‘Why do you want to adopt Shiloh?,’ the judge asked us. I’ll never forget what my husband said. ‘It’s the paperwork catching up to hearts. She IS our daughter,’ he responded.’: Couple elated to officially adopt daughter

“Our normally bouncy Shiloh was quiet and only wanted Daddy. She just wanted to be still. At only 2 years old, she couldn’t verbalize her feelings. We couldn’t help her understand what was happening. She could sense it was something big, and that all eyes were on her.”

‘My son was screaming, ‘That thing on her chest popped!’ Have you ever taken a bandage off a 4-year-old? Like giving a cat a bath.’: Brother ‘never leaving’ little sister alone after dad dies

“My son came in. He knew he had to act. He took a bandage from the counter and presented his little sister with a simple question. ‘If I put this bandage on me, and let you take it off, will you let Mom take off yours?’ She pondered the idea, then nodded in agreement. He was going to protect her forever.”

‘Here I was, a 3-month-old in hand, her father leaving because he couldn’t handle my postpartum depression.’: Young mom overcomes suicide, ‘Bliss lies on the other side of pain’

“On Christmas night, I sat on my empty floor, no tree, no presents, just silence. I saw a kitchen with hardly any food. The only items I had to my name were a bag of clothes and a computer. I looked at my daughter sleeping so sweetly, and something deep inside me broke. I told my daughter that night would be the last night. She didn’t deserve any of this.”

‘We’re sorry. It’s cancer.’ We’ve spent 150+ nights in the hospital. I quit my job. My husband ran out of sick days.’: Mom’s newborn diagnosed with Leukemia, community sacrifices sick days to help

“We noticed a shift in our bubbly girl’s personality. Kinsley stopped sleeping. She had a diaper rash we couldn’t control. She was constantly fussy and the days seemed like years. They continually told me it was average baby things, that she was teething, she was fine, this was normal. There was nothing normal about it. My mom instincts were on high alert.”

‘We got in a serious motorcycle accident. I laid on the road thinking, ‘If we’re seriously considering adoption, it’s now or never.’ As I waited for first responders, the calling felt so strong.’

“I felt excitement and anxiety all at once. Over the next month, we said yes to 5 situations. ‘What if we never get chosen?’ Then, my cell phone rang with a number I didn’t recognize. I began shaking. I called my husband. ‘Get your bags together. It’s time!’ But knew very well not to expect things to happen right away.”