Our adoption journey with A Act of Love began in March 2007. We had three children at the time (all boys – ages 7, 5, and 3). They were very excited to learn that they were going to have a baby sister, and our oldest son Blake had a particular “hope” for this baby… Blake has blond hair and blue eyes and was often questioned, “Where did you come from?” People did not mean this in a hurtful way. They were simply stating the obvious – that he didn’t look much like his parents or his two little brothers (the rest of us have brown hair and dark eyes – and it just so happens that our 5 year old is the spitting image of his dad, and our 3 year old is a mirror image of his mother). Blake was very sensitive to the fact that his features were different than the rest of the family members, and he would often say, “I don’t fit in this family.” So when he learned that we were going to add to our family he began to pray that she would look like him! My husband and I were a bit concerned because we didn’t think the chances were too high that we would end up adopting a little blonde-hair, blue-eyed girl since we had specified on our adoption paperwork that we were open to bi-racial babies. But Blake’s faith did not waiver, and he continued to pray for 14 months. And then we got the call… that my husband and I we were to be at a hospital approximately 3 hours from our house the next morning to meet our new daughter. Imagine our surprise when we arrived and found a blonde-hair, blue-eyed newborn girl waiting for us! When we called to tell Blake the news he simply stated, “I knew God would answer my prayers!” This miracle was just one of the many miracles we witnessed along our adoption journey, and we are so grateful for each one as they have strengthened our family’s faith in God and His plan for each of our lives. We are grateful for Ashlyn’s mother and the choice she made that has brought such joy to our family, and also to A Act of Love for helping us bring her home! Thank you, Kathy, for taking the leap of faith to start this adoption agency and for the countless hours you have dedicated to birthmothers and families like ours who have sought your guidance as we have taken our own leaps of faith through adoption. Happy 60th Birthday!

Love,
(Chris, Leslie, Blake, Colton, Bryson, Ashlyn, and Brynn)