Babies R Us, Pregnant R Not

Over the past couple of years, I have had the opportunity to shop for expectant friends and family members.  It was always a bittersweet feeling, one I can't really describe, roaming the aisles filled with all things baby! Of course I was overjoyed with excitement for those mothers and soon-to-be mothers, but deeply saddened, because I wanted nothing more than to be shopping for a baby of our own!

We got to visit our "old" church today on Resurrection Day!  On the way back home, we decided to see if Babies R Us was open - they sell these super cute frames that say "I Love Grandma!" on them.  We were going to give them to our moms for Mother's Day and make our adoption announcement.  They actually were open today, but were out of the frames! Gotta come up with Plan B!

Anyway... We walked into BRU, and it was an amazing, exciting feeling!  Today we were now shopping for our baby, no one else's - OURS!  It was so fun to look at all the little clothes (they now sell Under Armour baby clothes- how cool is that!?  Bobby was especially excited!) and roam the aisles filled with all things baby!  During this fun shopping experience, it got me thinking though and was able to talk to a good friend who is going through the adoption process about it afterward.  When we are shopping, it's not obvious we're expecting although we are expecting... a baby through adoption!  I don't have the protruding baby bump or the tell-tale pregnant mama waddle.  When sales associates approach us in the store, will we hear things like, "Who are you shopping for today?" "Are you looking for a gift?"  "Wow! You're buying a crib? What a generous gift!" 

Please don't misunderstand me, I am beyond thrilled to be able to adopt a child!  Just wanted to take a moment to share my thoughts as a mom-to-be, who happens-to-be adopting!  Every day I dream about what our baby will look like! Will he or she have dark hair, red hair, blond hair? Will it be curly, wavy, or straight?  Will our baby have brown, green, blue, or hazel eyes?  Will our baby be Hispanic, black, white, Asian, or all of the above!

Why No Handlebars?

"No Handlebars" came from a conversation we had a few months ago (even before we requested info from the agency!) after I posed the question, "Do you think we should start a blog about our adoption journey?"  After the "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," I immediately responded with, "What should we call it?!?!"  Those of you who know me well know sometimes I forget the details and head straight to the "fun" stuff especially in the beginning stages of a thought, plan, etc.!  I began throwing out names to Bobby (because of course I had already been thinking about it for days!) and none seemed to fit our lives and the amazing faith journey God has taken us in the last few months (aside from adoption).  Somehow, out of nowhere (must be God's idea then!) one of us threw out the idea of "No Handlebars" and it was perfect for two reasons - First, Bobby is an avid mountain bike rider and thinks all things bike are pretty sweet! Second, as I mentioned before, we have been on a faith journey and I, for one, have been learning to TRUST and put all of my faith in God, and He has blown me away with his awesomeness when I do that! So we are letting go of the handlebars in our ride through life, not just in adding to our family, and letting God steer!

Paperwork - I hear this is only the beginning!

It's so strange posting to a blog no one yet knows exists - although somewhat therapeutic.  Until we share the big news (CAN'T WAIT!) I guess it's more of an online journal than a blog! Anyway, we received our paperwork almost 2 months ago, which was just a couple of days after contacting the adoption agency. Not sure if I have ever been so excited to get mail before - let alone mail that involved paperwork!!  After spending some time in prayer and wanting to wait until our house sold, we began to fill it out a couple of weeks ago.  Bobby is the rational, thoughtful one and helped me come to the realization of how important this paperwork is, and we shouldn't just rush through!  He reminded me God has chosen a baby for our family and regardless of how soon I turn in the the application, God would give this little blessing to us in His time - not mine! Lord, you picked a perfect partner for me!

For those of you who may be new to this whole adoption thing (like us!), the initial paperwork consists of adoption FAQs, state requirements, our adoption agency's definition of a healthy family, a list of adoption fees (wowza! but God will provide!), an explanation of open adoption (description of "open adoption" will be another post, another day), list and explanation of adoption classes, and the parts we fill out - parent (us! we're going to be parents!!) information sheet, statement of faith (because we are going through a Christian agency), and a pastoral reference.