My Sweet Little Man,
I am sitting down to write the beginning of your story while details are fresh in my mind. I will probably be working on this for several days since you have a big sister too and you are still eating every two-three hours!
My heart is overwhelmed at the work of the Lord in placing you in our arms. My eyes fill with tears and my heart is tender as I think through the past four weeks…….
This story begins three years ago, after we adopted your big sister! Many family members and friends began praying for our second child. We had experienced much heartache and loss: two sweet girls and countless other babies in what we call the “adoption process.” We pressed on, praying that the Lord would fill our arms. He gave us much comfort and grace to continue.
God has a perfect plan, one that will bring Him most glory. We don’t always know what this plan is, but we do know that the Lord is Good to those who wait and call upon His name (Lamentations 3:25, Psalm 27:14, Psalm 38:15). We also know that He is a loving Father who delights in giving His children good gifts (Psalm 103:13). These truths helped us to continue to pray for the Lord to fill our arms again….and we prayed this for three years. We also prayed that our family and friends would see Christ in our perseverance. We prayed that they would see His sustaining grace in our sorrow as we waited. We prayed that the Lord would show Himself faithful to your big sister, Lily, who prayed for “a brown baby” every day. We did not know this until now, but God was answering all our prayers.
Across the country in the city of (......) a young woman called an adoption agency asking for information on how to place a baby for adoption. It was a hard thing for her to do because she loved her baby boy. She loved him enough to know she couldn’t give him the home she wanted for him. She started meeting with a nice lady named "J". "J" helped her look through picture books and make a list of everything she wanted you to have. She read every word in all the books…..our family was one of them (Mommy had heard about you and had quickly mailed our picture book to the agency one day before the young lady was to look at them!)! We prayed for her as she was making one of the hardest decisions ever. We prayed that our family would be chosen, that God would give her peace, and that you would be our son. We spent sleepless nights waiting. We thought that a different family had been chosen, we continued to pray. Then we got a very special text message, we were chosen!!! We were so excited and prayerful that everything would work out as planned. We were able to talk with the young woman on the phone the day before Thanksgiving. It was wonderful! We packed our suitcases and waited for you to be born….you were overdue by about two weeks! What a long wait.
On November 29th, I thought I could not bear it any longer! I was putting Lily to bed (Daddy was working, hoping to take lots of time off to come get you) and we prayed again for you to be born…just minutes later, "J" texted mommy to say she was driving the young lady to the hospital to deliver you! Lily and I jumped up and down on the bed and did a little jig! The Lord had answered our prayer! We prayed for safety for "J" and the young lady (which is good because they had quite a wild ride to the hospital…you wanted to be born quick!).
They made it safely and you were born just under three hours later!
8lbs, 4 oz, 21 inches long! A beautiful baby boy with a head FULL of hair!
When we got news of your birth, we were 2 hours into a 12 hour drive to Grandpa & Grandma’s house! We drove all through the night…your big sister was a champ and slept most of the night! We got to Grandpa & Grandma’s in the morning and then Mommy and Daddy boarded a flight the same afternoon to come and meet you. Lily stayed with Grandpa & Grandma since it was going to be a long week. We got to (.......) and to our hotel at 1am the next morning, whew! We were so excited to meet you and the young lady, Momma “A,” later that morning!
We woke up early and headed over to the hospital to meet you. We got to see Momma “A” first. She was a delight to meet. She was so excited to have us see you! I got to go into the nursery with Momma “A” first to meet you. I cried tears of joy….Daddy watched us through the window. Then it was his turn later, he held you close and stroked your hair!
We spent most of the day with Momma “A” and you before going back to the hotel later in the afternoon. "J" called us later that night to tell us that Momma “A” really liked us, but she was really sad and needed reassurance on a few things. We prayed that God would give her peace and asked all our family and friends to pray too. We also prayed for "J" as she talked with Mamma “A” and helped her think through this big decision.
The next day was Friday, December 2nd, 2011. We waited at the hotel until we heard from "J" to come over to see Momma “A” at the hospital. We were able to talk with her and pray with her. We visited you for a few minutes and then left to pray for Momma “A” as she made her final decision about placing you with our family.
Pure Joy and Thankfulness filled our hearts about nine hours later when we found out that Momma “A” wanted to place you in our family and signed to make it official! We new it had been a long, hard day for Momma “A,” so as we praised God and thanked Him for you, we prayed that she would be comforted in her sadness and confident that she made the right decision for you. We stayed at the hospital just holding you and praising God for you---We called all of our family and friends to share the news even though It was about 1am their time!!
We named you Ezekiel Karl. It means God Will Strengthen! We chose this name because we want you to know who your strength comes from. We chose it as a reminder to us that the Lord gave us strength in our own trials and lifted us up into joy! We chose that name Karl to honor your grandpa. We pray that you will grow up to be like him in his love for truth and his love for his family.
The next day we spent with you at the hospital, except when we left to sign paperwork to accept you as OUR SON!! When we got back to the hospital we got wonderful news that you were ready to go home with us! You were healthy, no more jaundice or infection!!! We were thrilled! We changed your clothes, placed you in the carseat and drove to the hotel! Then you had your first bath! I wrapped you up nice and snuggly in a blanket…you smelled so good! Then you went right to sleep….you slept right through a pizza party we had with "J" and Momma “A”! Momma “A” said, “No more baths right before I see you again so that I can see your beautiful eyes!” I remembered this the next time we saw her, and you did open your eyes at the end of our meeting! That was a sweet gift to her!
Once we had clearance to leave the state with you, we flew to Grandpa & Grandma’s house! Lily couldn’t wait to meet you! We arrived really early in the morning-Lily was waiting with balloons. I cried as I watched Lily stroke your hair and arms and legs. She LOVES you! She prayed as diligently as Mommy and Daddy that God would give you to us! We had some hot chocolate at the airport with Grandpa & Lily (There were going to be lots & lots of people at the airport, but that changed when we arrived so early!) and then we headed to see Grandma and the boys! They ALL had to hold you and kiss you….the next several hours and days were filled with people coming to meet you and thank God for you!
We made it home after a couple days, we have been home just over a week now. Your presence fills our home with joy! We all love you and love when you smile at us! Your favorite things to do right now are eating, sleeping, being cuddled, looking at the Christmas tree lights, and listening to Lily talk to you…she gets the most smiles from you right now!
We love you Ezekiel, and can’t wait for this story to get longer. We love Momma “A”, who is a huge part of your story. We love "J", who loves Momma “A” and us so well and is pouring her life out for us all!
Love,
Mommy (for Daddy & Lily too)
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