Open Arms, Open Hearts: The Reality and Rewards of Adoption BY MADISON VOORHIES PHOTO BY QUEENFRIDAY PHOTOGRAPHY
16 NOVEMBER 2024 | NOLAFAMILY.COM young woman she befriended confided in her that she had a three-month-old vitro fertilization (IVF) and intrauterine insemination (IUI) treatments. However, after years of trying, they began to reconsider. However, 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 A doption 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
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.” 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 From First Meeting to Forever Family
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
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