Tate and Brandon

On the heels of a fantastic evening with Tate's birth father, I feel the need to get some thoughts down on "paper".

We have gotten together with Brandon at least 2 or 3 times a year since Tate was born.  It never gets old, we look forward to these times...in fact, each time we get together with him, we feel like we want to do it more often!  And as Tate gets older and is starting to really understand his adoption, he wants to get together with Brandon more as well.

This blessing is like nothing we ever knew was possible...the feeling of seeing these 2 together, like no feeling I ever expected or ever knew existed.  It's hard to put into words really.  It's like the clearest picture of God's work to me.  To see someone love your child JUST as much as you and your husband do...a father's love, from 2 men.  Wow...it's amazing.  

And those of you who know Tate know that he isn't quick to snuggle up or love on someone before a bit of warming up and sometimes even then, he keeps his distance.  Not with Brandon.  It's NEVER been that way with Brandon.  Aside from Sean and I, Brandon is the only other person that Tate needs no warming up with.  He leaps into his arms the minute he sees him and doesn't leave his side.  Their bond is SO evident to anyone who witnesses them with one another.  It's natural...no matter how much time passes between their times spent together, it never goes away.

I will never forget the 1st time we got together with Brandon after we adopted Tate.  It was when Tate was 2 1/2 months old.  Whenever Tate would hear Brandon's voice, he would lift his head up and look right at Brandon.  He followed his voice and his face the entire time.  It was like he recognized his voice!  It was so cool to see!

 And that comfort level between them has only grown with time.  And now that Tate is getting older and understanding adoption and HIS adoption in particular, he recognizes how special these times are.  He loves every second of the time he gets to spend with his "birth daddy" as he calls him. :)  He said last night, "Brandon is so fun, he's my crazy birth daddy...he's so crazy.  I'm kinda crazy sometimes too, just like Brandon!" :)

 And it's so cool to see how alike they are!  Their mannerisms and expressions.  It's clear they are father and son!

Having Brandon in our lives makes EVERYTHING make more sense, makes me love more, makes me feel much more blessed than if he weren't in our lives.  It makes me love Sean more.  To see Sean genuinely feel the same joy as I do when seeing Brandon with Tate makes my heart so full.  Sean feels the exact same way for Brandon as I do...he understands wholeheartedly the importance of Brandon's presence in our lives and he genuinely loves Brandon too.  Sean is not threatened by Brandon's role in our family, he is happy that he is a part of it.  Sean enjoys spending time with Brandon, they get along, they have many similarities as well!  Including a BIRTHDAY!  Crazy that Tate's birth father and Daddy have the SAME birthday, huh?! :)  Awesome.

Brandon has been amazing to us since the moment we met him.  He has respected our role as Tate's Mommy and Daddy 150%.  These are things that people have asked us...that people wonder.  We feel nothing but complete gratitude towards Brandon.  We know that God orchestrated every bit of this story and He continues to reveal to us His glory through our ongoing relationship with Brandon.

And not only did he very literally hand over his son to us, he continues to love on him and spoil him and thank US every chance he gets.

He loves Tate...Tate is his son and he is Tate's father.  And not only did we gain a son through this adoption, we gained Brandon...and we cannot imagine our life without him in it.

And this picture...oh my.  I can't hardly even look at it.  Adoption is bittersweet...with what we gained, there was tremendous loss.  And though we thank God every moment for our Tater Tot, our hearts still ache for Brandon and Maggie.  The magnitude of what they willingly gave us is insurmountable.  It is something we will never be able to repay them for.