Wait. The Call?! AGAIN?!?!?!

It was around 1pm on Wednesday, September 4.  I was working from home and Arabella and I had just had lunch.  Arabella was a mess (had black beans and rice) so I decided to give her a bath.  My phone buzzed and I noticed I had a couple of missed calls from our adoption agency. 

(My stomach dropped but I wasn’t sure why.  Arabella’s adoption is finalized.  There’s no reason I should be feeling hot and queasy.  I decided I’d better call them back right away.  Maybe they just need a form signed or maybe they forgot to give us something, etc. ??)

I called our agency back and our very, very sweet…. (Let’s call her Case Worker #3) answered. 

Me:  "Hey CW3, this is Mallory.  I missed a call from you guys."

CW3:  "Hey!  Yes, I tried calling you.  Are you busy?"

Me:  "I’m giving Arabella a bath, but it’s okay- go ahead."

CW3:  "Are you sitting down?"

Me: (Feeling SICK to my stomach!!)  "No, should I be?"

CW3:  "Yes, you probably want to sit down."

(?????? Please Lord, help me.  What in the world.)

Me: "Okay, I’m sitting down. " 

CW3:  "Mallory..  Arabella’s birthmother had a little baby girl earlier this week. She wanted to see if you guys would accept the placement."

******Crickets******

 (There is no way to describe how fast the wheels were turning in my head...  Am I dreaming?!  Like- - I've literally dreamed of this happening but didn't expect it... so soon?!)

Arabella:  "Whehhhh mah ma ma blah dah da weh…"

Me:  "Wait Arabella, this is important!"

(Arabella gives me a confused stare but is quiet like a good girl.)

Me:  "Oh my goodness!?!?!?!  Are you serious?!?!?!"

CW3:  "haha!  Yes!  Not sure if this was on your radar or not."

Me:  "Well, not exactly…. but this is perfect!!  What in the world?!?!"  (etc, etc)  J

 

This sweet baby girl is healthy and is Arabella’s half sister. 

I had to call Erik (unfortunately I couldn't drive to tell him in person since Arabella was in the bathtub and I had a 3:30pm meeting I had to get to - - to facilitate!)

He was beyond shocked and speechless for a few minutes.  haha!  I said, "Erik?!"  He said, "Let me take this in for a minute!"  J

We both agreed 100% that this was our baby girl!! 
Arabella is a big sister!!!!!!!!!!! 

(And they are almost 13 months apart.  *Gasp!!)

 

We have a few hoops to jump through (not as many as before… we just have to get our home study updated). 

And of course, there’s a placement fee.  We have to come up with a little over $16,000 to bring sweet baby home. 

We aren’t sure HOW we’re going to do it, but feel that God has sent us this huge blessing and responsibility and we are moving forward. 
We “officially” accepted the placement yesterday morning and our home study will be updated next week.  We’re praying she can come home next week or next Monday at the latest!! 

If any of you feel called to help us out in any way to reach our goal of $16,000 we’d of course be extremely grateful.  (See PayPal/"Donate" link to the right..  Some people have had an error message from that link so you can go to www.paypal.com and "gift" to my email address, mcarter521@gmail.com)  THANK YOU in advance!!!!

Please join us in praying new sweet little baby HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.”  ~Ephesians 3:20 (Message)

“Let all that I am praise the Lord;  with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.  Let all that I am praise the Lord;  may I never forget the good things he does for me.” ~ Psalm 103:1-2 (NLT)

THE CALL!!!!

("Hello?  Are you there??  Is this thing on??"  ;-)  haha! 
Clearly I disappeared for.... oh.... a YEAR!!  Oops!?!  Sorry about that!)

Today marks the 1 Year Anniversary of when we received "THE Call"!!!!!!!!  I realized I never wrote out the details of that exciting day.... So here it goes....

Tuesday, August 14, 2012
The day started out as an ordinary day.  First thing, I woke up and went to a Fitness Boot Camp.  Erik was already at work.  I was working from home that day so after Boot Camp I went straight home.  I worked at my computer for a while then took a break to do some house work.  I had an appointment to get my hair cut at 12pm but remembered that my hairdresser had texted me earlier and we rescheduled it for 1pm.  I decided that I had time to do the dishes before I left.

I was at the kitchen sink washing some pots and pans when my cell phone rang. 
(Note:  During this "waiting" period, every time my phone rang, my heart skipped a beat and I'd quickly grab my phone hoping it was "the call".  Each and every time it wasn't "the call", the wait became even more excruciating.)
This time, since my hands were wet, I had a moment to try to contain myself.  I quickly turned off the water and grabbed a towel to dry my hands, all while thinking, "please be the call, please be the call..."  I took a deep breath and turned my phone around (it was on the ipod doc, charging). 

Holy.  Cow. 
The caller ID said it was our adoption agency.
OUR ADOPTION AGENCY!!!!!

I might have started freaking out.
Okay, I did start freaking out.  But all in the same moment I was talking myself down (in my head... :  "They probably just need another document signed.  Maybe they have another question about what we're open to.  Don't freak out...  Don't be disappointed....")
THEN I answered (while pacing the floors).

Me:  "Hello?"
CW2:  "Hi, is this Mallory?"
Me:  "Yes?"
CW2:  "Hey, this is "CW2". 
Me:  "Hey!"
CW2:  "Is this a bad time?"

*I paused, continued pacing, frantically thinking, "oh my word, she sounds nicer than usual!!!!!  "Is this a bad time?!?!"  Why would she say that!?!?!?!?!?!  Oh my word?!?!  IS THIS IT?!?!?!?!?!"

Me:  "No, this is fine."
(As I leaned on the kitchen table, bracing myself for either the greatest news ever or another heart wrenching disappointment..)

CW2:  "Mallory, you and Erik have been chosen!"

*I stood straight up from leaning on the kitchen table, my mouth dropped open and I'm pretty sure my heart stopped momentarily.  For once in my life, I was speechless.... for about 2.5 seconds.

Me:  "WHAT?!?!?!  ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!  Please tell me this isn't a joke!!  If this is a joke, it's a really bad one!!  I'm freaking out!!  Erik's at work?!?!  How am I going to tell him?!  I can't tell him over the phone!!!!  Oh my word, I'm going to have to GO there!!  Oh no!  I haven't had a shower!!  Oh well!!  I'll just go as I am!!  Oh I've gotta call my mom!!  Oh wait, I need to tell Erik first!!  Oh my goodness!!  He's in Nashville though!  I don't know if I can wait that long to tell him!!!!  Oh- - - sorry- - I can't stop talking!!  Go on!!"

CW2:  (laughing hysterically)  "I knew you'd have a great reaction.  I have everyone from the office here on speaker phone!" 

Me:  (laughing)  "Hi everyone!"

CW2:  "Okay.  So guess what?  She's here!"

Me:  "SHE?!?!?!  Oh it's a GIRL?!?!?!  OH MY GOODNESS!!  I'm freaking out!!!!  And HERE?!  What do you mean??  Here, like in state?!

CW2:  "Haha!  Yes, it's a girl.  And here as in, she was born last Tuesday!"

Me:  "What?!  Oh my goodness!!!!  She's HERE!!"

CW2:  "She was 6lbs, 10oz and is African American.."

Me:  "She's African American?!?!  Oh my goodness, she's so CUTE!!!!"

CW2:  "hahahaha!!  You're going to need to get a pen and paper and write some of this stuff down, okay?"

She went on to tell me very little about the birthmother's history, possible risks, etc.  She also said that "the little baby" was discharged from the hospital on the previous Friday and was currently in "interim care" with a lady.  I wrote what she said down and she told me to discuss it with Erik and to call her back to let her know if we "accept the placement" and if we want "direct placement" or if we want her to stay in "interim care" until finalization.  Of course I'm thinking- - Woman, are you CRAZY?!  Of course we're going to "accept the placement"!!  And we've always known we wanted "direct placement" too!!

We got off the phone and I paced around the house like a madman trying to figure out how I was going to tell Erik!!  I wanted to make it special for him but wanted to get to him ASAP!  I went to my office and quickly made a sign that said, "It's a girl!"  With her date of birth and weight on it.  :-)  (As most of you know- - signs are my "go-to" for ANY (and I mean ANY) occasion.  I love signs.  Makes everything more special and dramatic.)  :o)

I grabbed the sign and a little vintage baby dress I had purchased just a few days ago "randomly" and hopped in the car and headed to Erik's work  (my sign, a baby dress and my sweaty, non-showered self).  ha!  His work was approximately 30 miles from our house.
 
*I drove like a frozen zombie for the first 5-6 miles.  Eyes on the road, hands "10 and 2" on the steering wheel.  I was in shock.  I watched for every mile marker on the interstate and they each seemed like an hour apart.  I felt I would never reach my husband.
*Then giddiness took over my whole body.  I was giggling and had chills from excitement.  I'd randomly shriek with excitement.  I think my speed accelerated during this phase.  I couldn't reach Erik fast enough.
*Then all of a sudden I was overcome with gratitude and could barely see through my tears.  I cried out to the Lord, thanking Him from the depths of my heart for this blessing and apologizing for having my moments of doubt.  I slowed down to a steady crawl on that interstate, with cars zooming past me left and right.  I was having a moment with God.  It was the most precious of all moments.  I felt Him, y'all.  It was spectacular and indescribable.
*Then I froze again.  I was in shock.
*Then I got giddy again.
*Then I got emotional again.
*Then I was THERE.  FINALLY!!

I called Erik.  I told him that I was "in the area for work" and had a surprise for him if he wanted to come down. 
(A lot of times if I was in the area, I'd surprise him with a coke or ice cream, etc.  So this was totally believable.)
He worked on the 4th floor so I knew I had a little time to "get ready".  I pulled the car to the side of the building and hopped out.  I hid in some bushes on the side of the building with my sign and phone to try to get pictures of him.  (I don't know why I hid... he knew I was there... I was still in frantic panic mode, I guess... haha!!)  Oh- - aaaaaand Erik later informed me that those tinted windows on the 1st floor right next to the bushes that I was hiding in was actually their customer service department.  So- - you're welcome, Customer Service Dept for the free "Crazy Lady Jumping Out of the Bushes" show you got.  Haha!!!!

So, Erik came walking out of the building and since I jumped out with my phone, sign and little baby dress in hand, this is the best picture I got....

I think he was startled, confused and concerned by my erratic behavior.  haha!  Once he got close enough to read the sign, he was like, "What??  What??  Huh??  What?!?!"  haha!!  I described "The Call" to him and we jumped around laughing and hugging like crazy school kids.  :o)

Then we paused for a couple pictures....

 

I showed Erik the "notes" I had taken from my call with CW2 and he just laughed at how sporadic they were.  I wrote in 2-3 word sentences and they were going in all directions on the page.  haha!  Regardless of the "details", we agreed that this was our baby and she needed to come home to us asap, so of course we wanted direct placement.  We went ahead and called CW2 back.  Erik had some additional questions (of course he was the one thinking clearly... he always is!!)  :o) and we were going to "officially" accept the placement. 

We put CW2 on speaker phone and said, "This is us officially accepting the placement! And we want direct placement!!"  She said, "Okay, great!  When would you guys like to pick her up?" 
We looked at each other, startled, and shrugged our shoulders.
I asked, "What are our choices?"
She said, "How about tomorrow morning at 10am?"

WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!

I looked over at Erik and just remember him being very wide-eyed and  s l o w l y  nodding his head "yes".  :o) 

I said, "YES!!  YES!!  Oh my goodness!!!!  TOMORROW!!!!!..  What do we need to bring?!?!"
She said, "Well, a check and a carseat!"
haha!

When we got off the phone, I couldn't stop squealing!  Erik said, "Uh, well, I guess I'm going to go back inside and tell them I'm leaving?!"  :o)

This was around 2:30pm.  We both left Erik's work and met at home.  Erik worked on some paperwork that our agency needed while I made some calls to family trying to discreetly find out who was going to be home when so we could show up and tell them the news in person.  :o)

We started our journey to tell immediate family in person around 5pm.  We drove out to Lascassas first to tell my parents.  When we pulled up to their driveway, my phone rang.  It was our adoption agency again!  I kind of panicked but didn't know why, really.  It was CW2 again.  She said that she had forgotten to tell me that we needed to name our baby. 

Wait.  What?...  Like- - now?

She said, "You can talk to Erik about it and text it to me by 7:30am in the morning.  We have to have it for all of the paperwork."

It was 5:30pm.  We had to name our baby by 7:30am?! 
I freaked out some more!!

After we told the news to my parents and celebrated, we got on the road to Shelbyville to meet Erik's mom and nephew.  On the way to Shelbyville, I drove and Erik looked at a note on his phone that we had made a while back.  The note was a list of Girl Names and Boy Names that we liked.  We decided that we'd have to choose a name based on the meaning.  There was no other way. 

When he read the definition of Arabella (the latin meaning, I believe)... it was, "answered prayer".  I started sobbing.  He asked if I was okay and I just cried and cried, nodding and saying, "That's her name!  That's her name!!"  :o)  He agreed.
He went on to the list of middle names.  When he read the meaning of "Rose", it was "gift from God".  Again- - weeping, I said, "That's it!  That's it!  Arabella Rose!!" 

It was a lot easier than we thought it'd be.  Arabella Rose.  Answered Prayer and a Gift From God.  Perfect.  :o)

After we told Erik's mom and nephew and celebrated with them, we drove back to Murfreesboro to Babies R Us and Target to look at carseats "real quick".  (This was much too overwhelming, so we decided that we would do some "research" in all of our spare time tonight, then Erik would pick up our choice from Target or Wal-Mart in the morning... BEFORE we left to pick up our daughter!... Made sense at the time.)

While we were in Murfreesboro we went to my brother's house to tell him, my sister-in-law and niece.  Then we drove to Manchester to tell my sister, brother-in-law, nieces and nephew. 

Finally.  We had shared the news and celebrated with all of our immediate family.  Everyone's reactions were priceless.  We got them all on video.  :o)  There was screaming, jumping, hugging, tears of joy, shocked/frozen faces, etc.  It was wonderful.  I'll never forget all of those special moments.  :o) 

By the time we got BACK to Murfreesboro, it was around 11pm.  We should probably go home and rest, right?  Wrong.  We HAD to tell our best friends in person too!  Soooo...  we went to their house too.  :o)  When we left their house (almost midnight at this point), I get a text from my brother that they have some stuff for us if we're still up.  So nice!!  So back to their house we went!  They had gone to Wal-Mart and bought some gowns, towels, toys, diapers, wipes, etc for our sweet baby Arabella Rose!!  They even washed everything in Dreft for us already!  What a sweet blessing.  (We had NOTHING!!)

We left their house around 2am!!  Erik was wiped OUT!  He went to bed and I was on my 3rd or 4th wind at this point.  :o)  I started some laundry, cleaned the house frantically and texted the news to some of my best friends that live out of state.  I finally laid my head down on my pillow at 4:30am.  I don't think I actually slept.  ;o)

(Stay tuned for another post about "The Day We Met Our Daughter").  :o)