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| My girls Christine, Emily, Lyndee, and Liz |
We had just moved to North Ogden and two of our girls Emily and Lyndee just graduated from High school. They were now leaving Young Women’s and were to be introduced into Relief Society the following Sunday.
The Relief Society President asked me if I would tell the sisters
something interesting about the two of them. Here is how I made
that introduction:
These two girls are not twins yet they are 24 days apart. They are the same size and have many similarities. Lyndee is a twin, but not a twin of Emily's. Lyndee's birth was the easiest any mother could ever ask for. In fact, that day came and went and I didn't even know she was born. Immediately, I got strange and curious looks from the sisters in the ward, so I decided to tell the rest of the story. Lyndee was adopted at age 17.
Here is how it all happened. Emily came bouncing in the door from a week at girls camp, and the first thing she said was "Mom, we have to adopt this girl I met at girl’s camp." What? Wait a minute, you don't adopt teenagers, they come with too many problems. Emily kept talking about how much they were like sisters and insisted we meet her immediately. She came over for a visit and she seemed nice enough but what can you tell in a visit, everyone can be on their best behavior for a few hours.
Several weeks later we received a phone call from social services asking us if they could please place Lyndee in our care temporarily until they put her in a new home. The home she was in was no longer working out. We agreed as our home was always open to those in need. Several weeks passed and the case worker said "we have decided not to place her in a family but rather to put her in a group home, since she is almost of age.” By this time Lyndee had proved herself to be a fine young woman, obedient and helpful, she kept telling Emily,” I want to be in a real family, not in a group home.”
My husband and I began to talk. Should we be her foster parents for a while? She really seemed happy in our home and she fit our family like a glove on a hand. She had an immediate since of how our family worked and she blended in well. She didn't get in your space, if you know what I mean? She knew when to speak and when to listen and never complained. We called the case worker and asked if we could be her foster parents, he agreed and she moved in with us.
Time continued to pass and she still proved herself a good member of our family. A few weeks before Mother’s day, I kept getting the impression we should adopt this girl. I discussed it with my husband and when we prayed about it we knew it was right, yet very scary. All the "what ifs" kept popping up in my head and I let fear and doubt arise.
Then it became very clear to me that it was the right thing to do, so we talked with each of our children and they all felt good about our decision and we decided to tell her on "Mothers Day". It was a moment I will never forget." With tears in both of our eyes we told her we wanted to keep her and be a part of our forever family. We had a promise from the Lord all would be OK, she won't be perfect, and yes you will have another daughter's wedding to pay for, but it was his will.
We planned an adoption shower for her, inviting her friends and ours, and it was a lot of fun. All the young women and their leaders gave her a lot of support.
A date was set, we met at the court, and it was finalized, the court then took her original birth certificate and replaced her birth mom's name with mine. So I can prove by a birth certificate that I gave birth to her, hence that is why it was the easiest birth ever.
We then took her to the temple to be sealed for time and all eternity. Isn't it interesting how the Lord can get the right people in the right family when we mess up here on earth.
These two girls are not twins yet they are 24 days apart. They are the same size and have many similarities. Lyndee is a twin, but not a twin of Emily's. Lyndee's birth was the easiest any mother could ever ask for. In fact, that day came and went and I didn't even know she was born. Immediately, I got strange and curious looks from the sisters in the ward, so I decided to tell the rest of the story. Lyndee was adopted at age 17.
Here is how it all happened. Emily came bouncing in the door from a week at girls camp, and the first thing she said was "Mom, we have to adopt this girl I met at girl’s camp." What? Wait a minute, you don't adopt teenagers, they come with too many problems. Emily kept talking about how much they were like sisters and insisted we meet her immediately. She came over for a visit and she seemed nice enough but what can you tell in a visit, everyone can be on their best behavior for a few hours.
Several weeks later we received a phone call from social services asking us if they could please place Lyndee in our care temporarily until they put her in a new home. The home she was in was no longer working out. We agreed as our home was always open to those in need. Several weeks passed and the case worker said "we have decided not to place her in a family but rather to put her in a group home, since she is almost of age.” By this time Lyndee had proved herself to be a fine young woman, obedient and helpful, she kept telling Emily,” I want to be in a real family, not in a group home.”
My husband and I began to talk. Should we be her foster parents for a while? She really seemed happy in our home and she fit our family like a glove on a hand. She had an immediate since of how our family worked and she blended in well. She didn't get in your space, if you know what I mean? She knew when to speak and when to listen and never complained. We called the case worker and asked if we could be her foster parents, he agreed and she moved in with us.
Time continued to pass and she still proved herself a good member of our family. A few weeks before Mother’s day, I kept getting the impression we should adopt this girl. I discussed it with my husband and when we prayed about it we knew it was right, yet very scary. All the "what ifs" kept popping up in my head and I let fear and doubt arise.
Then it became very clear to me that it was the right thing to do, so we talked with each of our children and they all felt good about our decision and we decided to tell her on "Mothers Day". It was a moment I will never forget." With tears in both of our eyes we told her we wanted to keep her and be a part of our forever family. We had a promise from the Lord all would be OK, she won't be perfect, and yes you will have another daughter's wedding to pay for, but it was his will.
We planned an adoption shower for her, inviting her friends and ours, and it was a lot of fun. All the young women and their leaders gave her a lot of support.
A date was set, we met at the court, and it was finalized, the court then took her original birth certificate and replaced her birth mom's name with mine. So I can prove by a birth certificate that I gave birth to her, hence that is why it was the easiest birth ever.
We then took her to the temple to be sealed for time and all eternity. Isn't it interesting how the Lord can get the right people in the right family when we mess up here on earth.
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| Day of adoption Lyndee in middle, Elizabeth and Emily on both sides John and Brian to the right me next to Liz |
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| Ogden Temple |
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| graduation pictures |
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| Aaron , John, Lyndee and Ronnie |
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| Lyndee graduating from High School |
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| Lyndee with all the girls at temple |
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| Lyndee's family 2012 with 5 children |
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