Our Adoption Story began July 26, 2006, the day we brought home our 6 week old little boy, Bodey Alexander. Our lives changed forever that day. I truly feel God blesses the people who adopt in such a special way. Not only did we adopt our son, but we got a whole new amazing family in the process.

You see we agreed to open adoption. At the time we were not 100 percent sure what to expect or what we were getting into - we just knew we were doing what was best for Bodey. It ended up being the best thing we have ever done.

Fast forward to January 2009. We decided it was time to start the adoption journey once again.  The first thing we needed to do was find a new agency to use. Feeling like pros at the adoption process, we thought this was going to be smooth sailing. Finding an agency that you trust, has a good rating and is ethically successful in placing babies was not as easy as we thought. It was not until we talked to Wade at American Adoptions that we finally felt our dreams of adding to our family were finally going to come true.

By September 2009, we were finally active with American Adoptions. We knew from experience that the wait time was the hardest part. I knew I could get through the first three months just fine because I had the holidays coming and Bodey was at such a good age for enjoying them.  Then January 2010 came, and my anxiety hit the roof. I became adoption obsessed. I was on the website every day, checking out the families, comparing ours to theirs, and seeing if any new adoption situations had been added.

Finally, in March I called our adoption specialist Angie and just broke down. Angie was an angel to me that day. She listened and answered my entire list of questions and gave me helpful suggestions on what we could possibly do to help with the wait time. This call was enough to hold me until the big call came.

During this time we also started spending more time with Bodey’s birth family. They were so excited that he was going to be a big brother. We even had the opportunity to spend Bodey’s fourth birthday with his birthmother on June 14. Then two days later we got the big call.  
“You have a match! “Your baby boy is due on July 8 in Arizona.”  

Wow, three and a half weeks! Within 48 hours, we were on a conference call with our birth mother, Lindsay. The bond for me was immediate. During the next three weeks, we had contact with Lindsay, and on the morning of July 9 we got the next “big call.” By 12:30 p.m. we were on a plane flying across the country. We arrived at the Arizona hospital less than an hour before Jasper James was born.  During our stay in Arizona, we got to spend a lot of time with Lindsay and her family. Our goodbyes were not easy, but we all knew this was not the end, but only the beginning of something special.

After we got home we stayed in contact with Lindsay. Sending her and the birth father pictures once a month and keeping her up to date on Jasper’s major milestones. Lindsay also knew if she was having a sad day or was just thinking about him that we were only a phone call away.  
In October of 2010 we were hit with the tragic news that Bodey’s birth mother had passed away. Nothing could have ever prepared us for this. The only reassurance we had was Bodey and her had gotten to know one another and had a special bond that he gets to carry with him forever. We also learned from such a tragic event that we have to embrace every moment adoption gives us.

Jasper is now 8 months old and we have just returned from our first family trip to Arizona. The visit was wonderful and the only complaint would be that we did not have enough time together.

Adoption has not only blessed our lives but the lives of everyone we know. We adopted Bodey and Jasper, and Jasper’s birth family has so willingly adopted Bodey. We truly feel our boys have been blessed and are loved beyond belief.