We were meeting Heather and our social worker at Olive Garden. Let me explain something, when most people are nervous they can NOT eat. I on the other hand, can eat a whole elephant if you let me!!! So, while we were trying to get to know each other, all I could do was stuff my face with delicious food!!! Oh man, looking back we all have a good laugh about it now! Our social worker led some of the conversation and we all asked each other questions, trying to get to know each other a little more. Our social worker left and the three of us (3—see where I am going with this!!) stayed. It felt so natural. She reminded me a lot of myself. As we were leaving, she asked if she could give us a hug? It was a hug, I am sure I will never forget. This very selfless human being was going to change me forever, I just knew it. There was also something about her, something different, and something I didn’t expect. She was quiet, soft spoken, delightful, calming, and just someone I could see myself being friends with if I had happened to meet her on the street.  We made a plan to meet at the hospital where she was scheduled to have her ultra sound appointment on that Thursday. Again, I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. I was nervous, happy, excited, and unsure of what to expect.

We met in the lobby and waited for her name to be called and when her name was called all 3 of us got up and went into her appointment with her, like it was just something everyone did. And as we walked in I remember Heather saying “These are going to be the parents.” I was taken back by the words she spoke, it was like it was finally hitting me. And as the ultrasound technician began to do her work, she asked, “Would you like to find out the sex of the baby?” Again Heather took me by surprise and said, “Ask them, they are the parents.” Oh my gosh, I broke down right then and there. With tears in our eyes, JJ and I both said, “YES!” In a few short moments we heard, “It is a boy!”

If you look at pictures of Jackson now, he looks EXACTLY like this!!!

Oh my word, we were going to have a boy. When I say, “we” let me be clear, I mean me, JJ, and Heather. The 3 of us spent the next several weeks, texting, e-mailing and going to Heather’s doctor appointments with her. As her due date approached we were discussing how/what the birth was going to look like. We had told both sets of our parents about the baby and we knew they were going to be there along with Heather’s family, so we did what anyone would do, we planned a get together with our three families.