Sarah Grace

Things happened quickly after our decision to adopt. We talked with Kris, the Holt International Social worker and got the ball rolling with submitting applications, Home study interviews and picking the brains of friends who had recently adopted or were currently in the adoption process.





We initially leaned toward adopting through the China program because we knew we wanted a little girl. Okay, that was the ONE stipulation our daughter Marelise put on the adoption. She wanted a sister! We also didn't want a baby necessarily. We had been there, done that. So a toddler seemed like the perfect fit for our family. We registered in the "Waiting Child" program also, so that we would be informed of children from any country that "fit" the specifications we had noted. A very short time later, our Social Worker Kris, called and suggested that we take a look at a little girl on the "Waiting child" website. (I had intentionally not looked at the website or fear of falling in love with a child and not being complete enough in our paperwork to be eligible to adopt them.) But, at Kris' request, we had a look. And there she was! A beautiful 2 year old girl. Dave and the kids were convinced she was our Sarah Grace. I felt an instant connection too, but refused to get too attached. We requested a packet of information about her. She had been born prematurely, weighing only 3lbs 3ounces. She was considered mal-nourished and at 2 years old was not yet walking. We had our pediatrician review her file and he felt she did not have any issues that could not be overcome. But, as with our biological children, he noted, there are no guarantees. We had to be comfortable with the worst case scenario. Which, surprisingly enough we were. It is an odd reality. When you are pregnant you hope and pray that your child will be healthy. That is your biggest concern. But, here we were choosing a child that had some known medical issues and a lot of unknowns.



We proceeded! We told Holt we wanted to adopt her. They contacted the other families that had requested information about her and 2 additional families said they too were interested in adopting her. Now it would go to committee. One family, withdrew after requesting additional information. We then had to complete a written application discussing why we would be the best parents for her and how we were equipped to deal with her special needs. With lots of prayer we completed that application and a phone interview. It was in the Lord's hands. It was good to know another family wanted her too and that God's will would be done.



On September 3rd, on our way home from our Labor Day camping trip we got a voicemail from our Social Worker Kris to call her right away. We called her back to discover the other family had withdrawn their application. She was ours! She was our Sarah Grace!



Behold, children are a gift of the Lord; Psalm 127:3