Longing, a noun that means, “a strong, persistent desire or craving, especially for something unattainable or distant.” It is the perfect word to describe how “Joanna and Doug Smith” felt about adopting an infant.
After many unsuccessful years of trying to get pregnant—and two heartbreaking miscarriages—they looked into adoption with Catholic Charities, hoping to find a child of their own.
Infant Adoption: Finding the Right Match
After getting certified to adopt in Arizona through Catholic Charities adoption program, they got matched with a local birth mother name Angelina. After the first awkward meeting, the Smiths and Angelina began to build a friendship.
“Catholic Charities was supportive of us and our daughter’s birth mom through our journeys of finding each other and making sure the matching process felt right for all of us,” said Joanna.
After months of getting to know each other, the time came and Angelina went into labor. The Smiths were on call and were at the hospital for the birth of their adoptive daughter, Alexis.
“She has been our daughter since the moment we laid eyes on her,” says Joanna.
Open Adoption
But this was not the ending of the Smiths relationship with Angelina. Their friendship continued as the Smith's choose an open adoption, which meant they allowed Angelina to see Alexis every few months. They are grateful to have a special relationship with her and are so thankful that she made a life-honoring choice for her daughter.
“The opportunity to adopt through Catholic Charities was such a wonderful option for us to find the daughter we were meant to find,” says Joanna.
The adoption process also brought the Smith’s closer together as a family. They feel like they “truly found out how important it was for us to be parents. Adoption let us become the family we were meant to be.”
Catholic Charities adoption counselors continue to be here for you and your family with life-time, post-placement support including any future adoption-related issues that may arise. For more information about adoption visit Catholic Charities.
