Dan & Shalee Brown - Idaho

Thanksgiving was approaching and our cards were addressed and sealed. A string of events made it difficult for me to get to the post office, but I told Dan that they HAD to be out by the Friday before the holiday. We ended up sending out over 100 cards. I figured that our loved ones would get them, read them, and stow away our story in the back of their mind. I wasn’t sure how long the wait would be, but never dreamed we wouldn’t have to wait at all!

following Monday, my Grandpa Lyle passed away. My dad called me shortly after, and just as I hung up the phone, it rang again. A strange phone number....as I picked up the phone I heard the voice of my cousin, Tate. All he said was, "This is really strange, but I think we might know someone who has a baby for you." Their family had received our card that day. He told me his wife had a niece, Sam, who had a baby and might be looking for an adoptive family. He asked if they could pass along our information to her and if she was interested, if she could call us. Of course we said yes. Not even five minutes later, she called us. As I answered the phone, she introduced herself and said with a breaking voice, "I have a three week old son. Would you adopt him?" We talked for a while, trying to get to know each other. I kept thinking to myself how calm I felt, that I wasn’t nervous at all...which is odd for me. When I spoke to Tate’s wife, Janet later that night she told me the second round of miraculous events. She and Sam are close. Sam had lost custody of her baby and asked Janet to come and be with her for her court date that day to try and regain custody. Janet had a lot going on and didn’t know if she should go. She felt very strongly the day before that she needed to be there. After a long (and not great) day in court, Janet, Sam and her fiancé were driving home. Tate had called Janet and told her about our card; how it had come in the mail that day and said, "What are the odds that we would get this card on this day, while you are there? They want a baby, and we know someone who has one." Janet didn’t think they were interested in making an adoption plan. As she drove, Janet felt that she needed to mention our family and throw out the option. Sam seemed open to it and asked if there was a way to find out more about us. Janet got our adoption blog information and passed it on. She told Sam to think about it for a few days. After Janet dropped them off and was about 20 minutes down the road, Sam called and said, "Yep, that’s the family."

Sam never wavered in her choice to place the baby with us. We were able to talk to her almost every night. Though there were a few bumps in the road, the calm I felt the first time I talked to Sam continued and gave us a strong reassurance that Blake was meant to be in our family. His arrival is nothing short of a miracle and I am grateful every second for him, for his amazing and courageous birthmom, and for the promptings of the Holy Ghost (and people who listen!).

Dan & Shalee Brown
dan_shalee@loveable.com