// Photography by Angie Garcia //
We considered starting the adoption process again when Little M turned two. Our plans changed when the adoption agency told us that “things were moving quickly” and some families were placed with a new baby in TWO WEEKS! Um, we were definitely NOT two weeks ready for a baby so we waited until the January 2016 to restart the process.
January came and went and somehow the paperwork wasn’t completed. I half blame having a toddler and half blame nerves. Were we ready? Things were finally falling into place as in I could leave the house with Little M and “kind of” knew what I was doing! Mr. S had the same reservations. I was also nervous about loving a second one as much as I loved Little M. It wouldn’t be fair to love a second one less, and he is so special to us. Many of my friends reassured me that there is PLENTY OF LOVE to go around, and these are my momma friends with three or more kids! Okay, no more excuses right?
Mr. S and I went on a Babymoon to Napa Valley and drove the Pacific Coast Highway at the end of February. That meant it was really happening right? The paperwork was “officially” completed and turned in April. Because we were a returning family, the approval process was shorter (only one home study but the still same with fingerprints, background checks, and references) and we were officially approved at the beginning of June. Meanwhile, I was supposed to have finished the adoption profile book.
I just finished my last day at work the week prior. (We didn’t want to chance having me on the schedule since our department is already short staffed. I would pick up shifts weekly barring any major adoption events.) It was a Monday, and we received an email asking about our willingness to communicate in Spanish with a birth mother. No problemo! Mr. S and I speak varying degrees of “Spenglish” and could do it with the help of Google Translate (and our friend to make sure we weren’t speaking jibberish)! I was COMPLETELY ANTSY that day and tried to complete the adoption profile book. One of my best friends and her family of three boys left after spending the weekend with us. It was a good distraction until they were gone.
Tuesday rolled around, and I decided to bring Little M to the park and then enjoy a cafe style lunch at the Black Rooster Bakery. (So GOOD – you must try if you live in Fort Worth!) After loading Little M into the car, I saw that I had missed a call from the infant adoption director, J Lo*. Why is my phone always on silent?! I called back right away, and that’s when I heard the words, “We have a baby girl.” The rest was almost a blur (but it wasn’t because I had to pay attention since she was sharing details about the baby, birth mom, health info, and everything else). And it ended with, “We’d like to place her by Thursday.” That’s when I basically freaked out and screamed in my head.
We got home, and I had to fight Little M to get to nap. (He ended up NOT napping. I think he could sense the anxiety in the air!)
J Lo* also sent the same information via email. Thank goodness! I forwarded it to Mr. S, texted him to check his email, and then called him. Basically, I gave him no time to read the email. Being his level-headed self, he asked to call me back so he could read and digest. It seemed like forever (but it was 10 minutes) and he called me back. We discussed, panicked, and then he called J Lo* back to ask her more questions. When they talked, she shared that they actually wanted to place the baby on Wednesday or Thursday! WHAT! OMG! We needed to let her know our decision by Tuesday evening.
We were shocked. Both of us were expecting to be placed with another baby boy. Don’t know why?! Little M said that he didn’t want the baby sister until we showed him her picture. It was truly a tender moment when I saw his little face smile at his future sister.
Anyhow, Mr. S had some major things going on at work on Thursday so we brought our sweet Baby MJ home on Friday. I cried as soon as I saw her. It was different than when I saw Little M for the first time. She was three weeks old and had been in TLC (tender loving care aka foster care) after birth. The foster mother was there and shared pointers and tips about her care. Again, so different than I guess what I was expecting.
It has been a whirlwind adoption and so different from Little M’s. Just like each pregnancy and delivery is different, so too is each adoption experience. Little M is SO SWEET and continues to love on his baby sister. He is really gentle when he gives her hugs but very boy-like in all other things (like showing her how he jumps, his books – almost poking her in the head, etc.). We feel so grateful and blessed to have this family through adoption.
I can’t even explain how happy I am (amidst the extreme fatigue). With Little M, I just kept crying because of joy. With Baby MJ, I just keep smiling because I have a little girl. My friend, Jeanette, said that God knows what we need in our hearts even when we don’t. (She also adopted a boy and then a girl.)
She’s right. I was so scared about the whole second adoption, but now I feel like everything is how it should be. I don’t know if that makes any sense. It is TOTAL CHAOS but still good. God is good.
If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read and let me share. If you have any questions about adoption (or even IVF, IUI, or endometriosis since I went through all that mess to get here), then send me an email or comment below.
Hope y’all are having a great week!
>> You can read about our FIRST adoption here!! <<
*Names have been changed for privacy reasons, but I gave you a good one so you can imagine!
