Destined for Motherhood: A Story of Adoption and Surrogacy [S5E1]

“Lord, give us children who really need us.” That was Marlin and Lisa’s prayer as they started their adoption journey. In this episode they share their story of adopting four children, all of whom have special needs. Their oldest is on the Autism spectrum and the younger three all have Down syndrome. Ten years ago, they began publishing Plain Values, a monthly print magazine, to highlight Biblical ministries, share the beauty of adoption, promote the dignity of kids with special needs, and to cultivate anchored community. There are many kids with special needs who need a family. They want others to know that you don’t have to be perfect or extraordinary, you just have to be willing. It’s not always easy, but it’s always worth it.  https://plainvalues.com/ https://www.roomtobloomfoundation.org/ https://extraordinaryadoption.com/

21 Apr 202243min

April Fallon interviews Kim Kriesel, a licensed Professional Counselor who helps couples who are struggling to grow their family. For many women, not being able to fulfill their expectation of motherhood is the most devastating experience.  Kim and her husband went through infertility and experienced many losses along the way. In overcoming her own grief, her passion now lies in helping others who are experiencing this kind of distress.  In this episode, Kim talks about recognizing the pain surrounding infant loss and infertility. The road to healing is not easy, but having someone who understands can make the journey less lonely. Kim also gives her clients the hope and support they need to explore other options in building a family.  If you or someone you know has gone through infertility, this episode is for you!

7 Apr 202237min

Lynn Deiulis is an adult adopted person and retired adoption worker from Canada who has written a book called “What Is Your Story”: Let’s Talk About Adoption and Kinship.  Children are inquisitive people, especially about their history and their story. Lynn spent her whole life searching for information about her adoption story and her biological parents. In 1991 she connected to her half-sister who was also adopted into another family. Together they go on a journey to find the truth about their birth mother but the search comes to an end when the mother refuses to connect with them. The two do not give up and continue to search for answers. Listen to this episode to hear how they discovered why they were placed and how meeting their other half sisters opened up the door to create this book. The book is designed to help adopted children talk about their stories and explore conversations with the people they love.

31 Mar 202239min

When Bailey and her husband said yes to growing their family through the foster care system, they had no idea what to expect!! 23 children later and 4 adopted into their family, Bailey shares what she learned on the journey. She never would have guessed how much her heart would change and how God would open the doors to have authentic relationships with birth families. She now runs a non-profit in South Florida called, “The Hands and Feet.” They support children and families in the child welfare system by providing basic necessities when children come into care. Check out this episode and her website! https://www.handsandfeetfl.com/

24 Mar 202242min

The timing of this interview is amazing when so many orphans are in a country at war. 13 Children and wanting more!! In this interview, Liz talks about how her husband always wanted a big family. “I am all in,” she says! After having biological children and adopting one child from foster care, they felt God calling them to adopt special needs children in Ukraine. In this episode, you will hear how much it took to bring home their two daughters and how the couple went on to adopt through all of the adoption avenues. Foster Care, Infant Adoption, International Adoption and Embryo Adoption. You do not want to miss this episode!!

17 Mar 202241min

After struggling with infertility, Jaime and Erin decided to travel state to state to adopt their two children. Erin talks about being honest in the matching process and how to be yourself when meeting the birthparents. After adopting their two children, Erin started an online adoption platform called PairTree. PairTree provides adoptive and birth families with a one-stop adoption platform.  Beginning with the home study process by coordinating online home study options tailored to individual state requirements, they work closely with a network of family law and adoption attorneys. They also match prospective parents with birth mothers. This matching process increases transparency for biological parents and adoptive families, resulting in highly compatible matches. They have had over 20 successful matches made in the company’s first 12 months of business and were recently featured in People Magazine. Providing this umbrella of adoption services “under one roof” creates a seamless adoption experience for birth and adoptive parents. Check it out…. www.pairtreefamily.com. If you are starting your adoption process, use the code ADOPTIONNOW20 to receive 20% off of your matching fee!!

10 Mar 202235min

From the time Richelle was a child, she knew she was called to adopt. When she married Zach, they were blessed with two biological children. They started their adoption journey and had no idea what it would take to bring home a third child. Through all the heartbreak  and disappointment, they never gave up. When you listen to this story, you will see the tenacity they had to find their baby and how they learned to love children passing through their arms.

3 Mar 202239min

When Chris and Ruthie experienced loss through many painful miscarriages they were not sure how they would get through the grief. They both wanted to become parents and decided to look into adoption. It was then that they realized families are built in many different ways and truly, love is what makes a family. This is their story of how one person’s act of love brought them two beautiful children. Ruthie is now an infertility, baby loss and adoption advocate, as well as the author of “How Many Kisses” that she wrote for her daughter.

24 Feb 202240min