Written by Alissa Kay

Back in March of 2009, we were getting ready to meet some new friends at Olive Garden for lunch. They were another waiting couple using the same agency as us. It was a Saturday (ironically, 9 months to the day when we attended the informational meeting at the adoption agency) so when my phone rang I really was not expecting it to be anything important. But it was. It was our social worker.

There was a baby BOY born a couple days earlier and his mom chose us to adopt him. I was literally shaking. I tried to write my husband a note so he knew what happening. But I was so filled with emotion that I couldn’t write clearly (and normally my writing is legible!). Wish I would have saved that note. My husband couldn’t figure out my scribbles, so when I hung up I gave him the details. We were going to meet that sweet baby in 2 days!!! And of course, my husband had to be out of town for work the day we were to bring the baby home. Luckily, I was working at a school and it happened to be spring break…

Shortly after *the call*, we went to lunch with our new friends. I immediately spilled our news! I was so giddy and couldn’t stop smiling from ear to ear. I’m sure they thought I was crazy, but luckily it didn’t hinder the friendship. We spent Sunday packing. We opened up the nursery again and went through the gifts we received months earlier. For as devastated as we were, it worked out perfectly. (Read Alissa’s heartbreak over the “Maybe Baby” here.) We had everything we needed. Normally, if we were given 2 days’ notice before becoming parents… we would have freaked out (in a totally good way!). We would have had to scramble to get a car seat, stroller, sleepers, diapers etc. Sure, it could be done, but it was nice that it had already been taken care. That was a total blessing in disguise. We decided that I would go with my husband on his business trip and we would bring the baby along. It was extremely important for all of us to bond. Fortunately, it was only a few hours from home and only a couple hours from the agency (where we would eventually meet our son). Our son. Really?! Somebody pinch me!

On Monday, when my hubby was done with his work day, we drove a couple hours to a small town in Iowa. We walked in and met the social worker who was holding the sweetest little baby. She handed him over to me and asked what his name was going to be. My husband and I looked at each other and he responded with “Matthew”. The name means Gift of God and he certainly is! Then we were given time alone with our son. A moment I will never forget. It was instant love. I loved that little bundle of joy so much. This time, we were cautious and hadn’t said much of anything to too many people… that and there were only 2 days until we met him so it was easier to contain our excitement. I spent the car ride next to my new baby with a smile glued to my face and my eyes didn’t look away from him once. At that point, we started calling friends and family to share the news. We spent the rest of the week living out of the hotel and then we finally came home as a family of three.

Obviously, there was a lot more to it than that, but that’s the basic story of how we met our boy.

(Feature Photo Source)