Our Story

Jesse and I were married in April of 2011.  We were excited to begin our life together and to begin this path called marriage.  In November of 2011 we decided we were ready have a baby join our little family! Three months later we learned that there was a good chance we would never be able to have our own children naturally.  We began to pray that God would show us what His purpose was in all this.  I knew it would be hard to accept never being pregnant but I also knew that God could use us for something very special.  As we prayed God began to comfort and lead us through His word and other places.  One verse that really stuck out to me was Psalm 113:9 “He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children.  Praise ye the Lord.”   It helped me to realize that with God all things are possible and even if we couldn't have our own children He would make our joy full with children in some way.  Upon learning about our infertility we visited a specialist to find out what to do next. We had two practical options to choose from.  The first was IVF or In Vitro Fertilization and the second was adoption.  After leaving the doctor I think we both felt overwhelmed and a little unsure of what to do next.  We really wanted to have our own children to see their resemblances and to have the pregnancy experience but on the other hand we felt a little guilty going to all the medical work of creating our own children when there are children in the world who do not have loving Christian homes and families.  That night Jesse researched IVF a little to learn exactly how the process took place. After doing some research we both felt like IVF was not something we could do in good conscience.   That left only one option for us to become parents…adoption!  We prayed for God's direction and He showed us over and over that adoption was what He wanted for us.  At the end of February 2012 we announced our decision to adopt!  Next we began the research.  We looked at different adoption programs and agencies, adoption requirements, time frames and much more!  After much prayers and research we both felt at peace about beginning an infant adoption program with an adoption agency called Family Core.  At our first meeting with Family Core we ran into our first road block.  At the time I was 20 and Jesse was 22.  In order to adopt in Illinois both of us had to be 21 or older.  So we began to wait.  Over the next 11 months God transformed our hearts.  Each day we became more at peace with our infertility and more surrendered to God's plan for our life.  When we decided to adopt we both had an idea of exactly what we wanted and how we expected things to go.  In those 11 months God gently transformed our hearts from adopting for us to adopting for Him and for the child.  It was frustrating when we found out that we would have to wait until I was 21 to adopt but it was all in Gods plan. Those months changed our lives and ultimately gave God the time to prepare us for the journey ahead!  During those 11 months God opened and closed doors for us as He led us to where he wanted us to be.  In May of 2013 we felt God was showing us the time was right to begin the infant adoption program with Family Core. When we started this journey back in February of 2012 I don't think we really had any idea the journey God had mapped out for us, in fact I still don't think we do today either.  We take one day at a time allowing God to use each experience, each joy and each sorrow to fulfill His greater purposes. As time moves on and we look back at all God has brought us through, things become more and more clear. The pieces of the puzzle fall into place and we can see just how everything fit together to create something beautiful.  There are still many more pieces to our puzzle and we look forward to putting them in place one by one as God gives them to us.  God has blessed us with tremendous support from our family, friends, and church and we appreciate every prayer that has been said on our behalf as we seek to follow where He leads us!