“It felt like months of tug-of-war. ’The judge is refusing. You need to be in Texas by Friday.’ Through tears, I called my husband. ‘Looks like we’re headed to Texas.’ I just wanted my boy.”
‘I can have him ready as soon as I need to.’ With shaking knees and wet palms, we froze. Our family was being built.’: Couple adopts two boys from foster care, ‘It was a very easy yes’
‘This little boy needs a forever home.’ I stared at the picture and felt the Lord say, ‘This is your son. Let’s fight for him.’: Couple adopts from foster care, ‘Our forever has just begun’
“A friend texted me a photo. ‘Have you guys ever thought about adopting?’ All the tears, all the prayers, suddenly made sense. It was all because this little boy needed us, and we needed him.”
‘Can I stay?’ I had 5 under 5. I wasn’t ready. I thought she deserved better. But there was nowhere else.’: Woman adopts 17-year-old from foster care, ‘We said YES’
“I got a call. ‘I know you don’t do teens, but I have this girl.’ Her one wish was to not spend another birthday in the system. I had just taken in a newborn, but I couldn’t say no.”
‘Did he think we abandoned him?’ I was still grieving. He hardly slept day or night. I struggled to feel connection.’: Couple foster to adopt, ‘If you don’t get attached, you’re doing it wrong’
“Within minutes, I was holding him in my arms. It was as if my arms had always been missing something. Him. Grief hit hard when he was reunified with mom.”
‘She was exposed to substances in utero. She didn’t want to be held. I wondered if we’d made a mistake.’: Couple adopts daughter from foster care, ‘I am so thankful she’s ours’
“Our daughter cried a lot. Basically anytime she was awake, she was crying. Was it supposed to be this hard? We had hours of doctor’s appointments, therapies, and evaluations. But there would no longer be uncertainty for our little girl.”
‘This is just my daycare. My mom is coming back for me.’ She never came.’: 22-year-old finally adopted by ‘forever family’ after years of trauma, abuse in foster homes
“The last time a police officer came to my house, he asked, ‘Do you want to go get a cookie?’ I was only 5, so that was a big deal. I didn’t understand why my biological mom was crying as we drove away. We picked up my sister at school, then waited at DHS to drive us to a foster home. All we had were the clothes on our backs, and even those were dirty. ‘I need a place to stay until I figure out where to go,’ I said.”
‘She remembered the way they protected her. ‘THOSE ARE MY BROTHERS!’ she pointed across the courtroom, yelling proudly.’: 3 adopted brothers ecstatic to attend biological sister’s adoption day after ‘hopeless’ childhood
“My eyes immediately filled with tears, and I knew. I knew she remembered the way they fought to keep them alive. She remembered.”
