Because Kim's family is also in town this week to take her little brother to the MTC, we invited them all over for a BBQ last night so they could see Bryson and meet our families. They haven't seen Bryson since he was born, so we were happy to give them the chance to spend a little time with him while they are here.They are in town from Ohio and gave him some really cute Ohio State gear to wear (go Buckeyes!), two stuffed animals that make noise, and some fun books to read.
We BBQ'd, popped a few huge water wienie's made out of tractor tires (a Hinckley family tradition), played games together, lit sparklers, played volleyball, and watched Bryson run around like a maniac. He thrived in all of the extra attention he received.
Open adoptions are amazing--at least our experience has been amazing! Before we entered into one, I use to be somewhat skeptical and a little worried about having an open adoption, but then we met Kim and all of our worries and fears about having one were immediately put to rest. Now that we are experiencing an open adoption, we can see clearly why they are becoming more and more common--because they truly are WONDERFUL!!! (see video below)I feel like open adoptions provide adopted children the best of both worlds. For example:
Bryson still gets to see his birth mommy/family occasionally and because of that, he will never question their support and love for him and will always know that his Mommy Kim's decision to place him for adoption was made out of love. Pure, unselfish love...
AND...
Bryson also gets the blessing of being raised by a mommy AND daddy that love him endlessly and can provide a wonderful life for him.
Kim and her family get to see that Bryson is doing well and being loved through occasional visits and through this blog, which seems to bring them comfort and peace in knowing that he is loved and being well cared for.
Mike and I get to have our long desired blessing of being parent's and having the cutest little boy in the world (yes, we're biased) to raise as our son. One of our most painful experiences of learning that we could never have children of our own, has honestly turned out to be (thanks to Kim) one of the most incredible blessings of our lives!
It's a win-win situation all around! Bryson is SO LUCKY to have so many people apart of his life that love him so much!
He truly is the luckiest!
(You can check out a great video about open adoptions here.)
