Having our sweet son join our family was a long, exhausting journey—one that tested our faith and patience but opened our hearts to just how deep the Father’s love truly runs.
After Dave was diagnosed with testicular cancer in December 2011, God began stirring something new in our hearts—a desire to adopt. In 2013, after a lot of prayer, we felt the time had come to pursue that dream through foster care.
Let’s be clear: foster care isn’t an adoption agency. It’s a system designed to support families in crisis, and the certification process is both long and complex. Still, we wanted to be obedient to God’s calling—wherever it might lead. We became a certified foster family in September 2014 and welcomed two placements during the years we were actively open.
Our first placement came just one month after we were certified—a 3-year-old boy with unique challenges who stayed with us for several months before transitioning to a permanent home. It was an emotional journey, but we were honored to be a safe and loving place for him during such a critical season.
As we entered January 2015, my grandfather became seriously ill. Knowing we didn’t have much time left with him, our family traveled from New York to Pennsylvania to say goodbye. During that trip, I called the foster agency to place us on hold—we couldn’t welcome a child while going through such a personal loss.
So, you can imagine our surprise when, just as we were preparing for calling hours, the phone rang.
It was a county worker.
A 10-day-old baby boy had just entered foster care. Although we had asked not to be contacted during that time, the agency felt led to reach out to us first—before contacting any other homes..
We started asking questions. The more we learned, the more we could see God’s fingerprints all over the situation. This tiny baby had taken his first breath on January 13th.
That date holds incredible meaning for us:
- On January 13, 2012, Dave underwent surgery to remove the cancerous tumor that would end our ability to grow our family biologically.
- On January 13, 2015, my grandfather left this earth to join the saints in Heaven.
- And now, on that very same day, new life had entered the world—and into our story.
This unexpected baby came into our lives at the exact moment we needed him most. He brought healing. Joy. Hope. His presence felt like a divine exhale—a reminder that even in grief, God is still preparing something beautiful.
I’ll share more about our foster care and adoption journey in future posts, but for today, I just want to remind you of one important truth:
God brings beauty from ashes.
…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning… — Isaiah 61:3
Grace in the Disarray 