The former Amy Rivard and Mike Lippert dated at Kingsford High School before her family moved to Indiana. The couple reconnected several years later and Rivard moved back to the area to be with Lippert.

They eventually married and were eager to start a family. But after nearly five years without success, the Lipperts were disappointed to find out both of them had fertility issues.

“I tried one round of Clomid” — the brand name for a fertility drug — “with no success,” Lippert said. “I was not comfortable with any other fertility options and Mike supported that. We just kind of hoped it would work out one day.”

Faulk in fall 2012 was a divorced mother of three, collecting herself after a recent break-up and suspecting she might be pregnant, when her sister came to Indiana.

The home pregnancy test they did together turned up positive.

“I was freaking out … thinking, ‘How am I going to do another kid?'” Faulk said of the unplanned pregnancy.

Then she looked at Lippert and asked, “Do you really want to be a mom? Because I want to have this baby for you.”

“I didn’t want to put that much pressure on my sister but knew she had always wanted to be a mom and I felt guilty that I kept having kids. I wanted to give my sister the option to adopt,” Faulk said, adding she would have kept the baby had the Lipperts decided against it.

Her sister Lippert was overjoyed at the idea.

“I just burst into tears, I was so happy. I thought, ‘Finally, I will get to be a mom,'” Lippert said.

This wasn’t the first time Lippert had considered adoption.

“Since, I was little, I always wanted to be a mom. To me, it didn’t matter how it happened, and I was perfectly fine with adoption. In my mind, there are so many awesome kids in this world that I just wanted a family,” she said.

But there was another person to consider in this arrangement.

“I didn’t think it was a good idea at first,” husband Michael Lippert said.

The arrangement had a host of scenarios to consider. What if Faulk changed her mind? How would that affect the relationship between sisters? What if the Lipperts’ marriage failed? How would custody work?

But the yearning for a child proved stronger than the doubts.

“We decided to just go for it,” he said.

Sisters together

An attorney told them living in different states would make the adoption more difficult, so Faulk decided to move back to Michigan.

They also decided to retain separate attorneys for the adoption process.

The process of adopting a child is different in each case, depending on the circumstances, said the Lipperts’ attorney, Julie Lacost.

There are agency placement adoptions, direct placement adoptions, stepparent adoptions and relative adoptions. Because this was a relative adoption, the process was easier, faster and less expensive than most other kinds of adoption.

“Relative adoptions usually involve less investigation and paperwork than other types of adoption due to the relationship between the parent and (up to a fifth-degree) relative,” Lacost said.

Adoption through an agency can cost $20,000 to $40,000.

The Lipperts paid significantly less — the entire adoption cost $5,000, and Amy Lippert’s employer ManorCare Nursing & Rehabilitation Center paid $1,500 toward the amount. The couple also got some reimbursement through an adoption credit tax incentive.

With Faulk back in town, the sisters were able to go through the pregnancy together.

“This has brought us so much closer,” Faulk said.

She also joked with her sister, “You better not ask for any Christmas or birthday gifts for a really long time.”

The Lipperts waited until very late in the pregnancy before letting anyone throw a baby shower, in case something happened or Faulk changed her mind.

They finally decided Fathers Day 2013 would be an appropriate date.

It certainly was. Faulk began having contractions that morning, but because she was a few weeks early, the sisters decided to go ahead with the event.

Which is how Faulk ended up in full labor at the Forward Financial Credit Union conference center.

Benjamin Jacen Lippert was born about an hour later at Dickinson County Hospital in Iron Mountain, just across the street.

The Lipperts were in the room during the delivery and Amy Lippert was first to hold her son. Mom and dad both were inked with imprints of Benjamin’s tiny feet on their arms.

Faulk was so happy to become an aunt, she began snapping photo after photo of her sister’s new family. She did admit, though, it was “weird giving birth and going home without a baby.”

But she has no regrets. “I had him for my sister. I wouldn’t change it for nothing,” she said.

Staying in touch

Later, Faulk got a leg tattoo with Benjamin’s name, birthdate and the adoption symbol. She said she is happy to share her story when anyone asks about the image.

Just after Benjamin was born, the sisters lost their mother to ovarian cancer that spread very quickly. Their mother had been a big supporter of the adoption.

Both women think the baby was part of God’s plan to bring the family closer together, knowing what the future held.

“My mom was my rock. If I didn’t have Amy after my mom died, I don’t know what I would have done,” Faulk said.

Lippert agreed the sisters now are closer than ever.

“I made her an auntie and she made me a mom,” she said.

Faulk said her sister “had thousands of questions for her” and they are in constant contact. She gives the Lipperts advice when asked but otherwise tries not to impose on their parenting.

“She never tells us what to do. She is my rock and is there for me always,” Lippert said.

The families Skype often now that Faulk has returned to Indiana and regularly sends Benjamin special gifts in the mail. “Benjamin knows where he came from and tells people, ‘I grew in auntie’s belly.”

The families understand that they will have to explain the situation in better detail some day. “There is a lot more to it that he came from auntie’s belly,” Lippert said.

Faulk wanted to share her story to raise awareness that women do have a choice.

“If you feel drawn to do something like that, you should. Everything happens for a reason,” she said, adding, “This was just the way it was supposed to be.”

Lippert also wanted to raise awareness.

“Adoption is not an easy process and is very expensive. It’s very hard when pregnancy just doesn’t happen naturally. Our story has a very happy ending. That does not turn out that way for everyone. I would love to have more children, but it is just so expensive,” she said.

The Walk of Life Pregnancy Services, 1018 Cedar Ave. in Iron Mountain, can assist pregnant women considering adoption, though they do not handle the adoption itself. “We would talk with her and walk alongside her as she goes through the process,” said Shari Wery, Walk of Life director.

Walk of Life can be reached at 906-774-5683 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Catholic Social Services at 427 S. Stephenson Ave., No. 215, in Iron Mountain does handle open adoptions. Diane Tryan, clinical director, said the organization also offers birthparent counseling and help with forming an adoption plan.

They can “hook them up with couples who are willing” or foster parents are sometimes ready to take infants. “We have families licensed for foster care so that can sometimes lead to adoption,” Tryan said.

For more information, call 906-774-3323.

Theresa Proudfit can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 45, or tproudfit@ironmountaindailynews.com.

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