Jack's Adoption Story, Part I

I've promised you in the Coming Soon section of my sidebar that I would share each of my boy's adoption stories. As I've also said here, I'm a woman of my word, so I am sitting down today to begin Jack's story. I begin with Jack because his birthday is this Saturday, January 6th. I hope you'll stick around for its entirety. I will probably need to post in multiple entries, because I will shed a few tears while sharing this adventure with you. It has been quite an adventure!

Which one is Jack, you ask? He's this one. He's also the one in the middle of the photo on my sidebar.

In January 2004, I had a dream that Liam's birth mom (BM) called to tell us that she was pregnant yet again and wanted us to parent the baby. Liam was only 9 months at the time, so I wondered how this dream would work its way through my life. You see, God has this way of speaking to me through my dreams. My dreams often come true, and God prepares my heart and mind for their truth in advance of their reality. I remember telling my husband and parents about this dream the very next day. They each gave me a nervous giggle, because they know all too well how my dreams often work.

Fast forward six months to July 2004. I'm in my basement, just finishing my work-out. Liam is napping. Rick is at work. Ring, ring, ring, ring. I forgot to carry the phone to the basement, and my legs couldn't carry me upstairs fast enough to catch the phone. I waited long enough for a message to go through. "Hi, Rick and Ami. This is Shelly from John Doe's office. Would you please call me when you get a chance?" [Names changed to protect the innocent.] My mind begins to race, my heart to flutter, because I know that Shelly-from-John-Doe's office doesn't call to merely shoot the breeze. She only calls with earth-shattering adoption news, as she is the legal secretary to the attorney we used for Liam's adoption. Gulp.

I begin to dial the number, but I can't do it. I just can't. Click. Instead, I dial Rick's cell phone and tell him about the message. He's quiet at first, but then he manages to speak calmly. "I'll call her. It's probably nothing." We hang up, and I begin to pace the floor. I call my mom and tell her about the message. She tries to tell me it's probably nothing, but then I remind her of that dream. She says something like, "Well, let's just wait and see. Don't get your hopes up." Okay, breathe, sit down, take it easy. Drum fingers. Heart is still pounding in my ears. Ring, ring. It's Rick. "Shelly says that BM has called. She's pregnant and wants to know if we're interested in adopting again." Are we? Yes, yes, we are! Call her back, while I do the wow-God-is-awesome dance.