This couple adopted their two beautiful children through AdoptHelp! Take a look at their heartwarming adoption story, captured by Living Locket Films!

We made our final decision to pursue adoption while vacationing on the beach in St. Lucia, it was September. We spent the rest of that year attending adoption seminars, meeting with national and local private agencies as well as researching adoption through the Department of Health and Family Services. After meeting Mark in December we knew this was the law firm for us, he was very down to earth, friendly and honest. The values of Adopt Help were very much in line with our own and we really liked the fact that they work with people from all walks of life. We officially joined the Adopt Help program in January. Almost one day to the year, our cell phone rang giving us the news that a birth mother in NJ which matched with our profile was due to deliver in 3 days. We immediately went in to action: travel plans, baby supplies, house sitter for our dogs, etc. We were on the first flight to NJ after receiving the call from the birth mother that she was in labor. The next day our beautiful angel was born (Best day of our lives). We arrived at the hospital 30 minutes after the birth mother checked in and she has been in our arms/lives ever since. My husband even got to cut the umbilical cord. We spent 15 days in NJ finalizing the paper work before we could bring her back to CA; this was actually awesome bonding time for us. The whole experience was a dream come true and AdoptHelp was there to assist every step of the way.

We were chosen by our baby’s birthmother six weeks before she gave birth to our son Sammy. Our bags were packed and we were prepared to fly across the country to meet the birthmother in the afternoon when we got the call at 5:45 a.m. that she was in labor and had been admitted to the hospital. We rushed off to the airport to catch the next flight and get our older son off to his grandparents. An hour and a half after arriving at the hospital, baby Sammy was born and we witnessed his arrival, cut his umbilical cord, and gave him his first kiss. Our AdoptHelp caseworker helped us deal with hospital red tape so that we could start spending every moment with our baby boy. We continued talking with the birthmother and her family during this time, getting to know them and working out how we would keep in touch. While tears were shed by all, we were grateful for the opportunity to meet this loving family and for the amazing gift the birthmother gave us. We now feel so blessed to have baby Sammy in our lives. His smile lights up the faces of everyone he meets and he gives us more joy than words can express.

We chose adoption after realizing that we were unable to conceive. It was an easy decision for us, as we had agreed early on that it was more important for us to experience the joys of parenthood and to give a child a loving and secure home that it might not otherwise have, than it was to have a biological child. After researching several agencies we chose to work with AdoptHelp on our adoption journey. We were chosen by a wonderful woman who was struggling to raise 3 children, and felt she could not adequately support the fourth that she was 6 months pregnant with. As she said the first time we spoke to her, “love is not enough”. She is one of the most loving, caring people you could wish to meet, but knew that she wanted her child to have better opportunities and more stability in life than she ever had, in addition to being loved. We flew to Texas to meet the birth parents prior to Larissa’s birth, and then went back to Texas again for the birth. We are so grateful that we got to meet the birth parents and to get to know them just a little bit before Larissa was born. We remain in touch with the birthmother, and feel it is so important to do so in case Larissa ever wants to know more about where she came from when she’s older. Larissa is a wonder and a joy. She makes us laugh and smile every single day. We are so grateful for her, and love her very much.

After carefully discussing all of our options, including invitro and international adoption, we met friends that had successfully adopted a beautiful baby girl. They raved about AdoptHelp. And now, so do we. It all happened in an amazingly short span of time. Knowing comparatively little about domestic adoption, our initial fears were relieved by the confident, straightforward, and knowledgeable approach of Mark Goldman and Gabby Rivette. After our first meeting, we actually felt hopeful that there was a baby in our future. We submitted our birth mother letter and one month later we were matched. We spoke to the birth mom and before Thanksgiving, we flew out of state to meet her. We then flew her to Los Angeles (AdoptHelp set up all accommodations for the birth mom and they always called for approval of expenditures.) Six weeks later our beautiful daughter was born. She is the best thing that has ever happened to us.

Throughout the process, Mark and Gabby told us exactly what to expect, potential red flags and complications. With their help (and hand holding), we felt very confident. They were always available for consultation and, when problems arose, they helped guide us through them. They proved well-informed, pro-active, and knowledgeable in all aspects of adoption law and worked in a professional and compassionate manner.

When our son Spencer turned two, we began to think seriously about expanding our family. We knew we wanted him to have a sibling someone to experience life with him. Making the decision to contact AdoptHelp was easy because we had a positive experience the first time around. While the wait for our second child was longer than we had hoped, we were assured that the right birth mother and baby would find us. Taking that advice to heart, we were overjoyed when our second son, Max, was born. We were matched with a birth mother who lived out of state and was willing to relocate to the Los Angeles area for the birth. In September, we traveled to Iowa to visit her and to get to know her and her mother. We didn’t want her arrival in Los Angeles to be the first time we all met and we wanted to get the potentially awkward silences out of the way. Given our age gap (she was 19 and we… weren’t) we found common ground and lots to talk about. Mostly, we all wanted what was best for the baby. The visit was a great decision and made her arrival in Los Angeles that much easier. We spent the month of October and into November taking our birth mother to doctor appointments, and visiting parts of Los Angeles that she had heard about. The month we spent together was a time that we will never forget. It gave us a sense of who our birth mother is. It also gave her a chance to see how we live, who our support circle includes and how we parent. We would often touch upon issues regarding topics like religion, discipline and marriage and being able to discuss our values and ideas face to face made these discussions easier.

From the first conversation we had with our birth mother, she knew she wanted us to be in the delivery room when she gave birth. We were thrilled and grateful that she wanted this. It’s what we hoped for. When she went into labor, we were all together in the hospital room. Her mother was able to get to Los Angeles from Iowa in time to be in the room, too, and the plan that our birth mother envisioned became a reality. It was early in the morning when our healthy, beautiful baby boy was born. We were elated, numb, emotional and of course, concerned for our birth mother’s well- being. Some thoughts raced through our minds during the first few hours of his life: Will she change her mind? Will she attach? Fortunately, for us, AdoptHelp had created a plan in writing ahead of time that reflected our collective needs and laid out who would hold the baby, where the baby would stay in the hospital and where our birth mother wanted to stay. With only one minor change to the plan, it was honored and provided a safety net for us all in the beginning hours of Max’s life.

We are now settling in with our newly configured life and everyone is thriving, although no one is getting enough sleep! We still keep in touch with our birth mother . She has gotten back to her life in Iowa and is doing well. We also send her pictures so she can track Max’s developments. We have no doubt that she will always be part of our life. A friend once said that adoption is the answer to everyone’s prayers. We helped our birth mother at a time when she was in need. She helped us by making it possible to create the family we had always wanted. Almost daily one of us comments on what a truly unselfish gift we were given with both boys.

Whether one conceives or creates family through adoption, the process is daunting at times and gratifying at other times. Having the staff of AdoptHelp literally hold our hands through the process, providing advice, counsel, an ear and many other services, made all the difference in the world to us. At the end of this adoption journey, we have the people of AdoptHelp to thank for their unending support and knowledge of the ins and outs of this complex process. Goodness knows, they’ve worked with thousands of families and had much to offer in making our family dreams come true.

For as long as we can remember, my husband Joel and I have dreamt of becoming parents. After struggling for many years with infertility, we decided to start a family through the miracle of adoption. After just six short months (which felt more like a lifetime), our dream of having a child finally came true when our son Nathan was born in Pierre, South Dakota. It is difficult to put into words how it felt to get the phone call that we had been chosen just 3 days before our son was actually born.

There was so much excitement mixed with nerves and anxiety at the thought of boarding a plane in less than 3 days to pick up our beautiful child and begin the life we so desperately wanted.The time we spent in South Dakota getting to know our son and his birth mother was an amazing experience that we will always treasure. We will never be able to thank her enough for the gift of family that she has so unselfishly given to us. She will forever be a very important part of our lives. After AdoptHelp attorneys obtained clearance for us to travel home, we returned to California with our precious son. We could hardly contain our excitement when family and friends met us at the airport to greet the newest member of our family. We are eternally grateful for the love and support of the people at AdoptHelp and for their time and commitment to making our dreams come true.

Now Nathan is 5 months old and there is not a day that goes by when I do not look into his eyes and well up with tears of pride and joy. I still cannot believe how truly lucky we are to have him in our lives. I look back now and struggle to remember what my life was like before my beautiful son was born, but fortunately I can only see his magnificent smile looking back at me.

The miracle of adoption has changed our lives in ways we never thought possible and we can only hope and pray that many more couples will embark on the same amazing adventure and share in our same happiness. Parenthood is the most miraculous experience we have ever been through and we look forward to a lifetime of many happy memories as a family!

Our journey began with us having the desire to extend our family and share our life with a child. We both love kids and felt ready to dive into another phase in our life. Our families were very supportive but also cautious, not knowing how things would play out. It was a new experience for all of us, but nonetheless, we were excited. Our story is unique in that nearly all AdoptHelp adoptions involve newborn babies and we have adopted two children through AdoptHelp, who both came to us at one year of age.

When AdoptHelp explained that we could select exactly the types of situations to which we would be open, we jumped at the chance of pursing an infant or a toddler adoption.After doing a lot of research (and I mean a lot!) we felt comfortable with AdoptHelp from the beginning, we loved their free consultation and having all our questions answered with no pressure to sign up. We felt like we would not be waiting for years or get lost in the shuffle since AdoptHelp keeps their client list small. We were concerned that being a same-sex couple might be an issue, but they assured us that birthmothers were very open and in independent adoption it is the birth parents who personally select the family they wish to parent the child.

Waiting to be matched did not take long for us. We actually were rushing to get everything ready to bring our sons home rather than waiting months for anything to happen! We were definitely prepared to wait longer than we did. We were very clear about the level of communication we were comfortable having with birth mothers and AdoptHelp respected our wishes.

Meeting our first son was a life changing experience. Our doubts immediately vanished and all we wanted to do was take him home and make him feel safe and happy. Meeting our second son for the first time was also life changing. We never imagined we could be so lucky twice! Our first son transitioned unbelievably well, while our second son took a little longer to feel secure in his surroundings. Now they are so happy and love each other so much.

Our boys are now two and four. It is amazing to see how much they have bonded. Adoption is what made our family come to be. We read books on adoption with the boys and we are just beginning to explore and figure out the best ways to talk about it. We cannot imagine loving our kids any differently; if anything, we think our connection is even more intense and fateful. Overall, adoption has been a very positive experience and we cannot imagine our life without our boys. We are so thankful to their birthmothers for the sacrifices they made and for their trust in us. We also cannot thank the amazing AdoptHelp staff enough for all they have done for us.

Exactly one year ago, when finally I had become an American citizen, my menopausal ups and downs had settled and my career as a photographer made me proud but no longer felt like a jealous single child, I strongly felt I had grown into what’s called a grownup and decided to adopt a child.

Looking into international adoptions, my courage quickly lost steam. My age (52), my single marital status, and the bureaucracy that is international adoption quickly curbed my enthusiasm. A dear friend suggested that I talk to a friend of hers that successfully adopted 2 children domestically. First I resisted of course, since my mind was set on a child from an exotic destination, much because of my many travels as a photographer and documentary filmmaker to those beloved destinations.

Countless hours browsing on the Internet followed, adding to my confused and increasingly discouraged frame of mind. Then I landed on a website I finally liked, with its clean, tasteful and uncluttered appearance. I called AdoptHelp, met with attorney / president / owner Mark Goldman, and immediately signed up.

The birthmother letter is the first big hurdle. I loved doing it. It was an opportunity to reflect on my motif, my family, my persona, my lifestyle, and above all, the entirely new life upon which I was about to embark. Again I got great help from my marvelous AdoptHelp caseworker, and even if we disagreed on a few issues she let me have my way, yet held a firm and experienced position.

For seven months, I anxiously awaited and kept busy. I kept traveling and working on my involved projects to foreign destinations, knowing very well that I’d better accomplish what I could, since a newborn would change my workflow entirely. My caseworker reassured me often that there was no reason to panic, and I felt confident that I was in good hands.

Then, it happened. My caseworker who knew I was hoping for a baby from an exotic place informed me that I had been chosen by a young birth mother in Southern California of Sri Lankan origin. I also was told that they did not know the baby’s gender. I had wanted a girl, but quickly realized that it did not matter. I said YES! I was tremendously exited, yet I got cold feet. Was it really happening? So fast? I was able to overcome my fears. I couldn’t believe it was a child from the country I just had spent several months filming and was emotionally and spiritually deeply connected.

Koda Mae, my daughter, now 11 weeks old as I am writing this, is carrying the name I came up with traveling to Sri Lanka 12 months ago. I had strongly felt then the soul to become my child was being conceived at that time. I later found out that my intuition was right. Our magical journey together started early.

Koda’s Birth mother was a young, bright and beautiful girl from Sri Lanka studying in Los Angeles, not ready to raise a child. First she had wished for a closed adoption, not wanting to know me. Later she changed her mind much to my excitement since our almost daily extended phone conversations gave me much insight about her feelings, her thoughts, the pregnancy, her health, her lifestyle, the child’s father, her cultural background and so on.

Right on time little Koda Mae decided to come to this world on a sunny Monday afternoon, taken care of by the best doctors in one of the best American hospitals. Birth was exiting and frightening. The birth mother, the birth mother’s mother, our AdoptHelp caseworker, and I were all in the labor and delivery room to welcome Koda Mae into the world. When she finally appeared all healthy and beautiful, I was ecstatic. Instant motherhood is a weird feeling. My mother instinct kicked in immediately and the bonding process instantly began.

The next day we visited a last time with Koda Mae’s birth mom, noticed how much she looked like her, and had a tender and loving closing. 24 hours after Koda Mae’s birth, we were home. That night, laying in my bed and watching my newborn daughter’s beautiful little face as she fell asleep in my arms, my heart felt expanding like a drop into water and I realized I already had fallen in love with her.

Koda Mae is now 11 weeks old. Days and nights have lost their names, we sleep, we eat, we change diapers, we take baths, and we look into each other eyes endlessly and giggle like lovers do. And I am taking countless photographs trying to capture the fleeting moment of ever-present impermanence? It is a magical journey to get to know each other. To feel when she is hungry, uncomfortable, or wants me close. No words are exchanged, yet its total communication. It’s miraculous.

My journey as a mother is still very young, but I already can tell how much more complete it makes me in my perception of life and love. Here is this precious little seed that brings all to this world that is needed. It is my job to make this seed grow big and strong and help her to attain her fullest potential. Our unconditional friendship will be the foundation upon which she will stand. She came into my life to make me a better person, and I came into hers to give her a better life. We are in it for each other for good.

Thank you AdoptHelp for making my dream come true! When I needed help, my calls were answered. When I needed guidance to make difficult decisions, I received great advice. When I was frustrated or anxious, I got a kind hug and an encouraging pat on the back that got me going again. You guys are awesome! Thank you all! You are the Best!

While sitting at my computer one Sunday night, I received a call from Mia. She told me a birth mother was delivering in Connecticut and asked ‘How quickly can you get there’? I scrambled to get Sydney (my 5 year old also adopted through AdoptHelp) taken care of and rushed through the myriad of details necessary so I could leave for an unknown period of time. I was in Connecticut the following evening sitting with our birth mother and holding Dani. Sydney is an amazing big sister and I have the 2 most wonderful daughters I could ever have hoped for. Thank you, AdoptHelp, for making my dreams come true!

My husband Jon and I were waiting for the “perfect time” to start a family. After being together nearly 8 years and married more than 3, the time seemed right. You can imagine our shock and disappointment when we learned we would not be able to conceive naturally. But instead of being disappointed and sad, we simply leaned on our faith… believing God had a plan to place the perfect child in our arms.

Coincidentally, close friends were matched and awaiting the birth of their son thanks to AdoptHelp, and we took their recommendation and gave them a call. That decision proved to be one that changed our life forever. Just 10 weeks after learning we could not conceive, we were matched with our beautiful birthmother. One week later we flew to meet her in person, and began a friendship that continues today. Our son Grayson Gabriel Mitchell was born 11 weeks after we were matched, and we cannot begin to express in words the joy and gratitude in our hearts, both to AdoptHelp and our birthmother.

We are blessed to have been able to speak with her several times a week by phone during our match period, and flew to her state for delivery day… arriving at the hospital just 15 minutes before our son was born (two days early)! What a story we will have to tell him about the mother who loved him enough to want for him what she was not capable of giving, and to seek that out through AdoptHelp.

When we left her city to fly home with the baby, we brought with us memories both on film and in our hearts that will last a lifetime and help paint for Grayson a story of love that began with his birthmother’s call to AdoptHelp and ended when she placed him in our arms. God Bless the entire AdoptHelp staff.

The gift you give to childless couples is immeasurable and precious. You will remain in our hearts and prayers, along with all the waiting families. To them, we say… your match will come. Trust in the process, in AdoptHelp, and in God. As with us, He will place the perfect child in your arms.

With love,
Brittany & Jon