Emily and Dylan's story

Emily and Dylan adopted their little girl with Together for Adoption last year. Their adoption journey has not been straightforward and we’re grateful to them for sharing their story. Here Emily tells us about how they reached the decision to adopt, some early setbacks, the joy of their successful adoption, and how their faith and family have helped them along the way.

Emily says: We’ve always loved being part of a family and we love children. We were a little later in life getting married and when we weren’t able to have children biologically, we thought about how we might be able to open our home to a little one who might need a family.

We were actually approved to adopt back in 2016 with another agency, but that journey didn’t work out for us. That was a difficult time. Our Christian faith is important to us, so we prayed about it and knew that there must be a different plan for us.

We were able to take some positives from the experience as it had changed us, and it emphasised how much we wanted to bring a child into our home.

We took some time and a couple of years later started to consider both adoption and fostering and research both options.

Around the same time, I’d got to know a little girl who was in foster care through a local school. We’d developed a bond and something in the back of my mind told me that she might be the one Dylan & I could adopt. We started to pray specifically for her. We then spoke to the school and were put in touch with Together for Adoption but because of our previous experience we were cautious.

I also felt some nervous responsibility as Dylan hadn’t yet met her, but we continued to pray about the little girl together and asked that God would provide her with the right forever family. We hoped that we would be her new family and tried to be optimistic.

Even though we’d been through the adoption process before, we had to be assessed again but the process was generally quite positive. You’re asked to talk a lot about yourselves, but it can be very thought provoking and interesting.

There’s a lot of paperwork but we found all of the training really helpful, and everything was handled very professionally by Together for Adoption.

At the moment everything is progressing well.

The first day she moved in with us was so emotional. Our little girl was six, so she was fully aware of what was happening, but she settled so quickly. As soon as she got here she decided to pick out some of the clothes we’d bought for her and got changed!

I think that’s one of the advantages of adopting a slightly older child rather than a baby. She’s able to understand, in an age-appropriate way, the experiences she’s been through. That’s not to say it’s always easy, but she’s able to share her thoughts and feelings and express her emotions very well, which is healthy for her, and so helpful and hugely rewarding for us.

Christmas Day was a real highlight. Our little girl has a sociable spirit and loves being around people, so she was very at ease with meeting her grandparents and our wider family, who have been a great source of support.

Our church family have been very supportive. When she first came to live with us, everyone was so helpful. They did practical things, bringing meals round for us for example, which was lovely.

It was a big adjustment in those first few weeks and our minds were completely occupied with our little girl’s needs, so it was such a blessing to have friends consider those practical things.

Some time has passed now, and it seems completely normal that we have a six-year-old. It’s the really small things that bring such happiness. We went hiking recently and the delight on her face when she beat us to the top of the hill was fantastic.

To anyone who is thinking about adoption, I would say, don’t expect everything to go according to your own schedules as there may be disappointments or delays along the way.

Do your research and talk to other people who have adopted.

If you have that gut instinct that you want to adopt, go with it, and trust it and trust the process too.

I am often still amazed that we have a six-year-old who is so adorable.

It has definitely been worth the wait.

If you’re thinking about adoption and want to know more, contact our team by completing our online enquiry form or call 01942 487272.

You can also find out about the adoption process at our monthly virtual information sessions.