Danielle and Darien Find Their Forever Home

Dwayne and Diana Mitchell had always planned on having a child, but they never thought their path to parenthood would be so complicated.  After years of failed fertility treatments and heartbreaking miscarriages, the couple began to consider adoption.  They started researching options, and when they decided to pursue adopting children in foster care, they reached out to Lutheran Services of Georgia.

After attending the foster and adoption training, Diana found out she was pregnant.  Though the pregnancy ended in miscarriage, the Mitchells put their adoption plans on hold.  They wanted to be sure that adoption was the right path for them.  A few months later when Diana reconnected with a woman she met at the adoption trainings, she felt a stirring in her heart.  She and Dwayne worked to quickly complete their adoption paperwork.   

“The adoption process is tedious and overwhelming.  The amounts of paperwork you have to go through seems endless,” says Diana.  “However, if you go through a great agency like Lutheran Services of Georgia, they walk you through each step.  They’ll be responsive when you need help.”

Once they were approved, one of LSG's adoption recruiters began the search for a perfect match for the Mitchells.  She learned about a pair of siblings - a three-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl – in need of a forever home. The Mitchells had originally only planned on adopting one child, but when they were approached about the sibling pair, they began to reconsider.

“You have to be able to adapt,” says Dwayne.  “We originally only wanted one child, but when the opportunity came up to adopt a sibling group, we took it.”

Dwayne and Diana met the children in May and were overjoyed – they'd found their forever family.

“We fell in love with them,” says Dwayne.

“We were nervous with excitement and careful to make sure we did everything right,” says Diana.  “We remained positive that everything would work out and concentrated on making sure our home was ready for them to come.”

The children moved in with them in July.  After some initial adjustments to their new home, the children settled into their new life quickly.  In December the adoption was finalized.  Today the kids – Danielle and Darien – have been officially part of the family for nearly a year, and Dwayne and Diana are enjoying parenthood. 

Among many activities the family enjoys, Dwayne likes to take both kids fishing at local lakes around their area.  Dwayne remembers how excited Danielle was when she caught her first fish.

“We’d been sitting there for a while and she started to complain about being bored, and at that exact moment, a fish bit her hook.  When she reeled it in she was so happy and a little scared.  I love seeing the excitement on their face when they do something for the first time.”

The kids enjoy playing outside with their scooters or going to the park and playing Frisbee.  Danielle loves to sing, while Darien is a fan of Falcons football.

“They are loving kids, says Dwayne. “They tell us all the time.  We’ll be riding along in the car or tying their shoes, and they’ll say ‘You know, Mommy and Daddy, I love you so much.”

“The process in this journey toward parenthood has had many ups and downs; however, the end result of being gifted with these children – was worth the pursuit,” says Diana.  “We couldn’t have done better with what God has gifted us.”