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20. Sarah & Andy Justice
For many couples, the logical next step to marriage is having children. But for some, it doesn’t just happen that easily. Sarah and Andy Justice, from Tusla, Oklahoma, tried to conceive children for years before they decided that it was time to consider adoption. The couple was longing to become parents and they knew this was the way they were going to do it. Soon, they became parents to three beautiful triplets. The bliss didn’t last long forever…
19. The Adoption Process
The adoption process wasn’t easy either, though. It took months of hard, laborious efforts, but it was their dream, so they didn’t give up. All their hard work and efforts paid off and soon, they were given the opportunity to become the loving parents of not one, not two, but three darling little babies. As soon as the babies were born, something they never thought would happen, happened…
18. Marriage
The lovely couple enjoyed three years of marriage before they knew it was time for children. They were enjoying everything about being a newly married couple, but they knew life wouldn’t be the same without little additions to their family. Trying without success was hard on the couple, but they didn’t want to give up. They kept trying but this time, they realized it was going to take something a little different. There is no shame in asking for help, so they did…
17. Fertility Expert
Naturally, the couple started looking at their options. In 2014, they decided to see a fertility expert in St. Louis, Missouri. It took them nearly six hours to drive there from their home, and when they got there, they received some devastating news…
16. Small Chances
Although many had told them that they were perfect candidates for IVF, they didn’t realize the statistics behind it. IVF is extremely invasive and expensive. It can economically cripple a couple who just want to have the privilege of raising a child. Not only, it’s expensive and invasive, but the reality of it actually working is only around 10%. All of this together was exhausting and devastating.
15. Expensive
As it turns out, IVF is also extremely expensive. It can cost anywhere from $30,000-60,000, which is unfathomable for many. Due to the high cost, invasive and dangerous procedures, the couple decided not to proceed with IVF. The next process they looked into was adoption…
14. A Longer Process
Adoption was the next step they decided to investigate, but by no means was this going to be an easy process either. It can take years to finalize an adoption, and many families seeking adoption only want newborn babies. The adoption process turned out to be quite difficult, and it started with a series of interviews…
13. Emotional Rollercoaster
The interviewing process was long and rigorous, as all prospective parents must meet with expecting mothers to make sure everyone is in agreement and that it’s the right fit. This can mean meeting with many different people, which can take up to years. The Justice’s had a heart-wrenching couple of months dealing with interviews and sharing personal information. This was the start of a long journey…
12. Acceptance
The couple had been accepted by two expecting mothers after their interviews. It finally felt like their journey was going to come to an end and they were going to be able to start a new one, as a new family. However, both times, the birth mothers backed out and decided it wasn’t their time. They were heart-broken but they weren’t going to give up on their dream of being parents…
11. Finally A Family
When everything seemed to be going in the worst direction possible, the Justice’s received the call that would change their lives forever. The couple was finally and officially accepted by an expecting mother! They met her multiple times and even got the chance to participate in an ultra-sound. It was there, in that room, that both mothers got the surprise of their lives…
10. Triplets
To the shock of, well everyone in the room, Sarah was about to be a mother to not one baby, but three! The birth mother was pregnant with three little miracles and they decided that after all this time this was their gift, and with open arms, they were going to accept it. The papers were signed and it was now time to get the house and their lives ready for their babies.
9. The Perfect Situation
The couple, after thinking it over, realized that this was actually the perfect scenario for them. They always knew they wanted to have more than one child but after all the hassle of the adoption process the first time didn’t know if they could handle the heartbreak again. Which is why having three babies at once was the best thing they could have asked for! It was almost time to meet their new babies…
8. Welcoming Their New Family
In May 2013, Hannah, Joel, and Elizabeth were born eight weeks early. Although extremely tiny, weighing in at around three lbs each, after a couple weeks in the hospital, they were able to gain weight and go home for the first time. The first couple weeks were nerve-wracking, but as soon as the little ones gained some strength it was smooth sailing. For a second anyway…
7. One Week Later
Sarah had been feeling under the weather, and she wanted to make sure she felt better by the time the triplets got home, so she went to her doctor. To everyone’s surprise, Sarah was not sick, she was pregnant! Not only was she pregnant, her doctor told her she was expecting twins! She had experienced trouble conceiving for years and now that she was a new mom to three, she miraculously got pregnant!
6. A New Journey
Although many would see this as a negative situation, the couple saw the humor and irony in it. They were so happy that they were able to conceive that they were mentally and physically ready for the challenge to come. It was going to be hard no doubt, but they were ready to start their new giant family. Raising five kids under the age of one was going to be interesting that’s for sure…
5. Welcoming Twins
A couple months later, the couple welcomed Abigal and Andrew, the two newest additions. Life was a little overwhelming, of course, but they had the help of family members, and with the overall feeling of being blessed, they were in heaven. Life did change, however, as having five babies is a lot more work than even three…
4. Local Help
Luckily, their community heard of the new additions and stepped in the help the family. The family ran on little to no sleep for the first couple months, depending on all the help from church members and close friends and family. It really does take a village to raise this many children…
3. Food
Something that really helped the family out, was all of the food the local church members cooked and donated to the family. They cooked hot meals and even froze family meals for the future to make things as easy as possible for the new family. Of course, they didn’t just stop there, the warm hearts of their community brought baby formula and other baby essentials to help the couple get on track.
2. Child Care
The couple eventually had to return to work, and local friends even helped with child care so that the family could focus on supporting their children. When you break it down, all the babies combine go through 300 diapers and nearly 84 bottles in only ONE WEEK. The support from the community was truly what helped these new parents survive the first few months of raising their five wonderful babies. You’ll never guess the trick they used to tell all their babies apart…
1. It Took A Little Getting Use To
Although each baby had slight differences, the girls were all extremely similar in height and weight, so to keep everything organized until they could tell them apart, they used colored toenail polish as a system. The hilarious couple soon became a viral sensation with a massive Facebook following. They even welcomed baby number six in January of 2016.
Brittany
Silvia
