Adoption had been on my heart for as long as I could remember. I can still recall sitting by the Reedy River Falls in Greenville, South Carolina, talking with my husband after many long conversations about starting a family. That day, he looked at me and said, “Let’s do it.” I knew in that moment we were both ready to walk the path of adoption.
Through a neighbor who worked at an agency, we were connected with families who had adopted from Taiwan. Because of our age, our options were limited, but Taiwan allowed couples who were at least twenty years older than the child to adopt. After completing our home study, we began working with a small orphanage in Taiwan that prayed over every child before matching them with families.
I’ll never forget the moment we got “the call.” I was teaching first grade, and during my lunch break, I checked my voicemail. The message was from Taiwan—we had been matched with a baby girl. My heart raced as I tried over and over to reach my husband, only to get his voicemail. When I finally got home, I found him sitting in the nursery we had prepared, holding the photo of our daughter with tears streaming down his face. That was the day Rylyn became ours in our hearts.
Just before our travel date, I discovered I was pregnant with our son. The trip to Taiwan was overwhelming 24 hours of flights, transfers, and morning sickness but the moment I stepped into the Home of God’s Love and saw Rylyn asleep in her crib, everything else melted away. I touched her tiny fingers, and my life changed forever.
She was only eight months old, yet her presence was powerful. From the very beginning, Rylyn was thoughtful, kind, and incredibly empathetic. She taught me lessons about love and generosity that I never expected to learn from a child. Later that same year, our son was born, and just like that, we went from no children to two babies within months.
Years later, adoption returned to our story. We adopted our second daughter, Brooklyn, from China. That season of life was full of challenges: job loss, selling our home, and my diagnosis of a genetic mutation that increased my cancer risk. I underwent preventative surgery, and while recovering, our family spent nearly three months traveling across Europe with our three young children. It was chaotic, but also a gift.
During that time, I never forgot about Rylyn’s biological brother in Taiwan. For years, I reached out to the orphanage asking about him. At one point, it seemed possible that he might join our family, but the situation changed, and he was placed in foster care instead. My heart broke. I had prayed for that little boy for so long, hoping Rylyn and her brother would be reunited.
Then, in 2019, my sister began her own adoption journey. Something in me nudged—what if she could adopt him? I asked, even though it felt like a long shot. To our amazement, doors opened. After months of paperwork and delays, especially with the pandemic, my sister and her husband were matched with him. Two years later, they traveled to Taiwan, quarantined, and finally brought him home.
Six years after we first heard about him, Rylyn’s brother became part of our extended family. Families don’t always look the way you imagine, but love finds a way.
Rylyn’s Point of View
I always wished for another brother. Every time I picked a dandelion and blew on it, that was my wish. I didn’t know my wish had already come true.
One evening, my parents asked me to sit with them on the porch. I thought maybe I was in trouble, but instead, they told me something unbelievable: I had a biological brother living in Taiwan, and my aunt and uncle were adopting him. At first, I didn’t know what to think. I was shocked, excited, and a little nervous.
When I finally met him in Charlotte, it felt surreal. He looked so much like me, and even though we didn’t speak the same language, I could tell we shared something special. He was funny, helpful, and kind. He even carried my suitcase to the car when we left.
It’s still strange sometimes to think that my brother doesn’t live in the same house as me, but I’m grateful he’s part of my life now. Meeting him has made me realize that families can come together in many different ways.
For me, adoption isn’t just about being chosen. It’s about connection, love, and hope. My story and now my brother’s reminds me every day that it’s love that truly makes a family.
