The Pelt Family’s journey to adoption was not a straight path. They realized along the way that they needed to have patience to persevere through the setbacks they experienced. Now that their family is fulfilled, they believe all life’s curve balls were meant to be.

Beginning the Adoption Journey

Andrew and RaKeesha had been married for nine years when they considered adoption. After much prayer and thought, they decided adoption was best for growing their family. One of RaKeesha’s sorority sisters recommended Arms Wide Adoption Services because she had a good experience with the agency, having gone through the process herself.

“We found that Arms Wide Adoption Services was a small group of people that were willing to help families like ourselves who were wanting to grow,” RaKeesha said.

Setbacks Along the Way

Andrew and RaKeesha were almost to the home study stage when Hurricane Harvey hit in 2017. Damage to their home delayed their adoption process and sent them back to square one. Then, a family illness set back their adoption process a second time. “They say third time’s the charm,” Andrew said. “So, we finally got everything done and made it to the home study.”

An Unexpected Surprise

The very first photo Andrew and RaKeesha received was of Cameron. Andrew recalls sharing it with his colleagues and celebrating the possibility of adopting him, but then so much time went by they started considering other options. When a potential sibling group matchfell through, they started to get discouraged. Then out of the blue, they received a call from Arms Wide about Cameron. If they were still interested, Cameron was ready to join their family.

“Everything just fell into place,” Andrew said. “And it brought joy to our souls.”

Andrew and RaKeesha officially finalized Cameron’s adoption on May 13, 2020. Since the pandemic prevented indoor gatherings, they celebrated with a car parade outside their home.

Life Changed for Good

Life is busy! When the weather is nice, their family enjoys going to the playground. Before the pandemic, the Children’s Museum of Houston was a favorite spot, but now they spend a lot more time at home bonding together over family dinners, basketball, and FaceTime calls with relatives. Soon, Cameron will have a little sister: Andrew and RaKeesha are in the process of adopting a 2-year-old girl with Arms Wide.

Arms Wide has always been a phone call or text message away as they settle into their new lives. “They have provided resources, reminders about training, and support – even attending our court dates with us,” RaKeesha said.

“Arms Wide has been great in walking side by side with us.”

Advice for Potential Foster or Adoptive Parents

“I would want them to know to just be patient,” RaKeesha said. “A lot of times it’s easy to feel anxious and want to zoom right through the process.” Andrew and RaKeesha believe it took their whole community to work with them through this process. “We shared what we were going through with our family and friends, so that anytime we felt discouraged about anything, they were able to encourage us to keep going.”

Sometimes life throws a curve ball and things don’t work out the way we think they will. If Andrew and RaKeesha had gone through their process in 2017 before Harvey hit, they would not have met Cameron: at that time, he had not yet been born. “We don’t know what child would have been in our life had Harvey not hit or sickness not happened,” RaKeesha said. “We feel right now that this was totally divine.”