Adoption is a journey filled with unexpected twists and turns, emotional highs and lows, and ultimately, profound love. For Tara and George, their journey began in heartbreak and ended in a family beyond what they could have imagined.

Life After Loss
In 2008, Tara and George’s hopes of starting a family came crashing down when Tara experienced a uterine rupture at 17 weeks, requiring an emergency hysterectomy and c-section. Devastated but determined to become parents, the couple explored other avenues to grow their family. Initially, they tried working with a surrogate, going through in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intrauterine insemination (IUI) treatments. However, after years of trying, they began to reconsider.

Fate (and God) had a different plan. In May 2012, Tara received life-changing text messages while serving in her church’s children’s ministry. A young woman she befriended confided in her that she had a three-month-old daughter she felt unable to care for, and she believed that Tara and George were meant to be her parents. “That was the shock of a lifetime,” Tara recalls. “We knew no circumstances; we knew not if this was permanent or temporary; we didn’t know anything, but it was just an absolute yes, we will take this baby for a minute, a day, or a lifetime.”

From First Meeting to Forever Family
On May 21, 2012, Chloe entered Tara and George’s lives. The young girl was living with her aunt, as her birth mother had been planning to place her for adoption but had not found the right family. “She was just shy of three months old, but she had a head full of hair that looked like a toupee,”  Tara says, recalling her first time meeting Chloe. “She had long legs, the longest feet and toes that I had ever seen, and she was the cutest little thing I had ever seen.”

From the beginning, Tara and George took a compassionate and respectful approach to their new role as Chloe’s parents. “We were not interested in ripping a child away from people. We wanted everybody to be included in the conversation,” Tara says, reflecting on her efforts to ensure Chloe’s birth family was comfortable with the adoption. That first week was a whirlwind as Tara and George navigated legal channels, starting the process of private adoption. “The three of us lived out of our master bedroom and bathroom for about three and a half weeks after [Chloe] came to live with us. I say all the time: God has a sense of humor.”

Though Chloe immediately felt like part of the family, the legal process was not swift. After a 10-day revocable period during which Chloe’s birth mother could change her mind, Tara and George began the long road to formalize the adoption. It took two years to finalize everything–a process that involved extensive paperwork, home studies, background checks, and psychological evaluations.

Being Honest and Open
From the start, Tara and George decided to be fully open with Chloe about her adoption. “We’re an open book about it,” Tara explains. “She has known as long as she can remember that she is adopted. We’ve not had any secrets with her about it.” One of the things Tara and George learned through surrogacy research was that children who aren’t told about their adoption can experience a sense of betrayal or distrust for their birth parents later in life, which was something they did not want for Chloe.

Their conversations with Chloe about her adoption have always been centered around love and the belief that their family was meant to be. They explained simply that, “God chose us to be a family.” And to put it into perspective for young Chloe, Tara explained to her, “This is your norm. Everybody has their own normal; this is your normal, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s nothing to be embarrassed by. This is part of your testimony, and one day you’ll understand how to speak about your testimony from your perspective.” Tara emphasizes the importance of letting Chloe guide the conversations.

One of the most beautiful aspects of Tara and George’s adoption journey has been their ongoing relationship with Chloe’s birth family. “[We] never had any kind of formal agreement. Everything’s always just been very organic.” Tara says. “We don’t do daily life together [with her birth family], but we do have a very open relationship, keep tabs on one another, and see each other [a] couple times a year.  It’s not hard to get together when we can, but we’ve always let birth mom guide that.” This openness has fostered a strong sense of love and belonging for Chloe. “She’s got more people that love her, and how can you not like that?”

Addressing Adoption Misconceptions
Throughout their journey, Tara and George have encountered many misconceptions about adoption. “I think a big one is that ‘birth parents give up babies because they just don’t want them,’” Tara says. “People give up babies for lots of reasons or choose to have other people raise their children for lots of reasons.” Another common misconception is that adoption is prohibitively expensive. Tara and George spent around $5,000–mainly on legal fees. “It doesn’t have to be expensive,” Tara explains. “Private adoption is a thing that can be binding, but definitely go through legal channels because you don’t want it to come back and bite you one day.”

A Living Testament
Tara and George’s story is a testament to the power of love and faith. Despite the challenges they faced, their family came together in a way they never could have planned. “She’s an amazing kid,” Tara beams. “She’s 12 now, [and] she does all the things in school; she loves sports, art, she does well in school, and it’s just really been an organic process for us.” Through their openness and unwavering commitment, Tara and George have created a family built on love, trust, and the belief that every child deserves a home.

“Losing my son in 2008 was the worst and best thing that has ever happened to me,” says Tara.  “Because I would have never gotten to meet [Chloe] if it wasn’t for his sacrifice.”

While the process may come with challenges, the rewards are immeasurable. Remember, adoption is not just about giving a child a home—it’s about giving them the opportunity to be part of a family rooted in love, acceptance, and belonging. As we celebrate the beauty of adoption, let’s continue to support one another in creating bright futures for children through this
incredible process.