Unimagineable

"Now all glory to God who is able through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think" Ephesians 3:20 (NIV)

That scripture reference was the most appropriate way I could start this blog. I love Romans 8:28, but I'm feeling Ephesians 3:20 really captures the tone of our journey's culmination. This week God has shown up more than I ever remember seeing Him in my life, and the good that has come from our journey was unimagineable, more than what we could have thought to ask for! More than anything, I hope my friends recognize this as a blessing from God. There were way too many "coincidences" through the past month leading up to Liam's delivery-it was definitely a "God thing". God's goodness has been evident through this entire journey, and I'll try to highlight events since Monday...

As you know, Liam was born via emergency C-section late Monday night. The doctor noticed that his heart rate was flat, and when he performed the C-section, he discovered the cord was wrapped around his neck 1.5 times. Billy and I knew something wasn't right when he told us the plans for delivery had changed, and he said a prayer and did lots of pacing while we waited. The bummer was that I wasn't able to be in the delivery room. Our birthmom had chosen to have her support person with her instead, which was understandable. Immediately afterwards, we were able to not only see Liam, but we had him in our room all night. (We and the birthmom had our own, separate rooms).

The next day, family visited with us. My parents, grandma, two aunts, and Billy's sister came by to meet Liam. Birthmom shared him with us that day, and she graciously told Billy that she was willing to meet any of our family members. (Earlier in the day I had "met" her mother and sister over the phone-an amazing thing!) My mom and one of my aunts met our birthmom, and it was a very special opportunity for them to thank her for helping us achieve our dreams and to recognize her brave choice to provide Liam an adoptive life.

Prior to leaving the hospital, the birthmom asked the hospital chaplin whether she would pray a blessing over Liam. (It has been fantastic to have a birthmom who shares our same beliefs!) Just before prayer, the chaplin told us that she and her husband have desired to have a family for years, and that since she is nearly forty, she hopes someday they will be blessed through adoption just as we have been. Her prayer was absolutely beautiful-just as I'd imagine Liam's church dedication might be. As you can imagine, our birthmom, Bill, and I were all in tears by the end of the prayer. In order to help with the separation, it is advised that birthmoms and adoptive parents leave the hospital at the same time. That is exactly what we did.

When we arrived home that night, Billy told me that he had spoken to one of Liam's nurses, and she asked him to what extent we had gone to have a family. They swapped infertility stories, and the nurse said that she and her husband will most likely adopt, and she even asked about our adoption facilitator. As I think about the chaplin and the nurse, I can't help but wonder what kind of impact our experience will have on them. I wish I could know!

Now I can't go on anymore without bragging about my son :). Liam is not only the cutest baby in the entire world since the beginning of time, but he also has Herculian strength. At 17 hrs. "old", while being burped, he has been able to lift his head off Billy's shoulder! We have pics to prove it! He continues to do this, and turn his head so he can see us while we are tending to him. We took him to the pediatrician today for his two day appointment, and our doctor said that he looks great! He is eating very well, and is only waking up one time in the middle of the night. He consistently sleeps 4 hrs. straight-I"m afraid that I may jinx myself by writing this lol.

As for the adoption process, there are a number of things that must be accomplished. First, we have to submit our request to adopt Liam within 10 days to the court. Please pray that this, and other hurdles over the next month will be smooth sailing. It takes 8 months for the adoption to be final. I will update as our journey, no, adventure with Liam (the most beautiful, special baby in the world :) ) continues.