My name is Craig Cheney. I was born in 1958 and adopted on the same day. Jessie and Sterling, my adoptive parents, eagerly accepted me into the family as they had previously done with my other siblings — all adopted due to the fact that my mother couldn’t have kids. Virginia, my birth mother, loved me very much. She understood that the best way to care for me was to give me up to a wonderful couple who had the means and desire to fully provide for a new baby. Although often not acknowledged, sacrifice is at the heart of adoption. 

I am grateful for the relationship I have with my birth mother, who wrote letters to my mother all throughout my childhood. My mother reciprocated the letters, which are now looked upon fondly.

Years later, I now have five children and nine grandchildren.