“Finding out I was pregnant was an initial shock. I had vowed I would never have children. How could I mother children if I didn’t have a mother example to rely on? After the initial shock, I became ecstatic about the possibilities – until I realized I had a 50-50 chance of having a daughter!”
‘My husband said, ‘It’s a girl!’ I was terrified. How could I connect with such a huge mother wound?’: Girl mom, child trauma survivor urges ‘you can break generational patterns’
‘Wouldn’t you rather just have another baby of your own?’ I easily told him no. I knew God had a plan, and it included these kids!’: Mom of 5 shares grueling sibling adoption journey, now family of 10
“We were told we had too many children already and wouldn’t be considered. I was given disappointing news a lot, but I wasn’t phased. I knew these were my kids.”
‘Your aunt’s house burned to the ground last night. Andrew didn’t make it out.’ For the first time in my life, I felt free.’: Sexual abuse survivor shares healing journey through sobriety and motherhood
“I was six years old the first time it happened. He asked if I wanted to play a game called ‘Truth or Dare.’ By the time I was in middle school, I understood drinking. Suddenly, nothing seemed awful anymore.”
‘The statistics were extremely stacked against me. Then, I was adopted.’: Former foster youth shares healing journey, ‘You are not responsible for what happened to you as a child’
“I experienced the stability and safe love I’d longed for years. And even though I tried to push it away, they never left me. My family was relentless in their commitment to loving me and helping me heal. No matter what I did – and I did a lot of things – they loved me.”
‘They looked like they hadn’t eaten in weeks, and they never said a single word. Our training was exactly for this moment.’: Mom shares foster-to-adopt journey, advice for other adopters
“Those frail little boys have learned to ride bikes, scooters, skateboards. Our commitment to them is as if I had given birth to them. There is no difference in our love for them.”
‘After the abuse stopped, I looked at myself in the mirror and hated what I had done to my body. So I started to hurt it even more.’: Woman shares body positivity journey after abuse, eating disorders
“I needed to go into this journey for HEALTH, not because I wanted to look like this person or that person. It has changed my whole perspective. I am happy with my body again, and I am confident again.”
‘We’re creating our own family by the heart.’: Woman adopts family friend from broken home, former foster daughter as adults
“I’ve looked at others’ family relationships and wondered, ‘What is that like?’ When Connie expressed how she knew what it was like to have a mother now, it touched me deeply. We’re creating our own family by the heart.”
