All because of a Little Precious Boy

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com
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Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I never knew how much adoption could change your life. Yes, obviously you become parents, but I never knew how much love your heart could hold for a child. Adoption touches so many lives in different ways, but one thing is for sure, it's all based out of love. When we were first matched with Daniel & we spoke to his foster Mother, Carmen on the phone for the first time, I knew I wanted her to always know how much we appreciated her. She loved our son for the first 20 months of his life, how do you thank someone for that? Our first time meeting Daniel was so awesome & we connected with his entire foster family. You could see how much they loved and adored him. We were so blessed that he was loved by them. Well when we returned to pick him up, and take him to Fort Worth, Carmen & I had a Mother to Mother moment. Her sorrow was my gain, but I felt her heartache & grief. It was so bitter sweet, and like nothing I have ever felt. My heart ached for her & Jessica, Daniel's foster sister. I knew I left a part of my son & my heart there. At that moment as our Good Bye was so heart breaking, I knew I couldn't keep this child away from them. I made a promise that we will see each other again. We had a relationship blossom through phone & emails. Although there is a language barrier, we communicted through other family members who spoke english. Our words were conveyed out of love & respect for one another. I love her & this whole entire family so much. Here is how our visit went...









One year and almost 4 months has passed since Daniel has returned to his first home. When we got to his old neighborhhood all those feelings came rushing back to the first time turning onto his street. Nervousness, anticipation, and excitement. Seeing the house, I remember every emotion ,and felt it rush through me! Dallas & Daniel got out of the car & I was fumbling to find Daniel's Benedryl. (his face looked awful, from a reaction to being in the sun & at the beach) When I finally got out of the car I walked up & saw my son run & give his Mama Carmen a hug. She embraced him & tears were running down her face. That was it, the tears were streaming down both our faces, and she looked at me & we embraced each other with Daniel in her arms. Mother to Mother. It was so surreal. I could see how happy she was to have him in her arms again. Daniel was totally comfortable there too. When we walked into the house, Daniel looked around & you could see his wheels turning. Jessica was so happy to see him, as well as Imelda (25) & Alicia(19) too (his older foster sisters). He went back to his old room on his own, he knew where to go. Jessica & him picked up their relationship right where they left off. It was amazing to watch. He seemed to remember the house & everyone. They all couldn't believe how much he has grown. While we were catching up & watching the children play, more family members trickled in to see Daniel, and it was also Jessica's 1st communion. Jessica is 8yrs old, and we have a special little relationship with her. I love her with all my heart. She is really Daniel's sister in a sense & that is how we love her. As a part of our son, she has or heart. Everyone loves him sooo much, and honestly it's a love so amazing to witness. All because of a little boy these 2 families have united. I have never seen my child so loved by anyone other than Dallas & I. Every family member had bonded to him in that family. Daniel's Papi' (foster Dad) arrived a little later & he was so happy to see him. It was a happy reunion. Meanwhile Jessica is off to get her hair done for her 1st communion. She was so sweet, wanting me to go with her & help her get dressed in her beautiful princess gown & tiarra. Did I mention how much I love her? She is so precious. Although we didn't go to the Ceremony, we continued to hang out at the house, while MaMa Carmen & Papi' Oscar went to the ceremony. We waited on Oscar Jr and his wife Janeth to arrive. (Daniel's older foster brother and wife) We were excited about seeing them, because we spent some quality time with them, Jessica, and Daniel during our first visit trip. Jessica had my heart then, because she would ask me, "Are you taking Daniel now with you forever?" Ughhh, so sad. ..........Oscar & Janeth arrived & another happy reunion! They now have Isaac who is about 14 months. He was born after Daniel's placement with us. So It was good to see him :) He has grown sooo much since the last set of photos we saw. Daniel & him were jealous of each other at first. It was like competition. Never seen Daniel like that. Speaking of Daniel's jealousy, there was a baby girl there who was just placed with them 2 weeks ago. She is the first placement since Daniel left. She is 10 months old & a pure joy. Right now she is a foster placement & possibly will be up for adoption ;) Yes, you know where I 'm going with this, Don't you? I was loving all over her, and Dallas could see me. He saw it my face, I kept noticing him look at me interacting with her. So when he finally held her, his first words were "Ok, when is she available for adoption?" She melted his heart with her big brown eyes and contagious smile! This is one happy baby! Yes, I do believe we were both smitten at this point! Daniel sure did notice this too & would get jealous of me holding her. I have never seen him like this, he has seen me hold babies, but he was always center of attention before in that house. We all concluded that was probably it. Have no fear he was center of attention still. Everyone was so happy to see him :) Daniel had a girlfriend I learned that lived next door, Shayla. They were the same age, well she saw him outside, and immediately recognized him. She ran over to him, and that was it. They played & played, it was remarkable! She followed him everywhere. So cute, he is a ladies man ya know! I also learned he took his first steps outside walking to Noah (1st best friend), then turned around, and went to Shayla's house. So cute!!!! It was so nice to get to know his first family on this level. We swapped Daniel stories, and got to know one another on a more personal level. By this time the party had began. More family trickled in after Jessica's communion. There was a house full of toddlers that grew up with Daniel. They all just acted like he never left, AMAZING! Children are so amazing! It was so awesome to be there, and see Daniel's Hispanic culture. I am sure he was so confused when these white English speaking parents picked him up. It all made sense his grief when he came home, losing his family and culture. I could tell he felt right at home being back there. He could still understand some of the spanish, as we have kept a tiny bit up. We plan on him attending a Montessori school with Spanish classes, so he can keep the language, and be able to communicate with his first family.





I cannot begin to explain this unconditional love we have for this family. They love our son from head to toe. I have had many questions from friends and family. They wonder if we are doing the right thing by having an open adoption. We get the "Aren't you worried he will be hurt, and be confused" or "Aren't you worried they will want him back?" I know their concerns, but we would never put our son in any situation we didn't think he was ready for. We waited over a year to let him bond and adjust to us. I prepared him for this visit, reintroduced photos. I would see his reaction. In the beginning after he came home he would wake in the middle of the night crying for his Mama & Papi'. I had to put all photos away. If he heard people speaking Spanish, he would scream, kick, and throw the worst tantrums. I had to watch out for that. I reintroduced him to Spanish by stopping on Spanish channels to see his reaction. I monitored him, and reintroduced him slowly to prepare him for this day. I knew he was ready when he didn't cry anymore to these introductions. I was showing him photos last week, and he stroked Mama Carmen's face on the photo. He didn't cry, he didn't wake in the middle of night crying. He knows I'm his mother, and Dallas is his Daddy! We really wanted him to know his first family that loved him. They have brown skin, and speak Spanish. He is half Hispanic, who are we to deny him his culture. This is our way of him knowing his culture, and where he came from. Yes, he doesn't know his birth family, but he does have family that loved him from day one. Also Jessica and him truly have a bond. She was adopted when she was 5yrs old, they can grow together. They can help each other with their displaced feelings of not knowing their birth families. I do know Jessica has had many questions since Daniel leaving about her birthmother. Daniel's story has given her sense of what adoption is all about. Baby Isaac was born after Daniel left. She has had questions as to why she didn't grow in Carmen's belly. So Daniel's adoption has helped her. She calls Daniel her brother, and we acknowledge her as his sister. God has blessed us all by uniting us through the miracle of adoption. He had this in his plan all along. To me that is so beautiful, we have gained a whole family out of this experience. Not just a child, but a true extended family. God is good, and our life has truly been blessed by this one beautiful child. He has opened our eyes on so many levels. I can admit 3 years ago, an open adoption frightened me. It seemed so scary, I thought I would be jealous that my child would love another mother. Not at all, I cannot explain it, just pure grateful love. I have a bigger heart than I ever thought I would. This journey has opened our hearts, and changed both of us. When were saying our goodbyes. It wasn't a goodbye this time, but see you real soon. Daniel hugged & kissed them all. They said we will always have a home there. We are welcome anytime, their door is always open to us. When we got in the car, Dallas said "Man you don't want to leave." So yes we already have plans to return very soon. We are so very blessed to call them family.