On July 10, 2023, Abigail Dawn was born. Here is her birth story.

https://abandonedocala.com/2023/09/28/her-fathers-joy/

We immediately became an Open Adoption family.

What does that mean????!!!!!

I barely knew anyone that was even adopted, let alone be in an open adoption where complete strangers become families and we all love the same little human?

But that is exactly what it is.

I hear that there can never ever be too much love for a child.

While I became a bystander in the life of Abby. I say bystander because I am not her parent, so I lovingly stand beside her parents and love her. I always want to have a front row seat in the lives of my children and grandchildren.

At Abby’s adoption on September 7th of 2023, we met her birth family. Her Birth Mommy and Daddy and big sister Haley. Her brother Caleb couldn’t come to the adoption due to illness. We immediately bonded over this baby and I knew we would be friends/family. How that would work was a mystery since her birth family lives in Alabama, we live in Florida and Abby and her Daddy’s live in Massachusetts.

We tried to gather at Christmas time 2023 but schedules did not permit it to happen.

It was decided that we would all meet up in Massachusetts in February 2024.

Would it actually happen? I’m not sure but Steve and I were taking a road trip and hoped it would materialize into some time spent together, getting to know Abby’s birth family.

As time grew near, Abby’s Alabama family’s travel plans to Massachusetts were finalized and they got to Kyle and Moshes house a few days before we arrived. They spent time at the Boston Aquarium.

When we arrived a day later…….

Would it be weird?

Would we have awkward conversation?

It was none of those.

It was sweet and we laughed and talked about ourselves and what makes us…..well us. We talked of our pasts and some of our wishes for the future.

We all loved on Abby and watched the others love on Abby.

We went on a family walk.

This is not the last extended family get together. We are already planning the second and then we will chat about the third and so on and so on and so on.

Abby turns ONE in July and we will be hosting her birthday party in Ocala!!!

THIS is Open Adoption and I’m all for it.