Start of a New Journey!

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One Month Update

I sit here holding little miss Harmony and can't believe how fast the past weeks have flown by.  So before too much time passes I wanted to document her first month and everything it held for us.  What an amazing time it has been as we've adjusted to being parents.  Not to say it's all been easy, but I can honestly say I've enjoyed it all.  Sometimes I just look at Harmony and still can't believe she is ours and a part of our family.

One Month Old!

Our little Easter bunny :)

Colorado Baby Shower with church/adoption friends and mom.

First Airplane Ride

Baby Shower in Idaho

During Harmony's first month she met all of her Grandparents, Aunties, Uncles and Cousins.  Everyone was so excited to meet her!  Karl's parents were able to come for a very quick visit right after Harmony was born so they could meet her before going back to Africa for the summer.  We are so grateful they got to see her in person before leaving.  Then we had my mom come visit and spend some time getting to know her grandaughter.  My wonderful Colorado girlfriends put on an amazing shower for me and Harmony and my mom was even able to come to it.  Such a beautiful day with sunflowers, bright colors and all my favorite Colorado people. :)

When Harmony was 3 weeks old we braved flying with an infant and went home to Idaho to introduce her to all of our family.  She was such a trooper and rocked all of the flights!  It was such a special time for us as a family of 3 to be with our families who were so excited to meet our new daughter.  My sister and family in Idaho put on a beautiful shower for us while we were home.  The day was very special and so much work was put into celebrating us.  It is so clear that we are dearly loved! 

I know my blog posts are few and far between right now but just know we are busy loving on and bonding with little Harmony.  We have waited so long for this and are soaking up every moment!

Behind the Name

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11 

This little girl is so special to us and we wanted her to have a name that reflects who she is, not only as an individual but as our daughter.  The meaning of names has always been very special to us and we wanted our child to have a name with a significant meaning.  Because we didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl we started searching for names for each.  We started going through baby name books and looking purely at the "meaning" column for meanings we felt were fitting for this baby.  One day I came across the name Harmony which means "A Beautiful Blending".  Because our baby would be adopted and a part of our family and their birth family, we thought this meaning was so beautiful and we fell in love with the name.

The first day we met Harmony's birthparents we talked about names.  It is very common for the birthmother to choose her own name for the baby.  This may be a name that has a significant meaning to her or it may just be the act of naming her baby that is special.  We asked her what she was thinking about naming the baby if it was a girl.  Her answer just about made us cry.  She said, "I was thinking the name Miah.  Because on the back of your profile book you have the verse Jeremiah 29:11 and I thought that verse was really cool so I was thinking I would call her Miah if it's a girl."   We were so touched that she had put this much thought into a name and had chosen a name that, because of where it came from, was so special to us. 

Then they asked us what names we had come up with.  We told them about our idea of the name Harmony and what the name meant.  They said they loved it!  They were touched by the meaning of the name. 

The night Harmony was born, her birthfather called to tell us it was a girl.  He asked us if we had made a decision on her name.  We said we still liked Harmony and thought Miah would make a beautiful middle name.  They said, "We love it...it's a great name for her!"

  Karl and I think it is just so special for Harmony that her name was a combination of choices from both her birthfamily and her adoptive family.  Also, the verse Jeremiah 29:11 has been the verse that has carried us through this journey to parenthood.  We clung to the fact that God knew the plans for us and our family.   This verse has now become Harmony's life verse.  She is a beautiful blending of both families and God does have special plans for this beautiful little girl.

Harmony Miah Anderson

"For this child I have prayed, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him."

1 Samuel 1:27



Harmony Miah Anderson ~ Arrived March 24th weighing 6lbs. 7oz. and 21in. tall.

March 24th, the day that changed our lives forever.

Karl told me he thought we would get the call about our baby's birth when we least expected it.  And I said, "That's impossible because I'm always expecting it!"  Well, our birthmother was 3 days overdue so you would think I would be expecting it, but I wasn't.  She had just been to the doctors and they told her there was no progression, so an appointment had been made for the 28th to induce her.  We were totally counting on our baby being born Wednesday.  

Karl's Aunt and Uncle were in town for a family wedding and we were planning on seeing them Sunday evening.  Saturday evening we had both gotten home from work and were just hanging around the house.  Karl got a call from his uncle to set up our plans for Sunday night.  While he was on the phone, my phone rang.  My heart about stopped when I saw it was our birthmom!  Her and I had been texting back and forth earlier in the week, but I knew her name on the caller ID meant only one thing...our baby was coming!  When I answered the call, the birthfather said, "Hi Amy, you're baby is coming!"  They had just gotten to the hospital, she was fully dilated and ready to start pushing.  We told them we were praying for them and to call us when the baby was born.  I ran down the stairs (Karl was still talking to his uncle) and yelled, "we can't get together tomorrow, our baby is coming Karl, our baby is coming!"  During the next minutes, we called all our family and friends to let them know our baby was on the way.  And 45 minutes later the birthfather called and said, "You have a new baby girl!"  We were so shocked at how fast everything was happening.  And Karl just looked at me and said, "See, I told you it would happen when we least expected it."  

Now that we knew it was a girl we could get a little bit of decorating done before heading to the hospital.  The birthmom wanted the first couple hours to themselves so we raced to Home Depot, got our paint and went right to work.  After getting about halfway through our painting project we ran out of time and needed to stop and get ready to leave.   On the drive up, these thoughts were running through our heads...what is she going to look like?  Is the hospital stay going to be really uncomfortable and awkward?  What is going to be expected of us?  What if she changes her mind now that the baby is here?  But mostly, we were just so excited to meet this new little girl!

We walked into the hospital room to see this tiny little bundle laying in her mother's arms.  She was wide awake and just looking around at everything.  This baby was seriously the most beautiful baby I had ever seen.  Ok, I might be a little partial. :)  I can't describe to you the feeling of when I first held her.  It was so incredibly special to hold my daughter for the first time.  There were also thoughts going through my head like, "Am I doing this right?  Am I showing the right emotions to the birthfamily?"  

Holding Harmony for the first time



Meeting daddy

Our birthparents are truly amazing people.  First and foremost, they chose life for this precious baby we now call ours.  How could we thank them enough for this incredible gift?  We spend the next two days spending time together in their hospital room.  Passing the baby around and taking turns feeding and changing.  We thought this part was going to be so uncomfortable but it really was neat to spend time with them and get to know them better.  It was very obvious they both love this little girl to pieces and just want what is best for her.

Leaving the hospital was such a bittersweet feeling.  On one hand we were so excited because we were leaving with our new child and starting our life together which was thrilling.  But on the other hand we were witnessing the extreme pain her birthparents were going through while saying goodbye to her.  It was hard for us to feel fully excited about our gain because we were also involved in their loss.

Going Home!

Onto happier things though...we got home with our sweet new bundle and walked into a fully decorated house!  Also, we were shocked when we walked into Harmony's room and saw the painting completed and everything put back in it's place.  Thank you Sara and Lindsay for painting and everybody else for making us feel so loved.  We have some amazing friends!

So here we sit, our baby Harmony is one week old today and as of yesterday she is officially a part of our family.  God is so awesome!  Even though this whole process to parenthood has been very long, the adoption part has been quick and fairly painless.  Only 7 weeks after going into the waiting pool, we were picked by birthmother.  The first birthmother our profile was shown to and she chose us. :)

We feel truly blessed to have Harmony as our baby...our prayers have been answered.




So in love :)

Daddy and daughter

                                                                                                                                                                                 

Our happy family!

Bonding and Attachment

One of the topics covered in our adoption training was the bonding and attachment process that needs to take place with an adopted baby and the adoptive parents.  I never thought that a newborn would go through detachment grief, but they do.  If you think about it, it makes sense.  The heartbeat and voice they have been attached to for 9 months is quickly taken away from them.  Everything is new and unfamiliar and it takes time for them to develop a sense of attachment to the new voices and sounds. 

The attachment process with an adopted baby is very different from that of a biological baby.  Through the repetition of Karl and I taking care of the baby's needs, he/she will learn that we are are the ones looking out for it.  We have to develop a bond of trust; when the baby cries its needs will be met.  Through lots of reading and training we have been encouraged to stick to certain routines so this bonding and attachment process can take place. 

We know that everyone already loves this baby so much and we want our baby to know that love.  But we do ask that for the first couple weeks/months everyone keeps their holding and cuddling of the baby to short amounts.  It is best for Karl and I to be the main providers for the baby.  We should be the ones feeding, changing and comforting the baby.  Karl and I want you to be able to cuddle and love on our baby, as we know that it's also important for him/her to see the love of our family and friends.  There will be lots of time for everyone to love on this baby but these first couple months will be important in creating the bond between us and him/her.  It pains us to tell everyone they must limit the amount they hold our baby for the first months.  We know you want what is best for our baby, just as we do.  And through our research and training we believe this is the best course of action. This is not about Karl or I but about our sweet baby and what is best for them.  Thank you all so much for your understanding and support!    

Exciting News!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The call from our agency came on Friday afternoon.  Of course I was working and wasn't able to get to my phone in time.  But when I saw the missed call and a voicemail, my heart skipped a beat!  I thought, could this be "the call"?  The message was from Sarah, a caseworker at our agency.  And she was indeed calling to tell us  they had shown our profile to a birthmother on Wednesday and she and the birthfather picked us!  Even though I have been dreaming of the day this call would come, it came as a shock.  For the first couple days I couldn't even believe it!

Yesterday we had what is called a "match meeting".  This is where the birthfamily and adoptive family meet with the caseworker, get to know each other and just see if it's going to be a good fit for everyone.  We were so nervous for the meeting. Hoping they would both like us and want us to parent this precious baby.  The meeting went great and they have officially decided they like us and want to move forward with the process!  We spent time over lunch talking about our families, hobbies, interests, baby names and plans for the future.  It was a little  nerve-racking but there was also lots of laughter.

Right now we are enjoying our last moments of time together as just us.  The birthmother is due in 2 weeks so I have officially entered the nesting phase and am working hard to get things in order.  We do not know the gender so all the blue and pink will have to come later!  We are ecstatic and couldn't be happier right now.  God has been so good to us and we are praising Him for His faithfulness.  

Our Roller Coaster Week

This past week proved to be the most intense emotional roller coaster we have been on since starting our adoption journey.  I won't go too in depth with details as to protect the privacy of everyone involved.  Last Thursday we received a call from our agency letting us know that a birth family was looking for a family to place their sweet, 3 month old baby girl with.  Our initial impression was that the family was very interested in Karl and I, and if the interview went great, the whole process would happen quickly and we would become parents very soon.  You can imagine the excitement we felt at this news!  We were so excited about the possiblity but remained cautious as to protect our emotions.  As the hours passed by and we started gaining more information on the situation, we knew it was a very tentative situation.  The family interviewed us as well as two other wonderful families from our agency.   After the interview we felt fairly certain we would not be chosen to parent this precious little baby.  And our feelings were confirmed when the agency let us know the family would not be choosing any of the families interviewed that day.  We knew this journey wouldn't be easy but what we experienced last week verified that! 

However, through the ups and downs of this week we are reminded and feel very assured that God is in control and has already written the story of our baby's life.  While we had our moments of excitement and sadness, we continue to trust that He has our best interests in mind and will delivery our baby to us in His perfect timing.  This has been a learning experience and has also reminded us of several things we are so grateful for.  First, we have felt pretty nervous about the time when we do actually meet the birth mother who has chosen us, and after going through this interview we feel very equipped for when that time comes.  Secondly, we always knew our agency was awesome but everyone (especially our caseworker Rachel) was so encouraging and supportive in helping us through those couple of days with phone calls, texts and e-mails.  Finally, we are very grateful for our family, friends (and adopting friends) who have been so supportive in talking, crying and laughing with us this past week.  We feel a great sense of peace about where we're at and just continue to pray and wait!