I had the very special opportunity to share Asher's adoption story with our friend "B" on Thursday. It was such a huge honor to be able to share our adoption journey with her. She had several questions as she and her family consider adoption as way to grow their family. It was the first time since Asher's adoption that I've really had the time to sit and contemplate all that's happened in our family over the past year and with his adoption. I'd like to keep my blog entries brief, but this will probably be a longer one due to the nature of the topic ;-)
B and her family had already reached a decision regarding the type of adoption they'd like to have (Domestic US Adoption vs. International Adoption). I'd love to write a post on that piece in more detail sometime soon, as that can often be one of the most confusing questions to answer at the outset of a family's adoption journey. "Domestic" simply means an adoption of a child from here in the U.S. as opposed to an adoption overseas.
We began the adoption process to bring Asher into our family in April 2010 after choosing Bethany Christian Services www.bethany.org. By the following June we had been selected by a total of 3 separate possible birthmothers. The first 2 were young single girls, one here in local Upstate NY and the other from NJ. I remember feeling heartbroken when neither of those 2 girls chose us to be their baby's adoptive parents. It was a very difficult place to be, wanting to be happy for the families who they chose but feeling sorry for us not being chosen. I knew in my heart there was a baby for us, we just didn't know who he was yet.
On June 1, 2011 I received a call while I was at work from our agency social worker, Renee, that there was a birthfamily interested in our profile that they had seen at the agency. It certainly took a scarey but hopeful leap of faith when we met with that birthmother on June 14, 2011 and The Hubby and I left the meeting feeling unexpectedly at peace. Asher's birthmother "K" decided that she would chose us to be her baby son's parents, and we received the call from Renee at the agency with the happy news the following Monday. We were elated, to say the least! Our years of pain and prayers had been answered!
Asher's adoption became finalized by the State of New York this past May. We celebrated his special day calling is his "Adoption Day" as he received all of the rights and privileges as any biological child would. He's always been our son, but now legally his adoption became irreversible. "Asher" means "Happy & Blessed" and he is indeed a happy boy who is a blessing to all who meet him. We are forever grateful to K and to the many who helped him become our son.
I'm love to post more about adoption in future entries regarding: Domestic vs. International, Open vs. Closed in domestic adoption, Bonding with Adopted Children, Raising a Son, and more. What questions do you have about adoption? I'd love to hear from you! You can follow us along here on the blog, on Facebook (Hannah Maddy Maxson), on Twitter (HannahMadMaxson), or on Instagram (ashersmamaowl). Hope you have a great weekend! See you next week!
