So, I've told you about how we found out about Brighten, all of the people who helped us prepare, a little bit about her history and her Brother, and now we make the journey to Texas. The story just keeps getting better and better.
God of the Details
Jason asked me to be his girlfriend (officially) on September 22, 2010. Two years later, he proposed in February 2012 and we began looking at wedding dates. It just so happened that September 22nd was a Saturday that year and as we began booking venues and vendors, they were all available that day as well. So, we became Mr. and Mrs. Morales on September 22, 2012. When we began the adoption process, we thought to ourselves, "How funny would it be if we had a baby who was born on the same day?" but we never thought it would actually happen. That's literally like a 1/365 chance that we would have a baby born on the same day as our anniversary.
Several months ago, we saw that my favorite band, Needtobreathe, would be nearby on our anniversary this year, so of course we got tickets. Then, when we found out about Brighten, we thought she would be born either sometime that week, or before, so we got rid of our tickets. We were kind of bummed, but who ever would actually say that they're bummed about missing a concert of a band we've seen half a dozen times already because they'll be meeting their daughter? Not us, I assure you. As Brighten's due date drew near, we found out that Birth Mom had an induction scheduled on...you guessed it...September 22nd. We laughed so hard, but we knew there was a chance she could go into labor before that.
Even though our car was packed and ready to go about a week early, Birth Mom did not go into labor early so we left for Houston on September 20th. We planned to spend the night in Shreveport, LA to get us a little more than halfway to Houston. As we were driving along, Jason was driving and I was scrolling through Instagram. I saw something on Needtobreathe's account that said something about Shreveport, but ever since Instagram changed their settings, I always have to check the date of things before I look at the post. Well, sure enough, Needtobreathe was playing in Shreveport on the one night we were there! Obviously, we got last minute tickets and went to the show and it was awesome! It was our last big date before Brighten arrived, and I cried as I sat and listened to songs that have made me dance, cry, and pray throughout this adoption process for the last several years.
Wednesday morning we got up early, went to Starbucks, and got on the road to drive to Texas. It was September 21st, and it was looking more and more like our little Brighten would be born on our fourth wedding anniversary and our sixth dating anniversary! God truly is in every detail of our lives, down to the concerts and the dates.
Texas Forever
We arrived in Texas on Wednesday afternoon. We checked into the hotel, took Swanson to the dog boarding place down the road, and took a nap. To say that I was tense is probably the biggest understatement of the century. I kept looking at my phone and I could barely eat. I needed to do something other than just sit at the hotel, so Jason and I went to Target to just walk around and get out. Ever since I went off to college almost a decade ago, walking through a Target has always been a calming activity for me. All Targets look just about the same on the inside, so in college I'd go to Target when I was homesick. Ever since then, I've found myself wondering the aisles of Target aimlessly when I have a lot on my mind or if I'm waiting on something or nervous or upset. So, it was only appropriate that we had one last Target run the afternoon before we became parents.
Around 5:00 or so, we heard from Birth Mom and she said that she'd be admitted to the hospital around 8:00 that night and she would text us her room number once she got settled in. We offered to come up there to meet her that night so that it wouldn't be awkward the next day. She agreed that would be good.
Jason and I went to dinner after our Target run. I have no idea what we talked about. I think we just kind of starred at each other. Thankfully, our GC (small group, community group, bible study...whatever you want to call it) FaceTimed us during dinner to break up the nervous silence we had going on. It was so good to see their faces before the big day.
I have always wondered what those days, hours, and minutes would be like for Jason and me before we met Birth Mom and the kid(s) (Judah) we are adopting. It was kind of a surreal feeling to actually be living that. I really want to try to describe it the best I can, but the closest thing I can compare it to was waiting for my middle school cheer coach to post the numbers of the girls who had made the team. I'd worked hard to get to that point, and when the time arrived, I could barely speak. I know the two situations couldn't be more different, but the sinking, anxious, feeling was multiplied as we waited to meet Birth Mom.
Brighten's Storie: Part One
Brighten's Storie: Part Two
Brighten's Storie: Part Four
Brighten's Storie: Part Five
