I think I could do this newborn thing again…

The thought randomly passed through my mind within the first few weeks of bringing Charlotte home from the hospital. I chalked it up to newborn baby snuggles, lack of sleep, and all the coffee and adrenaline that comes with unexpectedly becoming a parent twice over within a matter of hours. I brushed it off.

And yet, it kept coming back. 

Let me backup. Jon has always wanted to be a dad and having a family has been his top priority. He was the one who first brought up adoption while we were still dating, who brought up starting Adeline’s adoption process after being married 11 months, who suggested we start Charlotte’s adoption as soon as we could so that our kids could be close in age. Once on board, I am all in and have traded many hours of sleep for late nights, mugs of hot coffee, and piles of adoption paperwork.

This third time around though has been different. 

One day when Charlotte was just about 4 months old and we were still having social worker visits, I jokingly mentioned that I could do this again, you know, have another newborn right now! Jon said,”I’ve actually been thinking the same thing.” WHAT? 

During our next social worker’s visit, we asked how long we have to wait until we began a third adoption process, and she said six months from placement, October 4th. So, September 28th came around and we were sitting in the class we had taken 2 times before, this time for our 3rd adoption. Our social worker let us take it a few days early since classes are only offered once a quarter. Then came October 4th and once again, I traded early bedtimes for late nights, hot mugs of coffee, and piles of paperwork. It just felt right and I was somehow able to keep everyone alive and happy and still speed through our paperwork. (Having our agency’s address memorized helped a lot!) I finished the bulk of our paperwork and 30 training hours by October 29th. THIS TOOK ME 9 MONTHS with Addey and 4 MONTHS with Lottie. 

So here we are now, doing this newborn thing once again! Our past two adoption journeys we have waited to announce until after our home study was complete. This time, we haven’t made it that far yet. We are stepping out in faith more than ever in how God is calling us to build our family. Here’s the reality of it all: we can’t do this a third time without your help. We just can’t. More than ever, we need your prayers, financial support & love.

Honestly, sometimes I am unsure if I heard that thought right, can I really do this again? Are we absolutely crazy for doing this a third time so soon? Is it worth all the hours of paperwork, the ache of waiting, the asking for help in donations and prayers? But then I look at my girls and I remember how God brought them into our family,  how we all fit together in our messiness and brokenness and it truly is a miracle that I believe He will do once again. 

So, will you come alongside us this holiday season as we complete our 3rd home study and wait for baby #3? We are so grateful to be celebrating Charlotte’s first Christmas, our first Christmas as a family of 4, and to be waiting to adopt again! Merry Christmas to each one of you, our amazing community who is more like family. We can’t wait to see what this next year holds and to introduce baby #3 to you!