I have struggled knowing where to start telling our story. There
have been so many different emotions (good and bad) and aspects of our adoption
journey. I know I'm weak in writing and hope I can only convey how truly
miraculous, how grateful we are and that we know that adoption is apart of
Heavenly Father's Plan.
Neal and I knew we
wanted kids and started trying to get pregnant after being married six months,
little did we know we were headed into two years of heartache and sadness. We
both wanted a family so badly, but found that for reasons we didn't know or understand
the Lord needed us to wait. We began many medical procedures and infertility
treatments. So when we found out in January 2009 that we were expecting we were
ecstatic and we knew Heavenly Father had granted us a miracle.
Then on May 30,
2009 we welcomed our sweet son Jayden into our lives but he came 4 1/2 months
early and was just too small to pull through. It was the sweetest yet most
bitter time for us. The hardest thing was to leave the hospital with full
hearts and empty arms. He is still very much a part of our lives and
there isn't a day that goes by that we don't think of him.
So after praying we turned it all over to Heavenly Father and
started the adoption process. I am one that loves lists and plans and being
organized so it was hard to get me to the point that I turned it all over and
had no control but oh how grateful I am that we did!
In October of 2012
we started the adoption process. This is a time line of what we had to do in
order to be approved as adoptive parents.
10/31/12 First
meeting with LDSFS (LDS Family Services) scheduled but caseworker had to cancel
due to illness
11/27/12 First
meeting with LDSFS
1/30/13 Background
Checks completed
2/25/13 Adoption
Online Courses completed
3/11/13 Individual
Interviews at LDSFS
4/1/13 Home Study
4/1/13 Approval
for Adoption
4/4/13 Profile
went Live
5/6/13 Birth mom
contacted us by email
We were ecstatic
when we received her first email. We continued to email back and forth and got
to know each other really well. We learned she was pregnant with a baby boy and
due end of July.
Over Memorial Day Weekend we flew out to California to meet
her and her family. I was so nervous to meet them, but my fear quickly faded
when we embraced in a sweet hug. While we were there Grayson's birth mom and
Neal and I went to the San Diego Temple grounds and visited and walked around
and took pictures and as we got back to the car, she pulled out a box wrapped
in blue wrapping paper with daisy's on it and a sparkly blue ribbon tied around
it with our names on it. She said to open it, we lifted the lid and inside was
ultrasound pictures of the baby and a bag of skittles shaped in a bow with
ribbon that she had written “Congratulations it's A Boy!” on it. We were
ecstatic to say the least, we couldn't stop smiling! It is definitely a day we
will never forget.
We visited with her and her family through the weekend and
then continued to keep in contact through e-mails and texting. As I visited
with Grayson’s birth mom over the course of a few months, I came to know and
love an amazing young woman, who is courageous, unselfish and beautiful on the
inside and out. We truly admire her and the amazing person she is.
On July 21 We had the opportunity to talk with Grayson's birth father over the phone and learned about him (aka: I drilled him with questions like his favorite things, hobbies, etc. so we could tell Grayson about him). We told him how very grateful we were for him allowing us to be parents to this child. He was very nice and we felt lucky to have had that opportunity.
On July 21 We had the opportunity to talk with Grayson's birth father over the phone and learned about him (aka: I drilled him with questions like his favorite things, hobbies, etc. so we could tell Grayson about him). We told him how very grateful we were for him allowing us to be parents to this child. He was very nice and we felt lucky to have had that opportunity.
As we continued to
talk with Grayson's birth mom, she told us the doctors had changed her due date
from July 31 to August 8 and on July 25 Grayson's birth grandmother called us
and told us that his birth mom had been in the hospital with heavy contractions
the night before and was dilated to a 2 and that they didn't think she'd go
another week. She told us they would call us after her doctors appointment the
next morning. So Neal and I decided it would be a good opportunity for us to
drive down to California. We left that night and stayed in Idaho Falls that
night and waited to hear from them, she told us that she was still having
contractions but nothing had changed. We continued on and drove to St. George
and stayed with our good friends the Smith's for 2 nights and then headed the
rest of the way to California. When we got there Sunday night we let his birth
mom know, she invited us to go to her doctors appointment with her the next
day. We were thrilled to see her again and be apart of this amazing miracle. We
found out from her doctor that she was actually not dilated at all and that the
plan would be to induce August 14 if she hadn't gone into labor by then. We
were a little shocked to say the least but decided we would stay down there
until this little boy decided to arrive.
We were able to
meet Grayson's birth mom's family (her two brothers, mom and dad and grandma)
for dinner Tuesday night and can we just say how awesome her family is. They
welcomed us with open arms and it was like we had never left and we instantly
felt a connection. We planned to watch the Bachelorette finale the next Monday
together.
We stayed with our
good friends the Larson's the next few nights and throughout the next week we
went to the beach twice, attended a session in the temple and fasted for
Grayson and his birth mom and their family, went to a couple of movies, did
lots of shopping, were able to attend our old ward in Fullerton and see old
friends and our old primary boys, stayed with our friends the Egbert's two
nights. We were getting nervous that Neal might need to fly back to work but
decided to wait because they were going to try and see if they could induce her
the day after her due date at least so we continued to enjoy spending time
together and anxiously waited for our little man to arrive (we told them he's
already showing us how stubborn he is going to be by making us all wait)
On Monday August 5
we were making our way back down from Fullerton to San Diego County for the
Bachelorette Party and got a call from Grayson's birth grandmother that his
birth mom's water broke and was in the hospital but she wasn't dilating so they
were giving her medicine to help her dilate and that she was in for a long day
and that she would keep us posted. We checked into our hotel and were driving
ourselves crazy just waiting for news so we decided to go to a movie. We didn't
sleep well that night as we kept wondering how things were going for Grayson
and his birth mom. At 6 am the next morning her mom texted us telling us she
was dilated to a six. Her mom called us around 10am and told us that at 8:48 am
our sweet baby boy came into the world on August 6, 2013.
She asked us to come to the hospital at 1pm and when we got there we went to Grayson's birth mom's room and hugged her and asked how she was doing and talked with her family a little. She wanted to see our reaction to the first time seeing Grayson so they wheeled him in a few minutes after we arrived and he was the most beautiful boy! I started bawling and just couldn't believe she was giving us the most amazing gift we could ever be given. It was love at first sight! He was absolutely perfect and darling!
Grayson's
placement took place in the hospital later that night and it was such a
bittersweet moment. There are so many emotions involved. You are filled with
love and joy and such gratitude but at the same time we ached for our sweet
birth mom and her family. Being in the hospital brought back a lot of memories
from when we were in the hospital with Jayden and having to the leave the
hospital without him. I was so glad that she had friends and family there to
support her in this decision. Grayson's birth mom was released later that night
and after she left I just bawled and ached for her and her family. We had the
amazing opportunity to stay in the hospital with Grayson that night and got to
bond with our little munchkin. 
She asked us to come to the hospital at 1pm and when we got there we went to Grayson's birth mom's room and hugged her and asked how she was doing and talked with her family a little. She wanted to see our reaction to the first time seeing Grayson so they wheeled him in a few minutes after we arrived and he was the most beautiful boy! I started bawling and just couldn't believe she was giving us the most amazing gift we could ever be given. It was love at first sight! He was absolutely perfect and darling!
Grayson's
placement took place in the hospital later that night and it was such a
bittersweet moment. There are so many emotions involved. You are filled with
love and joy and such gratitude but at the same time we ached for our sweet
birth mom and her family. Being in the hospital brought back a lot of memories
from when we were in the hospital with Jayden and having to the leave the
hospital without him. I was so glad that she had friends and family there to
support her in this decision. Grayson's birth mom was released later that night
and after she left I just bawled and ached for her and her family. We had the
amazing opportunity to stay in the hospital with Grayson that night and got to
bond with our little munchkin. 
We have been so
very blessed to be apart of the miracle of adoption. This sweet kid is my
world! I know I can speak for Neal as well when I say that he truly make us
whole. He is EVERYTHING to us. I am so very grateful for adoption, for our
sweet birth mom and her family.
