One Heckuva Week

Last week was good. No, last week was REALLY good! So good that I never found time to even talk about how good it was! So, I'll proceed to do that now, a week later!

First off, our best friends welcomed their little guy into the world early Tuesday morning! We could hardly wait to meet little Trevor, and he did not disappoint! Oh my goodness, this guy is beyond adorable! How quickly you forget what it's like to hold a brand new baby, when they are soooo snuggly and make those adorable squeaking noises and just seem to peaceful and quiet. It's almost like they don't quite belong in the world yet, because they are still so connected to heaven. I could not get enough of him, and need to go back to visit so I can get another fix of this sweet guy! Congrats to Ry and Ash! You done good! (sorry, I had to borrow the picture cause I was lame and forgot to take pics of my own!) Next up, we had the opportunity (and believe me, the priveledge was all ours) to go and present at an adoption meeting for couples who are wanting to adopt. We were asked to come and talk about our relationship with Jessika and our experience with an open adoption. It was such an interesting experience and such a WONDERFUL one. It was hard not to think back to our lives a little over a year ago, seeing ourselves sitting in the very chairs all of these people were sitting in, having the same questions and concerns and fears that they were all experiencing. And to be able to be on the other side of the fence now, having such a growth of knowledge and understanding of the adoption experience, was somewhat surreal. I was worried all week about how to go about talking about our story with Kaiya and Jessika, because I was so sensitive to the feelings that so many of those couples are experiencing. Their "other side of the fence" has not yet happened and my biggest fear was that we would make someone there feel sad that they were not in our shoes...yet. I know there were times when I sat in those meetings, wishing so bad that our chance would come. So, anyway, we said a lot of prayers that our message would come accross in a positive and helpful way and most importantly that we could give hope to those waiting. It was such a GREAT experience. We were able to share our tender feelings of Jessika, how our relationship grew and progressed throughout Jessika's pregnancy, and how it has continued to grow stronger since Kaiya's birth. We relived the emotions, the joy we have known being so close to Jessika and her family, and the blessing it has been for our family to have an open relationship with their family. We got A LOT of questions. And every one that was asked of us, I remember asking in my own mind when we were going through the adoption process. I realized it is really hard to explain our relationship with Jessika because until you are THERE in that experience, it is hard to understand. A lot of our own friends and family had their concerns as we spent more and more time with Jess and her family. I know it was because they just weren't IN the situation and couldn't get it and were genuinely worried about us. But, it was amazing to see the shift in that one single meeting, as we talked and shared and answered questions. It was almost as if some of the couples in that room were breathing a sigh of relief to know that open adoptions CAN work, CAN be amazing and rewarding and special, and aren't always something to be afraid of. That was our goal going into the presentation and I felt like we achieved that, at least with some of the people there. It was a special night for us and I feel so grateful that we got that opportunity!

Speaking of our relationship with Jessika and her family, that brings us to Saturday when we were able to go out and watch Jessika's little brother, Kendall, be baptized. Geesh, talk about another VERY special day! Not only was it amazing to see Kendall taking such a big and important step in his young life, but we were reunited with sooo many of Jessika's family and friends that we hadn't seen in awhile. We were so proud of Kendall and the decision he made and the efforts that it took for him to take such a big step. He is a very special guy!! It was seriously such an awesome day. We went back to Jess's house afterwards for a BBQ and just spent the day talking and laughing and enjoying the company of all of these wonderful people. We were able to meet some family that we hadn't met before and to see some familiar faces as well. It was so fun for everyone to see Kaiya, especially since a lot of them had not seen her since she was a brand new baby or had never seen her at all! I could not help but just feel overwhelmed by the amount of love that was present for our sweet girl. What a blessing it is that she has so many people who love her and care for her, and this will be such a source of happiness for her throughout her life. It truly is a blessing and a tender mercy from Heavenly Father. And it makes me feel so lucky. We could not have asked for a better day! As we made the long trek home, we couldn't stop talking about Jessika and her family and how much love we feel for them and how grateful we feel for the way they treat us. They welcome us, treat us like family, and have done so much for us. They are some of the most kind, generous, good people we have ever met.

We finished off the week by going to a baby blessing of some of our old neighbors and were able to see and talk to a lot of wonderful people from our old neighborhood and ward. We sure miss people there and it is always so nice to go back and visit!

What a wonderful week! And here we go on to another one!