Freya

Adoption has always been something very important to us. After years of fertility treatments and medications, we felt that our path to having our forever family was through adoption. In 2019, we started doing research on different types of adoption and different agencies. There are so many out there that we had no idea where to even begin. We decided to try to navigate adoption on own. After almost 2 1/2 years and praying on the decision we decided to sign with Christian Adoption Consultants. When we talked with Meg at CAC, we felt that she was the answer to our prayers. She was so understanding, encouraging, open, and helped us with all our questions. It is truly an amazing feeling to know someone is praying with you and for you. 

Although we signed with CAC in June of 2021, we had no idea what to expect after waiting years already. We prayed every night that we were on the right path. To our surprise, we were matched in September 2021! We started praying for the parents who chose us for their daughter and began building a relationship with them. We discussed the openness we all wanted right away because Alex and I felt strongly about keeping the lines of communication open. We truly felt that we were not only adopting a child, but we were extending our family to include them. We knew that openness would simply mean more people would love this baby and be in her life. It was a blessing to have this time before the baby was born to get to know them!

Although an induction date was set, Mama A's water broke naturally the night before and a healthy baby girl was born on December 30th in the wee hours of the morning. We got on the road as soon as we could that morning and it was for sure an adventure! We drove through icy roads, freezing temperatures, fog and lots of construction. We are so thankful that the birth parents stayed in contact with us the whole time with pictures and updates. This was something they certainly did not have to do, but we really appreciated it! Meeting our little girl, Freya, for the first time was very emotional for us all. Her birth parents handed her over to us and there are honestly no words to describe it. Although it was one of the happiest moments in our lives, it was one of the most devastating for them. 

Our journey to adoption has been full of surprises and challenges, but we would not change it for anything in the world. Our faith is what truly kept us strong throughout the years of waiting and Freya is certainly worth it all!

Michael Joseph

We discussed adoption early in our relationship and knew it was something we always wanted to do.  It took us almost two years to complete our home study due to multiple factors.  We were home study ready in March 2021.  We signed our contract with CAC in April 2021 and began working with Meg.  We cannot express how incredible it has been working with her.  She is caring, compassionate, and quick to respond to any questions.  Her knowledge of the adoption process is so helpful, and we include her when sharing our son's adoption story. We are forever grateful for her!

While on vacation celebrating James' birthday this past July, we found out about a baby boy needing a forever family.  This was a unique case where his birth mother chose to allow the attorney to choose a family for her baby boy as the decision was too overwhelming for her.  He reviewed the criteria she was looking for in an adoptive family and ultimately, he chose us.  We were overjoyed! We drove to Florida and met our son, Michael. Our finalization court date was November 29, 2021, officially welcoming Michael to our family!

While it only took us three months to get matched after signing with CAC, the process of becoming parents was a long, hard road.  There were many times we felt like it would never happen but were reminded of some advice from Megan's father: Whenever I feel alone, I believe God is paying a visit.  Take that time to pray to Him and give Him all of your needs.  Even though we felt like giving up multiple times, it was the first time in our lives that we left our plan to God while believing in him.  We pray for current families in the wait that you turn to God often and experience this blessing of solely relying on Him.  

Noelle + Evers

“God knows your baby.”
“Once you hold your baby, it will all be worth it.”
“God’s timing is perfect.”

We heard these phrases (and many more like them) for years, and nothing seemed to help ease the pain of a decade-long journey of adoption. When we started our process, we were trying to adopt internationally, but the country we were waiting with slowed their system down so much that we spent four and a half years praying for a child who never came. After grieving that dream, we decided to try domestic adoption, but the agency we chose stopped processing adoptions after two and a half years of waiting for our turn to start our home study. We found a new agency, but after a year as an active family combined with a year of waiting for our turn to wait, we were so extremely discouraged. It had been ten years of delays, heartbreak, and platitudes that made us question if God was in this process with us. We had given ourselves a deadline: We did not want a newborn and a newly licensed driver in the house. When we started, our kids were three and ten months. In January of 2021, they were 14 and 11. As a family, our cut off point was quickly approaching, and our hope of becoming a family of five was fading away.

It was at that point we decided to consider an adoption consultant. We didn’t know anyone who had signed up with one, and we didn’t know much about how they worked, but our research took us to Christian Adoption Consultants, and Meg in particular. She was so warm, supportive, and encouraging, and assured us that if we weren’t ready to be done with adoption, she would stay the course with us until we added another child to our family.

After just four months of working with Meg, we got a text that a birth mom, who was expecting twin baby girls, wanted to meet us over Zoom. We connected with her and her sister instantly, and knew in our hearts that this was it. She wanted an extremely open adoption, and so did we, so a few weeks later, we flew down to spend the week with her and her family. That time together was such a huge gift to us all, and we began forming the foundation for a deep and beautiful relationship.

When we started this process a decade ago, we prayed specifically for twin baby girls. We didn’t know why at the time; it just felt like the perfect situation for our family. After so much loss, that prayer fell by the wayside, and we hadn’t thought about it for years. When we saw the profile for twin baby girls, God reminded us of that prayer that God had placed in our hearts from the start. God knew our babies. Once we held our babies, it was all worth it.

God’s timing is perfect. If you are feeling discouraged, if you are struggling to find someone who understands, you are not alone. Trust your ability to know when someone is absent from your family, and stay the course to bring them home. We welcomed our daughters, Noelle and Evers, into our hearts and home on September 8th, 2021. God knew for us, and God knows for you.

-Andie & Jeremy

Haven

Annie and Jeremy signed on with CAC feeling defeated from their long journey of waiting. Throughout their journey with me, I witnessed first hand Annie and Jeremy's heart for open adoption. I appreciated that they saw adoption as not only as a way to build their family with a baby but also building their family with the birth family. God used this heart posture to connect Annie and Jeremy with an expectant mother who was making an adoption plan and wanted it to be very open. I'll let Annie tell the rest of the story:

Our adoption story is like so many others you hear, but also totally different and unique to us. In 2016 we were blessed to adopt our oldest daughter. It was very quick and our relationship with her birth mom remains open and has been an amazing experience. When we started the journey to adopt again we knew it would be different and take longer, but we had no idea of the journey ahead of us. Almost 4 years has passed since we began our journey to grow our family again. In that time we had 3 heartbreaking disrupted adoptions. Several times we almost gave up completely. Each time we were ready to give up and be done, God would whisper "not yet." And so we waited and waited on the Lord. How grateful we are for a God who knows us personally and guides our journey!

We were contacted by an amazing expectant mom and were able to start building a relationship with her. Now as our newest daughter, Haven, sleeps in our arms I can see how God was working behind the scenes.  It was a long road to grow our family again, but Haven and the relationship we have with her birth family is worth every curve and bump in the road. 

We are so grateful for His sight and for the love and support we received along the way. We have loved working with Meg and she has been such an amazing support and cheerleader for our journey. We have felt her prayers for us and our family and she understood our journey in ways others around us didn't.

William

It was seven years ago is when I first felt the Holy Spirit nudging me to trust him in a way I never knew was possible. He planted the thought of adoption on my heart. I was completely caught off guard! I had been married for two years, was pregnant with my 2nd child, and never even thought of it before much less had a conversation with Blake about it. I kept the nudge in my heart for another year before I spoke it to life to my sister and a friend who had already adopted two children. I remember feeling unworthy of the calling from the Spirit and like it was an impossible task. 

Fast forward four years later after countless conversations with Blake, many tears, prayers and an immense amount of trust in God - we reached out to our first agency to apply for adoption. We were doing it and I couldn’t believe it! 

However, our family did experience quite a few road blocks that just didn’t stop coming. We suffered an immense loss around this time causing us to put a hold on everything until we could make it back to stable ground emotionally for us and our three kiddos. All the huge doubts came flooding in again. We clung on to the truth that the God of the mountains is the same God of the valleys.

We ended up loosing a little money and leaving that agency only to be led to Meg at Christian Adoption Consultants one year ago. It felt like a huge risk to us to go with a consultant considering the additional cost, but it also felt so right and on purpose that we were led to her. 

Seven months after completing our home study, here we are with our precious William. We’re cooped up waiting on ICPC approval and I keep pinching myself that IT REALLY HAPPENED! 

Although there were so many road blocks, no’s, disappointments, and tears along the way it was worth every ounce to continue to persevere. The glory of God is radiating out of William’s story in just the 5 days we have known him and it is more than I could ever fathom. His sovereignty is coming to light and we truly are humbled to be a part of it. We can’t wait to see His plans for William's future! 

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

Luca

When I first chatted with Linsey over the phone in January of 2020, she explained that their family didn't feel complete even though they already had five biological children. As with many large families who are thinking about adoption, Linsey was wondering if they would ever be chosen. Despite this doubt, Linsey and Tony decided to sign on and they hit the ground running with the home study and profile creation! 

March came and suddenly all of our worlds stopped due to COVID. It seemed like all the odds were being stacked against Linsey and Tony as their home study was being postponed. Thankfully, many home study providers began doing virtual interviews in order to keep families moving along in the process. Although it did take a little longer, they were finally home study approved in June!

In September, a special case came through that had a lot of unknowns so the agency was having trouble finding a family for this precious unborn baby. My heart was blown away when Linsey and Tony decided to put their "yes" on the table. Because they said yes, this baby was now given a family. 

Exactly a year after they signed on with CAC, their baby boy was born and his story is already filled with God's faithfulness and provision. 

I asked Linsey what she would want to share about the journey to their son, Luca, and she stated, "When you have 5 biological kids and then plan to adopt, people tend to look at you weird. Regardless, we knew without a doubt that adoption was meant for us, and with the help and guidance of CAC and our consultant Meg, we welcomed the most beautiful baby boy into our family. Little did we know how perfectly he would fit in, but it should really come as no surprise. He was in God’s perfect design for our family all along. Looking back at all of the painstaking paperwork, endless applications, interviews, background checks and home studies...they were just all stepping stones that led us closer to finding our little Luca. The beautiful baby boy that’s everything we never knew we needed."

Zion

In our adoption journey, God taught us about His sovereignty and trustworthiness. We could trust him to bring to our family the baby that He chose, in the right timing. When we felt situations were "perfect" or within what we hoped and then heard that our family was not chosen, it was disheartening. But over time, God used the wait to bring us to a place where we genuinely felt at peace with each "not yet" because we knew that He was still at work writing our story. God showed us His mercy in so many ways- people checking in or encouragement from Scripture at just the right time when we felt we could hardly stay steadfast in patience. Meg encouraged us and we knew she was praying for us as we waited. She answered all of our questions and offered guidance that was so crucial to help us move forward with decisions we made in our adoption journey. We really appreciated how she advocated for us and reassured us in countless ways. 

Around Christmas, as 2020 neared its end, we spent time reflecting on our journey, and were so thankful for all God had taught us throughout the waiting. Our faith was strengthened, we had grown in knowledge (through spending time learning about adopting a child with special needs, transracial adoption, and openness), and our two older children were learning about trusting God too. Still, we wondered, "How much longer will we be waiting?"  

Little did we know that just days later, on New Year's Day 2021, our son was born. On January 2, we got a call in the afternoon that there was a baby boy waiting for us in Florida. We hopped on a plane and flew to meet him in the hospital.  We could have never dreamed of the beauty of God's plan and the way He led us to our son. Our sweet boy is an absolute miracle, and we are thankful beyond words to be his chosen parents. 

Hudson

Not all families start with Christian Adoption Consultants from the beginning of the adoption journey. In fact, many sign on with us after they are home study ready and have been waiting a long time doing the traditional route. 

When Ashley reached out to me back in January, she was weary. She, along with her husband, had just walked with a mother who chose to parent. The wait had been long already, but she had heard great things about Christian Adoption Consultants. A couple weeks later, I was honored to walk alongside Ashley and Bryan as their consultant. They hit the ground running with applying to agencies and presenting their profile multiple times. 

In early June, I sent an email to Ashley just checking in on how their hearts were doing and she replied, "Very impatiently waiting!" Little did any of us know that the very next day they would be traveling a few hours away to meet the baby they'd been longing for. Hudson was born on June 4th and his birth mother chose Ashley and Bryan along with their two children to be his forever family. 

Ashley and Bryan's family has been blessed through adoption twice and although that means their family was built from brokenness, they are honored to show the beauty that God can make out of broken. 

Lydia Joy

Steven and Sarah started their journey with me in the beginning of November. They were eager to start growing their family through adoption. I witnessed them put their "yes" on the table dozens of times that were returned with doors closed. They remained steadfast and continued to trust God's plan for their family despite the many times they were disappointed.

As a consultant, part of my job is to research agencies. We were in the very beginning stages of researching an agency that I thought would be a great fit for them. They signed on with the agency in February and were matched in March! Sarah has gorgeous red hair and after speaking with the expectant mother she told them that was one of the reasons why she chose them. You really just never know what an expectant parent will connect with!

The next month, Steven and Sarah spent their time building a crib, having a virtual baby shower (thanks to COVID), and building relationship with the expectant mother. On April 30th, they got the call that the baby was on the way! They packed up their items and headed to the hospital where they were given their own room as the expectant mother graciously requested. Later that night, I received one of the best text messages ever:

Lydia Joy was born without complications and met the parents that her brave birth mother chose for her an hour after she was born. I love the expressions on Steven and Sarah's faces - pure joy!

Now that Steven and Sarah are back home with a daughter in their arms, they wanted to share some encouragement for other hopeful adoptive families:

God is so good.  Throughout our adoption journey, we have seen God moving in every detail.  From our very first conversation with a former CAC family to the day we took our sweet Lydia home, we knew that God was in control.  He has taught us so much about the importance of patience and trusting in His plan.  Even though adoption can appear to be a large financial hurdle, God blew us away with his provision and the support system He put around us.  One of the biggest supporters and blessings was Meg.  The Lord led us to her as our consultant.  She was very helpful and on top of things the entire time.  We felt that she knew us and cared for us throughout the whole process.  God used Meg to lead us directly to Lydia and we are forever grateful for her.

Corban Christopher

Kristin and Brandon reached out to me last November as they were researching all the options of adoption. They have four beautiful children, but something in Kristin felt like their family wasn't quite complete. After lots of emails exchanged and a few chats over the phone, they decided to move forward with Christian Adoption Consultants.

From the start, I could tell that Kristin and Brandon were diving in with their hearts wide open. They put their "yes" out their several times that led to many "not yet's". Instead of becoming consumed with disappointment, Kristin and Brandon held strong to their faith. They trusted His timing for their family and continued to put their "yes" out there.

Then just 4 months after signing on with CAC, Kristin sent me an email titled "Matched!" and my heart leaped for joy! They were matched with a brave expectant mother and father who were weeks away from the birth of their baby boy. Due to COVID, Brandon and Kristin were prepared that they wouldn't be able to be at the hospital when the baby was born. They took this news with such grace and decided to stay in a rental until they were told to come to the hospital.

However, they never made it to the hospital. They were told soon after the baby was born that the expectant mother and father chose to parent. Brandon and Kristin headed back home heartbroken, but still clung to God's sovereignty.

Two days later the agency called Kristin to let her know that the couple decided to move forward with the adoption plan and wanted them to parent their son. Without hesitation, Brandon and Kristin were back on the road! The next day, they met their son - sweet Corban Christopher. They were also able to meet Corban's birth family and spent over five hours with them. Corban's birth father even had a dad-to-dad conversation with Brandon about his dreams for Corban and how he desires for Corban to know him as he grows. It was an incredibly special time for both of the families to bond together through their shared love for Corban.

Kristin stated that as she looks back through this adoption process they have seen how God takes their fears and turns them into triumph. God has done more than they could have ever imagined through this journey and they feel honored to have seen His beauty unfold!

Aniyah Grace

Lyndon and Janae first connected with me the week of Thanksgiving. I could tell right off the bat that this wasn't their first time through an adoption journey. After speaking with them for a couple of weeks, they decided to sign on with Christian Adoption Consultants. I was thrilled to be a small part of their family's story of adopting again! 

Even though I had only known them for a few weeks, their faith that God would lead them to the child meant for their family was inspiring. Right off the bat, Lyndon and Janae chose to present and were told "no" twice. Although this can be heart wrenching, I watched from afar as they stood firm on God's timing for their family. Little did they know, He had something in the works for them. 

On January 2, Janae was contacted by a dear friend who had been in contact with the nurse who helped deliver her daughter that she adopted. This nurse had a daughter who was due at any time and was choosing to make an adoption plan. 

Lyndon and Janae stepped out in faith and said yes to a vastly unknown situation. What followed in the hours after saying yes was a whirlwind! After hardly adjusting to the fact that they were matched, they were told they needed to start driving because the expectant mother was in active labor. During the morning on January 3, Aniyah Grace was born! 

When I asked Janae what it was like meeting Aniyah for the first time, this is what she said: 

Usually I get so nervous and worked up over new things like this. But we all were so at peace as we walked into the hospital and met the family. Aniyah's birth mother and I hugged each other and I gave her a hard copy of our profile book so she could have it since this was such a quick match. The hospital nicely gave us a private room and they wheeled Aniyah in. Our hearts could hardly contain all her sweetness! It was such a wonderful experience and I still hardly have any words for it. We feel so blessed and awed by our great God! He’s a miracle worker!