Connie has a pretty simple answer to the question, why did you adopt? Her response, “We have big hearts and we have big hope.” Over the last 25 years, she and her husband Blair have adopted eight children through foster care and private adoptions. Their growing family doesn’t stop there—they are now grandparents as well.
Tips for Finding an Adoption-Competent Therapist
This content was originally published by Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit. Google does not feel like your friend right now. A quick search for “adoption therapist” yields a lot of links. How do you know which are trustworthy resources? Asking your adoption community is of some help, but none of
Meet a Social Teen Waiting for a Supportive Family
Genesis is “the most social person I’ve ever met,” declares his Child-Specific Recruiter, Diana. “Within seconds you’ll fall in love with him.” This is because this 16 year old waiting in Minnesota foster care shows genuine interest in everyone he meets. “He’s very concerned about how people are doing. Every time we get together he
Reach With Them: One Foster Mom’s Story of Open Adoption
This content was originally published by Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit. November is National Adoption Month. To kick off this year’s campaign of awareness, we are delighted to share one foster mom’s personal perspective on open adoption with her children’s birth family. Through learning how to co-parent as a foster
Bap & Chicken | A Korean Restaurant with an Adoptee Twist
John Gleason, a Korean adoptee through Children’s Home, discovered his roots through food. “I grew up in the Twin Cities. I went to a mostly all-American elementary school, high school and college. So I grew up without a lot of connection to Korea. The only Asian I knew for a long time was my sister,”
Meet J | An Inquisitive Boy Who Likes Sports
“When I first meet up with J, he’s always a little quiet,” explains his Child-Specific Recruiter, Kelli. “Then as he begins to warm up, he’ll ask for my phone or try to tell a two-sentence story.” The shy demeanor of this 12 year old doesn’t last too long. “Once he’s comfortable, he asks a lot
Finding Love and Strength as a Former Foster Youth
Fractured Memories from Childhood When I was 7 years old, my brother and I were removed from my mother’s care and placed into a foster home. This foster home was supposed to be short term but we were there for about three and a half years. My memories of my birth mother, before being placed
Open Adoption With Addicted Birth Parents
This content was originally published by Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit. There are no clear rules that always apply to navigate relationships with people who are actively addicted. It depends on so many factors. But Kate Cleary, Executive Director of Consortium for Children, who has negotiated many post-adoption openness agreements and
A True Teen Foster Care Adoption Story
This content was originally published by Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit. We talk a lot about adopting an older child or teen from foster care, but what is the experience really like? We asked a mom who adopted a 16-year-old from foster care to share her real experience—both the good
Young Couple Enthusiastically Adopts Five Siblings
Miranda and Brian planned to adopt internationally through Children’s Home Society. Then they found out they were too young to fulfill the age requirement for the international program and decided to become foster parents until they turned 25. Just after becoming licensed, they provided weekend respite care for a sibling group of four. The children
