The Tour is In the Books!

Well, on we go!

We see every day and every contact as another milestone- another day closer to what we hope and pray for. And today is another step in the right direction!

We met Alison- the birth mother- at a Starbucks to chat for a bit and then headed to the hospital for a tour of the labor and delivery / post-partum facilities. We will deal with these events in reverse order... kind of.

The tour was fine, but it was not really anything big or overly exciting. The hospital is brand new and the facilities are very nice. The whole thing took maybe 15 or 20 minutes. The nurse who gave the tour was very friendly and accommodating, but she did not know ahead of time that this was an adoption situation, and she did not know exactly how the hospital handles adoptions. But, she was warm and positive and encouraging, so I can't say that we were treated badly at all- which can happen.

By far the more important thing for us was the opportunity to spend some more time with Alison and to meet her mother who is serving as birth coach. That aspect of the morning was nothing but encouraging for us. We have felt comfortable with Alison both times we have been together and we felt the same with her mother. They are easy to talk to, and they are intelligent, friendly people. And, we get the sense that both of them are very pleased with us as adoptive parents.

In the course of our conversation at Starbucks, where all important conversations take place, Alison asked about our approach to discipline. We lied and said that we believe in an environment that is firm, fair, consistent and loving, without being overbearing. Of course I am kidding. Well- I am kidding about the "we lied" part- that really is what we believe in... honest! Alison seemed well satisfied with what we had to say. We really do seem to be on the same page about a lot of things. It seems that when Alison asks a question we are able to answer it and make her comfortable with her choice. Its almost like someone is in charge of this or something!

We don't know every detail of the hospital plan, but we do know that Alison does not want us to be in the room while she is going through labor and delivery, and that is fine with us. She has indicated that she wants to sign the adoption papers soon after the required 24 hour post-birth waiting period has expired, but that is the kind of thing that you have to "wait and see". We are going to receive a call when Alison goes into labor and we can head to the hospital. But, until the papers are signed we are really no one of consequence. There are tons of hotels around the hospital, so we can get a room if we need to, or it might be that the hospital will give us a place to stay and wait there. We are flexible with that- whatever works is fine with us.

After the events of the day, I just have to say that it looks more and more like God has chosen this child for us. I just do not get any sense of a change of mind from Alison. I do not sense anything uncomfortable between us and her. Every day continues to be a positive day. I know that adoption can turn out like the mother of all Survivor blind sides, but that is not how it feels right now.

We are content to take each day with the news that it brings. And today the news is good.

Glory to God in the highest.

Thanks for coming along...

Jon and Melanie