News

'Meant-to-be' adoptions melt Little Rock couple's hearts

Published: March 31, 2007   

By Mary Hightower
Special to Arkansas Catholic

Courtesy UALR

UALR basketball coach Steve Shields shares a moment in front of the Jack Stephens Center on the UALR campus with his family, including daughter Halle (left), his wife Dee and son Hayden.

Courtesy UALR

UALR basketball coach Steve Shields shares a moment in front of the Jack Stephens Center on the UALR campus with his family, including daughter Halle (left), his wife Dee and son Hayden.

Over the years, Steve and Dee Shields had made many adoptions, thanks to Steve's various basketball coaching jobs. Adding two more was a no-brainer.

"We've got the student-athletes for our children. We've been second moms and dads to them," Dee said.

When Steve accepted the job as head basketball coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and Dee became an account manager for Little Rock public relations firm Stone Ward, adoption took another twist.

"We'd been married 13 years and had not gotten pregnant," Dee Shields said. "We prayed about it a lot."

"I always believe that things were meant to be, that things happen for a reason," she added.

"Meant-to-be" took the form of a couple of Catholic connections: Steve's late aunt, a nun, was a principal in Memphis. Her secretary was Bishop J. Peter Sartain's mother, Catherine. The two put Steve and Dee in touch with Catholic Adoption Services.

A key player in the process was Antje Harris, who has been director of Catholic Adoption Services in Catholic Charities of Arkansas for more than 20 years. Her agency is known officially as Adoption Services Inc., and has been a state licensed child placement agency for nearly 23 years.

"It has been my privilege to be part of the creation of new families and to provide comfort, support and healing for a birth parent experiencing a problem pregnancy," she said.

Adoption Services offers its services to birth parents and their families at no charge and adoptive parents are charged on a sliding fee scale.

The good work done by Catholic Adoption Services is supported by the diocese, with approximately 20 percent of its budget coming from the Catholic Arkansas Sharing Appeal, or CASA.

"We thank all of the people who so generously give to CASA so that birth parents can choose a wonderful and loving home for their child," Harris said.

After housefuls of young adult student-athletes, the Shields have adapted quite well to their new, significantly younger kids.

Growing up with three brothers and cousins who were all boys made having little girl Halle a new experience for Steve.

"When we found out that we were hopefully going to adopt another child and found out she was going to be a girl, I thought, 'What am I going to do?'" Steve said. "Dee said, 'Just wait.' Now I'm the biggest mushball out there. She just melts me."

Parenthood has issued an additional call to Dee, who grew up Methodist. She will join the Catholic Church this Easter. The Shields will raise their children as Catholics at Christ the King Church in Little Rock.

Steve, a cradle Catholic, said, "I've never pressured anything from a faith standpoint, but I'm excited about it. It was meant to be."

"That was part of us coming to Little Rock and part of the plan to look into the Catholic Adoption Services and be blessed with Hayden and Halle," he said. "Things happen for a reason. We both really believe it."

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