When we first realized having babies was going to be an issue for us we immediately turned to adoption. We felt that Heavenly Father knew what was best for us and he would make sure our babies would get to us in whatever way was necessary. We started the process through LDS Family services and were approved three months (and a ton of paper work!) later. We were sure it was going to happen quickly-- little did we know our boy was not quite ready to come and we would be waiting 2 and a half years and switching agencies to get him. I was teaching part-time Kindergarten at the time we were first approved so in case we got a baby I could finish the year with only being away from the baby for half a day. WELL- Two years later and still no baby I decided to go ahead and switch to full time teaching. On December 16th while picking my little brother up at the airport from a mission for our church our case worker (from LDS Family Services) called us about a baby boy who had been born in Hawaii a few days earlier and a different agency in the area was looking for a family for him. I should back-up and say that we had been contacted before about different babies through different agencies but the price was always to high and the feeling was never quite right. When we got this call however we had a much different feeling and knew that this was our baby. What should have been an incredible moment was actually devastating because to bring our baby home we needed to come up with an amount of money that was thousands more than any other baby we'd ever been contacted about. I spent the rest of the day after getting home from the airport crying and trying to figure out how to get this baby. I won't go into details of what happened over the next 24 hrs. but suffice it to say a miracle happened in our lives and we were presented with a way to bring our baby home!
We had to do all the paper work necessary to switch agencies in one day (normally should take weeks) luckily my principal sent me home and got someone to cover my class! Now the waiting started... When babies come from different states paper work has to clear before they can come into a different state. We found out about Michael on a Thursday and it ended up being until Tuesday morning when we got him. Here is a picture the caseworker sent of him late Monday night- Michael chilling on a beach in Maui.
We were never blessed with the opportunity to meet Michael's birthmother. She chose a completely closed adoption and though we respect her decision and choices we pray that someday we can meet her and thank her for the most incredible gift we've ever been given. She gave us the gift of being parents something we could not do for ourselves. We pray she realizes how much we love her and how we pray for her everyday. Michael is such an extraordinary boy and we attribute lots of his sweet loving personality to his birth parents.
Finally it was time to meet our baby! Words cannot describe having your baby brought into the room and FINALLY being placed in your arms. It's overwhelmingly happy- we were finally parents! And to an incredibly sweet, handsome boy. He was so tiny and perfect. I don't know what it's like to have carried a baby within my body but I can't imagine the love being any more immediate or powerful as the moment my eyes met his. How grateful we are for adoption!!
I was blessed to be able to quit teaching and realize my dreams of becoming a stay-at-home mom. Wow- these last six years have gone to fast. It's hard to believe this sweet boy I'm writing about is now playing out back in the sand box with his little sister. Both he and Kate pray every night that they can soon be blessed with a little brother or sister through adoption- Mom and Dad also have the same prayer and can't wait to again experience the miracle of adoption!
