Meeting the Family!

As I searched through adoption websites, I kept thinking, there are so many couples, each one hoping for an email from a birth mother who was willing to place her child with them, and I'm supposed to choose only one? It felt impossible. My mom told me I should ask God to help me know without a doubt which family my baby should be placed in. I remember searching, looking at pictures, asking God, "Is this the family?"I didn't know how long it would take me to find the family, but I knew that I would find them. I knew that whoever the family was would be able to adopt my baby without problems.

Branden, Melanee, and Westen

Sometime later, probably April, I was looking at Adoption.com, and I came across a family that had a 3 year old boy and lived in Utah. They had caught my eye because they were the first family I looked at that didn't say anything about cats -which I'm allergic to- in their profile (later I found out they had 2). I felt like I had to consider them, but that right then wasn't the time. I saved their name, and another family who lived in Texas, and told myself that I would look at the families again. Every day, I would look at the place I saved the names, but it wasn't until a month later that I actually looked at the family's profile again. I felt really good about the family in Utah, but I wanted God's confirmation. I prayed to God, and asked him if the family in Utah was the right place for my baby. I remember that right after ending the prayer, I heard a voice in my head say to me, "You already know this is the family." I was blown away. I immediately called my mom over, and almost couldn't help myself from yelling out "I found the family!"

Right after adopting Kyle

When I first called the family, I was so scared! I didn't know what I was going to say or how they were going to react. They ended up not answering the phone, but I left a message and sent them an email. A little more than 3 hours later they responded. Branden and Melanee wanted me to know that they had adopted another little boy, Kyle, only a month before, which was when I had first spotted their profile! They wanted me to know that they would still love to adopt, but wanted me to know all the details first. That didn't change the confirmation I had received from God. I knew they were to be my baby's parents. At that time, my dad was in Utah, pretty close to where they lived. I suggested my dad go over to talk with them, and they agreed. Dad went over and met Branden, and when he got back home, told me he enjoyed talking with him.

Dinosaur Museum Fun

For weeks, we emailed back and forth, learning more about one another and preparing to meet. I got to know Branden, Melanee, and Westen (Kyle was a little too young). We even Skyped each other once, and that summer, I met them face to face. I stayed with them for a couple of days, and we got to know each other better. We went to the Dinosaur museum, and had fun watching Westen "dig for dinosaur bones." During the visit, my baby was kicking up a storm, as if to say, You chose right, Mom! He even decided to kick while Branden and Melanee tried to feel him, and scared Branden out of his wits!

During my visit, and even after leaving, I had a warm and calm feeling about this family. I knew, even though it meant giving my baby up, that adoption was the right thing for me to do. I owed it to my child to give him a wonderful family, the family that God meant for him to be with.