We are Justin & Amanda, lovers of God and people, best friends who have been married for 9 years and together for 12, and parents to three babies in heaven: Owen, Hope, and Ben. We want to invite you into what God is doing in our life as God redeems our story and journey in parenting.
On 11/29/16, our hearts burst with joy as we welcomed our first-born son, Owen Robert Steinmann, into the world. Owen immediately captured the world with his gorgeous long lashes and his cherub-like cheeks. We invited the world to share in the beauty of Owen’s life. Three months later, our hearts were broken as Owen was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive brain tumor. Our friends, family, colleagues, and even strangers, joined us in believing that #owenisthemiracle. And for us, he is. Because in his short and significant life, Owen showed us how to love extravagantly and fight courageously. Through it all, his sweet spirit and deep emotional connection to others helped us to see that God was with us, even in our darkest moments.
God has continued to be with us through the loss of Owen on 6/13/17, two miscarriages, and a 4-year struggle with infertility. We had no idea how God would open the door for us to be parents again. We only knew that we had a lot of love to give and that God had planted within both of us a desire to raise children.
That love and desire led us to consider growing our family through adoption. Initially, we thought that we would adopt through becoming foster parents, but on the eve of our Home Study visit, we received a call about two boys, ages 6 and 7, who needed a forever home. Within three days of finding out about the boys, we were chosen to be their adoptive parents.
We have seen God at work in every aspect of this adoption and we can’t wait to share all the beautiful ways God is redeeming our story as we grow our family (see additional information below). God has given us a double blessing, and now we are trusting that God will provide us with the resources required to adopt and raise them. Although we were hesitant to reach out and ask for financial support, we have had several people ask to be a part of bringing the boys into our home by early June. The legal fees for the adoption will be between $20,000-$25,000, plus the additional costs for getting them settled into our home. In addition, we know that they may need specialized support, therapy, and counseling as they transition, and we are committed to providing everything we can to help them live happy, healthy, and well-adjusted lives.
A well-known proverb says, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Would you consider being a part of our boys’ village through this double blessing adoption with your prayers and financial resources? All gifts are greatly appreciated, and any money raised beyond our legal fees will be used to provide the boys with therapy, life-enriching activities, and to help fund their education. Thank you for being a part of our village and for covering our growing family in prayer!
A few ways God has been at work in this process:
o Both the boys’ birthdays are in November. The 6-year-old has the exact same birthday as Owen: MONTH, DATE, and YEAR! He is 21 hours older than Owen would be. Not only will we catch a glimpse of all the things Owen would be doing now through these two boys, but we will get to spend the whole month of November celebrating all 3 of them!
o The boys live less than two miles from Amanda’s best friend, Betsy, her husband Tyler, and our four godchildren. This has enabled us to visit the boys while saving money on hotel costs and getting to visit with our godchildren. Bonus—the boys have new playmates and have grown to love our godchildren and their parents as much as we do!
o This time of year has always been hard on us because of Owen’s diagnosis anniversary. This year, we learned of the boys on Ash Wednesday and drove away from our first visit with them on March 5th (diagnosis date). A day that had marked the beginning of the end with Owen, now marks the beginning for our forever family.
o Our first visit with the older of the two boys was in the hospital because he had to have surgery (he’s ok now, praise the Lord!). On our way in to spend several hours one-on-one with him, Amanda remarked that God was giving her a sense of calm as she entered the hospital and that she felt peace in what could have been an emotionally triggering activity. As she and Justin held hands, they spoke of Owen and how they knew he would be so proud of them for being so strong and opening their hearts again. Almost immediately, Amanda looked down to see a rainbow on the ground in front of the hospital doors. If you know the story about Owen’s rainbow, then you know how powerful this moment was! They knew that Owen was smiling down on them.
o Many of you know that Amanda has an arrow tattoo with Owen’s name on her left wrist. She got this because Owen’s name means “young warrior” and his favorite baby blanket had arrows on it. On their first meeting, the boys’ aunt happened to notice that she and Amanda both have arrow tattoos in the same location on their left arms! It gave them both chills as they looked at them as just another affirmation that God is in this! Another cool God wink: Amanda chose her left arm because she was convinced Owen would have been left-handed. Guess who else is left-handed? The younger of the two boys.
o Six years ago in June, the news of Owen’s death spread across Stuart Auditorium as our Holston Annual Conference family grieved with us. This year, we are excited for the news to spread of the boys arriving to their forever home during Annual Conference week! God is certainly redeeming the calendar for us!
o When Justin and Amanda were long-distance dating, they often met half-way for visits. The boys live with their family in the city we would visit and it has been so fun to show the boys where we used to have our visits. A few weeks ago, we even sat on the same swing by the river where we had dreamed dreams of our life together while dating. It was beautiful to think of how God was pouring out his love for us by allowing us to share this special place with the boys.
