My long overdue letter to Mary Jane...

Dearest Mary Jane:

It’s been 148 days since I first held you in my arms.  It seems like you’ve been part of my life forever. Yet I also know what it felt like to want to meet you so badly.

In this letter, I want to recount what meeting you and your first few days was like for me.

First off, we had very little warning that you were on the way to us.  Most mommas get nine months to prepare.  Although we’d been waiting and praying for a baby for nearly two years, we only learned that you were coming to us on December 1^st. 

The call that came to us telling us that you were on the way to meet us came from my friend, Shannon.  She spoke to Mr. James.  He wanted to tell us that Miss Gabby was going to have a baby and would be at the hospital on December 6^th.  We immediately said we’d be there (we did some fast paperwork and calls to important people that would help us) and then we began packing.

Mr. James told us that Miss Gabby was checking into the hospital in the morning on Monday, December 6^th.  Since we knew that you would not be born for many hours, momma and dad decided to go to work for a few hours and then drive to the hospital.  Needless to say, neither of us did much work but we did think of you!

Victorville Valley Community Hospital is about two hours from momma’s work place.  We arrived at the hospital we called to talk to the social worker.  She wasn’t available so we sat and waited for her.  During the wait, Mr. James called us.  He asked if he could meet us.  We were so happy.   We wanted to see what Mr. James looked like since we knew you’d look like him.  We also wanted to hear all about Miss Gabby. 

Mr. James greeted us in the lobby of the hospital.  He is a warm and gentle man with a very kind spirit.  He shared stories about Miss Gabby.  He told us how smart Miss Gabby is and how she wants to go to school at UCLA.  He told us a story about how she was approached by photographers when she was young because she was so beautiful.  But most important, he told us about her faith.  Miss Gabby was responsible for bringing her whole family to their church. Their family had been Buddhist but Miss Gabby “met” Jesus and decided that he was her savior.  Through her bible study and faith, she introduced her dad, Mr. James, and her mom, Miss Lisa, to Christianity. 

Mr. James told us how Miss Gabby wants you to be raised in a Christian home and learn to love Jesus just like she does.  We promised Mr. James that we’d take you to church and expose you to our faith (so no complaints on Sundays!).

Mr. James also told us that it would be many hours, perhaps another day before Miss Gabby would have you.  He needed to drive home, and we stayed back to meet the social worker. 

When we met the social worker, she was wearing reindeer antlers.  All throughout the meeting, the hospital staff decorated the Christmas tree in the lobby.  I was so excited that I’d soon be meeting you, and the distraction of the decorations, I barely remember anything we discussed.  I just knew that the social worker had what she needed from us… and that there didn’t seem to be any worries for us.

After leaving the social worker, we went and returned to our hotel room at the Hilton Garden Inn.  We’d checked in earlier (in between waiting our first stop at the hospital and our return to meet Mr. James). 

More to come later.... it's time to get some sleep.

I love you baby girl.