AWaiting doesn’t fit well in the average human’s lifestyle,but waiting combined with resoluteness can bring life-changing rewards.Tony & Deidra Rosenberger are admirable examples of that truth.StorybookBeginningCamille Anding28 • JANUARY 2021
Their relationship began in June of 1994. Deidra had just graduated from high school inOxford, Ohio, and Tony had graduated one year earlier. One of Deidra’s friends was dating a friendof Tony’s, so it was those friends that introduced Deidra and Tony. That meeting resulted in abond that they sealed with their wedding vows on April 22, 1995.In 2013, a job offer for Tony, backed by a leap of faith, moved the Rosenbergers to Madison,Mississippi. By this time the couple had all but given up hope on having children. Doctors werestumped on why Deidra couldn’t become pregnant, so the couple turned to every option availablein infertility treatment. In 2016, precancerous cells dictated a complete hysterectomy for Deidra.With that surgery, the couple knew all biological options were exhausted.For years, the couple had considered adoption as a means to having children of their own.Now it wasn’t just an option but their only path. Their first contact with an adoption agency in2017 was disappointing due to the financial requirements exceeding their resources. Foster carewould be their next avenue with intentions to adopt.Deidra and Tony completed foster classes and met the qualifications in the home study.Next was to find a group of foster siblings that were eligible for adoption.DHS knew the Rosenbergers’ desire to adopt siblings but couldn’t promise a quick answer.It would be a waiting game. Meanwhile Tony began to pursue online listings of children foradoption from out of state with TPR (Termination of Parental Rights) status. These listings areknown as Heart Galleries.Tony located four children in Indiana that captured his attention. Deidra emailed DHS inIndiana saying she and Tony were interested in the four. However a baby, recently added to thefour, was not yet up for adoption. The waiting was on again.A month and a half later, the Rosenbergers were notified that all five children were nowadoption eligible and that the couple could come for an interview. Also, three other couples wereinterviewing, wanting to adopt the five.On October 12, 2017, DHS conducted the interview and asked lots of questions. TheRosenbergers headed home, believing that the interview had gone well. An hour later, Deidra’sphone rang. DHS was calling to see if they would like to meet the kids in Terre Haute, Indiana,the very next day. It was an immediate U-turn for the excited couple.Their first meeting was like a story out of a fairy tale. “It felt right from the very beginning,”Deidra said. “There wasn’t an awkward moment. They took to us, and we took to them.Everything just clicked.”It was back to Mississippi on Saturday for the couple, and on Monday, they got a call fromDHS verifying their foremost desire. The five children could be adopted!From October of 2017 to March of 2018, Deidra and Tony left their jobs every Thursday afterwork to drive to Indiana to pick up the children. The five kids were living in three different fosterhomes, each forty minutes apart. DHS required that visiting time be allowed for the transitionand adjustment of everyone involved. The visits began with two hour meetings and eventuallyhotel stays until a foster parent of the twins arranged for them to stay in a duplex a localChristian agency owned. “We lived for weekends,” the couple admitted.The kids were brought home on March 3, 2018, and it was a wonderful new life for parentsand kids when the adoptions were completed on October 23, 2019. Even new names were inorder. The seven- year-old daughter chose her own name, Piper. The four-year-old twin boy andgirl were named Anthony and Quinn. The two-year-old became Stephen, and the one-year-oldwas named David.The Rosenbergers’ 1900-square-foot home with three bedrooms worked for a while, but inNovember of 2019 the family moved to a bigger home and yard. Deidra left her position withMississippi Premier Plastic Surgery in December to stay home with the kids.Today the children are active in school and sports and have adjusted beautifully. The biggesthurdle for the parents was finding a routine to fit the kids’ needs. Anthony, one of the twins, hadmedical issues - a heart defect, was nonverbal and had a feeding tube. With ongoing speech andfeeding therapy at Batson Children’s Hospital, removal of his feeding tube, and treatment by hiscardiologist, Anthony is now talking, running and playing with his siblings.When thinking back over the years of waiting and longing for children of their own, theRosenbergers attest to how God’s plan always falls into place.There are spring plans for soccer and cheer. Deidra added, “Piper wants to play softball forthe first time. We’re trying it all!” Some fairy tales really do come true.Hometown MADISON • 29
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