by Heather Peterson

The blessing of a child comes in many ways. For Paul and Diana Murray, it came when a young, pregnant mother in Naples decided to put her baby up for adoption.

“We had been working with an adoption attorney in Naples for about four months and Christmas week we got the call we were praying for,” says Diana. On New Year’s Eve, the Murray’s brought home their bundle of joy from a Naples hospital. “That was the happiest New Year we could have imagined,” she says.

For Paul and Diana, the road to parenthood was a long one. They had been trying for nine years to have a baby. After several infertility treatments, multiple miscarriages and a lot of soul searching, they decided to look into private adoption.

“We really prayed about it and wondered if we were meant to be parents,” says Diana. “We came to the conclusion that there was a baby out there for us, we just needed to find him or her.”

The first step for the Murray’s was to contact a local adoption attorney, fill out the necessary paperwork and complete a home study. The next step was to present themselves in a positive light to the prospective birth-mothers.

“We wrote an open letter to the birth mother telling them why we would make great parents along with photos and information about ourselves, and then we just waited,” she says.

Although the wait for an infant can be up to two years in some cases, for the Murray’s, the whole process took about four months, with a cost of around $10,000.

“We know we were lucky to have found Lisa so quickly and when we held her in our arms, we knew that everything had worked out the way it was supposed to. We were so thankful to have such a beautiful baby girl,” adds Diana.

Two years later, the couple decided to try again, this time for a boy. They used another adoption attorney to facilitate the process. Within two months, they brought 1-year-old Christopher home from Arizona to join their family.

“The moment we saw him, he reached out his arms to Paul,” Diana says. “He is an amazing boy.”

If you’re hoping to adopt an infant, your chances increase through private adoption as the majority of the children available for adoption through the foster system are school-aged. Unlike adopting through the foster system, which is free of charge, private adoptions can cost anywhere from $8,000 - $30,000 and up, depending on the circumstances.

“The process for us was fairly simple both times,” agrees the Murray’s, “we have two happy, healthy and wonderful children, who make our family complete.  We couldn’t feel more blessed.”

Resources:
www.Adoptflorida.org
www.adoptionnetworking.com