Landing - Exciting News!!!

We are THRILLED to announce we have been selected by an expectant mother to be

the parents of her BABY BOY!!!!!!!!!!

(this is a letter we wrote to our families, sharing the news with them)

Words cannot express the overwhelming joy and excitement we are feeling at this time! We feel so blessed and know that the Lord has truly prepared us for this specific opportunity and has brought this sweet expectant mother into our lives - she is truly amazing.

We were contacted the Friday after Thanksgiving with a pretty simple email from an expectant mother. She let us know she had looked at our profile and really liked it. We were so excited to receive the email and were quick to reply, letting her know we wanted to get to know her better and would be happy to answer any and all questions she had. Over the next couple of days we had back and forth emails asking and answering questions, getting to know each other better. We had also learned she was in contact with a few other couples. The last we'd heard from her was that Sunday night and we didn't hear from her again until Wednesday.

Wednesday night Emily got an email while Brad was at the gym and this is a small piece of the email she sent to us:

"Sorry I haven't responded for a few days. I wanted to take a few days to think about my choices and what I was going to decide. I can't tell you how happy I am to hear that you agree with my hopes for my baby boy. I'm so glad that you feel the same as I do. :D I'm just so ecstatic! So many things are going through my mind! So I just want to tell you that I talked with my adoption advisor tonight and I think I have come to a very great decision. In answer to your question, I have many details I would like to discuss with you about this adoption. First... What would you guys think about us meeting in person??!!? :D I am seriously asking you if you would want to be the parents of my baby boy... :D "

Emily immediately started jumping up and down - sobbing uncontrollably because she couldn't believe this was really happening. She finally regained her composure and called Brad because she couldn't wait to tell him. He hurried home and we read through the whole email together and sat in shock. We could not believe this was really happening!
After that point we coordinated a day and time to meet each other and continued corresponding back and forth - asking more questions, getting to know each other better. Our email correspondence has been very natural and comfortable from the start - further confirming the Lord's hand in this process.

We met her and her family this weekend, downtown Salt Lake, for dinner and Temple Square. It was an absolutely amazing experience! We talked for 4 hours straight about everything: our families, things we like and don't like, the adoption, her sweet little baby, how we have all been feeling through the whole process. We seriously feel like we have known them forever. As we talked and learned more about each others' experiences throughout the process we have learned that the Lord's hand is undeniable and everything is falling into place so easily because it is truly meant to be. We were so thrilled to know we were on the same page and feeling the same way. We have so many of the same opinions and ideas about how we view this adoption opportunity and feel so blessed to be going through this experience with such an amazing, real expectant mother with such a supportive family.

The expectant mother is so darling! (Emily's words).  Her name is Courtney. She is taking college classes, working towards becoming a CNA and hopes to become an RN later on. She is a determined student with high expectations for her grades. She loves to spend time with her extended family and has shared that it is very important to her - we couldn't agree more! She likes to stay healthy and active and is a very hard worker. She has great hope and goals for her future and has so much going for her. We are so proud of her and her determination to succeed. She is a young woman with greater perspective than most young women we know and we couldn't feel more blessed to have her as a part of our lives.

We feel so blessed to have all of the love and support that we have from our family, friends, and strangers. Thank you for your continued prayers and fasting in our behalf. We know that none of this could have happened without the faith of all of you.

Coming April 4, 2014: Baby BOY Marsh