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| Sunny Ridge Family Center is licensed as a child welfare agency by the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (#019976), and by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, Division of Family and Children, as a child placing agency. |
 Adoption was not my first choice, but it ended up being my best choice. When I first found out I was pregnant, I had no idea what I was going to do and neither did the father. We both had a major decision ahead of us. My mom decided I needed a counselor to help me with all the decisions. One of her friends told her about Sunny Ridge Family Center. When I first met with my counselor at Sunny Ridge, my mind was absolutely set against adoption. I let a few months pass before I decided to meet with her again. I wasn’t sure I’d change my mind, but I needed to sort out my feelings to make sure I knew what I wanted. It was only after coming to terms with my feelings that I could make an honest decision about my baby’s life. I thought a lot about how much change I would have to go through in order to care properly for this little life. I came to the conclusion I was not yet ready for the commitment of raising a baby. I then approached my counselor about what I needed to do now that I had decided on adoption. We talked about what I wanted in a family. My counselor gave me one file to look at while she gathered others. I didn’t find what I was looking for during this visit. During the next visit, I read the file on Ron and Cindy and I knew they were the people I wanted my baby to have as parents. my counselor arranged for my parents and I to meet them. I gave birth to a baby girl. Even though I had 72 hours to change my mind, I never thought twice about keeping her. I knew for her the stability of the two parents would make her happy. Ron called me while I was in the hospital to make sure I was okay and that everything had gone well. Ron and Cindy brought some of their relatives to Sunny Ridge on placement day, which made it extra special. I can remember how nervous everybody was. Little by little, I handed some of her things over and then finally her. That’s when all of the tears started to fall. I can say that adoption was the hardest decision I ever made, and will ever make; but I also know it was the right choice for me. I’ve received tons of pictures of Kelli and even a videotape of her trying to crawl. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of her. I know that they will tell her about me and why I made the decision I did. |
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