Read about some of the families that have adopted through National Adoption Day!

Jonathan P. Thompson - Plymouth, Massachusetts

Two years ago, Jonathan and Jennifer Thompson’s first adoptive son was born at South Shore Hospital. Nicholas was two months premature and Jennifer, a nurse in the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), was his primary caregiver. After a few weeks, Jennifer noticed that no family was coming to visit Nicholas and when she inquired about his situation, she was told that Nicholas had been abandoned. Jonathan and Jennifer had wanted more children after the birth of their daughter, now age six, but were having difficulty. The two had prayed earnestly that God would provide the means for them to have more children. The old saying, “Be careful what you pray for, you may just get it” came true for the Thompsons. On December 15, 2004, Jonathan and Jennifer officially adopted Nicholas Patrick into their family after becoming his foster parents through the foster care system. The family provided foster care for Nicholas’ little brother Lucas; and they officially adopted him on National Adoption Day 2005.

After a few months of having Nicholas in the house, Jonathan and Jennifer’s daughter came to her parents and told them that she had been praying every night for a brother. Now she has two!

Jonathan and Jennifer know that they are a very lucky family and feel that it is such a wonderful experience to foster a child and then have the opportunity to adopt him or her as well. The Thompson family would like to encourage all families and individuals to help and support their local child services agency. They know the profound impact that the love and support of a permanent family can have on a child's life.

Jim and Janet Medlen - Washington, PA
Children: Bobby, Eric, Eric, DJ, Darnell and Antonio

On National Adoption Day 2002, the Medlens adopted two African-American brothers: Darnell Knight (age 14) and Antonio Knight (age 11), making the Medlens a family with six adopted boys. Darnell and Antonio lived with the Medlen family for two years as foster children before being adopted. In foster care for most of their lives, the boys were in several different homes and had been featured on the local Wednesday’s Child segment. After National Adoption Day 2002, the boys now have a permanent family of their own.

The Medlens decided to become foster parents when they first met Robert “Bobby” Medlen almost 10 years ago. Bobby was living with a different foster family before he came to live with the Medlens. The Medlens then adopted Eric Rivera when he was 15; Eric Medlen when he was 16; and Douglas “DJ” Medlen, also 16. Eric Rivera is now married with two children.

The Medlens said they decided to adopt their foster care children because they realized that the children needed a family of their own to succeed in life, rather than being bounced from foster home to foster home. Janet and Jim say their boys were considered “hard-to-place” children, yet the couple was willing to give the boys the extra consideration, help and attention they needed. Janet believes that because she and her husband love and support the boys, they are more apt to discover their talents.

There was some initial racial tension among the Medlen children, but Janet has worked hard to breakdown their prejudices. Now, the boys all get along and even stand up for one another. “They are all brothers now,” Janet says.

Ellen and Bill County - Auburn, Maine
Adopted Children: Billy, Rose, Albert, Tyler and Rylee, and Josh

Ellen and Bill County are both teachers. They met in college and were immediately attracted to each other because of their shared love for children. Two years after the couple was married, Ellen witnessed a 9-year-old girl in one of her classes go through the adoption process. Ellen said that she noticed the huge difference in the child’s life after she was placed in a permanent home and thought that maybe she and her husband could help a child in a similar fashion. They decided to become temporary foster parents and to take a child into their home on the weekends when the regular foster parents could not take care of him or her. The County’s planned to have their own children in a few years, but decided that this would be a way to give to the community in the meantime.

The couple quickly became attached to one of the foster children they looked after. When he became legally free for adoption, Billy became the first child they adopted. Six months after adopting Billy, Ellen had to have a hysterectomy for medical reasons. Ellen says she knew then that adoption was the way she was meant to have a family.

Since adopting Billy, Ellen and Bill have adopted five more children—Rose, 16; Albert, 11; Joshua, 5 and in June 2003, they added biological brother and sister Tyler and Rylee to the County clan.

The County family has been recognized in Maine and nationally for their work on the issue of foster care and adoption, including being recognized at Governor King’s State of the State Address and in September 2001. The Countys also received the Angels of Adoption award from the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute. Last June, the family was featured on an episode of Discovery Health Channels, “Adoption Stories.”

Ellen says she would like to encourage other families to adopt children from foster care. She adds that the best part of being a mother of six is: “Giving Josh a bath, putting a band-aid on a scraped knee or just the every day Mom stuff, that makes motherhood such an honor and a privilege.”