November is National Adoption Awareness Month, so we asked some of our favorite adoptive families to answer prompts from our Adoption Journal and share their incredible stories on our blog this week.
In our third spotlight, meet The Johnson Family: Chrissy, Nathan, and Eli, their adopted son. Read the details of their adoption journey below, including why they chose to adopt, the logistics of their adoption process, and the moment they held their son for the first time—a moment they'll never forget.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO ADOPT?
CHRISSY: We had always known we wanted children of our own. We decided to start trying to conceive after our third wedding anniversary, however we were unable to do so. We had a few tests done before deciding that if God wanted us to conceive our own children, He would allow it to happen without medicine or surgeries. During this time of heartache and struggle, we felt the Lord calling us to adopt. As believers, we are called to care for widows and orphans, so we began the adoption process and never looked back!
HOW LONG HAD YOU BEEN TRYING TO ADOPT YOUR CHILD?
CHRISSY: About two years; we switched agencies twice due to scheduling and lack of training opportunities. We attended our first adoption training in May of 2015, and brought our son home from the hospital in May of 2017.
DESCRIBE THE LOGISTICS IN YOUR ADOPTION PROCESS:
CHRISSY: We first started by making our profile book! From that point on, our process was full of driving to and from trainings. We completed checklists and LOADS of paperwork. Eventually, when it came time for our home study, our social worker would come to us. After our home study was completed, we attended our final training with the agency we would end up adopting from. The next month, we were told a birth mom was interested in us. We met her the next month on a couple of different occasions, where we were finally chosen as the adoptive family! She was about 7.5 months pregnant at this time, so we spent the next few weeks getting to know her and attending prenatal visits before the delivery day.
WHERE WERE YOU AND HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE RECEIVING YOUR CHILD? WHAT WERE YOU FEELING WHEN YOU FOUND OUT?
CHRISSY: Our birth mom was so precious, she made it such a special occasion. During one of our get-to-know-you visits, we went to the zoo with her and our social worker. Again, we thought she was getting to know us still, but little did we know that we were about to have our lives changed! While looking at the rhinoceroses, a zookeeper walked up and handed us an envelope that said, “Our Family”. When we opened it, it was a letter from our birth mom saying that she chose us! We were beyond excited and shocked! Our social worker took pictures of the occasion and there was lots of hugging. It was a day we will never forget.
WHERE WERE YOU WHEN YOU FIRST MET YOUR CHILD? HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU FIRST SAW YOUR CHILD?
CHRISSY: We were so blessed and fortunate to be in the delivery room during our son’s birth. Our birth mom was a rock star and delivered him within 45 minutes, only having to push about 10 times! It was 2:37am when we first saw him. My husband was able to cut the cord, and then after he was cleaned up, we were the first to hold him with skin-to-skin contact. Again, moments we will never forget. We just couldn’t believe he was finally here and that we were holding and kissing him. Those days in the hospital with birth mom and our son were precious, and we thank God that we will have so many stories to share with our son one day about her. About her strength, her bravery, and her courage for choosing life for him and for choosing us to be his parents.
1 comment
I could read Chrissy and Nathan’s over and over! They are precious people and their son is adorable !