Hey everyone! Carrie here, we’ve been kind of quiet but we’re still here! It’s so awesome that we get to work with families in all stages or their adoption journey. We have one family that is fully funded and waiting to be matched and our new family you will meet here already has been matched and needs to raise $15,000 for their adoption day that will be coming up here very soon!! Sarah has been a dear friend of mine through the wedding industry and we had convos over the last several years about adoption and it makes me SO incredibly happy to see her, Alan, and Olha as a family of 3!! I actually got to do their very first family portrait session together:-) Here’s just a little bit about them…..
Sarah and Alan Dever met and married in the year of 2019. Alan, who is self-employed as a carpenter, had been a long time friend of Sarah’s brother, Jon, who lived in the same town as Alan in Maine. Sarah lived in Florida and worked as a counselor/minister to women at a college. While Alan seemed a little too “geographically undesirable,” he eventually won Sarah over and they married August of 2019. That first year was not without its challenges as they served together Sarah’s father in his final year of life.
Sarah and Alan had no children of their own as they both got married to each other late in life. Alan had 3 adult children from his previous marriage. They talked about having kids together but knew when they first started talking they wouldn’t have children biologically but were both very open to adoption should the Lord open that door. In the fall of 2021, God saw fit to open that door.
Olha Joy was originally from the now devastated city of Mariupol, Ukraine. Her beginning years weren’t easy and she was brought to a Ukrainian orphanage at the young age of 6 upon the death of both parents. She still has an older sister, Vika, and an older brother, Serhii, who live in Eastern Europe. When Olha was 10, she was adopted by a Christian family in mid-coastal Maine. They already had two sons of their own, but no girls. They loved Olha, however, they soon realized they were unable to meet some of her needs emotionally. And they made the difficult decision to dissolve the adoption and search for a couple who could do for Olha what they could not.
Olha Joy was placed in the custody of Alan and Sarah on February 22, 2022. And she just couldn’t fit into this family any better. Same sense of humor, same crafty and creative makeup, they even look related. It’s uncanny how easily and seamlessly Olha fits into Sarah and Alan’s life down here in FL. She is a fun, active, playful, sassy, and sweet newly thirteen year old who is loving Florida living. She loves to swim, play with her friends, climb monkey bars and is excited to start school in the fall. She is already a regular helper in her church’s nursery! She’s quick to help you in need….but be careful, she’s also quick to prank you. Sarah and Alan love having her as an integral part of their family and they have already seen her blossoming in the three months she’s been in their lives. Her adoption day is scheduled for July 20th and the Olha Joy will be Olha Joy Dever…forever!! Will you help us be a part of their adoption story and donate to their goal of $15,000????
