Adoption Story: Whitney and Chelsea

If there was book detailing Whitney and Chelsea's adoption stories, it's pages would explode with breathtaking tales of God's care and faithfulness. It would read of love, need, faith, and provision. It would lead you through vivid displays of God's heart to knit families together.

Whitney and Chelsea watched God incredibly provide for them to adopt their son from Ethiopia in 2012. They brought home a sick, malnourished little boy and watched God transform him into a happy, healthy, loving, active son right before their very eyes. Whitney and Chelsea saw that God loves to care for children. Soon, they were ready to bring home another little one in need of a family.

In February 2013 they began with their adoption consultant, this time hoping to adopt domestically. I loved getting to know this beautiful couple and their amazing faith and love through making their profile, praying for them, and supporting them through each step along their adoption journey!

After just completing an expensive international adoption they were very aware that God was going to have to show up big time financially to make another adoption happen. Under the section on their  application asking what their budget for this adoption was, they simply wrote, "Whatever the Lord provides." They knew that they had a great need and they believed that their great God was able to meet it for the sake of a child.

In June their home-study had been updated and they began to learn about adoption situations. They also saved, applied for grants, held a puzzle fundraiser, and prayed for many expectant mothers along the way. The wait was not easy. (It never is!)

Then in October, they heard about a baby boy whose mother was making the courageous choice of adoption. They believed that God was leading them to present, but they knew they did not yet have all the funds they needs for the adoption fees. Still, they trusted, knowing that if this was the baby for them, then God would provide all that they needed.  And sure enough, they were chosen and He was ready to provide!

Now two beautiful brothers, born worlds away from one another, will grow up in this safe, loving Christian family together. They will grow up hearing again and again about the incredible God who powerfully made a way for them to come home.

I'm so thankful to have been able to read some of the pages of this story as it's unfolded.

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Adoption Story: Paul and Michelle

There is no "one size fits all" when it comes to what an expectant mom hopes for in an adoptive family. Many large families who have a heart for adoption never pursue it simply because they assume they'll never get chosen by an expectant mom. I'm so glad that Paul and Michelle didn't let that potential fear have the last word in their adoption journey!

Paul and Michelle worked with their consultant, Tracie, in 2009 and had a whirlwind adoption.  Then, in November 2013 they began with her again for their 2nd adoption. They started presenting their profile to expectant moms in June of 2014; they waited, they prayed, and they believed that God would bring about this adoption in His own perfect timing.  Just three months later they were matched!

They spent the next several months building a beautiful relationship with their baby's birth mom. They flew down to get to know her better, supported her, encouraged her, and prayed for her every step of the way. They invested their very hearts and lives in loving her, believing that God had specifically called them to love and care for her, not just the baby she was carrying.  It's one thing to love your child's birth mom when the adoption has happened and the baby is in your arms. It's another thing to love before that without guarantees. And that's what they did.

Right before Thanksgiving, their beautiful daughter entered the world. As it often goes with adoption, there were some very difficult and uncertain moments. But Paul and Michelle were committed to loving, no matter what, even when it was hard. And now their family of eleven is at home soaking up new baby snuggles, their hearts forever connected to the woman whose sacrificial love gave their daughter a life filled with hope.

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Adoption Story: Michael and Signe

Signe and Michael contacted us at the beginning of April after they'd been referred to their consultant through a friend. We spoke on the phone several times as they carefully considered the next steps God had for them in their journey to becoming parents. A little over a month later, they began and I had the joy of making their adoptive family profile (the book that potential birthmoms look at when considering adoptive families). As I got to know them two things especially stood out to me about this sweet couple: their love for God and their love for people. Michael and Signe are people that truly live their lives with hearts full of love.

They were homestudy ready near the end of August. Three months later, they were made aware of an expectant mom making an adoption plan who specifically wanted an adoptive couple in their home state. They prayed and they talked about it intently, asking God to lead them. Just before profiles were going to be presented, they felt the Lord give them peace to present. Hours later they got the call they had been praying for. She had chosen them!

For the next several months while they waited for their baby to be born, I watched Michael and Signe profoundly reflect God's heart of love. As deeply as they longed to be parents, they didn't focus on their own dreams-they sought to selflessly pour out their energy, time, compassion, and prayers into loving their baby's birthparents. The way they sought to love without any guarantee of how it would end was truly beautiful for me to watch.  

And then, almost exactly nine months after that first inquiry they made about adoption consulting, their daughter was born! 

This little girl's life has been covered in love...from the love that led her birthparents to give her the gift of life, to the love and prayers that Michael and Signe whispered for so long leading up to holding her in their arms...her life has forever been marked by love. God's love is so powerfully and vividly displayed through the gift of adoption!

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Adoption Story: Daniel and Mae

Saying "yes" to God when He leads you down the path of adoption usually means saying "yes" to a journey filled with some twists and turns you could never have imagined. Sometimes the twists and turns bring with them beautiful surprises. Sometimes they bring with them unknowns and completely different scenery than you anticipated journeying through. But for Daniel and Mae, saying "yes" to adoption meant saying "yes" to trusting God, whatever twists and turns would come along the way.

Daniel and Mae started with their consultant way back in July of 2012. Right away they had a happy bend in the road. They put their adoption plans on hold when they found out that Mae was pregnant. Fast forward about two years later. Daniel and Mae renewed their homestudy and were ready to follow wherever God led them. 

They applied to agencies in July of 2014 and about a month later, they got the call that they had been praying for. They were matched! A brave woman had chosen them to be the parents of her baby boy, a little guy who was due in the winter. 

As they waited for the months to pass, more twists in the road kept coming; some unknowns, including some potential health concerns for the baby and the possibility of a NICU stay, loomed on the horizon. This was not what they had expected to encounter along their way. They prayed, they sought counsel from others, and ultimately they trusted God, knowing He had led them down the bumpy path exactly where they were walking.

Then, a month before their son's due date, they got another call-a huge exciting turn in the road; their son was about to be born...a month early! They rushed to make arrangements and headed to meet him, praying for him all along the way. All of the unknowns, all of the bumps and twists and uncertain terrain had led them straight to that day. Healthy and happy, this little guy ended up NOT needing a NICU stay at all!

He spent his due date at home with his daddy and mommy and siblings, being loved and adored. And all of those twists and turns along the road to their son? Mae shared with me, "I want people to hear God's story of purpose, redemption, and healing through our son's story! Our son ended up in our family from the Lord's clear leading."

The road of adoption is rarely straight but there is One who knows where He's leading. And wherever He leads, we can be sure He will be there with us all along the way!

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Eddie and Anna: Finalization Day

Near the end of the summer, Eddie and Anna welcomed their son through a beautiful whirlwind adoption. You can read about their amazing story here. I am still brought to tears as I think about God's miraculous work as He answered such specific prayer requests in their adoption journey! Recently they celebrated the finalization of their little guy's adoption and shared these pictures, amazing video, and kind words with me about their experience.

Anna shares:

"You know those moments where an overwhelming peace takes over and you can't help but smile because you know you got it right? That's exactly how I felt when I first talked with Katie. It was clear that... would be the path that would lead us to one of the biggest blessings we have ever received."

"As we traveled the adoption journey, Katie was more than an adoption consultant; she was our friend, our biggest cheerleader, our voice of reason, a true testament of unwavering faith. I often return to an old email or text message from Katie to relive the moments that led us to where we are now.  I have no doubt that God used Katie in our lives to only help guide us to our beautiful son, but also to strengthen our faith in Him. We will be forever grateful for the example she provided, for the guidance that kept us going, and the expertise that helped us make decisions along the way. I am in awe of God's plan and so grateful that He led us to Katie. We are absolutely in love with our little man. It doesn’t seem real. He’s too good to be true, but that’s what God does!"

Congratulations, Eddie and Anna. You're right! God loves to do immeasurably more than we could even imagine!

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Happy Finalization!

You may remember me posting about CJ and Andrea's miracle story a couple of months ago. They recently sent me these BEAUTIFUL pictures of their happy finalization day and shared a bit about their adoption journey! Andrea shares in her own words below...

"We recently adopted with the help of Tracie Loux and Katie Fenska. We had never heard of an adoption consultant before starting the adoption process, but the way we discovered... was too much of a God thing to not give it a look." 

"After speaking with our local adoption agency, who said it would take us at least two years to be matched given the fact that we have three biological children, and looking at ... statistics, we decided that their services would be well worth the money in the long run." 

"As first time adoptive parents, their support and encouragement as we navigated through this new and confusing process was such a blessing."

"And that two year wait? We started our process at the beginning of April 2014 and had our sweet boy in our arms on June 27 2014."

Congratulations to your sweet family! It was such a privilege to watch God's beautiful ways unfold in your adoption journey!

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For more information on domestic adoption, contact me!

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An Adoption Story: Mark and Amber

Mark and Amber came to their adoption consultant in May, already very worn from waiting. Nine years of waiting to become parents together and six months of that time spent waiting with a local agency where they were not having their profile shown. Understandably, they were tired and beginning to feel hopeless. But the God of hope was not done with their story.

Using our multi-agency approach, they started presenting their profile to expectant mothers, beginning to feel hope rise. And then, one month after signing on they got the call that they had been chosen!

For the next four months, Mark and Amber invested their very hearts in the man and woman who had chosen them...spending time with them, building a relationship with them, and praying for them. As is often the case with adoption, it was not without difficulty or tears. Waiting to be matched is a hard thing.  But sometimes the unknowns while you wait for that child to be born can be even more challenging.

Amber writes:

"As much as I trusted him, at times I was overcome with fear and doubt. "What if's" crept in and I could barely put one foot in front of the other. It's so easy to trust when you see the end picture but when adversity comes your way you question things. Thankfully, our God is so much bigger and more faithful than the what if's and questions because he loves us, provides for us, and works for our good."

Mark and Amber held on to the God of hope, believing that He was there with them. And then one day in September, their beautiful daughter was born.

Amber shares:

"I could write a book about the amazing providential things that occurred throughout our journey to know our daughter. I can still barely wrap my mind around it all. I am finally a Mommy and not just any Mommy, but a Mommy to an amazing child who God predestined and entrusted to us.  Oh how I have longed for that title, Praise God!"

Years of waiting. Countless prayers. And hope in a God that did not disappoint. Praise God indeed!

(Photos courtesy of Lizvette Wreath Photography)

For more information on domestic adoption, contact me!

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