“It was Mother’s Day when Paul and I found out we couldn’t conceive,” Kristen remembers.
It was a devastating blow to the newlyweds. “It seemed like everyone in our lives was expecting babies. We wanted to be parents so badly, and we had so much love to give. We didn’t know why this was happening to us.”
Like so many other couples in the same situation, Paul and Kristen found it hard not to question God during those painful days. But the couple had always planned to adopt someday, and now they realized God was telling them it was time.
Through Upbring, the couple met Sophie Jo and her birth mother, Kate. At the hospital, the three parents read to their baby, took photos and marked milestones like Sophie Jo’s first bath. And Kristen will never forget something Kate said to her. “She told me she was never meant to be Sophie Jo’s mother. God had her carry her baby so Paul and I could be her parents.”
Thanks to Upbring supporters like you, when Sophie Jo went home with Paul and Kristen, the entire family was surrounded by care and practical support, guiding them through this incredible milestone in their lives. Sophie Jo has quickly grown into a spunky and determined little girl, and when she was 4, she became the proud big sister of baby Lydia, the family’s second adopted child.
The family lives on a farm with donkeys, sheep, dogs, cats and chickens. Kristen calls Sophie Jo “the animal whisperer.” Like any parents, Paul and Kristen want bright futures for their girls. But most important, Kristen says, “We want the girls to know they are beautiful in God’s eyes, and they need to be grounded in Him, not in the world. He has a plan for them that is more beautiful than anything they can imagine.”
During those difficult days when they found they couldn’t conceive, Paul and Kristen couldn’t imagine the beautiful adoption journey God had in store for them. Thank you for being an important part of the journey for so many families!
“God has a plan for them that is more beautiful than anything they can imagine.”