So, wow, it has been a year since the last post-sorry folks! Will try to be a little better moving forward. Several people have requested Zoe's story, so here it is:
On March 4th, after 2.5 years of waiting, 1.5 years of being "approved and waiting", and a failed placement, we got THE phone call from our caseworker, Megan. A little girl had been born that
morning in Ft Worth (where our agency was located) and her mother wanted to
place her for adoption. The details were
even stranger. The birthmom went to the ER
complaining of cramps. The Drs asked is
she could possibly be pregnant. She said
that it was possible, but not very. They
thought they were dealing with a miscarriage, but after some tests, realized
that there was a baby on its way into the world. Now, the official hospital paperwork has our
daughter’s conception date in Jan 2013?!
Once the bmom realized she was going to have a baby, she said she just
couldn’t do it, and the hospital called our adoption agency. They got a caseworker over to her right away,
assessed her dedication to placing the baby for adoption, and realized she
wasn’t just panicking, but serious. So
they started gathering as much info as they could and told her they would get
some profiles over for her to look at right away so she could choose a
family. She said she had no idea how to
choose and that the agency should just choose one for her. So we got the call! Our caseworker called and told us the
situation, asked us to consider it, but that she needed an answer very soon,
because the baby needed a family before the mother signed her relinquishment
paperwork (which in TX is at 48hrs after the baby is born).
As a side note, since last June I have really felt the pressing need to be praying for our birthmom and baby, for their safety, protection, and growth for the baby. Specifically we have been praying a verse from Jeremiah (29:11), "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Now I know who I had been prompted to pray
for, a mother who did not know she was pregnant and a baby not being
noticed. Most likely our baby girl was conceived in June-thanks God!
After THE phone call we prayed hard, it was so soon
after loosing the other baby (the failed placement), there were some birthmom medical issues to
consider, and this baby had had no prenatal care. At first, there was panic, the kind not from
God. As we continued to pray we realized
God is bigger. He is bigger than no
prenatal care and bigger than any medical issue. So we said yes. Then we waited the longest 48hrs EVER,
praying for the baby’s health and safety, and that we would know God’s will for
our family. After our "yes" the caseworker showed the bmom our profile and she was super excited about our family and that Zoe would have a big brother. Her only concern was would I know what to do with the baby's hair (a valid concern, but I promise I'm researching it!). We were thankful that she had the opportunity to see a little big about us.
On March 6th, we
headed to Fort Worth, still praying
that the bmom word sign her relinquishment papers and cautiously excited that
we would be coming home with a baby! She
also did not want to name the baby and was fine putting our name of choice on
the birth certificate. Late that night,
after lots of paperwork, some happy tears, and probably thousands of phone
calls and texts-including the "guess where I am and who I'm holding" ones to our parents and siblings, we were home with our sweet Zoe Grace.
The next day we went to preschool to pick up
our son and introduce him to his sister.
He had stayed with a friend-we are
so thankful to still have the Mezgers in our lives!-overnight so we could make
the trip. He was shy and hesitant about meeting her at
first and then had two questions, 1) where will she sleep (the room next to yours
that we just painted, in the crib you and daddy built) and 2)do we get to keep
her forever. Yes, sweet boy, forever and
ever. Since that moment, he will
introduce her to anyone who will listen, “this is my little sister, zoe, and we
love her.” To add to the blessing of a
new child in our family, our son has turned out to be the kindest, most
protective big brother. We are truly
blessed with the family God wanted us to have.
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