It's funny how things happen. I was having dinner with a friend and she mentioned that her friends where adopting. Photographing an adoption is on my photography MUST list. I ask my friend to reach out and let Sarah and Danny know that I would love to help them capture the 1st few moments for the new family. I'm so proud to be able to help tell their story.
The 1st image was taken by Ashely Clark to announce that they where adoption. Such a cute idea! The 2nd image was taken at our shoot and that's the SAME pumpkin!
Sarah and Danny's story...
Danny and I knew we wanted children before we were married in 2011. The first year of marriage Danny was deployed so our family building didn’t truly begin until our second year. When nothing was happening, we saw a specialist while we were stationed in Stuttgart, Germany in 2013. The doctor did an ultrasound and didn’t like what she saw so she did laparoscopic surgery and discovered that my tubes were closed; too much for an option to reconstruct. She told us that our only hope for conception was IVF.
In May of 2013 we did our first round, resulting in 8 healthy eggs and 5 successful fertilizations. We implanted the first two embryos but that procedure failed. We waited until July of that year to implant the remaining three. Those, too, unfortunately did not take. The road through IVF was a bumpy one, both emotionally and physically. We discussed doing a second round but my mind and soul experienced the “gun-shy” effect. In 2014 we took a break and enjoyed life in Europe as just the two of us.
During that time, people who knew our situation would try to say nice, encouraging things, but in reality, hearing “In God’s perfect timing” and “I’m sure it’ll happen, just give it time” just frustrated us. We learned quickly how NOT to hurt someone’s feelings by simply saying, “I know, it sucks, doesn’t it?” End of story.
In May of 2015 I went on a Mission Trip to Uganda with an organization called Visiting Orphans. I knew that the trip would be beneficial for me, spiritually, but I had no idea it would lead to having a son. The mission team worked with orphans where we loved on, and cared for them, and also gave the day-to-day workers some time off to rest. Danny was deployed to Uganda at the same time and was only a few hours away from us, so he joined us for a few days. Serving together in the orphanage was an amazing experience and it was then that we knew that adoption would be in our future, but we didn’t know exactly when.
When we came home and PCSd back to the states, my friend and mission leader, Elisa, called and asked if I knew what Angie, another mission team leader, did for a living. Angie works for A Guardian Angel Adoptions, LLC in Salt Lake City as a social worker and the one who keeps track of all of the adoptions in progress. I immediately called Angie and we talked for several hours about the process and the ins-and-outs.
July 19, 2015, I began making my phone calls to adoption agencies near the Fort Leavenworth area who could do our home study. Of the five that I called, only one was able to meet our needs: Adoption Option. The social worker, Hillary Merrifield, completed our home study in September and sent it on to A Guardian Angel Adoptions (AGAA). Danny and I collected all of the security, financial, and miscellaneous documents needed to complete the packet and by late October we were officially “paper pregnant”.
Throughout the month of November, Danny and I were presented with four “situations” to consider, two of which we said “yes” but the birthmothers chose another family. During that long month, frustrating phrases like “Your baby is coming, just be patient” became the new “In God’s perfect timing.” I wanted to scream, “Just shut the hell up!”
Finally on December 2nd, we were chosen to be parents of a baby boy! However, we didn’t know we were chosen because the birthparents were torn between us and another couple. A conference call was going to determine the decision. Friends in our adoption support group in NC did a videoconference call, along with Angie from AGAA and Elisa, the mission team leader, to see how the call went with the birthmother. As we were talking, the case manager popped up and held up a sign that said, “Get ready, a BABY is on the way!!” It was like a dream. Danny and I laughed, screamed, cried, and held each other with our friends across the US joining us in celebration.
Our son was due March 25, so a long, four-month wait was ahead of us. Thankfully, our day-to-day jobs and routines made the days go by quickly. Over Christmas break, Danny and I packed the car and drove 17 hours to Salt Lake City, UT to meet the birthparents. We spent a week there and were able to have two dinners and an aquarium outing with them. Getting to meet them and have bi-weekly conference calls with them was an incredible opportunity, and pretty unique in the adoption world. In most instances, the birthmother and adoptive families briefly meet prior to the birth and have little contact after. We got to know the birthparents on a more intimate level and came to the point of saying “I love you.” And it’s true.
On March 11, 2016 I received a phone call from our case manager saying that the birthmother was being admitted to the hospital and to get on the next flight! Unfortunately, flights leaving the Kansas City airport to Salt Lake City were at 2:00 pm and 6:00 am so we had to wait 15 hours before we could head that way.
Our perfect and beloved son was born March 11, 2016 at 3:35pm weighing 6lbs 7oz and 18 inches long. We found it beautifully ironic that this whole time we were waiting on him and now he was waiting on us.
This adoption was so much more than having a baby. It brought Danny and I closer together as a couple, our relationship with God strengthened, our hearts grew to love the birthparents as family, and it healed relationships in my family that would have otherwise remained severed. The love we have for our son is unimaginable, indescribable. It reminds me of the love God has for us, as His adopted children.
Several things about the adoption proved to be divine intervention: from the time we began the adoption process to the day he was born was exactly 9 months; birthmother was on birth control, and had been for over a year, when she conceived; physical attributes of our son closely resemble us; the bond we have with the birthparents is one-of-a-kind; all things we prayed for, from health of birthmother and baby to birthdate, were answered. I will never deny that this child is truly a gift from God.
