Birthmother's Day...

Well, it's been a while. I have lots to update on here, but I want to start with this post.

Megan Johnson's blog post inspired me to write my own about Birthmother's Day. Our stories are quite different, so I encourage you to read both. :) This day was created in 1990 to honor and remember mothers who mourn a great loss. Thanks, Megan, for this "tid bit" of information! Because of this, I decided to reflect on our sweet boy's story and his birthmother.

To be very honest, I struggled with forgiveness and anger because of his situation, and I still do. I've cried and screamed for hours over the past 20 months. I couldn't believe some of the things we were told. It didn't make sense to me that someone wouldn't just fall in love with a child and invest in them from day one. Although, we are all sinners and make unwise choices.

Now, there are things that could have been prevented. There are things that should not have happened. There are things that are sickening...literally churning my stomach to think about. However, I must stop and think this may not have been how his birthparents felt about him. These events could have been the result of anger...not to condone them by any means. Maybe the anger overpowered the ability to reason.

A few weeks ago, I decided I should take on a different perspective of his situation. I have prayed about his birthfamily. With that said, I have specifically prayed for his birthmother. Honestly and hard to admit, it has been a long time since I've prayed for her-probably before we knew what child God had planned for us. I have never met her but believe that she did love this precious baby. I believe she didn't show up to weekly visits because hopefully she knew he was in a home that would provide him with all the love and support he could ever dream of. I believe that she knew this life was better than what she could provide.

There is still a long road of forgiveness ahead for me, but I am turning my perspective around. I need to be able to show this baby boy what forgiveness looks like. Instead of this being that her child was taken away or that she didn't love him, I am viewing it as her way of saying, "He deserves this life." I think that's why she showed up to surrender her rights. She didn't fight it because she wanted him to have a wonderful road for the future. I will not ever know the answer, but I can pray this is true.

She has no idea of the turmoil we experienced, but she also has no idea how happy she has made us...a calling and longing fulfilled. I do not know if this woman knows Jesus, but I pray that she will come to know Him. After all, part of His plan was to place this sweet angel with us-the one that she carried for nine months and parented for two months. I thank God each day for that, and from this day forward, I thank his birthmother. He is beautiful and now healthy. He is perfect. He is mine, but without her he would not be here. God's plan is greater than I could have ever imagined.

So...Birthmother, I am praying for you and am thankful for you. I pray that you are filled with God's love today and everyday.

Love, 
Amy

The Verdict Is In...

Mary Evelyn Richey will arrive around January 16! We are absolutely thrilled over this new addition...

except for Little Man. He may have to get used to the idea of another girl in the house!

Thanks to everyone for the support, prayers, and love. You are greatly appreciated.

Love, 

The Richeys

What a Surprise!

Well, the newest member of the Richey family will be arriving around January 16! We are totally shocked but completely ecstatic.

It's been a while since I've posted, so I want to go back a year ago to catch you all up. Last June, Jeremy and I received a phone call from a friend regarding a woman wanting to find a family for her baby that was due in September. We talked with her and our attorney for about six weeks. We were skeptical, but felt that if it was God's calling it would work out. If not, we would continue with DHS. On August 19, the birthmother decided to go with another family. We were absolutely devastated. A mere 3 weeks before her due date and her mind was changed. How would we ever get over this? It seemed so easy to say we would continue with DHS if it didn't work out, but actually knowing it wasn't happening was a different story. 

Two weeks later, Hurricane Isaac hit. We evacuated to Jackson for a much needed getaway. It was wonderful! Just being away for 5 days helped us so much. The Thursday after we returned home, we received a phone call from DHS about a two month old little boy in need of a home. Jeremy and I immediately felt this was part of our Baby R story, so we said yes. That afternoon, we picked up a tiny, fragile baby. What do we do now? This baby boy was in so much need- of love, attention, nurturing, and healing. All we knew is that we could give that to him. It was definitely a sudden change, but with the help of family, friends, and trusting The Lord, we would get our new "normal" underway. It all began to make sense why our previous adoption possibility didn't work out. God needed us to be this baby's parents whether it be forever for for a short time. 

One special person has passed away since Little Man came to live with us. He was her pride and joy. My Mamaw was my role model. There is no other like her, and I believe Little Man knew it. Although she is greatly missed, this is my last time seeing her. What a moment to cherish!  I just know she jumped for joy in Heaven when she found out we were pregnant. I cannot wait to tell my kids about all the wonderful memories of her.

Over the past 10 months...we have been through many ups and downs over our Little Man's status, but what we know is that we are providing him with the best home possible and are trusting God will keep him safe. We hope that very soon we will have word that he is ours forever. After all, our new baby will need a big brother to watch out for him or her! 

Our life is crazy right now, but we wouldn't have it any other way. We know God is watching out for us and is guiding us in the direction in which to go. So, for now, pray for Little Man and this pregnancy. We are beyond blessed by the love and support from all of you. Jeremy, Little Man, and I want to leave you with a few pictures about our newest member! 

A House for Baby R

It has been quite hectic in our little world over the past two months! We've been to adoption training, put together a baby bed, bought a house, moved in, and prepared for a home study. Whoa! Just listing all of that makes me tired again. Although these events have been stressful, we are so happy to finally be settled in a home and ready for Baby R! In the near future, I will be creating several posts to document the past few events, but this one will include pictures of our new house- before we moved in. 

At the beginning of February, we were leisurely driving around Gulfport and noticed several houses that interested us. After looking up listing prices, we decided we would go ahead and look at them. This was several months before we initially planned to house hunt, but we knew our home study would be scheduled soon and wanted to make sure we had the perfect place to live. We looked at 3- yes, only 3!- houses. I needed some time to be sure I had my mind made up. Jeremy, on the other hand, was sure from the get go! He says that when he knows what we wants, he will do whatever it takes to get it...and until he does, he isn't satisfied! Once I was sure about the house, we made an offer. A few days and negotiations later, the offer was accepted! This was February 6, and our realtor was able to schedule our closing for February 27. So, with three short weeks to pack, we frantically started getting the apartment together. It's all about the teamwork! Ha! 

Closing day came...I had taken off work. We get the dreaded realtor phone call saying we cannot close! I thought: Ah! What are we going to do? We live on the third floor of our apartment building and have no groceries or clothes unpacked! After panicking for a bit, I realized, God has planned out exactly what we are to do. I should be thankful we have a place to live and that we are blessed enough to be moving during the middle of our apartment lease. So, I quickly calmed down and began to realize that this was a small obstacle in the grand scheme of things. Soon, we would be in the house! And soon it was! That Friday- March 2- we closed! Homeowners (x2- we still have a house in Selmer) we are! 

So, now, three weeks later, we are settled in our new home and absolutely love it! I quickly got everything put away, and Jeremy's parents came down to help its decorating and hard work. I am rethinking some of my organizational decisions, but other than nit picky things, we are feeling comfortable here! Here are the pictures of our house from real estate websites, but I will soon post pictures of the house fully decorated. 

 

Kelly Avenue House

Living Room and Dining Room-view from inside front door

Back door leading out to patio

Bath- we are adding another bath this summer

Kitchen

Stove area- I do not have an upright pic of this!

Baby R's Room :)

Back Patio- this is our favorite place 

There you have it- most of our new home. We are enjoying living here and cannot wait to see what memories God has in store for us here. Of course, more pictures are to come. My next post will be on Baby R's bed arrival and assembly...quite an experience! Until then...we are planning on catching some rays at the beach! Please be in prayer for our home study on Monday. This is our final step of the process. We are so excited and anxious yet keeping faith. Hebrews 11:1 :) 

Happy Spring! 

A Few Answered Questions...

1. Where are you in the process?
Well, we are in the final steps of mailing our packet off. We just finished getting our verification or employment and our physicals. These two steps were the last on our list of things to accomplish. Now, we are ready to mail this off! We have training January 27-28. We will find out more useful information then. We are anxious about attending this!

2. Why did you choose DHS-Family and Child Services (FCS)?
Each person we encountered that made us seriously pray about adopting somehow related to FCS. Jeremy and I prayed and continuously had a feeling we should go this way. No matter the organization, we are providing a child with a loving, Christian home.

3. How long it will take?
You'll have to ask The Big Man that one! We do not know any time frame. We will for sure keep you posted once we are "waiting." From then, it could be any day. We are fully relying on God. his plan is perfect!

4. Are you unable to have biological children? Why are you adopting first?
These two questions have an intertwined answer. Yes, as far as we know, we CAN have biological children. However, as our first post says, I am not quite ready for pregnancy! I want to be a mother, but the time is not yet right for biological children. Jeremy has been very understanding on this matter and has supported my feelings. He knows I must be at peace with myself and ready for all of the changes that occur during pregnancy. He also knows that one day that peace will come. I am so blessed to have such an understanding husband! Because of all this, we discussed adopting before instead of after biological children. We began to pray, and this seemed to fall right into place.
So, to answer these two most popular questions: We are able to have biological children, but that is not the direction God is leading us at this point. We have always felt called to adopt, and NOW just so happens to be God's amazing plan!

I hope this "eases" some of your minds. Ha! I am sure I will have more of this type of post in the future. I know a lot of you love to read to stay updated, and I want to make sure that easy for you! Thank you all for the support and prayers!

Merry Christmas, Baby R!

We were so blessed to receive many gifts for Baby R this Christmas. We even got some "mommy and daddy" gifts to help prepare us for parenthood. Here are a few pictures of the generous gifts our families gave.



Baby R's awesome gifts



"Mommy and Daddy" Gifts

Over the past month, we have also gathered fabrics and bedding for Baby R's room. It is very exciting to be getting all of these things together! Here are some of the ideas we have so far.


Bed skirt made out of these two fabrics...



Bumper and blanket made out of this...







Pillows and accents made out of the fabrics above and these...

Blankets, baskets, and stuffed animals...



Jeremy and I are so very thankful for all of these wonderful gifts! We will keep you posted on our journey and will give you little updates along the way. We are so very appreciative of all each of you have done. Thank you again!

Just a little update...

I thought I'd give you all an update on our process. Many of you have been so kind to ask about where we are and what is taking place. Well, we are almost finished with paperwork! Jeremy and I must complete our physicals, and I need one more employee verification. After those documents are in our hands, we will mail off our packet! Additionally, we are anxiously waiting for training at the end of January. We are so excited! In the mean time, I am going to post pictures of Baby R's Christmas gifts! So, be looking for that post in a couple of days! It is so special to see how loved this baby is already. God is truly amazing. We are so very thankful. Jeremy and I hope each of you had a blessed Christmas!