Adopting Luke

Luke means "bringer of light" and that is exactly who he is in a nutshell.  He brings light and joy to everyone he encounters.  Luke is a miracle, (I believe that all children are) but his life is one where you can see God's divine hand on.  Labeled "failure to thrive" at 5 weeks old, he spent a week in the hospital being nursed back to heath.  A dear friend, and foster mom, picked up Luke from the hospital as her foster son.  And we are oh so glad that she did!

It was shortly after my father passed away that we had a phone call from Carol, Luke's foster mom, and she said, "I have a baby for you!"  I had recently suffered 2 miscarriages and I wasn't eager to get my heart broken again.  But...there was something about the situation that I was drawn to.  I was moved that this little baby needed a forever home so we decided to take a risk.  Mark and I met Luke when he was 8 months old and we began the process of becoming licensed foster parents.  We welcomed Luke home at 13 months old and he has been apart of our lives ever since.  Luke brought "light" to me during a very dark time in my life.  I had been saturated with the losses of so many I doubted that life would ever feel "normal" again.  Luke gave me purpose and challenged me.  He caused me to grow and to grow-up.  Luke introduced me to the world of occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy and IEP's.  Luke inspired me to go back to school and earn my endorsement in the area of Special Education.

On May 20, 2005, he became an "official" member of our family and made me a MOMMY!  That is something I had waited a LONG time for.

Today Luke is almost 15 years old and he continues to inspire me to live with joy, purpose and thankfulness.  What a privilege that I get to be his mom!