Media Monday: Ancestors

Russ and I were asked to serve as "Ma and Pa" for the Stake Trek with the youth. Trek is an incredible experience where we go and reenact the pioneers walking across the plains with handcarts. We wear traditional pioneer clothing, cook over a fire, etc. We are really excited for the opportunity! One part of the trek is that you have to choose a pioneer that walked across the plains that you want to walk for and learn about. Russ and I both turned to our genealogy books that our amazing grand parents have put together. In sorting through mine, I found an adoption story! Here it is:

My Grandma's, Glendon, married a woman named Bobette. They had 2 sons, but after 5 or 6 attempts to have another child resulted in miscarriages, they turned to adoption. After a little bit (not sure how long), an attorney friend of theirs from church told them that he had a 2 year old girl who needed a home. She got there as fast as she could. She writes "With a pounding and anxious heart, Bobette arrived at the office. She opened the door, and Gibbons picked up a beautiful, sweet faced, brown haired child withe dark eyes of beauty, depth and alertness that Bobette was instantly captivated. For Bobette, the search of years, the longing of her heart were over. Her child had arrived". Bobette writes that there had been spaces in her heart reserved for Tawny, the child they adopted. That night, she waited for her husband to come home and she kept checking every 15 minutes or so on her sleeping child. "It was after midnight when he came, and not wanting to disturb her sleep, the two of us looked at this perfect and beautiful little girl who miraculously had become ours." She writes that "the boys were as crazy about her as we were". I love that the older boys just adored their new baby sister.

Tawny came down with leukemia and after battling it for 3 years, she passed away. She often reminded her parents (even before the sickness) that she was sealed to them (in an LDS temple). They will be able to live together forever, even though she passed away when she was only 12 years old.

Our Thoughts: We loved reading about the feelings and excitement from an ancestor in Kylee's family that was able to adopt. We love that there were spaces in their hearts reserved for this girl. We definitely feel that our family is not complete, and that there is a special someone that is supposed to come to our family. We love how much they were all immediately taken with her, especially the boys. Caden is SUCH a caring, loving boy and we know he is going to be a great big brother! We are excited for the day when we can write our own adoption story.