Adoption Through Foster Care: Lori Ann

Adoption through foster care stories are as diverse as the people who experience them. This story begins with a couple struggling with fertility, similar to some adoptions. It is devastating when you can’t conceive a child of your own but sometimes it can turn out as a blessing in disguise. Due to infertility, adoption became a part of the plan for Lori Ann and her husband Patrick. This is the story of how they prepared their hearts for the adoption through foster care process.

Falling in Love

In 2014, Lori and her husband Patrick got their first placement.  Placed with a four-month-old baby girl, they immediately fell in love. 8 months later, she went back home to her biological mom and ended all contact. This is their first experience with heartbreak when it came to the fostering process. However, when one door closes another one opens. Their lives changed forever on February 13, 2015, with the placement of a  12 ½-month-old baby girl.

The day Lori held Lilley in her arms, her heart melted. True love at first sight. Lilley rescued Lori from a dark place in her life. Sadly, Lilley returned to her biological family a year later.

It was devastating for Lori but they eventually found a way to merge both families together and maintain a close relationship. Lori’s situation portrays how nothing in the foster system is guaranteed and hearts will be broken sometimes. After a couple more foster placements, Lori adopted their first child, Dayton, on December 12, 2018 and Audie a year later.

Adoption through Foster Care, “DO IT!”

Through Lori’s adoption journey, she realized that everything happens for a reason and things will always work out in the end despite all the struggles. It was a life-changing process for Lori and it only made her marriage even stronger with Patrick. The best experience for Lori was finalizing the adoption process and finally calling Dayton and Audie her own. For those who are considering adoption, her advice is to “DO IT!  Know that it is hard. There is heartbreak involved.  It is a roller coaster but it is so worth every twist and turn!”

In Conclusion

In conclusion, we are thankful for Lori and her family for sharing their heartwarming story with Foster Love - Together We Rise. If you’re in the process of fostering to adopt, we offer a free photoshoot of your special day through our Framing Forever program. Click here for more information!