Baby Brody

On December 8th I had the blessing of witnessing the birth of my newest nephew Brody into the world. Chanel (Brody's birthmother) very generously allowed me to be in the room during the birth as the "photographer" (even though I'm not much of one) and it was such an amazing experience. I have never seen a live birth before. I was able to witness a few seconds of Baby Mac's birth, which was unforgettable, but I have never witnessed an entire birth in person before. During the birth, my sister and I shared a silent, brief moment where we looked at each other and knew we were both feeling the same thing--an absolute awe and a deep gratitude for each of our sons birth mom's. It wasn't until that moment, watching Chanel give birth, that we truly understood exactly what each of our birth mother's went through for us. It was amazing and in that moment, my love and admiration for Kimbralee (Bryson's birthmother) deepened so much.

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Even more incredible than watching the birth was hearing Chanel share with me how she came to make the decision to place her baby for adoption. She told me her number one priority was to do what Heavenly Father wanted her to do with the baby. She talked about how she spent a lot of time praying to know what to do and it wasn't until she met Rachel and Randy that she came to understand that little Brody wasn't hers and that he was meant to be theirs. Hearing her share that left me in tears. She is such an amazingly strong girl. I was in awe of her strength and the courage she had to follow through with what she knew in her heart was the right decision even though it was the hardest thing she had ever had to do. You can read Rachel's version of the incredible story here.  It truly is amazing how Heavenly Father works so many miracles when it comes to adoption. Brody is definitely meant to be with Randy and Rachel. Chanel will always hold a special place in all of our hearts because she has blessed our family with sweet little Brody.