Joe, Becky, Tyler and Jenna's Adoption Story

Our story begins in September of 2006 when we found out we couldn't have any more biological children. So, immediately we decided on adoption. After searching what felt like the entire Internet, we found the American Adoptions Web site. Immediately we knew this was the adoption agency we were going to go with. The Web site was very helpful and thorough, and answered almost all of our questions with their "Question and Answers" page. We filled out the initial application, and soon enough our home study was scheduled. We completed all of the paperwork, created our profile and sat back and waited for the courts to approve our home study report.

We became "active" with American Adoptions on December 28, 2006. We were extremely excited, but yet didn't want to get any hopes up because we knew the average wait time was 9-18 months. So again, we waited patiently, knowing God had a specific plan for us. We continued on with our daily routine and kept any plans we had made. On February 5, 2007, we got the call from Lisa Lewis telling us we had been chosen by a birth parent. Oh my goodness, my heart skipped a beat when I was listening to her tell me all of the specifics, and also realizing we had only waited a little over a month! Everything sounded perfect and we couldn't wait to have our first conference call with the birth mother, Christina.

About two weeks later we had our first conference call. The conversation was just to get to know each other a bit. Christina has a lot of similar interests that we do, which made the phone call very easy. From then on, we had a conference call every couple of weeks.

Then, on March 27, we got the call that Christina was in labor and it was time for us to travel. Oh no, "What do we do now?" is what I asked Lisa when she called to tell me. Make plane reservations and hotel reservations and let me know when you have everything scheduled, is what she said. After arriving in the birth mother's state, we went straight to the hospital and met Christina for the first time. It was nice to finally put a face with the person we had spoken with. When we first saw our daughter, Jenna, she was sleeping like a precious little angel. She was beautiful and absolutely perfect. She had been born the night before, when we were traveling. It was a very magical and heartwarming experience. God definitely had a specific plan for us, and everything just seemed right the moment we saw Jenna.

We spent some time with Christina in the hospital and again outside of the hospital. This was especially nice because it gave us even more time to get to know one another and see how much love she has for her family and for our daughter, Jenna. We also got the chance to meet a lot of her family, and they are very supportive and caring people.

When we decided to adopt, we had no idea how wonderful the experience would be. We were nervous and skeptical, but when the time comes, everything has a way of working out perfectly.

We want to thank Christina for giving us such a precious little girl to love and cherish, and for helping us complete our family. Also, thank you American Adoptions, in particular Megan Spaeth and Lisa Lewis, for all of the assistance and support through the entire process. We wouldn't have known what to do without your guidance.

Thank you again,
Joe, Becky, Tyler and Jenna