Our story together began on Halloween, 2014. I (Allison) was in California for the first time visiting a good friend, Jojo, who had invited me to perform with her in a concert at school. Her real goal was actually to set Seth (a highschool math and science teacher) and I up, and to make a long story short, she succeeded! (Thanks Jojo Mai!) We began dating long-distance, which was rocky for a time, but we made it through (with only one or two break-ups!) I moved to California eventually, and we got engaged and married in 2016.
Since then, we have been living and teaching in Antioch, California, bought a home and hoping for a family. We both come from large families of 7 and have always hoped to raise a lively, fun bunch of kids. Adoption was an eventual goal, but since we have had some unexplained infertility, we have made adoption our priority for the past few years. We are Christians and believe that caring for those in need is one of our most important responsibilities. We are so excited to grow our family this way and have so many dreams, plans, and aspirations for all the future children the Lord sends our way!
We went down the path of foster care approval back in 2022. We were approved for that, but learned more about adoption and foster care through that process and decided that it was better for us to pursue adoption before jumping into fostering. We have been contracted with an agency for the past few years, receiving possible adoption matches and also inquiring about kids in the system who are available for adoption. It has felt like a long wait and full of disappointment as we’ve been passed over for adoptions or never heard back from multiple social workers from our inquiries about kids.
In May, we were presented with an expectant mom who was interested in adoption for her baby boy and was looking for a stable, California-based family to adopt him. We agreed for our info to be shared with her, but didn’t hold our breath. We flew to North Carolina for my sister’s wedding and had a great time celebrating a new addition to the Anderson family. On our way to the airport to come back to Cali, I received a text message from social worker that the EM was very interested in us, but her adoption costs were doubled the original quote! Could we commit to the new projected fees? We quickly prayed about it and agreed that if she chose us, we would be committed to her and the payment. We took off from Charlotte and landed in Saint Louis for a layover. Just after landing, we received the text from our social worker – “Hello: Expectant Mama CHOSE YOU AND SETH!!!!!”
Our hearts froze and we stared at each other for a while before stammering out our incredulity, lol. It was the moment we’d hoped for but we couldn’t believe it had actually happened. We were overjoyed, but also had so many questions about the situation! In these kinds of domestic infant adoptions, the hopeful adoptive parents are expected to pay the living expenses, hospital bills, grocery and utilities bills for the expectant mother – but they don’t often have many details about the situation or even have a guarantee about the outcome of the adoption process. So the wait can feel quite nerve-wracking. We are trying to balance hope and excitement with the reality that she may change her mind and decide to parent her child. We are trusting in the Lord and His good plans for us, no matter what happens. We are so grateful for the support we have already received from family and friends and have also been awarded a $5,000 matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans to help out with our adoption fees.
Expectant mother is due August 27. We are supporting her and cheering her on and praying for her, and we hope you will also! Please keep her and us your prayers or send your good “vibes” our way! We are excited to share this opportunity with you and hope it will encourage others to consider adoption or fostering the next generation!
STRIPE charges an online processing fee (2.2% +.30 USD per transaction)*. Your donations will be decreased by this amount. You may also send a check payable to “Lifesong for Orphans”. In the memo line please write “Armstrong 11115”, to ensure it is credited to our account. Please mail to Lifesong for Orphans, PO Box 9, Gridley, IL 61744.
Lifesong has been blessed with partners who underwrite all U.S. administrative and fundraising costs (TMG Foundation and other partners). That means 100% of your donation will go directly to the adoption.
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