All about Our Open Adoptions

Adoption is all about love & sacrifice. There are a lot of misconceptions about adoption & especially open adoption. Adoption is definitely not how it used to be. More & more adoptions today are defined as "open" vs "closed." Closed adoption is when the birth parents sign over their rights without ever meeting their child's new adopted parents and agree to never see the child again, this is often arranged through an agency. Open adoption is a plan in which the birth parents and adopted parents form a relationship and the birth parents will still be in the child's life. They may not see the child that often but they will get updates & even see the child every now and then. There are currently no laws mandating open adoptions so it is basically a verbal agreement between the birth & adoptive parents & the amount of contact is based on what feels comfortable for everyone. Open adoption has been proven beneficial to help the birth parents and the child because it doesn't leave anybody wondering what if or why and helps provide closure. David and I were a little nervous about open adoption in the very beginning of our journey, but the more we learned about it & the more adoptive parents that we talked to, the better we felt! We knew we wanted to meet our birth moms face to face & be as involved as possible in the adoption process. We decided we wanted to always have some type of ongoing relationship with them. I think we were a little nervous at first on how we would all feel after we left the hospital with the baby & how it may be awkward or how they would interact with the baby. But, we didn't want our children to have any questions as to why they were placed for adoption or wonder what their birth parents were like. We wanted them to have closure and peace of mind getting answers to all their questions. Also, I think once we had time to truly bond with the baby & began to really feel like parents then we realized we were proud to share our wonderful baby with someone else who was pretty proud too. I think it will help our boys to understand how loved they are to have birth moms who still care enough to keep in touch & the ability to develop relationships with their birth siblings as well. We always say they have double the love!! In the future, they may still have questions about their adoption & we may have to answer lots of questions as they grow up and understand it more, but I pray that already having that relationship in place will help. Both of our boys do have open adoptions. The relationships that we have are not always easy & they do take work at times, a two-way commitment and a selfless love on both parts but I am still glad that we chose this path! We regularly e-mail, send pics & try our best to plan visits. This summer we have had the opportunity to see both boy's birth moms & birth sisters. Caden's birth sister even spent two weeks with us & the relationship that she & Caden have is so so special & sweet. We feel blessed to have the types of relationships that we do and we are so glad that adoptions have changed so much in the past few years to allow us these type of relationships. God has put us all together for a reason & we are honored that these women trusted us with the greatest gift ever. Really, the least that we can do is honor our commitment to an open ongoing relationship that in the end blesses us all!

At the hospital with Caden & his birth mom.

Caden & his birth sister.

They really have a special bond!

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At the hospital with Caleb & his birth mom.

Welcome!

Hello!
Thank you so much for taking some time to learn about our family.

We are so excited to set out on another adoption journey. Our son, Caden has been such a blessing to us, and we can't wait to expand our family and the love in it. We want him to grow up with the joy of siblings as we both did. Our open arrangement with his birth mom has enriched our lives and laid a firm foundation for helping Caden understand how much he has always been loved. We hope that you will catch a glimpse into our lives and see a fun, loving family. Please know how much we admire and respect you for making the choice of adoption for your child. We realize how much you care about him/her and that your decision was made out of great love for them. There is no way that we can begin to understand what emotions you are going through at this time, but please know that we are praying for you, for God’s peace, strength, and love to be in you and with you.
We are David and Kenya. We met in 2002 when we both started new jobs at the same hospital. Our coworkers played matchmaker and we were on our fist date a few months later. Our lives were joined as one in 2003 as we celebrated our wedding day. Ever since, our marriage and love for each other has grown stronger each day. We are dedicated to each other and our family and always put family first. We went through 5years of infertility and often wondered why we had to struggle to get pregnant. We realized that God had a different plan for our lives and that was through the miracle of adoption. We have been so blessed to become parents and have the opportunity to see such selfless love through this miracle. We truly feel the Lord is not through with our family and know we have plenty of love to offer another child. Our hearts are full of excitement and love as we await the newest member of our family. About David (by Kenya): David is an Occupational Therapist and loves doing therapy with elderly patients. The compassion and understanding he shows to others amazes me. David is known to all for his sense of humor and outgoing personality. He has an incredible sense of honesty, devotion to family, and trust. Watching him with our son is such a joy. They have a great time together and bring many laughs. David also enjoys playing golf, coaching little league and spending time with family and friends. He has a large loving family and everyone enjoys getting together to make & eat tamales or have family dinners.



He is not only my husband, but also my best friend and confidant.

About Kenya (by David): Kenya is a wonderful mother to our son, Caden. She was definitely born to be a Mommy and has a very special bond with Caden. They are very close and have a great time together playing, swimming, reading books and learning new things. Kenya is also very close to her family and they are a big part of our lives. She is a very loving, patient, and fun person to be with. She works part time in healthcare as a Speech Therapist. She loves her profession but family always comes first to her.

Kenya's work schedule is very flexible & she makes her own schedule, usually working two-three days a week for a few hours while our Son is at preschool or visiting with Grandmaw. In her spare time she enjoys reading, cooking and spending time with family.

Caden is our handsome 1 year old son who has greatly blessed our lives. We adopted our son, Caden, at his birth in July 2008.

He has been a wonderful blessing to our family. David and I have shared an open relationship with Caden's birth mother through occasional visits, pictures, letters and phone calls. Caden is full of happiness, silliness and laughter. He has a way of always making us smile. Caden loves to play on his swingset in the backyard, swim, and read books. He loves being around other children and will be so excited about becoming a big brother and always having someone to play with. Our home is a 4 bedroom house with a big front porch on a quiet street and a huge back yard with big oak trees and a swing set.

We also have a playroom that we enjoy everyday. There are many children in our community to play and socialize with. Our neighborhood has great schools within walking distance from our home. We also share our home with 2 miniature schnauzer dogs named Finelee & Shelby.

They are both cuddly and very friendly and good with children. We have plenty of room for more children in our home and look forward to filling it up!
Together we desire to raise our children in a Christian home encouraging love, compassion, honesty, and respect. We promise your child will always be loved unconditionally and nurtured in a supportive environment. Your child will always know how they became part of our family. We will always tell them of your amazing, selfless love for him/her.
Open adoption is important to us because we want our child to know the story of their birth and they were placed with us out of love. You will always be a special part of our child’s life, and we welcome whatever level of contact you're comfortable with. We want our child to know his or her heritage and how much he or she is loved by their birth family.
We both love being parents and are excited to have the privilege of having another baby become part of our family!Thank you for taking the time to read more about us. We know this is an emotional time for you and admire your strength and courage for considering adoption for your child. We pray that you will find peace when choosing your child’s adoptive family.
With His Love,

David & Kenya