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In August of 2017, Renee made the decision to pursue adoption for a 2nd time through Everlasting Adoptions. We absolutely love when we can help build families through the miracle of adoption more than once with returning parents!! Just 10 months after joining us for the 2nd time, on June 21, 2017, Renee was informed about a birthmother interested in learning more about her.

Since Renee was no stranger to the adoption process, she immediately started to develop a relationship with her birthmother, and her birthmother’s family members. It was a bit shaky in the beginning, as a lot of these situations can be, but on July 27, 2018, Renee became the mother to her second child, baby boy, Jackson.  He was welcomed home with open arms only 11 months after Renee joined Everlasting again.  We are grateful to have been able to offer her support and guidance throughout her adoption journey.

We wish Renee, Jackson, and big sister, Isabella the best of luck.

If you were asked to define “family”, how would you answer? A mom, dad and their children? Two dads or two moms? A single mom? According to a 2016 United States Census Bureau report, 31% of American families do not consist of the “traditional” two parent household. Of those nontraditional households, 23% are children living with a single mother. Even though the demographic is relatively small, according to data obtained from The Williams Institute, roughly 1.4% of two parent households were made up of same sex couples, in 2016.

Simply put, many children biological or otherwise are raised in what would be considered nontraditional family structures.

More and more children are being adopted into these nontraditional households. Thirty years ago, adoption outside of an opposite sex, married couple household was almost unheard of. Today, because of great strides made in civil rights and gender equality, our ideas on who can and should adopt have dramatically changed. Some interesting statistics collected by the writers at Good Housekeeping may surprise you.

• 40% of adopted children are of a different race, culture, or ethnicity than one or both their adoptive parents.
• Of same-sex couples raising children, 19% have at least one adopted child.
• It is estimated that approximately 25% of special needs adoption and 5% of total adoptions are attributed to single parents.
• Single parent and same sex adoption are legal in all 50 states.

At Everlasting Adoptions, we believe a family is defined by LOVE and have successfully placed many single parent, same sex and multiracial families. In fact, 31% of our placements in the last 18 months have been with single mothers and same sex couples!

Gennifer and William chose to work with Everlasting Adoptions for a 2nd time, after we helped place them in only 7 months with their daughter, Atalie back in 2015. We were thrilled to welcome them back and help them through their adoption journey again. What a short journey that ended up being, when they brought home another baby girl in only 4 months!

Beautiful, baby girl Avalyn Elise was born on February 25, 2018 at 10:42pm weighing 7.4 pounds and 19.5 inches long. It was truly a whirlwind of events to welcome Avalyn to their family. Atalie is a doting big sister and is so excited to have a sibling. We are forever grateful to birth mother, Hayley and her selfless act of love. Congratulations to your beautiful and blessed family!

We can’t believe that it has almost been three years since Matt and Avril adopted Sawyer. Everlasting Adoptions helped them complete their family and give their daughter, Chloe a sibling back in 2015. We were so happy to hear from them to see how Sawyer had grown. We hope that every year to come is filled with the love and joy the past three have brought.

“Hi Carol, it’s Avril and Matt. Just wanted to send you some pics. Sawyer will be 3 in September. He loves his sister, Chloe!!  So hard to believe. We will alway be grateful to you and your company!!”

When William and Ashley joined Everlasting Adoptions in May 2017, they had already been down a rough road on their adoption journey. Seven and a half months later they were connected with their birth mom and a few weeks later their son, Cassius was born. William and Ashley reached out to thank us shortly after their adoption was finalized.

“Since our experiences to adopt, up to the time of contacting your agency, had not been good at all, it was a welcome relief to have someone in our corner working with us to complete our family. If we can ever be of any help as a contact reference for your agency, we would be more than happy to do so. Thank you and all of your staff for making our dream come true with the adoption of our son Cassius. He is now 6 months and thriving but we wouldn’t be able to call him ours without you wonderful women.”

Thank you William and Ashley for putting your faith in us to take you the rest of the way on your adoption journey. We are so very thrilled we were able to lead you to your birth mother and son!

As a gay couple, Andy and Peyton had always dreamed about being parents and felt adoption was the most logical choice. They desired to provide a life for a child that their birth parents could not. They welcomed their sweet, baby boy only 15 months after joining Everlasting Adoptions. They shared their positive experience working alongside Everlasting Adoptions throughout every step of the process and offer some advice for other prospective adoptive parents.

“The staff at Everlasting Adoptions was communicative and supportive throughout the process. From our anxiety at no matches or interest in our profile for the initial few months, to a couple of selections that were just not a match, to the final selection which ultimately became a successful adoption, Carol and her team listened to our concerns, helped answer our questions and provided advice when we were not sure of how to proceed. We appreciated the attorney recommendation with someone they had worked with in the past and in the end could not have been more delighted that the entire process worked out to be a success. If we were to adopt again, and we are contemplating doing so, we would again use Everlasting Adoptions without a second thought.

Patience is critical and becomes challenging at times when working with birth parents who want a better life for their child, but are struggling with the emotions of doing so. Don’t rush into the first (or any) possible match as it is so exciting to be chosen that the questions or red flags get overlooked. Ask questions and most of all enjoy the journey.”

Andy and Peyton felt the support and compassion they received from the Everlasting team was fantastic. Thank you Andy and Peyton for trusting in us to accompany you on this journey and we would love to help you continue to grow your family in the future.

Happy Father’s Day to all the men who are role models and have had a positive impact on the life of a child. We appreciate you and all you do!

Miracles happen every day at Everlasting Adoptions, and Sauna’s story is a perfect example! She faced a journey with many challenges, but was finally able to bring her baby boy home. Everything fell into place after a whirlwind of events.

Sauna joined Everlasting Adoptions in September of 2016. Throughout her time with us, she made several, unsuccessful connections with birth moms, until she was finally matched with the birth mom who was meant to be. Having weathered these unsuccessful connections and experiencing the roller coaster of emotions that accompanies this, led Sauna to wonder if she would ever bring a baby home.

Sauna continued to patiently wait for a match that was meant to be. She was briefly connected with another birth mom, only to find out she had decided to move forward with another family. However, that very same day, birth mom, Valerie, expressed interest in getting to know Sauna and informed us she was due “any day now”. Sauna barely had a chance to digest all of this information as we found out that Valerie was being prepped for labor! Sauna cancelled plans to attend a wedding in Jamaica and hopped on the next flight to Detroit. It was happening so quickly.

After a rough night and a long labor, beautiful baby boy, Joseph Dimond (named after Sauna’s dad) was born. Once Sauna held him in her arms, all that she had been through to get there was a distant memory. We want to thank Valerie for her selfless act of choosing life for Joseph. We admire Sauna’s perseverance and resolve and are honored to have played a role in her adoption journey. We wish you all the best life has to offer and look forward to watching Joseph grow.

Happy Mother’s Day from Everlasting Adoptions! Whether you’ve been blessed to become a mother biologically, through adootion or if you are still waiting for your Mother’s Day; you are stronger than you will ever know. No matter what path your journey takes, there are challenges along the way. Make today a day to celebrate you, your perseverance and all the love you have in your heart even if your journey to motherhood is not yet complete.

The staff and adoptive parents at Everlasting Adoptions want to thank all birth mothers for their incredible acts of love. Our families wouldn’t exist without them. Not a day goes by that we don’t recognize how their greatest sacrifice has brought our families their greatest joy. Our adoptive parents reached out to us to share their experiences and how their birth mothers’ selfless acts of bravery have forever changed their lives.

“We have adopted both of our children through Everlasting Adoptions and both are the biggest blessings of our lives! In February our daughter, Avalyn Elise, was born. Her birth mother, Hayley, has been so amazing through this process. Truly, we have gained a friend in her along the way. She is humble, caring, and so sweet. We had the pleasure of spending time with her 2 weeks before Avalyn “Ava” was born and then spent 11 days with her after she was born. We have seen the emotions that this incredibly selfless sacrifice brings and we could not be more honored and excited that she chose us! We love our birth mothers dearly and think of them every day. We have been beyond blessed with our gifts of life!” – Gennifer & William

“As mother’s day approaches, we plan a family activity to do together to celebrate the gift of motherhood. But, as an adoptive family, we are also reminded of how much we owe to another mother in our lives; our son’s birth mom. I could not celebrate mother’s day without her. We would not be a family without her. My son wouldn’t even be alive without her. What am amazing gift! It is something that can’t be taken lightly. To all birth moms who sought or are seeking a family for their children, and especially to our birth mom, Tamecka, thank you so much for exhibiting the kind of selflessness and love this world needs.

We are especially thankful Tamecka is someone who will be supportive of our son and open to sharing with him his birth family history. Initially while deciding to adopt, a major concern I had was that a birth mom would try to “steal” their affection away, but I now feel comforted knowing that when Jacob seeks a relationship with Tamecka, she will totally support my motherhood while also being an awesome birth mom herself! Shortly after meeting Tamecka, I soon came to see her as another person to love our son, and, really, we could all use one of those!” – Lindsey & Stephen

“The connection with birth mom, Kelly was divine and something we will treasure and cherish forever.” – Sara & Brian

“I’m so grateful to Xavier’s birth mother for the incredible sacrifice she has made. I cannot imagine my life without this little man.” – Barbara

With both Jessica and Jonathan and their birth mom being just a few hours away from each other and in the same state, they had the extraordinary opportunity to develop a deep relationship with Lucia. Not only were they able to get to know Lucia on so many different levels, they were able to get to know her little boy as well. They enjoyed many outings together. From golfing and swimming to apple picking and magic shows, there was never a lack of laughter and smiles when they were around each other! They of course made sure to gather for meals, eating everyone’s favorite foods! Lucia, Jessica and Jonathan spent so much time also getting to know the precious baby boy that was kicking away in her belly.

This time together allowed them to share so much about their lives and provided love and support that went much farther than their adoption. Knowing that having an open adoption was crucial to Lucia’s adoption plan, being able to spend so much time together allowed them to learn so much about each other and build a strong foundation for their future.

“We had the opportunity to go spend time with our daughter’s birth mom and sisters a few months ago and it was a joy! We didn’t know what an open adoption would look like, but we have grown to love her birth mom, Jenn, like she’s a part of our family. We spent 5 days together in May and had such a sweet time. We don’t know what it will look like over the years, but we’re confident that our growing relationship with Jenn and her daughter will be an important part of our family forever.” – Lisa & Bill

“Our hearts constantly felt love and gratefulness for not only our birth mom, but our genuine connection.” – Amber & Jeremy

The stories of love and gratitude for birth mothers are unending. We could never adequately express our appreciation for their courage, but we hope that birth mothers everywhere can take this small gesture as a token of our appreciation.