Hello Florida!

Jesse and I got another call from the birth mom on Saturday August 2nd around 11:00 pm.  She was on her way to the hospital feeling as though labor had started!  Our plan was to leave Monday morning so we were pretty well ready to go. We loaded all our stuff into our vehicle and hit the road!  We kept in contact with the birth mom as she arrived at the hospital and got into a room.  They took a test to see if her water broke and she told us results would be half an hour.  After she got the results the doctor would come in to see if she was dialated any.  We decided to just keep driving until we heard for her.  As we drove we tried to figure out the best plan and what we should do under different circumstances. Our friends had a cookout planned for Sunday evening and we really wanted to be there if this was false labor again! Also we hadn't been in church for awhile since we went to my cousins wedding last weekend so we really wanted to see everyone before we left.  We finally decided what we would do depending on what the birth mom told us.  We decided if she wasn't dilated any, like she wasn't on the Tuesday before, then we would turn around and go home and leave on Monday like we originally planned, if she was dilated some we would just keep driving so we would be in Florida sooner just in case, and lastly if the doctor decided to keep her and she really was in full labor, Jesse was going to drop me off in Memphis and I would catch the 6:00am flight to Orlando, rent a car and get to the hospital by noon and he would get there as soon as he could that evening! When the doctor finally saw birth mom he said she was dilated to a 2 but nothing was progressing so he was sending her home.  Well then we really didn't know what to do because she was dilated and we had said we would keep going but the doctor sent her home so we really didn't know how long it could or would be until she actually went into full labor.  We really wanted to go to church and to the cookout our friends planned but we finally decided we would be really upset if we did turn around for that and then birth mom went into labor and we missed he birth!

Sooo we kept on driving. We talked about stopping and getting a hotel sometime the next day but ultimately we just decided to drive straight through!! Let me tell you it is a LONG drive!  Jesse drove until 6am while I slept and then I drove till about 2pm while he slept and then he drove the rest of the way and we made it to our condo around 6pm I think.  We were beat!! We ate super and went to bed, praying that birth mom wouldn't go into labor before we got some decent sleep since we had not slept in a bed since Friday night! Thankfully we got a good nights sleep and it was amazing!!

We are so blessed that Ben and Carol Kafer let us use their condo in Fort Myers! I think it already feels somewhat like home as we have unpacked and stocked up groceries and cooked meals etc just like we do at home! We couldn't have asked for a better place and we are so so grateful they are allowing us to use it!

On Tuesday we went to the birth moms city and took her to her doctors appointment! Everything looked great and she even dilated to a 3! They also stripped her membranes so we decided to stay in a hotel there just in case anything happened within the next day or so! Birth moms hometown is a little over three hours away from the condo in Fort Meyers.  We stayed in the hotel for two days and after no progression we decided to head back to the condo today and just wait!! I am learning lots of patience throughout this adoption but it's definitely good for me!  When we got back to the condo which is now called "home" I actually really felt like I was "home". I did some laundry, cooked super, cleaned up the kitchen etc. Having this place to stay makes me really thankful we aren't stuck in a tiny hotel room for the time we are going to be here!

So now we are just waiting! Could be tonight could be tomorrow or it could be next week! We really have no idea but we are ready and excited! We are trying to enjoy the last few days or weeks we have just ourselves. It's hard though when we know a little one is about to be born into the world and we already love her sooo much!!

Thanks for all the prayers and support and we are so sorry for those who wanted to see us before we left but didn't get a chance! We know we have many people thinking of us and praying for us and the birth mom and it makes us feel so loved and thankful! We are so blessed!