Adoption Day was such a milestone for our family.

What people may not realize is that as foster families and for us in particular, we had been her foster family for 819 days. That is 819 days of court visits, social worker calls, impromptu social worker visits, daily logs to fill out, endless amounts of paperwork, and the list goes on and on. So for us, adoption day meant the culmination of so many things–it wasn’t just us adopting our daughter, but it also meant we could finally take a breath.

We became foster parents because God prompted us through a sermon series at our church called “Outlive Your Life.” We became licensed and got our first placement, a 12-year-old boy in 2013. He was reunified and we then said “yes” to other placements. Eventually, we said yes to a 5-month-old girl in the early part of 2014.

Her adoption has recently been finalized and it is still surreal.

The struggle was real because our adoption (even from foster care) was very expensive. We had to pay attorneys fees for over 2 years, and we also had to be in court every three months and needed someone who understood the process. We didn’t understand the process and wanted to make sure our daughter was represented in court.

Most adoption grants are international or domestic, so we were thankful Lifesong was willing to help with our particular situation.

To be honest, it took a while before we could just breathe.

We joked that it was foster care PTSD. After 2 and a half years, you don’t just let go of all of the anxiety involved with the case. We were just recently able to fully embrace the concept of her being 100% our daughter honestly. For so long, we had to check with someone about a doctor’s visit, an illness, a vacation, a scraped knee–anything really–and it takes a while before you can embrace the fact that you can make all the decisions.

Adoption Day is the start of so many fresh starts and that is what it meant to us. We look at those pictures and really have the biggest smile. We know it was the beginning of our family. It was also the day that so many prayers were answered.

The best thing about foster care

Thank YOU so much for being a part of our journey. God was everywhere in our adoption. It was truly a leap of faith and this journey kept us on our knees in prayer constantly.

There were so many unknowns and uphill battles that we had to just beg and plead with God. The foster care system is so broken, and it can be completely overwhelming. At times you can see the worst in humanity when you hear the stories of what some children have been through. When surrounded by all of this, there are days it can become almost impossible to have faith.

When we would fall in our faith, we had an amazing support system to be strong for us and pray for our strength and endurance.

That’s our favorite thing about foster care–you get to see your support system rise up in their faith as well.

We can now say that our daughter’s adoption story has specifically impacted others. There are new foster parents and adoptions because of her story. That makes us beyond thrilled to see her impacting the world at a young age.

Thank you for sharing your story and for faithfully fostering this precious little girl for 819 days! We rejoice with your family on this new adventure of forever, and we look forward to what God will continue to do in and through you. 

Be God’s answer to a family’s prayer.