Ava Isabella

Ava Isabella was born July 12, 2005 at 1:00 pm. She weighed six pounds, 12 ounces and measured 20 1/2 inches in length. After years of prayers, Julie and I received the child we believe was made just for us.

We adopted Ava through Agape, a Christian organization that specializes in adoption, foster care, and counseling for unwed mothers. The adoption process began in January 2004, making it last nineteen months. We were pleased with Agape's concern and professionalism, although there were times when we grew impatient with how long things were taking.

A date was set one week from Ava's birthday for us to pick up our new daughter at the Agape offices in Enterprise, AL. But before we were scheduled to get Ava, we had to meet the birth parents. We were extremely nervous about this, but it turned out to be a good experience. Instead of fantasizing about who this couple was, we were able to see them in the flesh. As it turned out, they were very friendly. Emotions were high, of course, but we were able to ask questions and share what we were feeling. The best thing about the meeting is that, when Ava asks about her birth parents in the future, we will be able to tell her we met them and worked with them as a team to place her in our home.

After we met the birth parents we went to lunch with the Agape staff and filled out some paperwork. Then it was time to see our daughter. She was even more beautiful in person than in the pictures we saw. We have had her now for about a week and are overjoyed that God has blessed us with this wonderful new life.

I will be posting updates about Ava from time to time on this blog. Keep watching for developments.