Meet the Grandparents!!!

The first time grandparents are in town and boy they are excited!!! Grandma and Grandpa Wurmnest, along with Aunt Jenna, arrived yesterday around 4:30pm. They were just so amazed at how tiny and cute Jack was! We ate Backyard Burgers and just had a great time admiring little Jack!




Grandma and Grandpa Wurmnest




Your "favorite" Aunt Jenna!

 Today Grandma and Grandpa Waughop arrived and there were lots of tears! They have both been praying for a little one for so long and here he is!!! We had a great day just hanging out in the hotel room and enjoying life with little Jack in our lives at last!


Grandma Waughop




Grandpa Waughop

 For dinner tonight we got Corky's BBQ and had a feast to celebrate Jack's arrival and it was a great family time! It was also Grandma Wurmnest's birthday so Mommy surprised her with a cake and TCBY frozen yogurt! YUM!

A Day at the Courthouse

Today we will be traveling to the courthouse in the birthparents hometown. They will be signing over rights to us and we will get custody of Jack. The ride took around 2 hours and Jack did wonderful!
we met our Tennessee lawyer at the courthouse along with the birthparents. They were doing a little better today however we knew it still was very emotional for all involved. They signed papers first then we went in to sign. I wanted to give them time with Jack while we had to do paperwork and I think they apprciated that! I wanted them to spend as much time with him as they could since they were giving him to us for a lifetime! After papers were signed we officially had custody! The birthparents have 10 days to change their mind which is scary! But we all felt very good at the end of the day so I hope they feel the same. Jack feels like he is a part of us now - I couldn't bear it if they took him from us!!
When we returned Mommy and Jack stayed at the hotel hanging out and bonding while Daddy went to get dinner. We ate dinner and hung out with Jack! Jack is now an American Idol fan. LOL.
We went to bed around 9:30 and Jack slept after each feeding for about 2 1/2 hours each time - whoo hoo!!! We got 7 hours of sleep tonight. Very good baby.... I think it was the new Snuggabunny bassinet we bought him while we were down here!

Jack is discharged from the hospital!

I went back to the hospital early the next morning and was so ready to hold Jack. During the day it was a lot of coordinating with lawyers while feeding and changing Jack. Jack was to be discharged that afternoon and there was a lot of information coming our way. The nurses were awesome with loading us up with several packages of Pampers, formula, supplies, etc. Then finally it was time for Jack to leave with us.

New Family of 3!!!

The lawyer came to the hospital because the birthparents had to sign Jack over to be discharged to the lawyer. He walked out with us and saw us put him in the car. The lawyer then put us in charge of Jack.

 We drove back to the hotel and made a list of things we needed for our stay. I went to Target and came home with $200 of stuff for Jack and food for us.
After a while we throught we would try sleeping after a feeding. However Jack had other plans. Nighttime for us was daytime for Jack. So we were up until around 3:30 and Jack finally slept once we put him in his carseat (which he loves)!!! We got about 3 1/2 hours total that night but not bad for night #1.

This is the Moment....

We woke up early this morning to head the rest of the way to Memphis, TN around 6AM. I hadn't slept much and was really tired but I didn't care because today was the day I had been waiting for and anticipating! We were going to meet our son!!!
We got to the hospital and as we pulled into the parking deck "This is the Moment" from Jekyll and Hyde came on the radio! (HOW CRAZY IS THAT?) Then went to meet the birthfather in the lobby. We met the birthfather and went upstairs to the NICU where the baby and birthmother were. The baby had ingested some of his feces during delivery so they were keeping him on watch for his breathing. We went to the room and then there he was!!! He was so tiny I couldn't believe it. He was only 5lbs 9oz, 19 inches long!

We decided to name him Jackson Clyde Wurmnest. However we will be calling him Jack! We were able to hold him and talk with the birthparents. I didnt' know what to say to them because all I wanted to do was hug them and thank them over and over!! This gift was soo amazing and I would forever be in their debt. They stepped out because it was very hard to do what they were about to do.

We spent time with Jack and then Chad was able to change his first diaper EVER! Then the birthparents came back in and we ended up moving to the less critcal part of the NICU. After some time Chad and I went to lunch and when we came back up we met with the social worker, Reneka. We also had been on the phone non-stop with the Tennessee lawyer and the Illinois lawyer retaining their services and getting coordinated.
Around 2:00 the birthparents left with lots of tears but they were confident in their choice of us as Jack's parents. Chad and I made phone calls, held Jack, fed Jack, and just reveled in the amazingness of it all! around 6:45 we went to go find a hotel and grab a quick bite. We ended up staying at an extended stay hotel with a studio apartment. The nurses had suggested that if one of us were staying at the hospital that night that it should be Chad since I looked like I was going to drop over with lack of sleep. So Chad went back to the hospital and I stayed and slept. I was still so excited I couldn't sleep like I should of but got a little bit of sleep. It was such an amazing day!

It only takes a phone call....

Chad and I had just sat down to eat a quick lunch before starting a Sunday afternoon of projects when I happened to look at my phone and realized I had missed a phone call. The number was restricted. I asked Chad if he had one too and he did!!! The only restricted calls we got was from Adoption Network Law Center! I called them and they said they had an immediate birth situation and wanted to know if we could leave to go to Memphis, Tennessee to pick up a baby boy born only 2 days earlier. After hearing all of the medical information and background on the birthparents we were sooo excited and accepted. It almost seemed too good to be true.
The birthparents were a married couple who already had 6 other children. Mom didn't even know she was pregnant until 2 weeks before she gave birth and one week before Dad had gotten laid off of work. They could not support another child so they decided to give the baby to us! What an amazing act of love!!!!
Well of course we couldn't contain the news and we called the new grandparents to be! We called all of the important people in our lives, including work to let them know we were going out of town for a while to bring back our son! My friend Lindsay Hanes came over and we ran out to grab some essentials we would need in our hotel. Being in another state we would have to wait up to 2 weeks for the Interstate Compact to go through.
We packed quickly and headed out around 6:00PM. We stopped in Marion, IL about 10PM so we could get some sleep and head out early. We had talked with the birthparents and agreed to meet at 10am at the hospital. They already seemed amazing and I couldn't wait to meet them. Of course I couldn't wait to meet our new little guy so I only slept like 2 hours that night. The next day would change our lives forever!!!

"Baby Born" or "Immediate Birth" Added!

It's been a long time since we have updated this blog about our adoption journey! We have been waiting and waiting it seems forever! (actually only 4 months). We have had a lot of activity on our website for ANLC as well as several "resumes sent out to potential birthmothers. Here are our stats so far....
August (from the 25th on) - 32
September - 87
October - 52
November - 60
December to date - 18

We also have added the "Baby Born" or "Immediate Birth" option to our profile. If a mother gives birth and decides while in the hospital that she wants to give the baby up for adoption we will be called immediately to come pick up our baby! It gives us more opportuity to adopt and hopefully our baby will come home soon!
*Baby Wurmnest we can't wait to meet you! We bought you a few Christmas presents - a few books to read to you as well as a porcelain cross that says "For this Child... we have prayed" We are praying for you to come home soon dear one! We can't wait to meet you! Next Christmas hopefully you will be in our arms!

People are checking us out....

Our websites are officially up and running. We are able to check on the ANLC website to see how many hits we are getting each month. We were hit 32 times in August (only up for the last 5 days of that month) and so far we have been hit 13 times this month!!! Keep in mind that is only one of the websites and we are up on 3 others as well. Things are going well.... now if only one mother will feel a connection with us we will be set! :)  Thought we should share our "Dear Birth Mother" letters on here so you can see how we are trying to connect with a birth mother.

Letter #1

Dear Birthmother,

           

“I would thank you from the bottom of my heart, but for you my heart has no bottom.” Words can’t describe the gratitude we already feel for you and the precious gift you are giving us. Your decision is both courageous and incredible. We feel blessed that you are taking time to read our letter and are making your decision with care and love.

Chad and I met on a sunny Sunday morning at church very unexpectedly. After a beautiful courtship of two years, one year long-distance, we were married in July 2009. During our first year of marriage we adopted a small puppy named Mitzi who is our current “baby.” She can’t wait to have a brother or sister to love. Early in our relationship Chad and I knew we wanted to have children. After trying without success we felt God leading us to begin our family through adoption. Our extended families are very supportive and are ready to welcome our new little addition into the family.

We live in a cozy four-bedroom ranch-style house that we are blessed to call home. Whether we are cooking in the kitchen, watching TV in the living room, or sitting by the fireplace, our home is filled with a lot of love and laughter.  We have a nice-sized backyard that would be perfect for a swing set and a nice neighborhood where our neighborhood children ride bicycles and play.

Chad is an engineer who supervises the building of many trucks and tractors for his company. Chad is also a part time farmer working on the family farm. He is often found outdoors either in the tractor, on his four-wheeler, riding the motorcycle, or riding his snowmobile.

Currently I am a Special Education teacher, but plan to fulfill my dreams of being a stay-at-home mother when our little one arrives. I am currently working on my master’s degree in Educational Administration. When I am not in the classroom I enjoy being on the stage singing, dancing, and acting at various community theaters. While at home I enjoy cooking, reading, digitally scrapbooking, sewing, blogging, and photography.

While we are waiting for our precious baby to come home we have been preparing for the joy that is to come. Each night we pray for you, as well as our baby. Our child will know of your brave and selfless decision of love. We promise to give our child the best life has to offer, as well as a lifetime supply of unconditional love. We look forward to meeting you and caring for your precious little gift…. One that we will cherish for a lifetime.

Blessings to you,

Chad and Emily

 Letter #2

Dear Birth Mother,

“Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get, it's what you are expected to give -- which is everything.” Love above all is important to both of us. We were married in 2009 and have enjoyed sharing our love with each other. But now it is time to expand our love and start a family.  Being unsuccessful at trying to start our family, we both felt prompted by God to begin the wonderful journey of adoption.

Coming from close-knit families both of us are very anxious to become parents. Our families are very supportive of our decision and can’t wait to welcome our new little addition into the family. We are looking forward to throwing birthday parties, attending family holiday gatherings, going on annual family vacations, and instilling our values and traditions into our children. 

We live in a 4-bedroom ranch home in an adorable small town filled with young families and their children. Our home has become a place to entertain by having our friends and family over for cookouts, holidays, and game/movie nights. We imagine our house filled with the laughter of our child as we play in the backyard, watch a family movie, or just enjoy spending time together. We also have a small dog, Mitzi that we love to pieces. She can’t wait to have a brother or sister to love.

Chad is an engineer who supervises the building of many trucks and tractors for his company. Chad is also a part time farmer working on the family farm. He is often found outdoors either in the tractor, on his four-wheeler, riding the motorcycle, or in the winter riding his snowmobile. Currently Emily is a Special Education teacher, but plans to fulfill her dreams of being a stay-at-home mother when our little one arrives. She is currently working on her master’s degree in Educational Administration. When she am not in the classroom she enjoys being on the stage singing, dancing, and acting at various community theaters. While at home she enjoys cooking, reading, digitally scrapbooking, sewing, blogging, and photography.

Thank you so much for considering us to love and care for your precious gift. We promise a lifetime of love and laughter. Our thoughts and prayers go out to you even though we do not know who you are yet. We look forward to meeting you and bringing our little one home.

Blessings to you!

Emily and Chad