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A Very Special Christmas.


Mama “C” gave us the most precious gift we could ever receive; and so many times we find ourselves feeling incapable of fully thanking her for the gift of love she gave our family- Emmarie.

We hope that this small token of love might provide her with comfort and solace this holiday season. I can only imagine the absence of a birth child during the holidays- the pain resurfaces, fueling intense sadness and loneliness.

About a week ago, I emailed mama “C” asking her if she was comfortable sharing her address with us; that we had a Christmas gift we’d like to send her. Unsure if she’d be willing to share that, I also told her if she wasn’t comfortable with the idea that I was sure Choosing Hope would help get the package to her. We received a response the same day. She sent us her address! She thanked us for remembering her this Christmas season.

As I’ve spent the last month or so thinking about what we might give to her, I kept coming back to peace. Peace doesn’t mean to be in a place where there is no noise, or trouble, it means to be in the midst of those things and have calm in your heart. Our prayer for her is peace over doubt- peace over guilt- and peace over shame.

Our gift to her is a picture of the night sky when Emmarie was born: November 14, 2017 at 10:34pm in Dayton, OH. And then there’s a photo book; pictures from our first moments meeting “C”, and pictures of the time she spent with Emmarie. And after that- pictures from each month of Emmarie’s life. And the last picture in that book is Kevin, Emmarie and I – Emmarie in the center, daddy and mama on each side of her. What you don’t see in that last picture is mama “C” in all of our hearts. 

We also sent a gift card to help with groceries, or Christmas, or whatever her need is, as well as a bracelet with the word “peace” on it.

Mama “C” said yes to us. And day after day, we will continue to say yes to her. Yes to loving her, yes to supporting her, yes to praying for her, and yes to loving her.

We wanted to share this with you, because this is open adoption. This is exactly what we were afraid of when going into adoption. We were afraid of what open adoption might look like. But the reality? It’s not scary at all. It’s beautiful, and special, and we wouldn’t want it any other way.

Merry Christmas, friends.

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