Little miracle

Ashlee Aurora has been a mom for more than 12 years.

However, it wasn't until April 24 that she gave birth to her first child.

"This is a new stage for us," Aurora, 33, said Thursday, her new son, Waylon, resting in her arms.

"We've never done the newborn stage before," she said. "It's all new. The lack of sleep is new. All of our kids, when we got them, were old enough they were sleeping through the night, so that’s new. But it’s great. I love it. Definitely gives a whole new purpose."

Aurora was told at age 16 she would never conceive because she has polycystic ovary syndrome, which can cause infertility. Doctors said if she did conceive, she wouldn't be able to carry to full term.

She and her high school sweetheart husband, Justin Aurora, have been together for 16 years. They had accepted they would have to adopt or foster if they wanted to be parents. It just happened sooner than they could have imagined.

Their oldest kids, Justyce, 15, and Jacob, 14, came into their lives when she and Justin were still kids themselves.

Ashlee worked as a nanny in Post Falls when she and Justin were 20. The grandfather of the family told Ashlee he knew of an older couple who needed help raising two young kids and asked if she would meet them. They went to dinner with the family the next day.

"We met these two little spitfire toddlers who were super shy and quiet," Ashlee said.

The children came to the elderly couple, of no relation, from birth parents who were not capable of caring for them. Ashlee and Justin began watching them in 2010, and within a month the siblings were living with them. By 2012, the Auroras had legal guardianship of the siblings, although they still stay in touch with the older woman, who they consider a grandmother.

"We were still young and doing our own thing," Ashlee said. "I knew at some point I wanted to have kids some way. I always thought it would be cool to go to Indonesia and do a mission trip. But it all just kind of happened. It totally was a God thing. God arranged it how it was supposed to be."

She credits Justyce and Jacob for jump-starting their adult lives. They went from carefree young adults to grown-ups with the responsibility of caring for little ones who needed them.

"It changed a lot for us, but totally for the best," Ashlee said.

Before long, Bryson came along. He was 7 months old when the Auroras first fostered him. He was in and out with his birth family, but when he landed back in the system, they knew he was meant to be with them.

Bryson, now 10, entered their lives after Ashlee took foster care training.

"At the end of the class, they tell you how many kids are in foster care, and it broke my heart," Ashlee said. "So we agreed to do foster care. And we ended up with ... a houseful ever since," Justin said.

How do they do it?

"We're broke," Justin joked.

He works at Kaiser Aluminum; she works at Children's Village. They have their four children, plus a friend's daughter, Lily, who stays with them throughout the school year, and they provide respite for foster parents. Their doors are always open when a child is in need.

"We have a lot of support. Our families help us a lot," Ashlee said. "Justyce drives now, so that is really helpful."

Through years of being adoptive parents to children they adore, the Cataldo couple expected to be empty-nesters by their early 40s.

But, as the saying goes, expect the unexpected.

"In August, I had the day off and I woke up and I just had this weird feeling I should take a pregnancy test,” Ashlee said.

She convinced herself it was impossible, but when she jumped on social media, the first video she saw had a baby in it. Then the next one.

“I was like, ‘OK God, if there’s four more videos of babies, I’ll take a pregnancy test.’ And the next six videos were all of babies. So I took a pregnancy test," she said. "At that time, I would have only been like three-and-a-half weeks. They all showed up super positive.”

In disbelief, she sent a picture of the pregnancy test to her cousin, with whom she is incredibly close.

“I was like, ‘Is this what I think it is? I think I’m crazy, I don’t know,’ and she was like, ‘Oh my gosh, Ashlee, that’s positive,'" Ashlee said. "It took a good two months before I really fully believed it."

“And how many pregnancy tests?” Justin chimed in with a grin.

"I took a lot of pregnancy tests," she said, smiling back.

Justin admitted he was excited after the initial shock wore off.

"Mostly because I thought I had it figured out, how the future was going," he said.

That first day was rough for both of them. Was this real? Would they miscarry?

"I've always prayed that I'm thankful I can't conceive if I'm not going to carry," Ashlee said. "Emotionally, I don't know how I would handle that. I've always been stressed about that."

Ashlee was most excited to tell the big kids, although Justyce knew before her parents knew she knew.

"She cheated and saw my prenatals (vitamins) in my purse," Ashlee said, beaming a smile at Justyce. "She was a sneaker."

"Before that, I saw your pregnancy test," Justyce responded, also smiling.

Jacob said he was excited to welcome home a baby brother.

"I’m a lot older than he is, so it will just be cool,” he said. “It didn’t feel real at first.”

"At first I was like, that’s so weird,'" Justyce said. “Then I thought it was really cool. I’m really happy.”

“For now, I’m fine with him,” Bryson said. “He’s going to start crawling and get in my room. The No. 1 thing off limits — my books.”

For Ashlee, foster care is near to her heart. She said she always knew at some point she wanted to adopt through foster care, because she wasn't supposed to be able to have kids.

"Justin's just really good at going with the flow, and letting me bring lots of kids home," she said with a laugh.

Although they have a miraculous new addition, they have been loving parents for a long time. That love will only continue to grow.

"Our kids are all our kids," Ashlee said.