Unexpected Blessings

So this week has been an exciting crazy blur, and I’m not quite sure where to begin. I probably should scroll back to last Tuesday. I was doing laundry, and get ready for our weekend get-away. Eddie’s company was paying for us to go on a long weekend to the Mayan Riviera, a trip that was much anticipated. About noon I got a call from our social worker - they had a baby for us. She was at the hospital and needed to be picked up as soon as possible. Were we interested? “ Uhhhhh….. well…. Uhhh…. Sure”. I called Eddie, interrupting him from the middle of the meeting, to drop the bombshell. By 2:00PM we decided that Babyness was to be our girl, and by 5:00PM we left for the hospital to pick her up. What a surreal experience. There was no time to get ready. No diapers, no bottles, no formula - plenty of adrenaline.

We met the social worker at the medical complex, car seat in hand, and headed up to get our girl. When we got there we found our baby in the nurses station being loved on and held by the nurses there. The nurses took pity on us and gave us bags of diapers, formula, and bottles. They were quick to give us pointers. “She likes to be swaddled; she doesn’t like to be patted; she’s been fussy, and doesn’t like to eat”. One nurse actually teared up as she gave Babyness one last hug. Eddie signed all of one piece of paper and we left, baby in hand.

I’ve got to tell you about our Sweetness. She’s beautiful; dark hair, dark eyes, and so tiny. I’d forgotten how very small a 3 day old baby is. The kids love her. Even Bub – who generally is not a fan of babies, or girls, likes her – kinda. E and M cannot get enough of her. Wednesday morning, I woke up sleepy, and snuggled up with our newest addition to the family. She is so precious, so tiny and amazing and I just stared at her in wonder.

Back to Mexico. Believe it or not, we went. One and a half days after we brought our daughter home we left her and her siblings with my sister for the weekend. Not an easy decision, but the right one, I think. I was emotionally “strung out” from the process of deciding to take the sibling group of 2 babies, and then not having them placed with us. I was looking forward to our time in Mexico to recharge, and reconnect. The adoption process is straining and the fost-adopt process particularly so; our marriage needs to be protected and nurtured. It, along with our faith, provides the foundation for our family. And, by golly, if that means we need to go to the Mayan Rivera for a weekend, then that is a sacrifice that we will just have to make. As I am writing this we are on the flight back to Denver, and I cannot wait to get home. I miss my kids, and I want to be there for my new baby. But God blessed our days away as a couple, and I had surprising peace about leaving our little ones, even the itty-bittiest, in my sister’s care.

The resort was lovely, and lavish. The beach was better. I was amazed by the beauty of the Caribbean waters. So blue. And only the Creator could make something so beautiful, and so dynamic. Eddie and I swam out to a reef and snorkeled there; it is teeming with life. We saw schools of tropical fish that nearly glowed. They are under water, nobody sees them. God made them for his own glory and his own pleasure. I think most people at the resort were most interested in the frozen margaritas (which were great) than they were about the beauty that surrounded them. How could they miss it? God’s handiwork was displayed in all its glory, and they didn’t even see it.


The whole trip I felt a little self-conscious about being there. Eddie’s entire company knew we had just brought home a baby. They also knew that we have three bio kids. I know some of them were thinking that we are crazy and irresponsible to bring another child into our home. These folks are career driven, and several have chosen not to ever have kids – they’re inconvenient. The ones who weren’t thinking we were crazy for adopting were thinking we were crazy for leaving our baby. Still others offered platitudes like, “That is such a great thing you are doing.” I know they are trying to be nice, but they haven’t held Baby Girl in their arms and kissed her sweet baby shampoo scented head. She a precious gift and she feels like our daughter - not this “great thing” we are doing.

Enough for now…