I don't believe in love at first sight...at least not romantic love. But, from the moment I laid eyes on my daughter, I was completely and utterly head over heels. I'm getting ahead of myself, though. Let me start from the beginning...
Most people learn that they are expecting a baby by peeing on a stick, and having two little pink lines appear. For me, it was a phone call on Thursday, April 24th, 2008. Here is an excerpt from a letter I wrote to our baby a few weeks later:
Dear Tadpole,
Today is Thursday, May 15, 2008 and you are about to be born. We have been up since 1:30 this morning waiting for you to arrive in the world. Everything is happening so fast that I haven’t had the opportunity to sit down and write about it. Four Thursdays ago, we got the call from LSS letting us know about a potential situation. I didn’t recognize the number on the caller idea, so I wasn’t expecting it to be the adoption office. S, was on the line, and she told me about a young woman who was making an adoption plan. She was due in just a few weeks, and was ready to pick out a family. She wanted to know if we were interested in having our profile sent for consideration. Of course I said yes!!!
As soon as I got off the phone, I called your daddy. He was at work, and I said, "guess what?!?" He was very excited, but a little nervous too. S. said we would have to wait a week or two before we would know if we got picked. All weekend all we could talk about or think about was finding out if this was it. Thank goodness we didn't have to wait too long. S. called that Monday. I was in class, and I called home to check the answering machine. S. left a message saying we had been picked, and the expectant mom wanted to meet us on Friday. I was so excited. I called daddy at work, my mom and dad. I paced up and down the school halls. There was no way I could go back to class, so I came home...
We met J. that Friday. Boy were we nervous! She liked us, and we liked her, so we decided to make a go of it. The Tuesday after Mother's Day, we met J. and her family for dinner. We really like her family. We cherish having an opportunity to get to know them. The next evening, Derek and I were doing some chores around the house. I told Derek that we should go ahead and put the car seat in, because the baby could come at any time. Who would want to have to mess with figuring the thing out then? So, we put it in, and went to bed. At 1:30 in the morning we got THE call. At 7:07 p.m. on May 15, just three weeks after we found out we could become parents, our daughter entered the world via C-Section. It was the most exhilarating, nerve-wrecking, bittersweet moment of our lives.
Faith Nevaeh Patience
We visited with Faith in the nursery while she was at the hospital. After hearing her cry for the first time, I instantly recognized it from then on from all other cries. There were a couple of other babies in the nursery with her, but we only had eyes for her. She is perfect, and beautiful. We are in awe! Walking away from J. with Faith in our arms was one of the hardest things we have ever done. There is no doubt that she loves this little girl with all her heart. We are grateful to have ongoing contact with her. She is truly an amazing person, and I am glad Faith has an opportunity to get to know her.
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