Cornish Adoption Journey: Down Syndrome Awareness Month- October 16

September 2008- Kristopher, 4 1/2 Brianna 2 1/2

About our Family

Michael and I have been married for 21 years and have fifteen children. Kristopher was born in 2004, Brianna in 2006, and in 2007 we decided to add to our family through adoption. We added Emma (born in 2003) and Micah (born in 2006) to our family from Ukraine in 2008. Then in 2009 Lynae was born to us. In fall of 2010 we finalized James' adoption from US foster care and were in process for the adoption of Wesley (born in 2005) and received the 'bonus' of Aleksa (born in 2002) from Ukraine. Aleksa was the child we had originally tried to adopt when we brought home Emma and Micah in 2008! God orchestrated her homecoming with Wesley in Dec 2010! Delaina was then born to us in 2012. In 2014 we had Paul come stay with us as a respite placement, then we moved from Florida to Georgia. During that time, his first family that adopted him from Bulgaria a year prior, asked for us to adopt him and he became a Cornish in May 2015. In November 2015 we had our 4th baby girl, Harper. Then, in January 2017 we learned of a baby nearby in Georgia that needed a family. We adopted Nya in 2017. Since then we have had two more babies born to us. Silas in 2018 and Ryleigh in 2020. We will upwrap baby #15 around Christmas 2022!

All fourteen of our children are greatly treasured, and our daughter Brianna's diagnosis of Down syndrome was an answer to prayer. I'm sure that sounds strange to many, but Mike and I had considered adopting children with special needs for a long time and she was our "definite yes" to that journey! Five of our adopted children share the Ds diagnosis, and Emma has the same heart defect that Brianna had repaired. Wesley has Cerebral Palsy, and Nya has significant respiratory needs and CP.

14 kids, all homeschooled, 7 adopted, 6 with Down syndrome, 5 from Eastern Europe, 7 "home grown," 4 from Ukraine, 6 "typical," 3 with Cerebral Palsy, 2 with RAD, 2 from the USA, 4 with Autism, 2 Committed Parents, 1 very BIG GOD. That's Us!

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Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Down Syndrome Awareness Month- October 16

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