I haven't posted anything in a long time. I kept meaning to, but life got in the way.
Since then (if you haven't heard) we've adopted a beautiful newborn boy we named Archer Jeremiah Huff. I know that his birth mom (sorry Shanice!) is going to hate some of these pictures, but they're a part of his story that I want to share.
It all started November 3rd. Scott and I were meeting with the builders (we're building a home too by the way), discussing the floor plan when I got a text from our caseworker with Heart and Soul Adoptions. She said that there was a birth mom that had flown to Utah from Chicago to give birth, and that she was sure she was going to pick us, but wanted to meet with us first. So I turned to Scott and told him that we needed to leave. He stopped and got me makeup (it was a lazy day for me) and a nicer shirt, and then we drove an hour to Layton to meet with our birth mom.
We had dinner at Red Lobster, and it was crazy how well we just clicked. Shanice was there with her cousin Sandtrice, and it was like meeting with old friends. We joked, we chatted about life, it was wonderful. Shanice eventually brought up the topic of adoption, and we were very up front with her that we want her to be as involved in this little boy's life as she is willing. She has never given up this child, she placed him in my arms and with our family. This decision was all about love. I asked if I could be at his birth, and she said that I could. (Ok seriously, that made my whole life!)
So Tuesday, November 4th I arrived at the hospital around 7:30 AM and Shanice's water had just been broken. She was having pretty steady contractions and the baby's heart beat was strong.
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| The Nurse and a Student Nurse. |
I held her hand, and talked to her about what we wanted for this child. I showed her some of the baby books, including ones on adoption, that we got, and promised her lunch when it was all over. She got an epidural, and then was able to sleep.
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| Getting the epidural. |
In under 3 hours, at 10:24 AM Archer was born. I held Shanice's hand the whole time upon her request, and held my breath until he screamed. I was texting Scott every second along the way, and when Archer came out I was so wrapped up in him that I forget to tell him he came safe and sound! I got to even cut Archer's umbilical chord (shaking the whole time). He was born with a full head of very straight hair, and a healthy set of loud lungs.
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| Kinda blurry, I was shaking, sorry. |
Scott came and we got to give him his first bath.
It was completely amazing. We loved this boy from the very start! The rest of the family has loved him so much too. Anytime we are around extended family everyone wants to hold him.
Shanice is our hero. This woman did not seem to waver the entire time with us about her decision. I was 'Mom' from the beginning, and she let us be a part of every step. It was so much more than we ever expected to be a part of. We continue to text and stay in contact with each other, and we love that she continues to want to be a part of his life!
Note about his name:
People keep asking me about how we came up with his name, Archer Jeremiah Huff. Archer is Scott's paternal great-great-grandfather. That name has been passed down a lot in his family. Jeremiah is one of my younger brothers that died in the house fire in 2004. We told Shanice we were thinking either Benjamin, Jeremiah, or Kyle as a middle name (all names of my deceased brothers), and she said she liked Jeremiah. So there you go! We always thought we would call him Archie, but it just hasn't stuck. It doesn't fit him. So we call him Archer, or AJ. They fit his not so little personality very well.
