Wednesday morning Zach received a very unexpected phone call from Sister Davida, a Catholic nun who formerly worked for the maternity home Katerina stayed in down in Merced. She remembered us and our situation with Kat (she was extremely apologetic for how it was all handled and even told us that the Teresa- the director we'd worked with had been laid off as a result). She said she's recently come into contact with a birth mom in need of some help. Her name is Chrystal, 23 yrs. old, pregnant with her 4th child and due in approximately 2 weeks... Chrystal has been hiding her pregnancy from family (the birth father has no idea she even kept the baby and is long since out of the picture) and she is desperate to adopt the child out. Sister Davida asked if we were still looking to adopt.... to which we said, "Uh, YES!" The last two days have been a complete whirlwind of questions, phone calls, and a thousand different emotions.
We immediately contacted Jen at our agency and got her involved. She sent paperwork and our profile book to Chrystal and will be speaking with her directly on Monday to ask all those questions we'd like answered. Jen also sent the necessary adoption plan paperwork to the hospital where Chrystal will be delivering, and she's been in touch with Chrystal's social worker. We'll be doing what's called an "agency adoption" in which Chrystal has agreed to sign away her parental rights as soon as she is discharged from the hospital. This means we do not have any waiting time (like the mandated 30 day period) before we'll know if the baby is officially in our custody. This is, of course, a HUGE weight off our shoulders. This should be a pretty straight-forward "transaction" (for lack of a better word).
Between all the communication we've had with Sister Davida and Jen, we've learned that Chrystal's family situation is completely chaotic. Her mother was recently arrested for breaking parole, her 15yr. old sister is also pregnant, and her brother is in and out of jail. Chrystal already has 3 children under the age of 4 and has no means or desire to raise another. She wants a completely closed adoption, no contact with us (even before the delivery) or the baby. She simply wants to keep this entire event from her family and be done with it, not looking back. As sad as this makes us for her sake, we are grateful that there will be no complications in regards to her family involvement or influence. However, it bums us out that we won't have much to tell our child about their biological mother or family, other than the very basics. For his or her sake, we would have liked to help them build a more complete family history.
Chrystal has not received regular pre-natal care during her pregnancy, and so we are insisting (so is Sister Davida) that she have a full exam, sonogram, etc. so that we can be sure the baby is healthy. She has an appointment on Monday afternoon, after which we'll know the official due date and the baby's gender.
Our heads are spinning with the unexpectedness of it all. We are shocked that Sister Davida even thought to call us, let alone had our information on file still! It's extremely difficult to remain guarded knowing a baby could be just two weeks into our future. We were both brought to tears last night just thinking of how close we are! We've been making lists of all the things we need to do if we really only have two weeks before we have a baby in our lives... it's a long list! But we also know from experience that anything can happen, and we want to be careful not to expect smooth sailing. We know God can allow yet another devastating loss to somehow, some way, work for His glory.... but we're begging Him that it won't be necessary. Please pray for our hearts and our minds to be at peace as we await the outcome of this situation. Please pray we would be prepared for His will to be done, no matter what that means. Please pray for God's best for this baby-to-be, and for us.
We'll post another update on Monday evening when we know more about the baby's health, gender, due date, etc. Thanks to ALL of you for your prayerful support!!! We're hoping this will be one of the last "adoption" posts we'll be posting EVER! :-)
