We got into Wisconsin late at night, so we just got our rental car (which turned out to be the same make and model as my car, but a newer year, so luxurious :) ) and headed to our hotel. We stayed at a Residence Inn that was brand new, and it was great! We had a nice bathroom, bed, living room, and kitchen! There was free breakfast every day too! My mom got the room right next to ours, perfect!
On March 9th, we decided to try to get a little tourism in. My Mom went to mass in the morning, but me and the Hubs took our last opportunity to sleep in. Then we joined up, stocked up on groceries and what baby essentials we hadn't brought with us, and then went on a drive through Milwaukee, which is beautiful! I have to say, I love driving in the midwest too, traffic was so great, nothing like the crazy aggressive drivers in California! We were on our way to visit a church when we got a call from our California agency, that casually mentioned a complication we weren't aware of. We called the Wisconsin lawyer to get more information, and it sounded like things would be ok, just require a little more legal work that we had expected. Of course we were a little nervous, so that was the perfect time for some prayer!
We walked in the Basilica of St. Josephat, and I was immediately in awe of how beautiful it was! Really, I don't think I've seen a church of that beauty outside of Rome!
I started noticing beautiful stained glass images, one of the first being of St. Junipero Serra!
As I walked along I saw so many faces of the saints that we had asked for help along this long journey to grow our family! Then I saw an image of our Lady of Guadalupe, and was immediately drawn over. In front of her was a beautiful bouquet of multicolored roses, and a table nearby explained the meaning of each Rose, with corresponding prayers, put out by the Elizabeth Ministry. There were prayers for infertility, hoping to adopt, and in thanksgiving for adoption! I was so overwhelmed, it seemed like all the saints and our lady were all there in one place, and letting us know that everything would be ok. How could it not be with everyone we had rooting for us! That was such a beautiful experience!
I started noticing beautiful stained glass images, one of the first being of St. Junipero Serra!
As I walked along I saw so many faces of the saints that we had asked for help along this long journey to grow our family! Then I saw an image of our Lady of Guadalupe, and was immediately drawn over. In front of her was a beautiful bouquet of multicolored roses, and a table nearby explained the meaning of each Rose, with corresponding prayers, put out by the Elizabeth Ministry. There were prayers for infertility, hoping to adopt, and in thanksgiving for adoption! I was so overwhelmed, it seemed like all the saints and our lady were all there in one place, and letting us know that everything would be ok. How could it not be with everyone we had rooting for us! That was such a beautiful experience!
After that, we went to a nice dinner and went back to the hotel to get some good sleep while we still could!
The next day March 10th, was the induction day. Every birth is different, so we didn't know what to expect, or when the baby would be born, but we were told we would get a call when it was our time to go to the hospital. So in the morning we went to Mass with my mom, who had already made friends the day before :). They came up to us to say hi, and asked the Hubs and I to bring up the gifts! It was a beautiful mass! A we walked around the church (there are so many beautiful churches in Milwaukee!) I got a call from the social worker saying we could head over to the hospital to wait, although we probably had some time.
We went back to the hotel, grabbed some breakfast, packed our bags, and headed to the hospital. Around 9 a.m., my Mom dropped us off, and knew it might be a while before the birth, and a while after that before she could visit.
As the adoption would be closed, we would not meet the birth mother, but she wished for us to take care of the baby after birth. So we were given our own room to wait in (and stay in after the baby was born) and were told a nurse would call us with updates. All of the staff and nurses were very friendly and helpful! Our room was great too! There was a bed, a comfy couch, a recliner, a bathroom, and plenty of space!
We settled in, got comfy, watched some movies, did some reading, took some naps (the lullaby station on pandora is also effective on adults) and took turns going to the hospital cafeteria for food. It was a friday in lent, so that meant tuna sandwiches, cheese pizza, and grilled cheese sandwiches, they weren't bad at all! At around noon and 3 we got some updates, but it didn't seem like things were very far along in, so we expected to be in for a long wait, possibly overnight...
As the adoption would be closed, we would not meet the birth mother, but she wished for us to take care of the baby after birth. So we were given our own room to wait in (and stay in after the baby was born) and were told a nurse would call us with updates. All of the staff and nurses were very friendly and helpful! Our room was great too! There was a bed, a comfy couch, a recliner, a bathroom, and plenty of space!
We settled in, got comfy, watched some movies, did some reading, took some naps (the lullaby station on pandora is also effective on adults) and took turns going to the hospital cafeteria for food. It was a friday in lent, so that meant tuna sandwiches, cheese pizza, and grilled cheese sandwiches, they weren't bad at all! At around noon and 3 we got some updates, but it didn't seem like things were very far along in, so we expected to be in for a long wait, possibly overnight...
To be continued...
Wow, what a wonderful story about the church and prayers there!! It seems like your whole time was just covered with prayer :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! It really was, I think that's the only thing that kept us sane :)
DeleteThat church is absolutely beautiful... And I think that I was there when I was in Milwaukee in October for a class!
ReplyDeleteOh wow, that's so cool! And it really is breathtaking.
DeleteCatholic daily devotions, stories of saints and saints, a collection of prayers and the latest Catholic news. visit www.blogevan.com
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