And We Became Family

About this time three years ago we became a family! It is so crazy that it has only been three years-it seems like we have been together forever! It is so awesome how God brought us together!
So here is our adoptions story:
After a long road of unsuccessful infertility Doug and I decided to go the adoption route. We were both pretty ignorant in the area of adoption so it was pretty scary at first. The only adoptions we were really familiar with were international adoptions, so of course that is what we were going for at first. So, Doug started getting info. from a million agencies online. One night we just spread them out on our living room floor and prayed that God would show us what agency to use. We chose a little agency in Akron, Ohio called A Child's Waiting, because they did all types of adoptions and we still weren't sure what we were doing.
So, a few weeks later we had to travel to Akron for two weekends for an adoption seminar. As we drove the two and a half hour drive we were still unsure if we picked the right agency, but our God is so good! Barbara Walters was there doing a special on our little agency. The training was pretty eye opening to say the least. We were now pretty sure we were going to do the type of adoption where the birth mother (usually a teenager) picks the family. On the last day of our training they showed a video of siblings and how they are often separated. Needless to say our hearts were broken. As we walked to the parking garage that afternoon we didn't say much, but we both knew exactly what kind of adoption we were going to do-SIBLING!
So, the process started a Home study-Whew that was fun! A 25 page document about Doug and I! After a couple of months all of our paper work was done and they started sending our Home study out on different sib. groups we were interested in. They would call us and say you have two hours to make a decision on this group and we wouldn't hear anything for weeks! It was really hard! We said no many times to sib. groups, and got our hearts broken a few times in the process. It was definitely an emotional roller coaster!
During one of those really down and broken hearted times I remember our agency contacting us and having us look at a picture of three little ones in Oregon. (It was so crazy that they were in OR as I was born and raised there!) They were 3 year old twin boy, girl, and their 6 year old brother. The minute I saw the picture of all three of them sitting in an old rocking chair I fell in love with them. We talked to the foster mom that they they had been with since the twins were born and she had nothing but great things to say about them. They were much older then what we were interested in, but I just couldn't get them off my mind. Doug was still very cautious, but I was totally into them! We were one of a thousand people that put our Home study in on this group. After what seemed like an eternity we were selected to be part of the final group of three families. During this whole process our agency was still sending our info. out so we had to keep deciding if we wanted to be in the process for other kids-it was crazy!
So, the big day Oct. 5th came, and of course Doug had a meeting so I sat at home waiting for the phone to ring. It finally did AND we found out we were going to be parents!!!!!! I can not tell you the excitement and thankfulness that Doug and I felt!
The next 20 days were filled with a lot of planning and shopping! Imagine going from 0 to 3! I can remember going to Target the first time and our total was over $800! That was just one of our trips! The kids received our scrapbook and video and were told we were their forever family. (Their Foster Mom told us they watched the video about 20 times a day. We also were able to talk to them on the phone everyday. We were "Mom" and "Dad" from the beginning.
On Oct. 25th we flew from our home in Ohio to Oregon to meet our babies! I can remember driving up to Sandy's house (foster mom) and seeing two little noses stuck to the window. I guess they had been standing their forever waiting for us. This may sound crazy but the minute I held them in my arms it just felt right, natural, and like we'd always been together. About an hour later Trev's bus arrived, and he jumped right off the bus into my arms yelling, "Mom!" It was amazing!
We spent the next week in Portland getting to know each other and having a BLAST! We were able to experience so many "firsts" together. We were then able to take the kids to Baker, OR where my family lives and spend 4 days with them. The kids again experienced so many firsts like 4-wheeling, horseback riding, sporting activities, etc. My whole family absolutely fell head over heals in love with them. When we left Baker my mom, "Grandma Kiki" asked Trev what was the best part of the week? He answered, "Best part of the week this is the best week of my life!"
Well, the rest is history! God truly put us together to be a Forever Family! It is so obvious everyday that we were meant to be together. I honestly feel like the most blessed woman ever to have three such amazing kids! They are truly my precious gifts from God, and I honestly thank Him everyday for allowing me to be their mother. Every painful minute of infertility and adoption was erased the minute we were together!
Oh yeah- their Dad is not too bad himself! I am not sure if we would recommend the 0 to 3 thing to anyone, but we would definitely do it all over again! Even though Doug almost died in the adjustment process. We became a family in November and in January Doug got mono REALLY bad. He was extremely ill for nearly 6 months. I guess this is when God showed me what being a single mother was all about. Parenting is much easier and enjoyable as a team!
Whew! That was a long and emotional post!!!