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!