Last September

In a couple of days we are going on a roadtrip to Iowa. We are seriously taking a tour of the state including a stay in a picturesque cabin (yes, this exists in Iowa...I think), a visit to my parent's home, and a trip to Dustin's parent's home-away-from-home (see the JG Cook House link on the side.) We have made the drive to Iowa SO many times over the years. We know every exit by heart. We know where to use the facilities, where to eat, where to get excited that we are almost there, where you are most likely to get stuck in the winter, and where you are most likely to get swept away by a tornado in the summer.

There is one exit that will be a part of our family history forever. A year ago from last weekend a social worker from our agency called as we crossed the border into Iowa. She had a referral for us. She read us the details and asked if we'd like to see pictures and review the file. We said yes, and the email was sent. We pulled over at the next exit and prayed for the wireless gods to shine upon us in the middle-of-nowheresville. They did. Slowly but surely the pictures uploaded, pixel by pixel. All of a sudden we saw him. And our world was changed forever.

We will be sure to stop at this exit on this trip. We'll probably be busy making sure the dog doesn't eat another dog, and that Jaden doesn't get too intimate with any of the semi-trucks that he obssesses about. I don't know if we'll have time to reflect on how fundamentally our lives have shifted since that day. It was on that day that we became parents emotionally if not physically. It was on that day that we "met" our son. It happened at a rest stop. In Iowa. In September.