December 20, 2012: We were taking dinner out of the oven when the house phone rang. When the voice on the other end said, "Hi, this is Nancy from Adoption Network Law Center..." we knew that was it. Our hearts had already stopped beating, and we knew the answer was YES, no matter what she told us!
Nancy told us about Annette (25 years old), due on February 25th (just about 8 "short" weeks away) with a beautiful little girl. Nancy explained to us that one of the reasons Annette chose us (among so many wonderful parenting qualities!) was that she wanted this baby to be raised with Judaism, and we were so honored that she made that choice. Annette loved this baby so much that she knew she couldn't provide the life for her that she wanted. She wanted this baby to grow up with an education and to have all of her needs (financial, emotional, and physical) met.
When we were hiking with Uncle Harris (and fam) the next week, he innocently mentioned, "Well, all the days are getting longer now!" referring to the winter solstice on December 21, the day after we were matched. That was a really magical and meaningful moment when I realized, "Yes, it's all going to be better now." :)
We had a conference call with Annette and quickly developed a relationship through emails. Annette and I emailed several times a day, and we became fond of getting to know each other. She was very friendly, selfless, gracious, extremely responsible with taking care of her body, and incredibly communicative about what was going on with her, the baby, and doctor visits. While there is no way WE could ever say "Thank You" enough for the gift she was giving to our family, she kept expressing to us how grateful SHE was for the life we were going to provide for this baby. Annette is the best birthmom we could ever ask for, and it is all very special.
Jon and I made plans to drive to Jasper on Sunday, February 3rd (3 weeks until due date) to meet Annette for the first time, but Gabi decided she wasn't going to wait that long. Like Gabi's Mommy, she has a waiting disease and was ready to join us in her own time! Little did we know, we'd get another call 4 weeks before we expected it...
