WEBVTT - Introducing ‘Love What Matters’ | The Message That Changed Everything

0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:04.640
<v Speaker 1>Hello, friend, Nancy Grace. Crime Stories here today, I want

0:00:04.680 --> 0:00:09.160
<v Speaker 1>to share something very different from our normal murder and mayhem.

0:00:10.039 --> 0:00:12.640
<v Speaker 1>I want to tell you about a podcast that is

0:00:13.119 --> 0:00:18.840
<v Speaker 1>both heartwarming and full of hope, just what we need now.

0:00:19.400 --> 0:00:23.759
<v Speaker 1>It's called Love What Matters. And I know that many

0:00:23.800 --> 0:00:28.040
<v Speaker 1>of you moms, women, everyone tune into crime Stories because

0:00:28.160 --> 0:00:33.360
<v Speaker 1>you care, as do I very deeply about protecting your family,

0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:37.760
<v Speaker 1>your children. As crucial as that is, it's just as

0:00:37.840 --> 0:00:42.600
<v Speaker 1>vital to remember all the good things around us. Love

0:00:42.680 --> 0:00:49.279
<v Speaker 1>What Matters shares real life stories of resilience, love overcoming

0:00:49.760 --> 0:00:55.360
<v Speaker 1>tough challenges. These are stories that inspire and remind me

0:00:55.920 --> 0:01:02.520
<v Speaker 1>that even in the darkest times, there is light somewhere

0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:07.240
<v Speaker 1>if you search for it. Please listen to an episode

0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:10.039
<v Speaker 1>of Love What Matters is coming up in just a moment.

0:01:10.440 --> 0:01:15.000
<v Speaker 1>Follow it on your favorite podcast app. New episodes drop

0:01:15.080 --> 0:01:19.720
<v Speaker 1>every Tuesday and Thursday. Do listen. It can change your

0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:24.760
<v Speaker 1>world and now here is Love What Matters.

0:01:27.920 --> 0:01:32.000
<v Speaker 2>Have you ever received the text message that changed everything

0:01:33.160 --> 0:01:39.120
<v Speaker 2>how you lived, who you loved, and most importantly, how

0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:43.600
<v Speaker 2>you view the world. For Autumn Moore, that message arrived

0:01:43.720 --> 0:01:48.559
<v Speaker 2>on a sweltering July day in twenty nineteen. Those few

0:01:48.640 --> 0:01:51.320
<v Speaker 2>lines of text would lead her to redefine the very

0:01:51.440 --> 0:01:55.240
<v Speaker 2>meeting of family and set in motion a journey that

0:01:55.280 --> 0:01:58.960
<v Speaker 2>would touch not just her life, but the lives of

0:01:59.040 --> 0:02:04.600
<v Speaker 2>everyone around. I'm Colin balf and you're listening to Love

0:02:04.640 --> 0:02:08.919
<v Speaker 2>what Matters Today. We're diving into a story that will

0:02:09.000 --> 0:02:13.920
<v Speaker 2>challenge everything you thought you knew about love, sacrifice, and

0:02:13.960 --> 0:02:17.680
<v Speaker 2>what it truly means to be a parent. We'll take

0:02:17.720 --> 0:02:20.680
<v Speaker 2>you on a journey through the complex world of foster

0:02:20.800 --> 0:02:25.200
<v Speaker 2>care and adoption, where dreams collide with reality, and where

0:02:25.240 --> 0:02:32.160
<v Speaker 2>the concept of family is stretched, tested and ultimately transformed.

0:02:33.200 --> 0:02:36.480
<v Speaker 2>This isn't just a story about fostering a child. It's

0:02:36.520 --> 0:02:42.000
<v Speaker 2>about fostering hope. It's about one woman's lifelong dream, a

0:02:42.120 --> 0:02:46.560
<v Speaker 2>husband's reluctance, and a teenage girl who had all but

0:02:46.760 --> 0:02:51.520
<v Speaker 2>given up on finding her forever home. So settle in,

0:02:51.880 --> 0:02:54.480
<v Speaker 2>because what you're about to hear might just change the

0:02:54.480 --> 0:02:57.839
<v Speaker 2>way you see the world, and who knows, it might

0:02:57.880 --> 0:03:05.000
<v Speaker 2>even inspire you to change someone else's. Imagine wanting something

0:03:05.160 --> 0:03:08.640
<v Speaker 2>with every fiber of your being, not just wanting it,

0:03:08.960 --> 0:03:12.200
<v Speaker 2>but feeling it call you from the depths of your soul.

0:03:13.200 --> 0:03:16.800
<v Speaker 2>A desire so strong it becomes a part of your identity,

0:03:17.520 --> 0:03:23.040
<v Speaker 2>as essential as breathing. This is how Autumn Moore felt

0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:28.880
<v Speaker 2>about fostering children. From her earliest memories, Autam had dreamed

0:03:28.919 --> 0:03:32.440
<v Speaker 2>of opening her home to children in need. It wasn't

0:03:32.480 --> 0:03:35.880
<v Speaker 2>a passing fancy or a fleeting thought. It was a

0:03:35.920 --> 0:03:39.920
<v Speaker 2>calling that had taken root in her heart, growing stronger

0:03:40.320 --> 0:03:46.120
<v Speaker 2>each passing year. I have always believed every child deserves

0:03:46.160 --> 0:03:51.200
<v Speaker 2>to be loved, unconditionally, cherished, and truly seen for who

0:03:51.240 --> 0:03:56.560
<v Speaker 2>they are. Autumn shares, but dreams, as we all know,

0:03:57.400 --> 0:04:02.280
<v Speaker 2>have a way of colliding with reality, and reality in

0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:10.280
<v Speaker 2>this case, wore the face of Autumn's loving but skeptical husband, Josh.

0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:13.760
<v Speaker 2>From the outside, Autumn Wore seemed to have it all.

0:04:14.680 --> 0:04:19.680
<v Speaker 2>A loving husband, two beautiful daughters, and a comfortable home

0:04:20.000 --> 0:04:23.680
<v Speaker 2>in a nice neighborhood. It was the kind of life

0:04:24.080 --> 0:04:29.080
<v Speaker 2>many people spent years striving to achieve. But beneath the

0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:34.479
<v Speaker 2>surface of this picture perfect existence, there was an emptiness,

0:04:35.600 --> 0:04:40.440
<v Speaker 2>a void that couldn't be filled by material possessions or

0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:48.560
<v Speaker 2>society's expectations. Autumn's dream of fostering wasn't just about helping children,

0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:53.880
<v Speaker 2>It was about completing her own sense of purpose. This

0:04:54.000 --> 0:04:57.400
<v Speaker 2>feeling led her to confide in a friend who worked

0:04:57.440 --> 0:05:02.679
<v Speaker 2>at a local teen shelter. Over coffee one day, Autumn

0:05:02.800 --> 0:05:08.279
<v Speaker 2>leaned in and said, Hey, if you ever come across

0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:12.320
<v Speaker 2>a girl who needs a home, just let me know.

0:05:14.120 --> 0:05:19.680
<v Speaker 2>It was casual, almost offhand, the kind of remark we

0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:25.040
<v Speaker 2>make without fully grasping its potential to alter our lives forever.

0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:31.320
<v Speaker 2>But Josh, well, he wasn't so sure. He'd heard all

0:05:31.360 --> 0:05:35.560
<v Speaker 2>about the horror stories, he'd seen the grim statistics. We

0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:39.040
<v Speaker 2>have our own children to think about, he'd argue, his

0:05:39.160 --> 0:05:42.919
<v Speaker 2>voice tinged with concerned. What if she's a bad influence,

0:05:43.760 --> 0:05:50.320
<v Speaker 2>what if she doesn't fit in? These weren't unreasonable concerns.

0:05:50.720 --> 0:05:56.279
<v Speaker 2>Fostering a child, especially a teenager, is no small undertaking.

0:05:56.960 --> 0:06:01.920
<v Speaker 2>It requires patience, understanding, and a willingness to open not

0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:07.720
<v Speaker 2>just your home but your heart. And sometimes even that

0:06:07.960 --> 0:06:14.160
<v Speaker 2>isn't enough. Autumn reflects on those early conversations. Josh and

0:06:14.200 --> 0:06:17.400
<v Speaker 2>I had spoken about fostering many times throughout the years.

0:06:18.080 --> 0:06:19.840
<v Speaker 2>He and I had even gone to speak with an

0:06:19.839 --> 0:06:22.720
<v Speaker 2>agency a few years prior so we can learn more

0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:28.480
<v Speaker 2>about the process. I felt it was my calling. He

0:06:28.560 --> 0:06:36.000
<v Speaker 2>felt it was not his, But Autumn held on to hope.

0:06:36.160 --> 0:06:39.200
<v Speaker 2>I truly believed in my heart that if God gave

0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:43.400
<v Speaker 2>me this man to call my husband, and also gave

0:06:43.440 --> 0:06:47.280
<v Speaker 2>me this calling tugging on my heart almost daily, that

0:06:47.839 --> 0:06:57.200
<v Speaker 2>away would eventually be made. Years past, tension simmered between them,

0:06:58.400 --> 0:07:04.279
<v Speaker 2>Autumn's dream, third but never forgotten, continued to pulse beneath

0:07:04.320 --> 0:07:11.120
<v Speaker 2>the surface of their otherwise happy marriage, And then, on

0:07:11.240 --> 0:07:21.360
<v Speaker 2>July fifteenth, twenty nineteen, came the text that would change everything. Hey, Autumn,

0:07:21.680 --> 0:07:25.440
<v Speaker 2>are you still interested in foster care? Remember when you

0:07:25.440 --> 0:07:27.400
<v Speaker 2>said to let you know when I thought I had

0:07:27.480 --> 0:07:32.640
<v Speaker 2>someone who would potentially be a good fit. Well, I

0:07:32.680 --> 0:07:38.320
<v Speaker 2>think I have someone. In that moment, time stood still.

0:07:39.200 --> 0:07:44.080
<v Speaker 2>Autumn's heart raced as she read and reread the message.

0:07:44.360 --> 0:07:48.560
<v Speaker 2>This was it, the moment she'd been waiting for. But

0:07:49.640 --> 0:07:55.240
<v Speaker 2>was she ready? Was her family ready? The girl's name

0:07:56.080 --> 0:08:02.440
<v Speaker 2>was Mara, sixteen years old, child on the cusp of adulthood,

0:08:03.360 --> 0:08:07.040
<v Speaker 2>who had already experienced more pain and disappointment than most

0:08:07.040 --> 0:08:11.320
<v Speaker 2>people face in a lifetime. She sat in a shelter,

0:08:11.960 --> 0:08:16.320
<v Speaker 2>surrounded by other forgotten children, one more stop in a

0:08:16.440 --> 0:08:22.400
<v Speaker 2>journey that already stretched far too long, and As Autumn

0:08:22.440 --> 0:08:28.840
<v Speaker 2>absorbed this information, a mix of emotions washed over her. Excitement, sure,

0:08:29.880 --> 0:08:38.600
<v Speaker 2>but also fear doubt. What if Josh was right? What

0:08:38.640 --> 0:08:41.160
<v Speaker 2>if this was too much for their family to handle.

0:08:42.559 --> 0:08:48.080
<v Speaker 2>But beneath those swirling thoughts, a quiet certainty began to

0:08:48.120 --> 0:08:54.319
<v Speaker 2>take root. This was meant to be somehow she knew it.

0:08:56.120 --> 0:09:00.320
<v Speaker 2>Just days after receiving the text, Autumn attended a Rachel

0:09:00.400 --> 0:09:05.320
<v Speaker 2>Hollis conference. There, attendees were asked to write down some

0:09:05.400 --> 0:09:09.440
<v Speaker 2>of their dreams and goals in life. At the top

0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:15.840
<v Speaker 2>of Autumn's list was fostering The whole weekend, Autumn recalls,

0:09:16.400 --> 0:09:19.199
<v Speaker 2>all I could think about was this teenage girl sitting

0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:22.760
<v Speaker 2>in a shelter without a place to call home. I

0:09:22.960 --> 0:09:25.880
<v Speaker 2>just knew we were supposed to welcome her into our

0:09:25.920 --> 0:09:32.760
<v Speaker 2>hearts and home, But there was still one obstacle getting

0:09:32.920 --> 0:09:36.920
<v Speaker 2>Josh on board. The thought of broaching the subject again

0:09:37.640 --> 0:09:43.640
<v Speaker 2>filled Autumn with a mix of hope and trepidation. How

0:09:43.679 --> 0:09:48.160
<v Speaker 2>could she convey the depth of her conviction, How could

0:09:48.200 --> 0:09:52.080
<v Speaker 2>she help Josh see what she saw? What she desperately

0:09:52.160 --> 0:09:56.480
<v Speaker 2>saw not just a troubled teen, but a child in

0:09:56.559 --> 0:10:03.439
<v Speaker 2>need of love and stability. The weekend after the conference

0:10:04.160 --> 0:10:09.080
<v Speaker 2>Autumn and Josh attended church. It was during their annual

0:10:09.200 --> 0:10:12.800
<v Speaker 2>at the movie series, where the pastor uses film clips

0:10:12.800 --> 0:10:16.960
<v Speaker 2>to create a theme and message. In that particular weekend,

0:10:17.720 --> 0:10:22.800
<v Speaker 2>the movie just happened to be Instant Family, a film

0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:29.679
<v Speaker 2>about fostering and adoption. Autumn, having already seen the movie,

0:10:30.200 --> 0:10:37.920
<v Speaker 2>found herself uncontrollably sobbing from the very first frame, And

0:10:38.040 --> 0:10:42.800
<v Speaker 2>as the story unfolded on screen, a story of fear, hope,

0:10:43.600 --> 0:10:50.360
<v Speaker 2>and unconditional love, something shifted in Josh. He watched not

0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:55.320
<v Speaker 2>just the movie, but his wife, seeing her transform before

0:10:55.320 --> 0:11:00.280
<v Speaker 2>his eyes. It was in that moment Josh realized as

0:11:00.320 --> 0:11:04.079
<v Speaker 2>the depth of Autumn's calling. This wasn't a whim or

0:11:04.120 --> 0:11:07.280
<v Speaker 2>a phase. This was a part of who she was,

0:11:08.160 --> 0:11:13.360
<v Speaker 2>as essential to her being as breathing. And as those

0:11:13.400 --> 0:11:18.560
<v Speaker 2>credits rolled, Josh turned to Autumn, his eyes shining with

0:11:18.640 --> 0:11:25.600
<v Speaker 2>a new understanding. Okay, he said softly, his voice cracking

0:11:25.640 --> 0:11:33.320
<v Speaker 2>with emotion. Let's do this. Six days later, Autumn drove

0:11:33.360 --> 0:11:35.920
<v Speaker 2>to the shelter to meet Mara for the first time.

0:11:37.520 --> 0:11:41.040
<v Speaker 2>Her heart pounded as she walked through the doors, wondering

0:11:41.320 --> 0:11:44.760
<v Speaker 2>what this girl would be like, would they even connect,

0:11:45.320 --> 0:11:49.520
<v Speaker 2>would Marra even want to consider living with them. As

0:11:49.520 --> 0:11:54.360
<v Speaker 2>they sat in Autumn's car, Mara began to share a story.

0:11:54.520 --> 0:11:58.120
<v Speaker 2>She spoke of entering the foster care system, of all

0:11:58.160 --> 0:12:01.280
<v Speaker 2>the different homes she had been in, of the experiences

0:12:01.320 --> 0:12:05.240
<v Speaker 2>that had shaped her young life. And as she spoke,

0:12:06.000 --> 0:12:11.239
<v Speaker 2>she picked at her skin, a nervous habit Autumn recognized

0:12:12.120 --> 0:12:18.560
<v Speaker 2>in herself. I heard for her, Autumn remembers, tears welling

0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:22.080
<v Speaker 2>up in her eyes. I wish she had never endured

0:12:22.480 --> 0:12:26.640
<v Speaker 2>so many of the things she had in her young life.

0:12:26.840 --> 0:12:31.400
<v Speaker 2>In a moment of pure emotion, Autumn stopped Mara mid story.

0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:35.640
<v Speaker 2>I needed her to know we already wanted her as

0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:41.360
<v Speaker 2>part of our family. She says, she was already chosen.

0:12:43.280 --> 0:12:46.840
<v Speaker 2>Tears filled both the eyes as the weight of those

0:12:46.880 --> 0:12:52.040
<v Speaker 2>words settled between them. For Marra, who had known too

0:12:52.080 --> 0:12:56.760
<v Speaker 2>much rejection in her young life, it was a lifeline.

0:12:56.960 --> 0:13:04.680
<v Speaker 2>You're already chosen for Autumn. It was a promise to Maura,

0:13:05.600 --> 0:13:09.640
<v Speaker 2>to herself, and to the dream she had held for

0:13:09.679 --> 0:13:13.200
<v Speaker 2>so long. We had a good cry that day together,

0:13:13.520 --> 0:13:17.120
<v Speaker 2>Autumn recalls, her voice thick with emotion, and I walked

0:13:17.160 --> 0:13:19.480
<v Speaker 2>away knowing I was capable of loving this girl in

0:13:19.559 --> 0:13:23.040
<v Speaker 2>the same way I loved my other two girls. Three

0:13:23.080 --> 0:13:25.880
<v Speaker 2>weeks later, Mara and her caseworker arrived at the More

0:13:26.000 --> 0:13:30.680
<v Speaker 2>Home with all of Mara's belongings. The family was about

0:13:30.720 --> 0:13:33.440
<v Speaker 2>to embark on a journey that would test their patients,

0:13:34.160 --> 0:13:40.160
<v Speaker 2>expand their hearts, and redefine their understanding of family. As

0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:43.680
<v Speaker 2>Mara settled into her new room, a space hastily prepared

0:13:44.040 --> 0:13:47.280
<v Speaker 2>and painted colors of her choosing, the reality of the

0:13:47.320 --> 0:13:52.200
<v Speaker 2>situation began to sink in. This wasn't just about providing

0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:55.960
<v Speaker 2>a roof over someone's head. It was about healing wounds,

0:13:56.559 --> 0:14:01.080
<v Speaker 2>building trust, and showing maraa that she was worthy of

0:14:01.160 --> 0:14:06.920
<v Speaker 2>unconditional love. But as Autumn helped Mara unpack, a realization

0:14:07.040 --> 0:14:11.280
<v Speaker 2>hit her. Mara had been in the foster system since

0:14:11.320 --> 0:14:15.360
<v Speaker 2>she was twelve years old, and for four years she

0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:18.320
<v Speaker 2>had bounced from home to home, never knowing if she

0:14:18.320 --> 0:14:23.560
<v Speaker 2>would ever find a place to truly belong. Could the

0:14:23.640 --> 0:14:28.080
<v Speaker 2>Moors really provide what Mara needed? And how would Mara,

0:14:28.520 --> 0:14:31.840
<v Speaker 2>who had given up on the idea of adoption, respond

0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:38.680
<v Speaker 2>to this new chance at family. Autumn admits the first week, well,

0:14:39.040 --> 0:14:42.520
<v Speaker 2>it was a little strange. Mara fit in easily and

0:14:42.560 --> 0:14:47.160
<v Speaker 2>we all got along fine, but essentially we were still strangers.

0:14:47.560 --> 0:14:49.920
<v Speaker 2>So while I'd like to say that it felt comfortable

0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:55.760
<v Speaker 2>right away, that wouldn't quite be true. But as time progressed,

0:14:56.440 --> 0:15:00.960
<v Speaker 2>feelings of normalcy set in. Mara got a job, excelled

0:15:01.000 --> 0:15:05.200
<v Speaker 2>in school, and made new friends. She achieved milestones that

0:15:05.440 --> 0:15:09.480
<v Speaker 2>many take for granted, getting her car permit, then her license,

0:15:10.000 --> 0:15:14.080
<v Speaker 2>and even her first car. I remember the day Mara

0:15:14.200 --> 0:15:18.560
<v Speaker 2>got her license, Autumn recall's eyes sparkling with pride. We

0:15:18.640 --> 0:15:22.160
<v Speaker 2>surprised her with a used car, nothing fancy, but it

0:15:22.240 --> 0:15:25.640
<v Speaker 2>was hers, and the look on her face it was

0:15:25.640 --> 0:15:27.840
<v Speaker 2>like she couldn't believe someone would do something like that

0:15:27.920 --> 0:15:31.520
<v Speaker 2>for her. In that moment, I saw a glimmer of

0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:35.520
<v Speaker 2>hope in her eyes that I hadn't seen before. The

0:15:35.560 --> 0:15:39.440
<v Speaker 2>dinner table became comedy central as Mara and her new sister,

0:15:39.520 --> 0:15:44.440
<v Speaker 2>Kaylee started cracking jokes. Almost every night. Our family loves

0:15:44.440 --> 0:15:47.840
<v Speaker 2>to laugh and can be a bit sarcastic, Autumn shares,

0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:52.160
<v Speaker 2>so maraa she fits right in. She's like the queen

0:15:52.280 --> 0:15:55.480
<v Speaker 2>of fast comebacks. The girl makes me laugh with her

0:15:55.520 --> 0:16:02.120
<v Speaker 2>incredible wit. But it wasn't all smooth sailing. Fostering is

0:16:02.200 --> 0:16:07.120
<v Speaker 2>messy and sometimes, as Autumn explains, essentially, you are bringing

0:16:07.120 --> 0:16:10.520
<v Speaker 2>a child into your home who has possibly called many

0:16:10.560 --> 0:16:15.960
<v Speaker 2>different places home. They've experienced many different rules and parenting styles,

0:16:16.600 --> 0:16:22.960
<v Speaker 2>views within the family, and cultural norms religion, so many differences.

0:16:23.840 --> 0:16:26.840
<v Speaker 2>There were challenging days, days when the weight of Mara's

0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:31.800
<v Speaker 2>past experiences seemed too heavy to bear, Days when cultural

0:16:31.800 --> 0:16:35.560
<v Speaker 2>differences led to misunderstandings, days when the fear of rejection

0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:40.280
<v Speaker 2>on both sides threatened to overwhelm the progress they had made.

0:16:40.440 --> 0:16:45.480
<v Speaker 2>Autumn recalls one particularly difficult night. Mara had a nightmare.

0:16:46.120 --> 0:16:48.800
<v Speaker 2>She woke up screaming, and when I went to comfort her,

0:16:48.840 --> 0:16:52.520
<v Speaker 2>she flinched away from me. It broke my heart to

0:16:52.560 --> 0:16:56.400
<v Speaker 2>see how deeply her past traumas affected her. But we

0:16:56.480 --> 0:17:00.520
<v Speaker 2>sat there in the dark until she was ready to

0:17:00.640 --> 0:17:04.440
<v Speaker 2>let me hold her, and when she did, it felt

0:17:04.480 --> 0:17:10.240
<v Speaker 2>like a breakthrough. But through it all, the Moors remained committed.

0:17:10.920 --> 0:17:15.520
<v Speaker 2>They saw help when needed, celebrated small victories, and always

0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:21.520
<v Speaker 2>always made sure Maran knew she was loved. One day,

0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:25.320
<v Speaker 2>during a family drive, Autumn had a moment of realization

0:17:26.400 --> 0:17:29.800
<v Speaker 2>as everyone laughed at one of Josh's corny jokes. She

0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:32.159
<v Speaker 2>caught sight of mar on the side of your mirror,

0:17:32.600 --> 0:17:38.239
<v Speaker 2>laughing hysterically. I was overwhelmed with gratitude, Autumn recalls, her

0:17:38.320 --> 0:17:43.160
<v Speaker 2>voice thick with emotion. While everyone else was laughing, I

0:17:43.280 --> 0:17:47.280
<v Speaker 2>was crying. I realized that our new normal was exactly

0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:50.520
<v Speaker 2>how it was meant to be all along. The thought

0:17:50.560 --> 0:17:52.960
<v Speaker 2>of Maura not being there with us made me sad

0:17:53.000 --> 0:17:56.640
<v Speaker 2>to even think about. I couldn't picture our lives without her,

0:17:57.640 --> 0:18:01.840
<v Speaker 2>and I didn't want to. It was in this moment

0:18:01.920 --> 0:18:05.520
<v Speaker 2>that Autumn knew without a doubt that Marra was meant

0:18:05.520 --> 0:18:09.200
<v Speaker 2>to be a permanent part of their family. But there

0:18:09.240 --> 0:18:12.439
<v Speaker 2>was still one crucial decision to be made, and it

0:18:12.520 --> 0:18:16.880
<v Speaker 2>wasn't up to Autumn or Josh. When Mara was twelve

0:18:17.000 --> 0:18:20.920
<v Speaker 2>years old, her parents permanently lost their parental rights, making

0:18:20.960 --> 0:18:25.960
<v Speaker 2>her legally available for adoption. But at seventeen, the decision

0:18:26.000 --> 0:18:30.760
<v Speaker 2>to be adopted was entirely up to Marra. At this

0:18:30.920 --> 0:18:33.840
<v Speaker 2>point in her life, she had envisioned aging out of

0:18:33.880 --> 0:18:37.200
<v Speaker 2>the system. Autumn explains she had given up on the

0:18:37.240 --> 0:18:41.879
<v Speaker 2>possibility of being adopted before even meeting us. Honestly, I

0:18:41.920 --> 0:18:44.280
<v Speaker 2>think she had given up on the possibility of people

0:18:44.400 --> 0:18:49.280
<v Speaker 2>really loving her for who she is. The topic of

0:18:49.320 --> 0:18:52.400
<v Speaker 2>adoption was a delicate one. Mara had been hurt too

0:18:52.400 --> 0:18:55.679
<v Speaker 2>many times before, and the Moors were careful not to

0:18:55.760 --> 0:18:59.600
<v Speaker 2>pressure her. They wanted her to know that their love

0:18:59.760 --> 0:19:04.280
<v Speaker 2>was unconditional, whether she chose to be adopted or not.

0:19:06.000 --> 0:19:10.720
<v Speaker 2>After many open and honest conversations, Mara made a choice

0:19:11.040 --> 0:19:17.560
<v Speaker 2>that would change all their lives forever. She chose to

0:19:17.600 --> 0:19:25.080
<v Speaker 2>be adopted. She chose to become a more. The day

0:19:25.160 --> 0:19:28.720
<v Speaker 2>Mara told them her decision, there wasn't a dry eye

0:19:28.880 --> 0:19:34.040
<v Speaker 2>in the house. Autumn recalls the moment vividly. Mara set

0:19:34.119 --> 0:19:37.840
<v Speaker 2>us all down after dinner. She was visioning, she was nervous,

0:19:38.359 --> 0:19:42.359
<v Speaker 2>and then she said, I want to be a more

0:19:43.640 --> 0:19:48.760
<v Speaker 2>for real forever. I don't think I've ever cried tears

0:19:48.760 --> 0:19:53.359
<v Speaker 2>of joy like that before. I'm often asked if it

0:19:53.400 --> 0:19:56.959
<v Speaker 2>was hard to bring a teenager into our home. If

0:19:57.000 --> 0:20:01.880
<v Speaker 2>I'm answering, honestly, the hardest part self was missing out

0:20:02.520 --> 0:20:04.800
<v Speaker 2>on the first sixteen and a half years of her life.

0:20:05.920 --> 0:20:08.479
<v Speaker 2>The hardest part is knowing the pain that she's endured

0:20:08.520 --> 0:20:11.040
<v Speaker 2>in her young life and knowing that I can't make

0:20:11.080 --> 0:20:16.040
<v Speaker 2>any of that go away. On May eighth, twenty twenty,

0:20:16.600 --> 0:20:20.280
<v Speaker 2>via a zoom call necessitated by the COVID nineteen pandemic,

0:20:20.960 --> 0:20:26.000
<v Speaker 2>Mara officially became a More. Twenty twenty was a difficult

0:20:26.080 --> 0:20:30.639
<v Speaker 2>year for so many with COVID Autumn acknowledges, but for

0:20:30.800 --> 0:20:34.879
<v Speaker 2>our family, twenty twenty was a time for us to

0:20:34.920 --> 0:20:38.080
<v Speaker 2>all grow closer to one another. Twenty twenty was the

0:20:38.200 --> 0:20:41.600
<v Speaker 2>year we officially went from a family of four to

0:20:41.720 --> 0:20:47.199
<v Speaker 2>a family of five. The adoption day, though virtual, was

0:20:47.240 --> 0:20:51.960
<v Speaker 2>filled with tears, laughter, in an overwhelming sense of love.

0:20:53.840 --> 0:20:56.920
<v Speaker 2>Autumn recalls the moment the judge made it official when

0:20:56.960 --> 0:21:00.560
<v Speaker 2>he said I now pronounced Mara a legal member of

0:21:00.600 --> 0:21:04.119
<v Speaker 2>the More family. It felt like my heart might burst.

0:21:05.080 --> 0:21:08.000
<v Speaker 2>I looked at Mara's face on the screen, saw the

0:21:08.080 --> 0:21:12.600
<v Speaker 2>tears in her eyes, and I knew this was always

0:21:12.640 --> 0:21:18.560
<v Speaker 2>meant to be. Today, Marra is thriving. She's working ahead

0:21:18.560 --> 0:21:22.119
<v Speaker 2>in school to graduate a year early, holding down a job,

0:21:22.400 --> 0:21:26.160
<v Speaker 2>and saving for her future. Motivated to one day help

0:21:26.280 --> 0:21:32.199
<v Speaker 2>children who have experienced similar life situations, she tells me

0:21:32.240 --> 0:21:34.119
<v Speaker 2>she will probably spend the night at least once a

0:21:34.160 --> 0:21:37.920
<v Speaker 2>week because she will miss us. Autum shares and while

0:21:38.000 --> 0:21:40.159
<v Speaker 2>some days I feel sad knowing that she will be

0:21:40.200 --> 0:21:43.480
<v Speaker 2>moving out soon. I'm also excited to watch her blossom

0:21:43.520 --> 0:21:46.560
<v Speaker 2>into an adult. I'm ready to see what this next

0:21:46.560 --> 0:21:52.000
<v Speaker 2>season looks like for all of us. She pauses, and

0:21:52.040 --> 0:21:56.200
<v Speaker 2>then she adds with a soft laugh. You know, sometimes

0:21:56.240 --> 0:21:59.160
<v Speaker 2>I catch her looking at old family photos, the ones

0:21:59.160 --> 0:22:02.200
<v Speaker 2>from before she came to us, and she'll say, it's

0:22:02.240 --> 0:22:04.720
<v Speaker 2>weird to think there was a time when I wasn't

0:22:04.720 --> 0:22:08.560
<v Speaker 2>a Moore. That's when I know we didn't just change

0:22:08.560 --> 0:22:13.399
<v Speaker 2>her life, she changed ours. As for the Moors, they

0:22:13.400 --> 0:22:17.359
<v Speaker 2>hope to continue fostering children. Autumn also has ideas she

0:22:17.400 --> 0:22:20.080
<v Speaker 2>hopes to turn into action to improve the foster care system.

0:22:20.920 --> 0:22:23.399
<v Speaker 2>I believe we can do so much better, she says,

0:22:23.760 --> 0:22:25.720
<v Speaker 2>not only for the youth in our system, but for

0:22:25.760 --> 0:22:29.680
<v Speaker 2>the biological parents of these youth that are most likely

0:22:29.720 --> 0:22:35.919
<v Speaker 2>a product of traumatic childhoods they never healed from themselves.

0:22:36.560 --> 0:22:38.399
<v Speaker 2>As we come to the end of this journey, I

0:22:38.440 --> 0:22:41.640
<v Speaker 2>want to leave you with a thought. Every day there

0:22:41.680 --> 0:22:44.320
<v Speaker 2>are children out there waiting for their Autumn and Josh,

0:22:44.680 --> 0:22:49.040
<v Speaker 2>waiting for someone to see past their trauma, their challenges,

0:22:49.520 --> 0:22:55.440
<v Speaker 2>their supposed baggage, and recognize the beautiful, worthy human beings

0:22:55.480 --> 0:22:58.840
<v Speaker 2>they are. Maybe you're not in a position to foster

0:22:58.960 --> 0:23:04.440
<v Speaker 2>or adopt, that's okay, But maybe, just maybe you can

0:23:04.480 --> 0:23:08.639
<v Speaker 2>be the person who sends that life changing text. Because

0:23:08.680 --> 0:23:12.360
<v Speaker 2>here's the truth. It takes a village to raise a child,

0:23:12.960 --> 0:23:16.640
<v Speaker 2>and for children in the foster system, that village needs

0:23:16.680 --> 0:23:20.560
<v Speaker 2>to be all of us. Autumn's final words resonate with

0:23:20.600 --> 0:23:25.800
<v Speaker 2>the power of her experience. Love isn't always easy, it's

0:23:25.800 --> 0:23:31.760
<v Speaker 2>not always comfortable, but it's always worth there. Marra has

0:23:31.800 --> 0:23:36.160
<v Speaker 2>taught us that family isn't about blood, It's about choice.

0:23:36.400 --> 0:23:40.640
<v Speaker 2>Every day we choose each other and every day I'm

0:23:40.680 --> 0:23:45.200
<v Speaker 2>grateful for the text message that changed our lives. Thanks

0:23:45.200 --> 0:23:47.359
<v Speaker 2>for listening to love what matter