Since I have been writing about birth grandparents yesterday and today, I thought it would be only fitting for today’s Love Thursday picture to be of my parents, Charlie’s birth grandparents.

My parents were a little hesitant about open adoption and seeing Charlie in the very beginning. You have to remember that they come from the closed adoption era. If someone placed a child for adoption back then, the girl would have the baby, place him/her for adoption, and then she was told to move on and “forget.” When I was pregnant I did try to explain a little bit of open adoption to my Mom, but was unsure of exactly what all the future would hold myself. I do remember my Mom asking if I would show her pictures of him from time to time. I said yes of course I would and then tried to explain that I would see him too.

As time wore on and Charlie and his family became more a part of my life, my parents ended up seeing them at gatherings like my bridal shower, Noah’s birthday parties, etc.. They began to open up more to the idea of seeing him.

Sure, the relationship they have with Charlie is different than the relationship they have with Noah, but they are able to love Charlie and provide him with more unconditional love in his life.

This picture (that my Mom asked me to take) was taken at Noah’s 9th birthday party which was at a local fun park that has go carts, bumper boats, arcade games, etc… My dad rode the go carts with Charlie and he managed to talk my Mom into the bumper boats. It was so heart warming to see them laughing and smiling and having fun with him.

Spending time with your grandparents – that’s love!