James' Family
We are Jesse and Rachelle, and we have five biological children, ranging in age from 4 to 11 years old. Our adoption journey began with experiences we had as teenagers. Both of us participated in the same year-long special needs program (Jesse in 2003; Rachelle in 2006) where we worked and played alongside a partner with special needs. That experience changed our lives. We had no idea at the time how it would shape our future and our family. Until recently, we were convinced that our family was complete, with five healthy, typical children: Landon (11), Travis (9), Kaitlyn (8), Lincoln (6), and Madison (4). Out of the blue, last November we began to have strong feelings that someone was missing from our family. Specifically, we felt we should adopt a child with Down syndrome. So began our 7-month journey to bring James home. We have since learned that it was during the very same couple of weeks in November that two birth parents on the other side of the country learned of their son’s pre-natal diagnosis of Down syndrome and made the difficult decision to place him for adoption. This is our story about bringing James home. Faith was tried as potential matches passed us by. We prayed like we had never prayed before. And God was with us.
Our wonderful but incomplete family
Jesse was in the grocery store on his way home from work when he got the call: “Hi Jesse, this is Stephanie Thompson with the National Down Syndrome Adoption Network. I’m calling you this Friday evening to say: ‘Congratulations, Dad! Your son will be born on Tuesday in Michigan.” The next couple of days was a blur of phone calls, logistical planning, and stumbling around the infant section of the store trying to remember what a baby needs during the first few days.
On Sunday evening, the flurry of activity stopped completely and there was only one thing in the world that mattered: our first phone call with the birth parents. Tears flowed freely during the phone call, and the four of us took part in a special miracle. How is 90 minutes enough to create a bond of deep love and trust between four people? Somehow it was. We named him together during the phone call. We gave him the name ‘James’, and they gave him his middle name: ‘Reed’. ‘James Reed’. It was perfect, and it came from the four of us. During the past few weeks there have been so many special experiences that have been shared by the four of us. And so many more to come. James’s birth parents are courageous and overflowing with love for James. The honesty and courage that led them to choose adoption required an inner strength that will always inspire us. We will always tell James how much he is loved by us and his birth parents. And then we will remind him that his life is filled with love because God loved him first.
Tummy time with Mickey (a gift from his birth parents).
Traveling was challenging due to COVID-19 and city-wide curfews due to protesting. Everything went smoothly thanks to loving fellow NDSAN adoptive parents in Michigan who loaned us a car during our stay and booked and paid for our hotel! You might know this family better as “Knox’s Family”. We met the Meberts for the first time when they picked us up from the airport. That family was a miracle for us in every way during our three weeks in Michigan. We became close friends, and James made his first best friend: Knox.
Welcome to our family, James.
That next morning started early. And so did the process of pray, pace, repeat! Those prayers were for James. And they were for his birth parents and the difficult emotional journey they were enduring. Sweet Baby James was born at 8:26: 6 lbs. 6 oz. of perfection. Hospital corridors and COVID screening stations were the last remaining barriers between us and James. Then we held him. And we called our other kids so they could welcome him into the family. James was surrounded by so much love from so many people. Our world was finally as it should be. James completes our family.
The rest is just details. James was in Michigan with us for two and a half weeks. He had medical appointments almost every day. Good news overall from the cardiologist, with James having only two minor congenital defects. He has neutropenia (low neutrophil counts, which will make it hard for him to fight infection). All of these conditions should improve with time. We’ve been very blessed so far that he is so healthy.