3 weeks ago today!

Tonight marks the 3 week anniversary of THE Phone call! It was 9 pm Alaska time on June 1, when Chelsey’s phone rang. I was researching flights out of Fairbanks to be with our babies since the C-section had been scheduled for June 13^th. Chelsey was downstairs in her office keeping her business moving forward anticipating a maternity leave that was weeks away! Or, so we thought!

So, back to that ringing phone! I looked at Chelsey’s caller ID thinking, “Who is calling Chelsey’s business line so late?” I was surprised to see it was the birth mother of the twins, so I quickly answered. I’ll never forget her voice on the other line, “Hey Ken, I’m at the hospital, and they are about to wheel me in to deliver these babies. So, you better get yourselves down here.” From there I’m a bit blurry. I know I handed the phone to Chelsey, and they chatted for a little bit. I ran back to the computer found the soonest flight out of Fairbanks, and was on the phone with AK Airlines! Our flight out of Fairbanks was set for 1:20am, and we would arrive in NC in the evening of the 2^nd with stops in Seattle and Atlanta.

After a quick phone call to Chelsey’s parents to get them to our house, we grabbed whatever clothes we could, packed a bag for us, and a bag for our boys. We left so quickly that we had even forgotten to kiss PK and MG. A fact we realized as we were backing out of the driveway, and made both Chelsey and I tear up! This was the longest we’d ever been away from them.

The trip was as smooth as a trip could be. We slept when we could. We talked baby names. We discussed our excitement. We chatted about how the universe works in the most amazing ways. We listened to music. Watched some programming on iTunes. The trip was long, but we were focused on being with our babies the same day they were born!

When we landed in Charlotte it was already after 8:30pm. Our luggage made it quickly through baggage claim, and we were to the rental car shuttle super quick. Being so late at night, there were only a few other people on the shuttle, and of course the conversation was centered on the question, ”where are ya’ going and why.” Naturally, our being from Alaska to adopt twins had everyone’s attention! By the time we reached the lot, there wasn’t a dry eye on the shuttle! People we hadn’t even know for 10 minutes were giving hugs, and asking for our contact information to keep up with our story!

The car ride to the hospital was crazy! It was after 9pm now, so it was dark. That may not seem weird to you, but we’re from Alaska. During the summer, we love the daylight at night! When you’ve been traveling all night and day, it’s a little easier to drive with daylight! :)

With the help of the GPS, we made it to the hospital at just about 10pm. We walked right up to the Women’s Center, and we were led straight to the birth mother’s room. We had reached the moment we had waited for since February of 2010. The moment when we get to hold our babies, and once again be parents. We were nervous and excited. I held Chelsey’s hand as she knocked on the door, and we heard the faint, “come in.” Here we go!

There are so many things that cross your mind in these moments. We had no idea what the birth mother would be feeling toward the boys or us. We didn’t know how we might feel when we first lay our eyes on them. All of the questions that ran through our brains were about to be answered. As we stepped through the door our eyes met those of the birth mother. She immediately took charge of the room. The babies needed to held by Chelsey and me. Her grandmother, and her grandmother’s friend needed to move aside for us to sit and hold our boys. She called in a nurse and said, “These are the boys parents. They need a room here tonight.” We sat and chatted for only 10 minutes. Enough for us all to see each other, and to know that everyone was okay and still ready to make this all happened. It was such a reassuring moment for all of us. It was great to see the relief in her face that we were there; that we were still with her to help her with her adoption plan. It was great for us to see her relief and know that her intentions had not changed.

We all needed to rest, so we took the boys to the room that the nurses had assigned to us. They brought us food, juice, and water. They made sure we were comfortable, and then they left. Chelsey and I sat there for a minute taking it all in. We stared at our beautiful boys. We smiled. We cried. We took in the moment for as long as we could. There were no two other people anywhere in the world that were any luckier than us in that moment. We were with our boys. They were healthy. They were beautiful. And they were ours! And not even 24 hours earlier did we know that this would be how it all would happen! Simply amazing!

We ended up staying in the hospital for 2 nights. The nurses and doctors were amazing. The social worker spent countless hours during that time organizing paperwork, making phone calls, and setting us up to start heading back to Alaska. So much so, that by Monday the 6^th the state of NC had already cleared us to leave with the babies!! The problem was then getting the paperwork to AK, and getting cleared to go home.

Our first full day in NC was spent loving the babies, meeting their biological grandmothers, and aunt, finding car seats, booking a place to stay (thanks Big Brother!), and simply enjoying every moment. Oh yeah, we also agreed on their names, Asher and Oliver! Much as we did with their older siblings, we waited until we held them to know what their names would be. It was amazing how Chelsey and I knew almost instantly that we were holding our Asher and Oliver!

By Saturday afternoon, we had been discharged from the hospital and we moved into a hotel that was close by. The Pediatrician wanted to see the boys on Monday, so we didn’t want to move and stay too far away from her office. We spent the next two nights staying close to home in the hotel. The boys were so great. They slept and ate well. We did as much napping as we could. I did make sure that we took in our first USMNT soccer game. Spain crushed us, but still it was a moment for daddy and the boys while mama napped! It was a great first two days!

The doctor’s appointment was perfect. Both Asher and Oliver maintained great health, and were steadily gaining weight. We chatted more about the adoption, and life in general. As we left, we were gifted formula and a bunch of other baby supplies for our time in NC. The generosity of all involved was just amazing.

After the appointment, we drove back down to Charlotte. We had a hotel booked with the help of a wonderful friend and brother. We set ourselves up, and spent the next week enjoying our babies. Watching them grow in front of our eyes. We loved seeing their personalities emerge. We learned Oliver loves to be snuggled, and gulps his food like it’s going out of style! He also hates diaper changes!! Asher was a little more laid back with things. But when he cried, you knew something was wrong. Now, lucky for us, those things were either he was hungry or needed changing.

Wednesday night, June 8^th, my dad traveled down to help us, and to meet his grandsons. For me the best part was seeing his instant love for our boys. There was no hesitation. They had already had a place in his heart, and there was nothing that was going to say otherwise. When we would go out to the mall, he proudly pushed the stroller. Not ever afraid to show them off.

When we were back in the hotel, he would jump up and change them and feed them as often as he could. I had never seen my dad like that, and it seriously made the experience that much better! When he left 5 days later, it was so hard to say goodbye. And his absence was quickly recognized when later that day we were returning from a store with Chelsey carrying our shopping bag, and me pushing the stroller, and both of us looking for some one to open the door for us!! It was comical.

At about this time, we really started getting homesick. Living in a hotel has its perks, but by the time we had been in NC for a week we were ready to just be home. We wanted to see our PK and MG. We wanted to have all of our kids together, so that we can be the big family. We wanted to stop the financial bleeding!!!!

We decided to try to break up our long trip back home by taking an extra day in Seattle to spend with Chelsey’s cousin and her family. What a great decision. We flew out of Charlotte on Tuesday and made it to Seattle that night. We enjoyed a very relaxing two nights there, and made the trip home. The boys did so great on the flights. Everyone was so impressed that 1) we were flying with new borns, and 2) that they flew as well as they did. We booked three seats together to that we could all sit in the same row. Chelsey and I each snuggled a baby in a Moby Wrap for the entire trip. We would land and feed the babies while everyone exited the plane, and then change them after got our luggage or made it to the next gate! Everywhere we went the on-lookers grew. We loved sharing our story, and answering all of the questions.

We finally landed back home in Fairbanks 2 weeks after the babies were born. Seeing PK and MG was amazing! They looked so big! We swear that they each grew a foot while we were gone. Chelsey’s parents were there to greet us, along with Auntie B and Joe! There was the wonderful H family, and, being that it is FAI, several other families that just happened to be there picking other people up! It turned into a little party! :)

We couldn’t be happier with how everything happened. From finding the perfect van days before all of this happened to meeting an expecting mother in a department store in NC with the same name as my baby sister that is planning on naming her daughter the first names of our oldest! Each moment, each interaction, each new friendship that was created all happened in the most perfect way. In a way that we jokingly say couldn’t have been writen any better.

We will keep you updated as we approach a court date that will make our boys officially our boys!

Thank you for following our story, and for keeping our family in your heart, and prayers.

Ken, Chelsey, and Kids!! Four of them!! :)

PS : Pictures and some video are coming. I promise! :)