The Uphill Climb

When we were little, we used to go hiking all the time.

I had the privilege of growing up in the Pacific Northwest and got to climb Mount Rainier...all the time!! I never knew how blessed I was to climb that amazing mountain until I moved to a place with hills for mountain ranges!

One thing we always did while hiking was encourage one another. Up the hill, down the hill, under the tree, over the rock- we were always cheering one another on. There were times we thought we weren't going to make it up the hill and crawling on hands and knees, we would cheer each other on  all the way to the top.

That's how this past week of our adoption has been. An uphill climb.

And so many encouraging us as we climb.

Right now, we are in the stage of a home inspection and interviews...which haven't actually started yet due to a fork in the road.

A week and a half ago, we got a call about a baby.

A baby that needed a home.

A baby that was due in 4 weeks.

Dave and I assessed the situation, felt comfortable with the outcomes, and said YES!!

We knew there would be peaks and valleys on this journey, but we never knew the magnitude of them. We were on an emotional high! We had to get a profile together in about 48 hours...24 of which I was working! For those of you that have adopted and put together a profile, this thing is no joke! Pictures, testimonials, stories- basically, an 8 page snapshot into our life!

We completed the profile. We were given the accolades of our social worker as she applauded our very nice looking profile in such a short period of time. We prayed and waited as Monday came and our profile would be shown to this expectant mom.

We waited and prayed.

We prayed and waited.

And today marked one week...of waiting and praying.

And then, we got the news...we had not been chosen.

In the midst of the highs and lows, peaks and valleys, of this past week, today's final answer found both Dave and I in a place of calm. The kind of calm that comes from knowing that everything is okay and that everything happens for a reason.

I never knew this kind of emotion existed. The elation of the possibility of being a mom in 4 weeks, the stress and patience of waiting for an answer, and the weight in a simple word of "no"- the possibility is gone. It is a kind of feeling that is going to be hard to go through again as we continue on this adoption journey.

The hike up the hill was real. The encouragement from our friends and loved ones was amazing, and we made it to the top. We conquered this mountain!

Now, we trek on to Baby Care classes, Infant CPR, and a thorough investigation of our home! Can't wait to see what other mountains there are to climb!