More Rebecca Rose - Our Little "Angel Bear"

A gift for Rebecca from our birthmother



Kisses from Mommy




She is so adorable!




Daddy with Rebecca and stuffed animal we bought for her in May when we met her birthmother.



First feeding by Mommy



Strawberry-blond hair



A big yawn



So precious


Our little "Angel Bear"





Proud Daddy with Rebecca

We had so much joy in our hearts when we were able to visit with Rebecca and our birthmother at the hospital. Rebecca is such a little angel and she is so precious. She already has both our hearts wrapped around her finger! She is such a blessing from God and were are so happy to be here for her first days. No words can describe this feeling, and we cannot wait for Daniel to meet his little sister.

Introducing Rebecca Rose

Wow. It's now 9:17 pm CENTRAL Daylight time, and just a scant 16 hours ago we received a phone call from our birthmother that she was in labor!!! So, the fire drill began - check flights, let Mom & Dad know (so they could come down to take care of Daniel), get to airport, etc. I found out at 7:30 am that there was an 11:30 flight out to DFW - so Mom dropped everything to come on down (leaving Dad to drive down separately). We made the flight with 40 minutes to spare!!! What a feeling this was, again winging our way southwestern, (the direction, not the airline...) knowing that when we were to return just a few days hence with a little life... a child to be ours. So, the Good Lord smiled upon us and this whole endeavor. We landed early - had no message that a birth had yet occurred - so we grabbed the rental-mobile, and being told that the birthmother would love to have us there, went straight to the hospital. Just in time. Turns out that they had to perform a cesarean, and we got there 15 minutes before they were to wheel her back. So, Holly went in with the birthmother as she was being prepped,and then we followed to the room just outside the OR, where we heard our daughter's 1st screams. I have one thing to say about that (besides the fact that it was utterly magical and we wouldn't have missed it for the world) - the girl has some lungs. Daniel, you got competition, son. Then, 10 minutes after she was born, they brought her out for us to hold. That... was a moment we'll remember all of our lives. I got a bit choked up. Then they had to take her to the nursery. We watched her for about 1/2 an hour through the glass, then got word that our birthmother was back in her room and would love to see us. So we went and she looked amazing considering that she'd just had a c-section, so we hung out with her and her Mom for most of the next couple of hours, went to see Rebecca again, and then eventually went off to get a bite to eat. We finally got in the the hotel room about 9:00 pm CDT.
We can't say enough about what a wonderful person our birthmother is - and her mother as well.
Please enjoy these pictures of us meeting our daughter Rebecca.
Holly says I'm supposed to give the details. You know, scientific-like.
Rebecca Rose, born 3:40pm CDT, Arlington, TX. 8 lbs, 0 oz. 20" long. She has long fingers and toes, and a beautiful complexion, with (for now) a fair amount (but not a lot) of strawberry-blond hair. She is absolutely beautiful. We are so very, very blessed.

"READY"

Daniel always says "READY" in a loud voice whenever he is ready to go somewhere or do something. That is exactly how I feel about our journey - READY for our new baby girl to arrive in this world. We are just so blessed by our birth mother and by GOD. So I guess we will continue to be "READY" a little bit longer . . .

Almost here . . . .

We are waiting with great anticipation for our little bundle of joy to arrive in this world! We were anticipating that she would arrive the first or second week in July due to early contractions. So Holly packed all the baby things on July 1 (even though the due date is July 22)!

Two weeks later and here we are still, but getting closer every day :) Our pastor - Stephen - is even planning the placement ceremony for us. We are very blessed and really admire the strength and love of our birth mother.

We have been reading the "I am a Big Brother" book to Daniel at bedtime. He is going to be a wonderful and caring big brother.

It Is Almost Time

We have a feeling that our little angel might be showing up earlier than planned (due date is July 22). We we are trying to get ready which means Holly is washing baby clothes and nesting and Michael is checking out hotels in Texas. Daniel is practicing singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to his baby sister - so cute!

God has blessed us with an incredible birth mother and a precious baby girl on the way. We feel so fortunate and know that she will be so loved by all our family and friends. We ask for all your prayers for a healthy baby girl and a smooth adoption process over the next several weeks!

Very Special Mother's Day and Father's Day This Year

We had a very special Mother's Day and Father's Day this year b/c we found out that a little baby girl will be joining our family at the end of July!!!!! And Daniel gets to be a big brother!!!!

On May 6th we found out that we were matched with a birth mother as we were boarding a plane to Houston to visit Holly's brother and sister-in-law for our niece's first birthday party and baptism! Holly was talking to our case worker at Gladney on her cell phone while Michael was trying to listen and make sure that Daniel did not run down the jet way. We were so excited and the entire gate crew and fellow passangers heard our story!

It was very special to us that we could share this news with Holly's entire family over Mother's Day weekend. Everyone is so excited to have this little angel join our family. Michael did manage to call his parents before our flight took off and as you can imagine they were thrilled (Michael's parents have two grandchildren who are both boys so this is very exciting for them.)

It was the perfect Mother's Day weekend and Macall (our niece and goddaughter) was baptized on Mother's Day which made it even more special. Plus Daniel got to spend Mother's Day afternoon on Galveston Beach running into the ocean over and over with Mommy and Daddy :)

On May 27th Holly and Michael met our birth mother, her mother and her sister in Ft. Worth for lunch! This was a blessed occasion and we love our birth mother with all our hearts - she is a caring, loving and selfless person who we will alway love and pray for every day of our lives. She gave us a framed sonogram picture of the baby's face which made Holly and Michael tear up and then we even got a DVD of the last two sonograms so we could hear the baby's heart beat! What a beautiful woman and an amazing family - the gift of life is the most precious blessing ever. We had the best time sharing stories about our families and then took pictures outside the restaurant of all of us together for our little girl when she grows up.

As you can see we love TEXAS and our adoption agency - GLADNEY. We feel so blessed by God for bringing this little angel into our lives this summer. Daniel is learning about being a big brother by reading his book, "I Am A Big Brother Now" and praying for his baby sister every night!

We can hardly wait 5 more weeks for this blessed event! Thanks to all our family and friends for your prayers and blessings. So on Father's Day Michael is also doubly blessed because Daniel said, "Happy Father's Day" and we have another angel on the way to join our family. Perhaps she will be Daddy's Little Girl :)

Love, Holly, Michael and Daniel

Waiting to Expand Our Family

We are waiting for a little angel to join us - he or she is already growing in our hearts. Then we will be a happy family of four!