I can still remember the look on Karla”s face at this moment! Not a lot of adoptive mothers get to watch their baby be born. It was such a wonderful feeling. It felt really good to do something so wonderful for them. I gave them the best gift anyone could ever give: The gift of life! That night Emily and I spent the night in the hospital together. I told her that I was going to be giving her to very special people that would give her a better life than I could have given her. It was a very hard night but we made it. The next morning I handed her to her mother and father and I could see that they were so happy and so full of love. I knew at that moment I had made a very good choice.
My name is Kathryn, I was 21 and I had a 3 year old little boy. I had gotten pregnant and the dad didn’t want the baby. I knew that I couldn’t take care of another baby all by myself. One was hard enough at that time. I wanted to keep this baby so bad! But that would have been selfish and unfair to all of us. So I had been thinking about adoption but I kept putting it off. I really didn’t want to have this baby and then give it up for adoption and never see it again, so about 3 weeks before I was due my sister told me about her friends who had been wanting a baby for so long. So I agreed to meet them. I met Karla first and really loved her! She was the sweetest person ever, and was so excited that I was gonna give her my baby. She told me that they would keep in touch with me as the baby grew up and that the baby would know who I was. This was really what sold me on them being her parents. I would get to see my little girl grow up and to make sure she was as happy as could be.
I spent the next 2-3 weeks living with them. We were getting so excited to have this baby! Well, that day finally came on May 31, 2003. I had told Karla that she could watch the birth, and I think this was a GREAT choice. Not a lot of adoptive mothers get to watch their baby be born. I can still remember the look on Karla”s face at this moment! It was such a wonderful feeling. It felt really good to do something so wonderful for them. I gave them the best gift anyone could ever give: The gift of life! They named her Emily Anne. She was such a precious little girl. That night Emily and I spent the night in the hospital together. I told her that I was going to be giving her to very special people that would give her a better life than I could have given her. It was a very hard night but we made it. The next morning I handed her to her mother and father and I could see that they were so happy and so full of love. I knew at that moment I had made a very good choice.
The first year of her life was very hard for me. I felt weird about calling to see if I could see Emily, but that soon passed. I saw Emily when she was just a bit over 1, but then I moved to Illinois to get a better life for me and my son (who knows about his little sister). We have been doing very well here. I am married now and have 2 more boys. We all went last year in August to see Emily. She was introduced to her brothers, but bless her heart she wasn’t quite able to understand yet. She is going to be 5 years old in May, and I am proud to say that she has grown into a wonderful young lady. She is such a great kid! Karla and I talk almost everyday. We have a very wonderful relationship! My parents even get to see Emily from time to time, and I am glad of that. Karla and Russell are such wonderful people. Their hearts are so big! I am so glad that they are taking such great care of our little girl. I really don”t think I could have picked a better family for her, and it”s nice knowing that Emily knows I am her birth mother. I couldn’t be more happy with how things worked out and for the life I chose for my little girl.