Heavenly Father has prepared our family for adoption, for a number of years now. It was in 2005 when we first began looking into adoption. Over the years, we were led to LDS Family Services, where we waited for quite a while. We've also had the opportunity to be foster parents, an incredible experience. We've provided shelter care to children in need and have had a few opportunities to help birth mothers. Christina has also spent time helping single moms learn parenting and home making skills. Throughout all of this, it often felt that adoption would never happen for us, yet we knew in our hearts that the Lord had a plan for our family.
We never expected our daughter to be 10 years old when we adopted her. Quite honestly, we were expecting a little newborn wrapped in a tiny blanket with tiny toes and little hands. Yet, when we found Kayla (on an internet photolisting) we KNEW she was our daughter. It is an incredible feeling and yet so hard to describe to someone who has not felt it.
We can promise you that if you will pray and stay close to your Heavenly Father, then you will be blessed to KNOW who your baby's family is. When you find your baby's family your heart will burn and you will find peace. We often describe it to Kayla as "butterflies". We tell her that when we found her we simply "got butterflies". Maybe you'll get butterflies, too.
It is our testimony that children placed for adoption don't just go to any family, they go to the family that Heavenly Father has prepared for them. When waiting for an adoption, it's easy to want to yell out, "Pick us! Pick us!", but really, we want you to pick the family that gives you butterflies. We pray that you'll find butterflies!! Butterflies make the world a beautiful place!
