Luck at a New Job

It was fate. I told my new boss that my husband and I were looking to adopt. I said, half-seriously, “If you hear of anyone who wants to place a baby for adoption, let me know!” He turned white. That morning, his wife had told him about a friend who wanted to make an adoption plan. We both said, “Let’s call her!”
—Maryellen, California

Father Knows Best

My husband looked at the referral photo and said, “She’s the one. That’s our girl.” He hadn’t responded to our first (failed) referral in this way, and I don’t know what made him so sure about this one. But when we got her home, I knew that he had been right. She, like her dad, seemed to know that she was home. It was meant to be!
—Kathy, Pennsylvania

Two at a Time

While we were waiting for our referral, I got pregnant. Nine months later, as I was prepping for a Cesarean-section, I received a phone call saying our daughter had just been born in another country. Thirty minutes later, our son was born! We could not have planned it better.
—Laurie, Indiana

Love, Not Fate

For a year, we heard an endless refrain from the adoption community: The wait means you’re matched with the  child who is meant for you. Adoption is a leap of faith, in the best of situations. I would rather approach it from the perspective that, no matter whom we adopt, he or she will be loved with everything we have.
—Mark, via e-mail

A Magic Moment

Everyone warned me to expect crying. So when I stood there in the room, along with seven waiting families, I braced myself. Out came eight babies, one by one, and sure enough, the warnings about screaming babies were true—except for one. When they placed my daughter in my arms, something magical happened. She was quiet, and I was the one crying tears of joy! She was more beautiful than I could have imagined, and from that moment, ours has been a great love story.
—Tracie, via e-mail

Had a Hunch

When we got the call that there was a six-month-old boy waiting for us, I said to my husband, “I bet his name is Michael.” When we met with our social worker the next week, they told us his name was Ethan Michael. Afterward, everyone who saw us commented on how he looked like he belonged with us. I know that this baby was meant for our family.
—Karen, via e-mail