We are ready to adopt again! Please help us spread the word. Feel free to contact us by leaving a comment on this blog or emailing us at justinandlara@gmail.com. Or contact our caseworker Claire directly at claire@anewbeginning.org.

Jocelyn's Adoption Story

We had made up our minds to build our family through adoption early in the summer of 2008. We looked at a lot of adoption agencies as well as different adoption avenues before deciding on an agency that fit us. We sped through the paperwork and had everything ready to go in six weeks!

We were officially on the wait list in September 2008. We didn't hear much until the next spring. In March, 2009, our agency contracted with a secondary agency in Utah and our profile was shown to several expectant mothers. One mother in Alabama liked us and we arranged a conference phone call for April 1. The phone call went well and we were excited that someone was so interested in us. Within ten minutes after hanging up the conference call, our caseworker from our original agency called. I thought she was calling to see how the conference call went. Nope! She was calling to tell us that we had been selected by a family through their agency as well. It took a lot to convince us that this wasn't an April Fool's Day joke - two expectant mothers loved us!

We were overwhelmed with excitement and weren't sure which path we should pursue. Together we decided that for 24 hours we wouldn't talk about it at all, we would just think about it independently, then the next day we'd share our feelings. When we began talking about it again, we both knew that the second situation was right for us. We called our caseworker to tell her the good news.

We learned that Jocelyn's biological parents had gone to the agency that previous Sunday. It is normally closed on Sundays, but the director happened to stop by just to grab something and heard them knocking on the door. She spoke with them and showed them all the profiles. The next day they returned and had our profile memorized. We were the family they were searching for. The director encouraged them to pick a backup couple since she knew we were working with that other agency and there was that mother from Alabama who liked us. They refused. They said we were it.

Our baby was scheduled to arrive via C-section in late April, but she decided she didn't want to wait. On April 17th, our caseworker told us that our baby was on the way. We freaked out a little, rushed to the store for last minute supplies and a last minute oil change, and spent a sleepless night at home. The next morning we drove across the state and met the birth parents, their children, and our daughter.

our first family picture

We had the privilege of giving Jocelyn her first bath and hanging out in the nursery as much as we wanted. Five days later, we took Jocelyn home.
  
We have an open adoption. We stay in contact with Jocelyn's birth parents through letters, phone calls, texts, blogging, emails, and visits. We believe it is really important for Jocelyn to know where she came from and why she was placed - especially since she has biological siblings. We also know how important it is for Jocelyn's birth parents to see how smart, beautiful, and happy Jocelyn is. We feel great love and respect for them and cannot imagine life withouth them.

 a visit with Jocelyn's biological family


finalization day!


blessed and sealed


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