Stephanie Effken

    On April 1, Kiersten and Chad Hill of Seward woke up, let out the dogs and went to work like every other day, not knowing that afternoon their lives would change forever.
     It all began in January 2007 when the Hills contacted Lutheran Family Service to begin the process of adopting a child. After interviews, classes and hordes of paper work, Kiersten and Chad were told to expect the waiting period for their new baby to be as long as 10 to 12 months.
     "It's a real test of faith and a real affirmation of faith," Kiersten said.
     Chad agreed and called the waiting process a "test of patience."
     Their 15-page profile was shown to many families, but the Hills never received any response as to why they were not chosen.
     But on March 30 at 8:38 p.m., 6-pound 15-ounce baby Cooper came into the world and turned the Hills long awaited hope for a child into a sudden reality.
     Kiersten's only explanation for Cooper entering their family is God.
     After Cooper was born, his birth mother called Lutheran Family Services, thinking it was Lutheran Social Services. Realizing her mistake, she decided to work with Lutheran Family Services, since they were already at the hospital. Leaving Cooper at the hospital, the birth mother reviewed a number of profiles in the few days following his birth and chose Chad and Kiersten to be Cooper's parents.
     "They called me on Thursday at work," Chad said. "It was crazy…I was in shock."
     Chad then tried to call Kiersten at work and on her cell phone. Thinking it was "just regular stuff" she ignored the phone calls. While on hold during a phone meeting she text messaged her husband, asking him what he wanted.
     "Hi, mama," was his response.
     "And I just knew," Kiersten said.
     The Hills left work to meet at home and pack.
     "I tried to pack a suitcase for Cooper," Kiersten said laughing.
     The Hills collected baby clothes and other item that were given to them by other people. Completely caught off guard, Kiersten grabbed a sleeper for a 19-month-old, a onesy for a 3 to 6-month old, two size three diapers and one 12-ounce bottle.
     "He was drinking only two ounces and you could barely see the two ounce line on the bottle," she said. "We also grabbed a What to Expect the First Year book."
     She did, however, take one newborn outfit. And with that, the Hills were off to Omaha…almost.
     About halfway to the interstate they realized they forgot the camera. So they turned around, picked up the camera and a baby name book and left again.
     They arrived at the hospital in Omaha to meet with the caseworker. While they were waiting, the Hills found themselves staring into a nursery room of babies, not knowing which one was theirs.
     After being taken to a room to wait for Cooper, they had to watch two infant care videos and take a quiz. Kiersten said Chad was their saving grace and knew all the answers.
     "Then they wheeled him in the room and we held him for the first time," Kiersten said.
     The Hills and their new son left the hospital–Cooper in the one outfit that almost fit him–and their first stop was Lutheran Family Services to sign paperwork.
     The second stop was Target where Cooper became a little fussy.
     "I thought someone was going to report us because here we were with this baby and we obviously have no clue what we're doing," Kiersten said.
     Once the Hills bought all the proper attire and more diapers they settled into a hotel in Council Bluffs, where they remained for the next two nights.
     Cooper's birth mother was from Iowa and the adoption laws in Nebraska and Iowa differ in such a way that the Hills needed to get both permission from Iowa to leave with Cooper and permission from Nebraska to enter with Cooper.
     On Thursday afternoon, the Hills returned to their home with Cooper for the first time.
     "He is just such a good baby," Kiersten said. "He sleeps five to six hours a night, which is unheard of. I think he makes other parents jealous."
     Kiersten is on six weeks of maternity leave and Chad is helping when he is home from work.
     "Everything that has to do with Cooper is so time consuming," Kiersten said. "It took me three days to get laundry put away.
     "We thought we were prepared, but in retrospect we really weren't."
     Having Cooper for almost a month now, the Hills are adjusting to their new lifestyle and enjoying Cooper's company.
     The adoption paperwork will be final after a six-month period with home investigations. The Hills will then receive a birth certificate listing them as Cooper's parents.