- November 27, 2024
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Evan and Carla Shows brought home their new baby, Ephrem, June 6, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
After eight months of waiting, Evan and Carla Shows finally brought their baby, Ephrem, home from the Democratic Republic of the Congo June 6.
“They met us at the airport with him,” Carla Shows said, remembering the day she held her 11-month-old son for the first time. “They gave me a bottle and gave him to me, and it just felt like, Oh yeah, this is our kiddo. … I felt (the connection) was really there. … He bonded to me very quickly. He knew that I was his mama. It was really special.”
Her husband felt the same, because he was able to “emotionally prepare” for the moment, he thinks.
“It’s kind of amazing where all I had to do is see him and hold him and he was mine. It was immediate,” he said. “Our son was just somewhere else.”
Having submit their adoption papers in October, the Shows raised money any way they could to afford the international adoption, including partnering with the Both Hands Foundation.
Since coming home, the biggest adjustment for the couple has been finding time to sleep. With a crib set up in their bedroom, Carla says, she and her husband can’t help waking up every time Ephrem stirs.
But that’s a small price to pay. Soon, they are planning to bring Ephrem swimming for the first time. They plan to hit the local parks and watch Ephrem make new friends. And every time they come into his room after a nap and see him smile, Carla says, nothing else matters.
“It really just melts my heart every time,” she said. “He’s not an orphan. He’s our son. It’s just so beautiful.”
No matter how adoptive parents may try, there’s really no way to prepare for getting thrown into parenthood, Evan added. It’s exhausting, and new, he said, but “amazing.”
“It’s been such a crazy journey to bring him home,” Carla added. “It felt like our family is finally going to be on one continent.”
For past coverage of the Shows family, see this story at www.palmcoastobserver.com: “Palm Coast couple aids widow to fund adoption.”
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Follow Carla Shows’ parenting adventures through her blog, at www.beyondinspired.wordpress.com.
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