We got the phone call we had been waiting for on 11/5/2013. It was our caseworker telling us we had been chosen by birthparents. I was driving in the car to pick up dinner and started bawling. Like really bawling, I'm pretty sure everyone at The Grill thinks I am a crazy person. I called Ben (who was at the gym....yes, he was working out and I was picking up a cheeseburger and fries) and he thought I had been in a wreck because I couldn't even talk. Carol (our caseworker) told us to wait for a call from Mia (birthmother caseworker). We were so excited we couldn't handle it. The next day, Mia called to give us all of the details. The only worrisome thing is the baby is 25% Native American. There is a law titled the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). Basically this law states that if a baby is an eligible member of a tribe, then that tribe has the final say as to whether or not the baby can be adopted by a person who is not a member of the tribe. She said all of the paperwork had been sent and received by the tribes and they were waiting on a response.
In the meantime, we read over her case file and tried very unsuccessfully to not get our hopes up. We talked on the phone with the birthmother on 11/20/2013 and everything felt so right. After the phone call, we were officially "matched" and set about waiting on word from the tribe.
We got word today that per the tribe's laws the baby is not an eligible member. This means everything is a go! We are officially going to be parents to a sweet baby boy due in ELEVEN DAYS.
We are so extremely excited but also still a little nervous because like all cases the birthmother still has the right to change her mind. Even though we are nervous we are also CELEBRATING and trying to get everything somewhat ready.
Please please pray for us over the next couple of weeks. Pray for the sweet birthmother as she makes this difficult decision and also for the whole process to be a smooth one. Also please pray for Benson as he makes his transition into a Big Brother. Every time we ask him about it he tells us that, “He doesn’t like a baby brother!” So it could be interestingJ.
(Also, to all of the people who have asked me if we have heard anything since the 5th, I am so very sorry for lying right to your face. We were not prepared to tell everyone until we had all of the ICWA issues understood.)
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