Our Journey Home

 

 

            Our journey home was nothing but chaos and miracles.

 

            We were still waiting for Minnesota to give us the all clear to come back with Brayden. They said it should be Friday, but could possibly be on Monday. Justin and I were going stir crazy and wanted nothing more to get home. We appreciated the time the three of us had alone because it allowed us to bond with our baby with it just being us, but it was hard being away from home. We couldn’t go outside because it was so hot and there is only so much you can do with a newborn. Let’s just say time past by very slowly.

            We decided to go grocery shopping thinking that we might as well prepare for the weekend because it wasn’t looking good for us to get home. When we got back to our hotel room it wasn’t twenty minutes later that we got the “You all can go home.” Justin and I were so excited we didn’t even know where to begin. We needed to pack and we needed to find a flight home.

            This is where the chaos began. We packed so quickly and we were so unorganized I don’t think we cared if we left anything behind. Just as long as the three of us got out of there. While we packed Justin tried to find flights for us. His brother helped us out in finding some that left that night and Justin’s aunt offered us stand by again. We had to choose between what chances we wanted to take. Do we sit at the airport and hope that we get on a flight or do we take the flight that’s at a different airport and hope that we make that in time. We were still trying to decide what we wanted to do as we dropped the rental car off. Then we found out some information that hindered the later flight. Brayden had to be two weeks old to fly or else we needed a doctor’s note. So, then we started scrambling to find a doctor that would fax their approval to southwest. As we were frantically empting the car we had to decide which one we were going to take a chance on. We decided to take the buddy passes.

            We had three flights that were an option to get on. They all didn’t look promising, but we had faith that we were going to get home that night.

            We were frantically running with a baby and more luggage than we needed trying to get to the first flight that was leaving in less than an hour. When we got to security I am so thankful that TSA was patient with us. We had forgotten so many things that needed to be taken out and put in separate compartments. I had more formula than I knew what to do with. As Justin and I were putting our bags on to be scanned a man tapped me on the shoulder and said with a huge smile, “This is the best decision you two will ever make, God bless you”.  I was in awe and thanked him with tears in my eyes. Another man stopped us as well to ask a few questions, bless us and wish us luck. It was amazing to see how two complete strangers were so compassionate and kind. We will never forget that encounter with those two men.

            We ran to the first gate and when we got there we both had a bad feeling. I went up to the gate just to see how the flight looked and the person at the gate didn’t even look at me and said you aren’t getting on this flight. I went back to sit with Justin and let him know we were 0-1. The next flight didn’t leave for another hour so we began to wait.

            As I was sitting there holding Brayden, Justin and I couldn’t believe where we were at. Things had happened so fast. We were parents and responsible for our little guy. We were hoping in a few hours that we would be home where we could start the new chapter in our life. It was just a three hour flight away.

            As the second flight got closer, Justin decided to walk to that gate to see the status of that flight. I kept thinking of the strangers we had run into at security and kept thinking we have to get on one of these flights, we were blessed twice. It has to work out. I knew that wasn’t the case when Justin came back not too much longer shaking his head. We were 0-2. We had one last flight or else we would probably be spending the night in an airport.

            We continued to sit in the same spot. We didn’t want to move because we were so exhausted from all the chaos to get to the gate. We just kept hoping we would get on the next flight, which was a few hours away. As we waited we had people come up to us and congratulate us and ask us questions. For the most part people were so polite and sweet, but we did get a few inconsiderate looks. It didn’t bother us. How could you not look at this baby and just smile?

            Finally, it was getting closer to our last chance. I had taken Brayden to the bathroom to change him and when I came back I noticed a lady sitting next to Justin. Not thinking much about it, I handed Brayden to Justin and told him I would be right back. When I came back, the lady sitting next to Justin began to ask questions about our baby. She was very sweet and genuine. She asked about our story and then told us she was a minister and would like to pray for us. As she began praying for us, I felt her passion and this blanket of protectiveness come over us all. I had never heard a prayer quite like hers. She prayed for people to see our boy as a human and for people to be colorblind, she prayed for finances, she prayed for wisdom and instincts to help us raise our child and she prayed for things that Justin and I have kept private. It was as if she knew everything we had been praying for and needed. Her prayer left us speechless.

            We continued to talk and learned more about her and then it came up that we were trying to get on this last flight. She said, well let’s pray about that. So, she prayed for us to get on this flight even if it meant others would miss theirs, but it was all at His will. After the last prayer we talked a little bit longer, but she had to catch her flight. We thanked her again and exchanged information so that we could stay in contact. As I watched her walk to her gate I said to Justin, if we get on this flight it’s because of her.

            A few more minutes had passed by and Justin told me to go to the gate just to see how the flight looked. When I went up there the gate agent said it’s not looking good. He looked up at me and saw Brayden and asked me if we had been there all day. I told him pretty much. He then looked at the computer again and said he was sorry, but the chances of us getting on are slim. He told us to stick around though because you never know what could happen.

            When they began to board we were nervous, but also had a feeling of calmness surround us. As the passengers began to board and get on the plane the gate agent kept looking at us. He continued to call all zones and as the gate area began to empty he called the passengers that had checked in, but yet had to show up. He said this is the last call you have thirty seconds to get here. It wasn’t more than fifteen seconds later he said Mueller party of two. Justin and I looked at each other in awe. We couldn’t believe it. We sprinted up there and the gate agent basically took our luggage and threw us on the plane so he could shut the door. He wanted us to get on that flight and he wasn’t going to let anyone get in the way of that. We couldn’t thank him enough.

            We were on!! We were going home. I started to cry, I was so happy and couldn’t believe the kind strangers that had left a huge impact on us that we had met during this day. They had all helped us get home.

            Before taking off, Justin and I discussed all the things that had to happen for us to meet that incredible woman that had prayed for us. We had to be approved by Minnesota to come home. We had to choose to go stand by instead of flying out of the other airport. We also had to miss the first two flights, which we could have moved to the second gate, but we decided to stay in the exact same spot. Come to find out she had missed an earlier flight as well. Coincidence? We don’t believe in them. Everything happens for a reason. God had placed us at that very place at the right time because we were supposed to meet her. I like to think of her as Brayden Micah’s guardian angel.

 

 

 

            We are now home and adjusting well. We have had the most incredible support from friends and family. We are loving this new chapter in our life and will never forget the journey we were on to get here. Someone told me it’s amazing the miracles you see through adoption. It truly is. It can be frustrating at times, but when you fully trust, open your eyes and heart completely, it’s amazing the miracles you see along the way. We are truly blessed and when the Lord wants you to be blessed with a gift there is nothing going to stand in His way of giving it to you. Ours is a beautiful boy named Brayden Micah.

Meeting Mom

            Our new home for the next week or so was a hotel room. Not ideal for a new born baby, but we did the best that we could. The next day and a half was spent staring and holding our new son. We were still in awe of how this had happened and instantly our lives had changed. This was the definition of love at first sight. Who knew you could love someone so much so quickly.

            Wednesday was the day we were nervous for. We would meet Brayden’s biological mother at the agency. That morning Justin and I didn’t say much. We just went through the motions and tried to mentally prepare ourselves for our meeting. What do we say? Do we bring Brayden in the room with us? Should we let her hold him? All of these questions with no answers. We were so nervous, but yet somewhat comforted knowing that Brayden’s biological mother could not change her mind. Once she signed the papers, he was ours.

            On our way to the agency I sat in the backseat with Brayden holding his little hand. I’m not sure who was comforting who, but I felt little squeezes from our guy and knew everything was going to be alright. When we arrived Justin and I hugged each other, took a deep breath and entered the building.

            Once we were in they welcomed us and said “She’s waiting in the office for you”. Justin and I looked at each other wondering if anyone was going to watch Brayden while we went in there. Nope. He was coming with us.

            When we entered the room I immediately cried. For some reason we instantly knew that everything was going to be just fine. She hugged us and thanked us and we did the same. I asked her if she wanted to hold him and she said of course. As she was holding him, she told us her story. This woman was one of the most selfless people I had ever met. She had decided to give him a home with a mom and a dad. She wanted her son to be loved and taken care of and she knew she couldn’t do it. It was about the baby and what he needed. She said before she makes big decisions she always prays and she prayed during this process and over the papers that the right people would be Brayden’s new parents. When she saw our book she said, yes that’s them. She said she couldn’t be happier with who the agency had chosen for her.

            She could tell how much we loved him already and she knew that everything was going to be alright. She said she felt at peace and comforted and knew that she had made the right decision for her boy. As I took Brayden in my arms she looked at us and said you love him so much already. This is exactly what we wanted and we know we don’t have to worry. We get to share with Brayden Micah that his mom loved him so much that she wanted him to have a mom and dad that would love him and be able to take care of him the way he deserved.

            We continued to talk and the time came for when she had to leave. Before she left we took pictures. A nice keep sake for her, us and Brayden. We gave our last hugs and shed a few more tears and said our goodbyes. We promised to keep in touch and she said we could call anytime with questions. She would be more than happy to provide information and help out. We were completely amazed at how beautiful this woman was inside and out. She truly was so strong and wanted what was best for her son.

            Just before we got into the car, Justin and I let out a huge sigh of relief and felt a huge weight lift off of our shoulders. The meeting went so smoothly and now Brayden truly felt like he was ours. Our prayers had been answered in so many ways. We were ready to go home and start our family and introduce our new addition. The little boy who stole our hearts as soon as we put him in our arms. Little Brayden Micah, our answer to our prayers.

Meeting our boy

 

 

 Monday morning we woke up with so much excitement and nervousness. We had no idea what to expect when we went to the agency. The morning was a huge blur. I don't know how we were functioning. As we were getting ready Justin's parents called to share a morning devotion. This devotion was specifically for June 16th and talked about loving and taking care of orphans. This was yet another sign that this boy was supposed to be ours. As we continued to get ready, before we walked out the door I picked up our devotional and one of the verses for the day was

Micah 6:8

Act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

 

Quite fitting considering our son's name is

Brayden Micah

 

When we arrived we were numb. They had us sit in a waiting room while they got our son ready. It was driving us crazy knowing our son was just around the corner. We could hardly breathe and we  were trying to hold it together as we were waiting patiently to meet him.

 

"You ready?" that's all they asked as they guided us down a hallway to where he was waiting. We couldn't believe in about 30 seconds we were going to be parents. Something we have been hoping and praying for for over two years.

 

We can't even explain how we felt as we turned the corner and got to put him in our arms. It's amazing how you can instantly love someone so much. He was worth the wait. Every single minute of it. Brayden Micah was our son and this is the little boy we have been waiting for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/rvk4/help-bring-baby-mueller-home?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=fb_share_stream.share&utm_campaign=dashboard_overview_T1&og_action=hug&t=3&fb_ref=23927

Our story...

Eight months ago we started a process that we knew was going to change our lives forever, we just didn't when or how.

 

In October of 2013 Justin brought home papers for an adoption process. He looked at me and said let's do this. So we began the paperwork. Everything was going so smoothly and fast. We couldn't believe it. We were just waiting on our background check to come back from Colorado and our home study would be complete. Well, we waited and waited. Three months had gone by and we had heard nothing. Finally, we found out that Colorado had never received our papers. So then we had to wait even longer for it to be finalized. It was driving us crazy that something so simple was hindering us from having our home study complete. We told ourselves there was a reason our papers were lost.

 

Our papers were lost for this very reason.

 

Our home study was complete at the end of March. We were so excited, nervous and ready for our journey to begin. We continued to pray for the right child and situation every single day. We knew the Lord had picked one precious child for us to take home. We were just patiently awaiting for him or her. The first few weeks we had potentials, but we felt in our hearts that these weren't the right situations for us. More weeks went by and we hadn't heard of any other. We were getting discouraged and were wondering if we had missed our opportunity for our son or daughter.

 

Two months had gone by and Justin and I went into the nursery wiping off the dust from the crib and we looked at each other and wondered when we were going to use this room. We had hit a slump. We tried to not get discouraged, but it was wearing on us. We wanted to be parents and it's so hard not knowing when it is going to happen. We kept telling ourselves we had to be patient and trust.

 

Last Thursday, was one of the hardest days we had in a long time. Everything seemed to be going wrong. We were frustrated, tired and running out of patience. That night Justin and I had a conversation about faith and believing. We had to refocus and give our worries to the Lord. It wasn't our job to worry, the Lord was in control and he wanted us to enjoy every minute of this journey. Little did we know, our son was born that night.

 

Friday morning I woke up feeling different. I asked the Lord to humble me and give him all of my trust. Four hours later I got a call from my husband telling me a mom had picked us and we have a son!! I will never forget that feeling. A feeling of nervousness, excitement and joy. I couldn't stop crying. It's amazing what can happen when you fully trust.

 

We decided to fly out on Saturday to Texas to get our son. We were lucky enough to have a sweet aunt offer us stand by tickets. It appeared to be promising for us to get on the flights. That changed when we got to the airport. We then found out that the flight was oversold and it wasn’t looking good for us to get out that night. As we nervously awaited chaos began. People were missing their flights due to weather and many of them were not going to make their connection to Houston. That was good for us. After waiting for two hours we finally got cleared. We boarded the plane and sat down. The first thing I noticed was that the song “Happy” was playing on the overhead and as I looked out the window, the sun was peeking out from the clouds. This was the first I had seen all day. The Lord was in control and he wasn’t going to let anything stop us from going to Texas to pick up this precious boy he had chosen for us.

James 1:17  Every good and perfect gift is from above

 

 

 

We want to thank everyone that has given us the most amazing love, support and prayers through this. We love you all!!!

We also have a fundraiser that we would like people to be a part of. We have a puzzle that will support bringing home “Baby Mueller”…..we will have more details and pictures later!!