Our Story

Well, I think I realized that our full story isn't really told...sure we are adopting...sure we have tried for a while....but here is the whole thing...

Christine and Stephen’s story:

Ok, where to begin but at the beginning right?  LOL Steve and I will be married for 10 years on the 17^th of this month.  We started off on birth control and about a year later, we decided to get off the pill and try to start a family.  We knew it would take a few months, so in July, we were off.  To our surprise, we found out a month later that we were pregnant! I was thrilled and shocked! So was Steve!  I questioned it at first because the home pregnancy test came back negative, but when I went to the doctor, they confirmed it (I even got to see it because I didn’t believe her! LOL)…we went for blood work to verify and it was confirmed, we were pregnant!! We figured out that I was just starting my 5th week and that was probably why my home test came back negative.

Around 8 weeks, I started passing odd material…I called the doctor and they reassured me that if I wasn’t cramping or bleeding really heavy (or having a normal flow) then I would be fine.  I sighed a relief and hung up the phone.  However, deep down, I knew something was wrong…I kept passing this strange material, though it didn’t hurt, I still questioned it.  That only happened about 2-3 days off and on…Then on September 30 (I remember like it was yesterday)…I went to use the bathroom (I was finishing up my senior year in college at this point)….where I realized that I was bleeding! A LOT! I about went hysterical, and the librarian (who I have come to know really well and we found out we lived in the same town)…took me to my doctor.  My doctor did an ultrasound and said that there was no heartbeat and I was probably just miscarrying….REALLY??? PROBABLY LADY!!!!???? I WANTED TO FLICK HER IN THE FREAKIN’ FOREHEAD!!!! I was pissed! I was sad! I was beside myself…After a few months had passed, I was more convinced that I had actually miscarried back at 8 weeks then during the time I actual went to see the doctor…

Well, we decided to keep on trying…and trying…and trying…and trying…after a few years we started to get testing down. Steve’s guys….CHECK!  My tubes…..CHECK! (ouchy, but check!) test after test after test…it sucked! L  No one could seem to figure out why we were having a problem conceiving. We were young and healthy. Then we started to move down the path of fertility treatments…all that have sadly failed. Finally, several years later, we found out that I have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). I don’t get the cysts, but I have some of the symptoms. I am carb resist (I have a hard time losing weight)…I don’t ovulate regularly…my periods were all over the board…very frustrating!!! During this whole process we had talked about adoption…but when we looked into it, the cost was amazingly expensive and so out of reach for us.  Besides, we were still pretty young and thought… “It’ll happen!”

Months turned into years…pregnant people all around me I wanted to puck! I found out my sister-in-law, who had only been married to my brother for about 3-4 years…was expecting…yet we weren’t. I was mad sure, frustrated you bet! However, we were still working through it, thinking the treatments would help. Then…along came number 2….where were we in this whole process??…money down the drain, buckets and buckets of tears, and still nothing.  Then…I was fine with it all.  We were ok! We would be just fine…just the 2 of us. We were a happy small little family who could do whatever whenever. We could even sleep in! However, we still longed to be parents. We have such a strong love between the two of us, and we truly wanted to share that with a child. We want to experience that joy that being a parent can be! We want to travel and watch their expression and their reactions. There was so much to being a parent that we really were wanting.  Then the talk started again…adoption. It was something small always in my heart, but this was something different. It was bigger and stronger this time.  We started talking about it more and more at the beginning of the year. Then on Jan. 9 (this year), we had made a full decision to go for it.  9 years of trying was long enough and we were more than ready to love and watch a child grow. So, after we made our decision to finally go with this, I started calling SO many agencies! I called and probed and questioned each and every one of them! We finally found out that our first step (besides making the decision) was to get a homestudy done…so we did. Late January early February, we started working on all the paperwork to get homestudy approved.

Wait! 1 important factor to all this….money!  Amazing all the costs that go into adoption…so as we are working on our homestudy, we are now starting to raise funds to help us do this completely debt free! That is not an easy task, but honestly, with God’s help…it’s been amazing to watch Him work through all this.  We sent out support letters, and tried of thousands of ways to be creative to help bring in the money.  My best friend bought us a book called “Adopt without Debt” and it has been a great resource.  I knit and crochet, so I took a job at Michael’s being their crochet instructor. I also opened my own store to help sell and raise money. I put out there that I do hair and my costs to help go towards the adoption as well. We are doing all kinds of fundraisers, from selling t-shirts and candles, to having a karaoke night and raffling off baskets. We are now about $3,000 short of being ½ way there!!!! Yeah! :D

Now, where are we in all this?  Here are the steps we have to take before being placed on the list of waiting families to be matched:

Orientation: Check
Interview: Check
Classes: Check
Apply for homestudy: Check
Homestudy approved (by the agency): Check
Homestudy approved (by the court): Check
Application sent in for infant adoption program: Check (Done TODAY!!!)
Accepted and on the list: almost there!!!

This process usually takes about a year, year and a half….we are only 4 months into it and we are almost on the list already. God has been amazing as we watch this whole thing unfold. We truly believe that we are doing this journey at the right time in our lives.  And along this journey, we have met incredible people, we found out that 2 other families that we know are also walking this journey at the same time as us, and just completely trusting God with it all.  I’m humbled and amazed by the generosity that so many people have showed. We are blessed beyond words, and I can’t express my gratitude enough to those that have helped in some way, shape, or form along this journey with us. We are excited to have a little one to call our own, to raise to know who he/she is, grow in Christ and in His love, and to share our love. Yes there will be countless nights of being up, but to me…it’s all going to be worth it! I want my child to always know, they may not have grown under my heart, but they grew in it!!

Thank you so much for reading my story. It’s hard to sum up 10 years of a wonderful married that has had some rocky times…but God has been faithful, even when I didn’t seem to see it…or even want to see it…God is still in control! Thank you again! <3 <3

And btw, you did read that right! We turned in our application TODAY!!! :D  So excited to hear from the ladies from the agency to get scheduled to chat more about our receptivity form and get on the list!! :D Thank you all for your prayers! <3

Chris