The Waring's Journey: Bailey's 16th Birthday

Friday, October 10, 2008

Bailey's 16th Birthday

On Tuesday, Bailey turned 16. I can’t believe how grown up she’s become. For her 16th birthday, she’s asked to have a small slumber party with some close friends and dye her hair dark brown. I figure she is old enough to make her own hair choices and Yes, now she has dark brown hair. Actually, it’s not too bad. She’s beautiful no matter what color her hair is… I am very thankful that she did not ask for something wild like pink or hot red. For her birthday we had a family breakfast and I made yummy chocolate muffins, scrambled eggs with bacon and coffee. She felt so mature drinking coffee with her parents. The younger kids got hot tea and felt just as big.

For her birthday she gets to go to the mall with her friends and pick out her presents. We let her color her hair dark brown and she got her favorite teen movie “Step Up” …a bunch of break dancing. Will (Bailey’s birth father) dropped by in the morning and brought a gift for Bailey’s birthday. I was so touched that he’d driven the hour drive to bring it.

A little later that afternoon, Michelle (her birth mother) came over and brought her “Step up 2” and a hand crocheted blanket that was made my Michelle’s grandmother. I thought this was touching. I told Bailey that this was a piece of her birth heritage and that she needed to always treasure it.

Here are the gifts waiting on the table for Bailey when she got home. I thought it was funny that Will’s gift bag and Michelle’s gift bags both matched the ones we’d chosen for Bailey’s birthday. I guess we were all thinking the same thing this year… “NO PINK”

Here is the blanket Michelle gave Bailey

This is Bailey opening her gift from Will, Shay, and Madison.

She loved it! Here room is decked out in Kansas University and she's nuts about the Jayhawks.

He also gave her a very funny card.

I can't help but be a bit emotional this year as I think about Bailey growing up and becoming such a beautiful young lady. She's no longer that tiny little baby I once held in my arms and couldn't take my eyes off of. I thought I might burst into tears as I talked with Will in my kitchen, about how we only have just a few more years and she will be sprouting her own independent wings. She talks of going to Bible College with her best friend Brie and then wanting to become a police officer. Honestly, I couldn't be more proud and I know she'll do great at both. I just hope I'm strong enough to allow her to venture out there on her own to do it. Uuugghh!

Thank You Lord Jesus for the gift that Bailey has been to my life. What a complete joy! Continue to watch over her as she takes those steps towards her goals in life and becomes who You've made her to be. I pray that she will always understand the love that surrounds her between, her family and her birth families.... And may she never question, for even a moment, the purposes You've held for her life. It's my prayer Lord Jesus, that she will always know You and walk with You... Trusting You always for whatever You hold for her life. And Lord, may she see the beauty You've brought to those who've sorrowed for children and know how comforting her life story has been for those without hope. You truly are an amazing God...

Thank You for our Bailey!

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Our Hope To Adopt Embryos

Hi, my name is Tracy and here is our story,

My husband, Richard, and I have been happily married for 21 years. Early on in our marriage, we were diagnosed with complete male factor infertility. We have been blessed with three beautiful children through separate open adoptions. Bailey, now 17, was born during the time of our lives when my husband and I were grieving the loss of our only pregnancy from donor insemination. She was born when our baby would have been. Her birth was like a healing salve to our hurting hearts. Once we discovered that the Lord could fill our aching arms with such delight through adoption, we began to pray for the Lord to bring us another child.

We hoped and prayed for 6 years when Addison was born. She is now 11. In the time of waiting until the Lord brought our second child into our lives, He did an amazing work upon our heart towards opening our relationship up with Bailey's birthmother. We started out slow and before we knew it, she was a full active part of our family. Today, she is my best friend and we share many of our life experiences together. When Addison came into our lives, her birthparents were already friends that we had known for some time and loved dearly. Keeping the doors of our relationship open throughout her adoption was easy and our hearts today love them with even a greater love than ever before.

Levi is 3 and we just had his birthday party with many friends, our family and his birthmother and her family also. Reiko, his birthmother feels like a daughter to us and her presence in our family is wonderful. She has recently birthed another son named Heidern (pronounced Heiden), that we consider our grandson even though he is Levi's 1/2 brother.

We love all of our birth families very much and have contact with them on a regular basis. We have five birth families for our three children. Keeping everyone up to date with all that goes on in our family is much easier done with updates on our family blog.

For me, the road to motherhood for the past 21 years seemed only possible through domestic adoption. Now that the Lord has opened my eyes to embryo adoption, the longing to birth is again revived and stirred within me. The thought that there might be a way to hold a child of mine without traveling through the pain of another person, is something I look forward to. I love my children so dearly but I also know that their birth parents felt deep sorrow during my greatest time of joy (their birth). That realization is so hard on my heart because of the love I hold for them.

As a profession, I am a labor doula. I watch families birth without sorrow and it is so different than what I've witnessed with the births of my children. I pray that the Lord will allow me to experience this side of motherhood and to have joy without sorrow as our sweet new baby/babies come into our lives. We are praying that the gift of someone's embryos would be this for us.

We are so excited to meet and get to know the family of the embryos and make them a part of our family. We promise to love and cherish the children that come from them and the door to our hearts and home will always be open for you to get to know the children born. Honestly, there is nothing more precious to us than the lives of our children and the hope of the children to come.

We will continue to pray for this dream to come true and place our hope and trust upon the Lord to continue to build our family. We know that in His perfect timing He will bring us our precious little embryos, and bond us to (hopefully) you , a beautiful genetic family.

I have a life verse that has encouraged me throughout our journey.

1 Peter 5:10

But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

Waiting for the joy set before us,

Richard and Tracy Waring.