Growing up, I always dreamed of being a mom. I loved kids. As a teenager, I babysat all the time. In college, I worked as a nanny. It all led me into education, and for the last 18 years, I’ve been a kindergarten teacher. Adoption was always tucked somewhere in my heart. The thought of giving a child a home they needed it called to me. But adoption costs money, and I lived paycheck to paycheck. On a teacher’s salary, it felt impossible. So I buried the dream and tried not to think about it.
One day, a friend asked me to join her in a home-based business. It was a network marketing company, and honestly, I didn’t expect much. But I gave it a try. And to my surprise, I did really well. So well that I realized this could actually make adoption possible. For the first time, I thought this isn’t just a dream anymore. This is real.
I told my mom first. She was over the moon. This was going to be her first grandchild. My sister couldn’t wait to be an aunt. Friends and coworkers cheered me on. Everyone seemed excited except my dad. My parents divorced when I was just two, and when I called him with the news, he told me, “You’re going to ruin your life. A child needs a mother and a father. What man would want a single mom?” His words cut deep, but I stood firm. I told him, “Any child in an orphanage would be blessed to have one parent rather than none.” After that, I kept my distance from him. I didn’t need the negativity weighing me down.
Once I made the decision, I started researching agencies. I wanted to be sure I chose the right one. In September 2015, I walked into Lifeline Children’s Services, a Christian agency. Pictures of waiting children lined the walls, and I thought, What if one of these is my baby? That day I met Sarah, who would later become my case worker. She was kind, soft-spoken, and honest. She explained the difference between domestic and international adoption. Domestic scared me what if the birth mother changed her mind? International felt more certain. That’s when I learned China would allow single women to adopt. Two weeks there, and then I’d be able to bring my baby home. My heart whispered: This is it.
I nearly waited another month to turn in the application, but I had a gut feeling not to delay. On October 9, 2015, I submitted the paperwork. Five days later, it was officially accepted. From there, the long road began home studies, fingerprints, stacks of documents, fees, and lots of prayers. By July 2016, I was waiting for a match.
Then, on September 12, 2016, while I was teaching, Sarah called. I knew it was something big. During my break, I stepped outside and called her back. “We have a file for you,” she said. “Her name is Kori.” She emailed me the file, and the second I opened it, I froze. The little girl had a bob haircut and the chubbiest cheeks the exact image from a dream I’d had months earlier. I cried. I knew instantly this is her. This is my daughter.
Her story broke my heart. She had been found as a newborn, wrapped in a blanket, abandoned in a field. The date hit me even harder. She was born October 6, 2015 just three days before I submitted my adoption application. That gut feeling hadn’t been random. It was God.
Everything sped up after that. What should’ve taken months took days. By November 2016, I had travel approval. On November 28, I was in China with my mom, waiting to meet Kenlee. The moment I saw her, she cried and clung to her nanny. Slowly, I reached out, whispered to her, and held her tight. She eventually calmed, and when she looked at me, it was like she realized, “This is my mom.” That night, she called me “momma” for the first time.
Bonding came quickly. She ate solid food for the first time fruit, yogurt, muffins after a year of only formula and rice porridge. She couldn’t get enough. When we left the orphanage for good, she waved as if she knew she’d never go back. Jimmy, our guide, handed me the blanket she had been found in. I broke down in tears. That blanket symbolized everything loss, survival, hope, and love.
Bringing Kenlee home was the easiest decision I ever made. The jet lag was tough, but being her mom came naturally. Doctors cleared her as a healthy, thriving child. Nights were rough at first she hated the silence after being used to rows of cribs and constant noise. Eventually, she just slept with me, and years later, she still does. I don’t mind.
Now, other single women reach out asking if adoption is possible for them. My answer is always yes. People doubted me my own dad told me I couldn’t do it. But here we are, living proof that you don’t have to have the perfect circumstances to build the perfect family. It just takes faith, persistence, and love.
Kenlee was meant to be mine. And I was meant to be her mom.
