Alice Jane Malo

There are NO WORDS to describe the way I am feeling now.  Happy. Excited. Terrified. All of the feelings!!!!  There are little tiny onesies, socks, and blankets in my washing machine right now.  There are clean baby bottles in my kitchen.  There is a packed baby bag on my counter.  This is happening!!!!!!

Here is how it all went down:
We got a phone call from Brandon Family Law Center Thursday evening asking if our book could be shown to a woman who gave birth on Monday.  We, of course, said yes.  The adoption coordinator, Alyce, met with the woman yesterday at 4:00.  We got THIS PICTURE texted to us at 5:39 saying it was the first picture of our daughter!  We talked to Alyce, got some details, and then preceded lose our minds!  That was followed by a run to Melissa's to get all the things and a Target run to buy out the store =)

EVERYTHING that EVERYONE said was right.  THIS is meant to be.  The failed matches failed for a reason.  This is our perfect, beautiful, baby girl.  She is OURS.  We are parents.  I am a mom.  My life is changed completely.

We were BLOWN AWAY by all of the texts, phone calls, facebook posts, and everything else last night.  We have the best friends.  We have the best family.  I can't wait for you all to meet our girl.  I can't wait for US to meet our girl!!!!!

Until Next Time,
Katie (Mommy)

Everything Happens For a Reason....Right?

I just keep saying this over and over today.

Today marks the second situation we were considered for but were not chosen.

The first situation I spoke about in my last blog post.  We were told that we were a "really close second" choice for that birth mom.

This second situation, I was so sure about.  I had a feeling.  We received the e-mail for it on our anniversary.  It was a girl.  There were all these signs, I thought.  It was us and one other couple.  I knew we would be chosen.  I started making plans in my head.  I was ready for my life to change.

And then it didn't.

This was going to be a hard situation (the mother is addicted to drugs).  It was going to be weeks in the NICU, and other potential problems.  But we were ready.  We were ready.

And then, we got the e-mail..."Unfortunately, you were not chosen for this situation..."

I felt blindsided.  I feel so sad.

However; I KNOW our baby is out there.  And we definitely learned from this situation.  We learned that we are a little more open to non-perfect babies then we thought we were.

In the words of Walt Disney, we must "keep moving forward".

Thank goodness for the support network we have.

I am sad today.  I am allowed to be sad today.  Tomorrow is a new day.  I will be okay.  I know we will be amazing parents.  We will love this baby so much.  I even think we love our future baby a little more every time we are not chosen.

Until then, I will keep busy.  I will spend time with my friends.  I will lose myself in books and television shows.  I will enjoy my 800 children that I teach.  I will go to Disney.

I will keep moving forward...

Until next time,
Katie

"DNA doesn't make a family, love does." - The Fosters