We entered the room wondering how it was all going to pan out. This was the first time we had met a birthmother and we were nervous. We knew that she had given birth to a baby boy 4 weeks prior, and had made the heart-wrenching decision to place him for adoption. She was sixteen years old and was not ready to be a mother. We also knew her family was not supporting her decision, but she had made up her mind.

We sat down on an old brown sofa with our case worker. She had given us fair warning about some of the questions Danielle might have for us. I was so nervous, I thought I was going to throw up. I had no idea what to expect.

Danielle walked in with her mother. I realized then exactly how young she really was. She looked down at the ground and seemed very nervous to be in the same room with us. Her long brown hair was highlighted with tints of red. She was beautiful. Her baggy blue jeans trailed along the floor and her white t-shirt was a bit too tight for her frame. As she turned I noticed she sported a Winnie the Pooh backpack. She looked exactly like the many middle school students that crossed paths with me everyday. I counseled girls like her as they sat by my desk and cried desperate tears, their hearts breaking from a recent break-up. Danielle was no different.

We smiled at each other, said hello and then looked to our caseworkers. Danielle's mother looked uncomfortable, and I realized then that at the age of thirty-six, she was not much older than me. We weren't quite sure where to start, so I just smiled and thanked her for meeting with us. She smiled also and told us how much we looked like our pictures. She liked the profile we had put together.

After about an hour and a half of questions we were done. She asked us about our faith, our parenting, our work, whether we were going to change the baby's name, and our desire for a family. We asked her why she wanted to place her son and what kind of open relationship she was expecting from the adoptive family. We spoke in almost hushed tones, hoping against all odds she would choose us. I have never wanted to be chosen for anything more in my life. I was always the last one picked for dodgeball, I was really praying my luck had finally changed.

When Danielle left the room our caseworker told us that we had to go home and pray about the meeting. We had to decide if we were willing to work with Danielle. Though in our hearts we both knew this was going to be the mother of our son, we were not allowed to call the agency with our decision for twenty-four hours. The agency wanted us to be sure. We already were.

The drive home was exhausting. Scott and I talked and talked about our future. I don't think we ever asked each other if we wanted to work with Danielle, we already knew the answer. We stayed up all night worried that she would not want us. We prayed, pleaded, and begged God to give us this son. I read the story of Hannah in the book of Samuel until I couldn't cry anymore.

The next morning we called our caseworker. I couldn't wait twenty four hours. I told her that if Danielle wanted to place the baby with us, we would be willing to go through with the adoption plan. She said that as soon as she heard, she would call me.

I decided to go shopping, since I knew I had to relieve some stress. What better way to do that than by spending money you don't have on things you don't need. As I was driving down the road my cell phone rang. Thinking it was Scott, I answered quickly. Suddenly, I heard my case worker on the line. "Cristina, what are you doing?" "I'm driving, why?" "I need you to pull over and call me back." In a panic, I pulled into the parking lot of Old Navy and quickly dialed the phone. She answered right away. "Cristina, congratulations. You have a beautiful baby boy." Suddenly, my heart was so filled with emotion I could not speak. The case worker knew. She had done this before. She had been on the other end of silence many times. "Call Scott, " she said, "and call me back when you are ready." I hung up. The flood of feelings that consumed me took over and tears began to stream down my face. I was a mother. I had a son. In my wildest dreams I never expected to hear such news sitting in front of an Old Navy store. From that moment on, nothing in my life has ever been quite the same.