Since it is November, a few of my friends have been posting about things that they are thankful for on their blogs. November is also adoption month, so I thought it would be appropriate to do a post about how thankful I am for adoption.
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Like most people, I never really thought much about adoption. I just assumed that it would be easy to have kids...people have babies all the time, right? For those of you who have never had to deal with infertility, let me just tell you...it is the pits. THE PITS. The years that we were dealing with infertility were some of the most frustrating, darkest, most humiliating and hopeless times in my life.
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Don't get me wrong, I wasn't miserable all the time. Most days I was just fine. I could push it to the back of my mind and just go on with the rest of my life. But then another baby shower or birth announcement would come along and knock the wind right out of me. Even something like just seeing a mom pushing a baby around the grocery store could hit me like a ton of bricks. I remember going to visit my wonderful sister in law Alison in the hospital after she had her third baby. I remember holding that sweet little thing in my arms and just fighting with every bit of my strength not to break down crying in front of everyone. And don't even get me started on Mothers Day.
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Once Preston and I had had enough tests and medical procedures and doctors ruling out pretty much everything that could be wrong, we finally got around to talking about adoption. And from the first time we seriously talked about it, we knew that was how we were going to try and build our family. We have never questioned it since.
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I remember how impatient I was after we had finally finished all of our paperwork and home studies and classes and were officially "in the waiting pool." Every time the phone rang I hoped it was our case worker with good news. It wasn't very long (though it sure seemed long to us) before Arden's sweet birth mother Meloni emailed us. I was at work and it was all I could do not to scream and jump around my office. I can't even tell you how excited and deliriously happy Preston and I were while we shopped for cribs, baby clothes, diapers, bottles, etc. etc. etc.
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I was incredibly lucky to be able to watch Arden be born. It was unbelievable to hold her, and it was love at first sight. It was so hard to leave her in the hospital. It was so hard to wait until we could go back and take her home.
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We spent a lot of that day trying to find a gift for Meloni. We shopped for hours and hours. But how on earth can you find a gift for someone that says "Thank you for making us a family. Thank you for letting me be the mother of your precious baby. Thank you for giving up a piece of your own heart so that the hole in my heart can finally be filled up?" It was impossible, and I can't even remember what on earth we ended up buying. But I hope that she knows how much we love her and how thankful I am to be able to see this beautiful face every day:
Arden was our everything when she was a baby. But we knew our family wasn't complete yet, so we finished our paperwork again right after Arden turned two. Before I even had time to start obsessing about the phone ringing, Dax was on his way.
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Daxton's birth mom, Katy, is one of the bravest people I have ever met. It is amazing to me that she was made such unbelievably hard and completely selfless choices when she was so young. I remember the day we went to bring Daxton home from the hospital. I know it must have been the hardest thing she has ever done to hand that beautiful, perfect boy to me, but she handled everything with such grace that it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. I know her heart was breaking, but she put a brave smile on for everyone. I left there in awe of her. And of course in love with the little man in my arms. Now look at him!
Corbie is the "surprise baby" we never in a million years thought we would have. But we are so thankful to have this little pixie in our family. She is so spunky and smart, and has such spirit. She is magical.
I am so glad that Meloni gave us the chance to be her family. It makes me so happy when I see Arden and her little "mini-me" clone playing together. Daxton (my early riser) crawls into her crib with her in the mornings to say hello. It is so sweet to walk in there and see their two little blond heads in her crib bent over a book.
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I am so glad to have these three little tow-heads. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world that I get to look at three such beautiful faces all day. I am so thankful that we can be a family forever. And I am so thankful for Meloni and Katy and for the birth fathers of these sweet kids. Thank you for giving me my family.
I have learned so much through my experience with adoption. I have learned a lot about patience. I have learned a lot about trust. I have learned a lot about sacrifice, unselfishness, and most of all, love. I am so thankful for adoption and the incredible blessing it has been in my life.
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And I am thankful for this guy, who puts up with all of us:
And thanks to Jessica for taking our family pictures again!!!!! You are awesome!!!
