WHAT? 2 BABIES?!

I finally have a second to post some pics and the story. Yes, we got two babies. No, they are not twins. They don't even have the same birthday, birth state, or birth family. A couple months ago I asked An Open Door not to call us with a baby until they knew for sure the birthmom wasn't going to change her mind. After having had 2 or 3 adoptions fall through I didn't want to go through the ups and downs anymore. I don't need any notice for prep time anyhow. Just call me and tell me I have a baby! That is the way I wanted it. Then, a few weeks ago we decided it couldn't hurt to be on the waiting list with another agency/lawyer. Afterall, Open Door seemed to have a shortage of birthmoms who were willing to place with a white family.

Okay, Tuesday I got a messsage on my cell from Open Door. I suspect it was left late in the morning...I didn't get it until noon or so. The director asked me if I was ready to go pick up my baby girl! She was born May 8th and was free to be picked up immediately. Her birthmom's 10 days had already expired so as soon as we signed on the dotted line (and handed over a hefty check) she was all ours with no fears of someone deciding they had made the wrong decision. Then, no more than 4 hours later the phone rang. The caller ID said it was the other agency/lawyer. I honestly thought about not answering it. In my gut I knew exactly why he was calling and I was scared to death! I was afraid he would tell me there was a boy and that Scott would back out on the girl we committed to earlier because he wanted a boy so badly. So JFT (the agency/lawyer) said he had a situation and immediately thought of us. He had a birthmom give birth early Tuesday who was prepared to place her little boy for adoption. She hadn't signed yet but was supposed to be meeting the adoption counselor the next day (Wednesday) to sign. (We found out later that this birthmom had chosen us when first seeing our book. She didn't want to look at anyone else's profile; she said she knew we were the family for her baby boy.) By the way, in SC there is no time period where birthmoms can change their minds. Once she signs, it is done. So while she hadn't signed yet, JFT wanted to give us the opportunity to accept the baby and pick him up from the hospital on Wednesday after birthmom signed. Well, obviously we couldn't do that because we were supposed to be in Warner Robbins on WEdnesday picking up a baby girl. I reluctantly told Scott about baby boy. At that point I already felt like the girl was mine. In my heart I was committed to her and didn't feel like I could back out. But to not tell Scott about baby boy would be wrong and deceptive. JFT gave us overnight to make a decision. Wednesday morning we were at odds to say the least. The decision ultimately was not which baby to take. We both felt the girl was supposed to be ours. At this point the decision was whether to take both babies. I DID NOT WANT BOTH! Nothing in me wanted both. One baby is hard enough and expensive enough. We had no way to finance or afford two adoptions (40k in total). Not only would we be faced with paying for two baby's adoptions, we would have the daily expense of two babies as well as the looming expense of the necessary van. I cried because I was terrified of having 2 babies to care for. Scott cried because he felt that the little boy was supposed to be ours as well. He kept telling me that we had to rescue little boy so God's covenant promise could rest on him. I, on the other hand, don't feel the spiritual responsibility for every baby ever presented to me. At some point it came down to submission to God through trusting Scott. Scott was very serious and not backing down. I felt physically sick from fear but told him to call JFT to make arrangements. Then we threw together a quick diaper bag and rushed off to pick up baby girl. At 5:00 Wednesday night we were notifed that baby boy's mom had indeed signed papers. He was discharged from the hospital into the care of one of JFT's adoption counselors. Yesterday (Thursday) at 6:00 we were delivered baby boy...almost exactly 24 hours after receiving baby girl.

Baby girl was given the name Micah Ruth. We had picked out Micah for baby #2 and while I love Micah for a boy, we couldn't agree on a different girl name. So Micah is Micah Ruth, Ruth after my grandma. Jeremiah became Jeremiah because we had to come up with a name. It is really that simple. All of my kids have Bible verses with their names; it helps me pray for them, claiming God's word for their lives. It was between Gabriel and Jeremiah and well, we couldn't think of a verse for Gabriel. So Jeremiah Wade it is; Wade is after my grandpa. Micah was born weighing a whopping 5 lbs 12 oz and was 18.5 inches. Jeremiah, or Bruiser as he should be known, was 8 lbs 6 oz at birth and 20 inches with the biggest dang head ever! They came home 24 hours apart.

Who would've thought this would happen? What? I did? REally? As my friend Kelley oh so politely reminded me during my freak-out "I can't believe my husband is doing this to me" moments, not too long ago I blogged about the possibility of getting two. I was pretty certain that we would have 2 this year. I remember walking with Cary Drinkard and telling her the same thing. BUT, I was a little slow in my thinking...I made the mistake of assuming I would magically get pregnant and adopt in one year. That seemed like the logical end to this gut feeling I had. (God, please close up my womb FOR GOOD! What a nightmare that would be!) Never did I think I would be raising two babies as twins.

So here we are. We became a family of 5 in a matter of hours. To say we are still adjusting would be the understatement of the year. Jordan is a proud big sis. She constantly wants to hold one of the babies. At feeding time she is running to our sides to help. Here she is when she got to hold Micah for the first time.


helping feed big boy


the bruiser himself. No, you aren't imagining how red he is. Evidently this is caused by high hemoglobin levels and will fix itself with time.



the princess herself


Let me just add that God is so good! These are the best babies ever! They rarely cry, unlike their older sister who cried and cried and cried for hours on end. They fall asleep on their own AND last night I got to sleep for 4 hours straight. Micah slept for 5 hours her first night home with us. They are great sleepers :)

Also, I am not ashamed to say that we are raising funds to help pay for the two newest babies in our home. God led us down this path and we feel confident he will supernaturally provide. We are hoping to speak at some churches in the area soon. But in the meantime, if you'd like to contribute please don't hesitate :) Thanks!