Bryan and Laura's Adoption Story: Joy Mixed With Pain

Wrestling with the complexities of emotion in adoption is difficult. There is this immense joy in being a mother to a precious child while being ever mindful of the sacrifice and sorrow of the first mama who made it possible. In adoption, pain is always mixed with beauty and that's definitely the case for adoptive mamas considering the loss that their child's birth parents experience. Laura knows this complexity well. She's been journaling some letters/thoughts to her daughter's birth mom throughout their adoption journey about the joy mixed with pain. Bryan and Laura started with me in February, were home study ready in May, and were matched in August. I have loved watching them become parents...

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Eric and Madlen's Adoption Story: Wait With Purpose

Photo Credit for all pictures: KG Photography I got to know Eric and Madlen as a fellow adoptive family during their first adoption. I was excited to watch God work His beautiful ways in their second adoption journey and let me tell you- the two processes could not have been any more different! Their second adoption was painfully slow, involved some serious heartbreak, and was just flat out a really difficult wait. But just like He always is, God was working even when we couldn't understand what He was doing. They refused to give up. They clung to the truth that He is faithful and they kept praying for Him to bring their baby to them. He is always, always, always faithful! And now this...

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Saying Yes To God This Christmas (guest post)

I'm excited to introduce you to this beautiful lady with a huge heart! I met Audra three years ago to talk about life and adoption. At that time she and her husband had one little girl and were praying for God to add to their family. It was such a privilege to watch God shape their faith and lives in their first adoption story. Now, three years later, their family has: a 7 year old a 2 year old a 5 month old and God has recently stirred their hearts to adopt their daughter's sibling due in February. Yep. You read that right! This family has had their life radically turned upside down over the past three years. They know a thing or two about stepping out in faith to follow God's lead, even...

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One Birth Parent's Story: Jasmin

I'm so thankful for the birth moms and adoptees who have been bravely sharing their stories here in this space. This particular post featuring the thoughts of a birth mom (Jasmin) feels really special to me because I was the adoption consultant for the family who adopted Jasmin's daughter. Watching the adoptive family connect with Jasmin so quickly from their very first conversation and hearing them talk about how much they loved her and cared for her was really beautiful to watch. But it's even MORE beautiful to now hear from Jasmin about her love for them as well! (This picture captures the gift of open adoption so beautifully, doesn't it?) Q and A With Jasmin What do you wish everyone...

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Rick and Kim's Adoption Story: Depths of Love

I love this family. They have some of the biggest hearts I've ever seen and they live their lives for Christ and His kingdom, even when that means loving when it hurts. God has given Kim a beautiful gift for words and I've shared some of her writing here and here before. I'm so glad that she was eager to share now about their experiences in bringing their daughter home. Rick and Kim started back withme  on July 2015 on their fourth (yes FOURTH) adoption. I think you'll find yourself loving this family, too, as you read Kim's words: You would think we’d be comfortable and confident walking in to meet her. This would our fourth expectant Mom. But as we drove we talked hesitantly...

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Jason and Annie's Adoption Story: From Discouragement to Rejoicing

Jason and Annie reached out to one of my wonderful adoptive couples (David and Sarah) back in August of last year to talk about adoption. As they began to explore whether or not working with a consultant was a good fit for them, we chatted on the phone several times, and I even had the pleasure of talking with Annie's parents. Right away, I appreciated how seriously Jason and Annie were taking the decision to consider the best approach for their adoption journey; they didn't jump in blindly, but wisely learned as much as they could. We talked about the benefit to having a consultant there as your support, to pray for you and encourage you along the way. We discussed the strengths found...

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Luke and Janien's Adoption Story

Luke and Janien started with me in November of last year. From the very start, they were an absolutely pleasure to get to know. I pointed them towards an incredible home study provider in their area and little by little, they got everything together for their home study. Meanwhile, I was busy creating their profile. (Here's a picture from their profile. Aren't they so cute?) On May 11 their home study was approved and that very same day an attorney reached out about an expectant mama making an adoption plan. Luke and Janien quickly sent their packet to the attorney’s office and were able to have their profile presented! It’s pretty rare that an adoptive family gets chosen the very first...

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Ian and Ashley's Adoption Story: Look What God Has Done

You know how there are some people who stir your heart to love Jesus more simply by knowing them? That's how I feel about this sweet couple, Ian and Ashely. Watching God work in their lives as they followed His lead through the twists and turns of their adoption journey has encouraged and challenged my faith. As you read Ashley's words about their journey, I have no doubt that you will be encouraged as well. Look What God has Done (by Ashley) Adoption was always a distant, ambiguous, and fanciful idea for my husband Ian and I. It was a “maybe one day” type of thought, an “adoption is great, but we’ll see” sort of mindset. And honestly I can’t recall the exact day it changed for us. The...

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Adoptee Story: Sarah

I am so honored that Sarah was willing to share some of her story here. The way that God has worked in her life and heart and is using her to affect the lives of many others is breathtaking. I met Sarah several years ago when she was attending our church. Since then, she has gotten married and she and her husband live In Colorado where she is the Policy Director for Colorado Family Action, a non-profit associated with Focus on Family. She works at the State Legislature and in culture, specially seeking to change public policy in regards to abortion. (Much of what she shares below was originally posted on LifeNews. Those sections are in quotes. You can read that entire story here.) Near to...

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Adoptee Story: Shauna

Shauna is an"adoption buddy" of mine. When we were adopting Titus, she was in the process of adopting their daughter and we encouraged and prayed for one another along the way. I so appreciate her heart to see her own life story as an adoptee and as an adoptive mama through the lens of the Gospel. Thank you, Shauna, for sharing some of your story here! God Meant It For Good: By Shauna When you hear of adoption we often say it's born from tragedy...and in my case that was the same. My life story started with heartache. When I was 4 my mother died and my father was unable to care for us. My brother and I went to live with our grandparents, who we did not really know. We lived there until...

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One Birth Parent's Story: Karen

Karen and her husband, Dirk, are one of my sweet adoptive couples. Karen is a compassionate adoptive mom and she's also a courageous birth mother. When I asked her if she might be willing to share her story, Karen quickly responded, "I would be honored to share my story as a birth mom. I pray it will continue to speak to others! And I hope that it will shed light on the heart of adoption and a birth mother's love for her son/daughter." I count it such a privilege to share Karen's words with you. Denial, Sacrifice, Freedom and Adoption: By Karen Over twenty years ago, life was much different for me than it is today. I was a young girl living a secret life, emotionally and physically scarred,...

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One Adoptee's Story: Maribeth

As an adoption consultant, I have the crazy amazing gift of walking with hopeful adoptive parents during their adoption processes. In this space, you'll often find me sharing their stories because those are the stories I know to tell. But the adoption triad is not just composed of adoptive parents. Listening to the voices of adoptees and birth parents is absolutely essential in the conversation about adoption. I am honored to feature some of those voices on my blog this National Adoption Month! First up is my friend, Maribeth. She's been such an encouragement to me in our own adoption journeys. Several years ago, she shared her adoption story with our church community and I was one of...

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Sean and Jenny's Adoption Story: Prayers With Specific Answers

God put a very specific desire in Sean and Jenny’s hearts and watching Him move in their adoption story has been such a privilege! I had a phone call with Sean and Jenny back in January of last year where they shared with me about their desire to adopt a child with Latin American decent, in particular from Honduras. Jenny runs a beautiful non-profit there and they have huge hearts for the people of Honduras. I told them that it wasn’t very common for infant adoption situations to pop up in the U.S. involving Honduran decent, but that we could all pray! And we did. They got started with me and began working on their home study while I created their family profile book. Fast forward to June....

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Adoptive Families and Happy Fall 2016

Adorable kids in cute costumes? What's not to love! Happy Fall 2016 from some of my wonderful adoptive families! Please contact me for more info about adoptio...

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