“With tears running down my cheeks, I turned to my husband and told him the news. We were devastated. There were no red flags no warning signs. The next morning, we were called to the hospital. She was in labor – our baby girl was coming.”
‘The day before we were supposed to fly out, we got a call. ‘We haven’t been able to reach her for 24 hours. This isn’t a good sign.’ My heart sank. We were completely shocked.’
‘We weren’t taking ANY more chances getting pregnant, so my husband got snipped. Then I got a text. ‘I FOUND YOUR BABY!’ I about died.’
“He had a rare disorder and a long list of conditions we didn’t think we were equipped to handle, especially already having a medically-needy child. Not to mention having 3 kids 5 and under! We were a NO, but something stirred in me.”
‘We finally got the call. This baby was due in 2 months, and she had a heart defect that would require open-heart surgery. The second I saw her little face, I fell to the ground.’
“I was nervous. I didn’t know if she would understand the baby I was holding is her sister. But when she came to the hospital, she pointed to my belly and said ‘no.’ Then she pointed to Josie and said ‘yes.’ So powerful.”
‘You might look at these pictures, and feel uncomfortable. You might think, ‘I could never ‘share’ my child like that.’ She leaves the hospital with empty arms. Open adoption does not equal co-parenting.’
“During her second trimester she sent me emails letting me know about the SpaghettiOs he was making her crave. She gave us a jar of pink and blue candies and made us count every single one to find out if it was a boy or a girl. They gave them life and I am teaching them how to live it.”
‘I lost 100 pounds in less 8 months. I was sick. I had gotten down to eating only one orange a day. Then I gained it all back. I got the phone call that changed my life. My mother had died.’
“We have unexpectedly adopted 2 newborn babies and moved our youngest boy’s biological brother in with us for an undetermined amount of time. Being a working mom of 5 boys really takes a toll on my workout routine and takes a LOT of juggling.”
‘Hey, Grace. A baby girl was abandoned at the hospital. She doesn’t even have a name. Can you come pick her up in an hour?’
“I open the fridge, over and over, to prove to children there is always food. I attend IEP meetings and I advocate for kids. But you know what else I do?”
‘Despite having 5 beautiful children, I still couldn’t shake the feeling that our family was not complete. I looked around and thought, ‘Surely we have room for one more, right?’
“At only 17 years old, while still a senior in high school, I vividly remember the intense fear I felt when I looked at that pregnancy test. What would become of me? I had always been the good girl – the one that got good grades and followed the rules.”
‘Strong people do foster care. Bible thumpers do foster care. Not us. People like us do not do foster care.’
“We tried for five long years to have children of our own. Five years is sixty months. That’s six hundred ovulation tests and one hundred and twenty pregnancy tests. Always negative.”
‘I texted my husband I had worried for nothing because everything seemed fine. Until it wasn’t fine. He waited until we were driving home, until he didn’t have to look us in the eye.’
“‘Jen, I heard you’re off work right now.’ BECAUSE I JUST HAD CANCER SURGERY! ‘And you might have some time on your hands.’ BECAUSE HE LOST HIS JOB! ‘And maybe you need a distraction.’ BECAUSE EVERYONE IS DYING! ‘I have two babies in my office. They need a home. Today.’ Ohhhhhhh.”
‘If she says mama, I won’t be able to go through with it.’ She never told him she was pregnant with me. To this day, he has absolutely no idea I exist.’
“I never would have imagined the child we adopted would have a story so shockingly similar to my own. I never imagined it would be my own cousin. I never imagined it would be my biological mother who would play such a pivotal role in all of it.”
