Happy Double Digits Shep!

Shepherd hit double digits yesterday…and I can hardly believe it has been a decade since he came into our lives. Handsome, HUGE (off the charts size-wise), and incredibly intelligent…he is a blessing in every way.

During our one day spring break…Shepherd loves to swim!

A few weeks before he was born, the adoption agency was having a challenge placing him with a family because the birth mother wanted to remain in contact after the adoption was completed. That scared most prospective parents away, but when David and I got a phone call asking if we would be interested, we decided we should at least meet the birth mom.

There is nothing that Shepherd loves more than a set off wheels. He’s already saving for his car.

Within a few days, a beautiful young woman graced our doorstep and enjoyed dinner with our family. Over the next week, she decided that Shepherd belonged in our family. In less than a month, we had a new son.

Shepherd is a very well spoken kiddo. Over our #LemonAID project where Believe With Me had dozens of #LemonAID stands raising money to help America’s families of fallen soldiers, Step was one of our go-to interview kiddos whenever news crews came around!

I won’t say it was a walk in the park the first few years. Navigating an open adoption relationship can be fraught with high emotions and it wasn’t always easy to sort through those feelings. But within the first five years, we had come through the difficulties and in one of the best Christmas presents I have ever received, she sent me a sweet letter sharing with us her new faith in Christ. Since then, she’s been on a rocket to success…finishing up her education, working incredibly long and challenging hours in a doctors office, she is now headed back to school to become a trauma ER nurse. I couldn’t be prouder of her for all she has overcome and continued to work towards. She has been an incredible encourager to Shep and it’s a blessing for him to have that connection.

A photo of our most recent visit with his birth mom.

Every Christmas and birthday we meet for an afternoon or evening of activity together, and every meeting we enjoy each other’s company and marvel over how big Shepherd has gotten, how amazing he is, and how well she is doing with her life. It brings me so much joy and faith to see how God took an unexpected pregnancy and blessed all of us in ways beyond what we could have imagined. We got a son, his birth mother decided to follow Jesus, and we all enjoy the miracle of lives woven together for His glory.