19 Jul Life Changing Encounter and An Adoption Story

Matt and I met online in 2013! I just wanted dinner but God had bigger plans. We were married in 2015 and immediately tried to start a family. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was in my early 20’s and Matt has a neurological condition called Neurofibromatosis. Given these diagnoses and our ages we weren’t given much hope. I let this consume me. We were doing all the things and yet nothing was happening.

By 2018 our marriage was consumed with blaming one another, hurt feelings, unnecessary and exorbitant spending by me trying to fill a hole that I knew could only be filled by God. I google searched for “a Christian Infertility Support Group” and found Moms in the Making (8 weeks before conference). I bought my ticket and was scared to death. I went without knowing anyone and had a life changing encounter with Holy Spirit! And while there I also found my people!

In 2022 we continued to pray and I felt God leading us to IVF. Dec. 2020 we had a failed IVF retrieval and then I got COVID.  We were devastated. I felt maybe I misheard God and we began discussing adoption (again). We were connected with a friend who had a 13 month old grandchild she did not want to parent and was looking for an adoptive family. One week after deciding on adoption, our friend introduced us to Kaidyn’s family (it happened so fast). We met Kaidyn and started seeing him 2-3 times a week at his grandma’s house.

In Dec. 2021 Kaidyn moved in with us (2 days before Christmas) and in March 2021 we got full custody of him. DSS told us it would be at least a year before we could start the adoption process.  Just last week, we met with our lawyer and she thinks this whole process should be finished by Dec. 2022. Kaidyn should officially be a Tuttle 15 months after we found out about him. God isn’t done yet, because we continue to have an awesome relationship with his birth family, especially his parents, and are trying to minister to them often with prayers that they can be free of addiction and love Jesus with all their heart!