Nolan James | Adoption Story

Bismarck ND

As everyone in my family knows, I’m a total baby hog. Like if you don’t get the baby before I do–good luck. I won’t give them up! Many of my family members say that I inherited my Great-Grandma Ida’s gentleness with babies and if a baby is crying I’m usually the one that gets them to sleep. Grandma Arlene says it’s because I’m boring but I don’t believe that 😉

The other baby whisperer in my family is my Auntie Dayna. She and my Uncle Jer are two of the best examples of faith and a strong marriage, unshaken in the face of uncertainty, and I feel so lucky to have them as my aunt and uncle. I say that their faith is so inspiring because their journey to a (new) family of five has not been easy.

After a long road with infertility they adopted a sweet boy, Carter, from Guatemala and he has been bringing joy to our family since he came to America on July 3, 2007. Dayna and Jer have always hosted our family’s Fourth of July party so we couldn’t think of a more perfect time for Carter to have joined us in America than right before the Fourth!

When Carter was two my aunt and uncle found out that they were finally pregnant and Griffen was born in March! He’s been keeping us all on our toes, giggling, ever since and we often refer to him as “Little Roy”, as he reminds us all of my Grandpa Roy with his big blue eyes and mischievous shenanigans.

Looking back, I couldn’t imagine our family without Carter or Griff–they are the craziest, most rambunctious boys and there’s never a dull moment with them around. But still, Dayna and Jer have known that three has always been the magic number of children for their family. And so they started the adoption process again. This time, a domestic adoption.

Fast forward to July 3, 2015–eight years after Carter was first brought home to meet our family. Dayna and Jer and the boys were out shooting fireworks to celebrate Carter’s “Gotcha Day” when their phone began to ring, and, on the other end, was their adoption agency announcing to them that they had been chosen by a family, and would need to come to Iowa two days later to meet their newborn baby son!

As you can imagine, our Fourth of July party this year was a little unconventional. My day started with a teary lunch as I found out about Nolan’s arrival, proceeded with putting together a sleeper, washing various baby items, and organizing cupboards, and ended with a trip to Walmart to get some bottles. Oh, and fireworks! We did have some of those. =)

Nolan James was born on his brother’s “Gotcha Day”, July 3 and he was welcomed home by a throng of giddy family members on July 9, his Grandma’s birthday.

Adoption is such a beautiful thing and we are so thankful for the selfless gift Mr. Nolan’s tummy mommy has given our family. He’s the most beautiful baby and his brothers adore him!

To see my aunt and uncle absolutely smitten over their newborn son makes my heart burst. I am so happy you’ve found your missing piece and will be a family of five forever!