Eternal Family Adoptions

Jennifer and Alexander faced infertility with less than 5% chance of IVF success. After difficult experiences with foster care where they felt judged for their religious beliefs, they found Heart to Heart Adoptions. In this episode of Eternal Family Adoptions, host Donna Pope sits down with Jennifer and Alexander to explore how two devastating failed matches prepared them for the adoption that was always meant to be.

The Ohio Heartbreak

Months later, a birth mother in Ohio selected them for her baby girl. Jennifer was traveling when the mother went into early labor. They rerouted flights and drove to Dayton together. The social worker immediately told them the mother had changed her mind. Alexander felt prompted to leave their family book anyway. Thirty minutes later, she changed her mind again and wanted to place. Then changed it once more. They left devastated and drove to the Carmel temple, where they felt peace despite the pain.

The Call From the Temple

Driving back, they received a call about Irene, the first birth mother from months earlier. She was ready to place her baby. This time, the team flew to New Orleans first to sign paperwork. Jennifer and Alexander spent the day walking where Irene lived on the streets, understanding the sacrifice she was making. Today, they post weekly updates on Hearts Connect, keeping their word even without responses.

This episode offers hope for families facing failed adoption matches, showing that heartbreak can build the faith needed to recognize the child who was always meant to be yours.

This episode offers hope for families facing adoption disappointments, showing that covenant keeping and spiritual preparation matter more than perfect timing when we honor our word to birth mothers, seek revelation through uncertainty, and allow temple worship to anchor us through trials.

Subscribe to Eternal Family Adoptions for stories of faith, perseverance, and the families meant to be. 

Follow or Subscribe to Eternal Family Adoptions on your favorite platform:

Website: EternalFamilyAdoptions.org | YouTube: @EternalFamilyAdoptions | Twitter/X: @ef_Adoptions | Instagram: Eternal_Family_Adoptions | Facebook : Eternal Family Adoptions | LinkedIn: Eternal-Family-Adoptions

Follow Nathan Gwilliam: LinkedIn: @nathangwilliam

Follow Donna Pope: LinkedIn: @donna-pope-41652ba

Jennifer and Alexander faced infertility with less than 5% chance of IVF success. After difficult experiences with foster care where they felt judged for their religious beliefs, they found Heart to Heart Adoptions. In this episode of Eternal Family Adoptions, host Donna Pope sits down with Jennifer and Alexander to explore how two devastating failed matches prepared them for the adoption that was always meant to be.

The Ohio Heartbreak

Months later, a birth mother in Ohio selected them for her baby girl. Jennifer was traveling when the mother went into early labor. They rerouted flights and drove to Dayton together. The social worker immediately told them the mother had changed her mind. Alexander felt prompted to leave their family book anyway. Thirty minutes later, she changed her mind again and wanted to place. Then changed it once more. They left devastated and drove to the Carmel temple, where they felt peace despite the pain.

The Call From the Temple

Driving back, they received a call about Irene, the first birth mother from months earlier. She was ready to place her baby. This time, the team flew to New Orleans first to sign paperwork. Jennifer and Alexander spent the day walking where Irene lived on the streets, understanding the sacrifice she was making. Today, they post weekly updates on Hearts Connect, keeping their word even without responses.

This episode offers hope for families facing failed adoption matches, showing that heartbreak can build the faith needed to recognize the child who was always meant to be yours.

This episode offers hope for families facing adoption disappointments, showing that covenant keeping and spiritual preparation matter more than perfect timing when we honor our word to birth mothers, seek revelation through uncertainty, and allow temple worship to anchor us through trials.

Follow or Subscribe to Eternal Family Adoptions on your favorite platform:

Website: EternalFamilyAdoptions.org | YouTube: @EternalFamilyAdoptions | Twitter/X: @ef_Adoptions | Instagram: Eternal_Family_Adoptions | Facebook : Eternal Family Adoptions | LinkedIn: Eternal-Family-Adoptions

Follow Nathan Gwilliam: LinkedIn: @nathangwilliam

In this episode of Choosing Adoption with host Donna Pope, birth parents Kaylee and Elijah sit alongside adoptive parents Paul and Cassie with baby Seth to share their adoption story together. This rare conversation reveals what happens when both families commit to building an open adoption relationship from day one.

Finding the Right Family

Kaylee and Elijah were extremely selective about who would raise their son. After saying no to almost every profile, they connected with Paul and Cassie and knew immediately. Paul reminded Kaylee of her boyfriend, and the couple promised to make sure Seth always knew the deep love that his birth parents still have for him. That commitment to honoring his origins sealed the decision.

A Relationship Built on Love

The birth parents spent four days in the hospital bonding with Seth before signing papers. The adoptive parents let them set the pace, never pressuring or hovering. Today, Elijah describes Paul as a younger brother, and both couples anticipate a close, ongoing friendship. They want Seth to grow up knowing he has four parents who love him more than most children ever experience.

Discover how two families became one through open adoption. Subscribe to Choosing Adoption for stories that show what's possible when love leads the way.

#BirthParents #AdoptiveParents #OpenAdoption #ChoosingAdoption #BirthMotherStory #BirthFatherStory #AdoptionJourney #FourParentsOneBaby #OpenAdoptionSuccess #AdoptionRelationships #BirthParentVoice #AdoptiveFamily #AdoptionIsLove #RealAdoptionStories

Follow or Subscribe to Choosing Adoption on your favorite platforms:

Website | YouTube | Twitter/X | Instagram

Follow Donna Pope (LinkedIn)

Erin Thomas grew up with a unique perspective on adoption. Her mother was the oldest of five adopted children, and as a child, Erin would look around at school wondering if any of her classmates were her biological cousins. In this episode of Eternal Family Adoptions with host Donna Pope, Erin shares her worries she had while growing up. Even as the daughter of an adoptee, she experienced the same longing for genetic mirroring that adoptees themselves describe.

Grief & Grace

When Erin's sister placed a baby for adoption at age 20, Erin gained another view of the adoption experience. She watched her sister find joy and purpose during the pregnancy, witnessed the grief after placement, and has spent years respecting boundaries as her nephew grew up without making direct contact.

Lost, Then Found

After Erin's mother passed away from cancer in her 50s, the need to know health history became urgent. A DNA test led to a cousin match, which eventually connected Erin to her mother's birth family four years later. At RootsTech 2020, Erin met her biological cousin and finally saw eyes that looked like her mother's and sister's for the first time. 

This episode explores the complexity of multi-generational adoption, including how to navigate Family Search when you have both adoptive and biological lines, what it means to respect an adoptee's choice not to search, and how the longing for connection can skip generations. Erin's story shows that adoption doesn't just affect the triad; it ripples through entire family systems for decades.

Follow or Subscribe to Eternal Family Adoptions on your favorite platform:

Website: EternalFamilyAdoptions.org | YouTube: @EternalFamilyAdoptions | Twitter/X: @ef_Adoptions | Instagram: Eternal_Family_Adoptions | Facebook : Eternal Family Adoptions | LinkedIn: Eternal-Family-Adoptions

Follow Nathan Gwilliam: LinkedIn: @nathangwilliam

In this episode, Troy shares his journey through a closed adoption, growing up LDS in a home marked by domestic violence, and the complex feelings that came with wanting to search for his birth parents while fearing it would hurt his adoptive family. His story takes us through his work in drug rehabilitation where he first recognized his own trauma, and the therapy that helped him accept his identity as a gay man in a conservative faith community.

Adoption and Identity

Troy Love was adopted at five days old into what seemed like a loving home. But behind closed doors, violence shaped his childhood in ways he wouldn't understand until decades later. As a therapist and author today, Troy helps adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive families navigate what he calls the six attachment wounds: loss, neglect, abandonment, betrayal, rejection, and abuse.

Breaking the Cycle

Troy's reunion with his birth mother at age 37 reveals the beauty and complexity of loving multiple families. When his adoptive father, confined to a wheelchair and struggling with shame about his past violence, felt threatened by Troy's new relationships, Troy faced a choice. Instead of confronting his father with anger, he chose love and broke the cycle of pain that had defined their family.

Healing and Guidance

Now as a therapist and author of three books including The Finding Peace Workbook and Year of Self Love, Troy guides others through their own healing. He explains how wounds don't define us, how adoptive parents can support children carrying invisible trauma, and why understanding these six wounds changes everything about the adoption journey.

Follow or Subscribe to Eternal Family Adoptions on your favorite platform:

Website: EternalFamilyAdoptions.org | YouTube: @EternalFamilyAdoptions | Twitter/X: @ef_Adoptions | Instagram: Eternal_Family_Adoptions | Facebook : Eternal Family Adoptions | LinkedIn: Eternal-Family-Adoptions

Follow Nathan Gwilliam: LinkedIn: @nathangwilliam

Follow Donna Pope: LinkedIn: @donna-pope-41652ba

Follow Troy Love:

Brett and Bonnie Hilton have been married for 34 years and are parents to nine children. Four quadruplets born at 24 weeks through surrogacy passed away shortly after birth. Five children joined their family through adoption, including two domestic infants, two sisters from Ukraine, and a special needs baby who lived briefly. Bonnie was born without a uterus and learned this at age 14, a painful discovery for a young Latter-day Saint girl. In this episode of Eternal Family Adoptions, host Donna Pope speaks with the Hilton's about their faith-filled journey through loss, adoption, and divine guidance.

Love Learned Through Faith

After losing their quadruplets, Brett and Bonnie Hilton adopted two infants through LDS Family Services. Years later, they felt led to adopt internationally and traveled to Ukraine before the Hague Convention, where they adopted two biological sisters, ages two and four, while navigating a corrupt system that required bribes to move the process forward. Bonnie initially struggled to bond with the girls, feeling like she was failing as a mother until prayer confirmed that she was exactly what her daughters needed. Over the years, through love, service, music, and play, the connection she longed for finally grew.

Love That Never Lets Go

Bonnie and Brett Hilton’s family story is filled with redemption and faith. Their eldest daughter, Rebecca—once a rebellious teen who proudly went against church standards and secretly stole the family car over 100 times—has grown into a loving mother with a close relationship with Bonnie. Years later, while working as a social worker, Bonnie and Brett adopted baby Isabella, born at 29 weeks with severe anomalies and a short life expectancy. Isabella lived for two weeks, surrounded by her siblings on earth and in heaven, reminding the Hilton's that love, no matter how brief, is eternal.

Discover faith-based adoption support and resources at eternalfamilyadoptions.org.

Follow or Subscribe to Eternal Family Adoptions on your favorite platform:

Website: EternalFamilyAdoptions.org | YouTube: @EternalFamilyAdoptions | Twitter/X: @ef_Adoptions | Instagram: Eternal_Family_Adoptions | Facebook : Eternal Family Adoptions | LinkedIn: Eternal-Family-Adoptions

Follow Nathan Gwilliam: LinkedIn: @nathangwilliam

Emily was 16 when she discovered she was pregnant. Her mother wrapped her arms around her and said they would get through it together. After praying and seeking guidance, Emily felt adoption was the right path for her daughter. In this episode of Eternal Family Adoptions, host Donna Pope explores Emily's journey from placement at 16 through an unexpected reunion 17 years later that led to singing a duet at her daughter Beth's wedding.
Choosing the Right Family Through Spiritual Confirmation

Emily received a stack of family profiles from LDS Family Services. Her parents taught her to notice which family kept coming to mind at night. One little boy's picture wouldn't leave her thoughts. When Emily met Bill, Denise, and three-year-old Billy, she felt like she had one foot in heaven.

They discovered they'd chosen the same baby fabric out of thousands of options. Billy kept insisting the baby's name would be Beth. When they opened Emily's grandma's gift, the inscription read Love Grandma Beth. These spiritual confirmations gave Emily peace moving forward.

Heartfelt Reunion and a Wedding Duet

Emily cried for six months after placement but never doubted her decision. Years later after marrying and having children, Emily wrote a letter on Beth's 17th birthday. That same week, her sister discovered Beth on Ancestry DNA.

At Beth's wedding 25 years after placement, Emily and Beth sang a duet together. Two days before the ceremony, Emily helped Beth find a wedding dress at 8pm on Saturday night. Standing at the wedding, Emily experienced a full circle moment wondering if God knew all along they would be there together.

Discover faith-based adoption support at eternalfamilyadoptions.org.

Social Media links for Emily Meikle Music

Website: emilymeiklemusic.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@emilymeiklemusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emilymeiklemusic/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilymeiklemusic/

One Day Song:

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/one-day-single/1787820259

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2oWagoHgSsFQwV2Fl66K7m

Amazon Music: https://amazon.com/music/player/albums/B0DRC7WZ3X?marketplaceId=ATVPDKIKX0DER&musicTerritory=US&ref=dm_sh_jLQ6yod8f1iq3ry3HeM6whF1E&trackAsin=B0DRC9HCHX

YouTube: https://youtu.be/gbvv3e2vV-4?si=Vja82y17HmNpg1mH

Shawn Rapier and his wife, Vanessa, never planned to adopt but changed their minds when two siblings needed a home. After Shawn asked God a crucial question, they began a journey that led to adopting six children through foster care and having two biological kids. The answer launched a journey that brought eight children (six through foster care adoption and two biological) into what they affectionately named Dysfunction Junction.

In this episode of Eternal Family Adoptions, host Donna Pope sits down with comedian and adoptive father Shawn Rapier to explore the unfiltered reality of foster care adoption.

Different Children Different Confirmations

Each adoption came with its own spiritual guidance. For their first children, Shawn felt he needed clarity from God, while later adoptions required different confirmations, including a direct message at church for their teenage daughter, Portia. Their experiences included challenges such as hospital stays, behavioral issues, and even the loss of JC’s parents during the adoption process.

Life After Dysfunction Junction

All eight Rapier children, now ages 22 to 34, live across the country but stay connected. Past family crises—police visits, Disney World jail, and more—didn’t destroy their family but helped shape them. Shawn’s advice for adoptive parents is to give themselves grace, emphasizing that spiritual connection matters most and that God is the best parent of all. Faith-based support resources are available at eternalfamilyadoptions.org.

Discover faith-based foster care adoption support at eternalfamilyadoptions.org.

Follow or Subscribe to Eternal Family Adoptions on your favorite platform:

Website: EternalFamilyAdoptions.org | YouTube: @EternalFamilyAdoptions | Twitter/X: @ef_Adoptions | Instagram: Eternal_Family_Adoptions | Facebook : Eternal Family Adoptions | LinkedIn: Eternal-Family-Adoptions

Follow Nathan Gwilliam: LinkedIn: @nathangwilliam

Follow Donna Pope: LinkedIn: @donna-pope-41652ba

Follow Shawn Rapier:

LinkedIn: @shawnrapier | Instagram: @gabbacue

Kaylee Anglesey was 19 years old and attending BYU-Idaho when she discovered her pregnancy. Her parents' immediate response of love and support without pressure became the foundation for her birth mother's decision-making journey. In this episode of Eternal Family Adoptions, host Donna Pope sits down with Kaylee to explore her experience speaking with 12 different adoptive families, including conversations with their birth mothers, before finding her perfect match.

Finding the Perfect Family

Through Adoption.com, Kaylee connected with the Courtney family and developed a lighthearted selection process they called "the Bachelor adoption." At 23 weeks pregnant, she presented them with rose cupcakes as her "final rose" choice. The families spent remaining pregnancy months building genuine friendship through weekly gatherings and a maternity photo shoot that honored Kaylee's experience. When Posey arrived on Halloween, both families shared the sacred hospital experience with Elizabeth holding Kaylee's hand during delivery.

Life in Open Adoption

Kaylee now sees the Courtney's weekly for family activities, coaches their oldest son in tennis, and maintains the kind of integrated open adoption relationship that blesses everyone involved. She shares her message to 16-year-old Posey, advice for other birth mothers about seeking all options, and how constant prayer and faith guided her through the hardest decision she ever made. Her story demonstrates that birth mother support, authentic relationships, and faith create positive adoption experiences.

Visit eternalfamilyadoptions.org to discover faith-based birth mother support and resources.

Follow or Subscribe to Eternal Family Adoptions on your favorite platform:

Website: EternalFamilyAdoptions.org | YouTube: @EternalFamilyAdoptions | Twitter/X: @ef_Adoptions | Instagram: Eternal_Family_Adoptions | Facebook : Eternal Family Adoptions | LinkedIn: Eternal-Family-Adoptions

Follow Nathan Gwilliam: LinkedIn: @nathangwilliam

Follow Donna Pope: LinkedIn: @donna-pope-41652ba

Follow Kaylee Anglesey: Instagram: @kayleeanglesey

Continuing from Part 1 of the Hamilton family's adoption journey...

In this episode of Eternal Family Adoptions, hosts Donna Pope and Nathan Gwilliam conclude Brett and Emily Hamilton adoption story as they navigate life with daughter Leilani and build an open relationship with her birth family. The Hamiltons share how Leilani fits perfectly into their family like a puzzle piece that was always meant to be there, bringing sass, joy, and healing after years of pregnancy loss. Emily opens up about the realities of interracial adoption, emphasizing the importance of learning about Black hair care and cultural heritage while staying humble and teachable.

Two Families Blending

The episode reveals a beautiful development when the Hamiltons visit Leilani's birth mother Chris and discover she has married Marcus, bringing together two complete families in love and support. Brett discusses how their experience with stillbirth prepared them to handle the legal uncertainties of adoption, trusting God through the unknown just as they did through pregnancy complications. Emily shares her honest perspective that loving an adopted child feels identical to loving biological children, proving that love transcends DNA and connects through hearts and souls.

Perseverance and Faith

The Hamilton children share their perspectives on welcoming Leilani, with their teenage daughter admitting initial fear that transformed into joy and the realization that life is better because of adoption. The family offers advice to others considering adoption, particularly addressing concerns about not seeing yourself reflected in your child's appearance. Their testimony demonstrates how God works in the waiting periods, blending families together in ways that exceed human understanding and creating bonds that feel eternal from the moment they begin.

This concludes the Hamilton family's two-part adoption journey. Visit eternalfamilyadoptions.org to discover how faith can guide your adoption path.

Follow or Subscribe to Eternal Family Adoptions on your favorite platform:

Website: http://www.EternalFamilyAdoptions.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EternalFamilyAdoptions
Twitter/X: https://x.com/ef_adoptions
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eternalfamily_adoptions/
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/EternalFamilyAdoptions
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Eternal-Family-Adoptions/

Follow Nathan Gwilliam:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathangwilliam

Follow Donna Pope:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donna-pope-41652ba

Follow Brett Hamilton:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brett.hamilton.1291