A New Beginning

If you look above, you'll see a picture of F&G and the baby we never got to meet.

Words don't seem to be enough to describe our astounding journey. Just over a year ago, we went from multiple BFN's, four miscarriages and thinking that our only option was adoption to this:

Look very, very closely...it's there. I had to hold it over a light bulb.

to this:

then this:

F

G

and this:

To this:

and this...

and this...

And now we're here...

Today is a very special day because the contracts are now signed, sealed and delivered (ok, technically faxed and in the mail) and some of our remaining embryos will soon be taking an airplane trip across the country to help another incredible family begin to welcome a brand new human being into the universe!

It's as if we get to take the journey all over again (without the needles, headaches, nausea, sleepless nights, exhaustion and all the other "benefits" of pregnancy)...and see the world through amazing glasses that very few families ever get to look through...for the rest of our lives.

Why did we select the family we did?

Well, we put an ad on Miracles Waiting and the response was overwhelming and heartbreaking.

Starting within an hour (no, I am not kidding), we were FLOODED with emails from hopeful parents of every ethnic background, skin color, religion, sexual orientation, economic status, marital length and geographic location  - regardless of the preferences we stated in our post. Women who wanted to carry a baby for their sisters,  mothers who wanted to help their married sons or daughters start a family (yes, really), single women who are very successful in their own right but haven't met the right guy yet, couples who went to Ivy League schools and have great careers but can't have a baby, same-sex couples who are committed to having children, families who adopted twelve children and are fostering seventeen more but still have room in their hearts for another, newlyweds who knew from the moment they got married they couldn't have biological children, couples who wanted to start a second family, people whose children are now looking down upon us from heaven...you name it, we got it.

And the emails just kept pouring in and pouring in and pouring in...to the point where I eventually had to stop reading because they were too painful.

One day, one of my blog readers took the time to email me her story and included a link to her blog. Even though we were complete strangers, her email was brutally honest, raw and written straight from her heart - as if it was written by a dear friend. As we read and corresponded further, we knew this was a family we wanted to seriously consider.

Embryo adoption is an awesome responsibility...one we had not realized the full extent of until we were deep into the process. Thinking about any future children and our accountability to protect them, one of the first things we did (and I hope ANY family considering embryo adoption would do) was a thorough search of the internet. In case there are any families who might eventually read this hoping to be selected for embryo adoption - had we seen too much information made public, items that conflicted with what they had already told us or pictures that didn't align with our values, we would have moved on in a New York minute. Open embryo adoption can be almost like a marriage - whether you like it or not, you are agreeing to be connected to this family beyond your existence on this planet (and vice-versa).

As a military family, they have clearly given so much of themselves and sacrificed so much for OUR FAMILY, our country and our children's future. THANK YOU just doesn't seem to be enough.

Originally, we thought we wanted to select a family without any children yet. As we read her blog and saw the kinds of activities she did with her child - building sand castles at the beach, sledding in the snow, making comfort-food together on a freezing winter day, sitting in Mommy's lap reading books, trips to the rec center to go swimming - it was easy to change our perspective. In fact, it was more comforting to us because it's as if we had a preview of what their future child's life would be like.

They feel as much love, adoration and appreciation for their child as we do for our twins and, even at a young age, are teaching their child about values we hold dear - curiosity, kindness, honesty and integrity (even when it isn't the easiest choice), a love of natural beauty, self-sufficiency and there's no place like home...wherever that may be.

Although we live across many miles, we look forward to welcoming this family into ours and the feelings seem to be mutual.

I am sure there will be more posts as our story continues to progress. Although some of you have probably figured out our connection now...I would like to give her an opportunity to comment on this post and provide her link to you (at which time I will link to it here).

To the future Mommy, Daddy and their child - congratulations and the honor is also ours...thank you for your love, support, patience, honesty and, most of all, creating a wonderful home for your current and future child. We look forward to watching your children blossom into the remarkable adults we know they will become and watching from afar for many, many years to come.