The Birth of a Family {A Story of Foster Care Adoption}

My family story starts with a single mother of a sweet boy.

When my son Zane was 14 months old I found myself suddenly parenting solo.  During that 3 year journey I never gave up hope that I would have a Godly husband for myself and a Godly father for Zane.  While feeling lonely and abandoned, I held onto several verses that the Lord gave me knowing that He would never leave me nor forsake me.  The primary one being Isaiah 54:6 “The LORD will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit– a wife who married young, only to be rejected,” says your God.”   I trusted that God would be a father to my son and a husband to me while I was husbandless.  I poured my heart out to Him and my faith flourished.  I knew in my heart that God created me to be a mama of many so I trusted that he would be sending more little ones my way.

On April 1, 2007 Zane and I got our Godly man.  In addition to my beloved I also scored 2 amazing bonus boys my step-sons Mason and Carson. The Lowmillers were now a family of 5.   Before Brian and I were married we spoke of the desire to grow our family.  He thought one or two more would be ideal.  I thought three or four more sounded great.  Then there was the issue of HOW we would grow our family.  During Brian’s first marriage he had a vasectomy.  We knew that a reversal was a possibility but also costly and it might not work.  We were both very open to adoption so we agreed that is where we would start.

I had a heavy desire to adopt from foster care on my heart so we signed up to take the necessary classes to get our adoption home study.  Taking those classes opened our eyes to the need for foster families in our community.   After much deliberation we decided to open our hearts and home to children needing a loving family for perhaps a day, a week or forever.  We had several little loves come and go but in November 2009 our Naomi came as a legal risk placement at 6 months old and stayed forever!  I should mention that Brian had a vasectomy reversal in June of 2009.  It proved to be successful because in January 2010 when Naomi was only 8 months old I found out we were expecting!  Quinn was born in September 2010 and we thought we were done growing.  But then Brian went on a business trip in March.  When he came home he declared that he would like to have one or two more children.  I was shocked!  This is exactly what I had hoped for but I was trusting God to change Brian’s heart if this was His plan for the Lowmillers.

I felt VERY strongly that we should adopt through foster care again.  We filled out the mountain of paperwork and turned it in.  Several weeks later I discovered that we were expecting again.  That was a happy surprise but I remember being so  confused and telling God over and over again that I was absolutely positive that He meant for us to adopt through foster care again so why in the world is there a baby occupying my womb?  His ways are NOT our ways.  17 weeks into my pregnancy with Ezra I received a call on a Monday morning that Naomi’s birth parents had delivered a baby girl on Sunday.  I was asked if we would consider being a forever family for her.   With my 8 year old on the floor playing legos, my 2 year old tugging on my leg, my 10 month old on my hip and my baby in my belly I called my husband at work to pose the big question.  I had prepared my heart to hear “Woman you are nuts!” But instead my amazing husband said “Another daughter?  A sister for Naomi?  Yes!  Call and tell them yes!”

Two days later I brought Phoebe Violet home from the hospital. We finalized her adoption in March of 2013 when she was 19 months old. I am so very pleased that God has chosen me to be the mother of the awesome children in our family.  Our family has been incredibly blessed by adoption.  I had a specific burden to adopt through the foster care system because there are currently over 100,000 children waiting for forever families.  That is 100,000 children that have no one to call “Mommy” or “Daddy”.  My girls made it out of the system when they were still babies but many children are not as fortunate.

Each year over 20,000 children age out of the system and will never have a family.  Where will they go for holidays?  Who will call them on their birthday?  Who will walk her down the aisle?  Who will teach him how to be a man?  These waiting children desperately need the love and support of a family.  Half of these waiting children are 8 or older.  Some have special needs and many are sibling groups.  A few important facts to know are that adopting through the foster care system is free or very low cost.  The children often receive a monthly stipend to help cover costs of their care until they are 18.  They also receive Medicaid until they are 18.  Our daughters will receive free in state college tuition as a benefit from the state of Florida.  Children come into the foster care system due to abuse, abandonment or neglect not because of anything they have done.  Please consider bringing one of these precious children into your heart and into your home.  I am certain you will not regret it.

You can read one of this family’s birth stories as well here.

http://www.adoptuskids.org/

http://www.heartgalleryofamerica.org/

 

lowmiller family 1 (2)

Lowmiller family 4 (2)

Lowmiller RTS-0763 web (2)

Lowmiller RTS-0802 web (2)

mlk day (2)

mlk day2 (2)

10 Comments

  • Jen

    As a biological momma of four, a fost-adopt momma of one, a foster momma of yet one more, and a fellow woman of faith, I adore this story! 🙂 May God richly bless you all! Your pics make me grin, and I can’t wait to show my hubby to assure him that we aren’t the only crazies out there!

  • Nicki

    Love love love!!! Thanks so much for posting!!! 🙂 My husband and I are just beginning our journey of foster care and we are so excited to hear positive stories in the midst of all the negative ones! Beautiful family and beautiful story and beautiful God! 🙂 love it!!!

  • Dejah Danger

    Such a beautiful story of love and hope! Thank you for sharing this. I dearly hope I’m in a position to bring foster children into my home someday. To provide a loving family for a child in need is the greatest gift; not just to them, but to yourself. Love begets love! Your family is beautiful.

  • Kristi

    Thank you for sharing your amazing story. We have 3 biological children but I believe The Lord has begun stirring something in my heart for adoption the last few years. Praying as He brings it to mind. My husband is not YET on the same page so I’m praying for Gods timing and guidence. God bless you all!

  • Lexi Green

    Oh Holly, how wonderful it is to read your full story! Even more heart warming than the what you’ve already taken the time to share with me. I love your heart, your children, and the love spread warmly throughout your family. Thank you Birth Without Fear! The world needs to know the Lowmiller story!

  • Rebekah

    Adoption has been on my heart since the mission trip I went on when I was 13, working in an orphanage the whole time. There are so many littles in the world who need a home! Before my daughter was conceived I said that if we couldn’t conceive then we would adopt. Now I’m pregnant again. And yet those heart strings still tug. I thought adoption was extremely expensive, which would completely rule it out for us. I had NO idea that foster care adoption could be so low cost, and to send them to college would relieve a huge burden as well. This gives me hope that it is still a possibility for us share our love. Thank you for sharing your story!

  • stephanie mushonga

    Thank you for sharing this lovely story. Thank you also for sharing your faith. We are not adoptive/foster parents but my sister and her husband are currently waiting for placement of a child or children through the Oklahoma foster care system. We are looking forward to whomever the Lord sends to them through this way.

  • anonymous

    Thank you so much for posting this story. My husband and I have had adoption heavy on our hearts since before we even married. Our dream is to adopt a sibling group. A couple of months before finally becoming eligible to adopt in our state (you have to be married 3 years in Alabama to adopt from the foster care system), we’ve found out I’m pregnant with our second biological child. Our oldest child will be 19 months old when the new baby is born. We’ve been trying to figure out whether we should go ahead with our plans to adopt asap or wait to adopt until we’ve adjusted to life with our new baby. It’s nice to hear from someone who’s been in a similar (even crazier) situation.

Leave a Reply to Dejah Danger Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Order the BIRTH WITHOUT FEAR Book at One of the Following Book Retailers!

Amazon • Barnes & Noble • iBooks 

 Google Play • Books-A-Million • IndieBound

***Sign up below for more updates on the Birth Without Fear book!***

We respect your privacy.