“It wasn’t something I talked about. It made me feel different, what every child DOESN’T want. I only wanted to play with white dolls with blonde hair. I stopped telling people the truth. I had SO many questions about my identity.”
‘Where do YOU come from?’ I hated those questions. I was the ‘token brown girl.’ THIS is why representation matters.’: Adoptee finds strength in sharing story, ‘Families can look different’
‘What do we do now?!’ We NEVER thought kids would be in the cards, but here we were with TWINS!’: LGBTQ couple inspired to become parents after mom’s passing, have twins through surrogacy
“I got a text on our honeymoon: ‘You should call Mom.’ My heart started to pound. She made us realize it was time to start a family. We never thought we’d see the day we’d want CHILDREN, let alone TWO!”
‘The house had no roof or door. He was lying on a towel. ‘You should adopt him!’ He was abandoned with his sisters.’: Couple adopts siblings after missionary work
“‘Can I hold him?’ I went in with an open heart, not knowing what to expect, and my heart came back full. I HAD to do something.”
‘She’d take us on ‘missions’ in the night. It was her outlet for being a single mom. I was eventually placed in foster care.’: First generation college graduate and father shares journey, ‘I broke a generational barrier’’
“We experienced the trauma of being ripped away from our mom, as well as each other, and we were forced to live with families we didn’t know. I grew up sooner than I expected.”
‘Have you lost your MIND?’ The thought of her lying alone was too much. There’s NO WAY we could take on 4 fragile kids.’: Couple pursues special needs adoptions, ‘We’d do it all again’
“People ask, ‘Why do you want a child who’s so sick?’ I don’t see their feeding tubes or medicines. I see THEM, and I love THEM. We went from being a boring couple to having 4 kids. We would learn ANYTHING for them.”
‘A baby was born yesterday. He may have been exposed to meth.’ There was no doubt in our minds. We turned around and ran to our baby.’: Couple shares adoption journey, ‘We’re meant to be’
“Our family thought we were CRAZY.’ ’You should NEVER adopt. You never know what those kids come with.’ We already had two kids with special needs, but we knew God would provide for us. It was love at first sight.”
‘We want YOU as our parents!’ It was the last time we heard from them for 14 months. We fell in love with all 5.’: Family adopts internationally, ‘Our forever is almost in sight’
“My husband said, ‘They want you.’ When I rounded the corner, they all started yelling, ‘Mama!!! Mama, come here!’ They made a conscious CHOICE to call me ‘mama.’ I will always cherish this.”
‘Foster care? HA, no! That would be WAY too hard.’ We had our plan to become parents. Then I had a dream like no other.’: Couple pursues foster care after ‘lifelike’ dream, ‘It’s so worth it’
“I get what you might be thinking. ‘Oh gosh, another one of those dream stories.’ But hear me out! I knew I couldn’t just let that dream pass me by. It felt right.”
‘Our family’s complete.’ Adding another child seemed impossible. Thanks to Jude, my heart changed.’: Mom both births and adopts sons with Down syndrome, ‘They were meant to be brothers’
“I remember telling Michael with 100% conviction, ‘Our family is complete, and I can no longer consider adopting.’ I did not know how I could cope with a child with DS, and the idea of adding another child seemed impossible. Then, I saw his picture.”
‘It’s bad, and it’s everywhere. There’s too much to take out.’ I fell into his arms. We fought through the grief to stay one.’: Couple battling infertility adopts two sons, ‘We see perfection’
“I lived with a Fentanyl patch, which barely touched the pain. My uterus was sitting on my pelvic floor and had compromised my bladder. Our dream of two or three children became a hope we could just get ONE.”
