Forever Family Adoption – Part 1: Making the Decision

My name is Jill. My husband, Tyler, & I have three beautiful children (Anna – age 8; Keith – age 5; Kristina – age 5). We adopted the younger two children in November 2008 from Ukraine.

I want to share with you our story of this amazing adoption process. First of all – we’ve always wanted a big family. Both Tyler & I come from large families. Anna was born one year after we were married and she is a delight. From the time that she turned one year old, we struggled with infertility issues and were not able to have another child. For about two years Anna prayed every night for a brother and a sister. Then we discussed the idea of adoption. Shortly afterwards, I had a dream where I saw the outline of a little girl. She had blonde hair and was about 3 or 4 years old. We determined that we would probably adopt from Russia, since the girl was caucasion in my dream. I discussed the idea with my brother-in-law, Yury, who is from Belarus. He did some research and said that Ukraine would be a better country to adopt from than Russia. My husband & I prayed about Ukraine and felt overwhelmingly that it was where our children were. We decided that we wanted to adopt two children – a boy and a girl: one older girl who could play with Anna and a younger boy.

So, in a leap of faith we started the adoption process and chose our home study agency (Cherub International) and our placement agency (About A Child). Then I was talking with my friend, Valerie, who has adopted two special needs children herself – one from Uzbekistan and the other from Ukraine. She introduced me to the Reece’s Rainbow website – which has pictures of special needs children up for adoption in foreign countries. It was there in the siblings category that I first saw Nastya – and she fit the image that I had seen in my dream. I was floored! I couldn’t believe it. And when I saw that she & Nick were twins – I realized that God had answered my prayers. I had been praying for twins for 4 years! It was an incredible experience. I called Tyler, who was driving home. When I described what I had found, he felt God’s Spirit very strong and began crying. This confirmation united us in our commitment to making these children part of our family.

Tyler & I had discussed the idea of adopting a child with special needs, and we felt really good about it. So, when we saw that Nick has CP (cerebral palsy) and mental retardation – we were at ease concerning it. I have always been comfortable with those who have special needs – I’ve worked in nursing homes and became friends with those who had handicaps and truly enjoyed those wonderful people. Additionally, I want to share with you a promise that I made to God concerning special needs. When I was pregnant with Anna, the first ultrasound that I had showed some abnormalities in her head to body ratio. The doctor was concerned and scheduled another ultrasound for the following week after at a different facility. That whole week I was in distress, thinking something might be wrong with our baby. I finally prayed to Heavenly Father and told him that if it was his will for me to raise a child with special needs – that I would do it and that I would do my very best to raise him or her. The following week the ultrasound was completely normal, so I didn’t think about my promise that I’d made to God – until I saw Nick. And then I knew that I was being blessed with the opportunity to raise this boy and do my very best to help him have the best experience that he could possibly have.

And so, this was our goal: to adopt these precious twins and bring them home as soon as possible.

3 Comments

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  By Administrator, November 17, 2009 @ 5:51 pm

  Jill, you are amazing! So glad that we are friends & cousins so I can learn from you! Thank you for sharing the beginning of your experience with us. I look forward to the rest!! Love you!!! K.

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  By Tammy Anderson, November 17, 2009 @ 6:06 pm

  Thank you for sharing your story. I am a mom of five special needs children. I know that Heavenly Father sent these children here to earth for us. My husband and I wasn’t married when several of them were born. Infertility played a major role in when we decided to adopt. God does have ways of bringing families together.~Tammy

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  By Stephanie Herrera, November 18, 2009 @ 3:21 am

  Jill, I love families like yours. I am amazed and grateful to read your story.

  When I was pregnant with my third child the Doctor wanted me to undergo an Amniocentesis due to my age so that I would have the opportunity to know if my baby would be a special needs baby. I declined after much discussion with my husband who had stated that if the baby was not normal I should consider an abortion. I was horrified and refused to have the procedure.

  My child was born “normal” but it gave me new respect for mothers of special needs children. It does not matter if you are the biological mother or an adoptive mother, what matters is the care and love you provide for that child.

  I applaud you and your family for your great love and faith in doing what our Father in Heaven would expect of any of us.

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