God is always at work. Even in those quiet seasons of waiting, He is working behind the scenes to unfold everything in His perfect timing. Sometimes during those trying seasons where it almost feels like He is withholding something good from us, He is doing an even better work within us. A work in our hearts. Asking us if He is enough. Challenging us to question whether He is where we truly put our hope. Asking us if we trust His plan is better than the one we've imagined up on our own.
God had a good plan for Will and Brittany - one they would now agree is better than they could have asked for or imagined. He placed a baby girl on their hearts and a hurricane wouldn't even stand in their way to meet their sweet baby girl. This fall while Florida residents were evacuating the coast as hurricane Irma was approaching, Will and Brittany were traveling toward the storm to meet their precious baby girl. Brittany shares their family's journey and all that God taught them along the way.
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Our journey to adoption didn’t start that much different than a lot of other adoption stories I have followed. My husband Will and I talked about adoption from early years in our marriage. However, after dealing with infertility for a few years, we realized adoption was the direction God was telling us to go to grow our family. I vividly remember the conversation with Will early one morning before work where we both agreed we didn't feel like we should pursue treatments any further. Once we decided on adoption, we took about a year to research all of the options. There are so many options when it comes to adoption. This was why we knew using a consultant was the right step for us. I had followed CAC and Leah on Instagram for a while and knew she was our consultant. At that time, we were leaders in our church youth group and felt a connection with her and her husband since they also lead youth at their church. I even think our first emails to each other were during youth camp one summer! We signed on with CAC in June 2016 and I remember the hope and excitement I instantly felt when we turned in our paperwork. It was an excitement we hadn't felt for a long time. We got started on our home study later that summer and were ready to start seeing situations late December.
I will always remember the first situation we got. It’s honestly humbling to be sent an expectant mom’s story and pour over details of her personal life and reasons why she is choosing adoption for her precious baby. It is also such a reality check when you are reading through each situation. I think that is one of the biggest things I want people to realize about adoption. I have said multiple times that Lifetime Channel does adoption no favors when it comes to stereotypes. None of the situations we saw were a 15 year old girl from suburbia with a perfect family who found herself pregnant by her 15 year old boyfriend. We saw situations that came from very hard, broken circumstances and that varied with every detail. But with each situation, we could see that the birthmothers loved their babies and believed adoption was what was best for them. We took each situation pretty seriously so if we decided to present, we went in each time with our whole hearts. So each “no” we heard or “not yet” was crushing. But Leah was so comforting to remind us God knew our baby and she saw parents and babies be matched at the right time….in God’s timing, not ours.
We continues to see situations up until the summer and then there seemed to be a big pause in situations being sent our way. It was about 6 weeks before we received another situation. Those 6 weeks were torture and I really wrestled with God and his plan. But now, looking back, I can see in that 6 weeks where my trust and hope in God grew so much. It was like God was asking me where my hope was. What it in being a mom? Or was it in him and him alone? Did I trust him no matter the outcome? Late July, we received a situation from Leah (finally!!). I remember exactly where I was on that Friday afternoon! I joke with Leah about “Situation Fridays” because I felt like the majority of our situations were emailed over on Fridays. The funny thing about this situation was that Will and I really didn't have to read very many details of it. We both pretty instantly agreed that we wanted to present. A few days later, we received the email that the expectant mom wanted to schedule a call! I would imagine the excitement of that moment is like seeing a pregnancy test for the first time. You are nervous, not sure how this will turn out since it is so early, but so excited and you know your life will probably never be the same!
We were officially matched after our call and our sweet Isabella Marie Hope was born September 13- right after Hurricane Irma. The stories we have from traveling to her literally through a hurricane will be told for years to come! We were able to spend 4 days in the hospital loving on Isabella with our birth mom and her family. We are so thankful that we will always be able to tell Bella about that time and how we go to know her birth family and how they welcomed us with open arms (and hugs!). We didn't go into this expecting or even hoping for an open adoption but now, we are so grateful for the relationship we have with them and how Bella is loved by so many people.
Adoption has changed us. There is no way it won’t. The most obvious is that we are parents now! But more than that, we have an extended family we didn't have before. It has changed the way we see birth moms, orphans, the foster care system, the adoption process (the good and the hard). It’s also shown us multiple times how much God loves us and provides for us. We have countless stories of money that was given to us out of no where. Our church family threw us the biggest Yard sale fundraiser we have ever seen! The constant prayers and texts of encouragement we received weekly kept us going during the hardest times. Receiving the exact dollar amount we needed as a gift right before we had to sign our contract with our attorneys office. Even little details like getting to have a room in the hospital to keep Bella with us or the amazing nurses that cared for us in the hospital. Not all hospitals are adoption friendly but we were met with nothing but kindness. Leah and CAC were a huge resource and I would recommend them a million times! To have access to someone to answer all of your adoption questions, big or small, is invaluable. I know Leah prayed for us during our process. I can’t tell you how meaningful that was to us.
I will always remember the first situation we got. It’s honestly humbling to be sent an expectant mom’s story and pour over details of her personal life and reasons why she is choosing adoption for her precious baby. It is also such a reality check when you are reading through each situation. I think that is one of the biggest things I want people to realize about adoption. I have said multiple times that Lifetime Channel does adoption no favors when it comes to stereotypes. None of the situations we saw were a 15 year old girl from suburbia with a perfect family who found herself pregnant by her 15 year old boyfriend. We saw situations that came from very hard, broken circumstances and that varied with every detail. But with each situation, we could see that the birthmothers loved their babies and believed adoption was what was best for them. We took each situation pretty seriously so if we decided to present, we went in each time with our whole hearts. So each “no” we heard or “not yet” was crushing. But Leah was so comforting to remind us God knew our baby and she saw parents and babies be matched at the right time….in God’s timing, not ours.
We continues to see situations up until the summer and then there seemed to be a big pause in situations being sent our way. It was about 6 weeks before we received another situation. Those 6 weeks were torture and I really wrestled with God and his plan. But now, looking back, I can see in that 6 weeks where my trust and hope in God grew so much. It was like God was asking me where my hope was. What it in being a mom? Or was it in him and him alone? Did I trust him no matter the outcome? Late July, we received a situation from Leah (finally!!). I remember exactly where I was on that Friday afternoon! I joke with Leah about “Situation Fridays” because I felt like the majority of our situations were emailed over on Fridays. The funny thing about this situation was that Will and I really didn't have to read very many details of it. We both pretty instantly agreed that we wanted to present. A few days later, we received the email that the expectant mom wanted to schedule a call! I would imagine the excitement of that moment is like seeing a pregnancy test for the first time. You are nervous, not sure how this will turn out since it is so early, but so excited and you know your life will probably never be the same!
We were officially matched after our call and our sweet Isabella Marie Hope was born September 13- right after Hurricane Irma. The stories we have from traveling to her literally through a hurricane will be told for years to come! We were able to spend 4 days in the hospital loving on Isabella with our birth mom and her family. We are so thankful that we will always be able to tell Bella about that time and how we go to know her birth family and how they welcomed us with open arms (and hugs!). We didn't go into this expecting or even hoping for an open adoption but now, we are so grateful for the relationship we have with them and how Bella is loved by so many people.
Adoption has changed us. There is no way it won’t. The most obvious is that we are parents now! But more than that, we have an extended family we didn't have before. It has changed the way we see birth moms, orphans, the foster care system, the adoption process (the good and the hard). It’s also shown us multiple times how much God loves us and provides for us. We have countless stories of money that was given to us out of no where. Our church family threw us the biggest Yard sale fundraiser we have ever seen! The constant prayers and texts of encouragement we received weekly kept us going during the hardest times. Receiving the exact dollar amount we needed as a gift right before we had to sign our contract with our attorneys office. Even little details like getting to have a room in the hospital to keep Bella with us or the amazing nurses that cared for us in the hospital. Not all hospitals are adoption friendly but we were met with nothing but kindness. Leah and CAC were a huge resource and I would recommend them a million times! To have access to someone to answer all of your adoption questions, big or small, is invaluable. I know Leah prayed for us during our process. I can’t tell you how meaningful that was to us.
If adoption is on your heart, I encourage you to reach out to her and find out more information. But just prepared, because adoption will completely change your life and challenge you in a way you could never imagine! One phrase you will hear over and over in adoption is “Worth the Wait” and I can honestly say now on this side of everything, our sweet Isabella was definitely worth the wait and I am so thankful for God’s timing over our lives and not my own.
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God is faithful and He can be trusted.
Congratulations, Will and Brittany! I adored working with your family and couldn't be happier for you!
Considering adoption? I would love to chat with you more about working with Christian Adoption Consultants! Email me at Leah@christianadoptionconsultants.com
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