Couple has outing with cardboard box of embryos to imagine being ‘mom and dad’ for a day

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“That cardboard box held our future. It contained our dreams, our blood, sweat and tears. It literally contained tiny pieces of us that would change everything we ever thought we knew about life.

man and woman holding a shipment box of embryos in front of a sign that reads, "The Fertility Center of Oregon"
Samantha Clark

Within that cardboard box was a metal tank with our cryopreserved ‘medium grade’ embryos.

woman smiling holding a shipment box of embryos in a driveway
Samantha Clark

That was the day we officially met our kids. It was the first day we held them and loved them. It was a day full of daydreaming and laughter. It was a day full of conversation about trips to the ice cream shop, family vacations to Disney World, Christmas mornings, running around the playground and strolling through the park.

shipment box of embryos placed on a slide while a man crouches down at the end of the slide ready to catch it
Samantha Clark
woman smiling and going down a slide at a playground while holding a box of embryos
Samantha Clark

We knew that if nothing ever came from that cardboard box that at least we had spent one day as ‘Mom and Dad.’ We had one day to think about the possibility of having kids! We had one day doing the small things that bring a little joy to a hectic family life. And we had one day with the thought of infertility being a distant memory and not a devastating reality.

man holding box of embryos over his shoulders and smiling up at it
Samantha Clark

So, we took that cardboard box on an adventure as we traveled to our new fertility clinic. We buckled them in and enjoyed ourselves at different destinations like the park, McDonald’s, the local pet shop, the grandparents’ house and we even picked out our Christmas tree with them. We played baseball and dolls and went for a stroll on a rainy day.

woman smiling at box of embryos with a happy meal in front of it
Samantha Clark
man holding a box of embryos while woman holds puppy who has his paw on the box
Samantha Clark
elderly man and woman sit on a couch with a dog and a box of embryos is sitting in between them
Samantha Clark
man has box of embryos at his feet as he gestures to a tree
Samantha Clark
man crouches down behind a box with his arms around it and a plastic basball bat in his hands and ball on the ground
Samantha Clark

Big Announcement!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. We couldn't have done it without you!!

Posted by Mickey D Clark on Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Today as I write this, I sit here staring at the contents of that cardboard box. On August 8, 2017, we welcomed triplets into this world. Neither of us could have ever foreseen this happy ending. With every potential adoption failure, every foster care discussion, every fertility treatment we tried, we imagined a lot of things, but nothing prepared us for the reality. We never could have imagined the moment we heard each baby let out their first cry in the operating room. We couldn’t have imagined the tears in our eyes as we stared at each one of them in their NICU isolettes. We couldn’t have imagined being even more in love with each other than we already were. We couldn’t have imagined the kind of instant love that only a parent knows. We couldn’t have planned a better life than the one God has given us. It was all totally worth it! We are forever changed — because of that cardboard box.”

mother and father sit in front of fire place with three babies sitting on their laps
Lisa Dubisar Photography

This loving story was submitted to Love What Matters by Samantha Clark, 29, of Oregon. Submit your story here.

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