The Schoonovers

Wow! What a whirlwind this process has been so far…in the best way!

Last Tuesday evening, March 25th, we received an email update from our adoption agency on the process. We were informed of one specific birth mom’s situation and asked if we wanted our profile shown to her. We were also informed that there were 3 other birth moms in process that the agency was waiting a little while longer on to match. We prayed about it, asked several questions to gain better clarity on the situation, and ultimately said yes. We were told that they were trying to match her by the end of the week, but at that time, they still weren’t sure if she wanted to pick the birth family or if she would have the agency pick.

Matt and I both spent a lot of time praying over the days that followed while also being on pins and needles and constantly refreshing our emails. Friday afternoon we found out that they had to reschedule with the birth mom due to the birth mom advocate being out of office, and that the earliest we would know anything would be Tuesday, April 1.

A few weeks prior, some sweet friends of ours decided to throw a Prepare with Prayer party on March 29th. This was such a sweet time with friends to celebrate our journey, fellowship, and pray over our situation and what the future may hold. We saved the special update that we had received to share with this group at the event and it gave us very specific things to be praying over.

Matt and I both were so anxious in our week of waiting while trying to trust that the Lord knows best and praying that the Lord’s will be done in this journey.

I’m an anxious person as it is and one of the primary ways I fight anxiety is through musical worship. My anxiety can be so loud, so I just try to sing louder and allow the words and truth to wash over me because our God is bigger than anything we may fear. Psalm 56:3-4, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise — in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”.  

The two songs that kept coming to mind that I kept singing in our week of waiting were a little song the Lord gave me right before we started this journey and the doxology:

His Plans: I am loved by the father, I am held in his hands, I am chosen and forgiven, so I will trust in His plans

Doxology: Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost, Amen.

Tuesday, April 1, we got an email from our agency that they wanted to schedule a call with us to provide us with updates on the birth mom they told us about. I went to meet Matt at his work, so we could do the call together. We were over the moon when they told us it was a match.

Baby girl is scheduled to arrive via c-section on May 27th.

We are very grateful that the nursery is ready and we feel we have all the supplies needed to bring baby home and care for her well.

We recognize that adoption is equal parts beautiful, exciting, and joyous and heartbreaking, tragic, and full of grief, so we would ask for continued prayer along with the celebration.

Prayer Requests:

• Birth mom – Birth mom feels confident in her decision and that she is doing what is best for baby, but it is still a very difficult thing to navigate especially as she helps her other kids come to terms with the decision as well. Pray for peace and comfort for her and wisdom as she navigates this. Birth mom has also been having some gallbladder issues that could lead to an early delivery, so please pray for her continued health.
• Baby – Baby is healthy and right on track for where she is at in the pregnancy. Please pray for her continued health, especially if she does end up gracing us with her presence early. Please pray that as she grows, she knows that she is so deeply loved by God, by us, and by her birth mom and family who are making a difficult choice out of their love for her.
• Us – Please pray for us as we continue this journey. We are so excited for what’s to come but there’s also some fear knowing that birth mom can change her mind at any point until several days after baby is here. We know the Lord has us and this entire situation in His hands and if we have heartbreak, we have heartbreak. It won’t stop us from celebrating where we are in this moment. Pray for us to have wisdom and discernment as we meet and engage with the birth mom at the hospital. We so deeply want her to feel loved, respected, and cared for in this. Pray for us as we step into this new life stage.

At this time, we are grateful that we are so close to being fully funded. Between what we’ve already raised and saved and what we know is coming, we only have about $5,000 left to fund. We have two grant applications out currently that we should hear back on by April 15 and April 30th that may cover a portion or all of the remaining amount. Even if not, we are confident that the Lord will continue to provide and we will have what we need when the time comes.

If you are interested in financially supporting us, it is not too late to buy a t-shirt or sweatshirt.

With Love,

The Schoonovers