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 Coté Family Story – The day was just like any other day. I was at work at Woodland Hills, doing all the usual tasks of my job when I got the phone call that changed our lives. My sister called and said, "I have a friend who goes to church with the daycare provider for a little boy who's mom is going to have a baby and wants to place the baby with a family. Are you interested in meeting her?" And one month after that Sydney Anne was born. We were able to be with her 15 minutes after her birth, stay in a room with her and bring her home from the hospital. It was a long, hard, journey but in the end it was totally worth it to have this very precious little girl in our arms and home.
 Olson-Skog Family Story –
Alethia means ‘truth.’ Her birth mom named her. We often look at her and shake our heads at how amazing the journey to meet her has been. Even though our first two children are biological, adoption is something we always talked about, even in our earliest conversations about having kids. So, when we began thinking about our third child, we were back talking about adoption again. We have several people in our lives that have adopted, including two families in our small group. After much prayer and discussion with each other and the people closest to us, we felt that we were being called to adopt as a means of growing our family. We also felt strongly about being very open to the type of child or situation we would be connected with. We did request that the child be an infant (we felt uncomfortable adopting some one older than our boys) and a female (we wanted to experience raising a girl). Last summer, we started the adoption process and our home study was completed in September. Then began the waiting. And more waiting. When the waiting was getting to us, we thought about giving up and going with what sometimes seemed easier- having another birth child. But, when that happened one of us would say to the other, “Let’s pray about it again.” And we would. And, almost invariably, we would hear something about waiting a little longer, sometimes specifically, “January, February.” So we told our selves, “Ok, we’ll wait. But ONLY until January or February.”
Amy was out getting some groceries the last week of December when she got a call from our social worker, “There’s a mom that wants to meet you,” she said. That was one situation we never thought was a real possibility. As open as we were, we assumed that our baby would be coming from out of state, or from circumstances that would make meeting her mother highly unlikely. We agreed to meet, excited and nervous, the first week of January.
We met with Katie twice before we learned that she chose to place her baby (due at the end of February) with us. We were amazed by her maturity, her love for her unborn child and her bravery in her decision to make an adoption plan. She is a Christian woman and it was her highest priority that her child would grow-up knowing Jesus. She wanted us at the hospital so we could meet the baby as soon as possible. Thus began more waiting- for the call that Katie was in labor. At about 4:30 a.m. on February 28, that call came. We got to the hospital as soon as we could and got invited into the room. Katie was laboring hard. We held her hands and breathed with her through contractions. We prayed with her. We met her parents, aunts, friends. It was a whirlwind. Alethia Grace was born at about 2:30 p.m. that day. Katie asked Amy into the room for delivery and asked her to cut the cord. The time in the hospital was very bittersweet. We were overjoyed to meet our new, perfect, beautiful baby girl. But, we also had grown very close to Katie and were experiencing first hand the devastation and grief that comes with placing a child for adoption.
We brought Alethia home from the hospital on March 2. It has been wonderful to see her older brothers dote on her and introduce her to friends and family. We have an ongoing relationship with Katie and each time we meet with her, it feels more natural and comfortable. We have shared with her how we decided to adopt and she has shared with us why she chose us to parent Alethia. We all feel that this is what God wanted for Alethia and for us.
 Mau Family Story –
Peter and I were high school sweethearts. We even went to the senior prom together. We continued to date through college and got married the summer after college graduation. God put a huge desire on both our hearts towards adoption, specifically inter-racial adoption, before we were married. God prepared us over the next five years as racial reconciliation became a focus in our relationship with Christ, our work place, community and each other. So when it came time to start a family, there was no question that God wanted us to adopt children who were African-American.
 We flew to Texas to get our first child, Ephraim in May of 2002. Twenty-two months later we were flying to North Carolina to meet our second son, Elijah. Now three years later and after a lot of ups and downs, we met our newest blessing, Esther on March 1, 2007. The moment we met each child is breathtaking. I am humbled (and exhausted, hee hee) each night as I think of this family He has placed together to reflect his beauty and love. Our family may not look like a typical family, and many people like to ask questions. But we pray that through those questions and curiosity we can show a little glimpse of God’s beauty
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