A Summary of Our Journey

Since there are some people who may not be aware of our latest regarding our adoption of Liam, I'm posting a summary of our journey. It is a little on the long side (sorry in advance), but I hope that it touches people's hearts and that people will see God's faithfulness and goodness. This was read at our baby shower last weekend:


I can't tell you what it means to me and my family that you are here to celebrate the addition of Liam. All babies are a special blessing, and each has their own unique story. I believe, though I am especially partial, that Liam's story was a time sensitive, coordinate miracle, with lots of twists and turns. I felt that if I didn't tell the story, that I wouldn't be honoring the one who I believe worked out all of the details. Since Billy and I are the ones who experienced it, I was told that it would be best coming from one of us-so to make it a little easier, I'll be reading Liam's story...

As all of you know, Billy and I wanted to have a family for about nine years prior to Liam's arrival. After lots of doctors, meds, treatments, along with the physical, emotional, and spiritual drain of infertility, we both decided to move forward with open adoption. We had spent lots of time praying, researching, and I had even spoken considerably to one of my cousins who was adopted. We were referred to a local adoption facilitator who one of Billy's co-workers adopted through. We entered the adoption program in September of last year. We compiled a profile of our life and completed lots of paperwork, and submitted it, praying that a birth mom would select us soon-after all, we had been waiting for so long already. In order to cope with the wait, I began to blog, which has been extremely therapeutic.

At the end of February, we were feeling discouraged that we had not gotten any "bites" on our profile. We had been in the program for 6 months, so we met with our adoption facilitator, Mari. She explained that there weren't many potential birthmothers entering the program, so we would have to wait a bit longer. However, about two and a half weeks later, on my granmother's birthday (something we will always remember), Mari called Billy to tell him that a birthmother, who was due in a mont, had picked us! Within a week, we met face to face with her, which was mediated by Mari. Though we were nervous, the meeting went exceptionally well. Even Mari was amazed by the funny little commonalities we had with our birthmother-she sings (we both sing), she dances (Billy dances), and she lived in Oroville for much of her growing us years (where Billy is from),a nd most all, we share the same faith! Prior to our meeting, I had prayed that if this was the right birthmother, that God would provide some kind of confirmation. I planned to ask her why she chose us. I hoped that she would answer that it was due to our shared faith. She I asked her, that was exactly what she said!

However, even after that, we had our doubts. It didn't seem possible that this could be our time. I feel that God used some special friends of ours to encourage us to take the leap and to follow through with the match-they believed that this was an answer to our prayers. After choosing to move forward, I was especially amazed by how quickly all the details worked out. Since it was the end of the school year, I decided to go on leave from my teaching job at Willows High. I knew it would be ideal to have that time and the summer to bond with Liam (, the name we had chosen because it is derived from Billy's name, William). A week after choosing to move forward, my student teacher completed her student teaching. She was an obvious choice for a longterm sub since she knew my students and was trained. Ironically, I had never been presented the opportunity to have a student teacher prior to this school year!)

As Liam's due date drew near, we rushed to get baby necessities and the nursery set up. I prepared my students for my pending departure, we worked on adoption paperwork, and we waited. One day we received a call that our birthmom was in labor only to find out that it was false labor. A week after Liam's due date, he still hadn't arrived, so the doctor decided to induce.Billy and I made a short trip up to Feather River Hospital, and kept our birthmother company. The drug was administered, and we waited for contractions. That evening, we were awakened by the doctor who informed us that things weren't progressing as he had hoped, and that he would be doing an emergency c-section. We prayed together and hoped for the best. Liam was born on April 18 at 11:45 p.m. He shares the same birthday as two of my cousins, Katie and Greg, and of our good friend Kathy's daughter, Cole. So he is in great company!

The next day, family visited us. Our birthmom share Liam with us, and she graciously told Billy that she was willing to meet any of our family members. Earlier in the day, I had "met" her mom and sister over the phone-an amazing thing!) My mom and one of my aunts met our birthmom, and it was a very special opportunity for them to thank her for helping us to achieve our dreams and to recognize her for the brave choice to provide Liam with an adoptive life.

Prior to leaving the hospital, our birthmom asked the hospital chaplin whether she would pray a blessing over Liam. Just before prayer, the chaplin told us that she and her husband have desired to have a family for years, and that she hoped someday they would be blessed through adoption just as we have been. Her payer was absolutely beautiful-just as I would imagine Liam's church dedication might be. As you can imagine, our birthmom, Billy, and I were all in tears by the end. In order to help with the separation, it is advised that the adoptive parents and birthparents leave the hospital at the same time. That is exactly what we did. The ride home and pretty much the last two months have seemed so surreal!

When we arrived home that night, Billy told me that he had spoken to one of Liam's nurses, and she asked him to what extent we had tried to have a family. They swapped infertility stories, and the nurse said she and her husband will most likely adopt. As I think about the chaplin and the nurse, I can't help but wonder what kind of impact our experience will have on them. I wish I could know! It has been quite a journey to become a family of 3, and through it I've related to and drawn strength from a few scripture references. The one that I feel best captures the tone of our journey's culmination is: Ephesians 3:20: "Now all glory to God who is able through His mighty powerat work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." The blessing of Liam has exceeded what Billy and I could have ever imagined. We are so thankful to God, and so grateful for the love, support, prayers, and words of encouragement we have received from all of you, our family and friends.