As I mentioned before, Levi has a half-brother and a half-sister. Levi's half-sister's mom, Erin (all names changed to protect privacy) had asked our attorney Emily to pass on her information to us. Emily gave me her number, and just a few days after meeting Levi I gave her call.
We hit it off immediately, and I enjoyed chatting with her. It was very interesting and informative talking with her since she has known both Ashley (birth mom) & Jackie (birth grandmother) for nearly two years now. It was also fun to hear about her little girl, Levi's half-sister, Paige. And the fact that we both have one biological child and then adopted half-siblings makes our connection even more amazing and special.
During that first conversation with Erin, I learned that she has been praying for us since Ashley was 8 weeks pregnant! She had diligently been praying for and trying to help find the right family for this baby - a Christian family who would adore this child and bring him or her up to know and love the Lord. There had been times when she thought she'd found a family for this baby but something always happened and none of the families worked out. But she kept praying for the family that this little baby would join! Simply incredible to know that a perfect stranger had been praying for us since January - before our homestudy was even completed!
After several more conversations throughout that week, we were able to set up a time to meet, so last Friday (7/29), Micah and I enjoyed a really great few hours with Erin, Paige and Erin's son, Cole. Erin welcomed us into our home with open arms, and I believe she was as excited to meet me as I was her.
Seeing Paige's baby pictures and being able to study her features and mannerisms was just really incredible! I loved being able to pick out little similarities in hers and Levi's faces. Chatting with her in person was even more rewarding than being on the phone, and it's always great to be able to put a face with a name.
Both of us want Levi and Paige to have the opportunity to know each other, especially later on down the road should they choose to have a relationship with one another, and I'm so glad that we've already begun to establish a friendship and open communication regarding our adoption experiences and information we know about our children's biological family.
What an tremendous gift God has given us and our children in each other and our families!
As I've said over and over again, God never ceases to amaze me, and that has certainly been the case recently. He has blessed me with so many wonderful connections to fabulous people, and I'm truly grateful for all my new friends and relationships!
Wow, that is so incredible. It will be so wonderful for all of you to have these special relationships throughout your lives. Your family has just grown even more! :)
ReplyDeleteI love that you are not afraid to establish this biological connection for your child and that you are so eager to do it. Levi will thank you for this one day when he is able. I do not know any of my biological family members or if I have any siblings, but what I wouldn't give to know if I did. What an amazing gift you are preparing for Levi, he is blessed beyond belief to call you Mama.
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful! I am on the other end of a similar situation. Last January I was praying for a Christian family for my middle daughter's newly born half-brother in need of an adoptive family. We later met him and his family and had a great visit.
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