A Family Built on Intention
Sabrina shared her adoption story with us. With her husband David, ten years ago they adopted their child Oliver. This year they adopted Diondre through Boys & Girls Aid’s foster care adoption program. Sabrina shared her experiences with the challenges, the joys and why the adoption process is worth it.
This is a short story about the birth of my family. A family, my husband and I created without me having to give birth. I, like many women, have never felt the need to become pregnant. My husband comes from a large family, and he had zero hesitation when it came to the plan of adoption. The idea of starting a family through adoption instead of pregnancy is something that’s hard for some to wrap their heads around. We have always had to stand strong and own that part of our story as a couple.
We started growing our family when our oldest son Oliver came home from Ethiopia. We had a very smooth adoption process that took a little over one year and met many new friends along the way. We moved from our small town in Northern California to Portland Oregon for a better connection to the Ethiopian community and adoptive families like ours. They have been our support system.
That’s when Boys and Girls Aid came into the picture. Boys and Girls Aid came with education, guidance and much needed support. Our Clinician was always quick to answer an email with compassion and patience.
Even though this was our second time around, we still had moments of frustration during the waiting period. It took two years in the process before we got the call. Standing in Trader Joe’s just before Christmas, our clinician called and said, “You've been chosen!” What a wonderful gift. We had to wait two weeks before we could meet him and start the transition into our home. A whirl wind of preparation began. Our friends showered us with toys and clothes.
“You either walk inside your own story and own it or stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness.”
On January 18th, David’s birthday, we meet Diondre for the first time. We saw his cute little face with serious eyebrows light up through the front window of his foster home. He started jumping up and down with excitement. We couldn’t believe it. He was excited to see us!
For the next hour we played Hungry Hippos, cars, various ball games and cars over and over again. Diondre’s foster family can be credited for our amazingly smooth transition. They were everything a foster family should be. They provided love and security for Diondre. They prepared him for us to take over as his forever family and for that we will be forever grateful. They, like us, have a family built on intention.
They have compassionate, caring children who love their foster siblings like their own but are aware that they may not stay long. That is an extremely hard and selfless characteristic for an entire family to own. They shatter all foster family stereotypes. Diondre moved into our home in February. I spent my maternity leave driving back and forth across town to take him to his preschool. We kept him in his original preschool as long as we could to help minimize the changes he was experiencing.
When we weren’t in the car singing, we were doing puzzles and playing Hungry Hippos again and again and again. Oliver and Diondre were instant brothers. Wrestling has been their favorite activity. Oliver quickly named him “Boss Baby” because like in the movie, this little man rules our lives in the best way possible. Soon enough, seven months had flown by and it was time for finalization! What a wonderful day that was. Our Family was surrounded by people who chose to make Diondre a priority in their lives. Social workers, Clinicians, Foster Family, special family friends and our family. All people who live life with intention. We as a family, will always own our story and Diondre will never have to hustle for his worthiness.
