Recap

I was realizing last night that someone who might be looking at this blog for the first time might be feeling just a tad out of our 'circle of trust' here. So, I thought we could write a quick recap and then we can all be on the same page together, mmkay?

Right. So. Hmmm. Where to start.

Let's start with Brad. Wow. He's going to be an awesome Dad, I just have to put that right out there. I was totally thinking this when I married him, too. So tall. So handsome. Infectious laugh. Kids flocked to him as he stood stoically by while I chased for their kisses haha. We met on the young side after being set up on our first date by our sisters while we were all living in Oregon. Shortly thereafter, we were married in Southern Oregon. That was 2003.

Fast forward 7 years and we both have our bachelors of science degrees- his-biology, mine-vascular ultrasound- and we have just moved to Iowa for Brad to attend medical school. Things were rough, I'm not going to lie to you. We had been trying for a family for a long time. Been to lots of nice doctors. Been though lots of horrible procedures/exams/letsnotgothere visits. We bought our first home. It was awesome. Then I had a hard time finding the perfect job so I stayed living mainly in Utah and commuted back to Iowa (yes, flying, I get asked that a lot actually...how did you get back and forth?! I'm a fast walker.) for 5 months.

That wasn't quite as fun as it probably sounds and by the new year (2011 at this point) I was commuting far less- 2 hours each way. Brad continued to attend Medical School and excel, even under such pressure. It was during this time we decided to apply for adoption and in March of 2011 submitted our paperwork to the agency. On February 3rd 2012 we were approved by the committee to be eligible. We were told the average wait was 3 years from that point. Since we already felt like we had been waiting 9 years, we were discouraged but knew the decision was right. I continued to commute while we applied, were approved, and spread the word. After commuting for 19 months the answer to our prayers was finally yes. Yes, you should quit your job. Yes, I know you don't have another lined up and you are freaking out, but it will be ok.

So I did. I quit my job in October 2012 and whatdoyaknow but 8 days after turning in my notice, we got the most amazing email from a case worker not in our state, but in Missouri. We had met him while at an adoption conference in Denver in the summer of 2012. He had taken down our info and asked us to send pictures. He seemed genuinely interested in helping us and we were thrilled to have another person on our team. Anyway. The email. It just said, there's someone who is looking at your profile, I'll let you know more when I do.

From there began one of the most beautiful, spiritual, amazing experiences we have ever had...oh wait...here's the best part- it's not over! We were chosen for adoption on January 25th 2013 to be the parents of a little girl, who will be named Amelia Kaylani.

We are less than 3 weeks away from our {AH-maz-ING} birthmom's due date. Meri has taught us so much about love and has been the model example of selflessness.

Thank you for reading our blog and sharing in our joy of this new little life who will come into the world being so incredibly loved by many, many people. Because you don't have to have the same last name, be apart of the same family, or have the same nose as someone else to love them.

There have been many posts lately on different things but if you are joining us for the first time, HERE is a post you might be interested in jumping to where we talk about Meri for the first time on this blog. Again, thank you for being on this journey with us and feel free to comment anytime.

Love,
Brad and Erica