Our Adoption StoryRhonda & Tom

A Brand New Adventure

When our oldest daughter was one, we decided we wanted to have another child. We felt very strongly that she was not an only child, and we felt it deep in our hearts that our family was not complete yet. It’s not something we can explain easily, but we just knew there was room for our family to grow and knew what we wanted. Unfortunately, having another child biologically was not going as planned. We suffered several losses and explored every option available to us. After five years, we couldn’t continue down that path anymore. We were physically and emotionally exhausted from it all. We decided adoption was a new avenue for us, and we were excited to start exploring it.

We explored some bigger agencies and some other local options as well. Everything else seemed more expensive or had a long waiting period to even start the process. We had our initial meeting at the Angel office and walked away feeling like it was the best fit for us. We had no idea how the process worked or what to expect but felt more confident after meeting with the staff at Angel. We started putting our profile together right away!

We were feeling both nervous and excited. It was a brand new adventure, which was exciting and hopeful, but there were definitely a lot of nerves wondering if an expectant mother would like us. Would we get chosen? There were so many unanswered questions, but we really focused on the excitement of it all.

Patience

By the time we received a phone call from Angel about an expectant mother, we were coming up on the last few months of our contract. We’ll be honest; we were feeling discouraged! It’s normal to feel frustrated and sad during this process. At times we would feel like there was something wrong with us. However, we didn’t want to be consumed by those feelings. We continued to trust the process and focused on our other daughter while we waited. We definitely learned a lot about patience and how to manage that as a family. It’s not a secret that it wasn’t easy, but it was well worth it.

The expectant mother we learned about from Angel did not know her due date. We did not have much information regarding her prenatal care, and she lived across the country. Needless to say, there were a lot of unknowns for us to wade through, but none of that mattered. We were ready and would be there for her however we could. We never judged her regardless of the circumstances she was facing. We communicated with her a few times. Texting probably wasn’t as prevalent as it is nowadays, so we talked when we could and managed with the distance between us.

We thought we had an idea of when she might be due, but those dates would come and go with no baby. For a couple of months, we were just waiting on the edge of our seats for that special phone call. Once again, we were back to feeling nervous and excited all at once. There was so much out of our control, but the thought of bringing a new baby home to our family was the fuel that kept us going.

Finally Complete

Finally the expectant mother called us because her water had broken and she was going into labor! It all happened so fast. The adrenaline and the rushing around put us in this autopilot mode. We didn’t know what was going to happen next, but we were on the move and wouldn’t stop until we got to the hospital. We were so blessed our family was able to watch our daughter while we traveled across the country. We felt like it was all coming together perfectly and that maybe it was all meant to be.

Arriving at the hospital was surreal. It was very emotional for us after the time we had spent waiting for an expectant mother to choose us. Our entire journey to have a second child was a rollercoaster, and it was finally coming to an end. Meeting our new daughter was more perfect than we could have imagined. She was the quietest one in the nursery! We were so happy she was a girl and couldn’t stop picturing our beautiful daughters growing up together. Our family finally felt complete.

Gratitude

We were able to meet the expectant mother at the hospital and spent time together after discharging while we waited on all the paperwork and adoption proceedings. It was incredibly special to us to have that time together, and we’ll never forget it. We expected to maintain some contact with her when we got back home; however, that hasn’t been the case. We attempted to reach her on a few different occasions shortly after the adoption took place, but it’s been nearly thirteen years now, and we still have never heard from her. We respect her boundaries and will always be grateful for the choice she made. Our daughter knows what we know, and her adoption story is an open book in our home.

Our advice to other waiting families is to be patient. Try not to get too discouraged during your journey, and trust that your time will come. Also, when you do adopt your child, raise them the same way you would raise a biological child. Nobody is different in our family, but everyone is loved equally and treated the same. Lastly, make sure your child knows they are adopted, and reassure them that they were not abandoned. Our daughter started asking questions when she was around five years old. It’s never too early to start shaping their story with positivity and love! We are thankful for her birthmother every day for selflessly helping us complete our family.