120 Children Home: Celebrating 5 years as adoption consultants - Part 3

As a husband-and-wife professional team we get to spend lots of time sharing in our vocational passion of adoption consulting. We both bring different gifts to the table, and we work in different capacities, but we love talking about "our" families together. We get to celebrate the milestones, the good news, the heartbreaks, together. We believe we bring something unique and special to the Christian Adoption Consultants team - a group of equally special, gifted and talented adoption professionals who collectively have served hundreds of families over the years.

We shared in Part 1 and Part 2 of our post about our journey to become adoption consultants, and the Top 10 reasons we love our job. We'd like to conclude our 3 part post sharing some facts and stats of our 5 years as adoption consultants with CAC. So here we go:

the total numbers
43 boys + 77 girls = 120 children home!

special needs program – physical needs or older child/sibling adoptions
21 children

our first family match
A special needs baby boy

returning CAC families
we’ve had 1 family match and bring home 3 girls within 4 years. Also, 21 families have adopted a second time, including sibling adoptions

big families adopting
1 family currently with 15 children, as well as a family with 13.

total families we’ve consulted for
131 families

wait times for our families
5 ½ months average – some families this included homestudy completion time!

local and across the country
We have consulted for families from 25 states, including several local families in Florida where we live. We have met 20 of our families in person!

adoption in the family
one of our families adopting made it the 3rd generation of their family to adopt!

The numbers are cool to see – a neat way to look back over the past 5 years and recall the families we’ve served, but our reward is truly received when we know how we’ve impacted families so deeply. So, we wanted to share a few closing remarks in the way of some quotes from our families about how they’ve been encouraged and touched by us and how we do what we do:

“If someone were to ask me how to begin the adoption process, I would tell them without hesitation to call or email Jason and Dawn. I understand that the financial part of adopting can seem intimidating and that one may think the cost of a consultant is not necessary, but I would encourage anyone to start with CAC because the help and encouragement and wisdom that comes from experience is worth every penny. Starting with Jason and Dawn means you have an advocate to guide you through each step, and there is a huge comfort in having them a quick phone call or email away when questions or urgent situations come up. Their respect and love for everyone involved in the adoption process is reflected in how they serve others and guide adoptive parents on their journey.”
-Brian & Julie, Georgia

“Life changing experience for us. We always refer others to CAC first because Dawn & Jason prayed for us and with us during the entire process.”
-Ryan & Mendy, Iowa

“You are amazing - we Thank God for you every day.”
-Paul & Suzi, Florida

"Our adoption journey was one we could have never anticipated. Six and a half years waiting (five of those in international adoption) and several failed adoptions. The road was long with many twists and turns. But ultimately this very road led us to our beautiful daughter. We are so thankful for all the love, prayers, and encouragement that Dawn gave to us during our time working with CAC. She is truly amazing and was always just a text away! She always encouraged us that God was in control and He knew exactly who our baby was. Thank you, Dawn for your part in our journey to our daughter! The wait was so very worth it!!!!"
-Justis & Bobbi, North Carolina

“Working with Dawn and Jason with CAC gave us the confidence to accept a situation with an excellent small agency across the country. We are so grateful that we could quickly check the agency out though CAC's network. This led to our two littlest members of our crew.”
- Dan & Summer, Illinois

“This is MY Mommy” are the words my oldest son used this morning when introducing me to his friends at preschool. The magnitude of those words still hits me at my core. Our road to start a family was not easy and was full of hills and valleys. We signed on with Dawn at CAC in April 2014 and were holding our son in our arms in July of that same year. Dawn is not only a wealth of adoption knowledge, but she is a prayer warrior. Her faith and strength are contagious, and I look back now and it all makes sense. The hills, the valleys, the tears, it is because I was always meant to be HIS Mommy. Dawn and CAC are part of our story and I cannot imagine our adoption path without them. Their words of trust, strength and faith are what I love most about them.”

- Allison & Bryan, Iowa

“Thank you so much for all of your love and support thus far on our adoption journey. It's a very long road. At times it's discouraging. At times we wonder, "Is God in this?" And then we think of all of you. We remember all of the love, generosity, prayers, and encouragement we've received from you. We think back on all the ways that God has shown us his faithfulness and kindness through you. So thank you. We love you all and are so thankful to have you walking with us on this journey.”
-David & Sarah, Pennsylvania

“We are so thankful for you and all that you’ve done, and continue to do, to help us along our adoption journey. You’re such a blessing to us!”
-Todd & Jen, Maryland

To chat with us about adoption, contact us anytime:

Dawn: (813) 360-7368

wrights@christianadoptionconsultants.com

120 Children Home: Celebrating 5 years as adoption consultants - Part 2

In Part 1 of our post we shared the story of how we came to work for Christian Adoption Consultants five years ago. As adoptive parents of 9 children, and working professionally as adoption consultants, our lives revolve around adoption – it is something we live and breathe all the time. It is truly our joy and privilege to serve families going on their adoption journey. We wanted to share our:

WHY WE LOVE WORKING FOR 

CHRISTIAN ADOPTION CONSULTANTS

TOP 10

WE LOVE TO ENCOURAGE FAMILIES

FROM A PLACE OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Having adopted 9 children ourselves, we understand how our families feel as they pace the floor, kneel beside the bed to pray over the next steps, and bring their children home.

WE ADORE SEEING ALL THOSE GORGEOUS FACES

IN OUR FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM FEEDS

While most people must see so many negative Facebook posts these days, we are dreaming with our present and past families looking at their beautiful children grow up.

WE HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF

PRAYING FOR OUR FAMILIES DAILY

We get to pray for expectant mothers and watch as they bravely choose and work with adoptive families. The losses in adoption are as real as the beauty, and through prayer we become a part of how God is working in all their lives.

WE ARE PART OF AN AMAZING TEAM

OF ADOPTION PROFESSIONALS

The two of us enjoy working with the other consultants at CAC, who are equally amazing adoption professionals who love the Lord and work so hard together for our families. 

OUR CHILDREN JOIN WITH US

IN CELEBRATING THE JOYS AND BLESSINGS

All our 9 kids are adopted, and we openly talk about adoption at home. When a family matches or brings a baby home our kids get to join in on the joy, and they cheer for our families.

WE ENJOY MAKING BEAUTIFUL PROFILE BOOKS

FOR OUR FAMILIES

It is rewarding to bring a family’s story to life for expectant families to read. We take pride in creating top quality profiles that make all the difference. 

WE LOVE SHARING THE STORIES

OF GOD'S FAITHFULNESS IN ADOPTION

Our own story and the stories of our families are shared often to encourage those who may be thinking about adoption. They are a testament to God’s provision and faithfulness.

EVERY SINGLE DAY IN OUR WORK IS DIFFERENT FOR US

Each day we create profile, spend time with families on the phone, communicate with adoption agencies, and every conversation is always fresh and new.

WE LOVE TO WORK TOGETHER

AS A HUSBAND AND WIFE TEAM

We have been married for 20 years, and we truly enjoy working together as a couple: brainstorming, planning, visioning and dreaming, and praying together with our families. We both bring unique gifts and abilities to serve our families.

SEEING 120 BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN,

ADOPTIVE, AND BIRTH FAMILIES UNITE

What a privilege and honor it is to be part of something so wonderful, amazing, and so much bigger than ourselves. It has, and continues to be our great pleasure to serve our families! Thank you for allowing us to walk alongside you!

As always, we’d love to talk with you about adoption. Call or email anytime:

Dawn: (813) 360-7368

wrights@christianadoptionconsultants.com

Check out Part 3 of our post here.

120 Children Home: Celebrating 5 years as adoption consultants - Part 1

What an amazing and blessed journey this has been for us as a couple over these past five years! Words cannot describe the awesome joy and privilege that it is to encourage and walk alongside so many families in their adoption journey. We get to wake up each morning in the knowledge that we will see God’s hand at work in bringing children into their forever family. 

“Adoption is something I often dreamed about but never thought it would happen. Using CAC made the process a lot less overwhelming and scary. Dawn & Jason "held" our hands the whole time. They were great and extremely patient. Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for them and our son's birth mother. With their help, my husband and I found what we were missing, and our family is now complete.” 

- Mike & Crystal, Georgia

It all began for us with a failed international adoption. We had already fostered and adopted six children and brought home our son through international adoption from Ethiopia. When the failed adoption happened, we were so very sad and didn’t know where to turn. After praying and seeking what else the Lord may have for us we found a blog about another large family who adopted their 10^th child through domestic infant adoption!  When we read they had used Christian Adoption Consultants we instantly called and spoke to our consultant. 

She talked to us all about the process and how Christian Adoption Consultants works. We were excited, and within a few days we signed on with CAC. Within a week we had flown to Pennsylvania and our daughter was in our arms and legally ours! Such a miraculous blessing to us.

Within a couple of years when Christian Adoption Consultants opened a brand-new program for Special Needs Children we called our consultant again and said yes to another child. Within a few months our youngest son came home. Experiencing first-hand God orchestrating our son joining our family was truly amazing.   

During the process of our two domestic adoptions we shared about CAC with literally hundreds of people, which led to dozens of clients signing on with Christian Adoption Consultants. Those families knew that we’d had an excellent experience with CAC, and we wanted everyone to know who they were and what they could do to help families adopt. Finally, less than a year after bringing our youngest son home we started working for Christian Adoption Consultants as a husband and wife team. We were so excited that we were able to fulfill a passion of adoption in our job that we both share. Every time we have a new family sign on with us we get butterflies as we dream with them about God’s plan for their family. We pray with and for them and watch as God unfolds their story. 

It is a privilege for us to be able to serve our families together and we couldn’t ask for a better job!  Thank you so much Malcolm & Amy Young, CAC’s founders and directors, for allowing us to follow God’s calling on our lives.

Stay tuned for our follow up post: “120 Children Home: Celebrating 5 years as adoption consultants - Part 2 and Part 3, where we will share our Top 10 joys of working as adoption consultants, as well as some cool facts and stats about our work and our amazing families!

“This wonderful couple helped direct us to the babies God knew needed us as much as we needed them! There is so much loss on all sides in adoption, but God can redeem it! Dawn and Jason prayed with us, longed with us, and reminded us God had already written our story. All we had to do was wait on His timing! If you have questions about whether adoption is right for your family call them! They can pray with you over the phone and wait with you until you know!”

- Will & Holly, Illinois

As always, we’d love to talk with you about adoption. Call or email anytime:

Dawn: (813) 360-7368

wrights@christianadoptionconsultants.com

Our Family Begins - Justin and Andrea's Adoption Story

We love to do what we do as adoption consultants - we really do have a dream job! What could be more fulfilling than to walk alongside a couple from an inquiry about where to start with an adoption all the way to that amazing day when they stand in front of the judge who declares they are now a forever family! There are always ups and downs to the roller coaster ride of adoption (Remember - on roller coasters they make sure you are safely buckled in for the ride), and Justin and Andrea's journey is no exception - starting with the heartbreak of infertility and the deep loss of miscarriage. Isn't it great that God is in the healing and redemption business? We love to see God's fingerprints on families we are consultants for - and we get to have a front row seat when "Joy comes in the morning". From signing on with us to holding their sweet and precious son was just 5 months. Andrea shares their story:

"We always knew we wanted to have children. We always said we would have children whether we were able to conceive them ourselves, through a fertility specialist or through adoption. We tried for nearly 3 years to conceive. During those 3 years, we suffered 2 ectopic pregnancies that resulted in having surgery to remove the fallopian tubes. This ended our chances at conceiving children ourselves. This led us down the path of in vitro fertilization (IVF).  During the process of appointments, we found out my ovaries were aging faster than my chronological age. We did one round of IVF which had low results, but we did retrieve 3 eggs, of which 2 were mature. However, only 1 egg fertilized and the transfer resulted in another miscarriage. We were always open to all the options of starting a family, although we never thought we would experience this and the time it took. We felt frustrated and sad. We struggled with the loses and the direction God led us. So, after we struggled with infertility and miscarriages, we realized adoption must be the path we needed to pursue.

We had no idea where to start with adoption. Just considering it felt overwhelming. We had some friends who had adopted, and we connected with them to look for guidance. Low and behold, they introduced us to Dawn Wright at Christian Adoption Consultants. We knew from our first e-mail with Dawn we were heading in the right direction. She answered every question and always made sure we knew she was there to help support us. Suddenly, this overwhelming, unknown direction we were heading in, seemed a little bit less stressful. We decided to also have Jason complete our profile book rather than try to create it ourselves. We could not have been happier with the way it was finished. He captured us perfectly which again made us feel better about presenting ourselves to potential birth moms. With our Home study and Profile book complete we felt ready to start presenting our book.

On Super Bowl Sunday, we were presented our first situation with a due date in the beginning of March. Originally, we were not going to present our book. However, a follow up e-mail from Dawn, her giving us the resources we needed, discussing and praying about it led us to present. About 2 nerve racking weeks later we received a call back stating that the Birth Mother liked us. We had about another week or so of missed connections with the Birth mom, but on the due date we were signing the paperwork and we were officially matched. 6 days later we received the call that Birth Mom had gone in to labor. We rushed to get airplane tickets, we flew out the next morning and by early afternoon we were walking into the hospital room. We were quite nervous to meet with Birth Mom. However, we again contacted Dawn who gave us great advice for when we met with her. We walked into the room where we were greeted with a hug from her, as well as, we could lay eyes on our new son.

We were fortunate to have a few days to spend with his Birth mom and get to know her and her history. After a couple of weeks, we brought our new bundle of joy home.

During our time of struggle, we knew God was making our marriage stronger and we needed to be patient because our son August was to be in our lives forever. With the help of Dawn, Jason and CAC, we have begun the family we always wanted."

Thank you so much Andrea for sharing your story - we know many will be encouraged to keep going and trusting God for the dreams and desires of their hearts for a family. We'd love to talk with you about your adoption journey and answer any questions you may have. It's what we do!

I'd love to chat with you about adoption - call me at: (813) 360-7368 or email: wrights@christianadoptionconsultants.com

Our 20th Anniversary

 On Wednesday July 19th we officially celebrated our 20th Wedding Anniversary!  YEAH!  A huge accomplishment by any standard and we are thrilled.  It has been a beautiful, messed up, crazy ride with extreme highs and lows around every corner. 

If I said I thought we would make it every day of our marriage I would be lying!  There were many times with crazy thoughts and tears rolling down my cheeks that I thought our world together would end.  Because we are humans with sin involved.  We love each other deeply, but the enemy is waiting and prowling trying to convince us that we are enemies. 

In fact at a conference we have gone to more than once called The Weekend To Remember, and they specifically start off saying that your husband or wife is not the enemy.  Which on some days we have really questioned!  I mean what about when he makes a comment that cuts deep or you give him that glare that says back off? 

We have so much to learn about each other and it is hard to learn about each other when life hits you from all directions.  When you are told your child is really sick and you will have to be in the hospital for extended stays worried if they will live.  When you are so busy running back and forth with kids and work you can't even remember what the other person looks like.  When you can't even complete a sentence because- kids!  When something happens and you can't talk about it right then the wounds can fester and make a huge mess. 

That is when the fight comes and you have to stay focused on what and who you are fighting.  The what and who is sin and the enemy Satan!  Oh he is serious about tearing you apart inch by inch.  All that God has joined together and the enemy wants to put up every road block imaginable: extra work commitments, porn, thoughts of my life would be better if he/she would just....., kids whom you love so deeply just seem to relentlessly drain you, place doubts in your head he's late again or she always is with her friends, the internet/phone, the inability to say no to things outside of your marriage, and the list is long and the enemy is strong. 

There is so much hope though that a lot of times we overlook too.  These are the things we have to focus on!  Do me a favor if you are struggling right now in your marriage make a list of 10 things (or more would be even better) that you appreciate or love about your spouse.  Come on do it- it will only take a little while.  Now maybe you are really angry right now, and the enemy is whispering there is nothing good about my spouse.  Then pray and ask the Holy Spirit to remind you of something, some times you have shared that have been good. 

Now I challenge you to be brave and give that list to your husband or wife! 

No this isn't a magic pill, but rather something to help you today to draw closer to your spouse.  The other thing we have done when things have been so rough is to really focus on God!  When I remember that God loves my husband as much as He loves me I am more likely to see the good in him. 

The past 20 years have been filled with many things and the times we have taken to remember why we love each other are the best investments into our marriage. I wouldn't dream of not filling up our car with gas when needed, doing oil changes, or taking it in to be fixed when lights come on.  It is definitely the same with marriage.  Take time daily to connect, take time weekly to have longer conversations, take time yearly to go to a marriage conference or have a getaway.  These times are free from the phone, computer, and work!   

We may have flown and flopped in our 20 years, but they have been amazing together because we are able to hang on to each other when other things go crazy. 

I love Jason Wright more than words can say. 

I am thankful that he puts God first.

I love the fact that he loves me and has stuck with me through so much. 

I am glad he continues to chose me as his wife. 

I am thankful for all the hard work he does for our family (on average in our family we have things break daily and I wish I was kidding). 

I am thankful that he is a great daddy and he cares so much about our kids that he adjusts to their needs. 

I am thankful that he loves being a dad and playing with our children. 

I am thankful that he coupons for our family, and saves us tons of money by looking for great deals.  I am thankful that he believes in me as I homeschool the kids. 

I am thankful that he knows it is important for us to set aside time for each other.

I am thankful that Jason shares my passions of ministry, our children, adoption, and helping other adopt.   

Looking forward to many more years together Jason!  I pray that we can honor God and each other through this crazy life together!  

(PS the pictures are from our recent trip to Sandals resort in Antigua that we did earlier in the month.  More to come on that later.)

Adoption Dreams Brought Together- Cameron and Sarah's Story

Sometimes our dreams start out well before God fulfills them. This is one of those stories where before they met God planted the thoughts of adoption in their hearts.  This is Sarah's story....

"Adoption for us is something we always wanted to do. God placed the desire in our hearts separately before we even were married. We knew that we would grow our family through adoption at some point. 

That  point came after many prayers and we officially started our process in January of 2016. We were home study ready in March of 2016. We initially signed on with an agency and after months of waiting and hearing absolutely nothing, we decided that we needed to research other agencies and options.

Someone told us about Christian Adoption Consultants and specifically Dawn and Jason Wright. I contacted Dawn in July of 2016, and after talking with Dawn I knew at once that using Christian Adoption Consultants was the way to continue our adoption journey. We were matched in August of 2016, not even a month after starting to work with CAC. Our baby girl was born in November 2016.

Christian Adoption Consultants were helpful from answering questions, getting us connected with agencies, encouraging us, and praying for us throughout our process. I am grateful for Dawn & Jason and how they have been a part of our adoption journey.

If you have the dream to adopt and want to know more please call or email anytime with your questions. 

We’d love to talk about your own adoption dreams:

Call Dawn at (813) 360-7368 or email to: wrights@christianadoptionconsultants.com

When it gets hard to hear "No"

As a Christian Adoption Consultant we have the privilege of praying and encouraging families during the process of adoption.  I pray this will help encourage someone today.  

In the adoption process when you are finished with the home study, the paperwork for the agencies, and the profile you then come to a really exciting time in the process because you are ready to be "matched".  You finally get to say, "Yes I would like to be present my profile to an expectant family." 

It is time for celebration in the journey and a relief that you are done with so much paperwork!  So you see some situations of an expectant family and as you pray and read through them you know you want to say yes to presenting your profile to an expectant family. 

Somewhere between the paperwork and the busyness of the process it hits you that you may hear a "no" from the expectant family.  They may choose another family.  Then your mind races with thoughts of, "Why would they chose them and not us?", "Why is our family not good enough?", or "Was it because of that picture we put in the profile?"

You may begin to think and feel a small voice saying, "See you aren't good enough.", "You don't have what it takes to adopt", or "You will never be chosen." 

My heart in sharing these thoughts is because they are normal thoughts, and anyone going through the process of adoption have them.  That isn't to down play how it feels because adoption is a roller coaster of emotions.  It is to say you are not alone in feeling this way.

My second reason is because sometimes we don't see the other side of adoption or maybe we don't picture it well.  So I want to make a clearer picture for families who are all waiting.  The expectant families you read about are making one of the toughest decisions of their entire life.  It is not taken lightly and there are literally a million reasons why they have made this decision to place a child and a million reasons why they are going to choose a specific family.

In other words it isn't a mathematical equation.  One expectant family chooses an adoptive family simply because of the smile that draws her eyes to your picture, because you are the biggest sports fans, because you love horses, or because the children in your home look so very loved they can just picture their child with your children.

If there was anything I can say to help you in your time of doubt.  It would be that God always has a plan that can be trusted.  There are many times of doubt and fear, but God tells us in Philippians 4:7 " And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

It's ok to have doubt, but take heart because God can give you peace even when you feel the heartbreak of not being chosen.  He knows your heart in wanting to adopt and shares in that spirit of love and caring.  He has a plan for the expectant family as well as yours to be joined forever by two beautiful hands and feet of a child.