We’re honored to be sharing Greg and Bethany’s beautiful open adoption story today as a part of our blog series “Then and Now.”
As they began their adoption journey with Lifetime, they shared, “We started talking about adopting when we were dating and knew it was a way we wanted to grow our family! Bethany’s family is already touched by adoption thorough three of her siblings. We love being parents and are excited and ready to adopt a boy or girl of any race!”
Keep reading to hear Greg and Bethany’s cherished adoption journey to their baby!
Greg and Bethany joyfully welcomed a baby boy, Gus, into their home through a Lifetime adoption! We feel blessed to be able to share their story here. Adoptive mother, Bethany tells us, “When Veronica called me that a birth mother had chosen us, Greg was out of the state. I was so excited, and I couldn’t wait to call him with the good news! Our first phone call with our son’s birth mom went very well, and we immediately knew it was a match on both ends.
Waiting five months until her due date was so hard and there were a lot of ups and downs, times we weren’t sure she was going to follow through with adoption. Trusting in God and praying constantly was the only thing that got us through. We booked our flight to her state and kept praying the whole time that everything would go smoothly.
We had a few layovers and planned to arrive the night before our son was born. Unexpectedly, a C-section was scheduled, and two hours from the hospital we got a text saying Gregory Anthony III (Gus) had been born! We couldn’t stop smiling and crying happy tears seeing his picture!
The hour drive from the airport to the hospital seemed like an eternity. It was dark, and we weren’t even sure how to get into the hospital and where to go. After talking to a few nurses and finding the maternity ward, Gus’s birth grandmother was there waiting for us to take us back to meet him. When we walked into the room, Gus’s birth mom was there holding him. She handed him to us right away and my heart just melted. He was perfect! Meeting both of them and staying in the hospital for three days was such gift. We were able to talk and bond like I didn’t even know was possible. We have such love and gratefulness for our birth mother!
We stayed in the birth mother’s state for exactly two weeks waiting for ICPC. It ended up being a wonderful time for us to bond as a family and we even were able to visit several times with all the ladies at Lifetime! It was wonderful to be able to put a face to everyone we had talked to during our wait.
We have a wonderful, positive open adoption relationship with Gus’ birth mother and birth grandmother. We send pictures monthly, and text/write on a weekly basis. We know God had His hand all over this adoption and knew Gus was meant for our family. We cannot wait to tell Gus his story when he is older. We are honored that his birth mother chose us and entrusted us with such a precious gift!
We are so thankful to Lifetime for their endless phone conversations with us, encouraging us through the wait. The years of waiting and experiencing a miscarriage were not easy, but if not for our faith in God we would not have gotten through. We know now God used that wait time to draw us closer to Him, to work on ourselves spiritually and physically, to prepare us for our life now.
Listening to webinars and other’s stories was so encouraging, knowing it will one day happen to us… and here we are on the other side, sharing OUR story. We didn’t think it was possible at times, but God is good and faithful!”
We’d love to help you create your own beautiful adoption story!
Call Lifetime Adoption at 1-800-923-6784 to learn how to get started, and fill out our free online application to adopt.
Heidi Keefer is a Content Creator for Lifetime Adoption and has over 15 years of experience in the field of adoption. An author of thousands of articles and social media posts over the years, Heidi enjoys finding new ways to educate and captivate Lifetime’s ever-growing list of subscribers.
Heidi has a keen eye for misplaced apostrophes, comma splices, and well-turned sentences, which she has put to good use as a contributor to Lifetime’s award-winning blogs. She has written and published hundreds of adoption articles which explore the various facets of domestic infant adoption today.
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