Mickey and Randy's Story
Randy and I met in October 1992 at a Halloween party. After seven years of dating, we decided to get married and start a family. After four years of unsuccessful fertility treatments, we decided to pursue adoption.

In February of 2004, we went to our first meeting with the Adoption Support Center. We signed-on and began the adoption process. We completed all paperwork, and our adoption-coordinator came to the house on April 1st to complete our homestudy. When she left, she told us we were good-to-go and all she had to do was type it up. I kept asking her if it was a joke being April Fools and all. I will never forget, in that interview, my husband referred to our future child as a "crumb-cruncher." I thought for sure we were doomed.

Our advertising began May 1, 2004. Over the months, there were several calls on whether or not we wanted our bio shown. We were always second choice. My husband races motorcycles as a hobby and we also have a jeep that we take 4-wheeling. There were mixed reviews from potential birthmoms on these activities. One girl thought that the bike was "too country" and she wanted her baby raised in the city. At the time we lived in a major city. So, this one really cracked us up. During the months, we had two that decided to parent. We had not spoken to them, but it was still devastating to be told that it wasn't going to work-out. Then, in March of 2005, we were matched again. I spent several weeks calling at the given times and talking to the potential birth mom only to find out that she was also talking to several other adoptive parents.

We had to go in for our one-year follow-up with the agency. We were frustrated and questioning what was wrong with us. To our surprise, they had great news: We had just been selected that morning and the potential birth mom was due June 6th. We made arrangements that, closer to the due date, we would meet.

We had been trying to sell our house for the past two years and finally got two offers on the same day. We found a new house in the town where I wanted to be. We closed and took possession of the new house on April 22nd. I had decided that we had plenty of time before the baby, so I pulled the carpet out of the bedrooms and had the hardwood floors refinished. That was a fiasco in itself. The movers came on April 30th and, because the floors were still a mess, there were boxes piled everywhere and the bed was set-up in the dining room.

On May 4, 2005, I went to lunch with my girlfriend and her 1-week-old son. My cell phone rang. It was the agency. A birth mom had already delivered a 6 pound, 15 ounce, 20 inch baby boy. They asked if it was all right to submit our bio; I said, "Absolutely." Our coordinator asked if I was sure; I said, "Yes." She asked again if was I sure and asked if I wanted to talk it over with Randy first; I said, "No, go with it." My husband and I had always discussed any possibilities that were exceptions to our criteria (I hate that word, by the way). Two hours later, we got the call to pack a bag and get to the hospital. I could not contain myself. I had to wait for Randy and he was working an hour away. That day, I swear it took him four hours to get home.

The hospital was almost two hours away. Again, this felt like four, and it was in rush-hour traffic. When we got there, the staff was incredible. They were so happy to see us. They said that the little guy was ready for his parents. We held him and fed him and were just in total awe that he was finally here. My husband was so funny. He had never fed a baby before, but there was no way he was handing RJ over. After we saw our new baby, we went and had dinner at Pizza Hut with our birth mom, her daughter, and stepmother. The dinner went well and she told us how she had picked us. She said that her 4-year-old son was really into motorcycles and we looked like people she would want to be friends with. I look back on that meeting and think of so many things we should have said or asked. We went back to the hospital and said "goodnight" to the little guy. He ended up having to stay in the hospital for about a week.

Part 2...