Utah

While I was in Utah for Genny's wedding I got to see Stefanie several times. She spent the night at the cabin and helped with wedding stuff (thank you!!) That night, I set a phone alarm and at 2am Stefanie, Nelson, Lindy and I woke up and went out into the cold mountain air and watched a meteor shower.

Stefanie invited me to her 34 week doctor's appointment. (Isn't that so cool!) And I also went with her to "group." One night a week, all the birthmoms get together to have fun, discuss pertinent issues, and support one another. The evening I went they were having an adoptive panel. The room was already packed when we arrived. The panel consisted of 4 kids (ranging from 12 to 17 maybe?) They answered questions such as:
"What do you wonder about your birthparents? (All 4 kids had closed adoptions.)
"What would you want your birthparents to know?"
"Is there anything that has been hard about being adopted?"
"Is there anything you'd like to say to prospective adoptive parents?"
And that's just to name a few of the questions. I feel SO lucky to have been there. The group of girls was amazing. A spirit of sacrifice and unconditional love coated their words and I kept tearing up thinking about all that Stefanie has to go through.
On a lighter note, the 12-year-old boy on the panel was hilarious. One of his many qoutable qoutes was, "I'm glad I'm adopted because if I wasn't I wouldn't have my gecko.
Afterwards, one of the girls, who had had her daughter 2 weeks before, shared her placement story. ...Wow.

Another day, we went to Stefanie's house. Her parents are so kind & warm; it was wonderful to visit with them and Stef's sister again. Meanwhile Bradshaw was having the time of his life playing with Angel (a fitting name for Stef's dog.)

In short, we are totally S.P.O.I.L.E.D by Stefanie. We know it is rare for an adoptive couple to share in so many of the pregnancy experiences; we are very lucky to have Stefanie in our lives.