a child BORN to another woman
calls me MOMMY.
the MAGNITUDE of that
tragedy & the depth
of that PRIVILEGE are
not lost on me.
~Jody Landers
We would like to formally introduce you to OUR boys!
This has been, to say the least, quite the year for us. A year of learning, growing, changing, accepting, and the best part...
ADOPTION!
After some intense waiting for several months in not knowing what our future would hold, we got the phone call that we FINALLY had our gotcha date. Oh the excitement that poured from our home this last month!! Our poor boys couldn't understand the concept of time and that we had exactly 30 sleeps until our actual day. So we all made calendars the same day we got the phone call so the boys could tear off the date for each day until adoption day to reveal how many "sleeps" we had left. It was a fun little activity and just added to their level of excitement. (We count everything in sleeps around here, it's a concept they can grasp)
AND FINALLY our day arrived!!
Our day came as any normal day would for everyone else, but for me this day brought about more emotions than I've ever experienced at one time. I was filled with excitement, nerves, worry, fear, joy...you name it, I probably felt it. I thought about my boys birth mom and grieved a little at her own loss in this but also felt so blessed and grateful for the gift of life she in turn had given to us. God breathed life into their bodies but she carried each of them, she was there the minute that breath became reality, she holds a piece of them I never will. But on this day, I was given a gift she'll never experience, I received the greatest reward...it didn't come with a pregnant belly, a gender reveal, decorating a nursery, or having that moment in a delivery room...but it was no less celebrated, wanted, or appreciated. On that day, I officially became a mom, and what a feeling that is. Yes, I've been their mom for almost 2 years now, but the gravity of the moment and the feelings of belonging and completeness did not seem to be lost on any of us, boys included!
The outpouring of love and support was so evident on that day and we felt so blessed to have some of our closest family and friends present with us. We have been so very blessed in the last few years as we began this journey and walked each milestone with such amazing support! God did not let us down and even in the darkest days, He continued to provide and often times that came in the form of encouragement and love from our dear family and friends. THANK YOU! We didn't walk this road alone!
Following our ceremony in the courthouse and feeling the HUGE weight lifted off our shoulders, the celebrating began!!! I can honestly say that our day far exceeded what any of us expected and at the end of the day, it was simply put, a perfect day. We soaked up every beautiful moment and enjoyed the pure joy it brought with it.
We had decided we wanted to take the boys to build-a-bear so they could get something special for their day. Something they could have that would always bring a good memory with it. It is the ONE time we said, "Get WHATEVER you want!" It's such a fun memory and something we all enjoyed doing together as a family.
Sooo many choices!!
Our day ended with a celebration with just family. My brothers and their families (except for 2 of my nieces) were unable to be at our adoption ceremony so we all met for dinner that evening and what a grand celebration it was!! I love that our family has welcomed our boys with open arms and from the moment they were in our home, accepted them as family. There was never any hesitation, only love! (And with the 2 below, a WHOLE LOT of TROUBLE!)
My younger brother surprised us and showed up to dinner wearing this shirt...a shirt he did freehand and quickly before they dashed out the door to meet us. Our day was full of so many of these wonderful little "love nuggets" and it just added to the wonderful day we had!
This was OUR day! It wasn't a grand holiday and for most it quietly came and went. For us it was so much more. It was a day when a dream became reality. When 3 little hearts became entwined with our own. In my wildest dreams I never imagined that this was how parenthood would come to us but looking back I appreciate it so much more now for the struggles, heartache, and grief that God allowed us to journey through. It's within the struggles that we often times find our greatest joys and our deepest appreciations. We come to realize that without it, we wouldn't build character and without character then who are we? This road brought more character and courage than we ever thought we'd be able to handle but on this side of 2 years, I'm grateful that God chose us...that He chose THEM...because together we make one awesome family of superheroes!
To the unsung heroes who stood behind us through every facet of this adventure...we pray that God provides a chance to hang up your cape and rest and that He will richly and abundantly bless your extraordinary lives!
"He gives the childless woman a family, making her a happy mother. Praise the LORD!"
Psalm 113:9
