Our Miracle Babies
Today marks the 37th anniversary of our first miracle baby's birth. Happy Birthday, Erin!
Bill and I married young. It was important for me to finish college, so we decided, from the outset, to postpone having children for five years, or so, until I was thoroughly educated, and we were both a little more ready to be parents. We never expected to wait for eight years.
From the time we were first married, we discussed being foster parents, and even expanding our family through adoption, but we expected it to be through choice rather than necessity.
When it became evident that we were having trouble conceiving a baby, we saw several doctors, and eventually a fertility specialist, three hours away, in Grand Rapids. Some of the doctors were more helpful than others. A couple of them told us outright that our chances of having a baby naturally were slim to none, and we should just adopt.
That was a problem in Michigan, where we lived then, because the average wait time to adopt an infant was seven years. Nevertheless, we started the adoption process, investigated becoming foster parents, and adopted our first puppy, Ramsey, in an attempt to give ourselves a reason to be responsible adults.
We knew that God would provide a family for us at the right time, and in the right way. Waiting was not easy, but we were able to trust God in the situation, so we were not feeling frantic, by any means.
And then, after enduring a couple of years of fertility treatment, I got pregnant--and we decided to move back to Nebraska. Both adoption and foster care were put on the back burner for a while. Erin was born in Scottsbluff, healthy, happy, and a little opinionated. Bill and I were both delighted to be parents at last.
We always wanted more than the average 2.5 children that was so prevalent in the 1980s. We had discussed and researched perfect child spacing, and had agreed that we would like to have our children about three years apart. However, with the fertility issues we had faced, we weren't sure that was possible. We were just beginning to think about finding a new, local specialist, when I became pregnant with no outside intervention. Meagan, our second miracle baby, was born a little more than three years after Erin's arrival. God's timing is always perfect!
So, we settled into family life in Gering. Life was good. Bill worked hard in his budding cable TV business. I taught part time in several nearby rural schools, first music, then art. Eventually, when Erin and Meagan were both in school all day, I started subbing in Gering's elementary schools.
We were still thinking about expanding our family, but no more babies were forthcoming. Our house was too small for us to even think about adoption or foster care, and there were virtually no larger homes for sale in Gering at that time. And besides, my health had taken a sharp turn for the worse, so I wasn't really able to care for a new addition to the family just then.
That didn't stop me from praying, and searching the Internet to find children in need of forever homes.
We were able to buy a much bigger house, in need of some work, but big enough for more kids. My health improved. Erin, who was seventeen by then, reminded me that we had better get busy if we were really going to adopt, because she wanted to get to know her new sibling before she left for college. We completed the required home study, so we would be ready if the right child came along. We inquired about a couple of young children, as well as a sibling group, before we saw Victoria's picture online.
She was an adorable four-year-old. The whole family agreed that we should look into the possibility of adopting her, so I contacted her case manager, and sent in the necessary paperwork, with a detailed cover letter. Then we waited.
A few weeks passed until I got a phone call, saying that we were in the running to adopt Victoria! We were one of more than a hundred families that had applied to adopt her, but we had made the final cut. We made arrangements to go and see her at her daycare center in Sidney, and meet with her therapist to discuss her background and special needs. A couple of weeks later, we met her face to face, along with her foster family, at Scottsbluff's zoo. After that, we had no doubts about adopting her.
And so, we began several weeks of foster parenting and adoption classes, and meeting Victoria's foster mom in Bridgeport, halfway between Gering and Sidney, to transfer her back and forth between her foster family and new adoptive family. Erin was a senior in high school, and Meagan was a freshman, when we brought Victoria home to stay, on Bill's birthday, just a week before her own fifth birthday on November 9th.
Our third miracle "baby" was tiny, wearing mostly size 2 clothes, and little baby shoes. She didn't yet speak in complete sentences. But she settled in quickly with her new family. Victoria went with me every morning, to the preschool where I was teaching. She saw a speech therapist regularly, and a mental health therapist. Erin and Meagan took turns taking her with them, and their friends, everywhere they went, to the park and basketball games and various school activities.
During her first year with us, Victoria learned to talk in complete sentences, write her name legibly, and count to 20. Eventually, she mastered reading. Everyone she met was instantly her friend. But, especially after Erin, and then Meagan, went off to college, Victoria kept asking if she could have a little brother or sister. We decided it wouldn't hurt to make use of the foster care license we had needed in order to adopt Victoria out of foster care.
We cared for one sibling group for nearly a year, and then a challenging young teen, for the better part of another year, with a few short term foster children scattered here and there. Victoria loved her foster brothers and sisters.
I started teaching preschool for the Gering Public Schools. That's where I met our fourth miracle "baby;" four-year-old Levi was in my afternoon class. When he needed a foster home for 30 days, Bill and I decided to volunteer, since we knew that kids always do better if they already know their foster parents.
30 days stretched into two and a half years, until Levi's unexpected adoption was final.
From the beginning, Levi was a talker. He needed to learn when to be quiet, and how to speak respectfully. He has always been inquisitive and eager to learn, even though he has not always appreciated a school environment. He has learned to interact appropriately with his nieces and nephews, who adore him. Now, at 16, Levi is doing well in school and at home, most of the time.
Our miracle babies have all grown up. Erin and Meagan are both married, with families of their own. Victoria is anticipating her future with her boyfriend, Caleb. Levi is thinking about what he wants to do after he finishes high school in a couple of years.
Our family didn't happen quite the way we had hoped and planned, but God knew, all along, just who needed to be part of our family. And he doesn't make mistakes; instead, he makes miracles happen.
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. Psalm 127: 3
Bill and I married young. It was important for me to finish college, so we decided, from the outset, to postpone having children for five years, or so, until I was thoroughly educated, and we were both a little more ready to be parents. We never expected to wait for eight years.
From the time we were first married, we discussed being foster parents, and even expanding our family through adoption, but we expected it to be through choice rather than necessity.
When it became evident that we were having trouble conceiving a baby, we saw several doctors, and eventually a fertility specialist, three hours away, in Grand Rapids. Some of the doctors were more helpful than others. A couple of them told us outright that our chances of having a baby naturally were slim to none, and we should just adopt.
That was a problem in Michigan, where we lived then, because the average wait time to adopt an infant was seven years. Nevertheless, we started the adoption process, investigated becoming foster parents, and adopted our first puppy, Ramsey, in an attempt to give ourselves a reason to be responsible adults.
We knew that God would provide a family for us at the right time, and in the right way. Waiting was not easy, but we were able to trust God in the situation, so we were not feeling frantic, by any means.
And then, after enduring a couple of years of fertility treatment, I got pregnant--and we decided to move back to Nebraska. Both adoption and foster care were put on the back burner for a while. Erin was born in Scottsbluff, healthy, happy, and a little opinionated. Bill and I were both delighted to be parents at last.
 |
| Erin, at four months |
We always wanted more than the average 2.5 children that was so prevalent in the 1980s. We had discussed and researched perfect child spacing, and had agreed that we would like to have our children about three years apart. However, with the fertility issues we had faced, we weren't sure that was possible. We were just beginning to think about finding a new, local specialist, when I became pregnant with no outside intervention. Meagan, our second miracle baby, was born a little more than three years after Erin's arrival. God's timing is always perfect!
 |
| Meagan, at one year |
So, we settled into family life in Gering. Life was good. Bill worked hard in his budding cable TV business. I taught part time in several nearby rural schools, first music, then art. Eventually, when Erin and Meagan were both in school all day, I started subbing in Gering's elementary schools.
We were still thinking about expanding our family, but no more babies were forthcoming. Our house was too small for us to even think about adoption or foster care, and there were virtually no larger homes for sale in Gering at that time. And besides, my health had taken a sharp turn for the worse, so I wasn't really able to care for a new addition to the family just then.
That didn't stop me from praying, and searching the Internet to find children in need of forever homes.
We were able to buy a much bigger house, in need of some work, but big enough for more kids. My health improved. Erin, who was seventeen by then, reminded me that we had better get busy if we were really going to adopt, because she wanted to get to know her new sibling before she left for college. We completed the required home study, so we would be ready if the right child came along. We inquired about a couple of young children, as well as a sibling group, before we saw Victoria's picture online.
She was an adorable four-year-old. The whole family agreed that we should look into the possibility of adopting her, so I contacted her case manager, and sent in the necessary paperwork, with a detailed cover letter. Then we waited.
A few weeks passed until I got a phone call, saying that we were in the running to adopt Victoria! We were one of more than a hundred families that had applied to adopt her, but we had made the final cut. We made arrangements to go and see her at her daycare center in Sidney, and meet with her therapist to discuss her background and special needs. A couple of weeks later, we met her face to face, along with her foster family, at Scottsbluff's zoo. After that, we had no doubts about adopting her.
And so, we began several weeks of foster parenting and adoption classes, and meeting Victoria's foster mom in Bridgeport, halfway between Gering and Sidney, to transfer her back and forth between her foster family and new adoptive family. Erin was a senior in high school, and Meagan was a freshman, when we brought Victoria home to stay, on Bill's birthday, just a week before her own fifth birthday on November 9th.
 |
| Victoria, age four |
Our third miracle "baby" was tiny, wearing mostly size 2 clothes, and little baby shoes. She didn't yet speak in complete sentences. But she settled in quickly with her new family. Victoria went with me every morning, to the preschool where I was teaching. She saw a speech therapist regularly, and a mental health therapist. Erin and Meagan took turns taking her with them, and their friends, everywhere they went, to the park and basketball games and various school activities.
During her first year with us, Victoria learned to talk in complete sentences, write her name legibly, and count to 20. Eventually, she mastered reading. Everyone she met was instantly her friend. But, especially after Erin, and then Meagan, went off to college, Victoria kept asking if she could have a little brother or sister. We decided it wouldn't hurt to make use of the foster care license we had needed in order to adopt Victoria out of foster care.
We cared for one sibling group for nearly a year, and then a challenging young teen, for the better part of another year, with a few short term foster children scattered here and there. Victoria loved her foster brothers and sisters.
I started teaching preschool for the Gering Public Schools. That's where I met our fourth miracle "baby;" four-year-old Levi was in my afternoon class. When he needed a foster home for 30 days, Bill and I decided to volunteer, since we knew that kids always do better if they already know their foster parents.
30 days stretched into two and a half years, until Levi's unexpected adoption was final.
 |
| Levi, age four |
From the beginning, Levi was a talker. He needed to learn when to be quiet, and how to speak respectfully. He has always been inquisitive and eager to learn, even though he has not always appreciated a school environment. He has learned to interact appropriately with his nieces and nephews, who adore him. Now, at 16, Levi is doing well in school and at home, most of the time.
Our miracle babies have all grown up. Erin and Meagan are both married, with families of their own. Victoria is anticipating her future with her boyfriend, Caleb. Levi is thinking about what he wants to do after he finishes high school in a couple of years.
Our family didn't happen quite the way we had hoped and planned, but God knew, all along, just who needed to be part of our family. And he doesn't make mistakes; instead, he makes miracles happen.
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
Comments
Post a Comment