06/07/2026
A family built by the beauty of adoption. 🤍
When Ashley first shared her story with me, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Most people know there are children waiting to be adopted. What many don’t realize is that there are also over a million frozen embryos in storage across the United States, many of them waiting for someone to say yes.
Ashley became a mama through adoption when she welcomed her daughter in 2020 and her son in 2024. Then, after years of learning more about embryo adoption and feeling a growing burden for these tiny lives, she found herself on a journey she never expected.
Oakley’s story began in 2019.
Created. Frozen. Waiting.
Today, the little embryo she once called “Baby Em” is no longer frozen and waiting. He is growing, kicking, and preparing to make his arrival into the arms of a family who has loved him long before they ever met him.
One thing Ashley shared that stuck with me was that she announced Oakley before his transfer ever took place because his value and dignity were never dependent on a successful pregnancy. In her heart, he was already family. There were no guarantees, but as she told me, if Oakley hadn’t grown, he still deserved to be known.
Ashley told me: “All I ever wanted was to be a mama, and I had to wait 36 long years. To have gotten to be a part of adoption on this side three times… the Lord is too kind to me.”
A little boy who spent years waiting is now being counted down to, prayed for, and loved so deeply.
P.S. Scroll to the end to see Ashley’s original announcement when Oakley was still known as “Baby Em” and the quote that has become the heartbeat of their family:
Chosen. Loved. Wanted. Delighted In. Not Forgotten. 🤍
