Miracle Adoption Story
Donation protected
We had been praying for a baby for years, waiting for God's perfect timing and this is our year! I remember his words "this is to be your baby". After being married for over 20 years, we have shared a lot of love between us, but we've always longed for a child. Over the years we've watched others grow their families and even though we were happy for them we still had a deep longing for a baby, but still it was not our time. So we went on with our lives, we learn, we build, we made plans, we journeyed, but more and more and more we are ready. Ready for change, ready for surprise, but then we wait. So quiet, so patient, so still, we listen and we wait...... Then a miracle happened!
Our story so seamlessly fits into another families lives, like a heavenly puzzle piece, without any other explanation, this was a miracle. Our story started about 9 months ago when a homeless family would be introduced to Refuge Church (refuge church.life) by the local Metropolitan ministries, they would begin to attend the church's community feeding program, the family would come for a warm meal and bring their two young children, at that time the boys were 5 months old and the other just over a year old. It came to the Pastor’s attention that this young family was living homeless and in a tent in the nearby woods, the tent was given to them by Metropolitian ministries. The Pastor and his wife "The Stewart's" have seen many homeless or struggling families over the years, but their attention kept being pulled to this certain young family. One particularly stormy night the Pastors felt God told them to offer to take the two boys home with them for the night to give them a warm bath, hot meal and a safe place to sleep, the parents said yes, but the Stewart's planned to bring the boys back the next day.
Well after getting the boys home to their house they found they were dirty, covered with bug bites and would need special attention, the Pastor's family gave them all the love and attention they could in one night. Reluctantly the next day they were bringing the boys back to the parents, but when they arrived to drop the boys off they were confronted by a Social Worker and then asked by the parents to take temporary custody keeping the boys from going into foster care. After leaving the meeting with the social worker and the biological parents the ultimate plan and goal would be for biological parents to take immediate steps towards creating a safe, stable environment so they could quickly be reunited with their children. So while the boys stayed with the Pastor's family, visitation of the biological parents was still occurring, but days turned to weeks, weeks to months and the biological parents had made no changes toward getting the children back, a hard decision then had to be made. Eventually, it was decided that the biological parents were not ready to change their lifestyle so they approached the pastors to turn the temporary custody into an adoption and to their surprise they found out the biological mother was pregnant.
The Pastors we're excited about adopting the 2 boys, but they already had 3 children of their own. (See Stewart family below)
Despite caring about the unborn baby they felt God was leading them to help the biological parents make a different adoption plan. Now that the boys were safe with the Stewart's the next few months unfolded a journey of trying to help the birthmother care for herself in a manner that would best ensure the baby's health and survival. Many attempts were made by the Pastors to help the biological father get a job and to have the birth mother see a doctor, but they were uncooperative with the efforts also finding that they were not doing the right things, struggling with both substance abuse and having trouble with local law enforcement. During this time the Pastors worried and prayed for God to give them direction and that's when they say God put 'Byron and Julie' on their hearts. Not knowing we were longing for a baby, not knowing we had believed God would answer our prayer for a baby in the New Year. Then on New Years Eve, a night we will never forget, our Pastors, the Stewart's decided to ask us if we wanted a baby, "God told us this was to be your baby....and we said YES!
So it seems after saying "yes" it would have all be easy from there, but it has not been an easy task, we would face and have faced many financial challenges and sleepless nights. For myself I was filled with so many emotions like "it's too good to be true", but for Byron he never lost faith and he had no doubt that this baby was ours. Byron's faith was such a great support to me during what felt to be emotional roller coaster. I would lean on the Stewart's and their words of encouragement as they went through their own process and struggles, but never wavering in their faith. I remember the moment when I finally let the fear go and that's when perfect love came in, it replaced all my fear. That was it, despite knowing the challenges that this adoption process might present, as well as the health challenges the unborn baby might face, we made a decision of faith and stuck with it. Believing this was meant to be our baby. From then on we had little to no time to prepare for the baby's arrival, as her birthmother was already approximately 6-7 months pregnant, we were quickly thrown into paying an adoption attorney, court costs and providing financially for the birthmother, being homeless she needed shelter, food, clothing, transportation, etc... The birth mother agreed to live in a hotel rather than returning to the streets, as long as the child's father was able to live with her, so then the hardship of caring for both birth parents began.
It has been an emotional ride, to say the least, taking her to Doctor appointments, keeping up with the costs and spending time with the birth parents has been especially tough, but it's all been worth it!
We have been so Blessed by our family and friends being so supportive while we've been going through this process. Our Heavenly Father gave us the patience and what we believe to be his favor the whole way through. All we knew was to do our best to ensure the protection of this precious little baby and we were going to go to any length to make sure that happened and here we are. 
5.15 lbs, 19" long
Now proud to announce our precious daughter, Lillayna Julia, she was born into this world and today she is almost 7 weeks old. She is perfect and now safe in our arms, home where she was destined to be. Lilly, as we call her, was born full term, she is a beautiful, healthy little girl, and a miracle, who is loved and has a wonderful future ahead of her. We can't wait to see what God has in store for her life! I am certain we will do whatever we can to give her every opportunity to blossom to her fullest potential. What's most exciting is that Lilly will grow up knowing her brothers! Coming from a big family I know how important it is to keep that connection and we plan to always have them in her life. We still have not had our final adoption hearing and we are still feeling some financial pressure. We know God ordained this adoption and we know God will make a way for us financially, but we also know God works through others and we are asking for your prayers and support as we near the end of this journey and move into the next phase of our lives....being a family. We thank you in advance for taking the time to read this and we pray that our miracle will encourage you, give you hope, fill you with love and strengthen your faith. Our story should demonstrate that our plans are not always God's plan, but if we trust him, his plan will always be better than what we could have ever imagined.
Our little Bundle of Joy
Dedication Day
Daddy wrapped around my finger
Our story so seamlessly fits into another families lives, like a heavenly puzzle piece, without any other explanation, this was a miracle. Our story started about 9 months ago when a homeless family would be introduced to Refuge Church (refuge church.life) by the local Metropolitan ministries, they would begin to attend the church's community feeding program, the family would come for a warm meal and bring their two young children, at that time the boys were 5 months old and the other just over a year old. It came to the Pastor’s attention that this young family was living homeless and in a tent in the nearby woods, the tent was given to them by Metropolitian ministries. The Pastor and his wife "The Stewart's" have seen many homeless or struggling families over the years, but their attention kept being pulled to this certain young family. One particularly stormy night the Pastors felt God told them to offer to take the two boys home with them for the night to give them a warm bath, hot meal and a safe place to sleep, the parents said yes, but the Stewart's planned to bring the boys back the next day.
Well after getting the boys home to their house they found they were dirty, covered with bug bites and would need special attention, the Pastor's family gave them all the love and attention they could in one night. Reluctantly the next day they were bringing the boys back to the parents, but when they arrived to drop the boys off they were confronted by a Social Worker and then asked by the parents to take temporary custody keeping the boys from going into foster care. After leaving the meeting with the social worker and the biological parents the ultimate plan and goal would be for biological parents to take immediate steps towards creating a safe, stable environment so they could quickly be reunited with their children. So while the boys stayed with the Pastor's family, visitation of the biological parents was still occurring, but days turned to weeks, weeks to months and the biological parents had made no changes toward getting the children back, a hard decision then had to be made. Eventually, it was decided that the biological parents were not ready to change their lifestyle so they approached the pastors to turn the temporary custody into an adoption and to their surprise they found out the biological mother was pregnant. The Pastors we're excited about adopting the 2 boys, but they already had 3 children of their own. (See Stewart family below)
Despite caring about the unborn baby they felt God was leading them to help the biological parents make a different adoption plan. Now that the boys were safe with the Stewart's the next few months unfolded a journey of trying to help the birthmother care for herself in a manner that would best ensure the baby's health and survival. Many attempts were made by the Pastors to help the biological father get a job and to have the birth mother see a doctor, but they were uncooperative with the efforts also finding that they were not doing the right things, struggling with both substance abuse and having trouble with local law enforcement. During this time the Pastors worried and prayed for God to give them direction and that's when they say God put 'Byron and Julie' on their hearts. Not knowing we were longing for a baby, not knowing we had believed God would answer our prayer for a baby in the New Year. Then on New Years Eve, a night we will never forget, our Pastors, the Stewart's decided to ask us if we wanted a baby, "God told us this was to be your baby....and we said YES! So it seems after saying "yes" it would have all be easy from there, but it has not been an easy task, we would face and have faced many financial challenges and sleepless nights. For myself I was filled with so many emotions like "it's too good to be true", but for Byron he never lost faith and he had no doubt that this baby was ours. Byron's faith was such a great support to me during what felt to be emotional roller coaster. I would lean on the Stewart's and their words of encouragement as they went through their own process and struggles, but never wavering in their faith. I remember the moment when I finally let the fear go and that's when perfect love came in, it replaced all my fear. That was it, despite knowing the challenges that this adoption process might present, as well as the health challenges the unborn baby might face, we made a decision of faith and stuck with it. Believing this was meant to be our baby. From then on we had little to no time to prepare for the baby's arrival, as her birthmother was already approximately 6-7 months pregnant, we were quickly thrown into paying an adoption attorney, court costs and providing financially for the birthmother, being homeless she needed shelter, food, clothing, transportation, etc... The birth mother agreed to live in a hotel rather than returning to the streets, as long as the child's father was able to live with her, so then the hardship of caring for both birth parents began.
It has been an emotional ride, to say the least, taking her to Doctor appointments, keeping up with the costs and spending time with the birth parents has been especially tough, but it's all been worth it!
We have been so Blessed by our family and friends being so supportive while we've been going through this process. Our Heavenly Father gave us the patience and what we believe to be his favor the whole way through. All we knew was to do our best to ensure the protection of this precious little baby and we were going to go to any length to make sure that happened and here we are. 5.15 lbs, 19" long Now proud to announce our precious daughter, Lillayna Julia, she was born into this world and today she is almost 7 weeks old. She is perfect and now safe in our arms, home where she was destined to be. Lilly, as we call her, was born full term, she is a beautiful, healthy little girl, and a miracle, who is loved and has a wonderful future ahead of her. We can't wait to see what God has in store for her life! I am certain we will do whatever we can to give her every opportunity to blossom to her fullest potential. What's most exciting is that Lilly will grow up knowing her brothers! Coming from a big family I know how important it is to keep that connection and we plan to always have them in her life. We still have not had our final adoption hearing and we are still feeling some financial pressure. We know God ordained this adoption and we know God will make a way for us financially, but we also know God works through others and we are asking for your prayers and support as we near the end of this journey and move into the next phase of our lives....being a family. We thank you in advance for taking the time to read this and we pray that our miracle will encourage you, give you hope, fill you with love and strengthen your faith. Our story should demonstrate that our plans are not always God's plan, but if we trust him, his plan will always be better than what we could have ever imagined.
Our little Bundle of Joy
Dedication Day
Daddy wrapped around my finger
Organizer
Julie Richards
Organizer
New Port Richey, FL
