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Jenny is a single mom to three little people {two tummy babies and one via adoption} She lives in Birmingham, AL, and is passionate about overlooked children. Click HERE to connect with her on her blog.
My plan was to pursue a young child with Down syndrome from China. I wanted this because not only are children with special needs often overlooked, but most families want to adopt babies, leaving many kids who are older than toddler age without families. I was open to any country, but I did not want a newborn.
God had different plans for me. I heard about an organization called the National Down Syndrome Adoption Network.
They are not an adoption agency; they simply connect birth parents with a child diagnosed with Down syndrome with possible adoptive families.
I decided to register just in case a child in Alabama ever needed a home.
Very soon after I finished foster parent training,
I got a call from the network informing me that a birth mom in Texas had chosen ME to parent her soon to be newborn baby boy!A newborn. God does have quite a sense of humor!
My children and I chose his name together – Josiah Harrison Clark – and we would call him “Jojo.” I had some contact with the birth mother, but it was sporadic.
I was fearful. What if the birth mother changes her mind?What if the baby has major health issues when he is born?There were so many questions without many answers.
On June 19, the birth mother called. I heard her voice for the very first time when she explained to me that her doctor decided that the baby wasn’t growing well and labor needed to be induced the next day!
It was baby time, and so my children, my mom and I hopped on a plane to Texas that same afternoon!
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