Adoption story - Ashley & Scott

I fell in love with Ashley and Scott right away, and it turns out, they are mutual friends and live just a few minutes away from me!

They signed on with me around New Years Eve of 2017. I loved their positive, loving attitude and motivation to grow their family. Little did they know they would have the most exciting year ahead of them! Nearly 7 months after joining CAC, their beautiful daughter was born!

I thought that those waiting in the trenches may enjoy and relate to Ashley's journey of waiting, hoping, and waiting some more!

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On my 29th birthday, July of 2016, we found out that we were not pregnant (AGAIN)... After two years of trying to conceive, we had experienced the most challenging roller coaster of emotions... so much loss, disappointment, and devastation. So we started our journey through the adoption process. Through our infertility treatments, God had really taught me to trust in Him, and so I decided that we would go through the adoption process in the same way. I knew that it could possibly be a long journey, and the only way I would be able to be patient through it would be to trust that God’s timing was perfect.

September 12, 2016- We were “lost dogs” when we first entered the world of adoption. All we knew is that God had placed it on our hearts, but didn’t know where to begin. And what do you when you don’t know something? You GOOGLE it. So we “googled” how to get approved to adopt. We learned quickly that everything starts with a home study. We took a shot in the dark and decided to move forward with the home study without the guidance of an agency.

January 1, 2017 -- we signed on with CAC. Through the grapevine we had heard that CAC was not only easy to work with, but the best to work with. This is our first adoption, so we don’t have another experience to compare to, but I know we can honestly say that Gretchen made each step of the adoption process simple, clear, and always gave us a framework to work with. The resources were ample and most importantly she was easily accessible at all times. We’re so grateful The Lord placed Gretchen in our lives at the perfect time, and we’re so proud to say CAC is a huge part of our story.

We worked day and night to get all the paperwork complete for the home study. We felt that every detail of our life was being exposed to the world and it was challenging for us! By New Year’s Eve, we were “officially” ready to create to present to adoption situations!

In late January, we got an email with a special birth mom profile. At this time, we had already passed on presenting to three adoption situations, but none had felt like “the one”. On this particular day, we opened up a profile, and tears flooded as I read about her story, her children, and her decision to explore adoption.

Two days later, we confirmed with our lawyer that we wanted to present to the situation, but wanted to attach a special letter with our profile book so we could express our special connection to her. That night we sat down and with tears flowing, wrote a letter to birth mom about how brave and loving we thought she was.

Then we sent our profile book and letter. We held hands, prayed, and hoped that she would feel the same connection that we did.

A few days after that -- WE GOT THE CALL! It was a typical afternoon… I was working on a VLOG post and cooking dinner. When I picked up the phone, and heard the words “she chose you,” my body froze and I was overcome with emotions. That night I dreamed about that little baby all night. It was weird because I typically don’t dream very vividly and didn’t have a lot of dreams about adoption. But in my dreams that night she was our baby and we were so happy. I could almost touch her, smell her, snuggle her already.

February 15th- We met our baby's Birth Mama in person. In my mind, I had imagined this very somber and quiet lunch together. However, our meeting was quite the opposite. When she walked into the room, we hugged for a solid 30 seconds. It felt like hugging an old friend, and I’ll never forget the warm feeling of her skin, the sweet smell of her shampoo, and the whispered “hi” she said into my ear.

Fast forward into 2017 --- Between our first meeting and baby’s arrival, I visited our baby's birth mama eight times!!! At first, people are really shocked that we spent so much time together; however we were in a unique situation and met her so early in her pregnancy. I am so grateful that we had time to build a relationship and we will forever cherish that.

One day --- Mama D had a doctor appointment and called us immediately after that she was starting to dilate! She said she was really uncomfortable and felt a lot of pressure; doctors and lawyers agreed that she was probably coming soon so we packed up the truck and headed down! Sadly, when we arrived, she had not dilated anymore and actually was feeling less pain. We used the opportunity to spend time with both her and her children and crossed our fingers the “real call” would come soon.

August 10th- Mama D updated us that she was scheduled for induction in 5 days! This time, we had 5 days to prepare so we strategically packed, prepared both of our jobs for maternity/paternity leave and most importantly double checked the whole house for being “baby ready."

On August 15th, we picked up Mama D and headed to the hospital. The next several hours were quiet and calm, and our strong birth mom worked through labor as we stood by her side.

August 16th -- our precious girl arrived around 5:00 a.m., and the moment she entered the world is a moment I will hang onto forever. Her birth mom's hospital plan was to have baby girl to go into straight into my arms when she made her entrance. When the doctor handed her to me, I was speechless and tears rolled down my face as we locked eyes for the first time. Scott was not in the room for the delivery, but entered just minutes after she was born, and my rough and tough husband was soon a melted puddle of emotions as he took her from my arms. I will never forget watching Mia and Scott snuggle together for the first time… She was not crying or screaming. He was enamored with her and the two of them snuggled for several hours that day.

Over the next day, we all spent time together holding her and I will always remember the strength I saw in our daughter's birth mom. We knew the grief was slowly washing over her, but she never once wavered in her strength and courage. We nervously awaited the day we could sign papers, and when that moment finally came it felt like a million pounds came off of my shoulders. As soon as we were finished signing our own papers, I ran back into the room where baby Mia was and stared at her in awe. I couldn’t believe after years of not knowing if we would ever be parents, we were finally staring at our daughter.

We promised Mama D that we would always honor her in our home, and we will hold true to that promise. We understand the incredible sacrifice that she made and we want Mia to know where she came from and how much she is loved by all of us. We are so grateful for everything that God has done for us and will forever be humbled by His goodness to our family.