You may not have intended to adopt a child with special needs, or perhaps you did. Regardless of how you arrived at this point, you find yourself searching for answers online and scheduling doctor appointments in hopes of finding the right path for your child. If this resonates with you, this episode is so important. Adoption is a journey, and often, challenges arise after finalization. April and Season, both experienced adoptive moms, understand this reality. The perfect story may face hurdles,...
Apr 25, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 8Ep. 16
Shannon and Nick grew up in Texas and met while attending Texas A&M University. They have been happily married since 2018, but their journey has not been without challenges. After several years of trying to start a family and experiencing multiple losses, they decided to buy an RV and travel, all while seeking God’s guidance for their next steps. In early 2022, they decided to pursue adoption. After their travels in the RV, they chose to leave Texas and move to Colorado, excited for new adve...
Mar 28, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Season 8Ep. 15
This episode tells a beautiful story of love, family, and faith! Nick and Kelsey, high school sweethearts from Texas, always felt that God had placed the hope of adoption in their hearts. After getting married and having two biological daughters, Lyla and Lily, they discovered ADOPTION NOW. They began listening to stories of other families bringing children home through adoption and started exploring the concept of open adoption. They felt called by God to embark on this adoption journey. Howeve...
Mar 14, 2025•51 min•Season 8Ep. 14
Emily Chapman Richards, daughter of Christian music artist Steven Curtis Chapman and current Advisor and Ambassador of Show Hope joins this episode. Emily shares her journey as a biological sibling in this adoption story that began when she was inspired at just 11 years old. After a trip to Haiti, Emily became the catalyst for her family's decision to begin to pray about adoption which led to bringing home three sisters from China. April Fallon, the host of ADOPTION NOW, asks how Emily’s parents...
Feb 21, 2025•44 min•Season 8Ep. 13
Real Moms - Real Adoption In this episode of ADOPTION NOW, host April Fallon shares her family's journey through the ups and downs of open adoption, pulling back the curtain on what happens when these relationships don't follow a perfect script. Through personal stories and vulnerable moments, April opens up about helping her children process their feelings while navigating her own complex emotions as an adoptive mom. From surprise FaceTime calls to years of silence, this episode tackles the rea...
Jan 17, 2025•40 min•Season 8Ep. 12
Real Moms-Real Adoption Your child deserves every chance to succeed at school – but sometimes you have to fight for it. In this episode of ADOPTION NOW, host April Fallon welcomes back Darcy Olsen, Founder & CEO of the Center for the Rights of Abused Children, for an honest conversation about navigating IEPs, understanding diagnoses like ADHD, and becoming your child's strongest advocate. With honesty and vulnerability, they share what it really takes to ensure your child gets the support th...
Jan 10, 2025•56 min•Season 8Ep. 11
Ever wonder what it's really like to adopt from foster care? In this episode of ADOPTION NOW, host April Fallon sits down with Rita Soronen, President and CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption , who brings hard-earned wisdom about the foster care journey. They tackle the tough questions head-on: Can older kids really attach? What support do you actually need? How do you stay hopeful while being realistic? Whether you're just starting to explore or already in the process, Rita shares ess...
Dec 30, 2024•28 min•Season 8Ep. 10
Ever wonder what adopted kids really think about adoption? In this special episode of ADOPTION NOW, hosts April and Noah step back and let their four amazing kids do the talking! AJ (14), Lily (11), Vivy (9), and Maliyah (7) open up about what it's like being part of an adoptive family – from the awesome moments to the tough stuff. They share everything from school stories to what it's like when people ask those awkward questions about their family. The kids don't hold back! They talk about supp...
Dec 06, 2024•28 min•Season 8Ep. 9
Adoption Fears?? Yep, we have all had them. We recognize adoption is a big, life changing process to start. There are so many questions and unknowns. It can feel overwhelming. In this episode, host April Fallon and co-host Jordan Moreno explore the common fears of starting the adoption journey and how it is normal to feel this way. The two adoptive moms share their personal experiences with financial concerns, initial hesitations about open adoption, and the fear of birth mothers changing their ...
Nov 29, 2024•46 min•Season 8Ep. 8
In this episode, hosts April and Noah share how their kids turned a school diversity week into something unexpected — a celebration of adoption as their family culture. When their son AJ rocked a bear mascot costume and their daughter found courage with her sister by her side, they watched adoption transform from a sensitive topic into something kids could proudly share. Through stories of their school experience and eight years of podcasting, the couple talks about their dream of making adoptio...
Nov 21, 2024•32 min•Season 8Ep. 7
Two Babies, Ten Weeks Apart Noah and April sit down with birth mother Jessica and adoptive mother Connie for a story that they have not heard before. Even after telling hundreds of adoption stories, nothing could have prepared them for this combination of embryo adoption and traditional adoption happening at once. An Unexpected Match, with Unexpected Timing After getting married late in life, Connie and Matt struggled with expanding their family. The couple went through a miscarriage and decided...
Nov 14, 2024•54 min•Season 8Ep. 6
A Life-Changing Choice at 21 At 21, Jessica was a single mother of two young boys, pursuing her education and trying to get off welfare when she discovered she was pregnant. With the baby's father in prison and her own path toward stability just beginning, she made the brave decision to explore adoption. An Unlikely Match Made in Perfect Timing After months of struggling to match with a family due to concerns about her medical history, Jessica finally connected with Connie and Matt. The twist? T...
Nov 06, 2024•51 min•Season 8Ep. 5
Darcy Olsen is the founder & CEO of the Center for the Rights of Abused Children, an organization dedicated to uniting people in the fight to protect America's abused children. They have helped over 775,000 children nationwide. Darcy has fostered ten babies and adopted four as a single mother! Darcy shared her full story last week. Jordan had her first baby and then experienced secondary infertility. She and her husband, Jose, adopted their second child in less than 5 months! Jordan shares h...
Oct 17, 2024•48 min•Season 8Ep. 4
Darcy Olsen is the founder & CEO of the Center for the Rights of Abused Children, an organization dedicated to uniting people in the fight to protect America's abused children. They have helped over 775,000 children nationwide. Darcy has fostered ten babies and adopted four as a single mother! Darcy’s dedication to supporting abused children and navigating the foster care system is truly inspiring. If you're looking to support children in foster care or considering adoption from the system, ...
Oct 10, 2024•46 min•Season 8Ep. 3
McKenzie's journey is a testament to the resilience and strength that many couples show in the face of loss and grief. It's inspiring to hear how she and her husband Kim found support through the ADOPTION NOW Podcast, which provided guidance and comfort as they explored adoption as a path to parenthood. Sharing their story on the podcast is a powerful way to connect with others who may be experiencing similar challenges, and it's wonderful that McKenzie is able to give back to the community that...
Sep 28, 2024•58 min•Season 8Ep. 2
We have a new season of hope and connection! April Fallon sits down with Jordan Moreno to reflect on ADOPTION NOW's remarkable journey and the episodes that have left a lasting impact on her and her family. As we celebrate reaching over 1 million downloads worldwide, we invite you to join our community of adoptees, adoptive parents, and birth families. Visit our Patreon page and ADOPTIONNOWPodcast.com to explore coaching resources and be inspired by the collective power of our stories....
Sep 17, 2024•37 min•Season 8Ep. 1
Rodney and Mary Leah are both attorneys in Alabama. For ten years, they walked the journey of infertility before welcoming twins, Dalton and Mary Elizabeth, through Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program. They also serve on the board of Carrywell , a non-profit that helps couples walking through infertility, miscarriage and infant loss through groups and grants. They are passionate about helping families through grief and healing as couples explore other options into parenthood. This episode is so i...
May 31, 2024•43 min•Season 7Ep. 23
Aida Phillips and her husband longed to be parents but found that conceiving naturally was not possible for them. They began infertility treatments, which ultimately proved unsuccessful and took a significant toll on Aida both mentally and physically. She started looking into adoption, but her husband was hesitant, and EVEN MORE so when they met with a crooked adoption attorney in Miami! It was a journey to be matched to their daughter, but they did not give up. Aida is from Mexico and Jewish. I...
May 23, 2024•34 min•Season 7Ep. 22
After Michael and Naomi’s unsuccessful attempts to start a family, they were led to a fertility clinic where they were diagnosed with male-factor infertility. They were told IVF would be the only real option. The couple experienced a lot of grief and started praying about what to do to become parents. They started to research their options when God opened the door to the National Embryo Donation Center in Knoxville, Tennessee!! This is where Michael and Naomi began their life-changing journey of...
May 17, 2024•41 min•Season 7Ep. 21
Adoption doesn’t always have to be a daunting task! Jordan Moreno’s story tells us that the timeline might be faster than you think! Jose and Jordan have a beautiful adoption story, as they all are, but this one had an ease about it that will make anyone who is nervous feel at peace that everything can fall perfectly into place and QUICKLY!!! They announced to their family in November that they had plans to adopt, finished their home study in February, matched in June and their daughter was born...
May 09, 2024•42 min•Season 7Ep. 20
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 cou...
May 03, 2024•31 min•Season 7Ep. 19
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 abo...
Feb 23, 2024•41 min•Season 7Ep. 18
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 t...
Feb 15, 2024•49 min•Season 7Ep. 17
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 Unite...
Sep 07, 2023•26 min•Season 7Ep. 16
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 w...
Aug 29, 2023•33 min•Season 7Ep. 15
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 ...
Aug 12, 2023•34 min•Season 7Ep. 14
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!
Jun 29, 2023•40 min•Season 7Ep. 13
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 traum...
May 19, 2023•44 min•Season 7Ep. 12
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.
May 16, 2023•40 min•Season 7Ep. 11
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 ...
Apr 13, 2023•37 min•Season 7Ep. 10
