Ruby's birth parents Jeremy & Cassie came down from Utah this weekend to visit. We spent the day with them on Saturday & had a great time. It's been almost 2 years since placement & I can't believe all that's happened in that time. Spending time with them this weekend & seeing them love Ruby made me really happy. Happy that we all have a healthy relationship that I'm really proud of & happy that Ruby has them in her life. When Tyler & I first began the adoption process I was positive that we would have relatively closed adoptions. Openness scared me to death & made me feel insecure about my role as a mother. I never would've believed that my opinion would have changed so completely. When I tell people about it I see their eyes slightly widen & get the, "Oh, that's nice..." response. And I totally understand because I would have said the exact same thing. It took some time for me to navigate this whole adoption thing & how it works with openness & what's best for my family. And I think each adoption will be that way to a certain extent. But as I looked at Jeremy & Cassie this weekend I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for them. I love those two with my whole heart & I love seeing them so happy. They've been so, so good to us.
They got married this summer in the Salt Lake Temple & are so happy. Ruby has been such a miracle baby for all of us & both of them have told me that they still know that placing Ruby with us was the best decision. If I've learned anything from all of this it's that life often doesn't go as planned & sometimes that's a really good thing. I think we're all really grateful for this unplanned part of our lives that has taught us a better way to love.
