Luke is 4

My, Oh my how time flies. I can so clearly remember the day Luke was born. Not because of the physical pain but because of the questions of whether or not this situation was going to work. I didn't have the standard physical birthing pains but rather the mental and emotional pains associated with the uncertainty of adoption.

I was getting my hair done when the call came in from my cousin in Nebraska. She said "Luke Neal Batema" was just born. It took me a moment to understand exactly what she was telling me because my mind was going a thousand different directions at that moment. We didn't know whether he was going to be a boy or a girl. We had given them our choice of a girl name and a boy name. We also didn't know how the whole thing was going to play out as the birthmother was very sure of what she was doing but the birthfather got involved. This made the situation unstable (as if a domestic adoption is ever truly stable). We received pictures of the little guy from my cousin(s). The uncertainty caused a lack of connection. It wasn't the first time we had been through this and we had experienced failed adoptions. It is so interesting how each one of us is formed by the experiences we have in life and it affects our reactions to all kinds of situations. It just didn't seem real and the possibility that it may not work out caused us to keep our feelings under wraps. In March 2005 we went to Nebraska to pick up our newest addition. We thought it would be a 3 day trip but because of complications between the laws and paperwork rules between Michigan and Nebraska it turned into a 2 week trip. We were pretty sick or 4-5 of us living in a hotel room but my wonderful relatives made it more than tolerable as they lavished us with food and fellowship. Little did we know that would be the last time we would get to spend with my Aunt Martha. My Uncle Leonard and Aunt Martha along with my cousins Teresa and Sherri were our champions in our quest to be parents. I love them very much and their hearts are golden.

Here it is four years later and it seems that Luke was always meant to be a part of our family. It's an amazing adventure this life....God has so many things in store for us that we can not imagine. This is obviously the end of a long, difficult trip (13 years) through infertility and the pain both physical, mental and emotional it caused. We are not always fortunate to see the end results of our struggles in this life but I thank God every chance I get that we were allowed to see this result of our faith.