Matched

On Friday, April 24, we got a text message that changed our life - Hi there Chris and Tiffany. This is Michele with @AdoptionCenterofHope. I hope you guys are doing well. I wanted to see if you had any time to talk today? I have a situation that I wanted to discuss with you.

For the first time, we heard the words you've been chosen. After all the rejections, all the waiting, all the heartache...we'd been chosen to be parents.

Baby was due in two weeks...such a short amount of time to start building a relationship with a genuine, easy-to-talk-to, hilarious, strong woman who was making a life-altering decision.

The odd thing about being matched is that you prepare the nursery for baby, do loads and load of laundry, read parenting books, move forward with hospital plans and attorneys, all the while knowing it's not legally your child yet, not until paperwork is signed. That expectant mom doesn't owe you anything and she has every right to decide to parent. That reality, that uncertainty, that fear wreaked havoc with our sleep, stomachs and hearts. Every day felt like an eternity.

We passed the due date, then a week, then an induction date was set. Baby girl would be born on May 18. To be continued 💗