Their Journey Began With Hope:

 

Josh and I have been married since February of 2019. In the summer of 2020, we felt comfortable enough in our marriage and in our finances to try for a baby. However, we never could have prepared for what would actually happen in our lives.

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The Challenge They Faced:

 

Nearly four years later, we have endured a great deal in our journey to be parents. After developing truly life-altering symptoms, it was discovered that I have Stage IV, deeply invasive endometriosis. Moving through the surgical diagnosis and treatment for such an under-studied, serious condition was not easy. My case was so severe, by the summer of 2024, I had undergone four major surgeries totaling over 24 hours on the operating table. 

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Due to doctor’s reports, and my relatively young age, we were advised to attempt fertility
treatment before a hysterectomy. We underwent three egg retrievals and four transfers of five
embryos. Sadly, each transfer ended in a loss.

 

When Support Made the Difference: 

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While we feel beyond grateful for the opportunity to try for biological children, our hearts were steadfastly pulled in the direction of adoption. Both of our extended families have experiences in both domestic and international adoption, and we
have both grown up in a culture where adoption is not a solution, but an active and beautiful choice. We interviewed numerous agencies and chose to work with Courageous Hearts Adoptions, Inc. We love their open communication and their unwavering support of birth mothers. We are very aware of both the joys and the sorrows that come with adoption and will
work every day to both celebrate and help heal those for our daughter.

 

We waited until our home study was approved to announce our plans to adopt to our friends and family. The day after we made our plans to adopt public to our friends and family, a dear colleague of mine asked me to call her right away. I did and she told me of a young pregnant woman her mother knew. This young woman already had two children and was planning to abandon the baby at the hospital or use one of the Safe Haven Baby Boxes. Josh and I got her information for Courageous Hearts so she could have access to insurance and counseling! We fully expected this mother to choose a Spanish-speaking family, so we tried not to get our hopes up... However, this situation felt special. And she did choose Josh and I to parent this beautiful baby.

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A Family Made Whole:

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We had plans to get together for lunch in early July, but my health took a turn for the worse and I had an emergent, total hysterectomy on July 1st. This did not worry us as the baby was not due until late August. I knew I’d be up and around easily by then! Here’s where things get amazing... On our way home from that surgery, we got a call that our birth mother was in
labor in a neighboring city! The day after my surgery, our daughter, Edie Lynn, was born on July 2nd, at 10:30 am, ten weeks early. She was 3 lbs 3 oz and 15.5 inches long.

 

As I had had major surgery the day before in another city, this hospital provided a room in which I could recover and provided a wheelchair so I could accompany my husband up to the NICU to see this beautiful little girl. She has been a fighter since day one. Edie’s birth mother has asked to be removed from this situation and we are respecting her wishes.

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We have loved every single minute with this little girl and she was able to come home exactly one month after her birthday: On August 2nd, we brought home Edie Lynn at 4 lbs 9.5 oz. She is doing extremely well and is over 12 lbs now as a four-month-old! She is absolutely magnetic. She brings joy to everyone who meets her and we are so blessed to be able to walk
beside her through this life. I am so looking forward to running and playing with her as my health has also greatly improved. We are so grateful our finalization hearing went well. This sweet girl is officially Edie Lynn Leinbach as of 2:00pm on November 15, 2024.
 

Thank you, so much, for this beautiful life.

 

Most Sincerely,Erin and Josh Leinbach

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You Can Help Create the Next Story: 

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This adoption would not have been possible without the grant we were generously awarded from Legacy of Blessings. Without these funds, it would have been incredibly difficult to meet the deadlines necessary to allow this specific, very fast, adoption to proceed. Josh and I have not been able to find words big enough to express our gratitude to everyone who made this happen for us. We cannot wait to share this legacy of love and generosity with Edie has she grows.

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