A 600 mile day trip...

On Saturday we went on a little day trip...to meet L who has chosen us to adopt her baby.

upon her request, and to ensure her privacy, I will not be mentioning her name or posting pictures of her on our blog..but I still want to share what I can about our journey :)

We had the wonderful opportunity to finally meet L and her mom and to take them out to lunch. It was so comfortable and felt like we were with old friends we hadn't seen in a while. L is sweet and funny and we have lots in common with her. We chatted about all sorts of things, laughed together, cried together and had a good time. Adam was shy at first but it only took him about 2 minutes to warm up to both of them :)
We also had the privilege of hearing from L in person, the story of how she chose us. I couldn't help but cry through it! (I will have to ask her if I can share it here sometime) I felt the Saviors love around all of us and it continually amazes me how Heavenly Father has a hand in everything.

We brought L a bouquet of flowers and she had a little package of gifts for us! We opened it up to find BYU onesies and a braves t-shirt and L quickly told us that she bought them before she had chosen us (she is a big sports fan). Anyone who knows Clayton at all or has looked through the pictures on this blog will know that 99% of the time he is either in BYU or Braves attire...so we know this match was made in heaven :)
The last gift in the bag was a 4D ultrasound picture of the baby! He's sooooo cute!! I stared at it most of the way home and it's now on the fridge :)
The trip was wonderful! we are so happy that we went. Out of our 12 hour day, 9 hours were spent in the car driving but it was SO worth it! We are incredibly excited for this new relationship with L and her family and for this new addition to our family.

I have posted this quote before on the blog but I wanted to share it again because I think it's beautiful and sums up so much of what I'm feeling but can't put into words myself:

"When you think about it, adoption is as much a miracle as birth itself. Maybe more so, when you consider that for everyone involved it comes from a place of impossible choices: nearly unbearable fear, haunting doubts, interspersed with glimpses of hope brought into partial focus
only when seen through the lens of unselfishness. And at the moment of heartbreaking courage, when a selfless choice is made, there are absolutely no guarantees...well maybe one: that every conceivable outcome of the journey had been imagined in sleepless nights and endless days. Still, in spite of all who would say it's beyond possibility that hope or peace or joy can be found, it is."
(Michael McLean. From God's arms, to my arms, to yours)