Dan and Shannon's story (Part 2)
The next year...
We said many prayers to God asking Him for the opportunity to be parents again. On February 15, 2005, there was a message on the voice mail from a family friend. The message said, "I want to ask you some questions about adoption. Please call me back." We were curious about her inquiry and we returned her call right away. When we spoke to her she explained her 20-year-old sister was pregnant and that the baby was due within the next three weeks. She wished to make an adoption plan and wanted information on the adoption process. We explained the options of agency versus private adoptions and the difference between closed and open adoptions. We shared our agency's information and explained that she would be able to choose the adoptive family from numerous biographies. We also shared our deep desire to have more children in our family and invited her to meet us and consider allowing us to adopt her baby. She thanked us for the information and told us that she would share the information with her sister and contact us in a few days.

The following afternoon the family friend called us back and asked if we would meet with her and her sister. When they arrived we sat in the family room and chatted about our family life and we gave them a tour of our home. We shared our biography and photo portfolio that our agency put together for Devin's adoption. We introduced Devin to them and he quickly charmed them. Before leaving, Shannon requested that, when the birth mom made her decision about which adoption avenue she was interested in, we would appreciate knowing, so that we could make the proper maternity-leave arrangements at work. She informed us that she had already made a decision and that she wanted us to adopt her baby. Our prayers had been answered!

During the next nine days we enjoyed sharing our exciting news with our family and friends. Everyone was thrilled and nervous for us. It was the best Valentine's Day gift anyone could receive. The birth mom invited us to come to her doctor's visits and participate at the hospital. Shannon got to go to one doctor's appointment with her. She met her compassionate mother. Her mother said that she watched Danny and his siblings grow up and felt that it was divine intervention bringing us together. At the visit we listened to the baby's heartbeat and saw the baby's ultrasound. The baby appeared to be healthy but it was unclear if the baby was a boy or a girl. The doctor was very supportive and professional. She made everyone feel comfortable with the situation.

On Friday, February 25, the birth mom went to have a routine visit, where the doctor decided that she needed to be induced. After being admitted to the hospital, the doctors were surprised to see that she was already in labor. The doctor called us at work and told us that the baby was on its way. We were filled with excitement and anticipation and left work in the middle of the day. When we arrived at the hospital, the birth mom was patiently waiting for her labor to progress. We were greeted by her mother and two of her sisters. Later the birth father also arrived. We all stood in the birthing room and chatted for several hours. The birth mom pushed 6 times and delivered a precious baby girl. Shannon was honored to cut her umbilical cord. She was born at 5:41pm and weighed 6 pounds 7.7 ounces and was 19¾ inches long. We decided to name the baby Adrianna Carole. Carole was in honor of Shannon's mother. The birth mom invited us to spend the day in her room so that we could enjoy Adrianna together. She had several visitors. Two days later the attorney came and both birth parents signed papers granting the adoption to occur. However, it was Sunday and the custody papers could not be filed at the courthouse until Monday. So Shannon spent the night at the hospital with Adrianna, and Daniel went home with Devin.

The next day after a brief hearing, Adrianna was carefully placed in her car seat and taken home. We admired Adrianna and thanked God for giving us another miracle. We are forever grateful to our family friend for making that fateful phone call asking us about adoption. We are so fortunate to have Adrianna be a part of our lives. After we brought Adrianna home we had to have a home study completed before the adoption could be finalized. On June 22, her adoption was finalized. We have been blessed to go to Australia twice!

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