Bringing Levi home (Part 2)

So, now it's time to write about the day we brought our son home.  I still get giddy when I think about the fact that he's here, and he's perfect and precious, and everything we ever prayed for.

Tuesday morning, March 20, 2012, we had a lot of work ahead of us.  Daniel had been gone for the previous 7 weeks at ALC.  He graduated Friday, I ran a race on Saturday (5 miles to benefit Bethany, our adoption agency!), and Sunday we were super busy getting back into the swing of things with church, Sunday school, a potluck, and then youth group in the evening.  And then, of course, Monday put us into a tailspin.  So, the first thing on the agenda was to work on folding the 6 or so loads of clean clothes that we'd managed to wash over the weekend, but not do anything else with by that point.  Daniel mowed the lawn.  We got things as organized as we could (while being totally distracted by the fact that Levi would be coming home in a matter of hours).

My sister, niece, and nephew arrived a bit before lunch.  It was really exciting for me that she could come on such short notice.  She only lives a couple hours away, but I was there when my nephew was born at the beginning of January, and that she could come and be with us (and take care of Lucas while we went to the Bethany office) was awesome.  Oh, and she brought back all the infant baby boy clothes she'd borrowed from me.  (That's one of the benefits of my nephew being almost 10 pounds bigger than Levi, even though they're only about 8 weeks apart!  Ha!)

We visited for a little while, I told her the story of Monday, and then we got to making lunch.  We fed the kids and I tried to stay calm.  That was the point of the day, with less than an hour to go, and you just want to get there already, that I was the most frazzled/nervous/anxious.  And then, suddenly, Daniel came over to me and said,

"It's time to go get our son."

Honestly, while I was so ready to get there and meet him, all of the emotions of the last two plus years hit me at that moment, and I couldn't get up for a split second.  I put my head down and got teary eyed and just had to process the fact that this was one of the moments I'd been waiting so long for.  Frankly, I think it was good that it happened so quickly, but we're still processing through all of it, I think. 

We said good-bye to Lucas (we decided to leave him at home because it was right about nap time and we knew he'd do better to stay and play with his cousins and get his nap, rather than have to sit still and be quiet and be overwhelmed at the agency).  We got in the car with our car seat and diaper bag and camera (and check book).  We held hands and prayed, thanking God for bringing us to this point, praying for our boy's safety, and for a good day. 

We got to the office about 15 minutes early.  We carried the car seat and the diaper bag up with us, and while we were in the hallway we saw a lady (who was later introduced to us as the social worker who deals with the older child adoptions through our office) who said with a big smile, "Oh, I know what you're going to do!"

Rebekah came to find us in the waiting room and that was when my nerves calmed and peace settled in.  Something about her smile reassured me that this was real, it was for sure, and everything was good.  After all the waiting we'd done and all the times I had to create a sort of calloused heart for myself, there was a part of me that hadn't truly believed we'd be going home with Levi until that point. 

We went to her office and she answered the questions we had not been able to ask up to that point.  She told us that they'd known since he was born that he'd be coming to us, as long as parental rights were terminated, but they didn't want to tell us until they were sure, because of all the roller coaster emotions we'd already been through on our journey.  (So, yes, to clarify, birthmother and birthfather parental rights have already been terminated.  There is no legal risk to this placement!  We are so thankful for that!!)  We read Levi's medical history/birth history, along with his birthmom's history and the little information they had about the birthfather.  That was the point at which she, by law, had to ask if there was anything we read that would make us change our minds about bringing him home.  As I said yesterday, I laughed at that and we said there was nothing we read that would change our minds about Levi.

After we'd done that, it was time to meet Levi.  Rebekah went to the conference room where he was waiting for us and brought him to her office.  She brought him to us and gave him to me.  She'd sent us two pictures of him the day before, but he was so much more beautiful in person.  She took a few pictures of us meeting Levi and then gave us some time alone with him.  I do remember telling Levi that I'm his mama and that Daniel is his papa and that we loved him for so long and that he was worth every day we waited and every tear we cried.  Aside from that, though, mostly we just stared at him, grinning away, amazed by how precious and perfect and beautiful he is.  I took a picture of Daniel holding our newest son, and then Daniel took one of me holding him. 

When Rebekah came back, it was time for us to meet Dave and Peggy, the couple who had been fostering Levi since he went home from the hospital.  Immediately, I hugged both of them (one-armed, of course, because I had an armful of precious baby), and thanked them for loving Levi as they did.  We loved them right away, and laughed a lot at their wonderful sense of humor.  They told us what they'd done with Levi and what kind of schedule they'd tried to keep with him.  They told us he did great in the car and that he'd been keeping up to date on the NCAA tournament (and not to be surprised if he asked to watch the finals) to which, we, of course, replied that we were so glad he'd been kept up to date.  They told us what he'd been eating and how often and about his first two doctors visits.  And they told us how special our son is.  They'd almost hoped, I think, that there wasn't a family to adopt him, because they didn't want to give him up.  That struck me, because they've been working with Bethany forever - Levi was their 52nd baby!  - and they hadn't had a reaction like that in a very long time, Rebekah told us.  (Also cool, my brother's favorite number is 52 - it's tattooed on his arm - and it struck us all as so awesome that Levi should be Baby 52 for Dave and Peggy.)

The adoption counselor, Lauri, was also at that meeting with us and Rebekah, and she told us a bit more about Levi's birthmom and the conversations they'd had with her.  When we were finished talking, Lauri prayed, followed by Dave and Daniel, and then Rebekah.  It was such a sweet time of thanking God for all He had already done to protect Levi and bring him to us, and to ask Him to bless Levi as he grows.

Then we had to do a little more paperwork.  It really wasn't that bad, though Rebekah had (half) jokingly warned us that one of us was going to have to pay attention during that time.  We signed the last of the paperwork we needed to to make the placement official, paid our final placement fee, and then we got the okay to get Levi ready to go.  We figured it was still about an hour before Levi would need to eat again, so we just decided to get him home and feed him there. 

We put our son in his car seat with kisses, took a few pictures, said goodbye and thank you with hugs for Rebekah, and finally made the walk we'd been waiting for over two years to make.  We took Levi to the car and took him home.  Even now, writing those words, it's such a simple sentence that just about anybody might take for granted, but the weight of it still hits me.  Levi is home.  Our son is home. 

Okay, now I need another break before I tell you about how great Levi is and how he's been doing since we got him home.  I will say, though, that he's been a great baby so far and for three weeks old, he's been pretty low maintenance.  He's precious and I love him and I can't wait to tell you more about him. 

I'll leave you, though, with a few pictures, since it would be cruel not to. 

Meeting our son for the very first time!

Levi Emry

Proud Papa

Overjoyed Mama

Us with Dave and Peggy, Levi's foster parents

Rebekah, our social worker, holding Levi, and Lauri, the pregnancy counselor

Precious Levi, ready to go home

Finally holding BOTH my boys!!

Kisses for baby brother

Sleeping sweetly

Holding baby Levi for the very first time, Lucas is so proud of himself - and his baby!