The beginning of FOREVER!...(Mac's Adoption story~Part 1)

***When I sat down to write about having Mac sealed to us, my mind kept on wandering to the very beginning of our story and how we got to this day. It seemed that it would only make sense to tell you this way, so that you may all understand the great significance this day truly had for us. So as to not bore everyone all at once, this story will have to be told in parts.

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This is VERY significant in my life, because not only does the church I belong to have many beliefs, but I truly have faith in and know for myself that these beliefs are true. One of these beliefs is that families can be forever, we do not have to part at death. As worthy members of the Church, we are able to receive permission to enter the House of the Lord, the Temple, and receive the blessings of eternal families. Hubs and I were able to be sealed together for time and eternity on April 14, 2001 in the Portland, Oregon Temple. I am so grateful to Hubs for being the man he is, that he loved (loves) me enough to want to be worthy enough to take me to the Temple so that I can have my own eternal family. So that we can be together forever.

Another wonderful blessing of the gospel of Jesus Christ, is the strength it has given Hubs and I to get through our trials. In the seven plus years we have been married we have gone through many, very difficult, life altering trials. Our knowledge and beliefs has helped us to take the very real pain and heartache that we felt through those trials and turn it into something that would help us, refine us, strengthen us, and make us better disciples of Christ.

One of our great trials is the struggle we have had bringing children into our eternal family. As with most trials, no one understands the great pain and heartache that goes with infertility unless you have traveled that road, and I do not wish that road on anyone. And even though at times the pain and heartache seemed unbearable, I never felt my Heavenly Father's comfort and love for me more. I learned so much about myself, my husband, our relationship with each other and my relationship with my Heavenly Father. I knew that my Heavenly Father had a plan for me, for us. In waiting for that plan to unfold, we learned to rely on the Lord, rely on each other, be grateful for what we have, and to have patience.

After five years of struggling with infertility, we felt like we should try growing our family through adoption. Choosing adoption is not something to take lightly by anyone. And even though we tried other ways first to grow our family, and they were unsuccessful, we would never say that adoption was our "last resort". We know that there was much to be learned to prepare ourselves to bring Mac into our family in this special way, and that adopting our son was Heavenly Father's plan for us all along. When we look back at our journey from the moment we turned in our paperwork for adoption, we can see now how Heavenly Father was leading us to C and Mac.