Thursday, March 13, 2008

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








28 comments:

  1. He is so beautiful. That is such a sweet story.

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  2. This is beautiful.

    I do believe you might want to see how my Danger Boy turns out. He and Grant sound like 2 sides of the same coin! Never a dull moment!

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  3. That is just a wonderful story. I'm a birth mother myself so when I hear of what the adoptive parents feel and go through, it just makes me so happy :-)

    He is just beautiful and you are so incredibly lucky to have him - but it seems that you feel the same way :)

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  4. Wonderful post for your son!

    Happy Birthday, Grant!

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  5. What a wonderful tribute to your son! He really is a beautiful child and you did a great job of capturing the "essence of Grant" in your blog.

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  6. Awwwwww....Happy Birthday Grant!

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  7. This was so great! It brought tears to my eyes.

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  8. What a way to start the day! Thanks for sharing this with us,Ang!

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  9. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANT!!!!!! I got all teary-eyed. Thanks for sharing :)

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  10. Very sweet. He sounds like a fun little boy to raise. I love the picture of him in the swim suit with the pouty face. Too cute!!


    Christina

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  11. This was such a sweet, beautiful post to your precious little boy! Thank you for sharing!

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  12. Awesome post. -k
    what'd he get for his birthday?-b

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  13. Oh Angie.. I am in tears over here.. This was beautiful. He so lucky to have you .. and you him.

    So beautiful.

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  14. Hi Angie,
    Happy Birthday! (I also want to know what he got for his B-Day: I hope you got him another video game!)
    By the way, I still know how upset my Esther was as she saw 3 year old Grant riding a two-wheeler without the side-wheels around our block! She is 3 years older than him. She rides the bike now but that fact is still haunting her! She realised that moment that no matter how hard you try, sometimes it just doesn't work...
    How is Brian? We pray for you.

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  15. Grant, this is from your favorite cousin ever :)


    Happy Birthday!!!!!!

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  16. What an incredibly loving tribute to a precious child.

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  17. I'm glad I was back in time to read this on Grant's birthday. Happy birthday, big man, from the Stork's! How time flies.

    And we had a great trip, just John and I, to Fort Lauderdale. But I found out right before leaving on that trip I had to leave almost immediately upon returning for a business trip to North Dakota. Maybe that schedule is what flustered me so much that I lost the cell phone that has become an appendage.

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  18. Okay, so that's one way to get a pregnant chick to bawl!! You guys are such a beautiful family!

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  19. Oh what a sweet post. You have me all teary eyed. I know what you mean about stop growing. I ask that of my child every day. Grant is such a sweet little man! Happy Birthday!

    I love the photos. Especially of him standing in 1 hand :)

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  20. Happy Birthday, Grant. You are Grand, you are Great, you are our Grant! Love, Aunt Jane

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  21. What a beautiful post. Happy birthday to your sweet boy!

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  22. Your letter to your son brought tears to my eyes. Such a sweet and heartfelt sentiment.

    Happy 5th birthday, Grant.


    BTW, I love the picture of him being balanced in one hand. :) Looks like a budding Cirque du Soleil performer. :)

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  23. It is the very BEST day to be born, I think. But you know, I am kind of biased, too. ;)

    Happy Pi day, Happy day of relativity, and happy birthday to Albert Einstein, Grant, and my man, too!

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  24. Happy Birthday Grant! And Happy Complete Family Day, Mom and Dad and Gavin. (and the cat, too, I guess. ;o) LOL!)

    Dear Grant, (and Gavin, too!) Us adopted kids are soooo lucky because we have THREE BIRTHDAYS!

    1. The day we came into the world through our birth-mother.
    2. The day we met our real parents.
    3. The day our adoption was finalized and we were finally, legally, members of our new family.

    For SNC kids (stuck, not chosen - hee hee hee) all those things are wrapped up into one day. Poor SNC kids! They aren't NEARLY as lucky as us, are they?!

    Much love to my little brothers in adoption. And much love to the families that made us their own. xoxoxo

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  25. Angie, this is a beautiful letter and a beautiful story!

    We have so many similarities in our son's births - generous birthmoms and getting to meet the extended birth family.

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  26. Grant,
    You are a blessing to all of us! I couldn't imagine not having you to play with. Like your mommy said, you are good at everything! Remember last summer when you skied the FIRST time you ever tried! You're the first kid out of MANY to that.
    I can't wait to see what the future brings to you!

    Love,
    Aunt Deb

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  27. Yay! Beautiful!

    Happy belated Birthday, Grant!

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