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Tuesday, October 23, 2018

After Two Generations of Adoption, Family Finds Incredible Way to Give Back


By Anna Reynolds
Live Action News


Barb Pearson-Cramer has always known that she was adopted. Her parents, Don and Phyllis Pearson, were overjoyed to welcome her into their home as a baby in 1968, and raised her on their rural South Dakota ranch. 

Pearson-Cramer recently talked with Successful Framing about how her experiences as an adopted child — and later, an adoptive mother of three — inspired her to found an adoption agency that serves the needs of birth mothers, children, and adoptive families.

Pearson-Cramer said her childhood “was so wonderful. I learned all aspects of the ranch and did all the things it took to be a part of a ranching family. We did everything together.” The fact that her parents were upfront about her adoption was rare at that time, and she believes this helped her to understand her identity and feel accepted.

Although Pearson-Cramer did not initially think about adopting after she married, the couple became open to it after struggling with infertility. Over several years, she and husband Trevor adopted two girls, Taylor and Teralyn, and were also overjoyed to eventually welcome a biological daughter, Trisha.

With three small children, the couple thought they would take a break, but received a phone call that changed their plans. Pearson-Cramer and her husband had maintained contact with Taylor and Teralyn’s biological families — so when Teralyn’s birth mother became pregnant, she wanted her baby boy to grow up with his sister. 
“We thought about what we would say if we went to visit him years later and had to tell her we didn’t adopt him. We knew we had to do it,” she said. 
They drove to Utah for Garrett’s birth, and she was able to be in the delivery room when he was born.

adoptionPhoto: Building Forever Families
Through her experiences, Pearson-Cramer found a her life’s calling, founding one adoption agency in 2006, and another, Building Forever Families, in 2015. She explained, 
“My goal is to take care of all members of the adoption process: the birth families, adoptive families, and the child.”
One motivation for this was her desire to teach other parents what she learned through adoption. She and her husband had three transracial adoptions, so she wanted to equip other adoptive parents with information from this experience. She said that with their first adoption, 
“I had no education on skin care, hair care, or nutritional needs. We had to learn that for ourselves. In Utah, the social workers took us shopping for the products we needed and actually showed us what to do.” She believes every parent needs that kind of support.
Live Action News story continues here


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