Mommy D Says Good-bye to Jaydon

Now that my emotions have settled down from our meeting with Mommy D, I wanted to reflect on the positive parts of the meeting so that I can share with Jaydon some positive things about his birth mother.  While she was holding and cuddling him, she would talk to him with tears in her eyes.  That was painful for me to see as I can only imagine the pain she must be going through in placing her son, knowing that this is best for him.  She then pulled him away and gave him some cute and funny instructions. I will try to remember at least the gist of what she said.

He should go home with the nice lady (me).

He shouldn't cry too much.

He should be a good boy.

He shouldn't poop or potty on me too much, except on Tuesdays.  When I asked her why Tuesday, she didn't know. :)

These instructions will hopefully be helpful to Jaydon later, knowing that this was one of the ways that his birth mommy tried telling him good-bye.  She also told him more than once that she loved him and kissed him a lot.  She snuggled him until he fell asleep and then passed him on to me.

Although she has a rough history, I also want Jaydon to know that she is a caring person and that she did indeed love him.  She loved him enough, to place him in a home where he could be taken care of and loved and given what she herself could not give. 

There for a couple of days I wondered if we had made the right decision in meeting with her but now I am so thankful we did.  I am thankful for the pictures to share and the good stories we can tell.  Here is what a couple of fellow adoptive parents shared with me when I shared how our visit went:

Joy I'm so sorry the visit didn't go as planned. Please keep in mind however that while it may not seem on the surface to have healed her heart, down the road that may change. Remember that she is still staring down the face of addiction, a beast that is hard to tame. Hopefully this experience, once she has absorbed it, will help her heal and realize she made the best decision for her child. It's wonderful that you honored your son and were able to get pictures with his birth mother. Take solace that he will so appreciate that gesture one day!

Another person shared: Please know that for your son it wasn't a waste... those pics and the act of love you gave him by going to the visit... and you never have it over your head because you followed through and don't have to deal with the what ifs.... so thankful to the Lord you have your little guy to hold tight!

I am so thankful for these encouraging words!  

I firmly believe that if I am to truly love Jaydon, that I must truly love Mommy D.  I don't have to love her actions or lifestyle, but I do need to love her as a person, just like Jesus would have me to do.  Unfortunately, loving her does not mean that we will continue to communicate with her.  For the safety of our family, it will be best to keep our communication through the agency. 

Thanks for letting me share as I got some of my scrambled thoughts together. :)

On another note, I was just emailed today from Adia's birth mother.  She is asking me to call her as she has some personal things she would like to discuss with me.  My goal is to try and touch base with her tomorrow afternoon. Please pray that I can be an encouragement to her and that I will say what Jesus would have me to say.

Unspoken Request

What was our unspoken request that we asked prayer for?  This afternoon we received a call from our social worker saying that she had told Mommy D that we were in town and that we could get together with her so she could meet Jaydon.  Well we were in town....yesterday.  So we began trying to figure out a time that it would work to get together and hoped it wouldn't be a dry run.  We set up a time for 6:00 p.m., this evening and it was probably about 6:15 p.m., or so that we actually met up with the social worker and Mommy D at McDonald's (the place where we first met her).  I'm not quite sure what I expected to happen, but tonight wasn't how I pictured the reunion.  When we arrived, without saying anything to us, she came and took Jaydon out of his carseat, while still in the van and carried him in to McDonald's and then sat down with him and cuddled him for awhile.  I know that she loves him, but this came as a bit of a shock and was hard for this mommy to soak in the aggressiveness.  Needless to say we kept a very close eye on her and stayed very close by!!  She did talk some with Skeeter and I but it wasn't to find out how Jaydon was, it was to ask us for money.  So I gave her the couple of dollars that I had, but that wasn't enough.  So unfortunately the evening ended with her crying and upset and saying that we all lied to her and that no one cared.  She also said to the gist that the evening was a waste. :(

I am thankful that we were able to get a few pictures so that Jaydon will have some pictures of her with him, but unfortunately, this will likely be the last time we see Mommy D.  My heart does hurt for her as she is completely back out on the streets and to watch her practically inhale her food was sobering.  Who knows when or what her next meal will be. Our social worker slipped and told her where we live, so hopefully she didn't catch it and won't cause trouble!  However, we do have a God who is in control and can protect!

On a more positive note, Jaydon's social security card came in the mail today. :)

Thank you all for praying!!  Here are a few pictures from this evening----

Meet our Selfless Mommy D!!

The goal of this post is to not only introduce you to Mommy D, but to kind of pull the events of this special story all together (with all the failed matches, the details have gotten kind of mixed up!).  Looking back it is neat to see how God was working!  I am also hoping to put a scrapbook together for Jaydon with his adoption story, so this will help me keep all the details together in one spot. :)

We first heard about Mommy D, on March 25.  Keep in mind that at this point, we were still trying to figure out what Mommy S was going to do.  All the information that we received on Mommy D was that she was in jail for drug paraphenalia, that she had an addiction to crack, that the baby's father could be 1 of 4 men, that this was her 5th pregnancy, that she was herself adopted and that she was bi-polar and a bit quirky. The social worker had not yet made a contract with this special lady, so that was as far as we got for information on that day.   On March 27, we found out that Mommy S, was off the radar and that we just needed to let her go.

Because there wasn't any contract with the social worker for Mommy D, and after having all of the failed matches, I honestly didn't hold out much hope for this situation either.  So...I kept chasing other opportunities that came along, all of which did not work out. :)

On April 15, we were told what to expect financially should we proceed to go forward with Mommy D.  We were told that we could meet with her if we wanted and that there was another family interested in this case, but that we had first choice pick.  Today was also the day that a contract was made between the social worker and Mommy D.

On April 17, we attempted our first meeting with Mommy D and the social worker.  I called Skeeter (I was already in Wichita), and he left early from work so that we could meet later that evening with Mommy D.  The meeting time had been set, and then we got a call from the social worker saying that the time needed to be changed to a later time that evening.  So we waited and waited while the social worker drove around trying to find Mommy D.  She did not appear and the meeting didn't happen.  So once again, I prepared myself for another loss.  I kept telling myself that this was not the baby for us!

On April 28, our social worker called us and told us that Mommy D would be available to meet us that evening.  So we set up a time and place, knowing that this could be another dry run.  The meeting started later than planned, but Mommy D did show up!!  She came up to us at the table (we met at McDonald's) and gave us a letter that she had written us and said that she was nervous and then walked away to go and meet the kids.  This is what the letter said:

I'm different from the normal.  I am a Christian who is frequently not able to understand

why no matter how hard I try nobody sees the person that I am.  Why would I 

keep a child when I can't take care of myself.  I'd rather give her to someone who 

can show her a better life than I can.  So thank you for wanting her.  

I choose you to take her hand.  Take care of her and love her and 

let her know I would have kept her but I can't.

 

The talk went pretty well and she even had me touch her tummy and tried to get the baby to move so that I could feel "her".  She even started jumping up and down to wake the baby up.  It didn't work!  Before she left, she gave us her phone number and name so that we could contact her if we chose to do so.  At this point we are needing to make a decision as to whether or not we will proceed.  We still did not have any medical information on either the mommy or baby!

On April 30, we received the copy of the contract to sign saying that we would match with Mommy D.  We asked for medical records, stating that we would feel more comfortable signing after we had a chance to take a peek at those.  We also received an email from the social worker with a note forwarded on from Mommy D.

Dear Skeeter and Joy - 

I am so happy to hear that you have decided to allow my child in your home. I am sure you will be terrific parents to her.  I am looking forward to meeting you again and I apologize for my rush.  I am blessed that God has allowed you to enter our lives.  Be safe, careful, and keep praying for us (me and baby).  I just met you but I love you.  

Until next time, 

Mommy D

On May 4, we received medical information on Mommy D, but nothing on the baby.  Time was up and we needed to make a decision.

On May 6, Mommy D made this sign for us.

On May 14, we signed the paperwork and were officially under contract with Mommy D!!  From then until delivery Mommy D, was on and off the streets, in and out of hotels, in and out of jail and the mental hospital.  She continued to search for the love she so desperately wanted and needed, but in all the wrong places.

On July 8, we found out that Mommy D had thankfully stopped the spotting that had started to occur.  She was also sick, with what could have been bronchitis.

On July 13, our social worker called us and said that Mommy D wanted us to come and see her.  We met the social worker and together we went to visit Mommy D.  She was so excited to see us!!  The social worker told us that Mommy D is always telling her to tell us that she loves us! 

On July 18, we found out that a second agency had been involved with Mommy D and that another adoptive couple had given Mommy D some money.  There had been no contract signed with this other couple but oh my word, that was a heart wrenching day.  Mommy D reassured our social worker that she was committed to us and that she wanted us to have her baby and that she hadn't ever met with the other couple.  We would however, need to reimburse this other couple the money that they had put out for Mommy D.  We were fine with that!!  I do however, feel very badly for the other adoptive couple.  I can only imagine the heartbreak that they experienced to find out that their match had failed.  I'm not sure if Mommy D was shopping around trying to see how she could get the most money, but God's hand was still in this adventure.  While we were trying to recover emotionally from this news, we found out that there was a possibility of a third agency being involved, but that lead didn't seem to pan out.  There were lots of tears that day as I prepared myself for another failed match!  I even asked the social worker if we were in danger of losing the baby.  She didn't seem concerned.

On August 5, there was concern that Mommy D's blood pressure was getting too high as she was having headaches and her legs and ankles were very swollen.  However, at this point, she still did not have her medical card so that she could go to a doctor.  I was getting scared that something could not only happen to her but also to the baby.  However, there was nothing I could do to "will" her to the doctor so I simply had to trust that Jesus was in control.

On August 15, the medical card finally arrived!!

On August 19, Mommy D finally made it to the doctor and they changed her due date to Sept. 20 (original due date at the early sonogram was August 22) due to her and the baby measuring small.  So our emotional roller coaster continued as we prepared ourselves for waiting another month instead of only a few days until the baby would arrive.

On August 22, we received a call at 6:52 a.m., that Mommy D's water had broken and she wanted us to come!!  By 8:23 a.m., we were on our way!  And you know the rest of the story!! :)  Just the night before I had told a friend how we had gotten the van unpacked so we wouldn't keep hauling all of our baby things around for another month.  She "warned" me that God just might give us a surprise!  Boy did He ever give us a surprise!!  Not only were we surprised by getting "the call" but we were also surprised when we found out that all the girlie things we had would no longer be needed....we had a SON!  Someone asked if we didn't originally start out this journey looking for a boy.  YES, we had! :) However, with how long the process was taking, we decided to leave the gender in God's hands and give us the child that He knew would belong in our family.  :)

Fast forward to us arriving home.  We were so glad that the waiting for our precious blessing was finally over.  However, nothing could be better than to have everything be finalized.  After we had gotten home, and we were enjoying our Little Man, I received a text on September 3, from the original "agency" that had been with Mommy D asking if I knew that she had been their client.  Talk about a whirl of emotions flying through my heart real fast.  I thought, oh great, now that everything is going smoothly, something else is going to pop up and the other couple is going to try and get the baby back.  How did she find out that he had been born?  I have no idea!  But thankfully, nothing came out of that either!

I had hoped that while we were at the hospital, that we could have gotten some pictures with Mommy D, but due to the less than ideal circumstances, that did not happen.  Our social worker says she has taken lots of pictures of her so that Jaydon could have pictures, but so far we have not been able to get those.  So...this is the only picture we have of our precious Mommy D.  This picture was sent to us via a text on April 15, when we first started to learn about her.

I have no idea who the child is that she is holding, but she was on a "run" helping our social worker pick up some other birth mothers.  This is the ONLY picture we have of her and I pray that if we aren't able to get anymore of her, that this will serve as some kind of comfort to Jaydon.  Jaydon will be taught that his birth mother did love him, but could not take care of him, and wanted him to have a life that she knew she could not provide.  It wasn't because she did not care or because she did not want him!!

Mommy D is the exact type of birth mother that we would have originally run from.  Not only was she on drugs, but she had very little prenatal care.  I kept thinking to myself about how many problems we could experience with adopting a known drug baby. We didn't even have proof that this baby was forming correctly in the womb.  All we had was word of mouth that the baby was fine. I educated myself to the best of my ability as to what we could be looking at long term should the drug exposure cause withdrawals and/or other symptoms.  However, no matter what type of argument I came up with, Jesus kept telling me to trust Him.  I felt like He kept telling me that no matter what the "medical" world might say, that the baby was going to be ok!  Lots of risk and lots of faith (which is a part of adoption) !!  I knew that even if we had a perfectly "normal/perfect" match, that something could always come up that would be less than ideal.  No matter what the situation....I knew I had to flex my faith and trust that Jesus knew what He was doing even though I had very little information and had so many unanswered questions!  For someone that likes to plan things out, this was a pretty challenging lesson to learn. So thankful, our family said, "Yes!" to Jesus, even with all of the unknowns. All of the kids adore him! I can't imagine life now, without our little guy!  So many people say how blessed Jaydon is to have us as his family, but we are the ones blessed!!
 

A Touch of Drama and Some More Paperwork

One would think that when an adoption is finalized that all the paperwork should be done, right?! :)  Well, after court, we had to wait for paperwork to arrive in the mail that we would need to sign and then send back so we could get Jaydon's birth certificate.  We are pleased to say that as of Saturday, we have Jaydon's official birth certificate!!  YAY!!  Now that we have that in hand, our next step will be to work on getting his social security number.

We also worked diligently to get all of our paperwork together to send in receipts to Skeeter's bank from work so that we can be reimbursed for some of the legal expenses that we have put out so far.  The packet of papers have been sent off, and we pray that the reimbursement will not only go smoothly, but relatively quickly so that we can finish paying off the remainder of our bill with our adoption agency.  We are thankful for their willingness to wait for the remaining payment until after we are reimbursed - - there are not too many agencies that would be willing to do that.

As for the bit of drama -- about 2 weeks ago, our social worker contacted us and said that Mommy D had contacted her saying that if she didn't get to see Jaydon, that she was going to get an attorney and take us or the agency, I'm not sure which, to court for breach of contract (this said contract does not even exist).  Because Mommy D had not been able to see him after he was born, we felt that she deserved a chance to see him and to know that he was ok and to also get some sense of closure from placing him.  We tried to work out a meeting time, but Mommy D, was then unable to be reached.  In the meantime, we have sent some pictures to the agency to pass along to her should they come into contact with her again.  So for now...things have settled down with that situation.  We do hope that soon, we might get a chance to see Mommy D so that we can get some pictures so that Jaydon will at least have that piece of the puzzle in his life.  However, with her constantly changing her cell phone and not having a place to live, it makes it difficult for the social worker to reach her.  We will just need to completely trust the Lord in this area and that His will, will be done.

Jaydon continues to thrive and grow well!  He weighed 13 lbs, 5 oz, at his last check up.  The doctor can't find anything wrong with him and does not see any side effects, at this time, from the drug exposure!  I love how "amazed" the doctor and nurse are when they see him.  God is so good and He is powerful enough to protect when the odds seem to be stacked against someone.  I know that this isn't always the end result for drug exposed babies, but we praise the Lord for his protection over Jaydon! 

Happy Forever Family Day ~ October 18, 2013

Our long awaited and anticipated day finally arrived on Friday, October 18!!  We had our final court hearing scheduled for 11:00 a.m., in El Dorado, and we couldn't wait for the hearing to be finished so that Jaydon could finally be legally our own!  On the way to the courthouse, we picked up my mom so she could join in on the adventure that we were about to take! :)

We arrived early at the courthouse just so that we wouldn't be in a rush once we arrived.  We walked in and told the officers our names and what we were there for and he couldn't find our names on the docket (this happened with Adia's adoption as well).  So we tried a couple of alternate names, and those didn't work to be found either.  Praise the Lord our attorney was already there and was standing above looking down and told us who the judge was supposed to be.  So we passed along that information to the officer who then asked who that was that had talked to us.  When I said it was our attorney and gave his name, then the officer said it was alright to go through.  So we had to go through the body scans, etc, to get everything and everyone safely passed through to go into the rest of the courthouse.  We then went upstairs to where our attorney was, and waited there for a little while.  He asked us when we met up with him if we were sure we wanted to do this.  OF COURSE  - YES!!!!!  After we fed and changed Jaydon, we were then ushered further back into the courthouse, which only our attorney could help us enter.  We then went into a waiting room, to wait for our judge.

This outfit seemed perfect for this special day!

Waiting and trying to pass the time.  This was the second waiting room of the three that we were in.

It was definitely after 11:00, and we were still waiting.  We were then told that the judge that was supposed to hear our case was gone and had forgotten to transfer our case to another judge.  So....we had to wait for another judge to become available.  (With Adia's adoption, we had to wait for a judge to become available as well!)  We were then taken to yet another waiting room.   We finally got to see the judge come by the waiting room and asks if we need to do this in the court room or if she and the attorney could just go into the office and sign all the papers.  By this time, the kids were getting restless, so we were just ready to get this done!   So I asked if we could take pictures when they were done signing and she said yes.  So we let it go! 

This was the room we waited in while the adoption was being finalized in another room.

Looking back, I wish we would have gone ahead and said that we wanted it in the court room so that the kids could experience the whole thing, and also allow us to get the full adoption experience, but that wasn't meant to be.  The judge went with the attorney around 11:20 a.m., or so to go sign.  Once they were done, the judge came back with her robe on and she escorted us to her court room.  She was an absolute blast and loved the kids and did very well with them.  She even let the kids sit behind her desk and play judge.  Not too many would do that!!  But she loved it and loved being with the kids!  We could not have asked for a better judge!

The family with the judge.

 

 

The proud new parents!

The judge loved Jaydon!

She enjoyed kissing him and snuggling with him and even asked if she had to give him back. 

The "official" judge picture.

Us with our attorney.

Adia being the judge.

Jonathan being the judge.

After the finalization was all done, it was time to leave the courthouse in the pouring down rain.  The rain would later turn to sleet and snow, but God graciously kept us all safe.  I had hoped to get a picture of the courthouse, but due to the weather the picture we took when we finalized Adia's adoption there will need to do (hopefully I can find it).  It was now time to celebrate and eat lunch!  So we headed to where the kids could be their own pirates. :)

Pirate Adia

Pirate Jonathan

The finalization may not have gone quite like how we pictured, but the end result was that Jaydon's name was officially changed and he legally became a part of our family forever!  The realization of this didn't really hit until we were all loaded up and headed out for lunch.  I think this was mostly because we kept moving from room to room and didn't really get a chance to settle anywhere for the emotions to truly hit.  Once in the van though, there was a huge wave of relief and just a feeling that the burden of waiting for so many areas in our adoption journey was finally over!!  We praise the Lord for his provision and for His working all the details out just the way HE wanted.  On another day I will do a blog on some reflections of the journey and show you a picture of Mommy D, our precious birth mommy who is still searching.

Jaydon is 1 month old!!

Wow!  I can't believe our baby (as of yesterday) is already one month old!  The time has sure flown by quickly and our little man is growing so very quickly!

Last Friday, we had our post placement visit with our social worker.  We are so thankful for her and how the Lord used her to bring Jaydon into our family.  She does not sense that there should be any complications from advertising for the birth father.  As for Mommy D - - The social worker has been keeping in contact with her and told us that she is pretty skinny and doesn't always get a chance to eat every day.  As of last Friday, she was back in jail.  She was caught stealing----food! :(  I don't know if the other warrants she had will play into how long she will stay in jail, but my heart breaks for this woman who so desperately needs help, but refuses to take it!

Joy with Jaydon and the social worker

Today we had Jaydon's one month follow up visit with the doctor.  So far, there have been no side effects from the drugs.  When the doctor saw him, he couldn't believe that Jaydon was the same baby that I had brought in the first time.  When the doctor saw Jaydon after his discharge from NICU, he weighed 5 lbs 14 oz.  Today, he weighed 8 lbs and 15 oz!!!  When he was born he was 18 1/4 inches.  Today, he was 21" long!!!  And some people looked at me funny when I said he was growing way too fast! :)  His heart and lungs all checked clear and the doctor couldn't find anything wrong with Jaydon.  Now that right there is ALL because of the awesome power of God!!  We are so thankful for all of you who have been praying and continue to do so.  We are so thankful that Jaydon is doing so well and seems to be perfectly healthy! 

He did test positive at the hospital for being a sickle cell carrier, so we will have to retest that in several months as that may have been a false positive.  The blood tests may have simply showed what the birth mother's blood would've tested positive for as babies take awhile to get their own supply of blood circulating.  If he does test positive again for being a sickle cell carrier, that does not necessarily mean that he will get sickle cell, but he could pass along the trait or disease to any children he might have.

He is finally starting to go longer stretches at night, which has given this tired mommy a much better outlook on life. :) 

Here are some pictures from his 1 month shoot.  Isn't he cute?! :)

We Have a Court Date!!

It's hard to believe that 2 weeks have passed since we first met our precious miracle, Jaydon!  God has done amazing things with this little boy already and we praise the Lord that he continues to thrive and that at his last doctor's appointment his jaundice was improving.  We have scheduled another follow up visit with the doctor for when he is a month old just to make sure everything is still on target with his development (this will be something we will be doing for awhile).  Praise the Lord he has done so well coming off the cocaine he tested positive for and that he has not shown signs of going through withdrawal!  He is a very strong little boy and continues to grow and change before our very eyes, it seems like everyday!  He is adored by all of his siblings and is definitely getting spoiled with lots of cuddles and kisses. 

Although he is "ours", he is not legally yet a Snell.  We can not wait for October 18, to arrive so we can legally make him a member of our family! 

Tomorrow we get to take our little man to his first fair!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers!  We have truly felt them and pray that the rest of the journey will go much more smoothly! :)

2 weeks ago today he had a feeding tube, iv's with antibiotics and monitors for his heart rate, oxygen levels and respirations.

Today he is a growing and very content little boy!  Thank you, Jesus!

We are Home!

It has been a couple of days since we have posted, but that doesn't mean we haven't had some memorable moments occurring! :)  We found out on Monday, that Mommy D had come back to the hospital and tried to get in to NICU to see Jaydon.  Praise the Lord they did not let her!  She ended up waiting in the waiting room, and had to be escorted by security to the ER.  She was complaining of being in pain.  Thankfully by the time we got there, she was no longer there.  I kept feeling like I should watch my back though.  When we got back to Jaydon's station, we found a note from Mommy D, saying that she was having a rough time, and that we should call her so that she could come see Jaydon.  Of course, we did not call her (I feel guilty, like we are being mean).  Legally, we could not have called her to come see him anyway, because at that point Jaydon still belonged to the state and we did not have say over him.  I do feel badly for Mommy D!  Never having been able to see him, will be something she will have to live with forever!  I can only imagine how painful that must be for her!  However, we, as well as others have tried to help her get some help, and she has chosen not to accept that help, and so for the safety of our family, which now includes Jaydon, we will not be having direct contact with her.

Jaydon was doing so well, that they let us room in with him, in a special room in the NICU, on Monday night.  It was not a room like what I had pictured, but we got to spend time alone with Jaydon and that was all that mattered.  I wish he wouldn't have had to go to the NICU, but I am thankful that he did so that we could spend some time with him alone that we might not otherwise have been able to do.  It was also much easier to keep him safe there as you have to have a passport to get in to the unit. 

Yesterday, Jaydon had to sit in his car seat and be observed with monitors for an hour and a half, to make sure that he could handle sitting in a car seat for an extended period of time without causing stress to his breathing.  Thankfully, he passed wonderfully!! We were dismissed from NICU yesterday afternoon, and then were escorted by two elderly ladies to our van.  They decided I should ride in a wheelchair with Jaydon, being treated just like any other mommy who had just given birth.  The nurses there were absolutely amazing!  These ladies provided us with quite the humorous exit, but I loved their enthusiasm.

So glad he likes to cuddle!

Where we got to room in with Jaydon!

Hi, Daddy!

Getting ready for the car seat test.

I think he likes his going home shirt. :)

Leaving NICU at 5 days old!

After we left the hospital, it was finally time to finally introduce Jaydon to the family.  No one but us had been able to see him at this point.  

Siblings together, finally!

This morning we headed for home!  We had a follow up appointment this afternoon to check on Jaydon's bilirubin levels, which praise the Lord have gone down!  He has even gained an ounce since yesterday.  Jaydon tested positive for cocaine being in his system, but so far has shown no signs of going through withdrawal.  The nurse prepped us for things to watch for, but so far....you wouldn't even know that he was a drug baby.  He is so content most of the time!  The doctor was even amazed at how well he was/is doing!  We prayed that God would do something that only could be explained as being done by Him, and He did just that!!

Welcome home, Jaydon!

We are now trying to get back into a routine and schedule, starting with getting back into school tomorrow.  In the meantime, we will enjoy little Jaydon and appreciate that he enjoys being cuddled!!

When we got back home, we discovered that a cleaning fairy had visit our house and had also left some clothes for Jaydon!  Now we have friends working on getting us some meals.  What a blessing!  We even had a friend drop by just after we had arrived home for a present for Jaydon.  So thankful for how the Lord continues to bless us!

I am also thankful that food is tasting good again!  There for awhile, when things were so stressful, food was just not that appealing!  You don't realize how much you miss food until you stop eating very much!  :)

Anyway the whole theme behind this adoption story - - God is working miracles!!  God has something very special planned for Jaydon!

This story is not yet done, however!  Because we do not know who his birth father is, they attorney will have to run an ad in the paper once a week, for three weeks, and then if there is no response, his rights will be terminated.  We are praying that no one will show up.  With the lifestyle of Mommy D, it would be pretty hard to try to determine who the birth father actually was.  Then we can officially finalize!!!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Three Days Old

Today, Jaydon drank 2 oz at a time!  Yay!  If he continues to eat well, we are looking at him being discharged in a couple of days.  They are also trying to keep an eye on him for a total of about 5 days just to make sure he doesn't struggle with going through withdrawal from the drugs Mommy D took.

Tomorrow could be a really big day as far as legal work is concerned.  We were meeting with one of the nurse practitioners today and she mentioned that she was needing to hear from Children's Services where the adoption process was at.  This caused some confusion, so I text our social worker and ended up talking with our attorney instead.  They had paperwork that they needed us to sign on Friday, but neglected to have us do it.  Grr! :(  So, they faxed it to us there at the NICU, where we quickly signed it and then tried to fax it back to the attorney.  But then we found out that they needed the papers with the original signatures.  So, we waited and waited for our social worker to come to the hospital to come and pick them up.  Then, our nurse noticed that we were having some questions, and caught the hospital social worker and had her come see us.  Praise the Lord she did that!  We come to find out that the social worker on duty on Friday didn't have us sign paperwork either!!  All of these papers need to be signed if we are to be able to be cleared by Children's Services for us to be able to take Jaydon home from the hospital.  So tomorrow we are expecting a call from the hospital social worker to set up an appointment so we can get together and sign all of the paper work that should have been done on Friday.  So we are praying that once ALL the papers are done being signed, that the clearance will follow quickly.

Having eye to eye contact with mommy! :)