ADOPTION NOW

Latest Episodes:

RODS Heroes: Brady and Andrea Murray's Adoption Story [S7E19] May 03, 2024

Show notes

Brady and Andrea Murray are the proud parents of eleven children, seven of which are adopted. After having a biological child diagnosed with Down Syndrome, the couple started RODS Heroes, which was founded in 2013. RODS Heroes inspires families to answer the call to adopt a child with Down Syndrome or other unique circumstances. As they were helping other families, they went to China to bring home their son, Cooper, who has become the baseball star you see on Instagram @bradymurray21. The couple went on to adopt two daughters from foster-care and then said yes to another international adoption, this time from Colombia. They just recently traveled and brought home a sibling group of 4 to join the family! Listen to this episode to hear about adopting special needs children from China, how to start your process adopting from Colombia and how adopting through the foster care system might be the right path for you!

Shattered Part Two: Author Jenell M. Jones Shares Her Story on Foster Care and Human Trafficking [S7E18] Feb 23, 2024

Show notes

Jenell M. Jones is the author of "Shattered," a book that shares her experience as an adoptive mother. Last week we heard her story on adopting Mercy from the foster care system. Mercy joined the family of 6 children and had many mental and physical traumas that affected her day-to-day life. On part two, Jenell talks about how the system is set up to help children but often fails to provide resources to help foster children heal and be able to thrive in a family. On this episode she shares about the next level of trauma that vulnerable children could face. How does adoption and foster care play into human trafficking? What is being done to protect our children?

Shattered Part One: Author Jenell M. Jones Shares Her Foster to Adopt Story [S7E17] Feb 15, 2024

Show notes

Jenell M. Jones is the author of "Shattered," a book that shares her experience as an adoptive mother. Jenell is currently operating multiple early learning centers, which specialize in providing high quality learning experiences to children who experience trauma in low-income areas, while also raising 7 children! When she brought home Mercy she found out that her expectations about adoption were shattered.

Her passion is helping foster parents and adoptive parents ask the right questions on this journey. In this episode we get very real about the day-to-day challenges of raising children with mental and physical trauma. She gives advice to parents (and soon to be parents) on what they need to hear most about the foster care system. What questions do you ask social workers? What do you need to be prepared for when bringing home an older child? What do you need to know about trauma and loss?

This episode helps us understand how important it is that children find healing and what resources Jenell had to use to hopefully lead her daughter to find truth and peace in her story.

Dave Thomas Foundation For Adoption: Rita Soronen, President and CEO, Speaks on Foster Care and Adoption [S7E16] Sep 07, 2023

Show notes

President & CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption has joined ADOPTION NOW for an incredible interview. Rita Soronen has worked on behalf of abused, neglected and vulnerable children for more than 30 years. As the leader of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, a national nonprofit public charity, her mission is to dramatically increase the number of adoptions from foster care. They are working hard to find permanent families for the more than 140,000 waiting children in the United States foster care system. The non-profit was inspired by Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy's fast-food restaurant chain, who was adopted himself! Rita shares his story, as well as her own journey in working with families and children. If you are interested in adopting an older child from the foster care system, this episode is for you!

Grateful Adoptee: Author Sarah D. Shearer Shares Her Adoption Story From Russia [S7E15] Aug 29, 2023

Show notes

Author Sarah D. Shearer joins ADOPTION NOW to talk about her adoption story. In her words, her story started off with little hope, "I was born with various medical needs and was left in a Russian hospital where nuns helped to keep me alive until I was transferred to an orphanage." The Russian orphanage was convinced that no one would want her, but a family in Thomasville, GA saw her picture and fell in love. This is an uplifting story filled with gratitude and grace towards adoption. Sarah has written a memoir called "Extra Ordinary" to share her positive perspective. She says, "no one can speak to adoption more than an adoptee." Listen to this episode and check out her book on Amazon!

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Ready, Set, Adoption Part 2: The J Family Continues Their Adoption Journey [S7E14] Aug 12, 2023

Show notes

PART 2!! As we heard on the last episode, Jacob and Jessica already had 2 biological children when they adopted a baby boy while being filmed on the Oxygen show "I am Having Their Baby." The family of 5 soon became a family of 6, as they went on to adopt a little boy with clubfoot. On this week's episode Jessica shares how their journey was not over after 2 adoptions! As they waited on the agency's adoption list, a situation came up that involved drug exposure to the unborn baby. The couple had to make a quick decision if they wanted to keep moving forward and say yes. Listen to hear the rest of the J Family's story!

Ready, Set, Adoption: As Cameras Rolled, Jessica and Jacob Started Their Adoption Journey [S7E13] Jun 29, 2023

Show notes

As cameras rolled, Jessica and Jacob started their adoption journey on the Oxygen show "I'm Having Their Baby." On this episode, Jessica talks to us about the experience of adopting while being filmed on a TV show (as if the hospital time isn't stressful enough)! They had 2 biological children when they started the process, and as you will hear, they just kept saying yes to situations. This is part 1 of 2 episodes on how they became a family of 8!

Joyfully Hard: Megan Shares Her Story on Adopting from Haiti [S7E12] May 19, 2023

Show notes

Kurt and Megan were married and had 2 sons when they went on a mission trip to Haiti. God began to stir in their hearts a call to adopt. This is a story about surrendering to God's plan and being obedient to taking the next steps. They knew that if they did not pursue adoption, they would miss out on what God had planned for them. The process was not easy but eventually they brought home a 4-year-old little girl named Esther. They were all so excited but as time went on, they learned about trauma and grief in children. In this episode we hear from Megan about the joy and chaos of learning to parent differently and how to let go of the expectations of what they thought raising a daughter would look like. Through prayer and resources, they have seen Esther grow in ways that have brought love and understanding to their whole family.

ADOPTION NOW Update: Noah and April Share About Their Family, New Website and What is Next! [S7E11] May 16, 2023

Show notes

Noah joins April on this episode to talk about so many things…like the new WEBSITE! They update us on how the kids are doing and share what is next for ADOPTION NOW. You do not want to miss this candid conversation the two of them have about life as a multicultural adoptive family.

Debt Free Adoption: Jessica Ross from Ramsey Solutions Shares Her Story [S7E10] Apr 13, 2023

Show notes

Our guest on this episode comes to us from Tennessee and works for Ramsey Solutions. Jessica Ross tells us what Dave would say about adoption and debt! She and her husband said yes to adopting a baby and had no idea how expensive the attorney would be. As she shares her story on bringing home Gabby, it turns out money was not going to be the hardest part of the journey. Her story was featured on The Ramsey Show, you can watch the clip here. We loved having Jessica on the show talking about what giving back looks like, and how we can support other families financially as they walk through adoption.

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