Friday, July 20, 2012

From Hospital to Home - Update on our adoption journey

Parker Adventist Hospital in Parker, CO

Jeana & me at the hospital June 19th - the night her inducing began
Jeana was very kind to us and wanted me to be in the delivery room during labor, to cut Josiah's umbilical cord, and to be the first one to hold Josiah.  Thank you, Jeana Beana! :)


Jeana & Heather (online school principal) - Posing with "Hopper" (named after Hope's Promise) * Having fun!


Jeana & Rebecca (wonderful adoption support staff at the hospital) enjoying cute little shoes * Jeana had fun picking out her favorite outfit out of all the baby clothes I brought





Arrival of Josiah Rahim Harrison

6 lbs. 11 oz.     19 1/2 in.

June 20, 2012     11:54 pm









 Daddy & son skin-to-skin * Tears of joy
Jeana wanted us to have our own room at the hospital, which was a huge blessing, especially since Parker is one hour away from CO Springs.




The 3 of us enjoying this special time together
We were curious if we would love Josiah like we love Noah and how soon we would sense feeling "attached" with Josiah, since we had heard it can take a while.  We thank the Lord for blessing us very quickly with attaching with him and feeling like he was ours within that first week.  It's wonderful how we love Josiah just as much as we love Noah!


Mommy & son snuggling


Jeana & me enjoying Josiah * Cara (Director of the Ministry Home where Jeana lives), Me, & Jeana


 Tami, Me, Dad, & Josiah




Jacque (another wonderful adoption support staff at the hospital) making the Forever Fingerprints books * Jeana comforting Josiah 





Professional Pics at the Hospital

Jeana, Josiah, & me



The 3 of us





Mommy & son



Daddy & son



Sweet boy



Precious



Jeana, Josiah, & me





Jeana, Wes, Josiah, & me






Saying our "See you later" goodbyes

Jeana & Josiah


Me, Jeana, Wes, & Josiah leaving the hospital





We're Home!

Noah opened up his gift basket from the hospital while Grandpa & Grandma Harrison enjoyed seeing Josiah



Checking out from a distance * Moving closer :)
Initially, Noah had a couple hours time period in which he wanted nothing to do with Josiah.  After that, Noah warmed up to Josiah on his own time and in his own way, and Noah has been a wonderful, loving, tender-hearted brother ever since.  It is precious to watch him love on his little bro, and we have seen the fruit of the Spirit overflowing in Noah a lot, which we had been praying for.


We knew Josiah was "in" with Noah when Noah began showing him his animal friends - Colby & Smoochie ;)





Fam Photos :)

 Our fam of 4!


Enjoying each other


 
Big bro Noah * Lil bro Josiah


 Noah is one proud big brother! :)


Daddy & sons






Josiah's Jaundice

You can see the yellow even in the "whites" of his eyes :(


We thank the Lord for healing Josiah of jaundice.  He had to be in a phototherapy bed pretty much 24/7 for 4 days.  We were grateful that we were able to have this bed at home and that he didn't have to go to the hospital.


 He looked like a little glow worm :)


You can see the difference that the phototherapy made.  There is a significant difference in skin tone between his face (not exposed to phototherapy light) and the rest of his body.






 Lots of Love from Family


 
Proud grandparents * Grandma Harrison
We thank the Lord for orchestrating Wes' parents from WI to come visit the week after Josiah was born, long before we even knew that we were going to be adopting.  They flew in to Denver the morning after Josiah arrived.  God is the perfect planner!  We really enjoyed having them here our first week home, and they were a huge blessing and help in many ways!




Snuggling with Grandpa Harrison



Dad * Tami



 
Auntie Gigi * G-pa


Uncle Adam, Auntie Wendy, Noah, & Josiah


Great Tache & Josiah * Enjoying her great grandsons
We are thankful that Great Papa & Great Tache were able to come visit from KS soon after Josiah's birth.









Neighbor Friends Enjoying Josiah


 
Des * Kelly * Ashlee









4th of July

 Noah * Josiah * Brothers


Mommy & sons





More Tender Moments

Snuggling with my boys :)


Lovin' his little bro with kisses at Toddler Time at the library * Noah encouraging & comforting during tummy time


Kissing my sweet son * Noah in awe of his little bro * Lots of lovin' going on!









Solo Shots of Our Sweet Son

Precious boy


Packer fan!!! * Sweet sleep smile


Handsome like Daddy




Little Cutie! * "What's happenin'!"





1st Get Together with Jeana after Delivery

Jeana enjoyed holding, feeding, & burping Josiah for the 1st time :)


Noah having fun with Jeana, Josiah, & Mrs. Julie (one of our caseworkers)


Noah wanted to have a "snowball fight" while Jeana & Mrs. Julie were there.  All 3 of them had a great time! :)


Enjoying holding Josiah some more





Where are we at in the adoption process now that Josiah is home with us?

The process for adopting an infant in the U.S. involves:
*completing an application & being accepted - 11-22-11
*home study process/training & being approved - 4-24-12
*being in the waiting pool - our profile book about our family (which birthmothers look at to choose the parents they want for their child) being shown to birthmothers - 4-24-12 through 5-14-12
*waiting anywhere from approximately 2 weeks to 2 years - (we waited 3 weeks) - 5-14-12
*being chosen by a birthmother - 5-14-12
*meeting the birthmother and confirming the match - 5-17-12
*waiting for birth of baby - 5-17-12 through 6-19-12
*birth of baby - 6-20-12
*bringing baby home with us from the hospital - 6-22-12
*4 days (more like 1 week logistically) legal period in which the birthmother can change her mind - 6-27-12
*after 6 months the adoption is legally finalized in court - WE ARE HERE (Dec. or Jan. will be the court date)

We are in the final phase of our adoption process, which is called the "post-placement" phase.  During this 6 month phase, Josiah legally is in the possession of our adoption agency, Hope's Promise, though in all other aspects, Josiah is considered ours and is already treated that way by health insurance, Social Security, etc.  Our adoption agency will meet with us 3 times - first 2 weeks (already done), 3 months, & 5 months - yes, to check on us and Josiah but more to be a support for us.  We also have the responsibility of sending our adoption agency monthly reports including a photo during this time.  After 6 months, we will have a court date in which our adoption will be finalized, and Josiah will be legally ours.  Our only possible 6 month court date in 2012 is December 28th (which is right in the middle of Christmas and New Years), so it will probably not be until January 2013 that our court date will occur.

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