Surrogacy: An Unexpected Way to Build our Family

Once upon a time…

Back in 2009 one of our friends randomly mentioned to us “Hey, do you guys want kids?  Cuz my cousin mentioned that she’d be interested in being a surrogate in the future…”  Well, we met and it was a perfect fit.  She was amazing, she had sarcastic wit, and she possessed a very scientific view of conceiving and carrying a child.  Seriously, she was spot on the type of person we’d be able to work with to start building our family.

After a few months of getting to know each other well, meaning well enough that there were no concerns about what drama might unfold in our futures, we struck up a surrogacy contract, had it reviewed by a lawyer and got the ball rolling.  After a few attempts at the goal line, a lucky player scored and nine months later we had a tiny panda bear (actually a human boy-child).

The years passed, we all grew closer, and our family was ready to grow.  That same amazing lady, now one of our absolute best friends, was like “what do you think about number 2?”  That’s like saying “I already gave you a million dollars, but hey, could you use another million?  NBD if not.”  We were thrilled and started our process again.  Soon we had a baby koala join our family (again a human).  That’s where we are today.

We’ve faced a few challenges along the way, sure, all parents do.  Nothing severely impacting our lives, but just reminders of the progress that’s still to be made in some peoples’ views of the world.  Today, we’re living across the water from Seattle in a small town, Suquamish.  People are welcoming enough, but not overly so.  I don’t think it’s due to our family being different, but just because people don’t often venture outside of their own world, whether to see far off lands, to try something new, or to get to know those around them.

We don’t really have lofty goals with being parents.  I think it comes down to two things:  make sure our kids make it to adulthood with appropriate life skills, and to teach our kids how to be respectful human beings that impact people and places for the better.

This blog is about that journey.  We travel.  We stay local.  We do new things in new places, and we experiment with life at home.  As you follow our adventures (and some boring days), know that this is how we live life and it may be totally different from you or your neighbor, but now that’s why we’re sharing it with you.