Henry’s Family
My wife and I had been talking about adoption since we were engaged to be married. We were foster parents back in 2019 for a year and it opened our eyes to the love of children in need, but also to our own abilities and weaknesses. A few years later we took the leap again and got a home study done to be eligible to adopt. We originally were focused on a traditional private adoption, but through past experiences we've both had with people with special needs, we decided to register with the NDSAN (National Down Syndrome Adoption Network). We quickly knew that was the route we were going to go in and started getting potential matches through email. It took a bit to find the right match, but when we did we could tell God has His hands all over it. Not that everyone's story will go so well, and they are all just as valuable, but I couldn't imagine anything about our adoption story with Henry going any better. He did have a little trouble adapting to the altitude here in Colorado, but other than that, he's been blessed with great health and strength. We received a lot of support financially through my work and a few grants that were forwarded to us, making the adoption experience much easier.
We matched with the family about three weeks before Henry was born and quickly started making preparations for traveling to be close by for the day he was expected to arrive. Just before we were leaving for the airport we got a text that he was on his way so we did what we could to stay calm. We went to the hotel to wait for the call and the next day we got to meet Henry and his amazing parents. It was surreal staying in a hospital room with a little baby boy who had no idea who I was, but I was filled with so much courage knowing how much love our family had in store for him.
Two months after we got home we had a baptism for Henry and were told it was one of the biggest crowds the church had ever seen for a baptism. I know he'll be loved in his life and we're so proud of him already for working so hard to overcome even the little challenges he's faced so far. I'm sure the world can be a scary place for an adopted child with down syndrome, but I just hope we can show him the love he deserves every day!
