“Seven miscarriages later, the carpet was pulled from under us. She came into our lives at just the right moment.”
‘He’s only a few days old, and white.’ He didn’t even weigh enough to leave. I did skin-to-skin for weeks.’: Woman battles infertility, fosters-to-adopt, ‘We don’t have to look alike to love alike’
‘My parents had over 30 temporary placements and adopted 9 children. I struggled with my identity. I didn’t fit.’: Man thanks adoptive family, ‘I’m meant to do something important’
“He was sitting with my uncle. ‘We can give her a break and take care of him.’ Our home was chaos but in the best way.”
‘You would have to be prepared to adopt.’ My heart stopped fluttering; it just stopped. ‘How am I even allowed to be doing this?’: Woman becomes transracial foster mom, ‘We are the lucky ones’
“She was playing basketball with all the neighborhood kids in our front yard when I got home from work. My heart fluttered. ‘What the heck am I doing? Can I even be a good mom? I know NOTHING.’ I walked up and tried to say hello to her.”
‘Comments about immigration ripped my heart out. Then we made a decision. Now comments are personal.’: Transracial family creates kids activities to celebrate other cultures, ‘People matter’
“The Facebook comments were no longer about others. ‘Someone needs to do something.’ I had to empower our family. It wasn’t enough to just read books.”
‘We didn’t want to announce, ‘ADOPTIVE FAMILY’ every time we walked in a room. It was never a question of love.’: Mom of multiracial family says ‘our happily ever after is my favorite story’
“I cried all 300 miles home. We took some time to grieve and decide if we were going to pursue adoption or remain childless. Then one day, I heard a news story out of Haiti, and something in me perked up. ‘There they are. Those are our kids.’”
‘I’m sorry, you were my second choice.’ 2 weeks later, we got an email titled URGENT. They’d changed their minds.’: Family of 5 adopt newborn from birth mother, start beautiful open adoption
“Again, our social worker was on the line. ‘Look guys, I know you’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster. I hate to bring up another question, but the birth mom called us today.’ We took Revere home from the hospital on Valentine’s Day.”
‘A nosy man focused too much on race. I lost my patience. ‘I have so many kids because I sleep around a lot.’ He whipped his gaze over to my husband in shock.’: Couple with biological kids adopt 2 more, ‘My soul knew these souls’
“‘If you have more children, you could spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair.’ I can still hear those words echoing in my ears. There was no panic. Just calm. They didn’t even come with a photo. We didn’t need a photo to be drawn to the baby boy and his toddler sister looking for their family. They ran right to us and gave us big hugs. They are my babies, they always have been and they always will be.”
‘My youngest was called the n-word in kindergarten. He’s been told his skin is the color of poop. Someone yelled a racial epithet at us from a truck.’: Adoptive mom addresses the ‘wide mouthed, gaping stares’ her mixed-race family gets from strangers
“Raising a child of a different race was overwhelming. I hate to even admit how I once accidentally shaved his toddler head bald before desperately seeking out a Black barber. But slowly, we learned what products worked on his skin and hair. We stepped out of our comfort zone. When I share how I have two 20-year-old’s and a 10-year-old, people ask if the 20-year-old’s are twins, or they comment on the age gap. I know my older two keep things from me. I worry about the safety of all three of them.”
‘I see you peeking!’ He slowly opened his eyes, blinking up at us. His tiny hand closed around my husband’s finger. Our hearts were forever changed.’: Couple adopts after surprise pregnancy, ‘I welcome every ounce of chaos and noise’
“‘Let’s not get our hopes up,’ I told my husband after the shock of the positive pregnancy settled in. He nodded in agreement. But then I received a very unexpected phone call. ‘Jeanette, do you want to be a mother?’ I realized what was about to happen and halted the conversation. ‘Wait!’ I shouted. ‘Can I three-way Zach onto this call?’ I quickly dialed him. Zach was in shock. I had not prepped him. The same week we miscarried our first child, our future son was conceived.”
‘Is he a drug baby?’ I heard the whispers. ‘You’re making a huge mistake.’: Southern woman adopts African American child in ‘little town known for racial divides,’ aims to break stigmas, ‘I want my children to be inclusive, kind’
“On a holiday weekend, we received a call. ‘A baby boy is in the hospital and needs a home.’ I was scared to say yes. Just 3 hours later, a car pulled in our driveway with a 6-pound, 3-day old, baby boy. Time stood still. She handed him to me with two Walmart bags of random items, some paperwork and wished us well. We had no idea what the future would hold. Everything about this decision looked crazy to most people – even us.”
