12:27 PM

It was at this exact minute our miracle baby, Phyllip, was born 11 years ago today.

Phyllip today - age 11

1997 - couple of months old

We had Lyndsey 14 months after we were married. We waited a couple of years and decided we were ready for our 2nd child. But it seemed that we wouldn't be able to have another natural child. There's 6 1/2 years between Lyndsey and Phyllip.

We went to see a doctor for infertility and found out I was pregnant. But I lost that baby shortly after.

Not knowing if we'd be able to have any more children (though the doctor hadn't been able to find anything wrong with either one of us) we decided to look into adoption. We found out just how hard it would be to adopt through an agency. The waiting list is years long and the price is astronomical! We decided that wasn't the way to go. However, we heard of a preacher that handled adoptions so we contacted him.

Phyllip was 8 in this picture

He had been contacted by a family whose teenage daughter was pregnant and didn't want the baby. He interviewed us and got background on us as well as the girl. We met her over the phone as she was in Chicago and we were in WA state. Things seemed to progress well with the whole situation.

Then I found out I was pregnant in the middle of the adoption process. We didn't tell anyone involved with the adoption. We decided to let God close whichever door He chose. He chose to close the door of adoption.

And on June 30, 1997, at 12:27 p.m., we welcomed Phyllip James into our family. He truly was our miracle baby. He's such a blessing from Heaven. He's tenderhearted, loves to laugh and make jokes, always wants to play, will bend over backwards to make his momma happy, and he's got his daddy's outstanding looks!

Walter made a makeshift wagon and we would pull Phyllip up and down the hill around our house when he was little.

Happy 11th birthday my son! Your momma and daddy love you very much!