March 2014- Get Ready, Get set. . .

Lots of updates to share, please read until the end!

In the last post (February) I was headed to a surprise weekend of fun planned by Matt for my birthday. We went to Jerome, AZ. It was once a prominent mining town of the old west, then an abandoned ghost town, and now it is a thriving hub for wineries and artists. We actually stayed in a nearby town of Cottonwood and explored their old town area as well. We spent Saturday evening exploring the eerie hillside town of Jerome which was a living museum of 18th century architecture wonders as the town is clinging to the side of a mountain. It was as if the town itself knew we were coming as the first and only rain storm of the season rolled in and created the backdrop for our spooky ghost tour. Matt had reserved us a personal tour of the town and its many haunted buildings. We took too many photos to post here, but a few of the most creepy photos actually exhibit forms of mists and orbs that can only be explained by the electro-magnetic readings we got from our Ghost-Meter-Pro.

Matt really knows how to make a girl feel special. He just knows what a die hard X-Files fan really likes.  I get treated very well for my birthday and also the 13th anniversary of our first date (See link to pre-married photos page on the blog to see documentation of that event)!

 Matt had a cake ready for me on my actual birthday. No, I'm not 21, but can't we pretend for a little while longer?

I was thrilled and excited to open my cards and gifts sent by family and friends from home. My little buddy, Jordis left me a wonderful happy birthday singing message on my phone and sent me a card. Here is Lucy helping me open the card from Jordis.

After fun birthday stuff was all over, it was time to focus on other things. We were thrilled to get an email from a pregnant young lady in Mesa, AZ. Marissa had been looking at adoptive couples and she seemed to like our profile the best. We scheduled a meeting with her the following weekend to have lunch. Here is our "Going-to-Meet-a-Potential-Birth-Mom-and-We-are-Nervous" picture:

 I don't think I would have been so nervous but Matt had been doing some "stalking" on the internet the night before and found some Youtube videos of her from a few years ago when she was singing with a band. The recordings and videos as well as the singing and music were very well done, and she was incredible! I felt like I was going to meet a rock star!

During this time, even when things were in the first stages, we both just had a feeling that this could be "the one". It is hard to explain, but we both felt so strongly connected to her.

Well, the meeting was a success. We fell in love with her (and baby too). She is an amazing woman: talented, strong, funny. We adore her. We kept in touch and she emailed me the next week to let us know she would like us to be the parents to her baby boy! Matt was so excited at the news that he actually squealed! In 13 years of knowing the man, I have never EVER heard him squeal! I was such a nervous wreck I didn't sleep a wink for about 3 days. It was all just too exciting. I emailed her back and let her know how grateful we are and that we would hesitate to share the news with our friends and family until she felt comfortable and gave us the thumbs up. Even after emailing her I was so eager to share the news it was hard for me to keep it in. I stopped at Target on the way home from work and came very close to blurting out the news to complete strangers. I didn't know how I was going to face people at work the next Monday if she didn't let me know it was OK to share. Luckily, and in the most wonderful way, she text me with a picture of herself giving two the thumbs up: "literal thumbs up". I was so relieved!

The next week was my Spring Break from school so I got busy. Matt knows how organized I like to be and I had so much planned to do that there wasn't too much relaxing going on. He took this picture of me making my "Spring Break Schedule":





I had always planned to paint the nursery, but now it had a whole new intention. It was a rough week but I got a lot done and it is now the cutest, most beautiful room in our house.



I am using light green, orange, and accents of red. I am going to decorate the walls with comic panels on canvas recreated from Calvin and Hobbes.

There is still so much to prepare but the hardest part is the waiting. Although her bump seems small, the baby is due in June (which could not be more perfect for a teacher's schedule)! This photo Marissa sent for us to use when we announce the addition to our family.

Thanks to my very good friends whose baby boys have just grown out of their clothes, I already have many many things to get me started. I have clothes NB-12 mos. I have an infant seat, a diaper bag, stroller/carseat, and I just ordered a bassinet to use for sleeping until we need a crib. Another friend at Matt's work has a baby boy that will grow out of his swing in a few months and she has offered it to us. I am so grateful and amazed at the outpouring of support.

If you are a long distant friend or family member who would like to help out (I will never turn down help), we are raising money for the adoption and to go to LDS Family Services to help birth moms through the organization. Stay tuned for our "Tag-A-Bag" Fundraiser.

We also registered for items we still need at Khols.com and Amazon.com. However, keep in mind that I've had little time to prepare and the items I registered are mostly random. I would be happy to accept items that experienced moms can recommend! We are just so grateful to have all of your love that has helped make this dream come true.

Although I have dreamed and hoped and waited for this opportunity for many many years, perhaps my whole life, I am amazed how optimistic I feel. Matt and I have always been the kind of people who are cautious with our feelings. We think it is better to stay unaffected so we won't be disappointed. However, Matt and I have made the choice to allow ourselves to be as happy and excited as we truly feel, even if there is a possibility of being let down.
We decided that we don't want to rob ourselves of the joy we can feel, and Baby Boy Earl deserves to have parents that express every ounce of it. He's going to know that he was lucky enough to have parents that were expecting him, in addition to the birth family that loves him. Allowing ourselves to feel so positive has actually surprised me.  I am almost shocked at how much we both love someone we haven't actually met! I may not be carrying him, but it hasn't stopped me one bit from loving every minute of getting ready for him. This is just the beginning.