Button Family

Even though I am an adoption professional, I had not envisioned that my husband and I would adopt, at least not until we were older, and I’d had more time to talk him into it. When I saw our son, who was a waiting child in Colombia, I felt an instant pull to him. Other details led to his holding my heart even as my husband said, “We are not adopting:” We learned that Bryan wanted to be a police officer (my husband is in law enforcement), that he dreamed of having three siblings (I have three biological kids), and that he loved the pizza! I somehow eventually got my husband and three children on board to host him over the Christmas holiday in 2017. We knew almost instantly after meeting him that he was a perfect fit for our family. Ironically, it was my husband who said he knew from the moment he laid eyes on Bryan that we were going to adopt him. We had two official adoption days when we finalized in Colombia and again when we readopted him in the U.S. Through all of the ups and downs that come with adopting an older child with a history of trauma, we have grown to love him more each day. In just a few days, we will celebrate the 4-year anniversary of his Colombia adoption!