Here is the story of how one mother was able to expand her family throught he blessing of adoption: “Our story begins long before the birth mom was ever pregnant with many hours of prayer. Pregnancy was always difficult for me. We have suffered through many miscarriages and 2 live premature births, one of which did not survive. Loss of any kind takes time to recover and it took time for us to adjust to this new life that was different than we had planned. We have one biological son and he is a true blessing to us. Both my husband and I grew up with siblings and we cherish them. We wanted our son to have this same opportunity, but it wasn’t happening as we had planned. My husband was the first to mention adoption. I wasn’t so sure. I told him if you want to do this then you will have to do all the work. So he started contacting agencies and requesting paperwork. Once I saw his commitment level, I too started working on the process. We knew that in order for God to bless us in this area of our lives that we would have to put our names out there.
Once we made our decision to adopt, it was time to select an agency. We chose Christian Child Placement Service (CCPS) based on morals and values. We contacted Malisa, the social worker for CCPS, the adoption agency. She was really nice and helped us begin the process of adoption. We had mounds of paperwork to fill out. It seemed like the questions that were asked were endless. We created a profile book for the birth parents to look at. It featured our family with pictures and stories that told about us and who we are. All of this was used in matching us to the right couple. Prayerfully we set back and allowed God to work.
Birth Parents & Adoptive Parents Meet
With the help of Malisa, an adoption plan was put in place. We were to come to the hospital shortly after the baby was born. If there were enough rooms, we were to get our own at the hospital. We agreed to write letters and send pictures to the birth parents. (The letters and pictures are sent to the agency and they forward them on to the birth parents.) To some people this may seem odd, but it is the least we can do. The birth parents loved him enough to give birth to him and they are giving us the gift of a child.
Birth Parents & Adoptee
We received the call that the birth mom was in labor. Malisa kept us informed of the happenings through text messaging and phone calls. We arrived at the hospital about 8 hours after the birth of the baby. We walked into the hospital room and the birthparents and Malisa were there. I know the birth mother was tired, but she looked beautiful. She was running on adrenaline. The birth father was beaming from ear to ear. I was so excited, but nervous. He was a healthy baby boy. I couldn’t ask for a more beautiful baby. He was absolutely perfect….a gift from God above.
I knew that until they signed their relinquishment of rights that the baby was theirs and they could do what they wanted with him. The birth parents helped to ease my fears. They wanted to know, “what are you going to name your baby?” Ahhh, he is going to be our baby. The hospital was completely full, so we shared the birth parents’ room. I thought this would be awkward, but it seemed natural, just the way it was suppose to be. The birth parents allowed us to come up and be a part of the new baby’s life. I know they were trying to squeeze every moment in that they could with memories, pictures and memorizing every thing about him.
The day came for the birth mother and baby to be released from the hospital. I couldn’t help but think about the birth parents and the final moments that they were having with their newborn son. Malisa called and said they were ready to say their final good-byes to us. We arrived at the hospital with the car seat in tow. I left it at the nurse’s station because I knew that it might be hard for them to see it. When we walked into the room tears came to my eyes. You see, I understood what it was like to leave the hospital without a baby. I looked directly at the birth parents. They were crying and saying their final farewell to the baby. The birth mom handed the baby to me with tears in both our eyes. They said, “I know that we sign relinquishment papers tomorrow, but he is yours”.
Adoptive Parents & Adoptee
We told them what a blessing they were to our family and that we would be sending pictures and letters to let them see how he was growing up. The birth parents said that we were blessing them. Us, blessing them? How could we be blessing them? But we were blessing them by helping them out of this part of their life that turned out different than they had planned. What an emotional day. I was happy to have a new son, but sad for the birth family. As we left the hospital with the new baby we were excited at the new +possibilities for our son. How would his voice sound? What would his personality be like? What kind of likes and dislikes would he have? What would he be when he grew up?
Today, as I look at this precious baby boy, I think of them…the selfless act of kindness and love that they had towards an unborn child. They had the courage to do something that is hard…the ability to love and let go. I am grateful to the birthparents with whom we are now connected through our child. I know they spent many hours pondering the decision they needed to make and they chose life….life that I was unable to give. Praise God for bringing us together. Our son will know that he was adopted. It won’t be a story that we tell at a later time. Adoption is just the way he became a part of our family”. Adoptive Mother
