Our Adoption Miracle

Our whirlwind weekend turned miracle began Satuday afternoon.  I was working and Ashley called me and said that a friend and coworker had called and asked her to help her out.  She was on vacation, and her daughter, Meisha, was in labor and needed someone to be there with her.  Ashley was confused and torn about going to the hospital.  With all of our experiences the last few years, she wasn't sure she could be there and help without getting too emotional.  She decided that she needed to help her friend and went to the hospital.  On November 12, 2011 at 4:51 p.m. a beautiful little baby girl was born, 7lbs. 4oz. 19in.  Ashley was there for it all and Meisha even asked her to cut the cord.  Ashley gave her congratulations and headed home, planning on going back to bring a present later.

Saturday was a rough emotional day for Ashley.  When I got home she shared her experience with me.  We talked and prayed.  The thought crossed our mind that maybe this baby was meant for us and that maybe Meisha was thinking of adoption.  We decided that whatever Heavenly Father had in plan for us, or whatever we were supposed to learn from the experience, we would be humble and try to accept His will. 

I had to go to work Sunday for training and inventory and Ashley was helping with ther little sister Madi, getting ready for church and wasn't going to make it to the hospital with a present before church.  She called and they told her that she should just be late for church and go down to the hospital.  When she arrived Meisha and her Mom welcomed her in and let her hold the baby.  The were together on the bed and began to tell Ashley what Meisha had planned.  Meisha had been considering adoption since about 6 mos. along and was working with an adoption agency but after looking many profiles hadn't found the right couple for her baby.  A few weeks ago, her Mom had left a copy of our profile that had been hanging up at work, with Meisha.  She got a chance to get to know us a little bit through our profile, and felt that we were the couple she was looking for.

 

Needless to say, I dropped everything, and headed straight down when Ashley called. 

We spent most of Sunday evening together and shed lots of tear and hugs.  We visited and learned more about each other.  Meisha was very sweet and asked us to name the baby.  We thought about it and Sunday afternoon suggested Presley Kay.  As we continued to visit we found out that she and Ashley both have a love for Elvis!  Kay comes from Ashley's Grandma Parke.  Meisha continued to show her strength and pure love of Christ throughout the whole process. She asked Ashley to stay the night Sunday night. They got to know each other even more and shared some very tender conversations as well as getting to spend the night with little Presley.

Ashley came home Monday morning to get ready for the day.  I was ready to go back up to the hospital and see Presley right away.  We had lots of errands to run so by the afternoon we had gotten some things done and texted Meisha to see if we could come back up.  She was tired and wanted to rest, so we asked her to text us when she was ready for us to come up.  Monday was probably the most nerve racking day for Ashley and I, but we can't imagine the deep feelings of love and grief mixed with pain and joy that Meisha was feeling.  By about 4 pm we headed back up to the hospital and by about 6 pm our case worker had arrived.  The documents she went over were very tough to read and difficult to get through, we were all in tears as she read them.  Meisha was the stalwardt and was a light to us through it all. 

Presley came home with Ashley and I Monday night. She is a great baby, not fussy at all, and is still figuring out the day and night sleeping schedule. :) Tuesday morning we went and picked Meisha up and took Presley to the doctor. She was a little jaundice so she had to get some labs and a heel prick, but she took one for the team. We stopped and got some lunch to go then took Meisha back to her parents house. We all spent the afternoon getting ready to sign papers Tuesday evening. About 5:30 pm Meisha came to our house with her parents. We started with a prayer and Meisha asked me to give it. Of course I couldn't hardly get through it and we were all in tears. When I mentioned Presley's name in the prayer, Ashley's phone began to ring playing "You aint nothin' but a hound dog cryin' all the time"; maybe Presley's way speaking up??? After prayer I asked Meisha if she would like to have a priesthood blessing and through tears she answered, "yes that would be nice. I haven't had one for a long time". Her Dad gave a beautiful blessing with some very powerful promises and blessings. Afterwards we were all just talking and crying and Meisha piped up, "well let's get started", showing her strength again. We called the notary public and the paper signing went very quickly. Afterwards we shared hugs and more tears. We finished up on a good note with some take-out Chinese food, tour of our house, and visiting all together.  November 15th will always be a special day for our family.

Words cannot describe the feelings we have felt these last couple of days.  We are filled with love for Presley and joy of starting our family.  We have never felt the spirit as strong or had such a love for the Savior and the eternal nature of families as we have during this experience.  No amount of gratitude and love can express what we feel for Meisha.  She exemplifies the pure love of Christ through her love for Presley and selflessnes she has shared with her and us.  We will never comprehend the deep emotions she has experienced, and know that it won't get easier quickly.  We hope she can feel peace and take comfort as she is able to see Presley grow and mature into a daughter of God.  We are grateful for the miracle of adoption and hope those that read our story can feel a particle of what we do.  We are grateful to our Heavenly Father and to everyone who has been a part of our miracle, Presley Kay.