It has been an eventful past 12 months for the Sorenson family. We have an amazing miracle who is now a member of our family, Jase Samuel Sorenson. I am so grateful for the blessing of adoption in our family, there are no words that can express our gratitude to our Father in Heaven.
We have been adoption applicants for the last three years. We had no idea of the rollercoaster ride we would be on for all those years, but now looking back it is all worth it. Almost exactly a year ago we got the exciting call that a birth mother wanted to meet us. She wasn't totally sure if she wanted to place or parent. The meeting went well and we were anxious to hear from her soon with her decision. She kept in touch through email and texting, apologizing for taking so long in making her decision. Jeff and I both let her know that we cared about her and wanted her to take the time she needed to make the best decision for her. It was a difficult month of not knowing and praying for this birth mother. The day before she delivered she told our case worker that she was 99% sure she was going to place. We were all so excited and we got our home ready for a baby boy. The next few days were agonizing as we waited to hear when placement would be. Long story short, this sweet birth mother decided to parent. This was one of the most difficult situation I had ever encountered. I felt like someone had ripped my heart out and punched me in the gut all at the same time. This was days before Christmas so I tried my best to put on a happy face for our two little miracles at home, Jarred and Jenna. Jeff was a great strength for me to lean on during this time. His simple thoughts of if this baby was meant to come to our home then he would have. I clung to that with all of my might.
Over the next several months I felt an urgency to do something to grow our family. We looked into many other adoption possibilities but when we prayed about it, none of these options felt right for us. I started to pray for peace. There wasn't anything else I could do to "make" an adoption happen.
On a spring Tuesday evening we got a call from our case worker that there was a birth mother with 7-week-old infant that would like to meet us the next day. We were filled with all kinds of emotions, but a bit guarded after our last failed adoption. I tried to figure out what to bring to this sweet, very young birth mother. We ended up getting her some jammies and I baked my favorite cookies for her. We had a nice meeting with this birth mother and she ended the conversation by stating she thought her baby would be happy with us. It was a bit of a shock, did she really say that? We left with a million and one questions for our caseworker, who patiently answered them for us.
After two weeks of ups and downs and getting paperwork in order, and one family reunion in Utah we had placement with our sweet baby boy. I will never forget that hour we spent with our birth mother, her boyfriend's mom, and that sweet baby. I am still amazed by the courageous, mature and selfless decision that our birth mother placed her precious baby with us. Jase's middle name is after his birth mom, we always want him to know how much she loves him.
We recently had our finalization hearing and in another week we will be going to the temple to be sealed as a family for eternity. I am so grateful for all the blessings we have in our life, especially the gift of adoption.
Jeff and Jillian Sorenson
We have been adoption applicants for the last three years. We had no idea of the rollercoaster ride we would be on for all those years, but now looking back it is all worth it. Almost exactly a year ago we got the exciting call that a birth mother wanted to meet us. She wasn't totally sure if she wanted to place or parent. The meeting went well and we were anxious to hear from her soon with her decision. She kept in touch through email and texting, apologizing for taking so long in making her decision. Jeff and I both let her know that we cared about her and wanted her to take the time she needed to make the best decision for her. It was a difficult month of not knowing and praying for this birth mother. The day before she delivered she told our case worker that she was 99% sure she was going to place. We were all so excited and we got our home ready for a baby boy. The next few days were agonizing as we waited to hear when placement would be. Long story short, this sweet birth mother decided to parent. This was one of the most difficult situation I had ever encountered. I felt like someone had ripped my heart out and punched me in the gut all at the same time. This was days before Christmas so I tried my best to put on a happy face for our two little miracles at home, Jarred and Jenna. Jeff was a great strength for me to lean on during this time. His simple thoughts of if this baby was meant to come to our home then he would have. I clung to that with all of my might.
Over the next several months I felt an urgency to do something to grow our family. We looked into many other adoption possibilities but when we prayed about it, none of these options felt right for us. I started to pray for peace. There wasn't anything else I could do to "make" an adoption happen.
On a spring Tuesday evening we got a call from our case worker that there was a birth mother with 7-week-old infant that would like to meet us the next day. We were filled with all kinds of emotions, but a bit guarded after our last failed adoption. I tried to figure out what to bring to this sweet, very young birth mother. We ended up getting her some jammies and I baked my favorite cookies for her. We had a nice meeting with this birth mother and she ended the conversation by stating she thought her baby would be happy with us. It was a bit of a shock, did she really say that? We left with a million and one questions for our caseworker, who patiently answered them for us.
After two weeks of ups and downs and getting paperwork in order, and one family reunion in Utah we had placement with our sweet baby boy. I will never forget that hour we spent with our birth mother, her boyfriend's mom, and that sweet baby. I am still amazed by the courageous, mature and selfless decision that our birth mother placed her precious baby with us. Jase's middle name is after his birth mom, we always want him to know how much she loves him.
We recently had our finalization hearing and in another week we will be going to the temple to be sealed as a family for eternity. I am so grateful for all the blessings we have in our life, especially the gift of adoption.
Jeff and Jillian Sorenson
