Our Adoption Story

A Plan Made in Heaven
By Christina McDowell


A long, long time ago, in Heaven, there was a very special little girl. One day Heavenly Father took this little girl by the hand and walked her into a large room. He said to her, “Here are all the mommies and daddies, which ones do you want?”

The little girl walked around the room for a long time looking at all the mommies and daddies. They were all very different; some of them where tall and some of them where short. Some of them could sing very well, while others could make beautiful quilts. Some of the mommies where very beautiful and some of the mommies could give great big, loving hugs. Some of the daddies would be farmers and some would be movie stars. There were so many to choose from!

The little girl walked around the room for a long time. She looked at all them and spoke to some of them. Finally, she pointed to a mommy and daddy and said, “They are my favorite and I’d like them to be my mommy and daddy.”

Heavenly Father looked at the parents she had chosen and said, “When it is your time to go to earth, they will not be ready for you. Your mom will be in high school and your dad will be on a mission. You will have to wait for them for 10 years. Are you sure that is what you want?”

The little girl thought about this for a moment and said, “Yes, they are my mommy and daddy and I will wait for them.”


The next day, Heavenly Father told the mommy and daddy that it was there time to choose there children. They didn’t know they’d already been selected. He took them each by the hand and walked them into a large room. He said, “Here are all the children, which ones do you want?”

The mommy and daddy walked around the room for a long time looking at all the children. They were all very different; some of them had blonde hair and some had brown hair. Some of them could play the piano very well, while others could skateboard. Some of the girls could sing beautiful songs and some of them danced. Some of the boys played football and others rode horses. There were so many to choose from!

The mommy and daddy walked around the room for a long time. They looked at all of them and spoke to some of them. Finally, they pointed to a boy riding a skateboard and the daddy said, “He will grow to be strong and bring happiness to all. We would like him to be our son.”

Heavenly Father wrote the boy’s name down in “The Big Book of Families” and asked the parents to continue looking for more children. They looked a bit longer and found another boy standing next to a black horse and the mommy said, “He will grow to be steady and sure and bring joy to the world. We would like him to be our son.”

Heavenly Father wrote down the boy’s name down in “The Big Book of Families”, but this time He turned to the mommy and said, “It will be very hard for you to bring children into the world. You will not be required to have any more.”

The mommy and daddy looked at each other, smiled, turned to Heavenly Father and both said, “There is one more, a girl.” They pointed to a young girl singing in the choir and the Daddy said, “She will grow to exceed all odds and bring strength to our family. We would like her to be our daughter.”

Heavenly Father looked at the daughter they had chosen and said, “When it is her time to go to earth, you will not be ready for her. You will be in high school and you will be on a mission. You will have to wait many years for her. Are you sure that is what you want?”

The mommy and daddy thought about this for a moment and said, “Yes, that is our daughter and we will wait for her.”


Heavenly Father knew all along that the little girl belonged to this family. He had already decided where each of the children would go. He just wanted the families to choose each other, so they would know that they belonged together.

Heavenly Father took out his pen and wrote the girl’s name down in “The Big Book of Families.” Next to her name he wrote, “This brave daughter of God will go to many families before she finds her forever family. She will bring them all joy and happiness. She will strengthen them and they will grow because of her. A plan will be provided so that she will find safety and love. Her forever family will find her on an adoption photo listing in 2009 and they will be ready for her.”

So there her name sat, in “The Big Book of Families”, next to her daddy’s name, next to her mommy’s name and next to her brothers’ names, with a special note promising her that a plan would be made, a plan for her to find her forever family.

And that is what happened in April 2009, when her mommy, not remembering what had happened in Heaven, pulled up a file of 10 year old girl on an adoption photo listing. She turned to her husband and said, “Look at her.” The daddy had a strange familiar feeling, a feeling like a promise had been made a long, long time ago and said, “That’s our daughter.”

The mommy and daddy did all they needed to do to bring their daughter home. They took hours of classes, they gave finger prints, they fostered other children, they had a home study, they filled out piles of paper work and they prayed every day. The day finally came, when they phone rang and the caseworker on the other line said, “Congratulations, you’re going to be a new mommy, again.”

It wasn’t long before the girl in the photo listing was sitting in a car with her new brothers next to her, mom and dad in the front seat, and a smile on her face, driving to her new home in Utah.

The mommy and daddy didn’t swaddle her in a small pink blanket. They didn’t see her take her first steps. They didn’t hear her first word. They didn’t watch her loose her first tooth. They didn’t even walk her by the hand to her first day of school.

Instead, they wrap her in a blanket, quilted with love from her new grandma and cuddle on the couch. They watch her run off the bus and throw her arms around them because she’s just so glad to come home to her family. They hear her first brave, “I love you.” And the sweet sound of “Mom and dad I need you.” They get to watch the last baby tooth come out and pay to get the braces put on. But best of all, they get to walk her by the hand, dressed in white, through the Temple doors and seal her to their family for all of Eternity, for this was the plan that was made in Heaven a long, long time ago.