Today is a big day.  Let me rephrase that.  Today is an enormous day.  I have held back talking too much about this situation because I never wanted to say or do anything that might interfere with the process.  To be honest, I just learned the newest term for it. Today is the “Gotcha Day” for my grandbabies, Kaemyn and Kalyssa.  A journey that started nearly five years ago has finally culminated in this long awaited celebration of their adoption into our family.  Oh how we have prayed for this day.  

I first met Kaemyn and Kalyssa in December of 2015.  Colton told me he and Carly were babysitting for a friend of Carly’s mom’s (who happened to be the kid’s maternal grandmother).  Carly’s mother had been a classmate of hers.  Kaemyn had just turned one and Kalyssa was just shy of one month old.  I truly don’t know if I had ever set sight on more beautiful children.  Kaemyn had the most captivating little smile and Kalyssa had the biggest brown eyes I had ever seen.  They were perfect.  

As the kid’s biological mother was struggling to take care of them and their grandmother was preoccupied with working to make ends meet, Colton and Carly began babysitting more and more.  What would start as a “couple hour” babysitting job slowly turned into day long babysitting jobs.  Little by little those crept into week long babysitting jobs.  I was so confused because I couldn’t imagine anyone ever babysitting my own children for those lengths of time.  Bewildered as we were, our entire family quickly fell in love with both of these kids.  

As his mother, watching Colton evolve into the role of a parent was fascinating.  Here I was, one year into grieving the loss of Dalton, and now I was witnessing his 19 year old brother step up into fatherhood.  Neither Kaemyn or Kalyssa had known a male presence.  And now my son, who still had two years before even reaching the legal age to drink, was changing diapers, learning how to mix formula and rocking babies during KU basketball games.  He and Carly were extraordinary.  Those two managed to physically, emotionally, and financially provide for two babies they loved so much as they navigated through their own dating life and (later) wedding engagement.  They learned how to cordially work alongside biological family members and DCF to foster Kaemyn and Kalyssa and to begin the adoption process, all the while attending school and maintaining part and full time jobs.    

There is no doubt in my mind that Kaemyn and Kalyssa healed Colton’s heart after losing his brother.  I know I have said this before, but out of the five of us, Colton was probably the closest one to Dalton.  We all shared a unique relationship with him, but the bond of two brothers is hard to compete with.  Especially two brothers that shared all the same interests, including the same bedroom.  I find it to be no accident that God brought these kids into his and Carly’s lives shortly after the accident.  While Colton’s heart was hurting, God was working.  While Colton was struggling to regain normalcy in his teen years, God was working.  And while I was begging the Lord to help my child come to terms with losing his only brother, God was working.  

How do I know that?  At 4:16PM on November 15th, 2014, Dalton was pronounced dead.  Hours later, that very next day, at Wesley Hospital, God was busy bringing beauty from ashes as a 6 lb 7 oz little boy was born in Wichita, KS.  His name was Kaemyn.  He was born to an extremely courageous young woman.  As much praise as I want to give (and will always give) Colton and Carly for raising him, I will forever be the most grateful to his biological mother.  She chose what many don’t.  She chose life.  Twice.  Had it not been for her, this “Gotcha Day” would not exist and neither would this blog.  Not only did she choose to have two babies as a single mother, she would later do the most unselfish thing a parent can do.  Accepting that her children could have better lives with two people that vowed to love them unconditionally and assume responsibility for them, she gave them up.  I will never pretend to know how hard that was because I have never been in those shoes.  With that being said, I want her to know how proud I am of her.  Over the years, I have watched her mature into a beautiful young adult who has gotten her priorities straight in life, even to the point of raising a precious little girl of her own.  Our God is the author of giving second chances and I know for a fact that is what she is experiencing.  When it comes to Kaemyn and Kalyssa, she was chosen by God to be their biological mother.  My all-time favorite Rick Warren quote is “There are accidental and illegitimate parents, but no accidental or illegitimate children.  Your parents may not have planned you, but God did.”  They were intended by God to be here for a purpose and by His grace they crossed paths with my son and his wife.

So what exactly is the point of this blog, then, you might be asking.  Yes, it is about celebrating Kaemyn and Kalyssa’s new last name of course.  But that’s not entirely it.  If you take anything away from this, let it be how important it is that you trust God is working on your behalf.  He is never going to let you go through the fires and the lion’s dens alone.  Trust him.  Don’t miss your blessing.  When Colton realized Kaemyn was born the day after Dalton died, he accepted his blessing.  That was no coincidence.  All of the circumstances the birth mother faced and the hardships she endured helped form that blessing for Kaemyn and Kalyssa to meet Colton and Carly for that very first babysitting job.  We don’t always feel it or see it, but God is working. The kid’s biological mother is thriving and enjoying being a mother to her little girl. So, as she was saying goodbye to her first two children, God was working for her, rewarding her for two of the most unselfish acts a parent can do for their children.  

To my “official” grandchildren, I hope you always know how much you are loved.  You have felt like ours from the beginning, but now it’s on paper.  I can’t wait to watch you become the people God destined you to be.  What the devil intends for evil, God uses to His unending glory.  

Here is to today.  The story of them.