EDEN for the Smith family — WI
The Smith family, Noreen and Jeff, look forward eagerly to bringing home soon a special little girl who has captured their hearts. The story of their adoption began about three years ago, when they first found Eden and knew she was meant to join their family. It took a while to get the funds together to begin the adoption process, but they hoped after officially starting in early 2016 that things would move swiftly. Unfortunately, due to many unforeseen circumstances in Eden’s personal story and her birth countries government, they’ve had to sustain their adoption journey for an unusually long time, which has taken a great emotional and financial toll. However, every setback has only strengthened their resolve to bring this little girl home! After all, they’ve dealt with many setbacks before on their journey to becoming parents. When they got married almost 15 years ago, one of their shared goals included a strong desire to start their own family. They both loved children, Noreen having worked for years in childcare, and Jeff had dated a woman who brought a daughter to the relationship, who he helped raise. They eagerly looked forward to having their own children to love and care for. The next five years were filled with multiple rounds of fertility treatments, and when they finally become pregnant, they were heartbroken when it ended in miscarriage. That was followed by another pregnancy also ending in miscarriage. In the years that followed, they considered adoption while channeling their love and energy into spending time with family, friends and their children, as well as their own much loved family pets. The desire to become parents never left their hearts, but they hesitated to take the final leap needed to begin the process. Years later, they both came to the realization that they still had a greater love to share and agreed to look into adoption again. At the time they didn’t realize the journey God had planned for them, but He had planted the seed!
A leap of faith was truly needed to start the adoption process, but God provided that by leading them to find a new church, where they met other families built by adoption. After Noreen found a little girl who shared a similar medical condition to one she herself had as a child, she knew she had a unique and special understanding of this little girl’s conditions and the struggles she faced, and she couldn’t get this little girl out of her mind. She eagerly her information with Jeff, and he agreed it seemed God answered their prayers. The years of struggles they’d faced to become parents made sense, as it seemed all along the parents they were meant to be were hers! They’d been waiting for a child, and she’d been waiting for a family. Any questions went from “Should we do this?” to “We have to find a way to make this happen!”
On their adoption journey, in addition to the obstacles and unexpected delays, they’ve also experienced many unexpected and wonderful offers of support, made many new friends in the adoption community, and grown much deeper in faith. Now as they await their final trip, they appreciate your prayers and support to bring Eden home to her forever family!
9/6/2018 — COURT PASSED!
