We touched down in Salt Lake City on Saturday, with our bags, and baby stuff - including an empty stroller. You get some funny looks when you’re walking through an airport with an empty stroller. One lady was bold enough to say something…”So did you decide to check the baby?”
The car rental didn't have the practical four door sedan we reserved so we took the most responsible option available - a brand new purple Mustang convertible.
We were prepared to meet with the birth mother ahead of the Monday delivery date, but she wasn’t feeling up to it. So, we were a young couple in love with no kids - adventure awaited. We got some great advice from some very nice locals and headed out to Park City, Utah where much of the 2002 Winter Olympics were held. We hiked the breath-taking mountains (at 10,000 feet I mean this quite literally), fished the beautiful rivers, and watched Olympic caliber ski-jumpers. Without snow, they just hose down the ski jumps and land into a giant pool.
Finally the big day arrived, and we headed to the hospital and met with our contact, Linda, from the adoption agency. We sat in the waiting area with Linda as she got texts from a social worker on how the delivery was going. After about 3 hours a little chime went off on the PA, announcing the arrival of a baby. Then the call came in: both baby and mommy were fine. Jackson Lee Couch was born on September 12th, 2016 at 11:08am weighing 8 lbs and 19” long.
After we picked the name, Brandie realized that Jackson and Lee were both civil war generals. Some of you civil war buffs may know that there was also general named Couch on the union side. He was my great, great, great, great, great, great uncle (give or take a great).
We got to go in to see little Jackson in the nursery a couple hours later. He was getting his first baby bath, when we first saw him. I have a feeling that the first time parents meet their newborn child biological or adopted, it is not always love at first sight. If we are honest, newborns are swollen, misshapen little lumps that don’t do a whole lot. So, it’s not surprising if our feelings are vague initially. And it’s okay – because we believe love is a choice to act, even in the absence of fleeting emotion.
But with that said, when we saw Jackson getting his little head scrubbed with a miniature sponge, our hearts melted. We were able to spend the next 2 or 3 hours snuggling him, feeding him, rocking him, tending to his every need. Except when he needed a change – we called the nurse for the that. Don’t judge! We’re going to take full advantage of the help while we have it!
Jackson is in the world now, but there is still more to go before he comes home this coming Tuesday. We will write more a little later. For now, we want to thank everyone who has supported this adoption journey. So many people have helped with finances, gave of their time to help with Maryssa, and with our dog Sam (thanks Jones-Rooys!) – and most importantly through prayer. So many things just came together to make it possible to bring Jackson home. We could really feel God was answering prayer. Thank you all, and thanks be to God!
