The baby that wasn’t ours…

Three Christmases ago, we were excitedly waiting to hear if a little boy would be our son. The situation was perfect for us in a lot of ways. We had a boy name picked out, and I wondered out loud if this boy would be our son. I bought a onesie for our son, and I told myself that it was ok to buy for our future child even if this child wasn’t him. I remember being so excited and wanting to tell our family. But, we hadn’t been chosen or even asked to talk to the expectant mother. There wasn’t really anything to celebrate. We’d been down this road before, and we didn’t want our families to be as disappointed as we had been. That boy would not be our son. It was disappointing not to be picked. Again.

But, we could never have guessed that we would be chosen to parent a little girl less than a month later. And that the whirlwind of parenthood would soon begin.

I sometimes wonder how close we were to living a different path with a different child. It’s humbling and terrifying all rolled up into one. Our little E is amazing, and I can’t imagine a life where she isn’t ours to love on. I think of that little boy from time to time. I wonder where he is and hope he’s happy and healthy.

To the waiting, hopeful parents, the wait IS hard. There are no guarantees. And no matter what path you’ve chosen, I hope that you get to live the dream, even if it isn’t the one you dreamed yourself. Thinking of you especially now during the holidays when everything can feel like a reminder of what you don’t have. We’ve walked the walk. You are not alone.

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Month 28

We haven’t been posting as much lately. We decided we needed to live instead of focusing on our wait. Chris is excited to be working towards his degree and trying to get all his ducks in a row to graduate in the spring. I spend my days working with my wonderful students who keep me laughing. They are so enthusiastic, and that is contagious! So, as Chris and my wait to become parents continues, we’ll be spending quality time with each other as well as friends and family. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers! ❤️❤️❤️

Month 27

An adoption go bag is starting to take shape. We found our big ol’ suitcase and started putting in a few goodies. We’ll have some basics packed in the next week or so and a packing list just in case we have to GO with short notice. Jessica is a planner, and lets be honest, if you’re told you need to leave within 24 hours to meet your baby, your minds going to be gobbledygook. What do you think we should pack for a week or two in another state with a newborn? No match yet. Just trying to be prepared! 

If We Build It, Baby Will Come…

We wanted to do an official post on our

July Recipes (& update)

As always, summer is flying by! So fast, in fact, we didn’t manage to try any new recipes in June. But, we weren’t going to let that happen for July! Chris used a bread pan he received as a gift that is specially made to make sandwich bread. He found a delicious recipe but forgot to put the top on during the backing. Oops! It still tasted delicious! 

For a game night with friends, we made Muddy Buddies. Chris had never made it before, and Jessica had only tried making once as a child. It doesn’t quite look right but still tastes so yummy! 

In addition to making a few new recipes, Chris finished his first class back to college. He’s looking forward to fall semester but is glad he has a few weeks off before it all starts. 

Jessica took on summer school this year. It definitely was a challenge, but she’s glad she took it on this year. She is also glad to have a few weeks off before the 2017-2018 school year starts. She’ll have a new challenge this year as she changes schools and will begin teaching science in addition to math. Jessica is excited for all the new adventures to come. 

We have a big day planned for tomorrow, and we can’t to share all about it later this week. 

**We are hoping to adopt a newborn. If you or someone you know has decided to place a child for adoption, learn more about us here.**

Christmas in July

We haven’t had too much to share, but now, we do! After a very long process and wait, we are active and approved with American Adoptions. This means that our profile will start to be shown to expectant mothers that have decided to place through their agency. It’s another tool/resource. We still have our Virginia agency, adoption lawyer, and social media accounts to help us connect with an expectant mother. So, you could still be our connection! We don’t really know how many expectant families have seen our profile or learned about us, but we feel like many more will be seeing it through American. 

When we found out last week that we were approved, it felt a little like Christmas! Below is our adoption video American helped us make. Feel free to share. And thank you to all of you have already shared. We appreciate your continued support in our dreams of becoming parents. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eE8f0vB3Hbk

Month 26

Preparing for Baby B is an interesting process. We recently discussed our wait and journey up to this point. We have always wanted to be parents. About 6 years ago, we decided to start a family. As many of you know, parenthood did not come easily to us and is still something we hope for. BUT, early on, you are focused on the baby stage. The onesies. The little toes. The diapers. So many diapers. All the many firsts. As time goes on and especially with adoption, you start to think about every stage of your child’s life. We let ourselves daydream about first days of school, camp, family trips, sport teams, family dinners, driver’s licenses, graduations, weddings, and everything in between (and beyond). So, when we saw this school sign for $5 at Michaels, we bought it. Cute first day of school pictures. Check. 

Month 25

Piece by piece, we are adding to the nursery. Can’t wait to match with an expectant family or get the “call.”

May Recipes

We tried some pretty basic recipes this month. Jessica heard about

To the Beach We Go

We celebrated our anniversary last weekend by going to the beach! And, we took