The happiest day of our lives was the day we brought home our son Christian.

We had been dealing with infertility and deciding what avenue to take. We knew we were meant to be parents. We researched agencies over a period of time and Adoption STAR just seemed to jump out at us. Something inside (that little voice called intuition) said, “ this is the right fit.”

We were profiled several times and not chosen. Then were we chosen to adopt a baby nine months prior to Christian, but that did not come to pass. It was a very sad time and confusing, but with the help of our family and support of Adoption STAR we stayed determined that our baby was out there. Many prayers were said by family, friends, priests and us. Little did we know that God had a plan for us soon in the near future.

It was a cold Saturday on December 23rd, and I was at work at the hospital on my 3-11 shift tending to my patients when my husband walked into the unit. I was surprised to see him and thought something happened. Well, something did happen he said, “how would you like to pick up your son tomorrow.” I looked at him and asked him to repeat what he just said. He then went on to tell me that the agency called and asked him what we were doing on Christmas Eve. He went on to tell them our plans for the day and they responded how would you like to pick up your son tomorrow. We hugged and cried tears of joy. All the staff were also in tears and within seconds the whole hospital was aware of our wonderful news. They even called my manager to tell her and she promptly sent me home to prepare for the greatest Christmas present ever. Everything happened so fast, we did not even have the time to tell our families and decided to surprise them. So we Showed up for our Christmas Eve gathering and everyone was so surprised to see our little precious bundle of joy in his red velour sleeper and a hat that said, “Special Christmas delivery.” There were many tears of joy, and it was a very special Christmas.

Adoption is so special, and it touches the lives of many. About a year after I returned to work, a co-worker came up to me and told me her story. She said that our story touched her so much and was so special to her because she was able to see the other side. She then went on to tell me that when she was 16 she placed her child for adoption and it was the most difficult decision she had ever made. She also went on to tell me that in her mind over the years she would question her decision, but at the same time knew that at 16 she could not provide for that child the way she would want to. She told me she was so glad she was working the day my husband came in to tell me about Christian because it made her heart happy and at ease that she knew her choice was the right one many years ago. I felt really moved and honored that she had the courage to tell me her story and that our story touched her as well.