Our Adoption StoryHalee & Cody

Always Adoption

We always knew adoption was going to be a part of our family story. After getting married, we decided to go the foster care route and became licensed foster parents. We fostered several children and loved them dearly, but our ultimate goal was to adopt a child.

We had heard about private adoption agencies but didn't know which one to choose. One day, while browsing the Internet, we stumbled upon Angel Adoption. We were impressed by the company's marketing strategy and communication, and the price was reasonable too. So we decided to work with Angel Adoption.

Mix of Emotions

We felt a mix of emotions as we began our adoption journey: a lot of unknowns, anxiety about the wait, and excitement. At first we didn't tell everyone about our decision to adopt, but our friends and family were excited for us, especially since we had experience with foster care.

We were excited about embarking on our adoption journey, and the thought of becoming parents flooded our minds. We went into our journey with our eyes open, knowing that the wait could be long. We decided to take the time for the things we knew we would not have time for once we were parents. We love hiking and camping, which is something we knew would not be easy with a newborn. We knew our world would change but for the better. We were ready!

After nine months of waiting, an expectant mother reached out to communicate with us. We did a video call with her and her mother, which went really well. After that call, she was ready to move forward to the connection phase. We understood how lucky we were and jumped at the opportunity to follow her lead. We stayed in regular contact with her and her mother and even met up with them and the biological father when we had a trip planned to their area. It was a total coincidence that we had already planned a trip there, which some would say was a good sign that this was all supposed to happen.

We loved getting to know the expectant mother and her family. It was a priority to maintain a healthy and positive relationship with her, which is something we have been able to maintain even after placement. We have a group chat with the birthmother, birth-grandmother, and birthfather. They are even coming for Olivia’s first birthday!

Baby Time

Olivia was born early, and we received a call at 2 a.m. to get to the hospital. The expectant mother’s mom called us and said, “Get out of bed because we are having a baby.” When we arrived, Olivia had to go to the NICU because she had trouble breathing. We weren't allowed to see her for 24 hours because papers needed to be signed before getting into the NICU.

Finally meeting Olivia for the first time was both exciting and emotional for us. We were guarded because we knew about the revocation period and didn't want to get too attached to Olivia until everything was finalized. We also felt grief for what the birthmother and her family were losing.

The adoption process had many challenges, especially the unknowns, but we got through the wait by taking things one day at a time and focusing on each other. We also found comfort in numbers, like knowing how many times we were presented, because we could use that to align our expectations.

We absolutely want to adopt again and can’t wait to add to our family. The best advice we could give other hopeful adoptive parents would be to enjoy your life and do the things that will be difficult once you have a child. A lot of things change for the better but they are different, so enjoy each other. Always remember to be thankful for your journey and the birthmother making the ultimate sacrifice.