I’ve shed many tears in the past few days because adopting Luke is a dream come true. I prayed for seven years for the desire God put on my heart to birth or adopt a child with Down syndrome would be a part of our story. I prayed for Sam and my hearts to align and then for our kids to be on board with it too. God heard and answered in His timing.
The last 17 months have been nothing short of hard, even feeling gruesome at times. The long hospital stays, the endless doctor’s appointments, the long nights of waking up, the early mornings of medicine, and the constant phone calls to schedule, advocate for something, or set up follow-up appointments were so many. But, going back to the theme of our lives this year —“good and hard can coexist”—has never felt truer. To have the privilege to parent and love Luke for the rest of our lives is beyond us. His diagnosis does not make up who he is but it is one of my most favorite things about him. He has everything to offer us by just simply being him.
I'll always take a minute to praise his birth parents. As I said at the hearing, we are grateful they made the decision to choose life for him. We aren't aloof to the fact that the last 17 months have been beyond gruesome for them and that the years ahead will continue to be grievous in ways. They know that we will always and forever love them.
We are grateful for the way that Hudson and Ruth rallied around this road with us and love him oh so much. They have had to share us so much this past year and a half. And if any of you need a lesson on how to use NG feeding pumps or oxygen tanks, they gotcha covered.
We are thankful for the entire team at Advocacy for Children and Families in Florida, Hope for Adoption, and the National Down Syndrome Adoption Network. What a team! What beautiful people who have now become friends. We will sing your praises!
And to so many of you—friends and family who have jumped into this crazy whirlwind of adoption with us and supported us along the way in every way possible. We experienced a beautiful village.
Join us in celebrating and welcoming Luke Samuel Rauschenberg into our crazy family!
