November is national adoption month which means this is the time of year that everyone is excited about adoption. The truth is as an adoptive mom, we celebrate adoption every day!
I had dreamed about adopting a child since I was a young, so one of the first things I did when I met my husband was to discuss that possibility; not only because it had been a dream of mine, but, also because there was a possibility that I would not be able to have a child of my own.
As it turned out we were able to have a child but that did not stop us from wishing to grow our family through adoption.
In 2011, when our oldest son was six months old, we decided to start exploring adoption. (Looking back I have no idea what made this six month postpartum mom think about adding to our family. Let’s blame the hormones… Anywho… we decided to start looking into adoption.)
We were told by many that the process could takes several years. After exploring several adoption avenues including international, private, and state adoption, we decided we wanted to adopt through the foster care system. Unlike popular belief, it can be a difficult process to “foster to adopt” because the foster care system’s number one goal is reunification to birth parents. We entered the process naively and were eager to foster and hopefully eventually adopt a toddler in a few years when our son Brody was 2 or 3.
Well two days after our certification we received a phone call for a medically needy infant who was being discharged from the hospital after a 3 month NICU stay. Honestly, I was so confused and kept stating that we hadn’t even received our certification papers in the mail yet. The sweet caseworker convinced me that we were really certified and that we could go pick up the baby the following morning. So here we were now parents of 3 month and 10 month old little boys and I can’t imagine my life had we not said yes to that call!
Spoiler Alert: After 16 months of fostering our son, we officially adopted him! It was not an easy process and there were lots of ups and down and tears shed, but in the end it was all worth it to be his mom!!!
When we stood in the courtroom and he officially become our son that day, I can promise you that it was just as emotional to me as a mom as the moment I first held my newborn children after labor.
One of the most amazing things about adoption is not only did I gain a son that day but I also got the amazing privilege of earning a second family that day. My son’s biological siblings were also adopted and I consider them family. I am beyond blessed that I get to be Nate’s forever family and I’m reminded of that blessing not only in November but every single moment that I get to be his mom!
Happy 4th GOTCHA Day Nathan!!! Mommy loves you so much!!!
