Our son is here

It is with GREAT joy that I share - Our miracle baby is here!!!!

Alexander Benjamin Lilyestrom was born on Sunday, 3/13 (just hours before I sent out last week's Sacred Sunday love note!!) and in the divine unfolding of a series of magical events - we adopted him on Tuesday, 3/15. 

My mind does back flips just thinking about where to begin with this incredible story and my hope is that in sharing it, you will not only join in the celebration of this magical soul, but also receive inspiration as it relates to calling in the miracles of your life, too.

If you've been here for any length of time, you know that 2021 was a year of heartache and loss for Ben and I. 

With 2 failed IVF cycles behind us and a pregnancy loss, we made the grace-filled and divinely-guided decision to begin the adoption process in June. 

We took our time and slowly began diving into the very in-depth and intimate process that comes with adoption. 

We completed our home study and filed all of the necessary paperwork while working on saving for the substantial investment that comes with this process. 

In November of last year, we matched with a birth mama and father, it expedited things and we got a call that had us contemplating welcoming in a baby by Thanksgiving! 

It was wildly exciting and stirred our hearts in a way that confirmed - our family was not yet complete and that we were on the right path.

The birth parents ended up choosing to parent their sweet babe, which was a beautiful outcome and one that helped prepare us for the uncertainty and emotional roller coaster that is adoption. 

Fast forward to March 2022.

We went to Florida to host our ELEVATE Retreat and planned to extend our trip for a week for a family vacation.

Before we left, I speed read the book Spirit Babies by Walter Makichen as a result of the urging from a handful of friends. 

Something clicked and I started talking to our "spirit baby."

I got Ben in on it with me and we started to move with a level of certainty that was new for us as it related to our adoption journey. 

Instead of feeling fear and worry, we moved into an energetic of wonder and excitement. 

I started asking for signs...and on the final night of the retreat, as we all sat around playing with card decks and telling stories, I pulled a card that read: 

"I come to you with news of unexpected life. Something that seemed once impossible, without energy or hope of success, is coming to life. Not only is this an unexpected happening, but it will be taking place when you think it least likely. I come with the decree that life shall have its way, no matter what circumstances appear to dictate, and in the midst of great loss, scarcity or denial of life, a blessing of abundance, fertility and a new beginnings will be given." - Alana Fairchild

Little did I know how quickly things would unfold from here. 

In that moment, I asked for a sign from God. I asked for confirmation that our baby was on the way. 

And just 2 days later, as I walked on the beach with my beloved friend and client Lea during her VIP Coaching Session, I came across a tiny & perfect sand dollar. 

I knew this was my sign.

...

Fast forward to Sunday, 3/13...

We arrived home to New Hampshire from our vacation at 1:30 am after copious delays.

We picked up our pets from my mom & dad's, did a huge grocery run and unpacked our suitcases. 

We settled into the afternoon sunshine in our beloved home and I started working on our family plan to get prepared for the week ahead.

And then at 4:17 pm, I received an email that would change the rest of our lives.

It was about Alex and his birth mama's story. 

He was born that morning and his mama and daddy needed to place him for adoption. 

The background details were brief due to the urgent nature of finding an adoptive family ASAP.

The email asked that we write a personal letter to his birth mama to accompany our profile book.

The cut-off was in 30 minutes.

So I pulled up a chair with my heart beating out of my chest, put on the playlist I created during our IVF journey and poured myself out on the page. 

I told her about our 8-year-dream of growing our family after Anni was born and what happened last year that lead to our dream of adoption. 

I told her about how ready we were to get on a plane to go to wherever our baby needed us to be.

I told her about our commitment to love this baby for the rest of our days and beyond.

And the most miraculous part of all...

The email shared that she had chosen to name the baby Alexander. 

I told her about when I was pregnant with Anni 9 years ago, we were almost 100% Anni would be the girl that she is, but just in case - we had ONE boy name on our list.

That name? Alexander. 

We could not have written the unfolding of what happened next.

On Monday at 4:30 pm, the phone rang and it was our adoption consultant team telling us that we had been chosen to adopt Alex. 

We got on the phone with his birth parents and had an instant and electric connection. 

I cried through the entire conversation and told them how honored and excited we were.

We called in our nearest and dearest after we got off the phone, booked the plane tickets, rental car and hotel in an instant and left NH at 1:45 am. 

We landed back in Florida at 8:30 am where Alex was born and could do nothing but *wait* to hear from the social workers on whether or not the birth parents, ultimately, decided to finalize the adoption on their end. 

It was in those hours that ALL of the work I've done on myself and my mindset came in to play. 

We drove to the hospital listening to Magic Treehouse audiobooks with Anni donning her "Super Fun Sister" t-shirt in the backseat  , taking deep breaths and holding hands.

We affirmed the highest good for ALL involved, no matter what.

We prayed for grace.

We cried.

We laughed.

We texted our best friends and family members with round the clock updates. 

We allowed ourselves to fully immerse in the stream of the moment.

And at 4:00 pm that day, I got to hold our son for the very first time. 

When I looked up the time stamp of the sand dollar "sign" photo - I realized it was exactly ONE WEEK TO THE HOUR that I received this confirmation and then became Alex's mom. 

The synchroncitites have been nothing short of astounding, but most of all, this experience has humbled our hearts in the deepest way.

It has confirmed so much and it has opened me to a whole new realm of understanding about life, about energy, about miracles and love.

The opportunity to know Alex's birth mama leaves me in awe....of her courage, her strength and most of all, her love for her son.

We are inexplicably and intimately connected for all of time and it is my solemn and sacred vow to honor her through my motherhood and this honor is one I will live into all the days of my life. 

My experience of motherhood has had a quantum shift of miraculous proportions. 

...

And so here we are, still in Florida until our paperwork clears to return home.

We're nesting in a hotel suite that is growing smaller by the day with a newborn and 8-year-old, so we decided to return to that very beach where I found the sand dollar and prayed for the boy we would know before we could have even imagined him until it's time to head back to NH.

We're returning to the place where our dreams and the dreams of our beloved clients have taken flight. 

There is so much more to come...

And I have SO much more to share about this process, about reentering the stream of newborn babe motherhood, about the heart works and mechanics of raising babies and businesses, about cultivating an abundant life that supports your wildest dreams (financially, physically and beyond) and the strategies that I've already put in place to maintain growth in our company while making time for my KIDS.

Getting to add the -s to that word just made me teary!!!  

Thank you for being a part of this journey with us!!!!!

I am absolutely thrilled to be supporting my incredible clients in calling in their very own miraculous manifestations and feel an even deeper sense of purpose in this work as a result of this experience. 

If the dream is in you, it's for you for certain, my love.

If you're seeking support on the path and feel like you've tried everything - let's chat. 

Here's to you and the unfolding.