An Open Adoption Documentary: The Story of Madeline Brooke

This is a heart-warming story of two families who opened their hearts to one another and the precious little girl who continues to melt everyone's heart all along the way. http://jourdanmariehathaway.wordpress.com/category/personal-journey/adoption/

It is a celebration of little miss Madeline Brooke who was adopted and the uniquely loving way in which she is being raised. It recounts two families who unknowingly, but desperately, needed one another and how God wove a perfect plan together for all those involved. 'Perfect' in this sense does not mean without hardship, heartache or healing -- but it does mean the way in which hindsight eloquently articulates that something bigger than yourself is at work. It's the kind of perfection that comes along with the messiness of life -- when you can look at your deepest, darkest seasons of hurt and sorrow and genuinely feel that you'd endure it infinitely over again to wind up at the exact same outcome -- because on the other side, one bear hug from a one year old is indeed all the perfection you need in life.

It is in no way a stance on the 'right way' to do things. After all, ask any parent if they have found the foremost expert on the single right way to parent and you'll find no two answers alike. Every child is different. Every family dynamic is different. Every circumstance is different. This shared testimonial is simply 'our story'...and what a story it is.

At the time of video production, Madeline is about one and half years old. She has a brother who is also one. {More on that in the video!}. None of us know what the future has in store for us -- but neither does any family. All we know is where we've been and what we have today.

So what was the catalyst for doing this documentary (other than being giddy parents and wanting to brag about the cutest kids on the planet)? Well, we (the adoptive parents) tell our story all the time as does the birth parents. We have scrapbooks, blogs and all sorts of storytelling tools. But there was something that sparked a beaming pride that just couldn't be ignored. At our last adoption visitation outing, our birth-mom told us about her senior class project. She decided to take up teen pregnancy adoption education whereby she speaks to other pregnant girls who are faced with an excruciating circumstance. We couldn't believe her maturity and compassion for others. Here we all were, side-by-side, watching Maddie and her brother giggle ferociously as they navigated the water spickets in a community park. The birth-dad was picking up Maddie's pink sippie cup for the millionth time off the floor, the birth-mom was telling us about her college plans and senior project and my husband and I were taking video to capture the beauty of life's messiness. We couldn't help but silently praise God for his incredible grace on all of us. Did any of us think we'd be strong enough to do this? Did any of us think it was even possible? There's a pair of baby blue eyes -- that with one look -- will indeed show you that all things are possible....

If you are interested in our story, or would like to learn more about our documented footage, visit http://jourdanmariehathaway.wordpress.com/2012/03/25/our-open-adoption-documentary/

We hope that our story inspires others to the blessing of adoption. What once felt so unfamiliar is now the very core of our lives.

Production Credit

A big shout out to the incredibly talented team at Reel 9 Studios for capturing our story. It was filmed on 2 Sony Z1U cameras and edited on Avid MC by Caleb Mixon, CEO. He was amazing to work with and we highly recommend him!

Видео An Open Adoption Documentary: The Story of Madeline Brooke канала Jourdan Hathaway