Stories of Love...
 A year ago on Christmas, Ann Jones remembers crying herself
to sleep. Despite a wonderful husband, many friends, and a great
career, the thing she wanted most continued to elude her. The Jones’ had
been unable to conceive for nearly three years. "I was so
disappointed," Ann recalls. "I had waited all my life
to be a mother." The couple began researching their options. "We
read everything we could about assisted reproduction, international
adoption, private agency adoption, public adoption, you name it!" she
continued.
One thing was clear. None of the options was without risk. In
vitro fertilization has a success rate of about 30%, costs $10,000
to $20,000, and is rarely covered by insurance. For international
adoptions the costs are even higher, the paperwork is daunting,
and background information on the child is often limited. And,
as for private adoption, "You can lose a lot of money if the
birth mom changes her mind after you've paid her medical expenses,
and you can wait a long time too," Ann said. "We didn't
want to have to borrow money for something that might not work." Ann was inclined to start the paperwork for an international adoption,
but her husband was drawn to foster parenting. "I was nervous
about that," Ann admits; "because I'd heard so many stories." But
they persevered, and eventually learned that the State of Washington
has a special program called Foster-Adopt. In this program, parents
commit to a foster child who may wind up needing a permanent home.
The child’s birth family is offered various services to help
them meet their challenges, but if, after a certain period of time,
the court determines that the family cannot provide a safe home
for the child, the foster family becomes the child’s permanent
home through adoption. In the end, the Jones’ chose the foster-adopt
program. They knew it would be hard to wait out the court proceedings,
but in the end they decided to take the risk. Two months later,
the phone rang. Evan, then six months old, joined the Jones family. "We've
known more joy in the months and years with Evan than ever in our
lives. It certainly was scary to fall in love with the little guy
and know there was a chance he might return home. But seeing him
every day made it so clear to us. Evan couldn’t wait for
the courts to have a sense of family. He needed to have a family
right away. And it feels good to give in that way, even when you
don’t know the future. Really, when you think about it, even
ordinary life doesn't come with guarantees," Ann said. Life may not come with guarantees, but it certainly does bring
blessings. That first Christmas, the Jones’ tied a big red
bow around their son and marvel at the greatest gift they've ever
known. |
