ADOPTION NOW - Telling Your Adoption Story

Brandi Miller shares her story of becoming a birth mother at 16 years old. She talks about how she chose her adoptive parents and how she overcame shame after placement. Brandi also shares her advice on transgender in adoption. Her daughter, now called Micah, has opened that conversation up and Brandi shares how she responded.

Reggie Rivers played six seasons as a running back for the Denver Broncos. He is now the president of his own business consulting firm and a highly successful corporate motivational speaker. On this episode he shares how he and his wife Stephanie did not want children. It wasn’t until Stephanie’s sister had a son and she began struggling with addiction that led him to consider being a father. Reggie shares how they made the decision to bring the little boy home and how he changed their lives.

Last week we were joined by an incredible birth mother, Laura, who shared her beautiful story of honesty and open communication in her adoption experience. Today we are joined by the adoptive parents, Jen and Alan, as well as my husband Noah, to get their side of the story on this seemingly perfect adoption. After finding each other through love at first sight, Jen and Alan tried to get pregnant through IVF before deciding adoption was right for them. Once Laura selected them as her adoptive parents, they worked together to create a healthy and open relationship. Today Jen and Alan are telling us all about the research that went into finding their birth mother, what their first ‘perfect date’ was really like with Laura and Jerome, and the details that came together to make this story “meant to be.” Every adoption story is different, and Jen and Alan are proof of that. Their journey is filled with hope, positivity and lots of love.

Sometimes a story comes along that makes you question the things you thought you knew about adoption, and today is one of those stories. Laura is a birth mother from California who feels passionately about sharing her incredibly positive adoption experience. After placing her child in an open adoption over three years ago, Laura is still beaming with joy about her adoption process and the adoptive family. She believes that not all birth mothers go through the same grief process, and she is sharing her story about her life-changing experience in the hopes that it will empower and inspire other women. She shares how she and the birth father immediately connected with the adoptive parents, and why she decided to spend the first three days together with them and the baby after placement. Laura feels she was meant to have a different experience in order to show people that there are other ways to process loss. This episode offers a very inspiring and fresh perspective that proves everyone has their own story in the adoption journey.

Lori Tapparo and her husband Kenny tried for 16 years to have biological children. After she had an emergency hysterectomy, the couple decided to pursue adoption through the foster care system in Colorado. Within 1 year and 2 months, they had 4 children! Lori shares the ups and downs of their journey and what it is like to adopt bio siblings. She also talks about what she did when one of her sons was unexpectedly reunified with his birth mother. She ended up getting him back with a huge surprise!

Adrienne Elliott has worked in all aspects of the child welfare system including intake, child protection, permanency and adoption. She is now the Executive Director of Adoption Options. On this episode April Fallon sits down with Adrienne to ask YOUR questions about adoption. What do you need to start the adoption process? Should a family adopt an older child and bump birth order? How do you talk to your child about their adoption story? April shares funny stories of parenting moments she wished she had done better and how Adrienne has helped her! Don’t miss this episode!!

Jack and Adrian are birth parents who placed their baby girl up for adoption when they were in college. They wanted a better life for her, although later they would find out it wasn’t exactly what they had hoped for. Jack shares from a birth father‘s perspective on how he moved forward after leaving the hospital without his daughter and Adrian shares what it was like as a birth mother grieving the loss of her baby. They went on to get married, have 3 more children together and then they adopted a baby boy! They share their experiences as adoptive parents and the emotions they went through helping the birth mother through her loss. Then they reconnect with the daughter they placed and she wants to be a part of their family. This episode is filled with so many aspects of the adoption journey!!!

Becky Fawcett is an adoptive mother of two children. As she was adopting she realized the cost was so high that she had to do something to help other families bring home their children. She started helpusadopt.org, an equality based organization that seeks to reduce the financial burden of adoption by awarding large, life-changing, problem-solving grants. Her non-profit has given over 2.6 million dollars away to adoptive families! She could help you if you’re on the adoption journey❤️

On this episode, our featured guest is Mallory Fogas, who started the company Arrow and Root to create modern adoption profile books. Today, you will not only hear how their adoption profile books help adoptive families, but you will hear the story of how these adorable kids became a family! Mallory has a passion and heart for all things adoption because she is half adopted and she has 5 adopted siblings with Down Syndrome. This is a story of how amazing it can be to say yes to adoption!!

Nellya and her husband had two biological children and they were fostering a child when they decided to adopt a baby from India. In the process they found out they were pregnant and then said yes to 3 more foster children! Their house was full as they waited to bring home baby Millie. When the agency went silent on updates, Nellya found out some devastating news. On this episode we see a mother’s heart to save a child no matter the cost.

Meg was adopted from Seoul, Korea at the age of 6 months to a family in Northern Minnesota. She grew up shy, introverted and misunderstood by many of her teachers and peers. Although she attached to her adoptive parents, whom she loved very much, she struggled with depression. On this episode Meg talks with April Fallon about the repressed grief she did not know she carried and her journey to find peace with her adoption story.

On today’s episode, Cherie Burton shares her story as a birth mother in an open adoption and an adoptive mother. She is an author, international speaker, and former Mrs. Utah. She and her husband have two biological children together and they have adopted two babies. She talks about the heartbreak and peace she experienced as she did what she felt was best for her first daughter. Cherie also opens up about the challenges she faced while going through the adoption process and what it was like to become an adoptive mother. This is a very unique story told from two sides of the adoption triad.

James and Noell adopted through the foster care system. They had two biological kids when their family decided to bring home another child...then they got 3!! On this episode, Noell comes back on the show to give us an encouraging update on how their oldest adopted son is doing after being placed in a different home to help address his attachment issue.

When Shane and Beth got married, Shane did not want children. They got pregnant unexpectedly and that changed everything. After baby Allen’s 1st birthday the couple decided to go on an adoption journey to Nigeria, Africa. On this episode, Beth takes us through all the challenges and blessings they experienced bringing sweet Ruth home...then Beth shares surprising news about their family!

Kim de Blecourt is an award-winning author, international speaker and Executive Director of Nourished Hearts, a non-profit serving orphaned and vulnerable children. Kim and her husband Jahn adopted their son from the Ukraine and told their story on ADOPTION NOW in 2016. She has just written a 6 week study called “I Call You Mine - Embracing God’s Gift of Adoption." On this episode April Fallon talks with Kim about this book and how it can help adoptive families and people looking to start the adoption/foster care process.