of baby boy's heartbeat. I balled like a little baby when I heard the strong and steady sound of his heart beating. I have literally listened to the recording multiple times a day since she has sent it to us. It is so crazy to think that in a little over three months, we will be bringing a baby home! We are excited to say the least to be the parents of this handsome boy and he already has me wrapped around his little finger.
       The last four years have been hard. Like really, really hard and it has been difficult for me to not get bitter and angry. I haven't been able to understand why God would put us through the trials we have had. Obviously everyone is going to go through trials, but I just felt like we had been picked on to be honest. As we have gotten further into the adoption process however, I feel like this is what we have been prepared for. Our struggles have opened our eyes and our hearts. I miss Hunter, Hazel and our other two babies with all of my heart, but I totally believe they have been busy in Heaven helping get their baby brother here and that they are just as excited as we are. There is no doubt in my mind that this is exactly how Heavenly Father wants us to build our family. We still can't believe how quickly everything has come together after deciding to adopt and we are so grateful to every single person who has helped us by spreading the word, donating, and supporting us as we have been on this great adventure. Thank you so much for making this incredible opportunity possible for us. You are all so amazing and we send of our love and we wish you a very Merry Christmas!