Welcome Joshua
We are delighted to announce the arrival of Joshua Steven Barnes, born at 03:08am on 20th March, 2007. He weighed in at 7 pounds and 1 ounce, and was 20 inches long.
As you can imagine, it has been a rollercoaster week, and we keep pinching ourselves to make sure we’re not dreaming – though to be honest, you have to sleep in order to dream, and we haven’t had much sleep since Sunday night!
We know that many of you have joined us in praying for a baby brother or sister for Christie, and we give God the glory for answering our prayers! We celebrated our 11 th wedding anniversary on Friday 16th of March, and were blessed with a wonderful weekend in the mountains of North Carolina. We were able to have some incredible family time, and spoke at length about where God is leading us as a family. One of the things we focused on, was Christie’s unwavering faith and belief that Jesus was going to give her a brother or sister. She has prayed faithfully every night, and even when saying grace, manages to slip in a “…and Jesus, please give us our baby soon.” We decided that we needed to be praying just as earnestly, and spent our quiet time on Sunday night praying that God would reveal His plan for our family this week. While in a store after church on Sunday, Christie told us that we needed to buy food and clothes for our baby. We told her that we had to be patient, and that we would buy whatever we needed after we got a baby. She had told us a number of weeks ago, that Jesus was going to give us a baby “on Monday.”
Imagine our delight when we received a phone call on Monday afternoon, from the midwife on duty at the hospital where Christie was born, saying that a 16 year old had come in with no adoption plans, and wanted to give her baby up for adoption. Because it was an African-American family, she wanted permission to show the family our adoption profile. We told her that race has never been an issue for us, and that it’s not about us, but about the love and life we could provide for another child. She said she was going to give them our profile, but that it was then out of her hands and up to the family to decide. I called Athol immediately, and told him about the call, and we both started praying earnestly. We prayed that if this was the child that God has chosen for us, that He would make it clear to us immediately, and if not, then he would close the door, and allow us to continue searching for our chosen child. Even from the time of the midwife’s call, we had both experienced an enormous sense of peace, and knew that this was of God. Athol went cycling after getting home from work, and prayed the entire time. When he got home, he said that he had asked God to give us an answer before midnight.
Just after 7:20pm, the phone rang once, and stopped immediately. My first thought was that it was someone trying to work up the courage to call, and dashed for the phone when it started ringing again a few moments later. It was the young girl’s mother, saying that she’d read our profile, and would love to meet us. We were in the car and headed for the hospital a short while later. We bonded immediately, and told her that we’d be honored to be the adoptive parents, if she chose us. She said she loved our profile, and would like us to have the baby. She herself had a 1 year old child, and financially, they couldn’t afford to keep the baby. We were able to look after her child, while she spent time with her daughter, Jasmine, and support her until she was settled after her epidural. The midwife told us that Jasmine wasn’t progressing well in labor, and that it was going to be a long night. We then decided to go home, and get Christie to bed so that she could go to school in the morning. We arrived home after midnight, and the wait began! The ultrasonographer had been unable to tell whether this was going to be a girl or a boy, and this just added to our excitement. Driving home, we started thinking about names, and immediately decided on Joshua Steven if it was a boy. Athol insisted that this was a boy, and refused to help me find a girl’s name, no matter how many names I threw at him – which was very annoying!!!
Athol managed to fall asleep, but I lay awake waiting for the phone to ring. It finally rang just after 3:30am, and we found out that we’d just had a son. I was beside myself with joy, and all Athol could say was “I told you so!” Athol went back to sleep, while I dashed into the bonus room, and started calling our family in South Africa, who are ahead of us by 6 hours. The phone started ringing almost immediately, as the news spread among the family, and it was so special to see everyone share our joy and excitement.
What a joy it was to wake Christie up for school, and to tell her that she had a baby brother! Her eyes were still closed, but she was grinning from ear to ear…After taking her to school, Athol and I were at Walmart buying baby supplies. As soon as our attorney’s office opened, we called to get the paperwork moving. We were dying to see baby Joshua, but weren’t allowed to see him until all the paperwork was in place, and before he was discharged from the hospital. As news of Joshua’s birth spread, people started arriving with baby things, and we have been incredibly blessed and spoilt!
Wednesday saw the first hiccup, as our new attorney seemed unsure of herself, and we found ourselves talking her through the adoption process. She had still not called the social worker at the hospital, and we were told by the midwife that the hospital staff were encouraging the birth mother to contact an adoption agency, who could be at the hospital within ½ an hour. We were very frustrated, and insisted she call both the birth family and the hospital right away. We were then told that Joshua had been cleared for discharge, and that we needed to come to the hospital with our attorney to get the paperwork signed, and to bring the car seat ready to bring him home. Athol picked Christie up from school early, and we headed to Marietta, to review the paperwork with the attorney. We then headed to the hospital, and had to sit and wait while all the paperwork was signed, basically saying that Jasmine relinquished all her parental rights, and had transferred custody of Joshua to us. While Christie and Athol waited in the hospital lobby, the attorney and I were allowed into the nursery, where we were given our discharge instructions. What a joy it was to walk out of the elevator and watch their faces light up as they saw Joshua for the first time.
Please continue to pray for us, as the birth mother has 10 days to change her mind, and this 10 day period expires on the 2nd of April. We have no doubt that Joshua is our chosen baby, but would still appreciate your prayers. Please also pray for Jasmine and her family – while we experience the joy of Joshua’s birth, they suffer the heartbreak and loss of giving up their baby…
As you can see from the pictures, he has Christie’s coloring and hair, and we think he is just gorgeous. Christie has fallen into her role of big sister like a pro, and just adores her baby brother, as do we. Joshua is an incredibly content baby, and only cries with diaper changes and when he’s hungry – just like Christie was as a baby. We were at the pediatrician for our first appointment this morning – he has regained his birth weight, and got an all clear from the doctor.
We are headed to Philadelphia and Washington DC as planned this coming week, and will be traveling as a family of 4, instead of a family of 3. I have been given 8 weeks of maternity leave, and can take as much as 12 weeks off if I need to. Unfortunately our budget won’t allow me to be off that long, but I will definitely stay home for the 8 weeks. We are now praying earnestly about my job situation, and are praying that God will lead us to something I can do from home.
Thanks again for all your prayers, and words of encouragement. We serve a mighty God, who knows the desires of our hearts. He has been so good to us! Blessed be the Name of the Lord!!!
All our love
Athol, Debbie, Christie, and baby Joshua
