By Kim Lacy, SMT Writer

On a much-anticipated day in April, a dream came true for Greg and Kara Lummukka: Ian Gregory was welcomed into the loving arms of his parents. Their journey to get to that day on April 8 began when Greg and Kara were dating and talking about their future together - adoption was very important to Kara and Greg. To give a child a loving home was foremost in this decision, and Greg knew from being adopted himself what impact they could have on a child that needed a family.

That plan was set into motion during their first year of marriage - the process of adopting a child - by deciding which agency to work with. Kara tells about it being not such a hard process, but very time consuming. She noted that they had months and months of paperwork and waiting to tackle.

Kara and Greg decided to make a beautiful video for birth mothers to review that would show them what they had to offer as a family. Too many times birth mothers that choose to give their child up for adoption have a stigma attached to them - this should not happen, as this is a very selfless and difficult decision. Greg and Kara will be forever grateful for this young woman’s decision.

Greg and Kara were matched up with a birth mother and told to be ready to make the trip to bring Ian home - they got ‘the call’ in the early morning hours of April 8, 2011. The birth mother was in labor, and baby Ian would be arriving soon.

The Lummakkuas were at the hospital within hours, and were whisked away to the NIC unit to see their new arrival. After a few days in the hospital and a seven to ten day wait for the paperwork to be processed was all that stood between taking the newborn home.

Some adverse conditions extended the waiting period into 21 days in a hotel room, but Kara’s parents were able to come and stay a few days. Luckily, this was when all the flooding was going on in the area, so the family was lucky to miss out on that.

Tense sometimes but they did great and were able to bring Ian home to Missouri.

The thing that stands out most in the minds of Greg and Kara is how quickly they became attached to the little guy - they cannot imagine their life before Ian came into it. This is one little boy that is truly loved by many.

The joy he brings daily now that he is part of this great family with his bright eyes is beyond compare. Ian is a cherubic, happy, and very loving baby; he grins constantly and it’s not much of a stretch to say he knows how very fortunate he is to have the Lummukkas to call Mommy and Daddy!