The Adventure

Our adventure started last Thursday, June 24th at 3:00 p.m. We had decided to work through another agency the Tuesday before, and on Thursday they contacted us for the first time. They let us know they got our application and oh by the way we have a birth mom due on Friday, are you interested? Zane and I had very little time to discuss and pray. When we thought about the baby, we felt peace. When we thought about leaving our home and traveling to another state for who knows how long with a two-year-old and everything else about the adoption process, we felt fear. We went on faith though, packed up the car and headed out on a two day drive. Dallin did wonderful as long as he was watching his movies. We have been potty training before we left and he did a great job on the road and throughout our whole trip. We haven't had any accidents! Amazing for a two-year-old whose life went crazy all of sudden.

We arrived and went straight to the hospital at 5 p.m. It wasn't the ideal time for Dallin so he and Zane didn't stay long, but I enjoyed a nice long visit with our birthmom, her mom, and her 17-year-old daughter. We hit it off and I enjoyed spending the next two days with them. I think Gavin knew we were driving out instead of flying, so he waited to be born on Saturday morning instead of Friday. One of the first questions we were asked when we arrived at the hospital was what we were going to name the baby. We threw out three names with Gavin being the last. Everyone shouted out that they liked that name the best, so that is how Gavin got his name. (On a side note, Gavin's birthmom thought all our names were fake because they are on the unusual side. We just like unusual names.)

Placement is the hardest part of an adoption process. It is hard to watch someone you care about go through something so hard and painful. Thank you doesn't seem to cover how much we appreciate Gavin's birthmom. We appreciate her strength and courage to choose to give her son a life that she couldn't offer at this time. We are eternally grateful for her sacrifice and love she had for her son.

Gavin stayed in the hospital an extra day, and then we picked him up Tuesday afternoon and brought him back to the hotel. He has been very sleepy and a wonderful baby so far. Dallin has enjoyed having a brother and is very proud of him. We thought we would be out here for at least two weeks, but we just heard that the courts have cleared us to leave. Living in a hotel with a two-year-old and a newborn isn't the ideal situation so we are thrilled to be heading home. This trip has been an adventure, but we feel so lucky that we were picked to be a part of it.