I guess I should probably explain how it is that we came to adopt Malachi. Growing up as a "foster sister" to newborns, I always knew I wanted to adopt eventually. At first we thought we would adopt after we I gave birth to a few kids, but God had different plans. I have polycystic ovarian syndrome, and having children wasn't really working. The doctors said we could try a bunch of other things, but we prayed about it and decided we wanted to at least start the adoption paperwork. Most of the people I know who adopted a child had to wait about 2 years, so we figured we'd better get started.
Around the middle of July we went to Bethany Christian Services to find out what this whole adoption thing was about. We started filling out paperwork, and all of a sudden, it seemed like things were moving really fast. We had to get background checks done and answer a bunch of questions about ourselves, but it was much less complicated than we had thought it would be. We did our homestudy in October (which is no big deal - the social worker comes over and makes sure you have screens in your windows, a working smoke detector, and no gross mold or something growing - I kind of think every family should have to do a homestudy before having a kid!), and we were officially approved at the end of October.
We found out a week later that our profile had been shown to a young mom who was due at the end of November, and she wanted to meet us. However, Aaron was taking classes in San Antonio, Texas, so it was just Audrey who got to go to the first meeting at the adoption agency with Ashley and her mother. They were awesome, and as nervous as I was, it went really well. I fell in love with Ashley immediately, and I had just walked through the door after the interview when my social worker called and said she had chosen us without even meeting Aaron! I was so excited I could hardly stand it!
Aaron got to meet her a week later, and he too fell in love. We talked about how she wanted us to be at the hospital when the baby was born, and we talked about how we are going to meet at least twice a year so she can visit. We'll also be sending pictures and letter to her at least 4 times a year (January, Mother's Day, August, and his birthday) until the age of 5 and at least twice a year until the age of 18. We talked about what we wanted to name him, and when we said Malachi, Ashley and her mother were so excited, because that was actually the name that they wanted! Ashley's mother told us that if Ashley had been a boy, she was going to name her Malachi, so it felt like God had given us this name for sure.
Malachi was due November 28th, but Ashley's mom said she was pretty sure he would come early. We were lying in bed wide awake at 5:00am on Saturday the 21st and couldn't figure out why until we got the call at 5:25 that Malachi had been born. We didn't get to be there for his birth because it happened so fast, but we got to see him within an hour of being born, so I think that's pretty good.
So, I guess that's our story. God brought us Malachi and he is our little miracle. My cousin Amanda emailed and said she was thinking about how tough it must be for Ashley to give Mac up, and how that is an amazing picture of how God gave up His Son Jesus for us. The whole adoption process has given us a better understanding of who God is and how much He loves us - what an awesome God who loves us enough to give up His son to die for us! Malachi means "Angel" or "Messenger of God", and it is our prayer that he will be a messenger of the Gospel of Christ.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Malachi's Hospital Stay
Malachi was born on Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 5:20 am. We received a call from our social worker at 5:25 saying that he had been born, and we rushed to the hospital to see him. We got there around 6:30 just after his first bath. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 1 oz. and was 19.6 inches long. His birth mother, Ashley, had gotten to the hospital at 5:00am and delivered him just 20 minutes later - no medicines or anything! She was absolutely amazing! We spent most of the day with Malachi (or Mac as we like to call him), but we had to spend our time with him in the nursery with the nurses, because there wasn't enough room in the hospital for us to have our own room. We got to feed him and change him, and the nurses were great about letting us be with our new son.
Later on Saturday afternoon we took him to see Ashley. She held him and fed him while we went home and changed clothes. We came back later Saturday evening to check on him, but he was doing great. Ashley had friends and family there with her, and they were going to try to keep Malachi in her room for the night, so we went on home. Leaving him was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Ashley has 10 days to revoke her intent to give Malachi up for adoption, so there was a nagging fear in my mind, and I woke up at 2:00am worrying. God just kept reminding me that He is in complete control and that He loves Malachi even more than we do, and I have to rest in His love.
After a very short night, we headed back to the hospital about 6:30am. He had actually spent the night in the nursery, because he had been kind of fussy with Ashley and she needed to sleep. So we spent most of Sunday in the nursery with him (this time they let us use the "lactation room" - love the pictures of boobs and babies on the walls), so we had a little more privacy. He again spent part of the afternoon with Ashley and then spent the night with her. We got to stay at the hospital, but we didn't get to see Mac, because he was with Ashley.
Monday morning we were getting excited about taking him home, but unfortunately the "busy" doctors were too "busy" to do his circumcision until around 3:00, so we had to wait for the rest of the day! Ashley kept Malachi with her for a good part of the morning and early afternoon. He was finally circumcised (and there were a lot of tears our part, even if he didn't cry that much - it killed me to hear him in pain!). Ashley came to say good-bye to them, and we waited in our hospital room. She and her mother Krystal came in to see us, and I've never been part of such an emotional experience. The four of us cried and hugged and cried some more. We are so grateful for Ashley and her mother. They are truly amazing and love Malachi so much. What a blessing to have a birth family like that.
After all of the emotions, we finally got to sign the paperwork around 5:00 and we left the hospital about 6:00pm (They even let me carry him out! No carseat or wheelchair! Crazy!). After 3 long days, we were finally taking him home.
Later on Saturday afternoon we took him to see Ashley. She held him and fed him while we went home and changed clothes. We came back later Saturday evening to check on him, but he was doing great. Ashley had friends and family there with her, and they were going to try to keep Malachi in her room for the night, so we went on home. Leaving him was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Ashley has 10 days to revoke her intent to give Malachi up for adoption, so there was a nagging fear in my mind, and I woke up at 2:00am worrying. God just kept reminding me that He is in complete control and that He loves Malachi even more than we do, and I have to rest in His love.
After a very short night, we headed back to the hospital about 6:30am. He had actually spent the night in the nursery, because he had been kind of fussy with Ashley and she needed to sleep. So we spent most of Sunday in the nursery with him (this time they let us use the "lactation room" - love the pictures of boobs and babies on the walls), so we had a little more privacy. He again spent part of the afternoon with Ashley and then spent the night with her. We got to stay at the hospital, but we didn't get to see Mac, because he was with Ashley.
Monday morning we were getting excited about taking him home, but unfortunately the "busy" doctors were too "busy" to do his circumcision until around 3:00, so we had to wait for the rest of the day! Ashley kept Malachi with her for a good part of the morning and early afternoon. He was finally circumcised (and there were a lot of tears our part, even if he didn't cry that much - it killed me to hear him in pain!). Ashley came to say good-bye to them, and we waited in our hospital room. She and her mother Krystal came in to see us, and I've never been part of such an emotional experience. The four of us cried and hugged and cried some more. We are so grateful for Ashley and her mother. They are truly amazing and love Malachi so much. What a blessing to have a birth family like that.
After all of the emotions, we finally got to sign the paperwork around 5:00 and we left the hospital about 6:00pm (They even let me carry him out! No carseat or wheelchair! Crazy!). After 3 long days, we were finally taking him home.
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