{Pregnancy Hormones}

No. No. I am not pregnant. But I am Expecting!! There is a lot of information out there regarding pregnant women and adoptive women sharing similar experiences. Did you know that an adoptive mom can actually breastfeed her baby!! There are women who have never been pregnant and yet can breastfeed their child. Wow! That caught my attention. Now it is a little out of my comfort zone, so I will not be breastfeeding my baby. But who knew that can happen.

Even though pregnancy and adoption are different journeys, they share a lot of similarities. The first one is obvious, there is a baby at the end of the journey. But there are others. Just like pregnant women, I suffer from crazy mood swings. I can cry at the drop of a hat. My emotions are all over the place. I can be biting Jason's head off one minute, then joyfully loving on my family the next- be crying one minute and dancing with joy the next. Now I am not saying that the adoption journey is the same as being pregnant. There are women who have done both, and they say each are hard in their different ways.

Many pregnant women suffer from insomnia. I am in on that one. Many pregnant women have morning sickness. I am nauseous A LOT. Now driving force of the symptoms are different (mostly hormone changes for pregnancy and mostly stress related for adoption) but outcome for both stinks. You can't sleep and you can't enjoy food. Good thing for all us women, that it only lasts for a short time.

Many pregnant women will enter the "nesting" phase at the end of her pregnancy. I have heard stories of women cleaning the baseboards in their house with toothbrushes. As mothers, we want to welcome our babies into a spotless clean environment. That is no different for adoptive moms. I went through a mild nesting stage before Jadon and I have a feeling it will be more intense this time around. Mostly because with Jadon I was still waiting for the sky to fall, never really fully believing that I will have a child. Kept waiting for something bad to happen. That is common when you deal with infertility. So with this journey, I am already a mother; and yes bad things can happen, but I am not expecting it at every turn. I can focus more on welcoming the new baby into the McCabe household.

Now for me there is a positive to adoption over pregnancy- my tummy will stay flat (which I think pregnant women are amazingly beautiful) and I will not have the physical pain of labor. However, with pregnancy you pretty much know that in roughly nine months the baby comes and there is light at the end of the tunnel. With adoption, you have no idea. You have no control. I could be expecting for one month or 5 years. With that comes a lot of emotional turmoil and pain. There are many days I would prefer to have the physical pain of labor over the emotional pain of the adoption journey. (with pregnancy you can opt for drugs to help with the pain :) But beautifully both journeys end with a child and whether pregnant or adoption, people would agree that is was well worth it. And so do I.

So what do you think? Do you agree with me?

Welcome: My journey: {God's Glory}

Welcome to my Blog!

By the title, you now know that the McCabe's are on a journey... a journey of beauty, a journey of ups and downs, a journey of rescuing, a journey of heartache and pain, a journey of joy- the journey of ADOPTION.

This morning, I participated in a prayer walk- a walk to Intercede for Life. I volunteer at Akron Pregnancy Service, which ministers to women and men who are in a crisis pregnancy situation. Now 2 years ago, if you would have asked me if I would volunteer there: I would have said- NO WAY. I am a barren woman who craves to be pregnant and you want me to go counsel some women who "accidentally" got pregnant, or "don't want" to be pregnant, or "want to have an Abortion"! I can't even be in the same room as pregnant women without having gut wrenching pain in my heart. No way would I ever do that. WELL, never say never- God had different plans for me- through HIS strength, HIS courage I find myself volunteering at APS, having a loving heart for these women and men, and walking obediently with my God. Only God can bring that kind of healing, that kind of love, that kind of power!

So what changed in me: The journey of Adoption restored my heart. Through God's love for me, His redemption, His healing- my son Jadon entered my life. Through the process, I learned what it means to lean on God, to seek him daily, to have him change me. My faith has grown deeper, I desire to worship my God: He is my Number 1- above all else I am a child of the living God, a child of the KING! Because of what Christ did in my heart, I saw things differently. Jadon's birthmom was courageous, showed amazing selfless LOVE and chose LIFE for her child. God orchestrated the details and our paths crossed- my life will never be the same. Jadon is beyond words: he fills me with so much joy: and I humbly go before my GOD praising His Holy name for the miraculous blessing of Jadon. I pray for Jadon's birthmom often- what a sacrifice, what love, what courage. How she must think about Jadon, how she may question if she did the right thing. The pain in her heart. But through our pain, different but intense, we found healing. Beauty from ashes.

There was a ministry in Taiwan called Ray of Hope- they ministered to Jadon's birthmom, they were there as she walked through the process of choosing adoption. They held her hand, they comforted her, they shared with her the Gospel: that Jesus loves us 100% as we are, Jesus paid the price for our sins, and through Jesus we are forgiven of whatever sin. (I know I need that message daily) She could have chosen Abortion- it is very common in Taiwan. But she didn't, she chose LIFE. And that Life is a blessing to us. After that adoption journey, God called me to volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center. I still thought No Way can I do this. And that is a correct statement. No Way can I do this on my own power- it is only by dying to myself and living for Christ that I have HIS power to be in this ministry. And what a blessing it has been. I could talk forever about what God is teaching me and the joy that comes with being apart of this ministry. You can check them out at www.akronpregnancyservices.com OR www.apsatwork.com (describes the ministry).

So as we go down this journey of adoption again:  I can no longer counsel women at APS (but will eventually after the adoption happens). Also, I wanted to document the journey- God has a heart for adoption: May this journey bring glory to God. For it is through Him that we walk down this road- seeking his guidance and wisdom. What is God gonna do? Whatever it is, I will sing praises to Him. So follow along and see God's story unfold.

Psalm 34:1-3 NIV  I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.