Adoption has always been something that we imagined might be part of our story as a family. We love children and our two biological boys have been a great joy to us. When we decided as husband and wife to learn more about the adoption process we realized there was so much we didn’t know but we tried our very best to seek education with open minds and hearts. After interviewing different agencies we ultimately ended up with a small agency with a focus on really being side by side with us for each step of the process. We got through the application and homestudy process pretty quickly.
We knew it was a gift from God when our pregnant caseworker decided she wanted our paperwork to be submitted before she went on leave (that was only two months from the beginning of our paperwork)! In October 2019 we were officially approved and a waiting family. We settled into the idea of waiting. We prayed for the mother that might choose our family. We prayed for the child that might become a part of our family. We also prayed for our hearts to be open, patient and understanding that there were no guarantees in adoption. We expected to wait and as month one and two went by, we weren’t surprised by the lack of calls. To our surprise, on the day that marked month three of waiting we received information about a mother that had chosen our family to parent her child. Talk about a wild day: we laughed and cried and sat in shock. Four days later we were sitting across the table from the precious woman who had chosen us. There is no explanation/words to really describe the feelings we had that day. It seemed there was mutual calm in the room and all our nerves washed away. We were where we were supposed to be at that moment no matter what happened next.
Three days short of one month later we got the call that this dear expectant mother was in labor. We made the drive and met our sweet baby boy for the first time. The hours at the hospital were ones we will never forget. We spent time with our son’s first momma, with our son alone and slept in our car overnight because there were no rooms for us, but we wouldn’t trade it for anything. About 24 hours after our baby boy was born, we were on the way home with him to meet his brothers and grandparents. What (unbelievable at times) joy! Now we enjoy a weekly conversation with our son’s precious birth mom. She says she really enjoys his photos and watching him grow and we love being able to hear from her and maintain a relationship! Covid-19 has delayed our court dates but we look forward to the day that our son also has our last name!
We are thankful to now be a part of the Wanderlust and Mayhem family and we’re so thankful for the support they offer to adoptive families like ours!
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Kathleen here – We sure do feel lucky to be a part of all of these wonderful stories. Check out the fabric choices the Rebhan’s made. Beautiful!
