TWO babies. . .

Wow. Our lives have changed. On March 29, we brought home Olivia Blakely and Emily Catherine. It was a very emotional day for all of us. We arrived at Mercy Ministries around 3:00 in the afternoon, and walked into a room where the birth mom was holding both girls with tears streaming down her face. A beautiful picture of God's love and grace, as she handed the girls to us. There were so many emotions going through all of us as we hugged, cried, prayed, and talked. We all knew this day was coming, a day mixed with joy and sadness. The day represented an end for our beautiful birth mom, as this was the last time she could ever change her mind. She was very sure of her decision, but her love for Emily and Olivia was so deep. The pain she must have felt was so profound. Out of her love and her sacrifice, she handed us our beautiful twin daughters. Her parents had written us wonderful letters, explaining how they felt about her decision. They described losing their first grandchildren and how deep their pain was, but also joy, knowing they were coming home with us. Her parents supported her wholeheartedly but it was not without pain. In the short time they spent with the twins in the hospital, they fell in love, like all grandparents too. The sacrifice was theirs too. Here is an excerpt from my letter to the birth mom, which I gave her that day. . .

I am beyond grateful for how you have touched our lives forever. I pray you never feel as though you are not a part of the girls’ lives. We want to share their lives as much with you and your family as we can. We are so excited to get Emily and Olivia home today. We have waited for this day for almost 5 long years. All of our prayers have been answered in your indescribable gift. We have hurt for so many years and wondered why God had not given us an answer for our loss and our grief. If we had only known all those years ago, He had another plan for us. A plan we could never dream of or dare to hope for. It had to be His way, His time, His heart, and His perfect plan. He brought us all together not just for this time, but for this life and our beautiful forever with Him.

Now, for today. . . These first couple of weeks have been fun, crazy, busy, joyful, exhausting, HARD, and overwhelming. There have been days when I have asked Justin, why did God think we could handle TWO babies? As many of you know, the second child always seems easier with the perspective of having done it before. However, TWO is a whole new experience. We are so grateful to the foster families who did so much of the hard stuff, since we got them at 2 months old! They were already on a schedule and used to sleeping at night. I am also so thankful I am not recovering from a C-section again. We are experiencing new joys each day. It is fun to see the girls smile at each other and us, and we can't wait to hear them laugh. They are wonderful little girls. Addie is a terrific Big sister, as we knew she would be. I keep waiting for her to have an emotional break down over the changes in her life. So far, she has been wonderful. Please keep us in your prayers as our help begins to fade, and we try to become the family of 5 God planned for us to be. Thank you for all the outpouring of love and support with meals, gifts, and help. We couldn't do it without you!