Caleb's Story

Since I am using this blog to help keep track of important events, I need to write about how Caleb came to be a part of our family. Rodney and I found out about 4 years ago that we wouldn't be able to have children. We talked about our options and decided that adoption was the right thing for us to do. We put in our paperwork and were approved in September of 2007. Then we waited, and waited and waited. In January of 2009 we were contacted by a birth mother who wanted to place with us. After the baby was born though, she changed her mind and kept the baby. That was definately the biggest trial in my life. I really struggled with my grief and the heartache I felt with still being childless. There were a few times that I thought maybe we weren't meant to have children. Then it finally happened. Rodney was at school on Monday, April 12, 2010. His cell phone rang and he saw it was LDS Family Services. He thought maybe Brad (our caseworker) needed his help with some Spanish translation. Brad told Rodney that this was the call he had been waiting 2 1/2 years to make. He said our son was born yesterday and that we could take him home Wednesday. He said that this was as sure as it could be even though the birth mother could not sign papers until Wednesday (there is a 72 hour wait period in Nevada before birth parents can sign papers). So needless to say Rodney was excited. He came to my school to tell me the news.

When he walked into my classroom he had a funny grin on his face. My students were at their tables doing centers and I was walking around helping them when needed. He came to me and told me that I would probably have to take Wednesday off. I asked him if someone died (therefore I would have to attend a funeral on Wednesday, morbid I know). He said that we would have to pick up our son on Wednesday. I looked at him and asked him if he was kidding and he said no. I asked him 2-3 more times if he was kidding and again he said no. I was almost too scared to believe it was really happening. When it finally sank in I had tears in my eyes but I quickly got that under control (I didn't feel like anwering my kids questions about why I was crying). He gave me the details that Brad had told him and said that we could go to the hospital that night to see him.

After calling our parents to tell them the news, we went to Sunrise Hospital and went into the nursery. They put us in a small room and brought the baby into us. We took one look at him and decided his name would be Caleb. I got to feed him and change a diaper (I was amazed how small the diapers were)!!

We held him for several hours but then we had to leave. We headed to Target to buy some basic necessities and texted and called some more family and friends to share the news.

Tuesday went by very quickly. I finalized some things at school to get ready for a long term sub and then Rodney and I headed to Babies R Us. While we were looking at car seats and trying to figure out how they worked, some random guy came up and started talking to us. I had just called Tiffany so I went off to talk to her. When I finished, Rodney and this guy had started wandering around. When he left, Rodney told me he started to tell him the things we really needed and those we didn't. He also told us the good brands to buy and where to get them for the best price. He came up to us several more times to offer advice. While it was odd (remember he was not an employee) it was appreciated. We were very overwhelmed and had little time to research and think about what we should get. And yes this man had a wife and child with him so he wasn't some weirdo that hung around Babies R Us. We went home and made some final preparations for the next day. We didn't get to see Caleb that day because he had gone home with a foster family LDS Family Services uses to take care of newborns before the the placement is finalized.

On Wednesday, we headed to the hospital at about 10:00 am. We waited in the waiting room until Brad came and got us. Caleb's birth mom, Alicia, had already signed the paper work and we were going to meet her. When we walked in we met Alicia, her mother and her grandmother. We talked for about 45 minutes. We asked Alicia some questions about herself (likes, dislikes) and she and her family asked us some questions. I am so grateful that we got to meet her. I want to be able to tell Caleb as much as I can about his birth mom so I was glad we were able to meet her. The foster mom then brought Caleb in and Alicia was able to hold him for the first time. I loved seeing her hold him. She has so much love for him and I'm glad she was able to spend a few minutes with him. She then gave him to Rodney and I and we took some pictures. Then we said goodbye to Alicia, her mother and grandmother. When they left the room, Rodney and I signed our paperwork that made the placement final. We then were able to bring Caleb home.

Our adoption journey has not been easy. We have had heartache and trials that I wondered if I could recover from. I will never forget the wait we had but I can now say that it was worth it. I think Caleb's onesie says it all; "Worth the Wait".