So much to be thankful for...

Last week, a prayer was answered.  We brought a baby girl into our home:  baby Isabella.  

Similar to Mercer's entry into our lives -- we have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, yet, we were unprepared because of how quickly things happened!

With Mercer, we had a 1 day's notice before he was born -- seeing if we were interested in pursuing the opportunity (which, of course, we were).  We found out we were selected the day after he was born.  We were boarding a plane the next day headed for Colorado to pick him up. 

With Isabella, we got a call the morning after she was born about the opportunity to pick her up THAT DAY -- November 14th.  Todd was a "single dad" the day the call came and the huge responsibility of pulling everything together fell on him, as I was in California on business.  

After Todd and I spent hours conferring, reviewing the health history, and discussing how to make the logistics of this work (while I was on the other side of the country).... we decided to "go for it."  He was able to call in at his office / explain that he needed to take the day off so he could begin working on the tasks at hand:
- Getting the homestudy documents pulled together so we could turn over a copy 
- Buying a car seat and installing it in the car
- Pulling out and cleaning a lot of Mercer's old stuff together clothes, bottles, and gear

He was almost ready, but got a call about an hour before he was to pick up the baby that it was post-poned 'til the next day.  On one hand, it was disappointing, but on the other hand, there was a sigh of relief.  There would be another day to prepare and get ready + there would be time for me to catch a flight home.  Whew!

I made it home Thursday morning.  We went back through the homestudy documents, went through more of Mercer's baby gear, sorted through items that neighbors & friends had dropped off the night before, and even ran a couple of errands.  We were trying to stay busy until "the call" to go to the hospital came.  

It felt like it took forever, but the call came and around 2:30 pm on Thursday the 15th, we met the adoption agency director at the hospital which was less than a mile from our house.  After taking care of all of the legal stuff, we went up to the nursery where baby Isabella was released.  As seen, I had to ride down to the door in a wheelchair with the baby.  Once in the car, it took us no time to get home & begin getting settled.  This beautiful bundle was really in our home!!!  It was a little scary (for me) the first day trying to remember how to take care of a newborn, but it all came back very quickly!

We got settled in, tended to her needs, figured out a few additional items we needed to purchase (such as formula so that the baby would have enough food to get through the night!), then I picked up Mercer from school.  

He and I went shopping quickly.  He picked out a little pink doll to give his new sister.   He was shy at first, but then grew more comfortable with her and even started interacting and playing with her. It was such a blessing to watch him laugh, smile, kiss her, and rub her head.  That night, he even laid his favorite stuffed animal on her lap to share with her (but he did ask for it back right before he went to bed).  It was a beautiful day for all of us!

Isabella Grace Groves
Born Tuesday, November 13th at 5:56 am

6 lbs 13 oz

18 1/2" long
Marietta, Georgia

Brought to our loving home Thursday, November 15th