Adoption Story: Travis and Angela

I met with Travis and Angela the day before Valentine's Day this year. The sweetest couple with huge hearts and so eager to add a little one to their family. We chatted that day over coffee about their thoughts and fears and dreams of adoption. We talked about birth parents and the fears of open adoption. Their fears that maybe adoption might not happen. Their fears about the wait and the finances. It was just a few weeks later they decided to put their fears aside and start the process, trusting that God was in charge of it all. By the end of May they were home study ready and I began sending them situations: expectant moms planning to make an adoption plan for their babies.

And then, one day in September, I texted Angela. "I just sent you a situation - I think it might be a great fit." It turns out it was the perfect fit...just a few days later this picture was taken with their son.

My husband and I had always talked about the potential of adoption, but like many others, we intended to adopt after having biological children. As it became obvious that having biological children was not going to happen, we turned our sights solely on adoption. As we started researching and determining the first steps in beginning our adoption journey, we were led to Susan.  A friend of mine knew a couple who had adopted successfully through the Christian Adoption Consultants and so I started reading the blogs and talking to Susan. Reading the adoption stories gave me encouragement, yet we always knew in the back of our mind that we may never successfully adopt.  We put it all into God's hands. After suffering some loss in my husband's family, we were strong in our faith but it definitely made it stronger. We decided to make a drive to Kansas City to meet Susan face to face as we determined how to proceed. There were so many questions in our mind and meeting Susan face to face put us so much at ease. We are so grateful for Susan, her patience, knowledge, and the faith of the CAC was exactly what we needed.   We were very much on the fence of an open adoption at first but quickly realized all of the benefits of an open adoption. Our whirlwind journey bringing our precious son home just emphasizes the pure joy of open adoption. God helped teach us patience and to remember that he is paving our story in a perfect way. A bible passage we kept going back to in the process was Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." We trust in the Lord with all our heart and give thanks for the many blessings in our life.

We found out one week prior to leaving for Florida that we were likely matched. We talked to our birth mom 4 days later and confirmed a match. She was due for C-section just one week later!  YIKES!!!  We had very little baby supplies. We had the basics that Susan suggested. We left that next Monday to drive to Florida. On Wednesday, we were able to meet our birth mom and take her out for dinner.  After dinner, we walked on the beach and just really got to know each other better. She invited us to be at the hospital with her as she had the C-section. We didn't know if both my husband and I would be able to go into the operating room. On that Thursday, the C-section was delayed. We all spent the entire day together, talking and getting to know each other more. I had brought our baby book along and was making as many notes about her family, traditions, and wishes that I could. We are so  blessed that we had the opportunity to both be there in the OR with her while our baby boy was born. So many memories were made and we are so grateful for the selflessness our birth mama showed. We spoiled her while she was in the hospital as much as we could. On the day of discharge, it was the hardest day. Even though our adoption is open, saying goodbye at discharge to our birth mom was the hardest thing for both of us. She truly is a part of our family and we miss her tons. We know that God has placed us into each other's lives for a reason and we look forward to continuing our relationship.

It turns out all of those initial fears they shared in the back of a little coffee shop months earlier? God had taken care of each one...the relationship with a birth mother, open adoption, even the finances. God knew from the beginning all he needed was Travis and Angela to take the first step and he would take care of the rest.