Miracles

I feel really bad that I have not blogged about Father's Day...especially since I am married to the most incredible man and wonderful father. Unfortunately Father's Day landed on the day that I had to go up to start my week at Scout encampment as one of the cooks. So John got a fabulous BBQ'd meal of hamburgers and potato salad. Poor guy, but I did send him golfing with three of his buddies from Shelton to a nice course in Yakima. He was great with it...so I guess I did okay. Next year will be better.

Anywho...So here's the rundown of the past few weeks...

1. I went as a cook to Scout Encampment June 20th-26th-It was HARD but fun. We were on our feet NON-STOP!! The best part of my days was seeing Wyatt and the rest of Pasco 1st ward boys come through the food line everyday with their great smiles and friendly hello's to "mama Wallwork". Didn't get cell reception so I only talked to John once on someone else's phone. That was rough. Was praying that our birth mom Jess wasn't going to go into labor that week...prayers answered!

2. From June 28th-July1st I had Girl's camp. FUN and a little more relaxing. I got to take several naps to recover from my week at scout encampment. Hanging out with Maria and Renee plus all the Stake ladies was a BLAST! We have the best stake EVER!! The cooks were so funny and I was so glad that I was not one of them! John came up for bishop's night and then we took off to go home a day early. Again, prayed Jess wouldn't have her baby quite yet...prayers answered.

3.   So, Friday morning Jess emails and lets us know that she's headed for the hospital and that she'd let us know if they would keep her. We look into buying tickets, and then remember John has a cousin whose wife works for Alaska maybe she can help us out. She did. Thank you Ade, you saved us hundreds of dollars!! Jess texts back a few hours later and tells us that she was getting sent home. So we booked our standby flights for Saturday getting into California at 6pm. However, Jess texts us around 10:30 that night and tells us that they have admitted her. So to make this travelogue short, we decide to get out of here ASAP and so we go to Spokane at 2am to go standby on the 5:30 flight. We made it. The tricky part was getting the flight out of Seattle. We were the last 2 standby tickets to get on. It was a MIRACLE. The entire trip down there was a miracle. I cannot express enough how much we were blessed on this trip.

We got to the hospital around 1pm Saturday and about 4 hours later Jess delivered Jason. I felt so bad for her though because it was not the easiest delivery. He eventually had to be pulled out with the vacuum thing. Needless to say he was a little cone-headed but he was so beautiful. He had to be put in NICU for a couple of hours because he wasn't breathing to well. John, Jess's brother, and her bishop gave him a blessing and 45 minutes later he was returned to her room. It was a whirlwind of people coming and going until Monday. She was released Monday afternoon and we signed papers at the church nearby and left for the hotel to await our trip home...

So those are the details but here is the emotional side...It was beautiful, bittersweet, and surreal. We had the opportunity to meet most of Jess's family. They were WONDERFUL. It could have been the most awkward of situations but wasn't. They were loving and friendly. Her bishop was incredible. I'm not sure I have ever seen a man act with so much love and concern for someone. His wife was great too. Jess's mom was there almost the entire time to help her through. We met her brother whom she is extrememly close to and now understand why she wanted us to use the name Jason. They were great people. John and I talk about how this experience was one of the most amazing one's we have ever had. We have been so blessed. When it came time for Jess to place her son with us, it was the most heartwrenching thing to watch. Her love for him was so great that she placed him in my arms and watched us leave. Her act of selflessness is one I will always remember and I just hope that one day we can express to him just how much he meant to her. She is an incredible person with a big heart. I hope that one day she realizes how much this meant to us. We have waited for so long to adopt and she gave us not only our son, but a beautiful memory that we will NEVER forget.

We were so blessed to only have to say in California until Thursday where once again, we boarded flights as the last standby's.When we got home, the kids ran to give us hugs and kisses but as soon as they saw the baby it was a beeline for him. We had to remind them to give us our hugs. They have been adoring him ever since, showering him with hugs and kisses, always wanting to hold him, and always trying to help in any way they can. If only I had this help when I had all of them.

We are naming him Jason (the healer) Kekoa (the courageous one-to remind him of the courage it took for his mom to place him with us). He is beautiful, perfect, and looks just like my boys when they were that small. We absolutely love and adore him. Thank you Jess for our beautiful son!