These couple decided to adopt a newborn baby girl who was born unable to use any of her limbs or legs.

They were aware that the adoption would affect the trajectory of the child’s life, but they were unaware that it would also alter the direction of their own lives.

Their child’s disability has instilled in them an appreciation for the simpler things in life and an ability to find joy in the most mundane activities.

Maria, who had just turned six months old at the time, was placed at the Selected Children Village orphanage in the city of Silang in the Philippines when she was made available for adoption.

The only thing that set her apart from other children was the fact that she did not have any limbs when she was born. Despite this, she was faultless and breathtaking in her appearance.

In October of 2014, Adrianne and Jason Stewert of West Jordan, Utah were going through a list of children who were in the process of being adopted and were waiting to be adopted.

They came discovered a picture of Maria completely by accident.

Maria captured their hearts the moment they laid eyes on her picture, and they couldn’t help but fall in love with her.

Maria would have been the epitome of perfection and beauty had it not been for the fact that she was born without limbs.

Adrianne shared that at the time, they did not want to adopt a child who had special requirements; but, after meeting her, they were unable to resist falling in love with her and deciding to give her a forever home.

She went on to say that she had seen one of the most stunning smiles on her. “To put it succinctly, we were absolutely certain that she needed to become a part of our family,” you said.

It took a great deal of bravery and faith for the couple who already had two girls, ages 11 and 13, as well as an adopted boy from the Philippines named Joshua, age 6, to make the important decision of adopting a child with special needs.

However, in the end, they decided to go ahead with the adoption regardless of the child’s condition. At the age of six, Joshua was brought to the United States from the Philippines where he had been adopted.

Adrianne shared her sentiments on Facebook, saying, “We knew that we were able to love her, and that being able to love her was the most important thing!”

In October 2015, after waiting for an entire year, the Stewert family finally made the trek to the Philippines to pick up their daughter Maria and bring her back with them to the United States.

As soon as they came into contact with Maria, who exuded serenity and purity, their concerns melted away.

Considering it was her first time meeting us, Adrianne claims that she “expected she would be terrified and nervous because it was the first time we met her.”

But she performed so brilliantly, and she was so pleased and smiling for us, and it was absolutely stunning.

In order to bring Maria back with them to their home in the United States, the couple went all the way to the Philippines.

When the caregiver at the orphanage saw Maria finally meeting her new family, she broke down into quiet sobs.

Maria was the recipient of the caregiver’s attention. It was a moving experience for everyone who was a part of it.

When they took her to their little house in Utah, everything went smoothly; but, Maria need some time to adjust to her new environment before she felt comfortable there.

In spite of this, Adrianne is of the opinion that the challenges she has faced have been beneficial since “she is so full of light and love.”

Maria and her siblings, particularly Joshua, were able to get along quite well as time went on. Maria is considered to be on par with the rest of them by Joshua; he sees her only as their younger sister.

After they took Maria into their family, the Stewerts’ life has been turned completely upside down.

The Stewerts had the optimistic expectation that adopting Maria would result in favorable developments in her life…

They were completely unaware of the profound effect that would have on their life as a result of it.

A year after Maria had moved into her new home, Adrianne published a video in which she discussed their adoption journey and stated, “Special needs adoption has forever changed our family.”

She did this in the hopes that their story will inspire other families to adopt children who have special needs and that others will take in foster children.

Jason remarked, “She has a lot of love to give.” “She is quite close to her stuffed animals, and she requires that her little bear be fed before she will eat anything of her own,” the narrator said.

Maria is “just like any other child,” in that she possesses “so much brightness and joy” in her life.
In spite of her handicap, Adrianne stated that “She’s doing all the same things as our other kids, but in a somewhat different fashion.”

Maria has three years under her belt and is currently enrolled in preschool. She participates in occupational, speech, and physical therapy sessions on a monthly basis.

In addition to having fun with her stuffed animals, one of her favorite things to do is listen to music that was popular throughout the 1980s.

She is able to feed herself with the assistance of a self-feeder, play with a computer tablet, and her favorite hobby is coloring with a mouthpiece that was especially made for her by a dentist.

She is also able to feed herself with the assistance of a self-feeder.

Adrianne’s writing includes the following passage: “We put restrictions on what we think she can do, and then we witness her perform exactly what we thought she couldn’t do,”

Maria is capable of performing a range of tasks on her own, one of which is steering her customized wheelchair using the nub on her arm.

Because of her, each and every one of us has improved. “She has taught us to appreciate the simple things, not allow our lack of stuff bring us down, and to embrace what we do have,” added Adrianne.

“She is an amazing person and we are very grateful to have her in our lives.”

The most important thing that she has taught us is that everyone of us is significantly more capable than we give ourselves credit for being.