Red Thread Sessions

This couple are dear friends of mine. They have been longing for a family for over 7 years. After years of trying to get pregnant with no results they moved on to in vitro. Over the course of several years they tried IVF three times with no results. At that point they looked toward adoption. Within months they were matched with a birth mom. They waited for their baby Maggie for 7 long months. In the end, the birth mom kept the baby. They never once saw her. They were left with empty hearts and arms and a beautiful nursery. Losing that baby was one of the most heart wrenching things I’ve ever witnessed. In those days and weeks following none of us could understand how that tragedy could ever be made right. The one thing they knew was that they wanted a family more than ever now. The adoption door was still open, but they were so cautious about trusting again. Surrogacy was now on the table. They were meeting with several adoption attorneys when an adoption of 3 siblings (2 boys ages 2 & 4 and a 15 month old girl) was brought to their attention. After much thought, prayer, and consultation they applied along with 7 other couples. They were selected without question! They had a nursery for a baby girl and a room with twin beds for the boys! Just 2 weeks after being chosen the kids came home and they are now a family of 5! These children have had a rough start at life and thankfully the younger two probably won’t remember any of that. Yes, Cory and Vanessa have their hands full (they’ve gone from zero to three kids overnight!), but their hearts are now overflowing. These kids will now have a happy, loving, safe, and blessed life.

I visited them shortly after they came home forever. The kids had been home for just 8 days. They had a small birthday party at the park for the middle child who was turning 3. He had never had a party or even a birthday cake before. He loved that cake. I knew that I wanted to get some pictures of the kids so that they could get some photos up on the wall (in their spare time), but I wanted to keep it fun. I took a candid approach and snapped some pictures at the park and then the next day in the backyard. Once they’re a little more settled we’ll do a real family shoot.

If their story intrigues you, you can follow them on their Facebook page: The Hodgerson 5. Dad posts daily and you never know if you’re going to cry from laughing or from emotion. They are experiencing a crash course in parenting and have such a great attitude about it all.