Ryan & Jenny are adopting!
Donation protected
We have some exciting news: Our family is growing! We just don’t know when, exactly.
Many of our loved ones know of our plans, but for those who don’t, we hope to complete our family through adoption. Depending on how you look at it, what led us to this point may have begun on a snowy ski slope in 2002, but we think we were destined for it from much earlier. To start this process and bring home our first child, we need your help – financially and in other ways.
Anyone who has heard the story of how we became Ryan and Jenny knows that my skiing accident and diagnosis with a nerve disease played a big role. That journey, through which we have lived and loved each other in its entirety, has prepared us to become parents through adoption.
We met at our high school on Feb. 7, 2002. Two days later, on Feb. 9, I got hit by a snowboarder while I was skiing.
Soon, my leg became paralyzed and chronic pain set in. Suddenly life was full of doctor’s appointments, physical therapy and missed classes. Ryan, whom I’d just met, would sit and talk with me at school. When I went to Texas for three months for treatment, he wrote me letters and faxes and instant messages. Later, when I had to do home study my junior and senior years, he would come over to keep me company and have dinner with my family.
We became Ryan and Jenny on Nov. 18, 2002. We were 17. There has been no one else in either of our lives; Ryan has known me and loved me through this journey. When we stood at the altar on Dec. 29, 2007, and made our vows, we already knew we could live these promises.
As far back as either of us can remember, we’ve dreamed of becoming parents. We’ve been raised by parents who are madly in love and siblings who are friends, too. If we can give our kids half the childhood we had, they’ll be set.
When I was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome at 16, I couldn’t have anticipated this disease affecting my future husband’s and my decisions about family. But I’ve worked so hard to make physical progress that we just can’t take any risks with the strain a pregnancy would put on my body. What I initially saw as this disease altering our family tree I now see as our being united with the children we always have been meant to parent.
Since we decided to adopt, we have been praying for the birth parents of our baby. They must make one of the most difficult decisions of their lives to give us the greatest gift of ours. Joining us in prayer for them is one important way you can help.
As you may know, one thing that stops many people from adopting is the cost. The process can cost $30,000 or more. Although we have been planning for this for some time, it is a huge financial burden. The money spent in an adoption is put to good use. A portion of the funds, for example, goes toward counseling the birth mothers through their pregnancies, helping them through the difficult, selfless decision they have made. Another chunk goes toward our home study, which consists of education, interviews and paperwork to ensure we are prepared to become parents through adoption. We also will need to hire an attorney to finalize the adoption.
If you would like, you can donate here. This is just one of several fundraisers we'll do; if you have ideas for others, please send them our way! You can read more of our story and follow our progress on our blog.
Starting our family will happen through the grace of God and with help from friends and family. We love you all, and thank you for praying for us and the birth parents and for considering a donation.
Love,
Ryan and Jenny
Many of our loved ones know of our plans, but for those who don’t, we hope to complete our family through adoption. Depending on how you look at it, what led us to this point may have begun on a snowy ski slope in 2002, but we think we were destined for it from much earlier. To start this process and bring home our first child, we need your help – financially and in other ways.
Anyone who has heard the story of how we became Ryan and Jenny knows that my skiing accident and diagnosis with a nerve disease played a big role. That journey, through which we have lived and loved each other in its entirety, has prepared us to become parents through adoption.
We met at our high school on Feb. 7, 2002. Two days later, on Feb. 9, I got hit by a snowboarder while I was skiing.
Soon, my leg became paralyzed and chronic pain set in. Suddenly life was full of doctor’s appointments, physical therapy and missed classes. Ryan, whom I’d just met, would sit and talk with me at school. When I went to Texas for three months for treatment, he wrote me letters and faxes and instant messages. Later, when I had to do home study my junior and senior years, he would come over to keep me company and have dinner with my family.
We became Ryan and Jenny on Nov. 18, 2002. We were 17. There has been no one else in either of our lives; Ryan has known me and loved me through this journey. When we stood at the altar on Dec. 29, 2007, and made our vows, we already knew we could live these promises.
As far back as either of us can remember, we’ve dreamed of becoming parents. We’ve been raised by parents who are madly in love and siblings who are friends, too. If we can give our kids half the childhood we had, they’ll be set.
When I was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome at 16, I couldn’t have anticipated this disease affecting my future husband’s and my decisions about family. But I’ve worked so hard to make physical progress that we just can’t take any risks with the strain a pregnancy would put on my body. What I initially saw as this disease altering our family tree I now see as our being united with the children we always have been meant to parent.
Since we decided to adopt, we have been praying for the birth parents of our baby. They must make one of the most difficult decisions of their lives to give us the greatest gift of ours. Joining us in prayer for them is one important way you can help.
As you may know, one thing that stops many people from adopting is the cost. The process can cost $30,000 or more. Although we have been planning for this for some time, it is a huge financial burden. The money spent in an adoption is put to good use. A portion of the funds, for example, goes toward counseling the birth mothers through their pregnancies, helping them through the difficult, selfless decision they have made. Another chunk goes toward our home study, which consists of education, interviews and paperwork to ensure we are prepared to become parents through adoption. We also will need to hire an attorney to finalize the adoption.
If you would like, you can donate here. This is just one of several fundraisers we'll do; if you have ideas for others, please send them our way! You can read more of our story and follow our progress on our blog.
Starting our family will happen through the grace of God and with help from friends and family. We love you all, and thank you for praying for us and the birth parents and for considering a donation.
Love,
Ryan and Jenny
Organiser
Jenny G
Organiser
Anaheim, CA