Families grow in love with blessing of adoption

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Dan and Ann Clegg, members of St. Cletus Parish, played in their yard with their children Jacinta, 9 months, and John, 2. The Cleggs adopted their children with the help of Good Shepherd Children and Family Services, a federation agency of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

** Listen to Homily by Archbishop Robert J. Carlson by clicking on the link below this article. ** 

Creating a family isn't always easy, but the rewards are worth the effort.

So say two local Catholic couples whose families grew through adoption, a "love twice blessed" that is being celebrated with with the annual Adoption Mass on Sunday, Nov. 20, at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis.

Ann and Dan Clegg are the proud parents of 2-year-old John and Jacinta, 9 months old, adopted with the help of Good Shepherd Children and Family Services, a federation agency of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, and St. Joseph Adoption Ministry in Kansas City, Kan.

Diane and John Reinhardt have two biological children, 15-year-old twins Joshua and Kara, both attending Catholic high schools. They also have a new son, 2-year-old Max, adopted from Russia through Buckner Adoption and Maternity Services, which is affiliated with Dillon International.

"Adoption is a complicated process, with many choices for people to make, and it takes some time," explained Mary Ann Hoeynck, infant adoption coordinator at Good Shepherd Children and Family Services. "But placing children for adoption is wonderful."

The Cleggs, members of St. Cletus Parish in St. Charles, came to Good Shepherd after making the decision to adopt. It was not an easy decision, said Ann Clegg. "It was born out of sorrow in some ways that we were unable to conceive." They chose Good Shepherd because "we wanted to use a Catholic agency. ... Good Shepherd was a very good experience for us. It didn't take a long time for us to find our children."

Because they knew that Good Shepherd does not have a large number of birth mothers -- Hoeynck said the agency averages about 10 baby placements a year -- the Cleggs contacted St. Joseph Adoption Ministry, another Catholic agency, after completing their home study with Good Shepherd.

Hoeynck said that is not unusual. "There are many agencies out there, and we do connect people to the ones that can best suit their needs." She cautioned that "the big thing is to work with a licensed reputable agency or facilitator or a licensed attorney."

Ann Clegg said she received a lot of family support. "Our families have been wonderful. There are no other grandchildren or cousins anywhere near our children's ages, so everyone is delighted to have these two little ones join the family."

The Cleggs attend the annual Adoption Mass. She said, "The whole experience of infertility is a unique kind of pain that, for us, brought us closer together because we turned to Christ in prayer on a daily basis. It strengthened our marriage rather than being a source of conflict. It always brought us back to prayer."

For the Reinhardts, members of St. Gerard Majella Parish in Kirkwood, the road to adoption was a little different. "We just felt like we had made a home for children," explained Diane Reinhardt, referring to her teenage twins, "and we weren't ready for there not to be children here. We thought since God hadn't given us any more children that maybe something else was meant to be."

They began to explore the possibility of adoption. "We wanted another child before our two left home, and Russia was one of the fastest countries with children for adoption," she said.

It wasn't easy, involving three trips to Russia, "flying to New York, then a 10-hour flight to Moscow, then a two-hour flight to Krasnador (in southern Russia), then a three-hour drive to the orphanage," Reinhardt said. "It was pretty exhausting."

"But it was worth it," she said emphatically.

Joshua and Kara had been excited about getting a little brother, although "wondering how it would change their lives. And, of course, for us there were a lot of unknowns," Reinhardt said, "but we decided it was the right thing to do. There a lot of unknowns when you have a (biological) child too."

After the long flight home, during which Max didn't cry but also didn't sleep -- "only about an hour and a half, we had to keep him busy," Reinhardt said -- the newest Reinhardt has been welcomed into the family.

"Max is adjusting well, full of energy. He went out on Halloween and had a good time," his mother said. "He's getting adjusted, attached to us and the kids."

Reinhardt cited strong support from her fellow parishioners. "It was one of the best things to happen, the support of the helpful, friendly families in St. Gerard. Several different families helped watch our older kids, my parents and my husband's mom helped. We got home at 10 p.m. (from Russia) and there were lots of balloons and family waiting for us."

Ann Clegg could have been speaking for all adoptive parents when she praised birth mothers and parents for their unselfish decisions. "It's probably the most courageous thing a mother can do. Our children are such a joy. I've gone once or twice when they do the 40 Days for Life at Planned Parenthood. I bring a sign that said, 'Adoption blessed my family.' I think adopted children are the best pro-life witness there is."