Family is so important to us and it was always our dream to have our own family. Shortly after we married, we wanted to start a family right away. From the beginning, we struggled with miscarriages and eventually sought help from fertility experts. We were able to achieve a successful pregnancy and were blessed with our daughter, Jillian. Knowing we faced challenges, when Jillian was 9 months old, we started trying for another baby. What followed were many more miscarriages, endless doctor visits, heartbreak and a doctor recommendation that we pursue surrogacy, which was not an option that appealed to us.

 

It was with a new hope and faith that we turned to adoption. It was not important to us that a child was genetically from us. We desired to love, nurture and raise another child and felt that adoption was the answer to our prayers. Once we made this decision, it seemed like fate took over and we let our instincts lead us. I came across American Adoptions while surfing the Internet on adoption. Their website was so professional and thorough. I called right away for information and found their staff tremendously helpful, positive and responsive.

 

We signed up that night and kicked off our adoption journey in May 2008. Over the summer, we completed our home study and profile. On August 13, 2008, we received our activation email and were so anxious and excited to wait for “our call”. That call came on February 2, 2009 while I was taking Jillian to preschool.  My heart skipped a beat when I saw the caller ID. I was so excited and in shock, fighting back my joyful tears. We were told that we were chosen by a birthmother in Arizona and she was due with a baby girl in three weeks!!

 

That same day we received our call, we started exchanging emails with our birthmother and hit it off right away. We learned more about each other and shared pictures with each other over the next few weeks. It felt so right from the beginning. When the big day came, our birthmother graciously agreed to have us at the hospital when our sweet Molly Rae was born on February 27^th. We were able to be in the nursery with Molly right after she was born and spent precious time snuggling and cuddling her. Our birthmother and her family are amazing. We spent three unforgettable days in the hospital, bonding not only with our beautiful new daughter, but also with our birthmother and family. It was truly a very special time for us. We so treasured that time and grew to love the wonderful woman and family who chose us to be parents for Molly. We will always feel a strong connection to them and plan and hope to always be in touch.

 

Molly is 8 months old now and is a sweet, adorable and happy baby girl. Words can not express the love we feel for her. We do not feel any different in our feelings for our daughters….both of them are our joy and our gifts from God, who came to us in different ways. We are so thankful to American Adoptions who made the process so straightforward and as smooth as possible. It truly did happen for us the way American Adoptions’ handbook explained. Jennifer and Lizzie were always there to answer our questions and ease our concerns. We would recommend American Adoptions to anyone who may be considering them…we may even be contacting them again ourselves down the road!