Just like that, on the night of June 1st we got ‘the call’ – the call that would set life into motion & forever bless us with our twins. Within a few hours our newest additions were here. Two more added to our family, blessing us beyond belief. Over 15 hours of travel later and we were there, the same day you were born. Isn’t that unbelievable? When you are called to move mountains, cross oceans & just ‘get there’ … you will. Somehow, through it all, there we were on the very same day that they were born, holding them. “These are their parents. And they will need a room.”
A few words from Mr. MachC:
Last night marked 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 13th. 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 2nd with stops in Seattle and Atlanta.
{I remember barely holding back tears on the phone. I still have the pad of paper where I quickly scribbled the name of the hospital, just to make sure I would remember when we arrived.}
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!
We crossed the threshold & made it to the medical center late that night, around 10pm.
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 [& be back together after many weeks in waiting].
We stayed in the hospital for two nights. We named our boys Asher & Oliver.
We have now been home in Alaska for one week, today.
Life is amazing.
). Four weeks to the day on Saturday, we celebrated your birth & hopped on a plane only to fly many, many uncharted miles to reach you. We crossed several time zones & left the (dry) 80s to arrive in the humid 90s. We left the Land of the Midnight Sun (with the sun barely still shining) to arrive in the evening that turned to nightfall by the time we were on the road to you.
– are truly blessed.