Meghan's words......

Many people might ask, "why adoption" or "why Ethiopia", maybe we should start from the beginning.

Seven years ago I was working the day shift behind the bar and in walks this gorgeous friend of my boss and I think I fell in love that very second! Eric and I dated for 3 years before we got married and in that time we became the proud parents of Mabel (our yellow lab), bought our very first home and became the proud Auntie and Uncle to Mya, Jackson and Logan. We were married on 6/24/2006 and started trying to expand our family that very day. If you had asked any of our friends they would have told you we'd have a baby on exactly the 9 month anniversary of our wedding :).

We did get pregnant twice that first year but they both ended in tubal pregnancies and eventually miscarriage. We were referred to a wonderful doctor at Shady Grove and began the long and emotional journey of fertility treatments. We have endured three rounds of IVF, two that were successful, and just as we started to have faith that this was it they both again ended in miscarriage.

I don't know why but somehow I felt sure that 2010 was going to be "our year" and as the months started to pass, we both had to really look into ourselves and decide what path we as a family would take. The choice for us to adopt was not a simple choice to make, I first had to give up on the fact that I may never carry a child, that we may not know ever what our biological children would look like and I had to let go of the feeling of failure that I was holding onto. I truly began to make sense of all of these feelings on my birthday this year. I was reading all the wonderful blogs of people who have adopted, particularly from Ethiopia, and at that moment I just knew, "This is what we are supposed to do." I have always believed that there is a reason why things happen in life and just maybe this is why we have had so much trouble conceiving. There are 5 million orphans in Ethiopia, many die before their 5th birthday, and there is one out there that is destined to be a Manas.

I came across this quote, "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do." Helen Keller - and it felt like these words were meant for me.

I am so blessed to have a wonderful family and supportive friends but most of all I am truly blessed with an amazing husband. The last 4 years have been filled with happiness but also so much sadness and it has deepened the love I have for Eric and the reassurance our love can and will last. I am thankful to anyone and everyone who reads and follows our journey to become a family of 3 (or4!) and if you can help support our cause in any way, we thank you so much!

The video that changed my life........