Katy and I traveled to North Carolina a few weeks back to visit the birthmom of my twin boys that are due at the end of summer. It was a fun time for both of us.
We had to catch two flights, the first was from KC to Cincinnati, OH where we had a layover for 1 hour and then to Charlotte, NC. We arrived around 1 pm and caught a cab to the car rental place. By the time we left Enterprise Car Rental we hit a little traffic on our way north to Lake Norman where we were staying at a really nice Hampton Inn. We checked in about 3pm and called C (the birthmom), she was tired and so we decided to wait to get together in the morning , as we had a lot of fun things planned.
Katy changed into her bathing suit and we hit the pool. Of all the things I have to say that the pool was a little disappointing, you see Katy is 5'9", and the pool is about 12 feet long...I am NOT kidding! So she can dive in and touch the other side almost immediately! Oh well, at least it was a great way to cool off. I just sat down on a chaise lounge and took a quick nap.
We went back upstairs so Katy could rinse off and get dressed, then we headed downstairs to the Manager's reception, which is kind of like a happy hour with lots of food. They had Italian Meatballs in sauce, noodles and great big rolls so you could have meatball sandwiches which is exactly what we decided to have. They also had a delicious salad with lots of dressing choices. After we were done, we were originally going to go out to dinner, but we were basically full!
So we got in the little rental car and just drove around for a awhile. We ended up at a Target and picked up some nice gifts for C and her family. Then we stopped at a Starbucks and went to a movie, we saw The Hunger Games which I knew nothing about. It was pretty good, but a little frightening for mine and Katy's taste. My Mom told us we should read the book, but we may wait a bit more. Katy was very worried for the main character, even after she won her battle.
After a kind of late night, you would have thought we would have a hard time getting up the next morning, but we were so excited to meet C in person, we were both awake by 6am. We got dressed and wrapped all the gifts and headed downstairs to the lobby for their FREE breakfast! I do enjoy a meal that someone else prepares for me, especially when it is free!
We drove over to C's apartment around 9:30am. I was so nervous, but also so excited to see her. She is beautiful and so kind to us. We sat in her apartment for about an hour, talking and looking at pictures. Her children were still asleep, so we had to whisper, and we all kept giggling! Then it was time to go to her doctor's appointment and to see the 3D Sonogram. We drove her in our little rental car, if you had seen us, just chatting away, you would have thought we had been friends forever! She is so nice and friendly!
The doctor's office is right on the first floor of the hospital where she will be having the twins, it is very pretty and so easily accessible. It will be very easy to visit when we come back at the end of the summer. The office administration and the nurses were very kind and sensitive, they led us to the sonogram room and the technician told us everything she was going to do. Katy and I squealed when she showed the first picture on the big screen they have! It was quite thrilling to see Baby A's face for the first time! He is so handsome and seemed quite happy to get his picture taken.
Here is Baby A. I have been told that it is surprising after they are born how close they look to their sonogram photos. I can not tell you how impatient I feel now to hold and see these adorable little guys! I keep telling myself that I must be patient, they still have a long way to go. But seeing this beautiful face makes my heart skip a beat!
Unfortunately, Baby B was not quite as cooperative as his brother. (Is this a little preview of how he will be?) He was quite comfy with his back to us and after a bit of prodding from the technician would only show us his profile! I found this to be quite endearing! Baby B is full of surprises and will probably turn out to be a bit of a stubborn boy!
But just look at those little fingers, they are so sweet to me! I can not wait to wrap them around my own fingers, I think I even see him wincing, like he is trying to say, "Please leave the light off and let me sleep a little longer!" We had such a fun time and C was so kind to lay there and let the technician get tons of pictures for us.
After our "photo shoot" we went out to lunch and then back to C's apartment to play with her little kiddos and meet her family. Everyone was so nice and we stayed and talked to them for 4 hours! I am so happy that everyone is so encouraging and supportive and that our plan is to be open with this adoption and to stay connected to the birth family so these little guys will always have lots of people to love them! We even talked about having C and her children join us for Thanksgiving this year. We'll have to see how she feels and if she is ready, I already know two things I will be thankful for!
Katy and I went back to our hotel on cloud nine! We had met the manager, Tonya, the night before and she took us on a tour of the hotel so we could see one of their suites. This is where we will be staying when we come back for the twins, so I wanted to be sure we will all fit. I will be bringing my other girls with us, so we need room for the 5 of us and the babies as soon as they are released form the hospital. We will have to stay in the area for around 2 weeks to file the paperwork with the courts, and that is only if there are no medical issues. I am praying very hard that the boys will be ready to come home with us right away, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.
The hotel manager was so sweet and she got very excited for us too. I have to say, I just love the people of North Carolina! I was a little worried, as I think of it as so southern and worried about how Katy would be treated. But I am so happy to say that there was not one unkind word or stare or anything! A lot of worrying on my part for nothing, thankfully.
That night we fell asleep with visions of cute little baby boys in our heads! Thankful for all that God has revealed and for the place He has led us to. The next morning we woke really early and drove back to Enterprise to drop off the car. They called an awesome cab driver who we will definitely call again when we return, he drove us safely back to the airport and we flew from Charlotte to Atlanta, GA, then back to KC and were met by my Mom and my other daughters who I could not wait to get lots of hugs from!!
Such a fun adventure and so much more to look forward to!
