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My birth mom's my hero just because if, yeah,

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if she didn't choose life and I wouldn't be here

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and if she didn't, yeah, choose adoption, I wouldn't be here.

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And so she really obviously played a super pivotal part

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in my life.

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Hi there, my name is Diane.

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I'm the CEO at Save the Storks,

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a ministry based here in Colorado Springs.

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And I'm honored to be here at the Empower Youth Studios

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where we are going to talk about adoption.

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My special guest today is Emily.

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I know Emily very well, we work together

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and she has the most beautiful adoption story.

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And I am just excited for you to hear her story,

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learn more about her experience being adopted.

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And I hope it might encourage you

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if you're either a couple looking to adopt,

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maybe you are a young mom who's pregnant

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and you have not really considered adoption.

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You might want to just listen and learn from Emily

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and hear what another young woman

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has experienced being adopted,

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being on the side of a blessing of a mom

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who chose life for her.

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So Emily, thank you so much for joining us today.

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Yes, thank you so much for having me.

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Yes, I would love for you just to start

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a little bit about your own adoption story

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and tell us like when did you first find out

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you were adopted?

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Yeah, so I don't think there was ever a specific moment

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where I found out I was adopted.

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My parents always just celebrated that

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and we would celebrate our adoption day.

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So my sister's adopted as well.

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And so both she and I would celebrate our adoption days

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and we'd have cake and get to choose our favorite dinner.

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And so we just kind of always knew.

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And then we also don't really physically look

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like our parents either because our parents are Caucasian.

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And so that's kind of a dead giveaway for us as well.

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But yeah, there was never a specific moment,

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but just always just kind of celebrating it throughout life.

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Oh, that's beautiful.

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So how old were you when you were adopted?

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Yes, I was five months.

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Five months, okay.

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So tell me a little bit of what you do know

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about how your parents were connected with you

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and tell us about your home country

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and just how that all happened.

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Yeah, so I was adopted from China at five months

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and my parents were connected through an adoption agency.

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So they used the agency and they were able to,

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yeah, just have a lot of help with all the paperwork

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and the travel plans and of course the language barrier.

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And so they were able to join a group

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of other parents also adopting

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and just have that support as well

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with being able to stay in touch

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after they brought us home and things like that.

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So you were five months old

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when they were connected with you

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and you came home right away, right?

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I mean, they brought you home and yes, yes.

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And was your sister adopted at the same time or is she?

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No, she was adopted four years later, yes.

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And so she was 10 months old when she was adopted.

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Okay, very good, yes.

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So where did you grow up in the United States?

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Yes, I grew up in the Chicago area.

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Okay, so much different than China.

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Yeah.

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Not that you would know the difference being so young.

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So tell me about your childhood,

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growing up and you said you didn't,

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you don't look like your adoptive parents.

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So how did that work in your community

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and were you accepted and did kids ask you questions?

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Just walk us through that a little bit.

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Yeah, for sure, yeah.

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So yeah, lots of questions from kids,

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especially I was adopted in 95.

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So it wasn't super, super common like it is today.

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And so a lot of people were asking questions

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about adoption and just, oh, what is that?

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What does that look like?

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Why don't you look like your parents?

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Are your parents your real parents?

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Just lots of questions like that.

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And yeah, my parents are great

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and they taught us how to answer all those questions

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with a lot of patience and grace

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and to just give the person asking questions

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who isn't as knowledgeable grace with that.

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And so we'd say, oh yes, like of course,

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they're our parents, like they're not our birth parents,

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but they're our parents, they're our real parents.

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And yeah.

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So in Chicago, growing up,

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when you were walking around the streets,

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like did people look at you like,

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wait, the parents and the two daughters,

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or were you guys, this is us, this is our family?

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Yeah, so kind of like the second of like,

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this is us, this is our family.

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My parents, for my first five years of life,

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I lived in Singapore,

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just because my dad's work had transferred him there.

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And so in Singapore, it was more confusing.

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I think my mom tells a story

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where she was in a grocery store

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and a Singaporean came up to her

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and he was just like, oh, is that your baby?

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And she's like, yeah, this is my daughter.

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And he's like, so is your husband Chinese?

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She's like, no.

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And he was just so confused and didn't quite understand.

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And I think she's like, we adopted her.

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And he's like, oh, okay.

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Or yeah, it's just, I think that culture

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didn't quite understand it at the time.

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But yeah, so it was just interesting.

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That is interesting because I know in America,

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like adoption is so readily accepted.

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But like in China, back when you were born,

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correct me if I'm wrong,

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but that's when the boys were favored, right?

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Is that why,

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I don't know if you know everything about your story,

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but is that why you think you were in an orphanage

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or awaiting parents?

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Yeah, so boys are definitely favored in that culture.

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And then I think I was born during the one child policy.

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as well. And so I think a mixture of all of that led my birth mom to choose adoption,

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which I'm so thankful for. Yeah, I don't know a ton, but I do know that I was dropped off

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on a factory step. And so yeah, she just dropped me off there. Or maybe it was my birth that

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I have no idea, but it's dropped off there. And then somebody found me and turned me into

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the orphanage.

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That just, I did not know that part of your story and I have goosebumps. So thank you

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for sharing that. What a miracle you are. And I just think, yeah, you just have such

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a beautiful way about you and you're, you're so graceful. And I just think, wow, you were

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on the steps of a factory. You know, that's how someone interviewed and rescued you. So

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wow. Thank you to your birth mom and thank you to yeah, whoever, whoever found you on

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the steps.

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For sure. Yeah. I always kind of say to myself that my birth mom's my hero just because if

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yeah, if she didn't choose life and I wouldn't be here and if she didn't, yeah, choose adoption,

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I wouldn't be here. And so she really obviously paid us, played a super pivotal part.

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Wow. Well, I would love to do another interview where we talk about birth moms and women who

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are contemplating abortion and maybe they don't know about the choice of adoption. So

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let's talk about that too, because I feel like we really need to dig into that. So tell

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me about you and your sister. Did she feel the same way about being adopted? Like she

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was like, this is just family.

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Yeah. So it's super interesting. So my sister, yeah. So we're both adopted. We both love

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our family. We both fit in with our family. Um, she and I are super, super different though,

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just personality wise. Um, so growing up in terms of culture, I always kind of steered

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more towards the American culture. I was always very much. I'm American. I fit in with this

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culture. I don't really want anything to do with Asian culture. And then my sister just

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fully embraced Asian culture. All her friends in high school were the international students.

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And so she just fully embraced that, super enjoyed that. Um, and so it's been fun to

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see the differences. Um, but yes, we both, yeah, love our family and are super thankful.

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Let's talk a little bit about your parents. So having adopted you and your sister, like

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have they given advice to other couples who were looking to adopt or like, I'm curious,

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like how they ended up going to China to adopt. I know here in the United States, it's

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so difficult to adopt a baby. Um, and we can get into that again in another, um, interview,

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but yeah, if you know anything about your parents and their reason for adopting internationally,

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that'd be great to share that. Yeah, of course. So my parents were struggling to get pregnant

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naturally and she, my mom had a good friend who had adopted two children from Korea, South

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Korea, and they were college friends. They, they're still friends today actually. Um,

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and so her friend came alongside her and just started to encourage her about adoption and

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encourage her about international adoption. And I think my parents just like hit a point

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and the Holy Spirit just put it on their hearts of like, yes, I think this is the right path.

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I think this is the way to go. And I'm not sure how they ended up choosing China as the

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country, but, um, yeah, they ended up going that way and finding an agency and yeah, here I am.

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Wow. That is, yeah, I'm just in awe because I had the honor of meeting your parents at the

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March for Life here in Denver earlier this year, and they were just delightful people. And I,

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in fact, you kind of have your same mannerisms, like you and your mother have the same mannerisms.

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Again, yeah, she's very poised and graceful. And I think the same way about you, you're like

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an Audrey Hepburn, you know, you have that old fashioned class, you know, that we don't see all

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the time. So yeah, you're just beautiful inside and out. That's so amazing. Tell us a little bit

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about the work you do at Save the Storks and why it's important to you. I'm the marketing director

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at Storks. And so I just help a lot with marketing things, whether that's events or ads or, um,

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trying to get donations, letters, things like that. So I help a lot with that. Um, and yeah,

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Save the Storks is just really special to me because I am adopted. And so just allowing women

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to know that there is another choice besides parenting or abortion and being able to choose

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adoption is huge. And yeah, and I love to do what I do just because it helps get that word out.

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Yeah, that's so great. If you could say anything to your birth mom, I know you said she's your hero

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and say, if she's watching this right now, what would you say to her? Yeah, I would say,

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just thank you. I think, like I said, without her, I wouldn't be here today. I wouldn't be

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where I am today. Honestly, I don't have any other words. Cause it's just such like a big

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thing that I feel like words can't fully like describe or fill it.

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Right? Gosh. Yeah. I, again, this beautiful young lady was placed on the steps of a factory in

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China and ended up in Chicago. So God does work miracles and wow. You've been a miracle to our

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team. I know. And I just am so grateful for your marketing talent and how you share your gifts with

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the world. Before we wrap up, I want you to talk a little bit

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about your husband and your marriage. And for any of you who

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were dating and in serious relationships during COVID, you

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can relate to this story. So I wanted to just have Emily share

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about her COVID wedding.

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Yes, yes. So I met my husband in 2018. And we dated from then

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until January 2020, when he proposed. And yeah, so January

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2020, before the pandemic, nobody knew that was happening.

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So we planned the whole wedding, we're super excited. My dad's

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from a huge family with seven, he's one of seven siblings,

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they're all gonna fly out, we're gonna have like a pretty big

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wedding here in the springs. And then COVID hit, and everything

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we got locked down. And we had to pivot quickly. And so we went

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from a wedding of like 150 people to one of 17. So we ended

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up Yeah, just getting an Airbnb in Woodland Park and having our

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immediate family there. And it was perfect. Neither of us are

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really big party people. So it was honestly the perfect wedding

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for us. And yeah, God just knew what he was doing.

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So what do you and your husband like to do for fun?

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Yes, we love to ski. That is probably one of our biggest

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pastimes in the winter. We love skiing. But then our ski season

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is going to be cut short this year because I'm pregnant. So

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that will not be happening this year. But yeah,

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that's so exciting. So yeah, again, another miracle

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happening. And yeah, you heard it here. So you know, sharing

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her adoption story. Now Emily's expecting when you're expecting

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again, it's February. So keep that in your prayers. And you

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mentioned a little bit about the baby shower. So I think where

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your parents didn't get the big wedding, they're making up for

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it, right? Yep.

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My mom's inviting all her aunts and cousins and my aunts and

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cousins. So the one back in Illinois is going to be pretty

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Wow, wow. Well, good. Well, Emily, I just thank you so much

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for being bold and sharing your story. And again, we are just

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praying that this might encourage anyone out there

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who's involved in adoption, whether your parents looking to

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adopt, maybe your foster parents. And again, if you're

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that mom who you're not sure you're in that moment of

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indecision, and maybe you've been contemplating an abortion,

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please, please think about adoption. There are literally

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2 million couples just in the United States who are waiting to

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adopt. And Emily is a beautiful example of you know, what can

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happen when you know something that maybe you felt wasn't

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planned, is planned by God, and he will have a beautiful life

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for your child. And he will make sure that you are taken care of

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as well. Because of organizations like Save the

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Storks, and many of the partners with empower you. Many churches

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across the country will come alongside you. So thank you,

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Emily, again, God bless you. We're so excited. We're gonna be

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praying for you and your pregnancy that you don't get

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morning sickness too often. And thank you so much for joining us.