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| God is our provider and our strength, this is our testimony. God promised us a little girl shortly after Natasha called us asking us to adopt her unborn daughter. This was confirmation in our hearts that this child by adoption was to be ours. Tasha wanted to give her daughter a home where she would have a mommy and a daddy and not have to go to childcare. Tasha is Samoan and in her culture, when an unwed mother gets pregnant it is common for the child to be given to a couple in the family or close to the family that hasn't been able to have children. This is a great solution to a common problem in many peoples lives today. We got to know Tasha over the phone and through exchanging scrapbooks about ourselves. We flew to Washington to meet Tasha the day before her due date and planned to bring our daughter home a week after she was born. The day after we arrived we went and took Tasha to lunch and to her doctor's appointment. It was nice to meet her and see that she was a sweet and kind person. She has great family and a very supportive friend in Anne Marie, her roomate. As we waited for Danica to be born we visited with our families who are in the Northwest, too. We received a lot of love and support from all our friends and family. Open adoptions can be a trying and emotional thing and we appreciated all the help we could get. We went to Sheenah's parents church and her sister's church. It was on Sunday, August 25th that we first heard that Tasha was going into labor. At 2:30 am Monday morning we got the call to come to the hospital for the birth. When we arrived we met Tasha's family and spent time with them waiting for labor to do its work. Tasha was very determined and surrounded by her loving family and friends. Danica was not born until 12:43 pm, so we had time to wait and get to know everyone better. Sheenah was able to be in the birthing room and saw Danica being born. She cut the cord and held her first as she brought Danica to meet her birthmom, Tasha. It was very emotional, but it was positive and lighthearted. We came and visited them in the hospital and then took them to Tasha and Anne Marie to thier apartment. Danica stayed with Tasha for a couple of days and then we received our daughter. It was very hard for Tasha to let go of Danica, but we kept praying peace and love to surround her. We visited a week later for a few hours and spent more time with Tasha's family. Tasha continued to deal with her hormones and emotions and was not doing very well. Her emotions got a little out of control and decided she needed to have Danica back. We were devestated, but trusting God's promises, we took Danica to Tasha's apartment. We called and had all our family and friends pray for the fulfillment of God's will in our lives and Danica's. The next morning Tasha called us and said, "Danica misses her mommy and daddy. She belongs with you. Come get her." God is so awesome and faithful! We came and picked up our daughter once again. The next day we meet the birhtfather, John. He has finally arrived to see his daughter. He is very quiet and not sure what or how to handle Danica. We helped him feed her and show him how to burp her and hold her. He didn't want to sign off on his rights to Danica, but he had not showed any interest in her or Tasha well-being emotionally or financially up until this point. John's mother has struggled with the adoption and would like to raise Danica herself, as is common in her culture. We have been praying for wisdom and strength for John and his family. We have had to deal with a lot of legal paperwork and hoops to jump through, but we have done it all with the faith that God will fullfill his promise of a daughter. We had to stay in the Northwest for 7 weeks to fulfill the legal requirements. Our jobs were very generous and gave us the time we needed to complete our family responsibilties.God has been faithful and will continue to sustain us. After we had Danica for 6 weeks, Tasha decided to keep her daughter, but cannot care for her so John's mother has legal custody of her until Tasha can "get on her feet". She left our home on Saturday, October 12th at 5:00 pm. This is especially hard with what would have been Andrew's 5th Birthday on the 15th. Tasha went to get her daughter in the spring and took her home. Danica was doing well, but had a seizure. She was examined by a doctor and under observation. She had a second seizure and died before getting to the hospital. She died on August 12, 2003, just before her first birthday. We are forever grateful for the time we had with Danica and we thank her birthfamily for giving us that time. She was a blessing and joy in our lives. She helped to ease my arms that are aching to hold a child of our own. God willing this March 2005 we will have a miracle born of our bodies! |
| Danica's Adoption Story |