The Burton Family
For us, the story of the way God built our family is an example of how what He desires to do for us often exceeds even our wildest dreams and expectations. Our story begins much like many others. We were fairly newly married, and after almost 2 years of trying to conceive, found ourselves in the middle of fertility testing, wondering what direction we should take in our quest to become parents. I was 7 years old when my parents had adopted my brother from Korea, and as a young girl, envisioned myself someday adopting an Asian child, so my mind quickly moved to a place of being ready to pursue adoption.
As I shared my heart with Jeff and we began to talk about and pray on this next step, God showed us in some very clear ways that this was indeed the call He had for us. As we drove home from the AWAA seminar that Saturday afternoon we could not contain our emotions as we came to the realization that this was certainly God’s plan for us and that we had, in a sense, taken the first steps into parenthood. An overwhelming joy and peace filled my heart and we dove into the “paperwork pregnancy”. We were encouraged every step of the way by the commitment and integrity of the staff at AWAA. We knew they were trustworthy, lifted us up in their prayers daily, and were true advocates for our waiting child and our family.
In March of 2002, we met our sweet girl, Lily, and our lives were forever changed. As they placed her in my arms in that hotel hallway, I could hardly take in the moment. We could not imagine feeling any more connected to a child and seemed to marvel at her every move. We brought her home and rejoiced at the miracle of this beautiful little person.
A few months later we were already beginning to think about adopting again and began paperwork for a sister for Lily as soon as we were able. Before we knew it, we got the referral call for our second daughter. Interestingly enough, Lily was 13 months at the time of adoption, and we were expecting an even younger child the second time around, as it had seemed to be the trend in the months surrounding our second referral.
When we got the call and found out she was 16 months old, I admit I was a bit surprised and even a little disappointed, as Lily was on the cusp of turning 3 and I was in baby mode again. Naturally, when the picture of that little face came onto my computer screen, I instantly fell in love with this precious girl and quickly forgot about my desire to have a very young baby. In February of 2004, Sarah joined our family and so began a connection between these two little girls that is truly a blessing to witness. We were SO grateful that God had provided the way for us to welcome not just one, but two “China” girls (as they call themselves) into our lives and were amazed at how easily Sarah seemed to blend into our family life. She was sweet and spunky rolled up in one tiny little package, which proved to be a benefit as she quickly went from being the youngest child to the middle child. To our surprise and delight, we became pregnant shortly after Sarah’s arrival, and in November of that same year, welcomed our blonde-haired, blue-eyed son, William.
All we can do was sit back in awe of a God whose plans truly are perfect, who had blessed us beyond measure, and who had orchestrated something beyond anything we could have imagined. We believe in our hearts that Lily and Sarah were chosen by Him for us, and I’m certain that He planted the call to adoption in my heart as a very young girl. It has been a true privilege to have built our family through adoption. This journey is a miraculous and unforgettable experience and we were grateful to have had AWAA with us every step of the way.
Email The Burton Family
