UPDATE 4/21/24: We have a son! We've shared an update below with more details :)
UPDATE 4/10/24: Our adoption costs are estimated to be at least $62,000. If you are able to help us ease the financial burden to adopt our baby–we would be so grateful!
We are now matched! All glory and praise go to our Lord and Savior for he has turned our sadness into joy! While this is an exciting time for us, it is a difficult one for the expectant mother who chose us to adopt her baby. This was not an easy decision and we have the utmost admiration for her. She has demonstrated the greatest love—that is laying down her life for another. We look forward to sharing the title of parenthood with her. What an honor to be selected as the family to raise her baby. Thank you Lord for providing and growing our family in this way!
ORIGINAL: We were married in January 2015 and knew we wanted to have children early on. We began trying to conceive just a few months after our wedding, but knew something wasn't right after 1 year had passed. Over the next several years, we went through 3 rounds of medical testing to understand why we hadn't been able to get pregnant and each time we were told everything is normal.
Having a biological child was a special dream for Sarah, in particular. Being able to see physical and personality characteristics inherited from us was something we both greatly looked forward to. So we began the process to start IVF in 2021. However, at that same time, Sarah had a conversation with a friend that changed everything. In expressing her fears and excitement for IVF her friend responded, "If God wills for you to have your own baby, he won't need IVF for that to happen."
Sarah began researching IVF more and her heart began to warm towards adoption. It took some time to grieve and give up the dream of having our own biological child, but we received immense peace from the Holy Spirit over the decision to walk away from IVF by choosing to grow our family through adoption instead. Chris was thrilled as he always had a heart for adoption! It just took a bit more time for Sarah to get there too.
After all, as Christians, the Gospel is paramount to our entire way of living. And adoption is a reflection of how we are adopted sons and daughters into God's family. What a gift it is that we get to live out our faith in a literal way through the adoption of our future baby!
The cost was another factor that prompted us to choose adoption. With IVF, this money goes directly into the fertility industry's pocket. But with adoption–it serves a mom and baby in need. And for us, we chose to partner with professionals that are furthering God's kingdom by sharing the Gospel with each birth parent they meet. So we felt assured that this would be the best, God-honoring way to steward the money God has blessed us with.
We do not know when and whom we will match with. But God does. And while the unknowns of this journey have been daunting, we trust Him. We would be thrilled and honored to share this experience with you. Your prayers and monetary gifts will help us to bring our adopted baby home and also serve a mom in need.
Thank you for being with us. We could not do this without you!
With heartfelt gratitude, Chris and Sarah
Great news! We are officially home study approved! Our marketing profile is also now complete and our facilitator has been sharing us with potential birth families. We are asked often, "How long is the process?" Truthfully, we could get a call tomorrow asking we could bring a baby home or we could still be waiting 2 years from now. We hope to match within the next year so in the meantime we are preparing our home and hearts to be parents. Thank you for your continued prayers for us, our birth mom and dad, and of course, our little one!
Friends, we are undone by your kindness in giving to our adoption fund. We have officially raised 1/3 of our goal! We are incredibly grateful and could not have done this without the generosity from each of you.
UPDATES:
Here are a few things that we have accomplished:
-Scheduled our first Home Study (HS) visit for end of June
-We are CPR/First Aid certified (as required for our HS)
-Our public profile is now live on our adoption facilitator's website (visit adoptionanswer.com)
-We are continuing to complete our HS paperwork (it is A LOT!) and begin baby-proofing our home (as required for HS)
ANONYMOUS DONORS:
We would love to send a thank you! The platform does not allow us to see names, contact emails, or contact info for those opting to give anonymously. If you prefer to remain anonymous, we will respect that. We also plan to send out exclusive announcements to those who have donated to our fund and we would love to include you in those, if interested. Simply let us know your names and preferred contact method :)
PRAYER:
Please continue to pray for our future adoptive baby and his/her birth parents. The Lord has gone before us--already knowing who the birth mother and father will be along the circumstances they will be facing. We recognize adoption is not usually the first choice and often chosen out of pain or brokenness. But we praise God he created a way for LIFE through adoption and we hope this brings healing to all that are a part of the journey with us.
