Happy Birthday Elijah!!

Elijah- my sweet little "Home-slice". One year old already- I can hardly believe it!!! The day before Elijah was born we took his birthmom, "D", to dinner. We went to the Cheesecake factory and laughed and talked about the huge upcoming events. I remember sitting back against the booth and just watching her in amazement. She was so calm and collected- and SO funny! She would say things that just cracked me up. I was so nervous and excited with the delivery the next day- and so scared. Scared of problems during the delivery, or that things may not turn out as I hoped that they would. There are so many different variables with adoption- that there really is no way to plan exactly how things will go- and I am one of those types of people that have a really hard time with not having complete control over a situation. So I was kind of in a mess of emotions all over the place!! I can only imagine all of the feelings that D had. She really was incredible. She asked us if we were excited that we would have a new baby the next day. I was so filled with emotions that I could hardly tell her how thrilled I was. Then- she pulls out a package, it was a gift for us. I was completely blown away. She gave us a soft pink blanket to wrap our new little one in. And she gave us little lacy headbands with bows that had belonged to each of Elijah's sisters. (At this point in time we all thought Elijah was a girl still.) I was so touched- that I started bawling. So blown away that this woman was giving us EVERYTHING- and then she pulls out a baby gift to boot. At the end of the evening we gave her a big hug and wished her luck- and then went home to wait.

The rest of the story is easy to guess. Elijah made his grand debut and shocked us all when he wore a birthday suit with an extra part. ;)

We fell instantly in love with this little boy who started growling the first day. Out of respect for D- I won't go into detail of relinquishment or the rest of the time in the hospital. It was far to sacred, special, and unbelievably hard of a time to try and relate the feelings of all involved. But I will say- that when D placed Elijah in my arms and hugged us goodbye- I thought my heart would break. I will be forever grateful to her- and will always thank God for bringing her into our lives.

I can't believe that it has been a year now. I pulled out that blanked and headbands the other day and just held them and thought about my son and what an amazing gift he has been. I thought about D- and everything that she went through to give Elijah LIFE- and a family that loves him to the moon and back. Happy Birthday Elijah!! You have completed our family- and brought so much joy and sunshine into our home! We love you sooooo much!!