Jenny's Adoption Story

My husband and I both had faced infertility issues and had come to accept that we could not have children. We had gone on with our lives, making a wonderful life for ourselves with no worries or regrets -- until we hit our 30's and everything changed.

Despite being told that I most likely could not conceive a child, there was a moment where it appeared that I could actually be pregnant. However, that was not the case. My husband and I were both very sad when we found out the news that I was, in fact, not pregnant -- to our surprise we both realized we actually had wanted a baby! That's when we realized that there was something else planned for us.

Adoption has been a very large part of my family and was an easy decision for us. My brother had adopted three beautiful children and we couldn't wait to also begin our family through adoption. We researched all of our options, and before choosing to join American Adoptions, I volunteered at the agency to learn more about them and to determine if this really was the agency for us. Not only did I love my time as a volunteer, but I was so impressed with them that my husband and I decided to begin our own adoption journey with them. I later found out that American Adoptions had already touched my life, as this was also the agency that my brother had used to adopt his second child!

We started the paperwork process and were taking things slowly -- my husband wanted the same nine months everyone else gets to prepare for a baby! We became active with the agency the first week of August, 2005. On September 29 -- not quite two months later -- we received the phone call that an expectant mother had chosen us! From the first moment we spoke to the birth mother, we knew that it was meant to be. In November, we drove to the birth mother's home state of South Dakota to meet her in person. Although not every birth mother wants to meet face-to-face, we were excited to have this opportunity.

On December 17, 2005, my beautiful son, AJ, entered this world. His birth mother had a scheduled induction, which allowed my husband and I to be at the birth -- what an incredible moment that was! Due to state laws, we had to remain in South Dakota for two weeks before being allowed to return to our home state. We were able to spend a lot one-on-one time with him in the days following his birth, allowing us to finally feel that special bond between a parent and their child. We were able to see the birth mother a few more times before we returned home, which we believe helped her confirm that she made the right choice to place her baby with us.

One year later, my life would once again be touched by American Adoptions. Although I was loving every minute of my new life as a mom, I had decided that it was also time to change my career path. One afternoon I decided to stop by American Adoptions to drop off some pictures for our birth mother. While in the office I ran into Scott Mars, the agency's Director, and spoke to him about my career search. To my surprise, he offered me a job at the agency!

I worked for two years as an Adoptive Family Coordinator at the agency, helping other families just like mine determine if American Adoptions was the agency for them. I then felt another path calling me and chose to leave the agency to become a stay-at-home mom. I feel so blessed to have been able to share my story with other families and to help guide them through the adoption process so that they could also know the joy and happiness that a child can bring!

How To Contact Jenny

If you would like to talk to me about my adoption journey and my experience with American Adoptions, please e-mail me at  justjenny@embarqmail.com.