December 06, 2012
Sharing Stories: Kat + Keith
Aside from your new beautiful child, one of the best things about being involved in the adoption community is sharing stories. The range of emotions felt throughout the adoption period is very diverse, and it can be both reassuring and inspiring to hear how other individuals weathered their own adoption highs and lows. Through our own network, and through Facebook and Twitter, we are connected to so many individuals who inspire us daily. We love hearing their stories. We love the discussion and camaraderie that comes with connecting someone who understands or has been through intimate experiences much like our own. Because of that, we decided to start a new series on our blog where we share stories of families who have been through the adoption process. They’ll be kept in their own words and will chronicle excitement, pain, the wait, what it’s like when they finally met their child for the first time. If you, or anyone you know, is interested in telling your story, please email us at abby@onetruegift, or reach out to us on our Facebook page. We are so excited about this new feature, but we can’t do it without your help!
This week’s story is from our friends Kat and Keith. They are currently going through the adoption process right now, and recently brought home baby Noah, whose adoption will be finalized this January.
“I was 19 and told I’d never have kids, and at 21 I had a complete hysterectomy. I thought I’d never be a mom. When I was 30 we researched all our options and everything was so expensive so we opted to become foster parents. It took us awhile to get everything done. One day I knew my case worker was going to call and inform us that we were licensed and I had a knot in my stomach. She called around noon and said, “You were lisenced yesterday and we have a newborn baby boy for you.” Honestly, that’s all I heard. After that I was thinking “Just shut up so I can call my mom and husband!” My husband was screaming into the phone “WHAT?!?!?” We went shopping and grabbed everything a newborn would need, and picked up our baby boy at 4:30 at the hospital. It was heart stopping. There were a couple other babies but I KNEW which one was mine. I was shaking and talkative, as I get very talkative when I am nervous. He didn’t have a name yet, and the first thing that popped out before seeing him was Noah. I never liked that name or thought about it, but it popped out of my mouth anyway so his name is Noah. He’s a safe haven baby so the adoption process starts next week and will be finalized in January – and we just got placed with a newborn baby girl with a strong possibility of keeping her!
I have a family because of adoption. Otherwise, I’d never have a child, so adoption is an amazing thing. It’s definitely a roller coaster ride, but it was so worth the downs to get the ups! I think everyone is meant to be a parent. Sometimes it doesn’t work like you had hoped. I was hoping to do surrogacy, however after discovering the cost we ended up fostering and everyone told me, even my case worker, that I’d never ever get a newborn…and now I have two! There is a baby out there for every one. It may not come to you as you expected or when you’d hoped, but it’s worth the wait.”