And the date is...

We've had two appointments with Rachael in the past two days. We met with her regular doctor yesterday for a check-up. Rachael's blood pressure is up, so the doctor told her to take it easy. But the heartbeat sounded good and everything else is fine.

Today we met with the surgeon to schedule the C-section and we set the date for May 18th! It's so exciting and so scary all at the same time. Having a date to look forward to makes it seem more real, but I'm starting to think of all the things that should be done before then!

It is such a blessing to be a part of Rachael's pregnancy, to get to know her, and be included in her appointments. Please continue to pray for all of us in this process.

C'mon May, hurry up!

Rachael's doctor's appointment on Thursday was reassuring in the fact that the baby looks healthy, we heard the heartbeat, and the doctor was pleased with her ultrasound. But we still don't have a date for the C-section yet. Rachael will meet with the surgeon for a pre-op appointment to discuss how her last one was, and how this one should go, and then we'll meet with her doctor again on the 27th. We should be able to schedule the C-section at that time. We can't wait to have a date in May to look forward to!!

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

We went to Rachael's ultrasound today, and it was fascinating! It is amazing what they can do with technology these days. What a blessing to be able to see this baby girl and pray that she will be ours next month!

Introducing...

...little Reba Rigney!

Just kidding! Ha ha!! We wouldn't really name her that. Mandi's friends have been trying to guess her name and Reba is what they came up with. Sorry, Shelby and Christine...keep trying!

Anyway, isn't the baby beautiful? Look at those lips! Rachael's next appointment is next Thursday, the 14th. We can't wait!

This baby is kind of a big deal!

Our baby hasn't even been born yet, but we are amazed every day by how many people already care about him/her. This onesie, a gift from Mandi's mom, is so true! This baby is such a big deal to all of us. For example, we were so very blessed today at church. Our wonderful church family had a special offering this morning to help with our adoption expenses. Not only that, but our youth pastor, Brenda sang a very special song that she wrote. That's right, she wrote a song just for us about our adoption journey! Of course, there were many tears. It was beautiful and she is very talented. Thank you all for caring so much about us and this little one, who will hopefully come home soon.

It's a good day!

We got to visit with Rachael, our birthmother, tonight. She had called us and wanted to see us! She's feeling good and doing well. We got to meet her son, who is pretty funny and very well-behaved. She has an ultrasound on Tuesday, April 5th. She asked us to come and we are SO excited to be able to see the baby! It should also give us a better idea of how far along she is and when they might schedule her C-section. (She had a C-section the first time, so this birth will be too.) We are praying everything will go well from this point forward, but we know nothing is final until the baby is here, and both Rachael and the birthfather have signed the papers. But so far, this has been an awesome start to our Spring Break!

The Adoption Roller Coaster

In case you were wondering, we didn't get to go to Rachael's doctor appointment on Tuesday. It was cancelled. Some things have changed making it harder for us to communicate with her. We've had a few complications with this whole adoption process in the last week or so, but we are continuing to have faith that things will work out the way we hoped they would.

Thanks to all of you for your continued support and prayers!

Oh, Happy Day!

First, I have to start with this verse, Hebrews 11:1: Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. It has been my mantra for the last few weeks. I'm still not sure what God's plan is for Michael and me, a woman named Rachael, and her baby girl, but I'm continuing to have faith in Him and what I hope for. So, how does this story begin? Well, let me back up the train a bit...

Thursday, February 10
I was visiting my grandma in South Whitley. Michael had stayed home. It was about 5:30 and I was just getting ready to leave. My cell phone rang and it was Michael. I went into Grandma's bedroom for some quiet and heard him say, "I think I have some good news." He went on to say he had gotten a phone call from the director of the Wabash Department of Child Services. A lawyer had called her and said he is representing a woman who is interested in making an adoption plan for her child, and would she know of any couple who might be interested? I had just spoken to the director a few months ago, so she knew we were wanting to adopt! Well, that was definitely good news! I just sat and listened as Michael gave me the few details he knew. Our next step was to call the lawyer back and tell him we were interested.

Tuesday, February 15
We were finally able to get in touch with the lawyer and he said he would discuss the situation with Rachael and see if he could set up a meeting between her and us. A meeting...WHAT?? He would give us a call.

Wednesday, February 23
Worst day ever. He hadn't called and I was convinced she had changed her mind. At 9:45, that's right, 9:45 PM, the lawyer called us with Rachael's phone number and said she still wanted to meet us! Lots of happy tears flowed, for sure!

Thursday, February 24
I called Rachael, but got her voicemail. I had 10 seconds to sound smart, funny, interesting, understanding, and motherly. I'm sure I sounded scared to death, but I had done what I could do and all we could do was wait for her to call us back.

Sunday, February 27
Still no call, so I decided to try again. There was complete fear as she actually answered this time...GULP! She said she would like to meet us; would that be okay? OF COURSE that would be okay. We set up a meeting with her for the following Tuesday at 9 am.

Tuesday, March 1
My first thoughts that morning were wonderful and terrifying all at the same time! It took me at least 20 minutes to decide what to wear. I wanted to look just right. Michael's thoughts on the issue: a shirt and pants; it's not that hard. Whatever. It took us about an hour to get there, but it seemed like three hours. We got there first and had a few minutes to settle down before she arrived. As soon as she walked in I felt relief. We talked for an hour about lots of things. She looked at our profile book, told us a little about herself, and answered all of our questions without hesitation. I felt like I had so many things to say or wanted to know, but was very shy all of the sudden. I was afraid of saying the wrong thing and scaring her off. Michael, on the other hand, was a chatterbug. He talked her up one leg and down the other. Yes, I'm talking about Michael...Michael Rigney. I know; it's odd, isn't it? :) He was able to take over when I just couldn't do it. I'm very thankful for that. She took our profile book with her to show some of her family. We left her knowing that the meeting went very well, but also knowing she was going to meet with another couple that weekend and then decide who she would choose to parent her baby.

Monday, March 7
That was the longest weekend EVER. But...Michael called me at school that morning and started singing "Oh, Happy Day!" Rachael had chosen us!!! Praise the Lord! And she had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday if we wanted to come. How awesome is that?!

Wednesday, March 9
The appointment was at 1:15 and at 1:20 she still wasn't there. Of course I was thinking she had changed her mind and didn't want to see us. I was pretty sure I was going to vomit. And then the door opened and she walked in apologizing for being late. Again, I felt complete relief. They checked her and did some bloodwork. Everything appears to be fine. We signed some papers saying that we are the adoptive parents :) and that we can be involved. They scheduled her next appointment for March 22 and she asked us to join her for that one too! We also met with the lawyer that afternoon and he is drawing up the pre-adoption paperwork for us to approve. It made everything seem so much more real!!


This is where the story ends for now...but your prayers are still needed. We will keep praying that Rachael and her baby remain healthy, that her decision to make an adoption plan remains steadfast, that the birthfather signs off, and that Michael and I can stay strong until the baby comes in mid-May.