It was a typical Monday morning, the big kids were off to school and I was feeding Oliver and Ruby breakfast when my phone rang. I didn't recognize the number so I let it go to voicemail.
We continued our morning playing and getting some things done around the house, when a few hours later my phone rang again with the same number. Now I was curious who this might be when I realized that they had left a voicemail.
When I heard the message, my heart started to race.
"Rebecca, this is Sarah from Deaconess Adoption Services and I need you to call me back right away."
My mind was racing with all the reasons why she would be calling me, we had not spoken since we finalized Oliver and Ruby's adoption about 7 months earlier. So I called her back.
The news that she had for me, was the beginning of the most challenging week Jarrod and I have ever had. She informed me that Oliver and Ruby's birth mama was pregnant, she would like for us to consider adopting her baby, AND she's been having contractions so baby could be here at anytime.
Just to give you a little insight into our lives, we have four children. Lily is 8, Jett is 6 and Oliver and Ruby are 13 months old. Jarrod and I were in that sweet spot where we made it through the first year of twins, they were sleeping through the night and we were just loving our family. Although our year with four kids has brought us so much joy and we have honestly loved every minute of it. We also had no plans of adding on and felt pretty sure our family was complete. But we know things change and sometimes God has plans different from our own.
And so we began to pray, constantly. We asked our closest friends and family to pray. We knew this decision was so much bigger than us, there was no pros and cons list that could help us know what we were supposed to do. This had to come directly from God.
As we prayed God began to remind us of verses in the Bible about how Jesus loved and accepted everyone, how he was never too busy to help someone or heal someone. How Jesus the Son of God always put others above himself. During Easter week I remember feeling impressed by the fact that the night before Jesus went to be beaten and hung on a cross, he had the last supper with his disciples and during that time he washed their feet. Our Savior who was about to be brutally beaten and killed took the time to wash their feet, because he wanted them to know that this was what it was about, serving others.
This verse also came to my mind.
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. " Romans 8:28
So this is what we know, God calls us to love and serve others and put them before ourselves. God loves us and wants what is best for us. God is in control and already knows the outcome of this whole situation. Peace washed over us. We gave it all to God and said your will be done.
On Tuesday, our birth mama went into the hospital to have all her tests run and check on baby, everything was looking great and their was a strong heartbeat. We told the social worker that we felt like we needed to proceed with yes, we would adopt her baby boy as long as there were no red flags that came up.
We began preparing for baby #5, and after a few freak out moments of "OH MY WORD I'M GOING TO HAVE FIVE CHILDREN!" We started to get excited, we picked a name, and we bought a car seat. We had to do some major rearranging of our mini van to accommodate 3 car seats and 2 booster seats, which was not easy.
We could not believe how quickly our lives were about to change again, but we were ready for anything. We knew God had this and we felt such peace and joy knowing that we were walking with Him. We knew He would give us strength when we needed it and His will would be done.
Friday morning, baby still had not arrived on his own, and our birth mama had an appointment for an ultrasound. Jarrod and I took Oliver and Ruby with us to meet her at the hospital. This would be the first time she has seen them since they were about 2 weeks old. We were so excited to see her and for her to see the babies in person! When we got there she let us know she was having some major contractions all morning and there was a good chance baby was coming today. I went with her into the ultra sound while Jarrod went outside with Oliver and Ruby.
I was getting excited to see for sure if it was a boy and see how far along she was because at that point we were not sure.
The ultra sound tech was taking a really long time to tell us anything and was having a hard time figuring out what was going on, so after about 15 minutes of her looking, she said well, I think I have finally figured out what we are looking at here.
"Has anyone told you that you are having TWO babies?! There are definitely two babies in here!!!"
I froze and my heart dropped, because I knew in that instant this was our red flag there was just no way we could take on another set of twins so soon. To say we were both shocked was an understatement.
We just couldn't believe all this time no one caught that she was having twins again. I sat there in silent prayer asking God, what now Lord? During this time I was timing her contractions and told her that she needed to get checked out because these babies were coming today.
The next few hours were a complete whirl wind. They took her upstairs to labor and delivery, while I went outside to tell Jarrod the news. We both started crying because we both knew that this was going to change things for us.
I went back to be with our birth mama, while the doctors quickly prepped her for a c-section and while she was having painful contractions. I was sitting there with her while she told the nurses I was the adoptive mama and they looked at me excitedly and started to give me information on the babies.
I silently cried out to God, what am I going to do Father, and I felt Him say to me, don't worry about the future right now, hold her hand and be here for her in this moment. So I wiped my tears and told our birth mama I loved her and I was here for her. She looked at me and said I am just so glad you are here, thank you. God put me right where I needed to be, by her side holding her hand. I will never forget that moment.
They took her back to surgery and I knew in about 45 minutes Jarrod and I would be holding twins again, just like we did only 13 months earlier.
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