Tuesday, October 11, 2016

An Adoption Dream Come True: Heather & Matt's Story

An Adoption Dream Come True: Heather & Matt's story.
October 11, 2016

We have been blessed working as adoption consultants over the past four years, witnessing more than 60 children coming into their forever families through the amazing miracle we call "Adoption". We'd like to share the story of one family who recently brought home their baby girl. Matt and Heather had signed on with local agencies before hearing about Christian Adoption Consultants and had waited 10 months with only being presented to expectant moms twice.They heard about CAC through several social media posts.They signed on with us and in 6 weeks were matched with their baby, and 6 weeks later was born and in their arms! This is a great example of CAC's "multi agency approach", where our families have a broader range of options for a potential match.

You will love this story as Heather shares in her own words their adoption journey. Heather's story telling is fun, and sprinkled with humorous and real moments that you will totally get if you are on the adoption road:

"Once upon a time, a dream was born in my "mama heart". I wanted my daughter "C" to have a sister. After successfully adopting a boy, girl and another little boy, my heart was set. I was even so obsessed that I made "Girl Only" profile books and full out said in our letter that "C" wanted a sister to play dress up and wear makeup with. And having adopted three kids already, I was hearing a lot of negative vibes from agencies that it was going to take a long time for a fourth. Ugh. We were 37 and had already been on this journey for nine years. It had almost sucked the entire life out of me but we were determined to move forward!

We had waited 10 months with two local agencies and our profile book had been shown twice. TWICE. This is not good. Enter social media. All these posts about Christian Adoption Consultants kept popping up on my Instagram and we knew friends that had used them…whatever, I thought, I’ll just call them and see how much it is. Well after about 15 minutes on the phone with Dawn, I was in. Check written, done. We were IN. We signed on with about six of CAC's recommended agencies and I worked like a crazy woman to get all the I’s dotted and T’s crossed. Because mama doesn’t play around! 

Okay, I was positive that no one, repeat NO ONE, was going to want us. I mean, who wants to choose a family with three other kids? Dawn kept telling me that she works with larger families all the time and I made her tell me the stats. I wanted all the information. Spill your beans woman. How many kids? How many placements? How many this year? I am sure she thought I was totally clinical. 

We had presented to three or four situations within four weeks (which by the way should encourage anyone who is out there waiting thinking they will get shown once a year…heck. no.) and kept hearing "No". Ugh. This is when you are clearly going to lose your mind. I mean, adoption is so HARD. The wait. The black hole of nothingness. The staring at the phone convinced it isn’t working. It just isn’t working, call Apple immediately and set up appointment to get it fixed! Well low and behold, we decided to present to one totally crazy situation in Florida (crazy because we live in Ohio, it had a hundred moving parts, I had to whip up a gender neutral book, it involved foster care and another child, and several potential birth fathers, and oh my gosh this is messy no way would it ever work out…) and BAM, It happened!

We got the call that we had been selected (of course it was a gender unknown and why in the world did we present because, duh, we wanted a girl so what is going on here?…) and I almost died. No, I did die. I fell over and started yelling my face off into the phone. That poor woman. Probably just put the phone down and let me hoot and holler. That was a Thursday, just six weeks after I had written our check and spoken to Dawn!

Fast forward to Monday. The expectant mom wants to talk to us. Oh my word I am dying. She knew the gender at this point and wanted to tell us herself. Just get out the boy clothes because of course it’s a boy and it will be fine and I love boys and I already have a girl so it’s totally cool. I swear to goodness, Monday was my birthday and I received the greatest gift EVER. She was having a little girl. And she was due in 6 weeks. I think I screamed for my daughter to get down here immediately because she was going to have a sister. No idea. I may have said nothing, I am not sure. I think I blacked out. 

We flew down to meet our precious birth mom two weeks later and made plans for baby girl’s arrival. Then came July. I will never forget the call I got when our expectant mom was in labor. I booked a plane trip leaving in four hours and Matt packed the van and our three children and got on the interstate within two hours.  I made it about an hour after "A" was born and walked into the hospital room in a total daze. It was 1:00am and I was wide eyed, nervous, sweaty, and in shock. Our birth mom told her mom to "Hand Heather her baby” and I just sobbed. SOBBED. I sobbed because I was in awe. I sobbed because our birth mom was so amazing. I sobbed because she was here. I sobbed because the nine year journey to build our family was over. We made it. Thank you Jesus!



Without Dawn at Christian Adoption Consultants, without our agency in Florida, without all the prayers and all the hope and all the waiting…it never would have happened. But it did. And "A" is here. She is ours…and my Sweet "C" finally has her baby sister!"

Heather's story raises some valid questions: Are you a "Big Family"? Have you been waiting with an agency for too long without being presented? Do you wonder if adoption will ever happen? We would love to talk with you today about Christian Adoption Consultants' services and the many stories, like Matt & Heather's where children have come home in a matter of months, not years. And services where we are on YOUR team, helping, guiding and supporting you through your entire adoption journey.


Please call or email anytime:
Dawn: (813) 360-7368
wrights@christianadoptionconsultants.com

Monday, June 20, 2016

God's Unexpected Adoption Plan: Seth & Casey's Story


Seth and Casey are an amazing couple. It has been a pleasure as their adoption consultants with Christian Adoption Consultants to walk alongside them in their adoption journey to their precious baby boy. Their adoption journey wasn’t quite what they expected, but God has a funny way of turning things upside down! Casey shares their family’s story:

“Adoption has been our hearts and minds since May of 2010. Seth was in college, we just had our 3rd biological child, and it just wasn’t the right time in that particular season of life. When we decided to pursue adoption in November 2014, we had also just put into action God’s calling to move onto the opposite side of the state, in August.

Our adoption journey was a roller coaster ride! My dad’s favorite quote is “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. I like to have a plan, to be in control, to have a timeline. Obviously patience is NOT a virtue that comes easy to me! Adoption causes all of those feelings to be completely out of whack!


When we started the process we wanted a baby girl. That’s what we wanted and NOTHING was going to change that. When the first case for a boy came along I felt God’s nudging to present our profile, but I didn’t want to…….I was digging my heels in. I knew what I wanted and I acted like a child. I prayed for a long time that day and I shed a few tears over what I thought was giving up on my dream. We presented to the expectant mom, we weren’t chosen, and to my shock, I was disappointed?!?! (Where did those feelings come from???)

We presented our profile 18 times to expectant moms, of those 18, 8 were expecting boys.

God used our adoption journey to not only bring our son home to us, but to stretch and grow Seth and me more than we imagined. We learned to rely on Jesus, to rely on the one who has the whole world in His hands. Our marriage and our family has come through adoption closer than ever. I understood what God wanted from me. He wanted my “Yes”, He wanted for me to give my worries over to Him, He wanted my full trust, to believe He ONLY wants good things for His children. And yeah, maybe the child he brought into our lives wouldn’t be what I expected, but they were going to be CHOSEN BY GOD to be in our family! Isn’t that the most reassuring statement?? I wasn’t in control, I couldn’t change the outcome, and my child was going to be hand selected by a KING!



When I first saw Momma K’s case she didn’t know if she was having a boy or girl, she was overdue, and had no prenatal care. But I couldn’t deny the feeling of God calling us to step out, trust Him, and present to this potential birth mom. We waited for 4 days and then got a call from Emilie at the agency saying Momma K was in labor and she had chosen us! We waited, what felt like days, but was only 6 hours, and got a phone call that said “You have a son.”



I can’t describe the feelings of joy, relief, and excitement in that phone call. She sent a picture shortly after that and the tears wouldn’t stop flowing. We waited exactly 9 months to the day for K to be born into our lives. Everything with K’s adoption happened so fast, it was 40 hours from the time we were chosen to when we took our baby to the hotel. It felt so surreal after the years of waiting for him.



He is the best baby and is a perfect fit into our family. Everyone who meets him falls in love with him. God knew what He was doing all along. He knew who my heart needed before I did. And in the end isn’t that what we all want? A Father who hears us, sees us, who really knows us.”


Many thanks to Casey for sharing her amazing story of God’s plan for her family’s lives. He definitely is in the business of changing our hearts and ever drawing us closer to His best for our lives.

We’d love to talk about your own adoption journey any time.
Call Dawn at (813) 360-7368 or email to: wrights@christianadoptionconsultants.com

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Father's Day CAC Discount

As Father's Day approaches, I can't help but think of how the Lord is bringing families together everyday through adoption.


I am so grateful to get to be a small part of building families through adoption, to see children placed with their forever moms and forever dads. At Christian Adoption Consultants, we are inspired by the message in the New Testament that states we are adopted into God's family as believers.  That we are his children, and he is our Abba Father.

God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who He is, and we know who we are: Father and children. Romans 8:15 (MSG)



In honor of all of our CAC dads, we are offering one of our rare specials to help make the cost of adoption a bit more attainable. We are happy to be sharing 10% off all of our top packages, from June 13-17th.  (Special note: this does not apply to our DIY package).

If adoption has been on your heart, and you aren't sure where to begin, I would love to chat with you more! For a glimpse of other family's stories and fathers who took the step to adopt, click here.
  • Want more info on Christian Adoption Consultants?  Click here.
  • What does it mean to hire an adoption consultant?  Click here.
  • Want to get started or get an info packet?  Click here.
  • What if you have more questions?  Click here.

Have friends who are thinking about adoption? Make sure you click the share buttons below this post! 

Email me at wrights@christianadoptionconsultants.com for an application and information packet.
Call me at (813) 360-7368

Blessings,
Dawn

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Parenting and Life is NOT a 'Quick Fix'


Parenting is not some 'quick fix', 'new kid by Friday', 'Supernanny wraps it all into a neat little bow within the hour' kind of thing. I've often thought in the past that I must be a sore failure as a parent because my kids don't want to comply or act interested in something that interests me. I've learned that kids often are the first to raise their hand at church to help do something when asked by an adult, yet at home roll their eyes and 'huff and puff' when asked the same thing. That 'helpful and willing' kid that people see can be so disrespectful to mom or dad at home.

It's also interesting that as adults we too can be the same way. We lead kids at Sunday School in small groups with joy, patience and understanding, yet lose patience, yell and treat our own kids with disrespect. We treat 'difficult' or 'extra grace required' people we come into contact with with patience, yet 'bite the head off' of our spouse with one little misunderstanding or comment.

Maybe you, like me, often feel like a hypocrite because we've messed up or failed because we yell, scream or say things to our closest ones at home, yet act 'sweet as pie' at church or work. Maybe part of it is that we can 'let our guard down' at home, and just let the REAL emotions, fears, worries and feelings come out around those who we are the most vulnerable to. It's not an excuse to treat those we love badly, but I believe I'm not the only one who feels this way.

I'm not saying these things so we can pat ourselves on the back and be okay with our sins, but so that we can receive encouragement knowing that this life isn't easy, and we are not 'the only one' feeling this way. Most importantly we recognize that as Christ followers we are not meant to be perfect. If we hold ourselves to the 'perfect standard' we will always feel like a royal failure. Jesus gives us His grace DAILY. Maybe His plan is for us to always be in a place of feeling like 'we don't have it all together' so that we daily come to Him with hands of surrender saying 'LORD, I don't feel equipped or able to handle this', so that we make a declaration in a prayer of desperation that we NEED HIM.

 "Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence,
so that we may receive mercy and find grace
to help us in our time of need."  --Hebrews 4:16

Aren't we supposed to be in a place of utter reliance and being in need of Him? Maybe God's plan was for me to be a parent (Whether it's one or nine kids) to teach me about grace, forgiveness, selflessness and trust. It doesn't feel 'peachy' a lot of the time, and I need to get rid of the 'quick fix parenting' or 'quick fix marriage' mindset. Life isn't a 'quick fix'. Life is a life long process of grace, patience, healing, forgiveness and trust, and it certainly isn't 'wrapped up into a pretty bow' by Friday. But, in the midst of the crazy I can truly know peace and joy, because I KNOW He holds me, and I do have a real hope. Not a 'blind hope', but a real hope in the provision, care, direction, leading and blessings from God when I walk in trust and obedience to His word.

"Rejoice always,  pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."  --1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

-Jason

I Need Thee Every Hour - Annie S. Hawks (1872)

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.

Refrain
I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their pow’r when Thou art nigh.

I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide, or life is vain.

I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.

I need Thee every hour, most Holy One;
Oh, make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.

Friday, May 6, 2016

4th Generation Adoption! Congratulations Michael & Beth

Our precious baby boy is a fourth-generation adoptee. It's amazing to me to think about how God has taken four separate stories and written them together into one big family book!


Since my husband, his father, and his grandmother were all adopted, we always planned to adopt one day in the future. Infertility took us by surprise, and we leaped into treatments enthusiastically. As time went by and the loss and disappointments built up, my enthusiasm lessened and my heart became more in tune with the idea of adopting sooner rather than later. We decided we didn't want to pursue the only option left to us on our treatment path. In my research, I learned about Christian Adoption Consultants from a friend and decided to call. I'm so glad Dawn answered! She answered all my questions,and I was happy to have a plan in mind

In the spring of 2015, some dear friends organized a puzzle fundraiser on our behalf. Because of that blessing, we were able to officially sign on with Christian Adoption Consultants and begin our home study. We were chosen by an expectant mother around 5 months later, and our son was born late in the year. Our sadness and longing for a child turned into the biggest joy we have ever experienced!


Yes, we had to wait. Yes, we experienced loss and heartbreak. No, the adoption process wasn't always easy. There were definitely bumps along the way. All of this was more than worth it! We can look back now and see how much our marriage and faith grew during the waiting. The entire journey helped to prepare us for our lives as parents. We will always be grateful for our son's first mother for choosing life and entrusting us with such a wonderful gift.  

I am still in awe when I look at our son. He is the best baby and full of love, sweetness, happiness, and we are even starting to see some silliness start to come out. I am so glad that my husband and his family showed me what adoption looked like, and I am thankful that God wrote our precious baby boy into the book of our family! 
 

"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." Psalm 126:3

If you have questions about adoption- let us help answer your questions and help you on your journey today! 813-360-7368 or email wrights@christianadoptionconsultants.com

Thursday, April 21, 2016

The blessing of a baby girl - Craig & Amity’s adoption stor



Craig and Amity signed on with us at Christian Adoption Consultants in March of 2015 after waiting more than three years to adopt with their agency. Without being able to adopt previously they got connected to us and were interested in having our support to evaluate potential adoption situations, have help with paperwork, and to have wider access to agencies. In just over 5 months they were matched through one of CAC’s recommended agencies with a birth mother who was already going into labor, and the next day their baby girl was in their arms! Amity shares their story:    

“Our adoption journey was long, but, looking back upon it, I can see the Lord’s hand bringing us together. We began looking into adoption in 2011, when Josie was 3 years old and we had been unable to conceive a second child. We felt strongly that we should spend our efforts and resources on adoption instead of pursuing infertility diagnoses and treatment.

We started getting documents together to update our home study, and looked for an agency. I felt overwhelmed by the options and unsure of how to choose. In mid-March I began to feel a tugging at my heart, a feeling that there was a baby on its way to our family, and that we needed to move faster. Then, while visiting with a friend who had adopted, I received a strong impression that we needed to move forward immediately to be ready when our baby arrived. We signed on with Christian Adoption Consultants the next day.

By the end of May our paperwork and profile were completed, and in June we had applied with eight different agencies recommended by our consultants (Dawn & Jason Wright). 

Each application included our adoption profile--a book with pictures and information about us: our hobbies, interests, community, hopes for the future, etc. In working with Christian Adoption Consultants, we would receive emails with potential adoption situations. Each would include the birth parent backgrounds, health history, known risks including drug and alcohol exposure, the due date, and adoption fees.

We would then let the agency know if we wanted to present our profile. This commitment meant that we would not present to anyone else while the birthmom decided, and if she chose us, we would be matched. In all, we presented our profile to 6 birthmothers with 5 different agencies between June 26-August 25. 

The continued commitment and waiting were much more stressful than I had anticipated. I knew that whatever child came to our family, the Lord would help us to love, care for and cherish.

On August 24, I emailed an inquiry to one of the agencies we had applied to and I received a call from them on Tuesday, August 25. I was informed that we had not been chosen from our recent presentation--BUT-- that our profile had been on her desk when she’d been talking to another mom, and she felt impressed to show it to her (“I hope that’s okay,” she’d said, since we hadn’t known). She said the baby was a girl, and due September 15, with an induction date set for the 8th, but that mom was already dilated to 3cm at 38 weeks.  I told her I would talk to Craig and get back to her, and she sent me the information she had on the situation by email. We agreed wholeheartedly to this baby, and sent an email that evening telling the agency to “officially” present our profile.

I got a reply the next morning that BH had gone into labor and that the baby had been born. So Josie and I flew to Salt Lake City on the red eye that night. After a morning nap I left Josie with my parents and arrived at the hospital around 1pm, just as BH had finished signing the relinquishment paperwork. I was not sure what to expect, but as I entered the hospital room, BH said hello, and “Do you want to hold her?” She handed me the smallest bundle of baby I had ever encountered and I fed and rocked her while BH worked on the vital statistics paperwork. The hour passed quickly. 



When the social worker needed to leave, I asked BH if she wanted me to stay longer, or come back later. She said, “I’m kind of tired. And this is the only time I will have to spend with her.”  We agreed to just meet at the agency on Friday after discharge from the hospital. I no longer had any worries about this tiny baby. BH so obviously loved her. 

Craig arrived the following morning, August 28. And we took Josie to the agency to pick up our new daughter, Alora. When BH arrived with Alora from the hospital, we spent a couple hours together at the agency. Before she flew home on the 31st, she gave us a scrapbook she had prepared for us and Alora that included ultrasounds and photos from her stay in Utah. It also had a couple of letters that answered many of the questions we didn’t feel like we could ask.

Our open adoption means that we send BH letters and photos through the agency once a month for the first year, then at least yearly until Alora turns 18. Since the adoption was finalized, we have communicated by email and skype. 

We are so blessed.  BH loved this baby, and her decision to adopt was motivated by that love. She had been in Utah since June and had received excellent support and counseling from the adoption agency.



Alora was small, but she is perfect, healthy and whole. By her 2 month checkup, Alora had doubled in size. She continues to delight and amaze us. We are all smitten.  As I reflect on our experience, I am humbled and grateful. She is happy and sleeps and eats well. She only cries when she is hurt, hungry or tired. She loves Josie and often laughs for her.”


Nothing thrills us more than seeing families come together through the amazing blessing and miracle of adoption. We would love to talk with you about your adoption journey, and how we may provide support and encouragement to you. With our services you receive professional and caring support all the way through the adoption process. You get someone who’s in your corner and someone you can always trust.

Give Dawn a call or email us for more information:

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