A Christmas Adoption Story

The Journey Begins

Our Christmas adoption story began five years ago when we made that first call to Adoption Associates. We were nervous and not sure what to expect. Ashley and I had been praying for a child to love for a few years by that time, but it just wasn’t happening. Some friends of ours had adopted a baby and we could see and feel the love that emitted from them every time they looked at their child. After careful consideration, we made the decision that building a family through adoption was a journey that we wanted to take. So then … our first phone call to Adoption Associates.

We learned a lot in those first few months of the adoption process. This was going to be so much more than just bringing a child home to raise. Our caseworker was very thorough when educating us about the home study and adoption process, but more importantly, educating us about the process of parenting an adopted child. Once our home study was approved, we waited to be chosen by a birth mother. That was hard. There is no other way to explain it. You feel so ready to become a parent, but there is all of this unknown. When will we be chosen, and by who? Will we be able to get to know the birth mother, and will she like us? Once she meets us, how will she feel about placing her baby with us? The thought of her sacrifice was so overwhelming.

The Wait

So we waited. And we continued learning all that we could about adoption and about parenting. We prepared a room and stocked it with the necessities. Then we waited some more. This waiting time was hard, but I think that it can be an important part of the process. A time for us to really grow in our relationship with each other. And also a time of questioning. Will we be good parents? will we honor the birth parents in the way that we love and raise this child?

Months passed. Our caseworker continued to support us along the way. We prayed that the child who was meant to be with us, would come. We prayed for the birth mother – for all birth mothers who were making the most difficult decision of their lives. It’s hard to put into words how we were in awe of a birth parent’s love for their child, and their ability to love them enough to place them with a couple who were ready to be parents.

Our Christmas Adoption Story

Then, when we least expected it, on Christmas Eve, we got “the call”. A baby had been born and the birth mother had chosen us. We were both excited and terrified. The caseworker from Adoption Associates filled us in on what she knew about the baby and about the birth mother. The next several hours were surreal. We traveled to the hospital to meet the baby and the birth mother. We were so nervous. When we got there, we met with the caseworker first, and then we were introduced to the birth mother and the baby. I CANNOT put into words what that felt like! We were smiling and we were crying. We were completely overwhelmed by the fact that this mother loved her child so much that she was giving him the gift of a family. There is no truer love. So, long story short, we brought baby Gabriel home on Christmas Eve. The baby who we would soon call our own.

The sacrifice his birth mother made will never be taken lightly by us. She has become a part of our lives so that Gabriel may come to know her and the love she had, and will always have, for him. We see her a few times a year and we keep in touch by text regularly. She loves to receive pictures of his everyday life and hear about his personality and the things that he loves. Every Christmas Eve we celebrate Gabriel’s birthday and how he came to be our son. And every ordinary day, we celebrate the love and the sacrifice that brought us together.