Tuesday, February 7, 2012

One Year Ago Today

As I sit here and watch my portly six-month old tear apart a bag of wipes and try to eat them, it is hard to believe that one year ago--one year ago today--I got the phone call from Katie asking if we would be Noah's parents.

On January 13, 2011, we'd had a major disappointment, with a birthmother changing her mind about placing her baby with us.  She was the eighth birthmother to contact us, and yet nothing had worked out--we still didn't have a baby.  I was so discouraged.  I ached for a baby and wondered if I would ever be a mother.

And then, on February 7th, I got Katie's phone call.  It's amazing what can change in just a few weeks' time.

And it's amazing what can change in one year:

Meeting Katie and Drew for the first time
March 2011
Spending the week just prior to Noah's birth with Katie
July 2011
Best night of my life
August 1, 2011
I love these three with all of my heart.
A happy family of three
November 2011
This Friday, Noah's adoption will be finalized in court.  On Saturday, we will take him to the Mormon temple to be sealed to us forever.  We believe that family relationships are not just "til death do we part" but continue into the eternities, and on Saturday, our adoption will be made official in a religious sense--Noah will be ours not just for this life, but forever.  Then on Sunday, Noah will be given a name and a blessing in church.  It will be a big weekend for our little guy, and I hope he's up for all of the excitement.

We are so blessed to have all of our family coming for the festivities.  In addition to my family who lives here in Denver, we will be joined by Ryan's parents, all of his siblings and their spouses, and my little sister who lives San Diego.  Katie, her parents, her grandma, Drew, and his mother will also be coming for the weekend to celebrate with us.  It's going to be one giant Noah party.

I have dreamed of going to the temple with Noah for a long time, even before he was born.  I wrote a journal entry about it here.

One year ago today, my life changed forever.  One year ago today, I found out that I would be a mother and Ryan would be a father--that, together, we would raise and love and teach a precious little spirit.  One year ago today, I never could've foreseen the beautiful things that God had in store for our family.

9 comments:

  1. I am so happy for you. It's going to be a wonderful weekend. We will be thinking about you and offering prayers of thanks that you have recieved so much joy after so much pain. congrats on your beautiful family.

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  2. This makes me so happy! Because of how close I am with Laura, and the struggles that we have shared, I feel close to you! I cried when you found out a year ago that you were going to have the opportunity to adopt a precious baby. At the time, adoption looked like it might be in my future and I was so happy to hear of your news. I wanted to thank you for your blog. It helped me numerous times during my own struggles. With my own little girl born last month, I feel I understand you so much better. The trials we both faced were real and extremely painful, but the joy of our precious ones far outweighs it all! I'm so happy for you Rachel! Enjoy every minute of this weekend, as I know you will. I will be grinning as I think of you and your family! With love,

    Courtney

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  3. Love.

    What else is there to say? Thinking of you all week and on Saturday during what will be a joyous day. Much love to you all!

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  4. I am so happy for you!!! This weekend is going to be incredible, the icing on the cake! Take lots of pictures!

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  5. I love you. I am so, so, SO very happy for you. My heart is bursting. xo

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  6. I'm so excited for you guys! What a great weekend it's going to be! Can't wait to hear all about it!

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  7. I'm so looking forward to thinking about you this weekend. Noah is going to love the temple. How amazing that you will have ALL that family. That is awesome. You are so loved by so many. Happy, happy day.

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  8. What a lovely post. I am looking forward to the festivities this week! Love that fat face nephew of mine!

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  9. I'm so SO excited! What a wonderful weekend it will be! I am so happy for you and hope you enjoy every minute. It is so great to have such precious events to really celebrate the true joy these little people are. Love you!

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I love hearing from you!! Thanks for the comment!