The "F" Family
I have wanted to adopt for a long time and told my husband Brandon early into dating. He immediately was on board, and we decided to start the adoption process just prior to a year of marriage.
I looked into agencies, and we had just been accepted into one. We were very excited, but we hadn't responded just yet. A coworker of mine had just adopted a sweet baby boy, so I decided to go to her and ask about her experience. She had adopted through Ray's office and told me all about her experience and the pros of working with an attorney as opposed to a larger agency. That day, we decided to fill out the intake form on Ray's website and scheduled a consultation.
On January 30, 2023, we stepped into Ray's office and learned all about the adoption process and got to work. We were so excited!
A few short months later, in April, I got a call I will never forget. I was working in my front yard, and Marion called to tell me that we had matched. As you may know, we are told about the expectant mother's situation prior to being shown; so I thought I knew exactly what the call was about. We were shown to a woman in Georgia who was due in July with a baby girl! I was over the moon.
Then Marion said, “Well, just so you know, the due date was moved up. It's the twenty-first—in five days.”
I was so confused and said, “I thought she was going to be born in July.”
"She?” Marion responded. “No, he was due on April 26, and now it's the twenty-first. Let me call you back."
We soon learned that the placement agency had shown us to the wrong expectant mother. Instead of being shown to the woman in Georgia, we were mistakenly shown to a woman in Charlotte, NC, who was being induced on April 20 with a baby boy. Of course, we said yes and ran to the store that night to load carts full of totally unnecessary baby gear. We had a brief phone call with the expectant mom and waited for the 20th to drive to the hospital.
There, we met her and her mother for the first time. It was difficult. Her mother was unsupportive of her adoption plan, and she was understandably emotional. I called Marion at one point, very nervous that this situation wasn't going to work out.
I remember she told me, "This is a God thing. You weren't even supposed to be shown to her." I didn't believe her. My worry outweighed my faith in that moment.
We slept in the waiting room and waited for text updates from the expectant mom. Finally, at 7:36 p.m. on April 21, 2023, she called me and said he was here.
"I'm so hungry. Is there any way you could get me a cheeseburger?" was what she said just after.
We waited in line in the cafeteria, amazed that we were about to meet our son and laughing that a cheeseburger would be our first gift to his birth mom.
The next 24 hours were stressful and emotional. He spent time in the nursery, where we were afforded a few moments here and there to feed him (we were just visitors, not technically allowed in the nursery) and time in his birth mom’s room. She allowed us to visit but, of course, wanted privacy.
The following day, her lawyer arrived to present her with relinquishment paperwork. I went to tell her, and she was on the phone with more family who were not supportive of her adoption plan. We were nervous, but she never wavered that this was the right thing to do. We got to bring our son home on April 23, 2023, our first wedding anniversary.
I wish I knew the statistical chances that we have our son. It's got to be less than one in a million that I talked to my coworker, that we signed with Ray when we did, that we were mistakenly shown to the wrong expectant mother, that she was confident in her choice despite outside opinion. It is undeniable that something greater than us was at work, and we marvel and thank God all the time for it.
And none of it was possible without Ray and his amazing staff. From Danielle helping us prepare the book that our expectant mom chose, to Marion who put up with my nervous texts and calls prior to placement, to, of course, Ray, who handled all the very important legal stuff and generously provided his personal cell should we ever need it during the process and who answered my tearful phone call when I was worried about our finalization. Their commitment, patience, and love are evident in what they do, which is why we had no doubts about coming to them again when we decided to adopt a second time and are anxiously awaiting our second match!