I went to undergo an ultrasound for tummy problems when I was 6-weeks-old, and they saw my ovaries were not hooked upright. At the time, the doctor thought it would be preferable to remove them totally. I found out when I was 13 years old that I would never be able to have children. That’s when I started looking into adoption. My greatest concern as I grew older was having to tell a prospective husband that I would never be able to give birth to our children. I then met Jason. We fell in love with him as a single father of [two] adorable little sons.
Before we got engaged, I told him the biggest secret of my life. My existence was only known to a few people. I sobbed when I told him. He then grabbed my face and said it didn’t matter how our children got to our house. After all, they’d be OUR children. We were granted permission to adopt in June of last year. After extensive investigation, we decided against using an agency. There were simply too many doubtful ones available, and when all was said and done, they cost roughly $55K. As a result, we decided to go it alone.
We promoted ourselves through the internet and social media. We set up a Facebook adoption page and paid for targeted marketing. We have an Instagram feed with photos of our lives, as well as a profile on adoption.com. A few women contacted us, but most of them were scammers. Then we got a Facebook message. A young woman emailed us to tell us that her friend was pregnant and looking for a family.
On September 1st, we received a phone call from this woman in Missouri, and we spoke for an hour and a half. We grew closer and more excited about one other over the next month. In contrast, she never gave us official proof of pregnancy. On the internet, people are continually faking ultrasounds and blood tests. My husband wanted to renew our adoption.com profile for another year, and I was willing to commit since I trusted this woman. We renewed it on October 1, and on October 2, we received a message from another expectant mother. She was intrigued by our profile and wanted to meet us. We met two days later at a little café 20 minutes away.
An extremely pregnant girl and her mother walked in just when we thought she’d tricked us. We hugged and she showed us ultrasound images of a little baby boy. When he started kicking, she requested me to feel her stomach. At the end of breakfast, she asked how we were feeling. She then asked if we would adopt her child and raise him as our own for the rest of our life. Both Jason and I were in tears. I’m utterly taken aback, right in the middle of a diner. We stood there for [three] weeks, watching the birth of our son Andy. I was the first to wrap my arms around him and kiss his beautiful hands. This occurred on October 30th, 2017.
I continued to speak with the first expectant mother we had matched with as we brought Andy home and adjusted to being new parents. She had still not provided us with proof. She had also expressed her congratulations and informed us that she had found another home for her kid. I was happy for her, and we kept in touch on occasion during the next few months.
I received a phone call from this same woman in January of this year. She informed me that she had just informed the other family that she did not feel comfortable with them adopting her child. She went on to say that she knew this baby was meant to be ours. I stood there holding my 3-month-old baby son while she sent me photographs of the baby boy growing in her stomach. I couldn’t say anything. But I was also aware. I knew deep down.
My husband and I prayed a lot over the next two weeks about adding another newborn to our family only months apart. The same resounding response kept coming. Six weeks later, we flew to Missouri with Andy and met a mother and her three children the night before she was induced. We were all immediately bonded. We stood by her bedside the next day as our baby Ellis was born. Jason was even allowed to cut the cord. I was the first to take him in my arms and kiss his tiny hands.
We never imagined having [two] newborn babies just [four] months apart. Adoption is a wonderful thing. I became a mother as a result of a woman’s greatest sacrifice and selfless decision. To [two] of the most adorable baby boys I could have ever imagined.
We had a strong intuition to contact Ellis’ birth mother four months after he was born since she had mentioned that they were having difficulties. Jason and I then decided to fly her oldest child down for ten days to spend time with Ellis. Sean had never flown or traveled so far from home. We instantly fell in love with this adorable boy. [Ten] days turned into an entire summer.
He asked whether he might see his new buddies try out for football at the end of the summer. He was chatting to the coaches and asking if he could try out before we realized it. Sean made the top 8th-grade football squad in his first year of organized sports. He called his mother and sought permission to stay. She said everything he wanted to hear. Sean has now been with us for six months, and his football team has advanced to the playoffs.
We had no idea a year ago that we would be adding [three] more children (all boys) to the [two] we already had in less than [nine] months. I’m not the mother of any of our [five] sons right now. But I am their mother. Andy and Ellis’ adoptions are finally complete. They’re known as Orams. Our two oldest sons and their mother share custody of us. We don’t know how long Sean will be here.
A family does not have to be blood-related. It is available in a range of shapes and sizes. Love is all that matters. We’ve made it. A [seven-member] modern family. We are madly in love with each other. They also have a lot of fun together. It is not always easy. There have been many ups and downs, as well as everything in between. We, on the other hand, would not have it any other way.
