Eternal Family Adoptions

How Failed Adoption Plans Became Faith Builders on the Path to Their Son (Part 2)

Jennifer and Alexander faced infertility with less than 5% chance of IVF success. After difficult experiences with foster care where they felt judged for their religious beliefs, they found Heart to Heart Adoptions. In this episode of Eternal Family Adoptions, host Donna Pope sits down with Jennifer and Alexander to explore how two devastating failed matches prepared them for the adoption that was always meant to be. The Ohio Heartbreak Months later, a birth mother in Ohio selected them for her baby girl. Jennifer was traveling when the mother went into early labor. They rerouted flights and drove to Dayton together. The social worker immediately told them the mother had changed her mind. Alexander felt prompted to leave their family book anyway. Thirty minutes later, she changed her mind again and wanted to place. Then changed it once more. They left devastated and drove to the Carmel temple, where they felt peace despite the pain. The Call From the Temple Driving back, they received a call about Irene, the first birth mother from months earlier. She was ready to place her baby. This time, the team flew to New Orleans first to sign paperwork. Jennifer and Alexander spent the day walking where Irene lived on the streets, understanding the sacrifice she was making. Today, they post weekly updates on Hearts Connect, keeping their word even without responses. This episode offers hope for families facing failed adoption matches, showing that heartbreak can build the faith needed to recognize the child who was always meant to be yours. This episode offers hope for families facing adoption disappointments, showing that covenant keeping and spiritual preparation matter more than perfect timing when we honor our word to birth mothers, seek revelation through uncertainty, and allow temple worship to anchor us through trials. Subscribe to Eternal Family Adoptions for stories of faith, perseverance, and the families meant to be.  Follow or Subscribe to Eternal Family Adoptions on your favorite platform: Website: EternalFamilyAdoptions.org | YouTube: @EternalFamilyAdoptions | Twitter/X: @ef_Adoptions | Instagram: Eternal_Family_Adoptions | Facebook : Eternal Family Adoptions | LinkedIn: Eternal-Family-Adoptions Follow Nathan Gwilliam: LinkedIn: @nathangwilliam Follow Donna Pope: LinkedIn: @donna-pope-41652ba

How Failed Adoption Plans Became Faith Builders on the Path to Their Son

Jennifer and Alexander faced infertility with less than 5% chance of IVF success. After difficult experiences with foster care where they felt judged for their religious beliefs, they found Heart to Heart Adoptions. In this episode of Eternal Family Adoptions, host Donna Pope sits down with Jennifer and Alexander to explore how two devastating failed matches prepared them for the adoption that was always meant to be. The Ohio Heartbreak Months later, a birth mother in Ohio selected them for her baby girl. Jennifer was traveling when the mother went into early labor. They rerouted flights and drove to Dayton together. The social worker immediately told them the mother had changed her mind. Alexander felt prompted to leave their family book anyway. Thirty minutes later, she changed her mind again and wanted to place. Then changed it once more. They left devastated and drove to the Carmel temple, where they felt peace despite the pain. The Call From the Temple Driving back, they received a call about Irene, the first birth mother from months earlier. She was ready to place her baby. This time, the team flew to New Orleans first to sign paperwork. Jennifer and Alexander spent the day walking where Irene lived on the streets, understanding the sacrifice she was making. Today, they post weekly updates on Hearts Connect, keeping their word even without responses. This episode offers hope for families facing failed adoption matches, showing that heartbreak can build the faith needed to recognize the child who was always meant to be yours. This episode offers hope for families facing adoption disappointments, showing that covenant keeping and spiritual preparation matter more than perfect timing when we honor our word to birth mothers, seek revelation through uncertainty, and allow temple worship to anchor us through trials. Subscribe to Eternal Family Adoptions for stories of faith, perseverance, and the families meant to be. Follow or Subscribe to Eternal Family Adoptions on your favorite platform: Website: EternalFamilyAdoptions.org | YouTube: @EternalFamilyAdoptions | Twitter/X: @ef_Adoptions | Instagram: Eternal_Family_Adoptions | Facebook : Eternal Family Adoptions | LinkedIn: Eternal-Family-Adoptions Follow Nathan Gwilliam: LinkedIn: @nathangwilliam Follow Donna Pope: LinkedIn: @donna-pope-41652ba

Because We Loved Him — We Chose the Life That Gave Him More

In this episode of Choosing Adoption with host Donna Pope, birth parents Kaylee and Elijah sit alongside adoptive parents Paul and Cassie with baby Seth to share their adoption story together. This rare conversation reveals what happens when both families commit to building an open adoption relationship from day one. Finding the Right Family Kaylee and Elijah were extremely selective about who would raise their son. After saying no to almost every profile, they connected with Paul and Cassie and knew immediately. Paul reminded Kaylee of her boyfriend, and the couple promised to make sure Seth always knew the deep love that his birth parents still have for him. That commitment to honoring his origins sealed the decision. A Relationship Built on Love The birth parents spent four days in the hospital bonding with Seth before signing papers. The adoptive parents let them set the pace, never pressuring or hovering. Today, Elijah describes Paul as a younger brother, and both couples anticipate a close, ongoing friendship. They want Seth to grow up knowing he has four parents who love him more than most children ever experience. Discover how two families became one through open adoption. Subscribe to Choosing Adoption for stories that show what's possible when love leads the way. #BirthParents #AdoptiveParents #OpenAdoption #ChoosingAdoption #BirthMotherStory #BirthFatherStory #AdoptionJourney #FourParentsOneBaby #OpenAdoptionSuccess #AdoptionRelationships #BirthParentVoice #AdoptiveFamily #AdoptionIsLove #RealAdoptionStories Follow or Subscribe to Choosing Adoption on your favorite platforms: Website | YouTube | Twitter/X | Instagram Follow Donna Pope (LinkedIn)

Multi-Generational Adoption: Finding Birth Family Through DNA and Faith

Erin Thomas grew up with a unique perspective on adoption. Her mother was the oldest of five adopted children, and as a child, Erin would look around at school wondering if any of her classmates were her biological cousins. In this episode of Eternal Family Adoptions with host Donna Pope, Erin shares her worries she had while growing up. Even as the daughter of an adoptee, she experienced the same longing for genetic mirroring that adoptees themselves describe. Grief & Grace When Erin's sister placed a baby for adoption at age 20, Erin gained another view of the adoption experience. She watched her sister find joy and purpose during the pregnancy, witnessed the grief after placement, and has spent years respecting boundaries as her nephew grew up without making direct contact. Lost, Then Found After Erin's mother passed away from cancer in her 50s, the need to know health history became urgent. A DNA test led to a cousin match, which eventually connected Erin to her mother's birth family four years later. At RootsTech 2020, Erin met her biological cousin and finally saw eyes that looked like her mother's and sister's for the first time.  This episode explores the complexity of multi-generational adoption, including how to navigate Family Search when you have both adoptive and biological lines, what it means to respect an adoptee's choice not to search, and how the longing for connection can skip generations. Erin's story shows that adoption doesn't just affect the triad; it ripples through entire family systems for decades. This episode offers hope for families touched by adoption across generations, showing that healing and connection are possible when we respect each person's timing, honor both biological and sealed relationships, and allow space for different experiences to coexist. Discover faith-based adoption support and resources at eternalfamilyadoptions.org. Follow or Subscribe to Eternal Family Adoptions on your favorite platform: Website: EternalFamilyAdoptions.org | YouTube: @EternalFamilyAdoptions | Twitter/X: @ef_Adoptions | Instagram: Eternal_Family_Adoptions | Facebook : Eternal Family Adoptions | LinkedIn: Eternal-Family-Adoptions Follow Nathan Gwilliam: LinkedIn: @nathangwilliam Follow Donna Pope: LinkedIn: @donna-pope-41652ba

Finding Healing Through The Six Attachment Wounds

In this episode, Troy shares his journey through a closed adoption, growing up LDS in a home marked by domestic violence, and the complex feelings that came with wanting to search for his birth parents while fearing it would hurt his adoptive family. His story takes us through his work in drug rehabilitation where he first recognized his own trauma, and the therapy that helped him accept his identity as a gay man in a conservative faith community. Adoption and Identity Troy Love was adopted at five days old into what seemed like a loving home. But behind closed doors, violence shaped his childhood in ways he wouldn't understand until decades later. As a therapist and author today, Troy helps adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive families navigate what he calls the six attachment wounds: loss, neglect, abandonment, betrayal, rejection, and abuse. Breaking the Cycle Troy's reunion with his birth mother at age 37 reveals the beauty and complexity of loving multiple families. When his adoptive father, confined to a wheelchair and struggling with shame about his past violence, felt threatened by Troy's new relationships, Troy faced a choice. Instead of confronting his father with anger, he chose love and broke the cycle of pain that had defined their family. Healing and Guidance Now as a therapist and author of three books including The Finding Peace Workbook and Year of Self Love, Troy guides others through their own healing. He explains how wounds don't define us, how adoptive parents can support children carrying invisible trauma, and why understanding these six wounds changes everything about the adoption journey. This episode offers hope for anyone touched by adoption, showing that healing is possible when we name our wounds, do the work, and choose love over blame. Discover faith-based adoption support and resources at eternalfamilyadoptions.org. Follow or Subscribe to Eternal Family Adoptions on your favorite platform: Website: EternalFamilyAdoptions.org | YouTube: @EternalFamilyAdoptions | Twitter/X: @ef_Adoptions | Instagram: Eternal_Family_Adoptions | Facebook : Eternal Family Adoptions | LinkedIn: Eternal-Family-Adoptions Follow Nathan Gwilliam: LinkedIn: @nathangwilliam Follow Donna Pope: LinkedIn: @donna-pope-41652ba Follow Troy Love: LinkedIn: @troy-l-love | Website: findingpeaceconsulting.com | Instagram: @troyllove