So... We chilled at home for 4 weeks after we got back from our visit with Jessica...
NOT!!!We tried our BEST to ready the house, baby's room, and to really remain calm. I often chatted with Jessica and said could do what she wanted and if she felt different after birth- that would be her choice to parent or not. Literally taking the pressure off. These weeks seemed to whiz by and we still remained rather quiet about everything going on but, We did tell our MOMS and DADS and siblings!
( another story for another day- fun ways to tell other your adopting)Fast Forward to Memorial Day weekend... Friday Night, I was texting Jessica, who was doing everything to get PUMA to get out, walking, massages etc... But, she was starting to feel that
He wasn't gonna budge for a while so, I said to ENJOY the weekend- b/c
Being pregnant is better that post delivery pains, which is totally true. Even after the baby is out of your body, you are not "DONE". There is a ton of healing and YUCKY stuff that's along for the ride! She agreed and started planning for Saturday's events of swimming and BBQ's and such and we started to see what we wanted to do with our weekend.
That Night- like an IDIOT- i
left my phone downstairs on the charger. I woke up around 7 and my Friend A, calls me at 7:45 and we start talking about some good news- Her and her Husband were selected by a birth mom!!! So, of course, I'm fully
engrossed in her conversation while a beep on my phone was going off. Who could be calling this early in the morning?
We end our chat and I hang up and immediately the phone rings-
IT'S JESSICA- She is at the Hospital
IN LABOR, she has been there since 6 am ( i think).
WHAT? AHHHH? So much excitement and craziness. I texted a few people who hurry over and help me pack, do dishes, wrangle my girls and such and we were
OFF to UT for the BEST TRIP EVER!!!Every STOP felt surreal,
we had perma-grins on our faces and our girls were quite good, even though we had to travel in the TRUCK and not the Navigator with all the space, bells and whistles, to normally keep them entertained. We took pictures on our phone and posted them to FB very discreetly saying stuff like
" we decided to take a Road trip today" , Look at the the Beautiful Mountains" " Now entering UT, can't wait to see what awaits us there!"I have to admit, I kinda borrowed that bit from Holly W., who also recently adopted a sweet baby boy! It really caught a lot of people off guard though- loved it!
2 hours before we got there, Daylen, Jessica's Friend called us and told us that the Dr.'s are doing a C- Section b/c His heart rate was dropping every time she contracted. I was worried and upset and nervous for her. I had all kinds of things going through my head. I felt like a mother/ sister to Jessica in that moment, and i felt like the Dr.s ambush and push Young Mothers into whatever works for their schedule. I felt like J was robbed of her experience but, the logical part of me realized that " she didn't ask for this experience in the first place" And that the Dr.'s are concerned for OUR son's well being, regardless of HOW he comes into this world. There is nothing I can do to change that she had a C- section now and everyone is safe and healthy.
I just didn't want her to go trough more PAIN than she already would have to go through. I love this woman, and wanted as little grief as possible- that's all.So... Late at Night around 8-9 ish ( lost my concept of time), the rain was beating down on our uncovered luggage in the back of the truck, and NO ONE in AF could give us directions that didn't have BUILDINGS in the descriptions, when all we wanted was STREETS, so, we eventually got there and the kind people let us park under the unloading and loading area, during our visit, so, we'd have less soaked luggage!
We whizzed into the hospital doors, get our special papery bracelets and rushed upstairs to see Jessica and baby Gavin!
He had the most serene little MAN features and lots of red/brown hair! That was the biggest shocker b/c we all thought He'd look just like Jessica, possibly!
The Girls were ecstatic and we all held him for a few moments and met her family and Daylen!
( knight in shining armor-more on him later)
We Brought in her
Blessings In a Basket Basket and it was Put together with Love by
Ashley Mitchell and other wonderful women who cherish adoption. It was full of great stuff like, a journal, a sterling necklace with the month and year of Gavin's birth,
(i attached a birthstone crystal drop along side it), a gorgeous watch, note cards, a workout video, a hospital recovery essentials kit and more. I added a custom pillowcase i made for Jessica, some cookies
and treats as well.
*If you are interested in having your product featured in our baskets please contact
ashley@blessingsinabasket.org
It was a huge HIT and I think this is one of the MOST special things a Birthmom could receive. It also came with a special heartfelt letter from Ashley !
So...
back to the story...
We left that night and headed to Terry and Mark's place
( dara's parents) and tried to sleep as much as we could! The next day we rallied around 10ish over to the Hospital for a visit and we got to meet LOTS of Jessica's extended family! We met 4 of her cousins that LOOKED like Gavin's coloring. Lots of shades of red hair in their family! We took tons of pictures and Max, Jessica's Father and Tammy, Jessica's Step-mother invited our family over for dinner. I think Just Brandon and the girls went while Me and Jessica visited alone and took pics of Gavin!
Jessica is such a gorgeous lady and we are so blessed that she is very open, friendly and loving too. Her whole family embraced ours, and we had family BBQ's , dinners, visits and such before and after placement. I truly LOVE all of these wonderful people. We feel so blessed to have this VERY OPEN ADOPTION 2 times now!
That afternoon, i started to feel that the next day needed to be all Jessica's. I started packing up my bags and wrangling the girls when Stephanie the case worker called us! She wanted to let me know that Jessica would like some time alone till placement. I was somewhat shocked- I was thinking Jessica and Stephanie are MIND READERS and i agreed with her completely! So, we said our goodbyes till the next day. We went over to Grandpa and Grandma Halls for a BBQ and got to meet them so much more. They are such genuine and loving and FUN individuals- seriously- i can't say enough about them!
We woke up the next day knowing placement was ahead of us. We spent time with the girls at the park and took them to
Emmit and Ethel's for lunch ( so delicious- had the peach Bomb:) and to the park in Lehi and then back to Grandma Terry's
( we call everyone grandma that we love) who watched our girls while we went to Gavin's placement!
Both Brandon and I were excited and nervous and such and our caseworkers were fabulous. Some Funny things happened during the paperwork part and J's family were are saying hello as they passed in and out of the hall where we were sitting. Our caseworker was kind of shocked on how open it all really was! Then we finished the paper work and had to go through the Hospital Run Down
( i would suggest that be done before the paperwork next time for anyone who cares to know b/c it kind of made the Birth family wait and us slightly annoyed).
Then we finally walked into the Room where everyone was!
We were surrounded by LOVE and this NEW FAMILY that we had adopted!
(hope they knew what they were signing up for with us crazies:)Max gave Gavin a father's blessing and the room was full of sniffles and tears! It was wonderful! We took pictures and gave hugs and Jessica had planned the placement to be short and sweet, not some long drawn out Thank-a-mony ceremony! And so it was. After hugs and such, the family left and it was just us and Jessica the caseworkers and the hospital worker. We got out into the hall and
I started to load up Gavin in his car seat and I just LOST IT and started Bawling for a few minutes. My emotions had just been welling up and holding back for so long that in that very instant,
I could hold them back no longer!This amazing woman, chose us, of all people, to parent her baby forever. To Love Him and Grow Him up into the MAN that God Knows He already is and can Become! She Trusts us not to screw up His Life and honestly, there are a million other families that could probably do the same Job, if not better!
She Chose To Give HIM every possible chance to Succeed in LIFE and she unselfishly endured 9 months of pregnancy, a crazy labor and delivery and still seemed to CHOOSE HIS BEST INTERESTS FIRST! WHAT PURE CHRIST LIKE LOVE SHE HAS!
We walked out of the Hospital together, gave a hug at the door and said SEE YOU SOON to each other! I cried a bit more on the way back to Terry's too. Brandon remained pretty strong and happy!
Now, It a Nutshell, over the next few days, we hung out with Jessica and her family 2 more times, possibly 3, had lots of fun with them and spent some time with Kara and
Jr. too, Brielle's Birthmom! She decided to come up for a quick visit ( hence our picture) and we went to the park, made dinner and really just chilled and talked a lot. We stayed in Brandon's Aunt & uncle's empty home ( thanks Len & Peggy- You guys were fantastic) and visited with all sorts of cousins and friends who were able to stop by and see Gavin and everyone! It was lovely and unforgettable! Thanks to everyone who made that trip so special!
Then, on Monday morning, we headed back home, to begin a new part of our life with our little Man, in tow! It was the BEST trip to UTAH - EVER!
P.S. 4 days later, when we were starting to get settled, Brandon was rocking Gavin and He gave Me a hug while he was holding him and BROKE DOWN IN TEARS, finally! He was so overwhelmed with LOVE for this tiny man and I'm sure He thought about His own adoption as well! I Love my Husband and I know Brandon and Gavin will have lots to talk about later!
