“The judge pulled me aside to thank me, one less little person in the system. There is a refreshing light-hearted joy in the courthouse. A day where balloons bounce and smiles are had. For a moment, the cycle of dysfunction is broken.”
‘The morning of her adoption, as the sun crept into our room, I watched her sleep. I studied the curve of her lips, the fullness of her perfect cheeks. This is the moment everything changes.’
‘Up until this moment I refused to call them ‘mine.’ I referred to them as ‘ours.’ The social workers’, the state of California, the taxpayers. That day, they became MINE.’
“There was no logical reason, in our minds, to start a family. But, as soon as those girls locked eyes on mine I knew… I would kill or die for them.”
‘These boys are safe, loved and above all, ours forever. We stood in front of the judge. ‘Adoption granted.’ At that moment, all the weight fell away.’: Adoptive mom knew ‘something was missing,’ says ‘faith, infertility’ were not factors
“Older children adoptions are said to have a ‘honeymoon period.’ That wonderful time where everyone is on their best behavior and all is right in the world. Ours lasted about 3 days. People have told me how lucky my boys are to have found us. I tell them they have it backwards. It’s ME who is the lucky one.”
‘There is no medication to help his PTSD like having his son take our last name.’: Thrilled toddler yells ‘Dad!’ after adoption decree is announced
“Tyler and I met before his deployment to Afghanistan. We knew it would be hard, but we also knew it would strengthen our relationship. He was deployed for 9 months, and one month after he got home, he proposed. We tried for years to get pregnant but came to realize it wasn’t going to happen. Because of the health battles we’ve both been given, we weren’t the type of people to just ‘throw in the towel’ and let our dreams of becoming parents get shattered.”
