05/12/2026
“When I was 11 years old, my daughters already existed. They were frozen in 1999- the same year Luke, now my husband, was turning 16. Neither of us knew each other. Neither of us knew them. But somehow, Canaan and Charis were already waiting. Luke and I found each other through a Christian dating site in 2013. We both wanted a big family, and when our oldest, Belvie, arrived as a complete surprise -no medical intervention, just grace- we thought we knew how the rest of the story would go. We didn't. When trying for more children led nowhere, we turned to traditional adoption. We partnered with an agency, handed out business cards with our profile link, did everything right, and nothing happened. Because for every birth mother who chooses to place her child, there are hundreds of families waiting. We were heartbroken and out of options. Then a friend mentioned embryo donation in passing, and the algorithm -of all things- put an NEDC story in my feed! I started reading about a million embryos sitting in storage, and I just broke. I went straight to Luke and said, ‘We need to look at this.’ So, the NEDC appeared first in my search. Then, I discovered its main office was 50 minutes from our home. Then, we checked our savings: the exact amount we'd set aside for adoption fees! Puzzle pieces, clicking into place. What undid me, later, was the timeline. While Luke and I were searching and grieving and handing out business cards to strangers, Canaan and Charis were already there. They had been there since 1999. Waiting through all of it. Our girls, born the last week of December 2024, are wildflower toddlers now. Charis -whose name means grace- is our smiley love bug, always singing. Canaan -our promised land- calls for ‘bel-bee’ and her big sister comes running. We named the twins what we believed about them before we ever held them. And we were right.”
-Jennifer Black, mom of NEDC twins Canaan & Charis (and Belvie!)
More inspiration: https://www.embryodonation.org/personal-embryo-adoption-stories
