Our Story

At thirty, I was a busy single professional. Not married by chance (not necessarily choice) I felt satisfied, confident that God had me right where he wanted me and that 'mothering' the kids I worked with was enough. In fact, I rather enjoyed heading off to any concert that I wanted to, spending way too much on shoes, coffee, clothes, and not really worrying much about a budget. With my past dating track record, it looked like I would probably be able to enjoy my single lifestyle for the foreseeable future. I was a doting aunt, and that was enough.

As soon I had made this 'plan' for my life God started laughing, and turned the tables on me. First it was a local foster care agency asking if I had ever thought of doing respite care. Next, people through work (and even relative strangers) starting asking me if I had ever thought of adopting. In the end, I had journaled over forty instances where the idea of adoption had been placed in my path.

After bringing home my beautiful Little Man, we quickly settled into our family routine. Coming home with a potty trained (almost) three year old has it's benefits (ie not having to do potty training) but there is a bit of transition time that you go through. The poor guy had learned his tribal language, then Amharic at the care center, then he had to learn English when he came home to the U.S.!

By the time Little Man had learned English, he was asking for a brother or sister. Honestly, I wanted to bring home another almost immediately but I needed to be sure of three things. 1. How would we work as a family? 2. Would my budget allow for a second child? 3. Did I feel like it was God's plan for me to bring another child home? Then came the question of domestic, international, or foster adoption.

I attended a domestic adoption agencies meeting for prospective parents, but decided at the time it wasn't for me. Then one day I emailed an agency about a brother and sister in the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and began the process to bring them home. About two months into the process of getting paperwork to bring them home, a flu epidemic hit the orphanage. Some of the children died. My son and daughter were sent away to make sure they didn't get sick, but they never returned.

Little Man was devastated. Having worked with a different agency and program before, I had never had a referral fall through. We had already purchased bedding and started to set up a bedroom for his new brother and sister. Within a few weeks Little Man had decided that we should adopt from Haiti. This was around the one year anniversary of the earthquake and there were stories all over the news about the recovery progress and the kids in need.

I decided that we should try again with the Congo. Within a few weeks we had a referral for a beautiful, round cheeked baby girl. As a single, getting a referral for a baby that quickly is unusual. Most agencies have waiting lists of couples waiting for the babies. Since I had been open for a child between 0 and 4 years old, I assumed I would be getting another toddler. For four months we anticipated the arrival of Baby B. The agency I worked with, however, kept putting off having me sign the official agreement stating that I was adopting my little girl. They assured me that it was just how the process worked in the DRC. I believe now that they didn't have quite the working relationship that they thought with the orphanage. Ultimately, I received an email telling me in essence 'Oh, didn't you get our email a couple of weeks ago? Your child has been referred to another family.'

Not long after, I started having issues swallowing and went in to see what was going on. The end result being that I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Two months after starting chemo I was declared clean of all cancer. Five months after that I restarted the adoption process, after much prayer and reassurances by my doctors that there was no reason not to do so.

Little Man and I brought Baby B home in September of 2013. Sadly, just over a month after she came home my father passed away . So, while Baby B was grieving the life she had in Haiti, Little Man and I were grieving the loss of a father and grandfather. This, added to the fact that she had spent most of her young life in a creche, made the transition rougher than the one for Little Man. We have adjusted now and are enjoying the process of making memories together as a family of three.

Today, I remain free of Hodgkin's Lymphoma and pray I will remain so. It was a long journey, and some would not agree with me continuing in the process. I believe God put Little Man, Baby B, and I together for a reason. That is a fact that I held to during my treatments. These are absolutely my kids. They even have some of my quirky personality traits. Our journey has not always been easy, but I wouldn't change it because it's gotten us to where we are now.

One bump in the road does not mean we are supposed to quit on life. I choose life, and am grateful every day that my children are part of that life. ~Aleah Bea