Juno's Got Nothing on Nicole!

After two months of guessing and wondering, we can now rest a little easier. Today we met Nicole! She lives in a beautiful farming part of Wisconsin, about 20 minutes from civilization. We picked her up at her home and took her shopping for clothes and books. By the way, if you are looking for maternity clothes, Walmart is NOT the place to go as they had only four tops and four bottoms to choose from. I don't think any of their selections were stylish or attractive, but Nicole has outgrown her current wardrobe, so she is at the mercy of Sam Walton's wardrobe choices. Nicole loves to read, so we bought her a couple books that she can read between now and when the baby is born.

I think she is ready to have the baby. She is at that point where she is uncomfortable and fickle in her tastes and cravings. We waited for 30 minutes at Starbucks for a chocolate and banana shake that she wanted so badly. By the time the shake arrived, she (or the baby) changed her mind. Two sips of that shake and she had to get it out of her sight. We were all so hungry by the time we ate at the Texas Roadhouse. The food was good and we enjoyed talking with Nicole. She also let us feel the little guy kick and move.

We learned so much about her; about her personality, her likes, dislikes, etc. She is definitely forthright in her thoughts and opinions. She is very genuine. She will tell you exactly what is on her mind and it will not be candy coated. The world could probably use more people like her. We met this boy with two dogs. One of the dogs is a Chinese Crested; quite an ugly dog. Of course Sarah and I didn't say so, but it took Nicole two seconds after she saw the less than cute thing to say to the boy, "That dog is ugly". Then she looked at us and said, "I don't believe in lying to kids." Too funny. She is not one for fake niceties.

She doesn't seem to be too close with her family, but she clearly loves her mother. She grew up in Florida, but her parents are from Jamaica and Haiti. She has one sister, one living brother and a brother that has passed on already. She showed us a picture of her two nieces that others claim look like her. They were sooooo cute. The most beautiful skin, smiles and dimples. She believes her baby will look like them. That would be okay with us...they were adorable. She also has a dog named Oreo. She is a huge Tom Brady fan and thus a New England Patriots fan. She is a graduate of hair school, but more recently worked as a food server. She will be moving to Salt Lake City in September to deliver the baby in Utah, but does not plan on staying long thereafter.

After meeting her, we both feel more comfortable. We hope she does too. Our previous phone calls were either short or not terribly interactive. This was easily misinterpreted as concern or uncertainty. Now we know that this is just her personality and communication style. She is very determined to place her child for adoption and feels it is what is best for the child. She understands she is not ready for motherhood and feels it is important to have both a father and a mother in the child rearing process. We are so grateful for her understanding of this and her decision to place her son with us. We love her more than she will ever know. Her son, however, will know. Even if it takes us an eternity to prove it.

Thank you all for the years of prayers and thoughts. Without them, this may be a different experience.