Happy Birthday Joseph

Six years ago at 10:20 p.m. John and I had knelt down and were saying our prayers. All the sudden the phone rang and I jumped up to answer. "Michelle?" It was the social worker of our Birth mother, "yes?" my heart was in my throat... "Congratulations! You're a mommy!" Joseph had been born. 6 weeks early he was a little 5 pounds 3 ounces. His 15 year old birth mother had a very rough delivery and had to be off of all pain medication for 24 hours before she could sign the adoption papers. We had no idea when we would get to see our little boy. Needless to say, John and I didn't get much sleep that night! But, we prayed a lot, thanking our Heavenly Father for answering our prayers and asking for special blessings sent to our baby's birth mother. The next couple days were spent baby shopping. Literally, I am not exaggerating when I say that in one day we spent a good 8 hours in BabiesRUs. I think we drove the staff nuts that day. We had a million questions and had to make some quick decisions. From bassinets to car seats, diapers to bottles, strollers to baby swings - we had our work cut out for us. We were bringing home a baby boy!!!
It was 5 days later when we finally had our placement. That was probably the longest 5 days of our life. We kept worrying that the longer she had with him the harder it would be for her. Thank heaven's when they called Sunday night and told us she'd be signing the papers in the morning and we should be there at 10:00. Monday morning we are all butterflies as we drove to the hospital in SLC. As we approached the doors, we could see our birth mother sitting in a wheelchair waiting for us. She was holding our baby boy- but we didn't dare look. It was kind of awkward to say the least. They took us in to a conference room that happened to be filled with ALL of our birth mother's family. Her parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews. They were all just staring at us as we entered. I can remember it so clearly. They were very kind and expressed their love for Joseph and his birth mother. They had all had a wonderful 5 days with this miracle boy. They had so much love for him and were so excited for us - although heartbroken themselves. They passed the baby around as they each gave him their love and kisses, tears were shed. John and I held each other's hands so tight. We had such tears as we witnessed the expressions of love, gratitude and heartbreak. This was not easy. We knew we had such a responsibility in raising this little boy. We had a lot of people to answer to someday! Ü
Finally it was over and our birth mother handed our sweet boy to me and whispered her love to him and said "Now, here's your mommy..." we were bawling as we finally really got a good look at him. I actually felt him take a deep breath and sigh. It was as if he felt "home".
The next few hours were spent signing paperwork and waiting as Joseph was hooked up to monitors making sure he could keep his oxygen levels and heart rate up for the ride home. Because he was so small this was a requirement by the hospital. Finally, we were on our way home!!! When we arrived we saw my whole family waiting for us! Poor things had been waiting for several hours in the July heat on our front porch! We'd forgotten to leave a key for them to get in! It was beautiful as the next few days everyone came to welcome our new addition. Joseph, you are one loved little boy.
Some of our favorite things about Joseph:
Your curls! You used to get SO much attention for your wonderful white curls!!! People used to ask me all the time if I permed your hair!
Your laugh! You have the BEST laugh! I love it when you laugh!
Your so silly! You are such a funny boy.
Your so smart! You are so good at addition and subtraction, reading, spelling, penmanship, etc...
You are the best son. We love what a good helper you are.
You are the best big brother! You love your little sister and brother SO much! And are always so willing to help with them.
You are so good at baseball and soccer. We love that you love sports so much!
You're a cougar fan! Yes, the Utes are the bad guys!!! (we love you Chris and Celeste!)
Joseph, we are so thankful that Heavenly Father sent you to us to be our son and the big brother for Mahlia and Jackson. You are such a wonderful son and we love you more than words can say. I hope you had a very happy 6th birthday.
Love,
Mommy