Colorado - Part I

We are officially back from Colorado. Sam and I traveled with Emily's dad and were given the opportunity to meet Colton and his mother for dinner last Friday evening.

I think it is best to tell the story of our Colorado trip through two entries.

Let me start out by saying the moment we laid eyes on Colton, we were incredibly impressed with this young man. He carried himself with confidence and had a sincere, genuine and kind quality about him. It was obvious that he wanted to meet us because he cared deeply about the future of this unborn child, his son.

I had prayed a lot last week. Asking the Lord to prepare my heart for this meeting and also to give me guidance on what to share with Colton. I wanted to make a meaningful [and real] connection with Colton. 

Since I am a birthparent, I felt like that was a good place to start. So at dinner, I told my story. I shared about my own adoption experience and how wonderful and rewarding it has been over the years. I wanted him to know that I understood [I mean really, really understood] how difficult this decision was that he was facing.

Of course we discussed a lot more than just my adoption story. We talked about a lot of different angles and how this situation could pan out in several different ways. We talked about the future of this baby and how all of us wanted what was best for this little guy. We talked. And we talked. And we talked.   

After 3.5 hours we were all beat. We decided to call it a night and all head home. We set up a time and place to meet for breakfast Saturday morning.

In all honestly, we were not sure where Colton stood after that evening together. We knew we hit it off and got along great, but was he ready [and willing] to give us his blessing to parent this baby boy? 

Needless to say....it was quite a sleepless night...I am sure for all of us.