Dear Friends and Family!
We could not be more excited to share the news that we are growing our family through domestic ADOPTION! Thank you for taking the time to read a little bit about our story. I could write a novel about the journey we have been on for the past 2 years that has lead us to this place, but I will try to keep it to a few intimate paragraphs…
As long as I can remember, I have dreamed of being a Mom. When I was a kid, I always wanted to “be the Mom” when I played house with friends. As I grew older I have always gravitated toward women with children and been in awe of the miracle of pregnancy and childbirth. After being diagnosed as a teenager with stage 3 cancer, the doctors informed me that due to the chemotherapy and radiation I received there was a good possibility that I would not be able to conceive. After David and I met in college, I shared this possibility with him, and he didn’t even bat an eye. He knew that I was the woman he wanted to marry and we would trust God when we got to that stage in life together. Five years into marriage and 30+ negative pregnancy tests later, David and I were given the news that we feared. We thought we had prepared ourselves for my inability to conceive however what we did not prepare ourselves for was the news that David has a genetic disposition that would not allow us to have biological children.
There is nothing that can prepare you for this news, and the range of emotions and grief that has brought us to this place of acceptance has been painful and intense. We have been surrounded by family and friends in this season that have literally carried us through long hard days. We’ve watched friends announce pregnancies again and again as we quietly longed for a child of our own. We have wrestled deeply with the Lord and have asked the question, “Why?” a lot.
Today, we are able to see that was not the story God had written for us! Our hearts have been overwhelmed with the reality that God has chosen us to adopt. God knows our child and knows exactly where and when he/she will become ours and we cannot wait! We are particularly thankful for this past season, as God has used an incredible amount of pain and sorrow and turned it into complete joy. We know that God has allowed us to walk such a difficult road in order to bring us to this place, writing this story, to display the power of God. Adoption was not something that we ever planned or thought would be part of our story but as we learn more and more about the depths of love, courage, and sacrifice involved we realize that this story that God has written for us is already better than we could have imagined. We feel incredibly blessed that God has allowed this to be our story.
Adoption can be a very long, painful, and expensive journey! We are thankful to have partnered with Faithful Adoption Consultants (FAC) to help support us and walk us through this process. We are in the initial paperwork and Home Study phase and will keep you updated as we progress. One of the things that drew us to FAC is their intentionality to work with various agencies all over the US but specifically with ones that provide an incredible amount of love and support to birth mothers making this incredibly sacrificial and courageous decision. They also have a shorter time frame that could allow us to meet our baby very soon! The average adoption for FAC is 4.5 months! We do need to be fully funded in order to bring our sweet baby home. We know that God has lead us to this place and He has the timing and finances provided but we want to do all that we can to welcome this little one into our home.
Would you to join us on this journey?
Pray! Would you pray with us? Pray for the birth mother of our future child. This cannot be an easy road that she is walking and we pray that God would use us to love and support her well. We are also praying for the health of our baby and that God would prepare our hearts for the journey ahead with the adoption process and becoming first-time parents!
Give! Would you consider giving? Adoption is incredibly expensive and we are often overwhelmed by the cost. The average cost for domestic adoption ranges from from $37-50k. The costs includes things like agency fees, legal fees, birth mother expenses, medical expenses, home study fees and much more). Your generosity is tax-deductible through Adopt Together. We have multiple fundraisers planned, applied for various grants, and look forward to seeing the Lord do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20).
Share! Help us spread the word by sharing our story via email, social media, and word of mouth. We were fortunate to find FAC through a friend’s Facebook share. You just never know who will see your share and be prompted to give!
We’d love to share more details of our story and all the God has done to bring us to this place, so please reach out! We’d love to talk with you.
Joyfully Waiting,
David and Stephanie
