We know how defeated one can feel during a long and emotional adoption journey, but trust us when we say it is all worth it once you meet your child! We welcomed our daughter, Jules, into the world on May 7, 2020. It was love at first sight, and she brings more joy into our lives each day than we could have ever even imagined! Thank you to the staff at The Village for your support and help during this journey.
After what seemed like an eternity – 2 years and 2 months to be exact – we finally got the phone call! We were told we had two weeks until our baby girl would arrive. We were stunned but we got everything ready in two weeks! Little did we know our little girl already had a plan of her own and didn’t arrive until almost a month after we got the phone call. Atlas came home with us on May 3, 2017, and we haven’t sat still since.
Our adoption is very open with the birth family. We communicate through text and a private Facebook group. The relationship we have with them is like nothing we could have ever imagined. We were so nervous to meet them but the moment we sat down there was connection we will never forget!
Adoption is one of the most emotional things we have ever experienced but completely worth it! We couldn’t be happier to have this sweet, sassy, and stubborn little lady in our lives!
After over 7 years of unsuccessful fertility treatments, it is now so very clear to us why we never had success ... this precious little girl was without a doubt meant to be our daughter. She just “fits” and we are over the moon in love with her. We are so thankful to The Village and all those who supported us along the way. A little quote we lived by through our journey to parenthood …“Faith is trusting in what you can’t see.” Hope this too can give those going through the adoption process some hope. Keep the faith. :-)
We are still in awe that Mr. Karsin is here!! While waiting almost 18 months was the hardest thing we have ever done, we know now that this is why we had to wait, there was a bigger plan and we are soo blessed. Our relationship with his birth parents is great and we thank God everyday for them! Karsin is growing like a weed. At 3 months, he was 12 pounds 6 ounces (a far cry from his NICU lowest of 5.8) and 22 inches long!!! Loves to talk, giggle, watch the puppy and seeing all the visitors he has had since we got home!! Much love from our very full hearts!!
We have been home with Xiao Song for one month now, and it has been a wild ride as we have all gotten to know each other. Our two younger children were initially very jealous of all the attention she was receiving, but they have begun to have so much fun playing with her and 'speaking Chinese.' Xiao Song brings joy to so many people with her friendliness and her joyful personality. She frequently gives kisses or hugs to people she meets, and her smile lights up the room. We especially enjoy watching her dance and clap during worship at our church ... she really gets into it!
Of course, it has been a challenge at times, and the whole process took a lot of time, effort, and commitment. But we are so excited that we went through the journey and that Xiao Song has a family and a place to call home.
While we were going through the adoption process, it could at times be a very emotional experience. At first, every time the phone rang we got excited, but then after a while we just fell back into the normal. There were times that it seemed liked we were never going to get "the call" we were so patiently waiting for. But the staff at The Village were very helpful with everything. Then one day when we least expected it, we got "the call." Yay! We honestly could not be any happier. We are truly blessed to have a beautiful baby girl in our lives.
We would also like to thank everyone at The Village that helped make our dreams come true. So if you are reading this and patiently waiting, know that some day it will happen for you and that one day your dreams will come true!
We started our adoption process in 2014, and we were only on the “official list” for about six months when we were chosen by a birth family! Our adoption process could not have been more perfect. We were chosen about three months before our baby was born, so that gave us time to prepare! Our miracle was born about 2 hours before her due date, and our lives have been forever changed since then! She just turned 7 months when our adoption was actually just finalized. We have an open adoption with our daughter’s birth parents. We send periodic updates and pictures and meet face to face a couple times per year.
One thing to remember with adoption is that no two adoptions are the same – everyone’s situation is different, and things can change over time. The birth parent relationship may become more or less open over time. We went into adoption with very open minds and were willing to work with birth parents, wherever they might be with things. We are so very thankful to be blessed with our miracle!
At first it is quite overwhelming, but once you meet with the staff they help you through all of the steps. We actually got picked really fast, only waiting four months. The birth mother ended up changing the plan after we had him for two days so we had to say goodbye. The one thing we were most scared of happened. We wanted to give up, but with the help of the social workers, family and friends we decided to keep our profile up and try again. Then eight months later we got picked again. The birthmother is an amazing person, truly selfless. She just wanted what was best for her baby. The whole process went very smoothly. We have openness, we share photos with her and talk through text to keep in touch.
We now believe that we had to go through that first time to bring us to where we are now. If we would've given up, we wouldn't have the most amazing little guy in our lives right now. We are so thankful! Adoption is a beautiful journey that requires patience, faith and hope.
Like most families starting their adoption journey were excited, nervous, anxious, eager ... and then you wait! As hard as it can be to wait, I truly believe that things happen when they are supposed to and often when you least expect them! Our adoption experience has been so amazing as we have been blessed with a beautiful daughter and handsome son through adoption.
Although each situation is different and unique, we feel very fortunate for the opportunity to have an open adoption with the birthmother of each of our children. The level of openness may be different for each of our children, but each relationship plays an important role as we continue along our journey as a family.
The staff have been very supportive and incredible to work with.
How can I possibly convey my gratitude to the birth mother who chose me to parent her child? How can I ever thank everyone at The Village for bringing us together? There simply aren’t words.
When I started the adoption journey, the whole thing seemed overwhelming – and I had serious doubts about the possibility of someone choosing a single woman to parent her child – but I worked my way through the imposing to-do list, one step at a time. From my initial meeting to the adoption workshop, from the piles of paperwork to the home visits, my social worker was kind, supportive, and reassuring every step of the way. I trusted in the process, and by some miracle, nearly one year to the day that I officially became a “waiting family,” I got the call that a little boy had been born and his birth mother had chosen me. (I still have to pinch myself to believe that my beautiful son is truly mine!)
If you are reading this – at any point in the adoption process – and find yourself losing faith, I hope that my mantra will help you get through: IT ONLY TAKES ONE. No matter how many waiting families are out there and how many birth families are looking, it only takes one match to make your dream come true.
We eagerly waited to be chosen for about 20 months. We got a call at lunchtime saying a birth family had chosen us for an adoptive family in the middle of May and three weeks later we got to hold our healthy baby boy. He is the center of our lives and we love him to the moon and back!!
I came home from Poland with my beautiful daughter, Maci, on June 10, 2016. International adoption was a once in a lifetime experience. The process is very stressful, I ran into many kinks along the way. The facility/orphanage Maci was living at did not want to lose her and did everything in their power to keep her. I ended up staying in Poland for about 11 weeks with Maci, this would have been more like six weeks had everything went smoothly. While in Poland, I met some amazing people that I will be lifetime friends with. My new friends include people from Poland that my agency hires to help and other people from the USA that were there adopting. There were ups and downs throughout the process, but there is nothing that can replace the end result of bringing home my daughter. Maci is doing amazing. She has come leaps and bounds physically and mentally; all she needed was love and a family. She is a happy, outgoing little girl. We have had no troubles with bonding, she has taken to me and knows I'm "Mommy." The experience has changed our lives tremendously, and it doesn't get any better than this!
