Adoption Story: Corey & Brittany

I adored working with this sweet family and I’m excited to have Brittany sharing their story today!Corey and Brittany got started with CAC?last September and by mid-October they were sending off applications to our multiple agencies. ONE month later they were presenting for the second time and would find out a week later that they had been CHOSEN! Brittany shares more below…

++++++

Our story began our eleventh grade year in high school. We fell in love from day one! We knew then we wanted a family. We got married in college, but we waited until we graduated to start our family. After a year of being married we began trying to conceive. After a year of negative pregnancy tests, I decided to go to the doctor to see what was going on, and found out I have PCOS. She referred me to an infertility specialist where we later found out that surgery and IVF were our only options to conceive. After lots of talk and lots of prayer, we decided that was not the route for us. We felt like God was pushing us towards adoption. I always had this feeling that God had this plan for me, but I never acted on. We always had an open heart to adopting, but it was always in the back of our minds to pursue later in life. God kept pushing it forward-constantly.

 

We finally listened in November 2016 then we started with Christian Adoption Consultants and they walked us through every step of the way. Each new part of adoption was nerve wracking – we went through home study and we had help from CAC, Leah, creating profiles. After we were approved, we began praying on what agencies felt right for us.

We had our first situation presented to us in October, and what felt like forever waiting on one brave expectant mom’s decision. On my birthday, we found out that we were not the match for this baby. I cannot lie and say that was not hard… because it was extremely hard. Prayer on top of more prayer got us through it. It was easy for us to say what is wrong with us? Or why not us? Were we not worthy? However, it wasn’t God’s plan, and I had to keep praying hard about that. It’s always hard to hear no, but especially hard when it’s your dream. God has bigger plans and He was moving those mountains for us that we couldn’t see yet! God had other plans for us. That is something I take from this experience, trusting in God’s perfect plan, and learning I’m not in control He is!
A few weeks later, we were presented with another situation and we felt that we should put our yes on the table again. This time it felt different, there was no worrying- no stress- just peace! On the night, our profile was presented my husband and I saw a shooting star! We took this as a sign from Heaven to have faith. So we waited…

On November 11th, (11/11/16), I got the best call, we were MATCHED! Our beautiful baby boy was on his way. The one who had been growing in our hearts for years! We had 106 days to prepare for Cooper to come into our lives and every day was like a roller coaster. There is always that unknown with adoption where anything can happen at any moment. All that got us through that time was prayer and comfort from the friends and family around you. We were able to have all the fun that any other couple that conceived naturally gets to have. We had baby showers, we went crib and changing table shopping, and we were able to buy him clothes, toys, and so much… SO MUCH more!

The days flew by, up until the last three weeks of our son’s birth mother’s pregnancy, and then it went by so slow! We had to be ready to go at any moment. I just prayed hard every day that God would complete His plan in our lives and that He would use His love to cover the birth family and help them make their decision.

 

On March 2 at 7:11 AM, I received a message that said,He is here and he is perfect! , then a picture of our beautiful boy! Normally by 7:11, I have already left for work, but that day I was running behind. As soon as I got the message, I ran into the bathroom to my husband and showed him! We began making phone calls to our jobs and family, and then we started packing up the car! We hit the road on our 7 1/2 hour trip to our son’s birth state. It felt like an eternity. When your baby is sitting in the hospital waiting to feel your love every minute felt like an hour. When we FINALLY arrived we went straight to the hospital.

The first time we met Cooper both families were in the room. I was so nervous that it was going to feel strange and awkward walking into room with people you don’t know, never having met them before. But, God took all those emotions away when the doors opened. It didn’t feel strange at all. It felt like walking into a room of family and that’s what they are – we are family. Our son’s birth family will forever be in our lives as our family. When I got to see and hold Cooper it felt like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders and all my prayers have been answered.

Our hospital stay was a unique. Cooper stayed with his birth mother for three days after his birth. This also gave me some worries, but I knew God was in control and if He brought us this far, He would take care of it. I also reminded myself that this was her time with him and that we will have a lifetime with him. The day we were released from the hospital was one of the most emotional days I have ever experienced. There were happy tears, sad tears, tears of relief, and tears of thanks to God. There are no words that can glorify God enough! When we brought Cooper back to our home away from home (our extended stay hotel room), my mom, dad, and my husband’s mom were waiting to see our gift. They were so excited to meet him! Our family was always so supportive of us growing our family through adoption.

 

Fast-forward three months later and I fall more in love with my boy every day. Each moment of parenthood is full of love and learning. There is so much to take in, and it flies by. I hold him a little bit longer? kiss him a little too much? and stare at him for hours. God has blessed us more than we ever deserve, and we pray that we can raise our son for His Glory!