We recently launched a new Adoption Journal in collaboration with The Archibald Project. A portion of the proceeds from our collab will go straight to The Archibald Project to aid in their efforts to advocate for children worldwide and help end the global orphan crisis. We're both believers in the power of storytelling and capturing your own personal journey. Inspired by the Archibald Project's hashtag #storytellingchangestheworld, we're sharing some of their most powerful adoption stories here on the blog.
A portion of the proceeds from our new Adoption Journal collab will go straight to The Archibald Project
Today we're sharing the beautiful story of the Wall Family, who adopted their son, Everett, from his birth mother, Dominique, in Texas. Below, read their answers to prompts from our Adoption Journal and see photos from their journey. Hop over to The Archibald Project to read and see even more of their adoption story!
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO ADOPT?
ALLYSON WALL: There are several reasons I chose to adopt. My heart was stirred originally by spending time in other countries and seeing the number of orphans in our world. My heart broke. As I continued in ministry here in Dallas, my heart has been equally broken. I've met so many girls that would find themselves with unplanned pregnancies who are scared or rattled by the news. They often have family members, friends, or the birth father advising them to just "fix" the situation by aborting the child.
I've said I am "pro-life," but really, I also would say that I am "pro-choice," meaning giving these women a real option that gives BOTH the mom and the child life. So while my husband and I didn't know if infertility would be a part of our story, we knew that being an option for women who find themselves in these situations would be. We will always be an option for any woman contemplating life or death for their child. Our home will always be open. Our child's birth mother was one of these women in this situation, and we are so grateful to have her in our lives, as well as our precious son Everett.
HOW DID YOU PREPARE FOR THE ARRIVAL OF YOUR CHILD?
I love this question. We did nothing to prepare "materially" for the child. We did not purchase anything until after the birth mother signed papers choosing us to parent Everett. This also meant saying no to people who wanted to do showers for us. We did not announce on social media that we were adopting or that we had been chosen by the birth mother. We instead focused on meeting with a small group of people to process and pray. We talked through if I should prepare to continue working or stay home if the birth mother did choose us. We had conversations with family members and close friends, we took some parenting classes, read, and truly spent the most time in prayer.
We prayed that the lord would guide us each step and that we would be present each day. We prayed that the Lord would be our peace no matter if the child went home with his birth child or with us. We prayed for discernment on how to care for the birth mother and support her as well. We prayed that regardless of the outcome, that Everett would be healthy and grow to know the Lord.
We also focused on our marriage. How were we doing at loving each other? While we were focused on getting ourselves ready, our family and friends put a signup together to have everything ready for us if we were chosen to parent Everett. They literally ended up having everything and more than we could have needed. It was incredible!
WHERE WERE YOU WHEN YOU FIRST MET THE BIRTH MOM?
We met Dominique, Everett's birth mom, through mutual friends at church, but we met her for the first time in person at Raising Canes! Ha! We asked Dominique where she would like to meet, and I guess her pregnancy cravings included fried chicken. I wasn't having pregnancy cravings, but I love fried chicken too! After our meeting, Dominique said she wanted to move forward with us, and after taking some time process, we too agreed we were excited to be on this journey with her! She invited me to come to some doctor appointments with her, which I am forever grateful for! This means I was able to see Everett before he was even born!
WHERE WERE YOU AND HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE RECEIVING YOUR CHILD?
My husband and I had planned to lead a team of young adults to Israel on a mission trip before we met our sons birth mother. We originally thought her due date was December 16, and we were set to return from Israel on November 27. While at a doctor's appointment with Everett's birth mother we realized we actually heard the due date wrong and it was December 6! We processed a ton if we should still go on the trip, and ultimately Everett's birth mom said she felt comfortable with us still going. We agreed to immediately fly back if something were to happen unexpectedly.
We made it through the entire trip, but as soon as our first flight back landed, we got word that her water broke and Everett was coming early! I panicked. We had a 5-hour layover, and on our final flight back we received the text that Everett was born. We were devastated to not be there. When we landed, the flight attendant had everyone remain seated and announced on the intercom that we were needing to get to the hospital to see a baby boy we hoped to adopt. As we got up and ran off the plane, the entire plane erupted in cheering for us. I erupted in tears. We chose not to see a picture beforehand and after a mad dash to the hospital we finally got to see Everett. He was perfect.
HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU FIRST SAW YOUR CHILD?
Overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by how perfect he looked. Overwhelmed by how at peace he was, not fussing. He was so perfect. It also was overwhelming because the second I held him I knew the love that my husband and I had for him, BUT I also knew we weren't his parents in that moment. We were standing at the foot of his birth mother's bed and he was still very much hers. I was overwhelmed with compassion trying to even imagine what she was feeling. The thing that gave me peace, though, was knowing this child was so very loved. By us, his birth mother, and all our family and friends. Everett has been overwhelmingly loved from the very beginning by more people than he will ever understand.
Photos: The Archibald Project
Capture your own adoption story in an Adoption Journal—a portion of the proceeds from our new Adoption Journal collab will go straight to The Archibald Project.
A portion of the proceeds from our new Adoption Journal collab will go straight to The Archibald Project
