Patience Required for a Long Journey
Before Elias, Cherrie and Brad faced fertility treatments, miscarriages, a Covid-era home study and more than one heartbreak. Then Darla called with a situation, and they didn’t ask a single question.
Cherrie and Brad Had Needed Patience
“You have to listen to your heart and soul and trust God,” Cherrie said. “That child you cried about was meant to be with a different family. You have to find your patience.”
Consider this couple’s journey to grow their family—
- Several rounds of fertility treatments
- Multiple miscarriages
- Challenging home study because of Covid
- Struggled to find an agency taking parents during Covid
- Connected with Heart to Heart
- Birth mother chose them, then decided to parent, but if it didn’t work out, “We’ll call you later.”
- Had an interview with a birth mother who said, “Come quickly.” So the couple did, then the birth mother decided not to place with the Utah Adoption Agency.
- Chosen to parent a little boy who passed away
- Asked Darla about “50 million questions” every time a situation occurred
- Agreed to have their file presented three more times. Wasn’t chosen.
- Birth mother of a little newborn child leaning heavily toward adoption contacted Cherrie and Brad and then changed her mind.
- A week later, the first birth mother to have selected them decided it was time to place the child, who was now almost a year old. Were Cherrie and her husband interested? Open adoption.
The Family Who Said They’d Call Later Did Call
“We said yes,” Cherrie explained. “We said yes to a child we’d said yes to a year earlier. We were excited, then Darla called and said the birth mother went with another family. We thanked Darla for informing us and being supportive, but it felt so sad.
Darla told us to hang in there. An hour later, she called and said, ‘We have another situation.’”
Darla Had a Situation
A birthmother had called. “She’s not due for a couple of months. You want to be considered?”
“It was the craziest feeling. Brad and I looked at each other,” Cherrie said. “Our MO is to ask so many questions, but this time we didn’t. I can’t explain it to anyone. But something embraced our whole body. ‘This is it.’”
We didn’t ask questions. We didn’t know if it was a boy or girl.
Within Hours, the Potential Adoptive Parents and the Birth Mother Were on the Phone
“We were all crying,” Cherrie said. “It was a precious moment. We talked every day after that. We got to listen to the ultrasound.”
There were concerns, however. The mother had admitted to some drug use, and there was the potential for Hepatitis B. Her prenatal care was minimum.
Within a week, the baby, not due for two more months, showed signs of entering the world.
“We were in Fred Meyer’s jewelry department when they called and said her water had broke,” Cherrie said. “We started crying. We are ecstatic. The jewelry people hear our story, and they are crying.”
While the hopeful parents hurried to the hospital several hundred miles away, the tiny baby moved to the birth canal in a breech position.
“He was stuck,” Cherrie said. “Literally, had to rip him out. He was bruised from head to toe.”
Cherrie Journals the Next Few Days
Read these blogs for the baby’s journey of kangaroo care as he comes off drugs.
FAQ - Simple
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Many families face fertility treatments, failed matches, or long waits before their adoption finally comes together.
It varies widely. Some families wait months, others longer, depending on circumstances and flexibility.
Many describe leaning on faith, support networks, and trust that the right match is still ahead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Several rounds of fertility treatments, multiple miscarriages, a challenging home study because of Covid, and several adoption situations that didn’t work out, including a little boy they were chosen to parent who passed away.
Just an hour after learning another situation had fallen through, Darla called about a birth mother who wasn’t due for a couple of months. For once, they didn’t ask any questions. They didn’t even know if it was a boy or a girl.
In the Fred Meyer jewelry department, several hundred miles from the hospital. They started crying when the call came, and the jewelry staff cried with them when they heard the story.
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