Adoption is a big part of our family’s journey. With two adopted kids in our family, I couldn’t imagine life any different than it is today.
Filled with love, joy, struggles, laughter, tears, and everything life should behold. With three kids in tow already, we first began our adoption story way back in 2008 and eventually adopted our son a couple of years later.
The ups and downs of the adoption process can be both heart-wrenching and oh so heartwarming, so here are some of my absolute favorite adoption quotes.
75 Adoption Quotes That Will Warm Your Heart!
Quotes On Adoption
“If you have the heart for adoption, don’t let fear stand in the way.” – Doug Chapman
“Somehow destiny comes into play. These children end up with you and you end up with them. It’s something quite magical.” – Nicole Kidman
“We look at adoption as a very sacred exchange. It was not done lightly on either side. I would dedicate my life to this child.” – Jamie Lee Curtis
“There are times when the adoption process is exhausting and painful and makes you want to scream. But, I am told, so does childbirth.” – Scott Simon
“Every single minute matters, every single child matters, every single childhood matters.” – Kailash Satyathi
“Every child deserves a home and love. Period.” – Dave Thomas
“Adoption is the most intentional process on Earth.” – Jody Cantrell Dyer
“It’s important to realize that we adopt not because we are rescuers. No. We adopt because we are rescued.” – David Platt
“Foster care is risky. Adoption is risky. Love itself is always risky.” – Orphan Justice
“Adoption is a commitment that enter into blindly, but it is no different than adding a child by birth. It is essential that adopting parents are committed to parenting this child for the rest of their lives, and committed to parenting through the tough stuff.” – Brooke Randolph
Quotes About an Adoptive Family
Adoption has quite the impact on a family. It is still amazing to me the incredible bond between my kids. Sure they get into little tiffs, but I think the combination of our travels and adoption has given our kids an incredible bond. The love between them is something I could only dream of. Here are some of my favorite adoption quotes on how adoption impacts a family.
“Families don’t have to match. You don’t have to look like someone else to love them.” – Leigh Anne Tuohy
“If there’s a cause worth fighting for, it’s this: children belong in families.” – Nicole Skellenger
“You know, I truly believe adoption is one of the greatest unheralded blessings in the world. Think how beautiful it is to give a child a home and to become a family because you choose to! Maybe that’s the best way to make a family, don’t you think?” – Kristin Harmel
“There is no friendship, and no love, like that of the parent for the child.” – Henry Ward Beecher
“Little souls find their way to you, whether they’re from your womb or someone else’s.” – Sheryl Crow
“The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.” – Richard Bach
“Belonging to a family is a natural and vital component of life, and every child deserves to be a member of a loving and nurturing family.” – Ronald Reagan
“There are no unwanted children, just unfound families.” – The National Adoption Center
“I have four children. Two are adopted. I forget which two.” – Bob Constantine
“Adoption is not about finding children for families, it’s about finding families for children.” – Joyce Maguire Pavao
Adoption Quotes On Parenting
If there is one thing that can humble you in parenting, and what can really humble you is being an adoptive parent.
There are so many struggles and so many lessons I have learned along the way. I would say parenting an adoptive child can sometimes bring you to your knees and also bring you the most profound joy.
It is one of the most grueling and incredible experiences. Here are some great quotes about parenting through adoption.
“He is mine in a way that he will never be hers, yet he is hers in a way that he will never be mine, and so together, we are motherhood.” – Desha Wood
“To adopt a child is a great work of love. When it is done, much is given, but much is also received. It is a true exchange of gifts.” – Pope John Paul II
“Being a parent wasn’t just about bearing a child. It was about bearing witness to its life.” – Jodi Picoult
“Love runs stronger than blood. Deeper than any name you could give me.” – Andrew Peterson
“What makes you a man is not the ability to make a child, it’s the courage to raise one.” – Barack Obama
“One of the greatest titles in the world is parent, and one of the biggest blessings in the world is to be one.” – Jim Demint
“Not flesh of my flesh, nor bone of my bone. But still miraculously my own. Never forget for a single minute, you didn’t grow under my heart but in it.” – Fleur Conkling Heyliger
“When I have a family someday, I’ll probably adopt. Adoption has always been something close to my heart. There are so many kids out there who really need a family.” – Tim Tebow
“I say to everybody, ‘Adoption is not for the faint of heart.’” – Mariska Hargitay
“I believe one of the most sacrificial acts of love adoptive parents can do is to give up their preconceptions and agendas about what their child’s views “should” be and be open to hear the conflicting emotions and thoughts their child often experiences.” – Sherrie Eldridge
Adoption Quotes from Adopted Children
When I first looked into adoption, one of the things I wanted to really look into was how did the adoptive child feel. I wanted to hear from people who were adopted to know how they felt, how to avoid mistakes (which I still made many) and how to best make them feel at home.
After all, it’s great for us and our families to feel the love, but it’s even more important that the adopted child feels the love and feels at home with us too. Here are some adoption quotes that give you a tiny glimpse into how adoptive children feel.
“I am a living testament you can be adopted and successful.” – Daunte Culpepper
“…for me, having been adopted was normal. Knowing I was adopted was as natural as having a belly button. It was just always there.” – Madeleine Melcher
“Adopted. Big deal; so was Superman.” – Christ Crutcher
“My adoption was treated as a celebration.” – Michael Reagan
“My adoption journey fully fuels my inspiration, my drive, what my vision of success is.” – Jordan Fisher
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela
“My life has been shaped by the decision two people made over 24 years ago. They decided to adopt a child. They got me, and I got a chance at the kind of life all children deserve.” – Karen Fowler
“Adoption has been a part of my life and a part of my family, so it was how I wanted to start. It felt natural and right to me.” – Katherine Heigl
“My birth mother brought me into this world, but it was my adoptive parents who gave me life.” – Christina Romo
“Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.” – Cherokee Proverb
Adoption Quotes about Faith and Adoption
Adoption is challenging, from getting through the lengthy legal process to acclimating the child or children to your home and lifestyle. In tough times, faith helps see you through, whether it’s religious faith in God or a higher power that gives you comfort or just faith in yourself that your dedication and determination is ultimately for the good of a child.
You’re doing your best to enrich a child’s life as well as your own, and even when the going gets tough, it’s important to keep faith that, even through your mistakes and hardships, you’re doing your best and you’re going to get through it and be better for it in the end. Here are some quotes about faith and adoption.
“Adoption is a journey of faith, from beginning to end.” – Johnny Carr
“God knew that it doesn’t matter how your children get to your family. It just matters that they got there.” – Kira Mortenson
“…perhaps there is no greater miracle than finding a loving home for a child who needs one.” – Bill Clinton
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” – James 1:17
“I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.” – 1 Samuel 1:27
“so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.” – Philippians 2:15
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” – James 1:27
“Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” – John 1:13
“Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.” – Psalm 27:10
“Do you want to do something beautiful for God? There is a person who needs you. This is your chance.” – Mother Teresa
Adoption Quotes About Motherhood and Adoption
Motherhood is a blessing, and mother’s love for their children is one of the strongest forces in nature. A lot of people think that’s reserved only for biological mothers, but that’s not the case and we’re living proof.
I love all of my children and have a bond with each, and a relationship with each that is as colorful and unique as all of their individual personalities. You do NOT have to be a child’s biological mother to be their mother and share that bond. Here are some quotes about motherhood and adoption.
“Motherhood is about celebrating the child you have not the child you thought you’d have.” – Joan Ryan
“Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.” – Oprah Winfrey
(You know I had to throw in an Oprah Quote)
“Being a mother has enriched my life in so many ways, it’s opened my world, in a way.” – Michelle Pfeiffer
“Anyone who doesn’t have experience with adoption wonders, ‘Does love for a child come through DNA?’ I knew it didn’t.” – Katherine Heigl
“Anyone who ever wondered how much they could love a child who did not spring from their own loins, know this: it is the same. The feeling of love is so profound, it’s incredible and surprising.” – Nia Vardalos
“You don’t have to give birth to someone to be family. We’re all family – extended family.” – Sandra Bullock
“However motherhood comes to you, it’s a miracle.” – Valerie Harper
“Being a mother is an attitude, not a biological relation.” – Robert A. Heinlein
“If the standard route for creating a family had worked for me, I wouldn’t have met this child. I needed to know her. I needed to be her mother. She is, in every way my daughter.” – Nia Vardalos
“Adoptive Mom? I am Mom. I need no other label or prefix.” – Joanne Greco
Adoption Quotes about Waiting
I can still remember waiting for the day we would get a phone call from our attorney to see if the biological family had chosen us to be their baby’s adoptive family. To say it took a long time is a total understatement. Adoption is a lengthy legal process, and those days seemed to drag on and on. Here are some quotes about the seemingly endless waiting game to let you know, your time is well spent.
“You are not just waiting in vain. There is a purpose behind every delay.” – Mandy Hale
“Patience is not the ability to wait but to keep a good attitude while waiting.” – Joyce Meyer
“Life is lived in the waiting.” – Jonathan Lockwood Huie
“Life has many ways of testing a person’s will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen at once.” – Paul Coelho
“Don’t wait. The timing will never be just right.” – Napoleon Hill
“You’re off to a great place, today is your day. Your mountain is waiting so get on your way.” – Dr. Seuss
“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” – Henry Ford
“Don’t be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“The best way to escape from a problem is to solve it.” – Alan Saporta
“Everything is hard before it is easy.” – Goethe
Adoption Quotes About Determination
I have never been one to live my life by the way other people say I should. I always have believed we need to follow our passion (although my husband does say my passion bucket does often overflow) and while my life has not always been rainbows and unicorns I could not imagine a better journey than the one I have pursued.
Here are some quotes to remind you to keep pushing on.
“All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney
“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” – Carl Sagan
“Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
“All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” – Helen Keller
“We must let go of the life we planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.” – Joseph Campbell
Frequently Asked questions about Adoption Quotes
Where can I read about your adoption story?
You can read our Open adoption story and Our First Adoption Story on our website under Life at Home > Adoption
Is an open or closed adoption a better option?
There are so many different factors to weigh here. This is definitely going to be based on what you feel is best for your family. Talking it through and making sure you are on the same page. Talking with a therapist is a great option as well to make sure that you are doing what is best for your family in the adoption process.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ADOPTION AND FOSTER CARE?
Many hopeful adoptive parents might consider starting out as a foster parent or pursuing foster care adoption. While it’s true that a lot of children in foster care would do well with an adoption home, it’s important to remember that the birth parents are still in the picture for many of these children. Often, foster care is temporary. While you can enrich both your own and the child’s life by acting as a foster parent, the ultimate goal is hopefully an eventual reunion with the child’s birth parent or parents. Remember–the ultimate goal is child welfare, whether that means your foster child returns to their original home or stays with you.
IS INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION EASIER THAN DOMESTIC ADOPTION?
The amount of legal hurdles you may have to leap depends entirely on your own unique situation. International adoption can be just as rewarding as domestic adoption, and perhaps even more so in some cases. Children available for international adoption are usually in orphanages overseas, and so the birth parents are unable to care for them for financial, personal, or legal reasons. Whether international or domestic, adoption is admirable either way.
WHAT ARE POST ADOPTION SERVICES AND PRCS?
Post adoption services are available, often in the form of Regional Permanency Resource Centers or PRCs, to help ensure everything is in order, all legal red tape is resolved, and both the parents and child are adjusting to the new arrangement. Again, the ultimate goal is to make sure the child is safe and well-cared for in your home.
I hope these adoption quotes help you through whatever stage of the adoption process you currently are in. If you have any questions about adoption Feel free to DM us on Instagram or simply visit for more daily inspiration & a peek into our family life!
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Our First Adoption Story; grab some tissues
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