July 6th 2009

A year ago today we met our birth mom and our beautiful daughter Kayla in Reno, NV.  That morning I woke up nervous and excited.  I hadn't slept all that much the night before in anticipation of this day.  So many things filled my mind.  Will our birth mom show up when we arrive to pick her up for our appointment?  Will she go through with it or change her mind?  Will today be the day I am finally a mommy?

We arrived at Patty's sister's apartment in Sparks, NV to pick her and the baby up.  I called her from the car to let her know we were outside waiting.  She walked up carrying a beautiful baby girl in her arms with brown hair and hazel eyes. Instantly our hearts melted.   Patty handed me the 2 1/2 month old baby girl and we loaded her into the car seat.  I don't remember the small talk we had on the way to the social worker's office but I know I tried to keep it light and cheerful. I could only imagine what Patty must have been going through that morning.  What was our most joyous and proud day was probably the hardest day of  her life.  We arrived at the office and met with our social worker Meg. 

Meg asked if we wanted to chat for a while and get to know one another but Patty, our birth mom, wanted to get on with the signing of the paperwork.  They took her into another room while my husband and I waited with Kayla in the office.  I held Kayla as she fell asleep in my arms.  I wanted to start snapping pictures right away of our beautiful daughter but  at the same time we were very fearful that Patty would return with documents unsigned and say she had changed her mind.  In fact I don't think we even took a single picture of Kayla until after we dropped Patty back off at her sister's apartment and headed to Walmart to get more baby supplies.  (We hadn't bought much because we were so afraid we would come home empty handed).  The whole experience was surreal.  I felt like I was watching a Lifetime movie waiting for the story to take a tragic turn where the bottom falls out and  the whole thing collapses in front of us.  Too many times did we have the rug ripped out from underneath us with our 5 previous pregnancies.  Why should this time be any different?

But it was!  Patty and our social worker Meg reappeared with signed papers in hand.  Our birth mom sat down next to me and stroked Kayla's hair as she lay sleeping in my arms.  I felt joy but also sadness for our birth mom.  What a brave woman she was that day.  There were tears and hugs shared among all of us.  We dropped Patty off at her sister's apartment and headed to grab something to eat and share the good news with our family and friends. 

I remember calling our family and friends to tell them the news.  WE WERE FINALLY PARENTS!  We had waited years to announce this kind of news.  The morning of July 6th 2009 is a day I will never forget.  It was the day my dream of becoming a mommy finally came true and was truly the happiest day of my life.