The Beauty of An Open Adoption

When someone decides they want to adopt, the immediate reason is because they want a child.  I, for one, did not enter the adoption process thinking about the birthfamily.  As I started researching more, my heart started to break while I thought about these people who would have to make such a huge sacrifice in order for me to have a child.  I've never lost a child, but I have to respect the pain of such a thing.  The fact that people feel like they are unable to care for a child they love is heartbreaking and not just for the pregnant woman.  This is why it was so important to us that we maintain an open relationship.

We planned our vacation to Virginia so that we would be able to spend time with Jayvan's birthfamily.  It feels strange to call them that though.  They are truly our whole family's extended family.  We love them and treasure their presence in our lives.  The last time we saw them was when Jayvan was less than two weeks old and now he is almost two years old.

We drove down to North Carolina on the second day of our vacation to pick up Jayvan's birthmom and half-brother.  We met some of her extended family, and then we packed up the minivan and headed back to Virginia.  People wonder about how the kids handle it and I'm sure they miss Jayvan, but they call each other brother, sister, cousin, or whatever other name is appropriate.  They are all family.  We love them all.

 Jayvan's brother is a big fan of Ninja turtles and we all got to sport the masks for a bit.

 Jayvan's aunt and cousin:

 Landyn was always showing me his wrestling poses, and I am sorry to say that I had no idea what he was doing at first.  I'll have to study up on my wrestling before out next visit.

 Once we got to Virginia, Jayvan quickly dug into his sister's toys and reunited with his birthdad and extended family.

 It was so great to see the bond they have.

 After a while, we headed out to a park to have an early celebration for Jayvan's birthday.  We celebrated with pizza and cupcakes.  Jayvan was a happy camper.

 This is Jayvan's uncle.

We had a wonderful time until a pop-up thunderstorm ended the visit a little prematurely.  We decided to listen to mother nature and head home to get some rest.  We had more fun days to come!