The Woudstra Family Love Story (FINISHED)

Travis: Growing up, my parents were always helping other people. They instilled in me the importance of sacrificing to help others. My dad passed away suddenly when I was in college which has always made family more meaningful and important to me. I have worked in group homes with kids suffering from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and seen how much help is needed, and I have always felt that part of God’s plan for me involved helping kids in some way. When we got married and were told that the chances of us conceiving biological children carried some risks for Sonya as well as the baby, I was concerned. For us, it was important to explore all of our options and at the end of the day, I felt a huge sense of peace with the decision to adopt.

Over the last two years as we waited to begin this journey we have grown closer as a couple and more excited than ever to start a family. I think adoption is God’s way of giving us a chance to demonstrate His love to a child and a mother. In today’s world I admire the courage and faith it takes for a woman to carry a child when the alternative is so easy. A mother choosing adoption for her baby is one of the greatest acts of love, and our role as adoptive parents is to continue to build on that act of love by welcoming that child into our lives, unconditionally, wholly loved, the way Christ welcomes each of us into his family.
Sonya: I absolutely adore kids and am blessed with 10 nieces and nephews. Anyone who knows me knows these kids mean the world to me. I think my desire to be a mom started at an early age but was solidified when my first niece was born and with every kiddo born after that.  Those kids teach me that love is really what makes a family. We started going to a new church about 6 months ago solely based on the adoption community within the church. We meet once a month with an adoption community group and its been amazing to develop relationships and have support from people who have walked ahead of us. We have a strong support system from our friends and it’s been cool to see how much our adoption journey has been prayed over.  That’s one of the beautiful pieces of adoption is that SO many people get involved in your story.  I hope one of the first things our child knows is the vast amount of people that love them and have already been praying for them for years.

Travis: Since we made the decision to adopt, doors have opened in our community to some amazing conversations about adoption. Two other couples within our community have completed the adoption process.  At times it has been difficult to wait but we are so excited to have a community of family and friends who are engaged in this process with us, who will be there to support us and the family we start.  Knowing that our community is behind us and supportive makes this so much more exciting.
We’ve always wanted a family. I guess after waiting so long to meet the woman of my dreams we both were very excited to start a family. I mean, we got a puppy the day we got back from our honeymoon! They say you should start with a plant but we were both too excited for a family so we just skipped that step and jumped right to a pet.
Sonya: In the moments when I get impatient with how hard and slow the process of adoption can be, I’m reminded of God’s love and faithfulness to me in the years I waited for Travis.  We got married September 13th, 2014 at a beautiful lodge in the mountains of Colorado.
Travis: The beautiful thing about being with someone who knows Christ’s love is that we get to experience forgiveness and redemption and get a taste or glimpse of what Christ’s love is.  I can’t wait to give the same kind of love to our children.
For us, the adoption journey started a few years ago. I remember meeting Sonya at the doctor’s office. She was having a test done and when she walked out, I knew it wasn’t good. We both just walked to the parking lot without saying a word. Sonya told me she couldn’t get pregnant. In that moment, of course I was sad but I had also been thinking a lot about adoption and felt at peace. I struggled with the fact that there are so many kids out there who need a loving home and that need to have a biological child just didn’t feel as important. What did feel important is being a father and starting a family.
Sonya: Once we got the official results of that test and learned we couldn’t have kids, we made an appointment at a fertility clinic.  I think we both quietly knew God was stirring in our hearts but we pushed on anyways to the fertility appointment.  After the longest meeting of our life, we discovered IVF was our only option and the clinic was ready to get us started right away.  As soon as we had the first alone moment with each other in the clinic, we both looked at each other with tears in our eyes and we just knew this wasn’t God’s plan for us. In this moment we chose adoption to grow our family. This all happened within 6 months of getting married and most agencies require 2 years of marriage before they will let you get started.  It feels like we’ve been waiting FOREVER to finally get started but I also think this time has been fruitful in preparing our hearts to prepare us to be parents.