Connecting with a Domestic Adoptive Mama

I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him.
1 Samuel 1:27

From the time I was a little girl, I wanted to be a mother.   I thought I would marry my prince charming, get pregnant, and live happily ever after.  Doesn’t every girl dream of that fairy tale??  For me, I am living happily ever after, but the road I took was not lined with fairy dust and magic pumpkins. 

After marrying my high school sweetheart and getting my career off the ground, my husband and I decided to have a baby.  After 4 years of trying, many doctor appointments, and a trip to an infertility clinic, we decided that adoption was the route for us.  We had dreamed of having our own biological child, but after struggling for many years, adoption was going to be our path. 

Shawn and I were exploring all of our adoption options, and met with a social worker who guided us in the right direction.  In April of 2005, we were pursuing domestic adoption, as well as international adoption.  We prayed for God to give us a child of our own, and we had faith that He would provide. During this time, we grew closer as a couple and closer to God.  Nine months after finishing our home-study and working hard to get the word out about our desire to adopt, our little angel Makayla was born.  We met her when she was seven hours old and have been her parents since the moment that we laid eyes on her.  I have never felt such a connection with someone as I did the first second I saw her.  I didn’t have nine months to talk to her, but I did pray for her, think about her, and prayed for her birth mother.  The happiest day of my life was the saddest day for someone else, and I knew that. 

Flash forward four years, and I’m starting to feel that we need another child.  Makayla is four, and I am getting baby fever.  My husband, on the other hand, is content and not thrilled with the idea of adopting another baby.  Our first adoption was smooth, almost too good to be true, and he didn’t want to disrupt the life that we had.  I spent many nights praying for God to change his mind, but after 2 years of praying, the answer was still no.  From that point on, I asked God to make me content with the precious gift He had given me, and to pray instead for God’s will to be done.  I would tell my friends, “If God wants us to have another child, HE will make it happen.”

In June 2012, my father passed away suddenly.  My whole world was rocked, but God helped us through every moment of every day.  After that tragedy, my husband’s heart for another child changed, and he wanted to adopt again.  I was floored, excited, nervous, and ready!!!!  In September, 2012 we again started spreading the word about wanting to adopt.  We had many people praying for us, and in November 2012, we were blessed with a baby boy, Eli!  We met Eli when he was two hours old and held him in our arms that night.  Eli had a few medical problems and was in the NICU for one month.  The second we laid eyes on him, we knew God sent him to us, and we are now his forever family.  Both of our children were born in Joplin, and have been with us since birth.  We are so fortunate to complete our family through domestic adoption.  It is possible!  It takes work and time, but there are babies in our area that need a family. 

My road to motherhood may not have been lined with fairy dust and magic pumpkins, but it is lined with two miracles God gave me . . . .Makayla and Eli. 

 

Carrie Mayes is a wife, mother, teacher, friend, God-lover and “wanna-be” crafter!  She has been married to Shawn, her high school sweetheart, for 14 years.  Makayla is 7 and Eli is 11 months.   If you would like more information on how they adopted without an agency, please contact Carrie-
cmayes@wcr7.org