“My brother knew he had a problem. He hated it. He hated it so much he stopped it all and moved back home right beside my mom. He told her he wanted to be closer to his family. That he felt so lost without us. He had such a big, kind heart. SO forgiving. Too forgiving. A month before he overdosed, he was baptized. He died with his Bible open right next to him.”

‘I lost my baby brother to an overdose. My best friend, my 6-foot, green eyed, blonde haired brother.’: Sister describes agony of losing her ‘best friend’ brother after he was sober for a year, ‘I’d give anything to have him back’

‘Wow, that’s so cool I have 2 moms! May I have a snack?,’ was his reaction at age 5. ‘Aren’t you worried they’ll take the boys back?’ We are not a bit worried. We told him he grew up in her tummy.’
“And then we met her – this gorgeous strawberry blond young lady with the most beautiful green eyes looking at us from across the table. She had one question for us. Our knees were shaking just getting the news. We were not convinced it would be ‘wonderful’ at all. We were intimidated and scared.”

‘Hey Dad, I want to raise your son. I want him as my own,’ I insanely told my dying father. ‘I didn’t want to put that burden on you,’ he said. He died just 18 hours later.’
“‘Adopt him. You’re supposed to be his mom. You’re the one. Tell your dad. Tell him now.’ My dad visited me in dream. I was standing in a white room. He walked towards me holding a baby wrapped in a light blue blanket. He handed him over, smiled and kissed the baby’s head. When I woke up, I knew.”

‘Mommy! I’m going to ask Santa for a baby in your belly!’ Doing all I could to keep it together, I replied, ‘That may be a hard promise for him to keep.’
“‘Well,’ she paused. ‘Five days is a long time. If it were me, I’d want to know.’ I could not get her words out of my head. I purchased the finest pregnancy tests 8 quarters could buy.”

I got a text while I was at work that said, ‘Babe, will you seriously pray and think about something?!’ Immediately my heart pounds.
“It seemed impossible. It would have to take a miracle. The rest of the story is nothing short of just that.”

‘Won’t she be sad?,’ our son asked.’: Family realizes ‘adoption is beautiful’ after birth mom’s heartfelt goodbye
“We reminded her in this moment that it was not goodbye, but a see you soon and then the hardest thing happened. We watched as she gave our son one more hug and a kiss and then left the room.”

‘When am I going to get my baby brother? I just want my baby brother.’ After losing a baby at 11 weeks, mom is THRILLED to tell her son he’d finally get ‘his baby brother’
“His smallness took my breath away. That night, my in-laws brought Mikey to see me. We told him he finally had his baby brother. The first time Mikey saw him, he beamed. ‘He has red hair just like me!’ I feel honored to witness their love. It’s as if the two of them were destined to be each other’s brother.”

‘I knew my brother had died before I even picked up the phone’: Sister resented her mom’s grief for brother who overdosed until she had a son of her own
“My mom valued my brother’s death more than me, and I was still here.”

‘I miss them more than words can describe’: Marine’s 2-year-old brother steps in for PROM photos in his absence
“Even though Gage is 1,000 miles away, I still had a great prom! It meant so much to me to have Gage be a part of my night, even though he couldn’t actually be here with me.”