You Are The Most Beautiful Sunflower

 Stephanie & Derek’s Adoption Story:

“We first thought about adoption in 2010 when our first biological daughter was 2. While talking about growing our family, my husband said, “We could look into adoption.” I replied that was something I was open to. We ended up having our second daughter two years later.

For years we had that desire to adopt, but just never felt called to act on it. One night in 2017, I had a dream that I went to the hospital having pain that felt like labor but not looking pregnant. The doctor came in and said, “You are having a baby, congratulations, it’s a boy.” I yelled out, “I didn’t know I was pregnant!” He handed me a baby boy and I woke up. The pain felt so real, so did holding the baby. I remember looking around the room to see if there was a bassinet and I couldn’t go back to sleep. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that dream started watering the seed of adoption that had been planted in my heart years ago when he first brought up adoption. I had that same recurring dream for the next 3 years.

In February 2020, I mentioned to my husband I was really feeling that calling. He agreed and we started researching adoption. I decided to start interviewing consultants for domestic adoption. I had my first phone call with an agency on the day of the pandemic shut-down. I had very little knowledge of adoption. I was really looking for someone to educate me and help me navigate what would be the best for our family.

I’ll never forget the first time I spoke to Dawn at Christian Adoption Consultants. She asked me what led us to adoption. I told her the story about how a year earlier while on a cruise I felt like God was letting me know after years of having the desire, that it was time. She did something that confirmed to us that CAC was the right choice for us: she almost immediately started educating me on ethical adoptions. I knew when I hung up that CAC was exactly what I was looking for and that Dawn was going to be in my corner. Throughout the process I would reach out to Dawn if I had a question. She always gave me her honest answer. In some ways I felt like she was my teacher.

Another part of great education Christian Adoption Consultants provides for their clients is adoption education by having them speak to a birth mother and an adoptee. I spoke to birth mom Lori. She taught me so much in our short phone call. I’ll never forget her teaching me about open adoption. At one point she said, “You and I could have the same flower from the same garden. Mine might die if I don’t take care of it or know how to care for it. Yours might be beautiful. A sunflower was not meant to be a rose. You cannot change it into another flower. Their DNA is there, it cannot be changed. This is nature. But nurture them and they will bloom into who they are meant to be.” That stuck with me because I understood it so deeply being a fellow plant lover.

One morning at 6:58 am, 3 days before the historic ice storm that hit Texas, we got the call that our birth mother was in labor 6 weeks early. Due to Covid restrictions, it took two days for us to finally see him. After the most emotional “hello” of my life with his birth mother, it was time to finally see him. I’ll never forget scanning the NICU room for him and seeing him for the first time. When they placed him in my arms, it felt like God himself handed him to me. He looked at me eyes wide open. It was as if our hearts knew they belonged together. After a few minutes, I thought about what Lori said to me that day. I looked down at him and said, “You are the most beautiful sunflower I have ever seen.””

If you want to know more: dawn@christianadoptionconsultants.com 813-360-7368

I would love to share how Christian Adoption Consultants can help you on your journey!