July already?

I remember when we first met Hayley in March I felt like the baby's due date was forever away (September 14th), but now that we're nearing the end of July it is just a couple months off! In fact, the doctor told Hayley to expect this little one to come a few weeks early.

Here is a little update on the progress of the adoption:
We finished up our last meeting with our caseworker. She made her way out to the East Valley to meet with us in our home. It was a pretty relaxed visit. We went over some info from past meetings and she asked us a few more questions to finish up the interviews. Then we gave her a tour of our house to show her how we are preparing for a baby. All in all, it was a really good visit and also a relief to know that we are done with our part of the paperwork and interviews for now :o)

Hayley had an ultrasound last Friday. We did not attend the ultrasound with her, but she did let us know that the baby is still a girl :o) I laughed thinking about what a surprise it would have been to hear differently! She is about 3 1/2 pounds already!

We made our first main purchase for the nursery! We bought some really cute baby bedding! We decided to go with a neutral bedding so we're prepared for a baby boy or girl. We are also starting to look at baby furniture. We know that a nursery does not need to be completed by the time we adopt, but we want to purchase some of the bigger things ahead of time and then go from there. We will be having a baby shower once we have the baby and all the paperwork is signed for the adoption.

We do have some specific prayer requests:
*The birth father has recently been notified of the adoption plan and at this moment he has not decided if he will claim his rights to this child (although it sounds like he might want to). He would prefer to wait for a paternity test which will not be preformed until the baby is born. We are in no way upset with him and understand that this is a very big decision! We would appreciate your prayers for God's wisdom for everyone involved; that the best thing will be done for this baby.

*Please pray for wisdom for Hayley! I am sure this decision gets so much harder at this point in the pregnancy. Our agency told us to expect the birthmom to change her mind many times before the baby is born. We are not quite sure where Hayley is with her decision, but we pray that God will give her wisdom and peace.

*Please also pray for us as we try to prepare for the possibility of adopting this baby in September. We are trying to figure out exactly how to balance excitement with caution. It seems to be especially difficult for me (Emily) to face that we may or may not have a baby in September. It is such a big life change and I don't know how to prepare for both possibilities at the same time.

*As always, please pray for the precious baby growing inside Hayley!

We really appreciate your prayers!

We know that God has a plan through all of this and know that if this is not the baby we are to adopt, then He has another one out there for us. For now, we just feel blessed to have met Hayley and formed a new friendship!

A verse I rely on often is Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I am so thankful that God has a plan!

~Em