We are the Shockley family and we live in Jenks, Oklahoma. We have 4 children (Owen 15, Cooper 14, Sadie 12, and Emery just turned 11 this month) and all were adopted through Deaconess. Our kids are involved in sports and we enjoy snow skiing, lake activities, and going to the beach.

Molly was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a child and after much prayer we felt led to create our family through adoption. We first learned about Deaconess from friends of Blake’s family who had adopted their daughter through Deaconess.

Each of our children have an amazing adoption story that has taught us and made us better people. We were able to be in the delivery room and experience the birth of our boys. Our girls were “drop-ins” but were still great experiences. We learned that DPA truly does mean to “be ready” when your profile is being shown. We also experienced two matches along the way that did not end up in adoption. Those were definitely tough situations but taught us that everything works out for the best in the end.

Over the years we have had different levels of involvement with our children’s birth parents. Those have been some wonderful experiences, but there have also been some hard times. Just like in life there are good times and hard times. We let our children be the leader in those times listening to their wants and needs. We have also definitely leaned on the guidance and expertise of Deaconess to guide us through those relationships.

We would encourage couples interested in adoption to be open to any possibility. Our adoption journey has taken us through experiences and places we would have never been willing to step out in faith otherwise, and it has been nothing but a blessing in the end. We have learned from the tough times and cherished the great times. We have trans-racial adoptions and that has probably been the biggest blessing to us. We have been able to learn about another culture and how to incorporate that into our own family. We also have learned to embrace the obvious differences in our family and see the humor it often creates.

Deaconess has been an invaluable resource at every step in the adoption process. They provided us with a great education and preparation at the initial stages. They were there while we waited to be matched. They were there to support us with our failed matches. They were also there to help us with our children at the hospital. They took care of us but also the birth family. They have been there to help us connect to other adoptive families that also provided support and many of which we are still in close contact with to this day. They have been there to help facilitate meetings with our birth families. They have been there when we and also when our birth families needed guidance and support. Their service truly goes above and beyond any expectations. We truly owe them a debt of gratitude for all the help they have and have continued to provide for our entire adoptive and birth families.

Blake and Molly Shockley