21214 - 1 SMALLKelli and Shane contacted American Adoptions in 2011 not because they were having trouble getting pregnant, but because they wanted to add a girl to their family. Their sons were 3, 5 and 7, and they wanted to adopt before there was too much of an age gap between them. While their wait took a little longer than expected, Kelli feels that their 20-month journey was always meant to lead them to their daughter Lyrick.

Kelli recently shared her story with American Adoptions:

I’ve sat down at a keyboard more times than I can count to write this story – the story of how we made our family complete. And yet, how do I put into words this exhilarating, exasperating, and sometimes exhausting adventure? Still I keep trying, knowing that it is a story that needs to be told for our daughter, our sons, and future generations of our family.