It's Only Been Three Weeks?!

Daddy outside of the post office holding Shay's first care package

Today marks three weeks since we found out about our beautiful baby boy.  These three weeks have been a combination of immeasurable joy and intense longing.  For those of you who may doubt a parent can truly love a child they've only seen in pictures, let me assure you it's more than possible, it's very real.  Austin and I are fully, completely, crazy in love with Shay.  I love staring at his photos, soaking up every detail of his sweet little face, the brightness of his eyes, the rosy color of his cheeks, the wispy black hairs on his head.  This week, we received new pictures of him and with each new photo, my heart swells to yet another level I didn't think possible.  With each photo, the longing grows more intense. I know this will only increase as the days pass, however, it's a small price to pay knowing he will be home in (hopefully) a few short months.  

Time is a funny creature.  As a child, it seems to pass so slowly, school years seem to last forever, Christmas day will not arrive fast enough.  As an adult, we all can relate to the phenomena of how quickly time begins to pass, how days blur into weeks, weeks into months.  One minute you are taking down holiday decorations and what seems like only days later, you are dragging them back out of storage.  If I didn't see the calendar for myself, I would swear six months have passed over the last three weeks.  While they have been filled with joy and gratitude, it simply seems the days have doubled in length and that January will never be over.  I pray that the next few months pick up speed as I'm not sure my heart (or sanity) can take it.  I want so badly to book that flight, to pack our bags, fly around the world, and hold our baby.  I want to kiss those rosy little cheeks, I want to look at those beautiful eyes and I want to feel his hair on my face as I hug him close.  I want his perfect little ears to hear how much his mom and dad love him.  Until then, we are doing the next best thing which is sending him care packages.  We mailed his first one on Saturday and it included lots of little outfits, a photo book of his family and friends, and a blanket.  For the past three weeks, we've been sleeping with the blanket in our bed, hoping that when he is wrapped in it for the first time, he will know what home smells like. 

The other highlight of the past three weeks is the outpouring of love and support we've been shown.  Our family and friends are amazing--I know everyone thinks that about their own family and friends, but I sincerely mean it, each one of you is amazing.  For every phone call, email, handwritten card, FaceBook message, prayer....thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  I know our son is already loved so much not only by us, but by the people who are doing life alongside us. 

Many of you have asked about our next steps--we are waiting for our paperwork to arrive from Taiwan so we can begin completing it.  Our specific prayer would be that it would arrive as soon as possible and that we can get it turned it quickly.  Each step is one step closer to that amazing day where we can hold our baby boy.

Love and hugs!

The Day Our Lives Changed Forever

On Sunday, December 30, 2012, our lives changed forever.  

It's the day we became parents and for the first time, saw a picture of our precious baby boy that we had only dreamed about.  The past four days have been filled with tears of joy, prayers of praise and gratitude, and sharing the news with our friends and family (including delivering the news via FaceTime and Skype).  Even after four days, I am still overwhelmed with emotion.  So, pour yourself a cup of hot tea, get comfortable, and I'll tell you the story of how our world changed and how it all began with a simple text message.

On Saturday, December 22, we received our I-600 immigration approval in the mail.  I sent Jeff a text message to let him know and he responded saying he wished he could've given us news of a referral before Christmas.  Austin and I understood that we most likely wouldn't hear any news until after the first of the year.  Even though we didn't have a referral yet, our little one still had presents under the tree from his grandparents.  It was a great holiday season filled with lots of blessings.  

On Sunday, December 30, Austin was on-shift at the fire hall so I was up getting ready to drive to Carthage to surprise my Mema at church.  It was around 9:00am and I turned off my blow dryer and there on my phone was a notice:  Text Message from Jeff Land.  When living in the middle of adoption purgatory (i.e., the waiting for a referral period), getting a phone call or text message from your adoption coordinator can cause a mini-heart attack. I frantically opened the text and learned Jeff and Abbey were on their way home from Memphis and wanted to meet us for lunch.  I replied, explaining that Austin was on-shift and we'd need to re-schedule.  Jeff said they didn't mind driving to Franklin if Austin could meet us.  For a split second I thought......oh my goodness, this might be it, the news we've been waiting for.  The next text message Jeff explained he had some paperwork for us to sign to send to Taiwan to help support our case to the birth mother as she had still not made her decision.  Slightly disappointed by this news, I told Jeff to bring the boys to the fire hall for a tour and I would be happy to meet them there to sign whatever we needed to.  I even asked if I should print off pictures of the baby's nursery, including some of the new Christmas presents, to send along with the paperwork.  He said yes (which prompted a rather frantic trip to Walgreen's after church to print off photos).  I immediately texted Austin and asked him to call me and I explained what was going on.  We both were giddy at the thought of just getting one step closer to a potential referral. 

I arrive at the fire hall around 2:30 and find Jeff, Abbey and their adorable boys (Reed, Nash, Will and Tuck) waiting in their van.  Austin met us in the bay and started giving the boys a tour, complete with mini-fire hats, turns holding the fire hose, sitting in the driver's seat of the fire engine, even seeing the room where Austin sleeps.  Jeff was taking pictures and the boys were in their element--as was Austin, who was having a blast showing them around.  After about half an hour, we had made our way back out to the bay.  Jeff asked the boys to give Mr. Austin a break because he had paperwork he needed us to look at and sign.  I proudly gave him my Walgreen's photos and he handed us a simple manilla folder.  When we opened the folder, there were seven photos taped on the inside....seven photos of the most beautiful baby boy I'd ever seen.  I immediately looked at Jeff and asked "is this what I think it is" and he smiled and said yes.   

Thanks to Jeff, the moment we first laid eyes on our baby boy
was captured in a photo.

And so it began.  Crying tears of joy.....choking back sobs.....the big ugly cry....intense hugs.....staring at the photos in disbelief....

Our life.

Almost six years. 

Infertility battles.

Questioning God.

Wrestling with uncertainty.

Frozen with indecision. 

Praying about adoption.

Hearts drawn to Taiwan.

Months and months of paperwork.  

Silence.

Seeing our baby for the first time. 

And with the opening of one simple manila folder, we became parents and instantly fell love with this precious child.  I don't know what birthing a child is like.  I do know that the instant my eyes saw this child, I knew he was ours.  I knew he was the little soul that we were going to be entrusted with.  My first question was "how long till we can get him" and the answer is somewhere around four to six months, depending on how the legal/paperwork process unfolds.  Adoption timeframes are unpredictable--but we serve a faithful God who I am going to choose to fully trust. 

The following days were filled with sharing the news with the people we love.  We have an absolutely amazing network of friends and family.  I can't even begin to describe the amount of love and support we've felt and continue to feel.  I know there have been countless prayers offered up on our behalf and on behalf of our baby.  I could never begin to tell each one of you what this has meant to us.  I love you all so very much.  

We aren't allowed to share a picture of him online yet, however, trust me when I say he is absolutely beautiful.  Seriously.  The most adorable baby boy ever.  He had perfectly healthy cheeks (so chubby, just waiting for mommy to kiss) and looks well taken care of.  We are praying for the nanny that is taking care of him, praying that she will love on him and care for him until we can bring him home.  Also, we continue to give thanks for his birth mother.  As it turns out, she actually picked us two months ago but the new law in Taiwan required our agency to wait before giving the referral.  Our prayer is that his birth mother has peace in her heart, that she knows deep in her soul that her child will be loved (oh my heart, will he ever be loved). We will be forever grateful for her selfless sacrifice. 

His name?  Shay Douglas Cooper (we will likely incorporate part of his birth name but we are still deciding on which part).  The name Shay is derived from the Hebrew word "shai" which means "gift." 

What a gift indeed. 

We sincerely ask for your continued prayers over these next few months.  Please pray that the paperwork process goes smoothly and the legal process goes as planned.  We can't hardly wait to book that flight and have the chance to hold him in our arms.  

And that's the story of how our lives changed forever.  Thanks for being part of our journey!