Our Adoption Story: The Pioneers, Part 2

Miriam and Leah

When Miriam's birthmother found herself facing another unplanned pregnancy, she contacted the adoption agency and asked them to see if we would welcome this child into our family. Now we knew that these two girls should be together, but for the life of us, we could not see where the money would come from to pay a third set of adoption fees in less than two years. (Have I mentioned that adoption is expensive -- really expensive, and that we had been a one-income family for the past seven years since Rachel was born?) Once again, the Lord blessed us and Leah joined our family. At that time, we had five children, three of whom were under two years old!

Leah and Kathleen

For the next year and a half, life was one wild, crazy blur of babies, diapers, feedings, one very sick child who required out-of-town hospitalization for almost a month, more diapers, and homeschooling our now 5 and 7-year old. To say life was full and rich and busy is an understatement. Without the grace of God and the help of family, friends, and neighbors, we never could have survived. 

5 Little Newmans

When Leah was 18 months old, we contacted the agency, telling them we were ready for another child. Open adoption was now the norm, and we were told our profile would be placed "in the book" for birthparents to peruse. I didn't think anyone would choose us. We were in our mid-thirties and already had five children. Surely other families were more appealing. Looking back, I think God had a good laugh as he examined the thoughts of my heart. Within a few months, the caseworker called and told us to expect a call from a birthmother who had narrowed her choice down to a few profiles, one of which was ours. When Carrie called on that March day, our hearts instantly were knit together in love for the precious child she was carrying and for each other. She and her mother traveled to our home and met our family, and we all just fell in love with each other. A few weeks later, she gave birth to our little teddy bear, Josiah.

Josiah, 1 month

Three weeks before Josiah's birth, I had major surgery, so I was still moving  pretty slowly. When I had my post-op visit, my doctor approved me for travel, so on the morning after Josiah was born, we set out to the Houston area. When we arrived at the hospital, Josiah was just 24 hours old. We went to Carrie's room and she graciously allowed us to hold him and marvel at this precious child. Carrie made sure I was included whenever the nurses gave any instructions and that we were part of decisions that were made. Her parents and sister were so loving to us, even though I know their hearts were breaking at the thought of letting him go.

The following day, we had a placement ceremony in the hospital chapel. All of us committed ourselves to loving Josiah and one another. There were lots and lots of tears all the way around. I cannot begin to describe the gamut of emotions. As Carrie placed Josiah in my arms, I felt elation, sorrow, heartbreak, and an overwhelming sense of responsibility because she was entrusting us with this life. My heart was heavy as I watched Josiah's birth family say their good-byes. I was so thankful we had an open relationship with them and that we all knew this wasn't goodbye forever. 

What a cutie-pie!

When we brought Josiah home, we thought our family was complete. I always wanted six children, and here they were. But, as He often does, God had other plans for us. The story of those plans will be the subject of my next post.

Syd and the 6 little Newmans

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