Updates!

Hey friends, sorry we haven't done a better job keeping you updated via this blog – hopefully you have seen some adorable pictures on Instagram and Facebook and are aware of how much fun it is to have our sweet Ivey home!

We could not be more grateful for all of your prayerfull and generous financial support – from the bottom of our hearts thank you! God has showed his faithfulness and kindness to us in countless ways, and that includes each of you. 

Ivey is healthy and happy and is beginning to truly express her sweet personality; anyone who has met her has probably already noticed just how calm and fun she is! We have our two-month doctors appointment on Friday so we will have updated statistics but at the last check up she was doing great on all of the measurable scales; Wayne is particularly proud of the fact that she is in the 93rd percentile for head size. She's just like her daddy on that one.

As far as where we stand on the financial side of things: we will still be on the hook for between $1-2000, made up of social worker follow up visits (at least 3 of which we've already had 2) and legal filings and lawyer fees as we complete the adoption process in Florida. If you feel so led to give anything toward that we would be grateful - and, as usual, if you ever have any questions about the details of where money has gone or is going, don't hesitate to ask! God has been lavishly blessing us in the financial aspects of this adoption and explaining details is another way for us to brag on him.

We will have another post later this week with a couple of ways that we are still fundraising (still have T-shirts, necklaces and are starting a couple of other cool things). Stay tuned for that. Grace and peace to all of you!

Bethany, Wayne and Ivey Jane Patterson

Eep! 24ish hours!

Our birth mom has a scheduled c-section at 2pm tomorrow so we are within 24 hours of getting to meet our sweet girl!

Because our birth mom has full rights to change her mind (we met with her yesterday - first time! - and she is supremely confident in her decision so keep praying but we are feeling better) we can't publicly post anything until after the 48 hour window. We will text but best bet to have up to the minute update on healthy birth is to check with our parents. Also, because it can take as much as 6 months for Ivey to officially/legally become ours, we won't be able to post public pictures for a while..we CAN text or email pictures so feel free to ask! Just don't share them anywhere on social media.

Money update: we have been hit with a few of those 'unexpected costs' this week, primarily in getting legal stuff printed, scanned, rushed delivery. So, with our most recent donations, we are at about $1900 short of the $6000 (this is 100% legal stuff). That $6000 is due on Sunday when we leave the hospital and is the minimum dollar amount that we will be on the hook for. It could stay right at $6k or it could fluctuate based on 1) medical expenses for our birth mom that arise that aren't covered by her insurance; 2) legal fees (seriously, someone go into adoption law, you'll be a millionaire) that arise and aren't covered by the $6k; 3) travel/not being home. We are staying with family so most of this is planned and covered (meaning we don't have to pay for a hotel room like many families) but the longer it takes to get the Georgia legal stuff cleared the more groceries and such we need to take care of up here.

SO: if you're still interested in giving any amount, we could certainly still use it! If anything we ever talk about money-wise is confusing or doesn't seem to follow precious posts (we're learning that we didn't truly understand the phrase 'stay flexible!' until we started the adoption process), please feel free to ask! Love you all!

Bethany and Wayne 

Final Countdown: some things to know

OK party people, we are in the home stretch! Our baby girl is set to be born in just over a week (February 6th) in Georgia and we are beside ourselves in excitement and anticipation - although our levels of excitement and anticipation pale in comparison to our moms, Nana Bear and Gran Jan. Those two...wowsa. Somebody get them a baby!

We wanted to cover a few things as we go into the most crucial portion of this adoption process, some of which are sensitive things that we could use prayer on.

First, we will be heading to Georgia a few days early AND will be there for a couple of weeks after our baby's birth (more on this in a bit); that means, Gainesville and River Cross, we will be out of pocket for basically 3 weeks. If you need anything, the number one person to go to is Tyler Gibbens (gibbens.tyler@gmail.com). Tyler is a rock star and an all around incredible guy and will be the one running point on all things River Cross: Fort Clarke while we're away. If you don't hear from us for a few weeks, know that we love you and are appreciative for your love and support!

Second, we will be going to Georgia to welcome our first child into the world - and, the reality is, we are also embarking on a lengthy legal journey. We will be staying in Georgia for 7-10 business days AFTER our birth mom relinquishes her birth rights (48 hours after birth) while the lawyers file paper work. The prayer here is that we would keep our hearts and eyes focused on what's most important: God's lavish love being expressed by blessing us with a daughter!

Third, our birth mom can change her mind. A few of our braver friends have asked (and we are grateful!): what happens if she changes her mind? The harsh, practical answer: we grieve and start over. Until our birth mom signs the papers at the 48 hours (after birth) mark releasing our girl, we will be praying harder and more fervently than ever. We have friends who just adopted (their daughter was born 12/26/14) and they told us it's the hardest 2 days of your life. SO: if you want to pray for something uber specific, there you have it. We won't belabor this point any further, mostly because we are supremely confident that the Lord has appointed us to adopt and parent this baby girl and our birth mother has been consistently reminding us of how confident she feels in this choice ("I know this is my purpose", "I am so excited and happy for you two!", "I want Bethany to have first skin-to-skin contact, not me" are all things she has said). So, she won't change her mind. One bonus item on this: we can't post anything those first 48 hours so if you don't hear or see anything, don't panic.

Fourth, yes, there are still ways you can help: we have had some incredibly gracious donations come in since our last post (thank you!!) and we now have roughly $4300 of the $6000 that will be due a couple days after the birth. Also, in case you haven't seen it (we feel bad re-posting the same thing over and over, but so many of you have told us that people want to know how to help so...), we have a registry on amazon.com (Wayne and Bethany Patterson), AND we will always - seriously, always - accept formula, diapers and wipes! And, just in the off chance this is one of you: anyone want to sell us/give us a good condition mini van? I have told God I'm tired of mentioning that one but, well, He's God, so..

Fifth, and last: this is a story about adoption that we are in - it is not about us and we are not the author. This is a story about Jesus and His great love for the world and His relentless desire to see many sons and daughters be adopted into His forever Kingdom. We know our role to play in this story is essential and we are honored to be given so much freedom and grace as we walk in (or try to walk in..) obedience to our King. But, above all else, this is a story about Him.

Grace to you all!

Bethany and Wayne

Final stretch!

We have a conference call today with our lawyer to discuss the final details for Bringing Home Baby Patterson - eek! It's getting so close! During this conference call we will discuss the last batch of money that we will owe: mostly hospital related costs for our birth mother (we don't pay the whole of it, but some portion), and legal fees for both Ivey's birth state and Florida.

Through the generosity all of you have shown us, we have about $3000* left in our adoption account and we anticipate having somewhere in the neighborhood of $6500 left to pay out. That number could change (in either direction!) based on our conversation with our lawyer today but, it does give a pretty good idea of where we are.

SO, to the many of you who have asked recently "how can we help":
1) We are still accepting donations
  - Via PayPal (my account is under wayne.rivercross@gmail.com)
  - youcaring.com Bringing Home Baby Patterson
  - Venmo (my account is under Wayne Patterson, 7574127432)
  - Good, old fashioned check of money (our address: 6034 SW 85th St. Gainesville, FL 32608)
2) We have an Amazon Baby Registry! Any of these items will be tremendously helpful - lots of our family and friends around the country (we love you Atlanta and VB!) have asked if there was anyway we could have a baby shower in those places and we really had hoped there was some way...

Baby Patterson is due in 18 days so keep praying for our birth mother and for all of the last minute details to go smoothly and for our transition into parenting. Love and grace to you all!!

Bethany and Wayne

*That number would be $7700 but we were hit with a large and unexpected adoption cost; we can't discuss what this cost was publicly but if you'd like to know, don't hesitate to ask