It wasn't long after we were married--maybe a year or so--that we were diagnosed with infertility. We were 22 or 23 then, just finishing college, but we had always wanted to be parents.
Adoption was our first choice and has been a great blessing. The relationships and partnerships we've forged have been invaluable, and we've never regretted it. Quite the opposite, actually!
Our chosen agency was LDS Family Services, and they had a rule that all of their adoptive couples must be married for at least two years. We can tell you with absolute certainty that the year between our infertility diagnosis and our second anniversary dragged on and on and on. =) We were so excited, in fact, for our second anniversary to arrive that we scheduled our first appointment with our caseworker on our anniversary. We suppose that most couples probably wouldn't find mountains of paperwork to be a romantic way to celebrate, but we were so excited. To this day, it's one of our most fondly-remembered anniversary celebrations.
As we have grown and matured in our role as adoptive parents, we more deeply understand how much love plays into this process. It's a privilege to have children who have love coming from so many directions.
We love adoption. It has made us a family of three, and we're excited to grow.
{Our first 'adoption collage' for LDS Family Services, 2005}
