Mom Adopted Two Children, Months Later She Learned Who They Really Are

mom adopted two children months later she learned who they really are [Music] Katie Paige unfortunately got a divorce during her early 30s and so she felt lost in life it felt like the family and careers she always wanted no longer seemed like a possibility the route she took thereafter offered a life-changing experience not only for her but also for the others in her life Katie Paige from Alabama was in her mid 30s and already going through a tough phase of her life her marriage had come to an end and she felt unfulfilled she was struggling to figure out her way in life her plans for a family had to be put on hold at this point Katie had been on the lookout for a new start when she decided that it was time for a huge change she knew an overhaul was required if she wanted to achieve her dreams this is the reason she relocated even though she had opportunities and friends in Alabama she did some soul-searching before she decided to make some serious life changes she ended up landing a job that sounded like the solution to her problems Katie relocated to Denver Colorado there she started a job in the world of commercial construction on paper her position was integrated service manager for a construction company called GE Johnson Katie felt optimistic about the decision she made even more so after she purchased a four-bedroom fixer-upper house that needed a number of renovations which she decided to take on herself the house I bought would require extensive work to transform into my vision and most of which I would do myself in order to afford it she said she remembered telling a friend that this huge home was meant for more although she had yet to figure out what that meant for her renovations would require quite a bit of money but Katy considered this to be a good thing she needed to avoid spending unnecessarily which meant she'd worked on the repairs herself this would keep her focused and occupied as she got the rest of her life on track living in the four-bedroom home all by herself caused her to feel like something was missing in her life even though her marriage had to end she thought there might be other opportunities waiting for her that's why she decided to find out which options were worth considering she was hesitant to get the ball rolling though she had many options in mind while Katy felt hesitant she was aware that there was something she could do to improve her situation at least she hoped to the renovation project kept her motivated and busy but it did not give her the satisfaction she wanted she thought that changing jobs and buying a new house would give her a new perspective maybe it did but it didn't give Katy exactly what she was looking for she also had to deal with fertility problems so she started a toy around with the thought of adoption she was looking for a new direction in life so Katy started looking into the process of fostering kids she loved kids and thought it could give her a real purpose in life she'd always wanted to be a mom but mother nature just wasn't on board perhaps it had a different calling for her got a letter from a local church she recently joined it mentioned an upcoming seminar discussing a program for fostering kids in need immediately she felt the stirring in her heart and was attracted by such an idea deep down she felt this was her calling the meeting about foster care at church tugged her heartstrings if she had any doubt this convinced her that this was the path meant for her while she still felt nervous about such an undertaking the possibility also made her heart feel fall what better way to start her journey than on Mother's Day she'd filled out her application form and it ended up changing her life forever with an ending comes an opportunity to start anew this drastic life change offered her the possibility of taking her life in a new direction being a single woman who was new to the area she had to weigh out her options before heading straight into it she would first have to navigate the area and then navigate motherhood itself despite this she knew it was the right choice not long after she filed her application she started to receive cases the foster children that she received were not just children without parents but they were also children who experienced trauma when they were still very young hearing this made her want to help even more the next year Katie fostered four kids she found herself eager to adopt a child of her own she was content with serving as a foster parent but she decided to make Parenthood a more permanent facet of her life from fostering kids she wanted to adopt one she didn't have to wait long after making this big decision before life showed her the right challenge only two weeks after talking to her caseworker about her desire she got a phone call about a child who was abandoned by his biological mother at a hospital nearby the newborn was just four days old without hesitation she knew that this was destiny at work Katie then told her caseworker I want him and asked the worker to try not to contact anyone else about the baby that night she prayed fervently that the baby would be hers only time would tell within a day of getting that call her caseworker contacted her again Katie answered the phone hoping she was granted rights to be as foster mother that same day she walked out of the nearby hospital the four-year-old boy in her arms she had experience fostering a 14 month-old infant but she'd never taken care of a newborn in the past this little boy needed help and love she thought it was terrible that he was abandoned at such a young age but sadly that wasn't the worst of it it turns out that doctors found that the little boy was exposed to illegal substances when he was in utero he might have been exposed to drugs but it was a good thing he was not shown withdrawal symptoms yet after some tests they revealed that he was not going to suffer long-term effects KT was grateful to hear this news the baby boy had a tough beginning in life but that was all past him now it was time for them to move on now so KT decided that she would give her all if she wanted to take care of her this new baby and so she did since he was abandoned at only four days of age he didn't have a name yet KT searched online for hours looking for the perfect name for this beautiful baby she was caring for although his name would probably change once adopted KT figured she couldn't call him baby boy forever when she first took him home with her she only referred to him as baby boy for days she didn't have a lot of time to think of something to name him which is why she decided to call him by her favorite boy named Grayson Katie fell in love with him as soon as she laid eyes on him immediately she felt a connection that she couldn't explain she never dreamed that she would turn out to be such a natural at parenthood as days went on she started to realize that true motherhood was her calling she felt her soul tell her that she should raise him as her own child she'd already fostered little kids that grew up in abusive environments but none of them stayed with her for a long time this was what she longed for this ultimately led Katie to make a decision to become a full-time parent she knew it would be very different than fostering but she was ready to go the next step and adopt Grayson as her son since she'd taken care of him since he was only four days old he managed to take a special place in her heart Grayson stayed with her for nearly a year as caseworkers tried to track down his biological parents they looked far and wide for his mother and father but couldn't find them they put up ads in the newspaper and on Facebook but didn't get any responses no one stepped in to look for the baby boy at the hospital either after some time grayson finally got a shot at a loving home he became the legal son of katy when he was 11 months old they had no idea that their life together was just about to start it's something that Katie looked forward to and started feeling a little fulfilled Grayson required Katie's full attention because he was struggling both physically and developmentally thanks to the drug exposure he suffered she did sometimes feel like her family was not yet complete but she waited until her son was 18 months old before she took in one more foster kid Katie then received multiple emails and calls about potential placements now that her home was open once more she mostly got offers for short-term placements she wanted a more long-term arrangement but she didn't think it was the right time just yet she knew that she wanted to expand her little family she hoped to focus on her baby boy for the time being Grayson deserved nothing less than her undivided attention so she gave him just that she threw a little party for him where he thoroughly enjoyed his birthday cake she knew that she wanted a bigger family but put off another adoption until their young son was a little older Katie had a lot of space in her house which is why she wanted to take advantage of this a month after Katie decided to adopt Grayson she received a phone call out of the blue little did she know but the call would change her and Grayson's lives forever the person on the other end informed Katie that there was another newborn who was abandoned by her mother who was in need of a loving home she learned that the baby at the hospital was named Hanna Katie instantly felt that she had to help this little girl just like her son Hanna was also exposed to drugs when she was in the wound interestingly she was at the same hospital where Grayson was found she knew that helping out was the right thing to do but still wanted to focus on her son what would Katie do after talking it over with the worker on the phone she got a sense of deja vu in an interview Katie said during all the phone calls I made that afternoon the phrase I know I'm crazy but God is telling me to say yes kept coming out of my mouth Katie couldn't help but feel anxious and nervous but her instincts told her to open up her heart and consider taking in the baby girl at the hospital in only a matter of hours they dropped off Hanna from the hospital and the little girl met Katie and Grayson for the first time after Katie welcomed her into the house she noticed the name of the mother written on the baby bracelet it turned out to be the same name she found on Graysons she looked over the baby's discharge papers and soon noticed that her birth mother had a similar birthdate as the little boy's biological mother was it a coincidence Hanna had similar medical conditions and drug exposure to Grayson the caseworker told me her story which sounded really similar to Grayson's Katie explained even though Hanna and Grayson did not look alike she had a suspicion that the two were related in some way Grayson is half african-american with a beautiful darker skin and curly dark hair the mother posted on her blog she continued baby girl as a pale white skin tone and straight red blonde hair well the two kids did not look anything alike Katie still thought that something was off it was going to be difficult to find out the truth since Grayson's birth mother had a different surname her birthday was also off by a single day to the one Grayson's mother had Katie was determined to get to the bottom of it that she took it upon herself to track down Hanna's birth mother Katie even approached her caseworker and told her that she thought Hanna and Grayson had the same birth mother however she was told that this did not seem likely for all they knew that chances of that was slim and probably a million to one perhaps it was just pure coincidence regardless she knew she might have better luck by getting in touch with her son's caseworker she requested to take over Hanna's case as well after months of searching for an answer she finally tracked down and met up with Hanna's birth mother Katie was anxious when she visited the biological mother of her daughter as soon as they met up she could tell that she was the same person who gave birth to her son as well she couldn't understand how all this was possible the moment she saw Hanna's birth mother Katie said that she knew instantly that this was also the same woman who birthed a beautiful son however she told herself to keep calm and not jump to conclusions during the conversation the birth mother told her some information that confirmed what she suspected from the start the woman said that she also gave birth to a boy who she gave up without records of course Katie took into consideration the fact that this woman had a striking resemblance to Grayson as well Katie asked her more questions and learned that the woman had a couple of children she had another baby boy whom she did not report to the authorities after the meeting Katie told the social worker everything she learned the caseworker confirmed that the last name the birth mother gave matched the last name of someone related to Hanna the pieces were finally coming into place but they had to wait for one more test that would confirm her hunch the results of the DNA test revealed that Hanna and Grayson were siblings with the same birth mother Katie was amazed by the fact she ended up with these two children by coincidence one caseworker decided to look into it and learned that Hanna and Grayson were indeed half siblings Katie was absolutely thrilled that she ended up with siblings even if it was by accident what if the baby girl had gone to another family she asked in a blog post we would never have found her or Grayson's mother the connection would have never been made I couldn't believe the miracle that had just happened after confirming that the two children were actually biological siblings she knew it was only right for them to stay together Katie didn't want to risk the chance that they'd be separated so she acted fast apart from that she was already in love with Hanna and saw just how happy she made her brother Katie was willing and ready to make things official so she decided it was time to begin the adoption process together with Grayson and Hanna Katie went to a courtroom for a hearing after this it was finally official Hanna was her daughter by law and would grow up with her biological brother how amazing the three of them were a family and Katie could not be happier to help reunite these two siblings when she started on the path of foster care she had no idea that something this incredible would happen to her Hanna spent nearly two years in foster care before she finally found a home she could call her own she fit into Katie and Grayson's life like a glove Katie now realized that it was all in her destiny I was happy to just give Grayson a life and I thought that that was big but I didn't feel like that was enough Katie explained so to give him a sister I couldn't imagine anything better Hanna was certainly the ideal addition to this small family this was what Katie told People magazine they were meant to find each other that's pretty clear I think God intended that from the beginning if they weren't related Hanna would not have stayed with our family she would have been placed with other relatives when Katie began this chapter of her life she had no idea that she would have two children so soon but Katie was an awesome mother it felt like this was her calling in life she was a natural mother and enjoyed taking care of the children but there was more to come her motherhood did not end with the adoption of Hanna however 13 months after the birth of her daughter Katie got one more unbelievable phone call the phone call came from the adoption agency with news that would change the life of Katie and her growing family apparently they were calling her regarding Grayson and Hanna's birth mother what was going on what could be going on with their birth mother was she sick was she looking to take them back a million thoughts went through Katie's had she had to take a deep breath before listening to what the person on the other end had to say when she received the call from the adoption agency Katie found out that the birth mother had given birth to another baby boy even though Katie was not planning to become a mother of three she couldn't stand the idea of leaving a little boy what would she do the revelation meant that the children had one more sibling looking for the perfect home Katie was astonished by this piece of news however she didn't know if she was equipped to adopt another child she'd adopted quite a bit ago but three kids she had to think this through after some introspection Katie believed it was only right for her to reunite the siblings with their brother she then took in this newborn boy and started the adoption process for the newest member of the family Katie took another leap of faith by taking in this newborn called Jackson like Hanna he fit into the family without any problems whatsoever in only a couple of months he succeeded in capturing the hearts of Katie and his siblings Katie was eager to make things official and become his mother on paper as well Katie took to Instagram to make a post saying the court date for the adoption process was all set in the meantime she was relieved that the baby was under her care which meant she could look after him and watch him grow while the adoption process was still under way she was careful to protect the privacy and safety of her children on her social media profiles after the news about the miraculous adoption story came out she started to receive plenty of media attention she wanted to make sure that the adoption process went smoothly which is why she refrained from showing her youngest child's face on any of the post she made Katie always covered his face using stickers or blurs to avoid any unwanted public attention now they waited for the approval of the adoption the children continued to live together in Katie's house Anna was already two years old at the time she's since grown up to be a very energetic girl who adores clothes dolls and shoes she also likes to take care of her brothers and hopes to grow up to be like Katie being wild Grayson has turned 3 and will attend preschool soon he's become a social butterfly who enjoys meeting other people he now wears glasses to help fix his lazy eye probably a side effect from being exposed to substances in utero and we think they're just adorable on him just recently Katie made a post on Instagram about another addition to the family in the captions katie said well I can't share his face as I vowed never to post him on social media so I could get him to take a photo with me I can't share how grateful I am for him it turns out that Katie and the mystery man had been seeing each other for a year after they met through a pastor he's been supporting her through the craziness of foster care and the surprised addition to their family we're glad to hear that katie has this man whom she can turn to for support Katie's been receiving a lot of help and support as she raises the three children on her own her sister mother and roommate have always been there to help out because she still works in the construction job full-time despite everything aside from raising the kids and working a full-time job she's also been renovating her house what's even more impressive is the fact that she's also taken on another responsibility when she started a small business she runs a website called wood and grace net on top of working as an independent consultant for a skin care company called Rodan and fields the beauty company Rodin in field sells makeup and skin care it allows Katie to work on her own hours remotely which allows her to earn additional income to help her make ends meet but how does she find the time to spend with all three kids Katie said I'm hopeful that one day this opportunity will give me the chance at the freedom to spend more time with my children and one day expand our family even more my current traditional career path doesn't make my dream seem possible so I began to consider ways to supplement that complemented my lifestyle and was flexible Katie's been using different social media platforms to promote the independent businesses she runs aside from her instagram and facebook profiles she talks about her personal journey on the website wooden grace net on her blogs you'll find her discussing her home renovation project and interior decoration skills Gesell shared the personal journey she underwent with foster care and adoption the last 35 years has been far from easy or the perfect life but it's been mine and has always been driven by Mike crazy dreams she posted on her blog if people only knew how my children have changed mine far more than I could ever have imagined her business decisions have led her finance the extra help she needed to take care of her children she's planning to hire a live-in nanny so her kids can get some extra TLC she said that it's necessary for foster moms to accept highly frustrating situations and lack of communication Katie said that it could prove to be a very unmanageable situation if she didn't have her faith to keep her afloat Katy's also been outspoken about her foster care advocacy on her social media profiles she boasts a lot of encouraging messages that discuss how much fostering has impacted her life I don't know if I believed in miracles for sure I have no doubt now she said when she went on Good Morning America Katy's still undergoing the adoption process to make Jackson an official part of the family it takes patience beyond what I feel sometimes it makes me and those who support me angry some days but encounters and relationships with the children make it worth the hard times to think that Katy's journey all started with one little boy named Grayson is truly remarkable had she not found him she would never have been able to reunite three siblings Katie spoke on the matter it's my greatest adventure and I can't imagine my life without this