What Now?!!

So - the most frequent question I get asked these days is "so, any updates"??  I think there will come a day when I dread this question, but praise Jesus so far - it doesn't bother me!

We are in the "waiting" stage!  What this means is that we are suspended in a bizarre time of having NO IDEA what's to come.  :)  Here's a couple scenarios we have to attempt to be ready for:

1. We get a phone call telling us that birthmom/birthparents have chosen us!  She is 6-9 months along and would like to have a match meeting.  Everything goes amazingly and we walk together through the rest of the pregnancy.  Birthmom gives birth, the requisite time passes, paperwork is signed, and we bring baby home and start living a new life as parents and continuing getting to know Birthmom.
2. Same scenario as above, but at birth Birthmom has a change of heart and chooses to parent and we trust that God has amazing plans with each step we take.
3. We get a phone call telling us that a Birthmom has given birth, and there's a baby at such 'n such hospital, and come on down!!!!
4. About 800 other things we couldn't possibly plan for!!!

In the meantime, we walk a really fine line between getting prepared like the phone call is coming tomorrow, and knowing that this could take several months.  So far, we've looked at paint colors for the nursery, and bought a couple of really cute clothing items.  We have looked at the parenting classes at the local hospital to see which one(s) we should take.  And we have had lots of amazingly thoughtful, incredible offers for showers - to each of which we've replied, "we're not sure when we should do that!".  

We have, however, received a couple of really thoughtful things, which has been wonderful!!!  We got congratulations cards from a couple of wonderful friends.  A work acquaintance gave us a copy of her kids and grandkids' favorite book.  But the most exciting one, you ask?  Ben's Aunt Peggy (of Aunt Peggy & Uncle Walter from Prince Edward Island - LOVE these people) is a monster knitter.  She has made all of us beautiful afghans for our weddings, and since has made lots of gorgeous baby blankets.  As you can imagine, I've dreamed of receiving one of these for a LONG time.  Well...my dream just came true!  They're here visiting for a short time, and she presented us with this AMAZING gift - and believe me when I say I started crying the instant I saw her holding a gift bag!!!

REJOICE

May the God of HOPE fill you with all JOY and PEACE as you TRUST in him, so that you may overflow with HOPE by the power of the Holy Spirit.

-Romans 15:13 - capitals added for emphasis

WE ARE APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We can hardly believe it's finally time to be able to go public with the most amazing announcement of our life together so far.  We found out on February 23rd that the agency had given us the green light!!!  Our case worker told us that all the extra effort we had made was very appreciated and that they were happy to tell us were are in the matchbooks!  It felt SO surreal, especially after the last couple months of utter discouragement.  But, the more people we've told, the more real it definitely becomes.  We could NOT be more excited!

So - what happens now?  We wait!!!  We could get a phone call that presents any number of situations, and it could theoretically come anytime!  The agency's average wait time is about 3 months-1 year, so we'll most likely be waiting for a bit - but only God knows!  Thanks for being alongside us in this journey, and your continued prayers are appreciated!  Please pray for peace, joy, and hope in the wait.  Please also pray for our birthparents and our child!!!