A letter to my baby, so that you may always know you were meant to be ours.
In October of 2011 we made the decision to start our family.
The struggle started shortly after. We went through the heartache of losing two babies, one of them involving emergency surgery to save my life. We always dreamed our home would be full of kids. But, now we wrestled with doubt that this would ever come true. In between the heartache, God would fill us with peace and hope to keep moving forward.
November of 2014 your big brother was born. We always thought you would arrive the same way. And so, we followed the path we knew.
Since then, 1,674 days, 239 weeks, and 54 long months have passed.
Month after month we prayed for you. Month after month we tested. Month after month we waited. We now had lost three precious babies. We cried out to God and we asked him why. Why is our desire for another child so strong if you aren’t planning to fulfill it?
Now here we are, full of unimaginable anticipation in Chapter 54. We are in the very middle of a beautiful and intricate story. God Himself has been penning the pages and we can hardly wait to turn them because we now know they lead to you.
We walked through chapters of hope followed by disappointment. We experienced immense joy followed by deep sorrow. We felt certainty and then confusion. We agonized through the gut-wrenching pain of infertility and loss.
As time went by we came to understand that God did want to gift us with you but he was sending you a different way. There are so many details we will share one day. I can’t wait until we do. But the gift is this, before you came to be, before you began growing in your Mother’s womb, God knew you would be ours.
All of this time, in all of the suffering, He has been molding us and shaping us. He has stretched our hearts. He has strengthened our marriage. He has been preparing us specifically for you. We are ready now, little one. And here we wait, overjoyed to welcome you home.
We are beyond excited and are doing everything we can to be prepared to welcome a beautiful new life into our home. As part of our adoption process, we have started a crowdfunding campaign. It may surprise you to hear that adoption related costs can easily total up to $35,000 or more. This is why we have set a goal of $40,000 to help ease the financial burden that often overwhelms adoptive parents.
If you would like to donate towards the Smiths adoption please be assured that your donation is not only tax-deductible but will only be used towards expenses associated directly with adoption.
Below is a detailed summary of costs involved within our adoption:
Consultant $3,800
Home Study $2,500
Documentation Preparation & Authentication $5,000
Adoption Agency Application & Program $15,000
Domestic Adoption Expenses $5,000
Post-Adoption Expenses $3,000
Miscellaneous $3,000
We hope that by inviting you into this process, you will see yourself as part of the community we hope to build around our baby as he/she grows up.
