We Are Family: Joseph's Journey

When my husband and I started feeling the tug on our hearts to start a family, we couldn’t shake the feeling that God was nudging us to add children to our family through adoption, specifically international adoption. We had no idea to where to begin. Where were we supposed to adopt? Every country has different guidelines, requirements and costs. After months of late-night adoption and orphan care research and lots of prayer, we were discouraged and confused. We firmly believed in adding to our family through adoption, but we didn't understand why and couldn't figure out how to do it. We were just 22 and a completely ordinary young couple from the middle of Iowa. Thinking international adoption wasn't meant to be, we still believed that caring for orphans was going to be an important part of our lives. We looked into foster care, but at the time the door was shut. We looked into being house parents at a home for pregnant teens, but felt pulled in a different direction. We even were contacted about and open to a domestic adoption that eventually didn't go through. And then we met the founder of Cornerstone of Hope orphanage, a non-profit organization based in the middle of Iowa running an orphanage in Nigeria. And learned that a sweet 3-month-old little boy was waiting for a family. Our family. Our son Joseph, 2, has been in our family for more than a year now, and we are incredibly humbled and blessed to be a part of his story. When we met Joseph, he was six months old, and his favorite way to rest or sleep was being worn on the back of one of the nannies at the orphanage. I had the opportunity to wear him in a traditional Nigerian fabric wrap, and while I was slightly terrified of him falling, it was an incredible experience. When we received our adoption court date and I traveled back to Nigeria a few months later to bond with Joseph and bring him home, the most important item I had packed in my luggage was my Ergobaby Carrier. Joseph's tears would stop instantly as soon as I wore him. Walking and traveling great distances was easy and safe with him on my back. I seriously don't know what I would have done without the Ergo -- it helped us form a priceless mother and son bond. Sometimes he'll still come up behind me and wrap his arms around me, giving me a soft pat on the back and kiss on the cheek, and I remember back to those first few days and weeks in Nigeria, when we were both a little scared and learning so much about each other, and the Ergo was so pivotal in our bonding and transition to each other.  (And when arrived home to the U.S., we went hiking and to baseball games, and he rode on Daddy's back in the Ergo!) Not a day goes by that I am not beyond thankful to be Joseph's mom. As adoptive parents, we have been given a great gift to raise and care for a life that we did not create.  Adoption is worth it, because at the end of the journey, there is a child who now feels a mother and father's love and there are be two people whose lives are changed by the love of a child. Why? Because there are millions of parentless children, but even the adoption of one is important.     This post was submitted by reader Kayla Craig, as part of our Adoption Awareness Month Series.  Kayla is happily hitched to Jonny and is a proud mama to Joseph, who joined their family via international adoption. They live in the Midwest, where Kayla's a full-time journalist turned work-at-home editor. She's expecting baby #2 in March 2013 & blabs about motherhood, general girlishness, & faith at her blog, Many Sparrows. Connect on Twitter (@kaylacraig).