Adoption Story: Craig + Camille
Have you ever met someone and just known instantly that there was something special about them? That was my experience with Craig and Camille. Their love for Jesus and faith in God is so evident and has often been an encouragement to me. I spoke to Camille for the very first time in November and they signed on with me at Christian Adoption Consultants a few weeks after our initial conversation. They were matched 4 months later with a sweet baby girl! I will never forget the excitement in my heart when they called to tell me they had been chosen. I was cooking in the kitchen and as I got the news from my sweet family tears of joy streamed down my face. It was such an honor to have a front row seat in watching God’s beautiful plan unfold for their beautiful family. I encourage you to grab a few tissues as Camille shares about their story and God’s faithfulness to their daughter, Annesely Rose.
We thought about adoption for a couple years before feeling God's nudge to begin the process. We crossed paths with Kelly Todd at Christian Adoption Consultants when we were nearing the end of our home study. I’m so grateful we did! We appreciated their multi-agency approach, and we felt more at ease with the adoption process knowing that CAC had heavily vetted these adoption agencies and attorneys. It was so important for us to work with an ethical adoption agency! One of the things that intimidated me most about the adoption process was creating a profile. I was so relieved to know that Kelly would make our book for us, and because of this we felt like we could confidently present to situations. The guidance and education Kelly provided for us was another reason we chose to move forward with CAC. She helped us evaluate the risks, encouraged us when we were discouraged, and answered all of our questions.
During the process my main fear was whether we would ever be chosen. That fear mainly crept in because of my human impatience; I know I'm getting older and want to have energy to care for my child. After we were home study approved we started receiving situations. We presented several times and were told “no.” We started to feel discouraged and wondered if we would ever be parents. One day we were contacted by an agency about a specific situation. We both felt very strongly that God was leading us down this path and so we decided to present. We were so excited to find out we had been chosen!
A few weeks later we received a phone call from the agency stating that the baby had been born that morning - 5 weeks early. She continued to list other things such as length, weight, etc, but everything became a blur when she mentioned the baby had Down Syndrome. This was not something we were aware of prior to her birth. At the same time we received this news, we were actually in a state of grief as both of our grandmothers had passed away within the previous few days. We had been preparing for funerals and were not expecting to travel for another month.
Even though this news had taken us by surprise, we knew it wasn’t a surprise to God. We collapsed into each other's arms and immediately began praying. We also texted Kelly and pleaded for her prayers during this time. After an hour of praying, reading the Bible, crying, and talking, we felt a definite peace in our hearts. We knew this baby was our baby girl and even though we felt unprepared, we knew that God would equip us with everything we needed to be the best parents we could be. When we arrived at the hospital we were finally able to meet our daughter, Annesely Rose, for the very first time. We loved her as soon as we were matched with her; however, when we first saw her, we realized how much we loved her, and it was even more evident when we could hold her for the very first time.
Throughout this adoption journey, God has taught us that we are not in control - He is. We should have known this all along and sometimes think we do, but deep down we still often try to control things ourselves. We look back in amazement at how God orchestrated all this. We love our little girl and are so thankful that she is in our lives. We feel God has a special plan for her and are just thankful that it includes us!
***If you are interested in learning more about adoption and the services we provide at Christian Adoption Consultants, I would love to chat! Feel free to email me, Kelly Todd, at kelly@christianadoptionconsultants.com and check out Christian Adoption Consultants for more information!***