College sweethearts Tomas and Kirstin Czernek, who live in central Florida, began thinking about starting a family through adoption after 10 years of marriage.
Originally from the Czech Republic, Tomas, 34, owns a financial brokerage, while Kirstin, 36, from New Jersey, is a social media content creator. After both moved to Florida for school, they met in freshman year and soon their friendship blossomed into love.
Just a few months on, they were engaged and a year later, in 2009, they went into junior year married. After a long adoption journey and a biological birth, they are now proud parents to Mia, 7, Kai, 5, and Aria, 3. And the Czerneks could not be happier for their precious and happy family.
Adopting Siblings
The couple were always passionate about adoption, even talking about it when they were dating, but it wasn’t the easiest or most straightforward path.“We had always planned to have a couple of biological children first and then potentially adopt after,” Kirstin told The Epoch Times. “But the more we prayed about it, the more we felt like starting our family through adoption would be amazing.”
Tomas had done an internship at a local foster center and was well aware of the need for safe, secure homes. So he and his wife planned to adopt from foster care and underwent adoption classes in preparation. They were open to a sibling group when they also got a call about Mia; they had willingly accepted Mia on the condition that they would also adopt the baby her biological mom was carrying.
“We prayed about it and felt peace about moving forward,” Kirstin said.
Meeting Mia for the first time was “the most beautiful moment,“ Kirstin said. ”I walked in and saw a tiny girl with giant brown eyes and instantly fell in love. She was shy and so sweet. She attached pretty quickly to me and really trusted me. It was truly one of the best days of my life.”
Mere weeks later, Thomas and Kirstin got a call to say that Mia’s baby brother had been born early—and their family was almost complete.
Mia’s adoption was finalized right after she turned two, in a day filled with love, closest friends, and family, as the judge declared the Czerneks her forever family. Baby Kai’s adoption was finalized when he was nine months old on another highly emotional day.
“Adoption days are so complex,” Kirstin said, “because they are filled with so much joy and hope but also loss and devastation and we work hard to acknowledge both. We celebrate each of their adoption days each year, and it’s very special to all of us.”
Welcoming a Baby With Down Syndrome
Life as a mother to two children under the age of two was a whirlwind, but Kirstin relished all of it. When Kai was almost a year old, Tomas brought up the idea of another baby. While not completely sure, Kirstin was open to trying and discovered she was pregnant with her baby daughter Aria within a month. Learning of the baby’s diagnosis took Kirstin a little while to process.“I grieved the child I thought I was going to have, while I prepared my heart for this new one,” she said.
Immersing herself in learning as much about Down syndrome as she could, Kirstin says that the more she learned, the more excited she felt to meet the new arrival. “Tomas was amazing with her diagnosis right away,” she said. “He told me he read that ‘families with a child with Down syndrome are happier’ and that truly was his outlook the whole time—turns out he was so right!”
The moment Kirstin held Aria for the first time after giving birth, the mother looked into her baby’s “almond-shaped beautiful eyes” and knew she was always meant to be her child.
“It was the most amazing feeling in the world,“ she said. ”I instantly fell in love and have only continued to fall more and more in love as time goes by. It truly is an indescribable love. There is magic in a Down syndrome diagnosis and every parent of a child with Down syndrome knows exactly what I am talking about. It is a special type of love you receive from them.”
Before the young family could really start to settle into normal life, though, there were several months of hospital visits to go through. Although she was born strong and healthy, Aria had been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect when Kirstin was pregnant.
At four months, the baby suffered active heart failure but, due to her heart overworking, didn’t yet weigh enough to undergo open-heart surgery. Months of constant care and extra precautions followed, until at eight months old, Aria could be treated with the vital procedure to “patch the holes in her heart.”
“Since then, she has been thriving!” her mom said. “She is doing so great now and we are so grateful for her health; it’s honestly the greatest blessing.”
‘I Love Being Their Mom’
Very close in age—each roughly 18 months apart—the three Czernek children are inseparable.Mia, who Kirstin describes as “very competitive, very empathetic, with a heart of gold” is the nurturing and protective big sister. Kai, their “little engineer,” is a gentle brother who is always willing to play with his sisters. And Aria, Kirstin says, “really looks up to Mia and Kai and thinks they are just the most amazing kids in the world.”
It’s clear that Kirstin and Tomas dote on their kids and find great fun and laughter in their role as parents. They have not only overcome but embraced the challenges and the lessons that come with it.
“Life can be overwhelming at times, especially trying to make sure I am meeting everyone’s needs the way they need it constantly, but it’s every bit worth it!” says Kirstin, who also now knows “how capable and amazing” individuals with Down syndrome are.
“Truly, the sky is the limit. Aria has taught me so much in her three little years of life, I will never be the same. My eyes have been opened to the beauty in loving people who are different from me.
“It’s so much fun. I love being their mom!”
