Five Years with Grant, March 14, 2008

My Dearest Grant,

Five years and 3 months ago, your daddy and I found out the in-vitro attempt failed again and we weren’t pregnant. Five years and 2 months ago, we decided to try adopting again. Five years and 1 month ago, Valentine’s Day, we were told we were chosen by your wonderful birth mommy to be your adoptive parents. Five years and 3 weeks ago, your Daddy had his hip replaced. Five years and 2 weeks ago, we were told you were probably a girl. We named you Chloe, but had a backup name of Grant just in case 'probably' was 'maybe.' Five years ago today, when we awoke, your daddy and I got the news that your birth-mommy was in labor, one day early, pack our bags and be ready to go to Springfield that day. Five years ago, March 14, 2003, at 1:30 pm we got a phone call that the baby was born and IT’S A BOY! Turns out 'probably' WAS 'maybe.' 'Maybe' turns out to be a blessing. I can’t imagine not having YOU – GRANT – MY LITTLE BABY BOY!

Five years ago today, your daddy (on crutches) and I left the house at 2:00 and met you around 3:30pm. Our beautiful 8 pound 20 inch baby boy. You were in the NICU at the hospital because your birth-mommy didn’t want to have you in the birthing ward so we could spend as much time with you as possible. You were a giant in that unit of the hospital with all those tiny 3 pound babies. Your birth-mommy was so generous to let us have so much time with you. Your amazing, giving, beautiful, selfless birth-mommy. She was very young and her parents were too old to give you a good life. They all loved you. We met your birth-mommy, your birth aunt and uncle and your birth grandparents the next day, just before we took you home. They loved you and if circumstances would have been slightly different, they would have parented you instead. The circumstances were the way God chose them to be so we could add you to our family and they could make the most difficult, yet the most bighearted decision of their lives.

Grant, you are a blessing to our family. You are a challenge and a joy. You are strong and you are sweet. You are stubborn and you are giving. You are smart and you are supportive. You are good at everything you attempt. You have given us so many wonderful memories over the last 5 years. You cried so much the first 3 months. You didn’t smile much your first 6 months. You were so serious. You are still so serious, but to those that know you, you are so silly, too. You have sucked your thumb since you were 5 weeks old. You have been into everything mischievous since you were crawling. You have emptied the ashes from the fireplace onto our family room carpet. You have written on walls. You have dumped garbage cans full of shredded paper into the sump pump. You have dumped a bottle of Eucerin onto my bedroom carpet. You still spill something just about weekly. You were pedaling at 14 months. You were riding a two-wheeled scooter at 2 years. You were riding a 2-wheeled bike at 3 years and one month. You have been successfully tackling monkey bars since you were 3. You have always had an amazing ability to crash into a dead sleep in the oddest of places at the strangest of hours. You are your brother’s best friend and his biggest competition.

Your infancy is a blur to me, I hate to say. I had a 17 month old, a newborn baby, and a cat who decided he was too good for his litter box. When I reminisce about it and peruse through photos, the beautiful time it was is relived in my head again and again. Grant, my dear sweet baby boy, I know I tell you to stop growing up and you tell me Jesus won’t let you, but I don’t really want you to stop growing up. I couldn’t be prouder of whom you are becoming and I love being part of it.

I love you, but Jesus loves you even more,
Mommy