Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails.....IT'S A BOY!!

   

As you can guess from the title of the post, we indeed received a referral for a sweet 7 year old little boy!  It was back in March we actually got the call from Lina but it wasn't until we had actual travel dates did I feel even remotely confident about posting the news.  I think I was being overly cautious and possibly simply scared to broadcast the news in case it fell through (based on how things have been the last year for so many adoptive friends, it seemed possible for some inexplicable reason).  Still, now that we have the dates and are on the schedule, I can say that its really happening!

Its funny about the timing too...of both calls.  With the first one that actually offered us the referral, it fell almost to the day that our first child would have been born.  With the second, it was just when we had started to relax and thought things would happen in a certain way etc. reminding me again, you can't plan life to much and it will always come around to surprise you!

Forgive me if this post is long, but I felt like I wanted to document it all.  :) 

A little back story.....I was pregnant once before we had Case and at 10 1/2 weeks, we discovered the fetus' heartbeat had stopped.  It was devastating.  The next day, I had a D&C and we mourned the loss.  It was about 3 months later that I found out I was pregnant with Case.  The thing is, even though we were thrilled to be pregnant again and to later have a healthy, wonderful child, I never forgot that first pregnancy nor its due date, which was early March.  So when we got the call, my thoughts immediately went to that.  I wasn't sad though.  It just felt surreal and...strangely serendipitous. 

The day was a Friday, when Case had his first dance at school.  We dropped him off like all the other kids and went to get the car washed (big date night, I know).  We then went home because the dance only lasted 1 1/2hrs and we really didn't have time to do much anyway.  That was when Lina called and told us about our new little one.  To say we were stunned was an understatement.  And even when we saw his picture, we didn't have that immediate emotion reaction you hear about- but I think that it was mostly because we were in shock it was even happening.  Still, after looking at his picture for a bit and reading his short bio/information, we knew this was right.  We knew God was leading us to this very child.  There was no doubt.  We responded back to Lina within about 30 minutes.

Then the next part- telling Case.  We decided before we went back to the dance that we should probably wait until the next day because the following morning he had a district math-a-thon competition and if we told him, he would be totally distracted.  It was a hard secret to keep but it made the difference because Case won the algorithms competition for 4th grade in the county and placed in problem-solving, coming in 5th.   He was completely relaxed and had a great time. 

We decided to tell him once we got home.  I cued up the computer so that he could click once, and the pictures Magda sent us would appear.  I told him what to do and he did it and while he was looking at the screen, I said "that's your new brother".  And then.....he just sat there.   I mean, sat there.  No screaming, no words, no gasp.  No reaction..at...all.   I totally expected a huge smile, a yell, or anything since he has been excited about the process.  I asked him if he was alright and he replied he was.  I said "Are you ok? What are you feeling?"  and he said "I'm ok....I just can't...believe it.  I mean, we waited so long".   My heart just melted for him.  Here was this sweet child who wanted nothing more than to be a an older brother and now the moment was truly real!   It was actually a sweeter response than I could have ever dreamed because it was so incredibly heartfelt and tender.  A really great moment.

I wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but instead I felt protective over the information until the details started to fall into place.  We formally accepted the referral and sent the notarized papers to Lina and then we had to wait to hear.  We were pretty open to travel except for the week right before Easter because we had our Disney trip and just refused to give that up after we had planned it so long ago.  Lina said that was fine because the Central Authority didn't do much during the week before Easter so it seemed to work out perfect.  We thought we would have about 3-4 weeks notice and it would all fall into place just right, with Case not missing testing and Brian having enough time to schedule surgeries etc.  Still, as the days and weeks passed and we didn't get our travel dates, we started to wonder and I started to worry about the trip running into Case's state assessment tests and other end of the year things.  And then, the first night we got to Disney World, just as we checked in at Kidani Village in Animal Kingdom Lodge and had literally sat down, we got the call.

Talk about stressful!  We were told they wanted us there in 2 weeks!!  AND we would have to be there for Monday-Friday.  Why?  Who knows.  So much for a quick trip, lol.  Our son-to-be is in foster care so maybe it has to do with their schedule, maybe it has to do with the fact he attends school.  Or maybe its completely "just because".  Regardless, we knew we had to get there and did not know how we would do it on such a short notice without spending thousands of extra dollars.  It definitely made for a very stress-filled time at the "happiest place on earth". 

We threw around options and did some searches for flights and things were not looking good.  In fact, they stunk!  Not only were flights filling up and we risked not even being able to sit together, but Brian is 6'4" so we really wanted some sort of extra legroom for the long flight part.  But there was simply not much at such a late date and we were looking at spending a ton of money.  Lina gave us the name of a travel agent that could help us but I'm not sure if it was a timing thing (since it was the weekend) or something else, but she didn't get back to us quickly and we decided to take the bull by the horns.  I know, its probably that we (and by that I mean "me") are control freaks, but I couldn't stand not having plans in place when we were looking at leaving in 2 weeks and flights were filling up! 

So Brian and I stayed up late, late, late on last Saturday night and after talking to a wonderful agent from Delta, we got good flights with extra legroom seats that were together, and saved about $900/ticket!  It made for a l-o-o-n-g day at Epcot, but it was worth it for sure.  For peace of mind, if nothing else.  Now, Delta wasn't our first option for flying overseas, but you know what?  At that point, I didn't care.  It allowed us to continue our vacation at Disney with one less burden and let us focus on Case and the fact this will be the last time we will be there as a "3" some.   And that fact brought about two very poignant times during the vacation. 

First, during that whole flight scheduling process was when we thought that maybe it might be too expensive to take Case. We were freaking out and I was thinking about being away for him for so long (which I have not done since he was born).  It was crazy.  But Case was devastated when he thought he couldn't go.  When we saw that, we assured him there was NO way we were leaving him home and he would most definitely be coming along.  He was so happy and I saw genuine relief on his face. I knew we would have mortgaged the house if need be because it was so very important to him.

The second was when we were leaving Animal Kingdom Lodge yesterday.  He said that he was sad to be leaving and I agreed, but that we had alot to look forward to with the trip to Poland coming up.  Then he said something I'll never forget.  He said "but I just loved the alone time I have with you both and I'm afraid I'll never have it again".  I was stunned because he has never mentioned that before, even when I asked him about it and talked to him about it.  It kinda came out of the blue and when I looked at him, my heart broke because he had tears in his eyes.  By then I did too.  I reassured him that we were there for him whenever and wherever he needed us and even with another child, that would never change.  I told him he will always be my baby and that we will always share a special bond nothing can break.  He seemed relieved and said he felt better, and I am resolved to love him even more during this whole process.  

So...as it stands, the plan is to fly out in a week, arrive in Warsaw where we will stay 2 days (counting the one we fly in on) and then head north to Olsztyn to meet our son.  We are excited and honestly, a little petrified of the whole excursion.  I mean, we are good travelers but I'm nervous about presenting myself well (Brian and Case will be great) and that the little guy will take to us.  We got some gifts in Disney for both him and the foster family (as a thank you) so hopefully that will break the ice and he'll love it.  Its a Tigger so that has to work, right?  I mean, Tigger rocks!  Still, the next week should prove daunting as we unpack from one trip and re-pack for another.  I need to shop for some clothes, take care of various things, and prepare myself for the biggest change in my life since the birth of my son.  Not a small task, but I think I can do it. 

Until the next time, take care all!