The Call

I am sure that most of y'all saw the exciting news on our facebook page. We got a phone call on Wednesday from our adoption agency and I wanted to fill you all in on the details!

A little over 2 weeks ago while talking to our caseworker, Ashley, at the agency she informed me that there were 2 birth mom's due in March and they would probably be looking at our profile book the 1st or 2nd week of Feb. Over the past 2 weeks I have tried my best and resisted the urge to call for an update because I knew she would call when she knew something.

Most of the time while I am at school I have little to no signal and even less time to talk so when Ashley has an update she texts me, "Call when you can". Honestly when she text me Wednesday I didn't think much of it. I figured she was just checking in because, remember, the last thing I knew was that the birth moms were not going to be looking at our profile book until the 1st or 2nd week of Feb. I got the text after school and instead of calling right away I finished working on some lesson plans because I was not expecting any big news. Boy was I WrOnG!!!!!

As you can imagine, I can not remember the exact conversation because my mind was RACING but it went something like this .... (I'm changing the birth mom's name to "D" for privacy reason).

Ashley: Hi, How are you doing?

Me: Fine.

Ashley: D came in yesterday just to check in and we decided to let her check out the 3 books we had set aside for her. D is really hoping that you and Chris want to be the parents of her baby!

**At this point I was speechless and my eyes FILLED/overflowed with tears.

Me: Of Course!!

Ashley: I am going to read you what she text me right after she left our office with your book:
"I cried when I read Chris and Beth's book, its so weird but I feel like they may be the ones, already. I can see them and their family and friends loving this baby so much, as much as I do. I think they may be his parents. Is that weird to think that already?"

Ashley: I told her that is not weird at all and that is usually how it works! I asked her to sleep on it and get back to me tomorrow. This is the text she sent this morning:
"I cried because I want them to get what they want so bad, they seem like really amazing people. And as much as I want to be his parent and take care of him and give him the things he needs in life, I know that I can't but maybe they can do for him and give him everything he'll ever need or want. They love each other so much and all of the kids that are in their lives. I can only imagine how much he would be loved and how grateful they would be to be his parents. I love him so much. I want to give him to two people that are going to understand just how much I love him and how grateful I am to have carried him for 9 months and they will be kind of like my messengers, you know, and show him all that I feel, just through themselves."

That was BY FAR the best phone call I have ever received!!

After Ashley got off the phone with me she called D to let her know how excited we were and this was her responds:
"Awwww I'm crying! I'm so happy that they're happy, more confirmation that this is soooooo the best decision and they are def. the right choice for my baby. Now I can't wait for March for them to meet him."

Now, legally D has a little over 48 hours after the baby is born to change her mind but Ashley feels that with the counseling she has received and after working with her for several months she is set on adoption. Ashley feels so confident that when I asked, "What do we do now" she said, "Go home and set up that nursery!" Ashley also said that D does want us there when he is born. We will get to wait in a room right next to the delivery room so we will get to meet OUR baby right after he is born!!!

So what's next???

We will Skype with D between now and her due date in order to get to know her and for her to get to know us better. Together with the agency we will work through the legal, medical and timing details of it all.

Now we need YOUR help!! 

We are about $8,500.00 away from our goal of $30,000 so here are 4 different ways you can help us bring baby Dallas home ...

1. T-Shirts are still for sale

So far we have sold 114 shirts!!!

I will be taking orders until FRIDAY, FEB 6th!

Shout out to fabulous blogger: Bethe, thank you for helping to spread the word!!

2. Just Love Coffee

Click on the link them click Shop & Support

We will get a percentage of what is purchased.

Click here for the details

3. Pancake Breakfast

Mark your calenders!!!!!

4. Make a donations on our You Caring page!

As always, THANK YOU for the love and support! 

Keep those prayers coming!

t-shirts, pics, and updates

1. "It's all about Dallas" T-Shirts:

On Saturday, Jan 31st I will be placing my first order of t-shirts.

Go to: www.tinyurl.com/dallastshirts to order and pay today.

In order to get the best deal on the shirts we need to sell 100 and of right now we have sold 70 shirts!

**If you are not tech savvy please do not hesitate to email me and I will place your order for you!!! waitingfordallas13@gmail.com

2. Valentine Mini Sessions:

The fabulous Amy Horton has already booked 11 mini sessions and MIGHT(that's a big maybe) have 1 or 2 spots left.

Time is running out!

3. Updates:

Adoption: As of right now we are waiting to see if 1 of the next 2 birth moms that the agency has will pick us. If one of them does then Dallas will be here in March. If both decide to go with another couple we will just wait for the next birth mom to come along. 

We have been asked several time, 

1. "If y'all are at the top of the list at the agency why have ya'll not been picked yet?" 

2. "Why are birth moms not picking y'all?" 

Both are good questions, so here's the answers:

1. Yes, we are at the top of the list which pretty much means that our profile book will be shown to all the birth moms that fit the criteria of what we are looking for (Click here to see the specifics: question #3) as well as if we fit the criteria of what they are looking as parents for their baby.

2. The first and best answer is because God has a different birth mom and baby picked out for us. The second is that the first 2 birth moms that saw our book decided to pick another couple that lives in Louisiana so that they could get to know that couple better before giving their baby to them. The third birth mom decided to go with a couple that already has an adopted child so that her baby wouldn't be alone. 

It can get discouraging especially since we have NO control but we know that God is completely in control and when a birth mom does pick us it will be the PERFECT one for us! 

Totals: We have raised $20,201.00 which means we are $9,799.00 away from our goal!

It's all in God's hands!

Only $12,500.00 away ...

We are getting closer to our goal and here are 2 awesome ways you can help...

#1

contact Amy ASAP she has limited weekend times available!

#2

Check out the link below to order yours today:

www.tinyurl.com/dallastshirts

More Adoption FAQ's

1.      What’s a profile book?

Our profile book (click on the link to learn more about a profile book) is pretty much a book all about us and our lives. We completed our book just before Christmas and I mailed it on New Year’s Eve. The now agency has 2 copies and we have 1 to keep.

Some of our friends and family got a sneak peak of the book and here is what Chris’ grandma had to say about! She is sooo sweet …

Here are pictures of our book ...

2.      What’s next now that the agency has our book?

Honestly this all depends on how many birth moms walk into the agency and how far along they are. The agency councils them and works with them as they decide whether or not to make this life changing decision. One of the ladies at the agency goes with her to her doctor appointments and gathers info about the birth mom’s (and birth dad , if he’s willing) medical history and all the details on the type of adoption they want as well as the type of family that they would like to adopt their baby. Once all that info is gathered the agency waits until about month or so before the baby is due. At this time the agency then contact 3 different adoptive families that they think would be a good fit for the birth mom and her baby. At that time they give us all a call with the info that they have available and we have the chance to decide if we would like the agency to show her our profile book. The birth mom then checks out the books and decides which book she would like to take home. After that meeting the agency calls us to let us know if we were chosen or not.

3.      Why would we ask the agency to not show a birth mom our book?

Many people have different options on this and as a couple we have made the decision that the ONLY reason we would ask for our book to not be shown to a birth mom would be is if she is an alcoholic/heavy drug user while pregnant. We do not care about the sex or race of the baby or if the birth mom has a personal or family history of a disease, illness or disability. We know that if I had a baby we would have not control of the sex or if the child is born with a disease, illness, or disability but we can control whether that child is exposed to drugs or alcohol so that is where we draw the line.

4.      What happens after she picks us?

We will possibly Skype with her along with one of the ladies at the agency and get to know her and her wants for the adoption. It is at this time that will determine how “open” our adoption will be. We do not plan on allowing the birth mom to come visit but we are willing to send letters and pictures once a month for the first year to the agency. Again, this is our personal decision that we as a couple feel is best for our family. Not everyone feels this way.

5.      What happens after the baby is born?\

The birth mom legally has 48 hours to sign over her rights so most likely we will not make the trip there until she has officially done so. At that time we will go straight to the hospital to meet our baby!!! After the baby is discharged from the hospital we will head to a nearby hotel until all the official paperwork is completed.

6.      Financially – What do we still need and why?

Here are the fees that we will need to cover …
* Attorney fees
* Document preparation and authentication
* Placement fee
* Agency fees
* Home study follow up visits after the baby is home
* Travels expenses - We will have to stay in Louisiana until all the legal paperwork is completed and then we can bring our baby home to Texas. We have been told this could take up to 10 days.

We currently have $17.471.50 which means we will need $12,528.50 in order to reach our goal.

7.      What are we doing to reach our goal and what if we don’t reach it before Dallas gets here?

Along with cutting back in different ways so that we can to put more money away we are also going to continue to do different fundraisers in order to get us closer to our goal. The next fundraiser will be starting in Jan. We are going to be selling Waiting for Dallas T-Shirts. They were designed but Chris’ Uncle Scott and one of our good friends Dan Mackey. We are pretty excited about them. More info is coming soon!!!

We also still accepting donations on our You Caring page.

If we do not reach our goal of $30,000 by the time Dallas does come there are different options available for us to get a very low interest loan that will covers the difference until get home we get home and can get it paid off. This is our very last resort.

I think that covers most of the questions for now. 

If you think of anything else please do not hesitate to ask. 

waitingfordallas13@gmail.com

Thank you for all the love and support.

Happy New Year!!