Our Greatest Gift Ever!

After the birth of her sons, Katie longed for a daughter, but it seemed not to be…until Leah changed their lives forever

- Kim Willis

Christmas is my favourite time of year. The perfectly decorated tree, the sacks of presents for the kids, the expressions on their faces as their tear off the wrapping paper to see what Santa brought. It feels magical, like time slows down.

I always had my heart set on having three children. After Owen and I had our sons, Alex and Daniel, we longed for a daughter. But life doesn’t always go to plan. I never had any trouble falling pregnant, but after the boys I had two miscarriages then four ectopic pregnancies.

The first time it happened, it was so traumatic seeing the heartbeat on the scan, knowing the pregnancy was not viable. The fetus had to be removed in a major operation. Every time it happened again, our hopes of adding to our family slipped a little further out of reach. By the end of 2002 it was clear we couldn’t keep putting ourselves through it, physically or emotionally.

Back then I was working as a senior sales account manager but it all felt a world away from what mattered to me. I just wanted a baby. As that wasn’t going to happen biologically, we decided to become foster parents, so we could help other children. After a period of training, we were approved to foster in 2003. We looked after a few toddlers and newborn babies, usually for a few months while the local authority organised their future placement.