Our Journey of Adoption and Family

Hey there! I’m Andie, the grateful, adoptive mama to identical twin baby girls. I am so thankful to share my story with you today. Our adoption journey was a long one, spanning over ten years. When we started the adoption process we were parents to two biological daughters who were three years and 10 months old. There were so many times I wanted to quit. My heart was tired and confused. When we got in touch with A Guardian Angel Adoptions, I was at the end of my rope. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s rewind to the beginning.

International Adoption

When we started out, we were trying to adopt internationally. I had no idea domestic adoption even existed. While we were familiar with foster care, we didn’t realize there were so many ways of growing a family here in the States. We were approved to adopt from Ethiopia, but soon after their adoption system underwent a big shut down. After four and a half long years of waiting, praying, and crying, we gave up. At that point, I wasn’t sure adoption was in the cards for us, but I knew it was something I believed in strongly. I felt confused, disappointed, and honestly, kind of bitter.

Domestic Adoption

A dear friend of mine saw how much we wanted this, and as an adoptive mom herself,  she understood how we felt. It was her encouragement that sent me looking into domestic adoption. And immediately, I knew that was our next step. We had invested so much time and love into the process that stopping never felt right. After researching agencies, we signed up and started the waiting process all over again. Then came more sadness. The agency that we had initially chosen shut down and we said goodbye to another two years. As much as I wanted to cut my losses, I still knew deep down that there was someone missing from our family. As I learned more about open adoption, I hoped that we would have the honor of knowing our future child’s birth family. We dreamt of an adoption that gave access and dignity to all involved. So we started looking for an agency that genuinely cared for birth parents.

A Guardian Angel Adoptions

When we signed on with AGAA, something felt right. We finally found an agency that prioritized the well-being and care of birth parents and provided the support that the birth family deserves. Everyone we interacted with was warm, friendly, and honest. While that should be standard in the adoption process, it wasn’t always our experience. At this point, we had already bounced around after two agencies we had worked with closed down. I was feeling discouraged, weary, and at times, hopeless. AGAA changed all that for us. A couple of months after we were approved, we got a call that a birth mom expecting twin baby girls wanted to talk to us. In that moment, time stopped. I will never forget the overwhelming joy and fear that I experienced all at once. Ten years ago, when we first got approved for international adoption, we had prayed for twin girls. Here we were with our first possible yes for exactly that. 

Meeting An Expectant Mama

We met our babies’ birth mom over Zoom, and it felt like reconnecting with an old friend. She and her sister talked with us for over an hour. They asked us all sorts of questions, shared their hopes and expectations, and talked about her adoption plan. When we got off the call, I started crying because I already loved these two women so much. I hoped they felt the same way. Not only was there potential they could place with us, but I also wanted to get to know them both better. They were funny, insightful, and shared a bond that reminded me of my own sisters. A few calls later, my husband and I were on a plane to meet the mom in person. We spent an incredible week together before the babies came, and she invited us to her ultrasound. Before we knew it, we got a call that she had gone into emergency labor and we needed to get on the road and head to the hospital.

Meeting Our Babies

The twins’ birth parents signed for the adoption on September 8th, 2021. I have never been so in awe of two people in my entire life. The love that they have for the twins is without question, and their choice to place them with us is the single most selfless gift I have ever received. The first time we saw them in the NICU was one of the most powerful moments of my life. I loved them as much as humanly possible. We promised them and their birth parents that nothing, NOTHING, would ever change that for us. After four weeks in the NICU, Noelle and Evers were discharged into our care. We have soaked in every moment with them since.

What’s it Like Today?

I am thankful to say we still have regular communication with the twins’ birth family. Some relatives are on my social media and get to see updates and pictures that way. We have video visits with others. Even though the girls are only six months old, we tell them about their birth family all the time. They will always know that adoption gave them two families who blended into one. We finalized our adoption last week. In front of our lawyer, a representative from AGAA, and a judge, we pledged to parent our baby girls with all the love and resources possible. In that moment, I reflected on how, without our girls’ birth family and A Guardian Angel Adoption, I wouldn’t be sitting there right now.