It was a trying time for Shelby and Brian Helm. All around them were expectant couples, jubilant at impending parenthood.

“It was as really difficult time as all of our friends were having children and it seemed like everyone could get pregnant but us,” Shelby said. “We had been through a few years of infertility and were desiring to have a child with all our hearts.”

Thankfully, God was near to them and their marriage stayed strong. God also brought a couple into their lives who would change everything.

“Our friends were the Stubblefields and they started pursuing adoption through Inheritance Adoptions,” Shelby said. “They had heard about the agency through some friends at our church that had adopted using them. We were blessed to watch the whole super quick process unfold. We helped them get their house ready for the home study, get car seats and baby gear, etc. They had a couple of failed adoptions, but then they got their precious Avery and it made it all worth it.”

The two couples laughed together and cried together. They did research together. The thrill the Helms got when their friends brought home their first born was as if they had adopted themselves. Soon afterward, the Helms decided to pursue adoption as well.

“Adoption had been in the back of our minds throughout the Stubblefield’s process to adopt and once we saw them holding their baby, it became obvious to us that this would be our path as well,” Shelby said. “Our adoption was fast and furious, too, and we also had a failed adoption. But finally holding our sweet Lilian Grace made all the pain worth it.”

By the next June, the couple brought home Lily’s biological sibling Jax. The two children were 13 months apart, but according to Shelby, God gave her plenty of energy to keep up.

“Today, they are 10 and 9 and everyone thinks they are twins.” Shelby said. “Jax has ADHD and was having some difficulty in school, so we did neurofeedback and have seen a dramatic difference in his behavior, demeanor and learning. We are so thankful to have found a doctor who loves him and wants the best for him like we do.”

Shelby is also thankful for the story God is writing for her family.

“I could have never dreamed up this life, but it is so much better than any dream I ever had,” she said. Lily and Jax are the most “fun kiddos ever” said Shelby. There’s never a dull moment in the Helm household.

“We travel a lot and it is fun to see our passions become their passions, but also forming passions of their own that Brian and I can get excited about, too,” Shelby said. “They love to read, play, swim, play sports and most of all they love to laugh.”

The story of how the children came to be a part of the Helm family is one Shelby has enjoyed sharing with them.

“There are some details that we will wait to share when they are much older, but they know they were adopted and their special story that goes along with it,” Shelby said. “They know a birth mom carried them in her belly and then how my husband and I got to become their mommy and daddy just as soon as they were born. They know how bad my husband and I desired a baby and that God kept saying ‘no’ over and over when we begged Him to let us get pregnant. But then how He answered our prayers in a much better way by letting us be their parents.”

Shelby describes the entire journey as scary, but beautiful. “There is no better picture of Christ’s love for us as adopting a child is,” she said. “We may love imperfectly, but we pray we are a gift to our kiddos and without a doubt they are the best gift we could ever be given!”