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Snowflake /ˈsnəʊfleɪk/noun1. A fine, feathery flake of snow that features a symmetrical pattern and six points, and is one-of-a-kind.2. A child in the embryonic stage of development who is several cells large and has been cryogenically frozen. Such children have been lovingly referred to as "snowflakes" because of their frozen state, and because they too are one-of-a-kind.
About Us
Welcome to our site! You may know us very well, or you may have heard about us from through a common acquaintance. Either way, we are happy that you have found your way to our page. We are a couple in our early thirties who currently live in Colorado. We have made this site to share with you all about our snowflake adoption story. We have designed the page so that you should be able to quickly grasp the essentials. Updates will be included via the Periodic Updates tab!
Welcome to our site! You may know us very well, or you may have heard about us from through a common acquaintance. Either way, we are happy that you have found your way to our page. We are a couple in our early thirties who currently live in Colorado. We have made this site to share with you all about our snowflake adoption story. We have designed the page so that you should be able to quickly grasp the essentials. Updates will be included via the Periodic Updates tab!
Happy reading!
What Are Snowflakes?
Basically, "snowflakes" are children in the embryonic stage of development who are "leftover" from others' IVF procedures. The children are frozen and then stored in tanks filled with nitrogen. Organizations like Nightlight Christian Adoption exist to help couples adopt these frozen little ones.
Why Do You Want to Adopt Snowflakes?
We have been trying to get pregnant since early 2018. Unfortunately, Baby Wang never showed up as expected. We have both been to multiple specialists to get checked up. We've gotten numerous tests done, but all our results have been more or less normal. We've thus been diagnosed with "Unexplained Infertility." Our infertility is a big question mark to the medical community, and has been challenging, heart-wrenching, and frustrating at times. All the same, we believe that God, in His wisdom and sovereignty and love, may have allowed us to experience infertility so that our hearts might be opened up to adoption.
It was Russell Moore's Adopted for Life that taught us about how adoption is at the heart of the Gospel. None of us has the natural right to join the Kingdom of God; all of us who call him Abba have been brought into the Heavenly Family through adoption. J.I. Packer put it best:
“Adoption is the highest privilege of the gospel. The traitor is forgiven, brought in for supper, and given the family name. To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater.”
We think that all adoption—whether domestic, international, or embryo—is a beautiful, God-glorifying thing, and we thank God that He has put embryo adoption on our hearts!
What Organization Are You Going to Use to Adopt Snowflakes?
We are currently in the process of adopting through Nightlight Christian Adoption. We have friends in the area who did snowflake adoption through Nightlight, and they ended up welcoming into this world two lovely little girls! We appreciate how Nightlight seeks to honor the Imago Dei—the Image of God—that is imprinted on each of these frozen little ones.
What Will the Adoption Process Be Like?
Send Application to Snowflakes
Done as of 7/2020!
Complete "Family Profile"—this document is used to help the organization match us with couples looking to "donate" their embryos. We will be matched based on the number of snowflakes we are looking for, the race (as of this writing (5.7.21), we are open to half-Asian, fully Asian, and fully white babies), and a few other criteria.
Done as of 8/2020!
Paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork
We are in the midst of tackling reams upon reams of paperwork. This includes doing state and federal background checks, getting personal references, requesting employment verification, completing physical evaluations, and so on. It is a lot of work, but we often try to encourage one another by saying, "Do it for the kids!"
Complete "Snowflakes Family Evaluation"—a social worker will come to our home to make sure that it is suitable for raising children, to get to know us and our background, and to do some education regarding snowflake adoption.
Done as of 11/24/2020!
Get matched—during this phase, we will be matched with the donor couple.
Pending (will take ? months/years)
Create contract—should we be successfully matched, Nightlight will then help to create a contract that will negotiate the transfer of rights, communication terms between ourselves and the donor couple, and other such legal matters.
Pending (will take 2-4 months)
Get embryos shipped, and then conduct Frozen Embryo Transfer—the frozen little ones will then be shipped to a local clinic and then transferred via a procedure known as Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET). This involves implanting the frozen little guy or girl in Lauren's womb. God willing, this will result in pregnancy!
Pending
I'd Like to Learn More!
If you'd like to learn more, we'd recommend the following resources:
Listen to an interview of the Strege family, which was the first family in America to adopt a snowflake baby.
Read the stories of families who have adopted snowflakes via Nighlight.
And watch an interview of Hannah, the first snowflake child to be born through embryo adoption!
How Can I Help?
Pray: We would earnestly request prayers for wisdom, peace, and joyful anticipation during this season. Pray that we would be matched with the right family and the right children; that we would not worry about finances, mountains of paperwork, and potential difficult conversations; and that we would be able to welcome with loving arms a snowflake baby (or two, or three?) into our family, should God see fit to bless us so.
Learn: We did not know a farthing about snowflake adoption just a few months ago, and upon conversing with others, we have been astounded by how little known this initiative is. If you feel so inclined, we would encourage you to learn more about snowflake adoption!
Give: Lastly, please consider giving. James 1:27 (ESV) reads: "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." Not all are called to adopt, but perhaps God might be calling you to give towards adoption. We are extending this invitation to give not because we are in dire financial straits (we're not, thankfully!), but because we want to provide those who are interested in financially supporting us with a simple way to do so. You may want to give because:
1. You would like to help out but do not know how. Giving would be a most appreciated means!
2. Perhaps you have a burden for orphans, or can resonate with the frustration and sorrow of infertility.
3. We hope that by inviting you into this process, we can integrate our extended family (whether by blood, the Cross, or common vision) into the community that we hope to build around our child (or children) as they grow up.
If you are interested in supporting us financially, you can visit our giving page at AdoptTogether.org. To help fund our snowflake adoption, we have picked up summer work and extra shifts, initiated a one year spending moratorium on new clothes and eating out, and restructured our budget. We are also in the process of applying to several grants. Thank you for considering helping us out in this way!
How Much Will This Cost?
Thankfully, snowflake adoption is not as expensive as "traditional" adoption, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Snowflake adoption is also far more affordable than doing in-vitro fertilization (IVF), which can be multiple times more expensive than "traditional" adoption—not to mention that we have serious ethical qualms about the procedure.
So how expensive is snowflake adoption? As mentioned above, we're looking at $13,000-15,000. Here's a brief breakdown of the costs; you can visit Nightlight's page for more information.
We are not on social media and are thus dependent on word of mouth to get our story out. Please feel free to share our story and site with whomever you think might be blessed by it. Much obliged!
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