Campaign Story

Hello! We are Courtney and Chris and we are in the process of a private adoption. We are home study approved and we are hoping to raise as many funds as possible as private adoption is so expensive. We would be forever grateful if you would help us get to our goal.

When we met, we did not think that we would ever have children. Chris already had a son, who is now 22 and Courtney did not want children. In 2019, Courtney had an ovarian cyst the size of a watermelon that was accidentally found on a CT Scan while looking at another area of her abdomen I had no idea this cyst was inside of me. I went on to have the cyst, ovary, and tubes removed as we were sure that biological children were not going to happen.

In 2022, Courtney left her insurance job and knew that I should bring income in somehow. I landed a nanny job for a newborn boy and fell in love. After much thinking and consideration, I knew that I was meant to do this. We began the process of research on adoption and fostering. We have an approved home study from DSS and became licensed to foster as well.

Chris was not convinced then that having a child in our early and mid-40s was good for us. Courtney assured him I felt called to do this and prayed about it for months. Usually, Courtney makes big decisions quickly and once I have made up my mind, that’s what I am going to do! After talking with God daily about this, we decided we would try fostering and felt like we would know pretty instantly if it felt right to us. If it didn’t feel right, we would immediately stop the process.

After 10 months and learning to have patience, being persistent, and jumping through quite a few hoops, we had an approved home study and were licensed foster parents! After waiting about two weeks, we had a call for a 9-year-old who needed a placement for the weekend. We quickly learned this child had a lot of trauma and it showed in his behavior. After attempted destruction to our home, we decided to stick to our preferred age range of 0-3 years.

On January 3, 2024, we were called to take an emergency placement of a 2-year-old boy, “Jack”. He was such a joy! He was very laid back but delayed in several areas. Courtney worked from home and he stayed at home with me. I got him evaluated for all of the things. Once it was determined which services he needed, I made it my mission to make sure “Jack” never missed a session. He came to us only saying a handful of words and had zero socialization. He left our care on May 24, 2024, and was thriving with his speech, absolutely loved his class at school, and overall was just a much happier child.

Chris enjoyed having a buddy and “Jack” thought Chris hung the moon! They would spend their days in the backyard tinkering together or in Chris’ workshop working on projects.

Both sides of our family had no idea how much we would love having a child in our lives. We always knew that there was a chance that he would go home as reunification is always the goal with foster care and we were okay with that.

After much advocating for this precious 2-year-old little boy, the courts placed him with family in another state. We were devastated. There were emotions that we both had no idea existed. We had 2 hours to pick him up from school, pack him, and say our goodbyes.

It was traumatic for both of us and we have no contact with him. He was ripped from us and sent to live with a family that he had never met. We pray every night that he is doing well, is safe, and is loved. We knew it would be hard when he was reunited with his family, but we had no idea how hard it was.

We knew at that point, we never wanted to do that to a birth parent. We always want to have an open relationship with them. We feel that is critically important not only for the child but for them as well. As long as it is safe for everyone, we want the birth family in our lives if they would like to be. Our view is that the more people who love this child, the better. We also understand that they may not want to have a relationship with us or the child, and we respect that decision as well.

We went for a consultation for IVF and with Courtney’s health issues, which would be exacerbated with pregnancy, we both felt that was not a safe option for us. We have decided to turn to private adoption and we are incredibly excited to be on this journey!