We’re excited to announce that sometime in the next few weeks we will be adopting a brand new baby boy into our family!
It’s a journey we’ve been on for a year, but have kept quiet from public conversation until now. Many of our closest friends and family have been with us in this process, but we are excited to bring the story to you now! I’ll do my best to keep it short.
Even before Megan and I were married, we talked about adoption. We didn’t know when or where or how, but we knew it was important to us for several different reasons.
We believe one of the greatest epidemics of our time is fatherlessness. The statistics are staggering and affect almost every sphere of life from crime, to education, to homelessness, to abuse. We’re living in a day where it’s impossible to ignore certain realities. The world is small and it’s no longer and option for us to “mind our own business”. We know adoption is not for every family, but we decided it’s for us.
And more recently, this journey has been a reflection of our season with the Lord. As a family, and even within the Vinelife community, God has been teaching us about His heart as Father, our identity as His sons and daughters, and His desire for family. There is an unmistakable emphasis in Scripture about these things…
“God sets the lonely in families…” – Psalm 68:6
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…” – James 1:27
“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” – Romans 8:15
All that to say, we feel like this has been less of a decision and more of a response to the unrelenting love of the Father. We count ourselves blessed to be adopted into the family of God. What we’re doing is not a charitable act. In fact, we feel like we’re on the receiving end of this deal.
As we started exploring adoption, some dear friends of ours encouraged to pursue an “Open Adoption” rather than a closed one. First, this would allow us to maintain relationship with the birth parents and be a blessing to them. Secondly, we felt an open adoption would be better for the child as he grows older. He would know us as his Mommy and Daddy, but he would still have a relationship with his “Tummy Mommy”. We felt like this was a better option for developing trust than “breaking the news” to him later on in his adolescence.
Last May, we submitted our first applications to an adoption agency in Oklahoma and one here locally. This is also when we created our first “Life Book”. A Life Book is essentially a photo album about our family – who we are, how we have fun, what we do for holidays, etc. This book was loaned out to different birth mothers as they were considering placing their baby with an adoptive family. Being an open adoption, the birth mother would be able to pick the family they most connected with based on the Life Book.
Most of last year went by and we hadn’t heard anything promising from either agency. This entire time we were trusting in the leading and timing of the Father despite all of the unknowns. We decided to continue on with our Home Study – the process by which the state determines a family is fit to parent a child. We started our Home Study at the beginning of this year and officially finished it in the middle of March.
Within days of the Home Study being finalized, we received a call from the agency here in Colorado and were informed that a birth mother had come in and was going to look at our book. This news was crazy exciting for us, but we we’re still unbelievably nervous. All the sudden, we were asking question like…
What if we don’t get picked?
What if she doesn’t like our book?
What if she thinks we’re nuts?
The good news is – we we’re chosen to be the adoptive family!
On March 23rd, we had the privilege of meeting the birth parents for the first time over lunch at Gunther Tooty’s. As we sat down, the conversation was natural and fun with just a few nervous chuckles coming from the weight of the circumstance. It was clear that we were all in uncharted waters. None of us had any grid for this experience. We had never adopted a random child, and they had never given a child to a random family. Fortunately, by the end of our first visit, nothing seemed too random. It felt right. And there seemed to be grace for all of us first-timers to journey together through our first adoption.
We asked them why they decided to pick us, and the quickly replied with one word.
“Noah”
They explained how when they saw the photos of Noah in the Life Book, their eyes teared up as they imagined another baby boy with us. They knew we would be a safe and loving family.
First photo taken on April 9th, 2013.
Gabrielle, the birth mother, is a beautiful, smart, and brave woman. I’ve been so proud of her as she has walked through a difficult scenario with courage. She hopes to enroll at the Denver Art Institute and finish out a degree in fashion design or another art study. She has a sweet personality and a sharp mind. Megan and I are honored to parent Gabrielle’s baby and will continue to build a friendship her and her family.
Gabrielle is due on April 30th, and Megan and I have been invited to be with her in the hospital during the delivery. We get to be there the moment our son takes his first breath! Wow.
Over the last several months, as I’ve used this space to encourage my friends to dream big and be filled with bold faith, this has been the story playing out behind the scenes. This adoption is a dream given to us by the Father and we are humbled to be able to walk this out with amazing friends, family, and a community of people cheering us on.
Megan and I want to thank you in advance for all of your prayers and encouragement over the next several weeks and for the next season of our family. We would ask that you continue to pray for Gabrielle and the baby. Pray for grace, strength, and a great delivery. Pray for the hearts of their family as they navigate through the emotional implications of this decision.
Also, please pray for wisdom and provision on our end. Over the next several weeks, we will be continuing to apply for grants to subsidize the cost of adoption. We will be inviting our friends and family to join us in this unfolding story.
If you would like to join us in this adventure, you can contribute to our journey on AdoptTogether.org/humbrecht.
