Sonia Beltz is a former digital editor for Love What Matters based near Dayton, Ohio. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English and Creative Writing from the University of Iowa. In her free time, you can find her writing, reading, or researching random historical facts online. Follow her on Instagram at @skatbel.
“I said to my husband, ‘There’s more news. I’m pregnant with triplets!’ How could we afford that many diapers? Then the doctor called. ‘We need to do a more in-depth ultrasound.’ I knew something was wrong.”
“Tears would well up in Victor’s eyes. ‘Why didn’t she love me?’ Those days were over. ‘Mom? If I’m being admitted, it means I have to stay here, right?’ I said, ‘Then that means I’m staying here too.’ We were going to pick up the pieces.”
“Adoption isn’t really a topic or a concept in Taiwan. We traveled back to visit our parents and announced we would be starting the adoption process. They thought we were joking.”
“Kids at school sometimes tell them they don’t have real parents, and there are days they believe it. Sometimes I feel my heart may burst, and other times it feels like emptiness. I hope all the love I’m pouring out has never been in vain.”
“’I just don’t fit here.’ He didn’t feel like he was good enough for us. We felt the weight during the entire process of trying to hold it all together. We questioned if we EVER wanted to be parents. I asked Joel, ‘Do you want to hear about another kid?’ He nodded. ‘Yes.’”
“When we traveled together, the flight attendant asked us and ONLY us if we belonged together. They see a black man. They don’t know he spent half of his life serving this nation.”
“’Oh no, please don’t let that car tumble over the bridge!’ I said. The older gentleman looked my way. ‘Let’s break a window,’ he said. He searched his vehicle to find something with no luck. I looked around and now saw a huge semi slow and pull over on this tiny shoulder too. A SEMI! As I drove away, I knew I had made a difference that day.”
“Jason ended up in the ER. Within hours, we were told, ‘He has a 5-7 years left to live.’ Or so we thought. Only 14 months later, I’d attend a grief camp with my kids where I would meet Jason #2. We kept our relationship secret, at my request. I adored him. I was nervous whether my in-laws and friends would accept my new love.”
“I sat down on the toilet, bleeding. ‘Stay where you are. Do not flush. We’re sending an ambulance.’ As the gynecologist explained how small babies are at this stage, she started to roll my baby between her fingers. I couldn’t believe it. With the shock and upset of everything going on, I said nothing.”
“10 minutes after turning off the light, I whispered, ‘Are you asleep?’ Stephen turned the light back on. We had to make a decision about bringing two children into our family solely based on pictures. ‘These were the children God sent to us, so, what is there to discuss?’ That was the moment they began to grow in our hearts.”
