Already Spoiled

Baby C already has a few things waiting for him or her at home.  Our family and friends have been blessing this baby from the moment we announced our adoption.  This little one does not even know what is coming!  I have only allowed myself to buy one thing outside of these gifts ... but I'm afraid all that will change when we know he or she is on the way!  (Who am I kidding?  I am not sure how much longer I can hold out!)  

And yes, that is a teeny tiny 6M cardinals tee ready for our little one!  Clay was ecstatic!  

I really want to use this space as a way to keep others updated, but I also want to make sure I'm documenting special moments along our journey as well.  There have been some cute moments thus far and I don't want to forget them because they mean so much to our story.  

Along with our families, we told a few friends of our plans before we went "public" with our news. Clay wanted to tell a few guys that he is really close to about our plans to adopt so he asked them to meet him for lunch.  None of them really knew what he was going to say.  One of them walked in and immediately said, "Ok so you are about to tell us 1 of 3 things:  Either you and Stacy are pregnant, you are leaving the church, or you have cancer.  Now which one is it?"  Clay laughed so hard! 

  One of my favorite moments came the night we announced we were adopting to a dear family in our church.  The entire family was there waiting for us as we announced our news.  Clay had mentioned a few days before that we wanted to talk with them about something.  They were scared to death of what we were going say, but the sweet grandma of the family jumped up as soon as we could get it out of our mouths.  She exclaimed, "I knew it!" and got up and ran into the kitchen and came back with a small baby gift.  It was such a fun moment for me as I opened it and realized that I was receiving my first baby gift!  It was surreal.  

Wednesday will mark one month since we signed our sign-up paperwork.  These are such fun days that we never want to forget.  I want to continue this journey with the same joy and excitement that we've had the last month.  I know that as the waiting goes on and the unknowns remain it is bound to get harder.  I am thankful for this as it is a daily lesson in placing my hope in Christ.  I have written the words "My hope is found in nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness" across my bathroom mirror.  Each day when I look at it I remind myself that my hope does not come from getting that much awaited phone call; it must come only from the hope that the gospel brings to my life.  I pray our child will one day know the same hope.  

I realize more and more every day just how ready I am to meet our precious little one.  It is amazing how much love you can feel for someone you do not even know!  

Waiting Joyfully, 

Stacy and Clay