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Speaker 1: Hello, friend, Nancy Grace. Crime Stories here today, I want

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Speaker 1: to share something very different from our normal murder and mayhem.

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Speaker 1: I want to tell you about a podcast that is

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Speaker 1: both heartwarming and full of hope, just what we need now.

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Speaker 1: It's called Love What Matters. And I know that many

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Speaker 1: of you moms, women, everyone tune into crime Stories because

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Speaker 1: you care, as do I very deeply about protecting your family,

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Speaker 1: your children. As crucial as that is, it's just as

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Speaker 1: vital to remember all the good things around us. Love

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Speaker 1: What Matters shares real life stories of resilience, love overcoming

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Speaker 1: tough challenges. These are stories that inspire and remind me

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Speaker 1: that even in the darkest times, there is light somewhere

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Speaker 1: if you search for it. Please listen to an episode

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Speaker 1: of Love What Matters is coming up in just a moment.

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Speaker 1: Follow it on your favorite podcast app. New episodes drop

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Speaker 1: every Tuesday and Thursday. Do listen. It can change your

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Speaker 1: world and now here is Love What Matters.

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Speaker 2: Have you ever received the text message that changed everything

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Speaker 2: how you lived, who you loved, and most importantly, how

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Speaker 2: you view the world. For Autumn Moore, that message arrived

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Speaker 2: on a sweltering July day in twenty nineteen. Those few

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Speaker 2: lines of text would lead her to redefine the very

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Speaker 2: meeting of family and set in motion a journey that

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Speaker 2: would touch not just her life, but the lives of

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Speaker 2: everyone around. I'm Colin balf and you're listening to Love

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Speaker 2: what Matters Today. We're diving into a story that will

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Speaker 2: challenge everything you thought you knew about love, sacrifice, and

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Speaker 2: what it truly means to be a parent. We'll take

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Speaker 2: you on a journey through the complex world of foster

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Speaker 2: care and adoption, where dreams collide with reality, and where

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Speaker 2: the concept of family is stretched, tested and ultimately transformed.

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Speaker 2: This isn't just a story about fostering a child. It's

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Speaker 2: about fostering hope. It's about one woman's lifelong dream, a

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Speaker 2: husband's reluctance, and a teenage girl who had all but

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Speaker 2: given up on finding her forever home. So settle in,

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Speaker 2: because what you're about to hear might just change the

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Speaker 2: way you see the world, and who knows, it might

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Speaker 2: even inspire you to change someone else's. Imagine wanting something

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Speaker 2: with every fiber of your being, not just wanting it,

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Speaker 2: but feeling it call you from the depths of your soul.

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Speaker 2: A desire so strong it becomes a part of your identity,

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Speaker 2: as essential as breathing. This is how Autumn Moore felt

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Speaker 2: about fostering children. From her earliest memories, Autam had dreamed

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Speaker 2: of opening her home to children in need. It wasn't

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Speaker 2: a passing fancy or a fleeting thought. It was a

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Speaker 2: calling that had taken root in her heart, growing stronger

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Speaker 2: each passing year. I have always believed every child deserves

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Speaker 2: to be loved, unconditionally, cherished, and truly seen for who

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Speaker 2: they are. Autumn shares, but dreams, as we all know,

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Speaker 2: have a way of colliding with reality, and reality in

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Speaker 2: this case, wore the face of Autumn's loving but skeptical husband, Josh.

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Speaker 2: From the outside, Autumn Wore seemed to have it all.

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Speaker 2: A loving husband, two beautiful daughters, and a comfortable home

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Speaker 2: in a nice neighborhood. It was the kind of life

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Speaker 2: many people spent years striving to achieve. But beneath the

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Speaker 2: surface of this picture perfect existence, there was an emptiness,

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Speaker 2: a void that couldn't be filled by material possessions or

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Speaker 2: society's expectations. Autumn's dream of fostering wasn't just about helping children,

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Speaker 2: It was about completing her own sense of purpose. This

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Speaker 2: feeling led her to confide in a friend who worked

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Speaker 2: at a local teen shelter. Over coffee one day, Autumn

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Speaker 2: leaned in and said, Hey, if you ever come across

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Speaker 2: a girl who needs a home, just let me know.

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Speaker 2: It was casual, almost offhand, the kind of remark we

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Speaker 2: make without fully grasping its potential to alter our lives forever.

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Speaker 2: But Josh, well, he wasn't so sure. He'd heard all

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Speaker 2: about the horror stories, he'd seen the grim statistics. We

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Speaker 2: have our own children to think about, he'd argue, his

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Speaker 2: voice tinged with concerned. What if she's a bad influence,

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Speaker 2: what if she doesn't fit in? These weren't unreasonable concerns.

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Speaker 2: Fostering a child, especially a teenager, is no small undertaking.

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Speaker 2: It requires patience, understanding, and a willingness to open not

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Speaker 2: just your home but your heart. And sometimes even that

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Speaker 2: isn't enough. Autumn reflects on those early conversations. Josh and

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Speaker 2: I had spoken about fostering many times throughout the years.

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Speaker 2: He and I had even gone to speak with an

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Speaker 2: agency a few years prior so we can learn more

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Speaker 2: about the process. I felt it was my calling. He

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Speaker 2: felt it was not his, But Autumn held on to hope.

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Speaker 2: I truly believed in my heart that if God gave

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Speaker 2: me this man to call my husband, and also gave

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Speaker 2: me this calling tugging on my heart almost daily, that

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Speaker 2: away would eventually be made. Years past, tension simmered between them,

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Speaker 2: Autumn's dream, third but never forgotten, continued to pulse beneath

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Speaker 2: the surface of their otherwise happy marriage, And then, on

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Speaker 2: July fifteenth, twenty nineteen, came the text that would change everything. Hey, Autumn,

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Speaker 2: are you still interested in foster care? Remember when you

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Speaker 2: said to let you know when I thought I had

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Speaker 2: someone who would potentially be a good fit. Well, I

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Speaker 2: think I have someone. In that moment, time stood still.

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Speaker 2: Autumn's heart raced as she read and reread the message.

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Speaker 2: This was it, the moment she'd been waiting for. But

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Speaker 2: was she ready? Was her family ready? The girl's name

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Speaker 2: was Mara, sixteen years old, child on the cusp of adulthood,

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Speaker 2: who had already experienced more pain and disappointment than most

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Speaker 2: people face in a lifetime. She sat in a shelter,

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Speaker 2: surrounded by other forgotten children, one more stop in a

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Speaker 2: journey that already stretched far too long, and As Autumn

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Speaker 2: absorbed this information, a mix of emotions washed over her. Excitement, sure,

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Speaker 2: but also fear doubt. What if Josh was right? What

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Speaker 2: if this was too much for their family to handle.

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Speaker 2: But beneath those swirling thoughts, a quiet certainty began to

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Speaker 2: take root. This was meant to be somehow she knew it.

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Speaker 2: Just days after receiving the text, Autumn attended a Rachel

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Speaker 2: Hollis conference. There, attendees were asked to write down some

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Speaker 2: of their dreams and goals in life. At the top

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Speaker 2: of Autumn's list was fostering The whole weekend, Autumn recalls,

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Speaker 2: all I could think about was this teenage girl sitting

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Speaker 2: in a shelter without a place to call home. I

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Speaker 2: just knew we were supposed to welcome her into our

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Speaker 2: hearts and home, But there was still one obstacle getting

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Speaker 2: Josh on board. The thought of broaching the subject again

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Speaker 2: filled Autumn with a mix of hope and trepidation. How

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Speaker 2: could she convey the depth of her conviction, How could

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Speaker 2: she help Josh see what she saw? What she desperately

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Speaker 2: saw not just a troubled teen, but a child in

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Speaker 2: need of love and stability. The weekend after the conference

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Speaker 2: Autumn and Josh attended church. It was during their annual

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Speaker 2: at the movie series, where the pastor uses film clips

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Speaker 2: to create a theme and message. In that particular weekend,

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Speaker 2: the movie just happened to be Instant Family, a film

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Speaker 2: about fostering and adoption. Autumn, having already seen the movie,

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Speaker 2: found herself uncontrollably sobbing from the very first frame, And

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Speaker 2: as the story unfolded on screen, a story of fear, hope,

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Speaker 2: and unconditional love, something shifted in Josh. He watched not

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Speaker 2: just the movie, but his wife, seeing her transform before

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Speaker 2: his eyes. It was in that moment Josh realized as

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Speaker 2: the depth of Autumn's calling. This wasn't a whim or

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Speaker 2: a phase. This was a part of who she was,

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Speaker 2: as essential to her being as breathing. And as those

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Speaker 2: credits rolled, Josh turned to Autumn, his eyes shining with

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Speaker 2: a new understanding. Okay, he said softly, his voice cracking

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Speaker 2: with emotion. Let's do this. Six days later, Autumn drove

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Speaker 2: to the shelter to meet Mara for the first time.

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Speaker 2: Her heart pounded as she walked through the doors, wondering

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Speaker 2: what this girl would be like, would they even connect,

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Speaker 2: would Marra even want to consider living with them. As

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Speaker 2: they sat in Autumn's car, Mara began to share a story.

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Speaker 2: She spoke of entering the foster care system, of all

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Speaker 2: the different homes she had been in, of the experiences

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Speaker 2: that had shaped her young life. And as she spoke,

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Speaker 2: she picked at her skin, a nervous habit Autumn recognized

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Speaker 2: in herself. I heard for her, Autumn remembers, tears welling

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Speaker 2: up in her eyes. I wish she had never endured

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Speaker 2: so many of the things she had in her young life.

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Speaker 2: In a moment of pure emotion, Autumn stopped Mara mid story.

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Speaker 2: I needed her to know we already wanted her as

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Speaker 2: part of our family. She says, she was already chosen.

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Speaker 2: Tears filled both the eyes as the weight of those

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Speaker 2: words settled between them. For Marra, who had known too

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Speaker 2: much rejection in her young life, it was a lifeline.

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Speaker 2: You're already chosen for Autumn. It was a promise to Maura,

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Speaker 2: to herself, and to the dream she had held for

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Speaker 2: so long. We had a good cry that day together,

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Speaker 2: Autumn recalls, her voice thick with emotion, and I walked

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Speaker 2: away knowing I was capable of loving this girl in

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Speaker 2: the same way I loved my other two girls. Three

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Speaker 2: weeks later, Mara and her caseworker arrived at the More

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Speaker 2: Home with all of Mara's belongings. The family was about

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Speaker 2: to embark on a journey that would test their patients,

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Speaker 2: expand their hearts, and redefine their understanding of family. As

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Speaker 2: Mara settled into her new room, a space hastily prepared

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Speaker 2: and painted colors of her choosing, the reality of the

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Speaker 2: situation began to sink in. This wasn't just about providing

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Speaker 2: a roof over someone's head. It was about healing wounds,

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Speaker 2: building trust, and showing maraa that she was worthy of

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Speaker 2: unconditional love. But as Autumn helped Mara unpack, a realization

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Speaker 2: hit her. Mara had been in the foster system since

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Speaker 2: she was twelve years old, and for four years she

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Speaker 2: had bounced from home to home, never knowing if she

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Speaker 2: would ever find a place to truly belong. Could the

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Speaker 2: Moors really provide what Mara needed? And how would Mara,

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Speaker 2: who had given up on the idea of adoption, respond

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Speaker 2: to this new chance at family. Autumn admits the first week, well,

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Speaker 2: it was a little strange. Mara fit in easily and

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Speaker 2: we all got along fine, but essentially we were still strangers.

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Speaker 2: So while I'd like to say that it felt comfortable

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Speaker 2: right away, that wouldn't quite be true. But as time progressed,

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Speaker 2: feelings of normalcy set in. Mara got a job, excelled

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Speaker 2: in school, and made new friends. She achieved milestones that

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Speaker 2: many take for granted, getting her car permit, then her license,

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Speaker 2: and even her first car. I remember the day Mara

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Speaker 2: got her license, Autumn recall's eyes sparkling with pride. We

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Speaker 2: surprised her with a used car, nothing fancy, but it

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Speaker 2: was hers, and the look on her face it was

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Speaker 2: like she couldn't believe someone would do something like that

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Speaker 2: for her. In that moment, I saw a glimmer of

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Speaker 2: hope in her eyes that I hadn't seen before. The

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Speaker 2: dinner table became comedy central as Mara and her new sister,

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Speaker 2: Kaylee started cracking jokes. Almost every night. Our family loves

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Speaker 2: to laugh and can be a bit sarcastic, Autumn shares,

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Speaker 2: so maraa she fits right in. She's like the queen

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Speaker 2: of fast comebacks. The girl makes me laugh with her

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Speaker 2: incredible wit. But it wasn't all smooth sailing. Fostering is

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Speaker 2: messy and sometimes, as Autumn explains, essentially, you are bringing

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Speaker 2: a child into your home who has possibly called many

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Speaker 2: different places home. They've experienced many different rules and parenting styles,

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Speaker 2: views within the family, and cultural norms religion, so many differences.

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Speaker 2: There were challenging days, days when the weight of Mara's

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Speaker 2: past experiences seemed too heavy to bear, Days when cultural

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Speaker 2: differences led to misunderstandings, days when the fear of rejection

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Speaker 2: on both sides threatened to overwhelm the progress they had made.

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Speaker 2: Autumn recalls one particularly difficult night. Mara had a nightmare.

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Speaker 2: She woke up screaming, and when I went to comfort her,

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Speaker 2: she flinched away from me. It broke my heart to

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Speaker 2: see how deeply her past traumas affected her. But we

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Speaker 2: sat there in the dark until she was ready to

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Speaker 2: let me hold her, and when she did, it felt

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Speaker 2: like a breakthrough. But through it all, the Moors remained committed.

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Speaker 2: They saw help when needed, celebrated small victories, and always

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Speaker 2: always made sure Maran knew she was loved. One day,

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Speaker 2: during a family drive, Autumn had a moment of realization

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Speaker 2: as everyone laughed at one of Josh's corny jokes. She

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Speaker 2: caught sight of mar on the side of your mirror,

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Speaker 2: laughing hysterically. I was overwhelmed with gratitude, Autumn recalls, her

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Speaker 2: voice thick with emotion. While everyone else was laughing, I

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Speaker 2: was crying. I realized that our new normal was exactly

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Speaker 2: how it was meant to be all along. The thought

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Speaker 2: of Maura not being there with us made me sad

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Speaker 2: to even think about. I couldn't picture our lives without her,

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Speaker 2: and I didn't want to. It was in this moment

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Speaker 2: that Autumn knew without a doubt that Marra was meant

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Speaker 2: to be a permanent part of their family. But there

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Speaker 2: was still one crucial decision to be made, and it

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Speaker 2: wasn't up to Autumn or Josh. When Mara was twelve

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Speaker 2: years old, her parents permanently lost their parental rights, making

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Speaker 2: her legally available for adoption. But at seventeen, the decision

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Speaker 2: to be adopted was entirely up to Marra. At this

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Speaker 2: point in her life, she had envisioned aging out of

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Speaker 2: the system. Autumn explains she had given up on the

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Speaker 2: possibility of being adopted before even meeting us. Honestly, I

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Speaker 2: think she had given up on the possibility of people

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Speaker 2: really loving her for who she is. The topic of

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Speaker 2: adoption was a delicate one. Mara had been hurt too

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Speaker 2: many times before, and the Moors were careful not to

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Speaker 2: pressure her. They wanted her to know that their love

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Speaker 2: was unconditional, whether she chose to be adopted or not.

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Speaker 2: After many open and honest conversations, Mara made a choice

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Speaker 2: that would change all their lives forever. She chose to

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Speaker 2: be adopted. She chose to become a more. The day

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Speaker 2: Mara told them her decision, there wasn't a dry eye

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Speaker 2: in the house. Autumn recalls the moment vividly. Mara set

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Speaker 2: us all down after dinner. She was visioning, she was nervous,

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Speaker 2: and then she said, I want to be a more

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Speaker 2: for real forever. I don't think I've ever cried tears

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Speaker 2: of joy like that before. I'm often asked if it

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Speaker 2: was hard to bring a teenager into our home. If

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Speaker 2: I'm answering, honestly, the hardest part self was missing out

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Speaker 2: on the first sixteen and a half years of her life.

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Speaker 2: The hardest part is knowing the pain that she's endured

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Speaker 2: in her young life and knowing that I can't make

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Speaker 2: any of that go away. On May eighth, twenty twenty,

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Speaker 2: via a zoom call necessitated by the COVID nineteen pandemic,

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Speaker 2: Mara officially became a More. Twenty twenty was a difficult

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Speaker 2: year for so many with COVID Autumn acknowledges, but for

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Speaker 2: our family, twenty twenty was a time for us to

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Speaker 2: all grow closer to one another. Twenty twenty was the

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Speaker 2: year we officially went from a family of four to

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Speaker 2: a family of five. The adoption day, though virtual, was

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Speaker 2: filled with tears, laughter, in an overwhelming sense of love.

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Speaker 2: Autumn recalls the moment the judge made it official when

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Speaker 2: he said I now pronounced Mara a legal member of

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Speaker 2: the More family. It felt like my heart might burst.

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Speaker 2: I looked at Mara's face on the screen, saw the

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Speaker 2: tears in her eyes, and I knew this was always

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Speaker 2: meant to be. Today, Marra is thriving. She's working ahead

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Speaker 2: in school to graduate a year early, holding down a job,

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Speaker 2: and saving for her future. Motivated to one day help

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Speaker 2: children who have experienced similar life situations, she tells me

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Speaker 2: she will probably spend the night at least once a

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Speaker 2: week because she will miss us. Autum shares and while

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Speaker 2: some days I feel sad knowing that she will be

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Speaker 2: moving out soon. I'm also excited to watch her blossom

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Speaker 2: into an adult. I'm ready to see what this next

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Speaker 2: season looks like for all of us. She pauses, and

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Speaker 2: then she adds with a soft laugh. You know, sometimes

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Speaker 2: I catch her looking at old family photos, the ones

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Speaker 2: from before she came to us, and she'll say, it's

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Speaker 2: weird to think there was a time when I wasn't

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Speaker 2: a Moore. That's when I know we didn't just change

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Speaker 2: her life, she changed ours. As for the Moors, they

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Speaker 2: hope to continue fostering children. Autumn also has ideas she

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Speaker 2: hopes to turn into action to improve the foster care system.

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Speaker 2: I believe we can do so much better, she says,

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Speaker 2: not only for the youth in our system, but for

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Speaker 2: the biological parents of these youth that are most likely

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Speaker 2: a product of traumatic childhoods they never healed from themselves.

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Speaker 2: As we come to the end of this journey, I

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Speaker 2: want to leave you with a thought. Every day there

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Speaker 2: are children out there waiting for their Autumn and Josh,

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Speaker 2: waiting for someone to see past their trauma, their challenges,

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Speaker 2: their supposed baggage, and recognize the beautiful, worthy human beings

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Speaker 2: they are. Maybe you're not in a position to foster

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Speaker 2: or adopt, that's okay, But maybe, just maybe you can

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Speaker 2: be the person who sends that life changing text. Because

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Speaker 2: here's the truth. It takes a village to raise a child,

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Speaker 2: and for children in the foster system, that village needs

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Speaker 2: to be all of us. Autumn's final words resonate with

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Speaker 2: the power of her experience. Love isn't always easy, it's

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Speaker 2: not always comfortable, but it's always worth there. Marra has

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Speaker 2: taught us that family isn't about blood, It's about choice.

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Speaker 2: Every day we choose each other and every day I'm

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Speaker 2: grateful for the text message that changed our lives. Thanks

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Speaker 2: for listening to love what matter