What an amazing, surprising journey adoption is.

 

We had tried to conceive for about a year and a half before we sought professional help. We were diagnosed, and after much thought and prayer, decided we did not wish to pursue treatment. We had always been interested in adoption, and we started getting very excited at the prospect of starting our family that way.

 

I did a lot of research – studying many agencies on the internet, making many phone calls, and reading every book I could find. When I finally called American Adoptions, I had already spoken in depth with several agencies, so I had my list of questions ready. I spoke to Wade on the phone, and he very patiently answered each of my questions, and offered me lots of information about American Adoptions. His comfortable, friendly manner made this particular agency stick in my mind. I had a feeling this might be the place for us.

 

We set a deadline for ourselves, made a decision, and put in our application with American Adoptions. Then we set out on the paperwork. We had already completed a home study, so the rest of the forms didn’t take too long to fill out. We applied with the agency in early March, and by the beginning of April, it was official. We were waiting. Now, as any of you know who have waited for a baby – either during a struggle with infertility or on the journey of adoption – you know we all fear that the wait will go on forever. I was convinced it would be a year. I didn’t know how I would survive!

 

Soon after our activation, we were contacted by Megan. Again, I was so impressed with the professionalism and friendliness of the agency staff. We made an appointment to speak with Megan at length about adoption and about the agency’s approach to the wait, the match, and the placement. But the phone call never happened.

 

Three weeks into our wait, we noticed a listing on the website about an available situation that did not match the families on the list.  There was a potential placement in Arizona, and no family had been chosen. In fact, a healthy little baby boy had already been born! Kirk and I talked about it for a few minutes, carefully discussing the details listed on the website. We decided we should contact them and see if it was the right situation for us. We fully expected that a family would have already been found. We both prayed before falling asleep – for this baby and his birth parents, and that we would be picked if we were the right family for him.

 

I headed off to work the next morning, trying hard not to dwell on the situation. At 9 a.m. the phone rang. It was Alli Garlich. “You won’t believe this,” she said, “but those birth parents you emailed us about – they looked through all the profiles on the internet, and you were their favorite!” The rest of the conversation was a blur, and I frantically took notes through my tears. Medical records would be sent, a contract would be faxed, and we would need to be in Arizona the next day if possible – a trip clear across the country!

 

We spent all night driving to the only airport that had a flight available. On the way, we decided to name our son Landon James. Everything still seemed surreal. We were entirely unprepared, but extremely excited.

 

We arrived in Tucson early in the afternoon, took quick showers, and headed for the hospital. The birth parents were about to be discharged, and wanted to meet us before they left. We made a quick stop at Target and bought a car seat. We were so nervous. I had very much wanted to meet the birth parents, while Kirk had been a little more hesitant. When we finally got there and walked down the hall to the nurses’ station, a young couple emerged from a nearby room. They had seen pictures of us, and we knew from their expressions that this had to be them! Jessica and Zach introduced themselves and we visited for a few minutes. We walked with them to the nursery to meet Landon. Jessica went in with the doctor, and we all cried when she held him up for us to see through the window. He was perfect. Just beautiful. Jessica was so proud of him. We were able to spend a few precious minutes talking before they were discharged to go home. Despite our nervousness, when we left the hospital with our son, we agreed that meeting them was such a blessing. We will forever cherish the things they told us: why they picked us, details about themselves and their families, and what they wanted us to tell Landon about them.

 

We spent just over a week waiting for the ICPC paperwork to clear, and then we headed home with our new baby.

 

Life is so full now. Landon is the most precious, perfect gift we could’ve ever been given. We send letters and pictures to Jessica and Zach, and we hope that they know how much we treasure the child they entrusted to us and how grateful we are to them. People we meet say, “What a lucky little boy!” But we tell them, “No, WE are the ones who have truly been blessed.”