04/02/2026
“28 years ago I was adopted from Indiana and moved to Switzerland. My birth mom, Lacey, was only 15 when she had me. She loved me enough for choose a better life for me — one she knew she couldn’t give me at the time. She hid her pregnancy, and no one knew about me until the moment she delivered.
Through an adoption agency, she was given a book of letters from hopeful parents. A few stood out, but one spoke directly to her heart — a letter from my mom, Linda. She wrote about raising a child with love, positivity, and about a little village in Switzerland she hoped to bring her baby home to. She also included a quote… the same exact one hanging on Lacey’s wall.
Something clicked. Lacey called her. It was 4 am in Switzerland, and my mom was awake, decorating a nursery after a card reader told her “Prepare the room. Your daughter is on the way.”
They talked for hours. Lacey learned about open adoption — something she’d never heard of — and everything changed.
Days later, they met in Indiana. They held me, loved me, and made everything official. Soon after, I flew to Switzerland and grew up speaking multiple languages. Letters turned into phone calls, and eventually… in-person reunions.
When I was 7, we met in New York for the first time. When I was 13, I flew alone to Indiana to spend a week with Lacey and met my entire birth family. It was overwhelming in the best way.
When we moved to Oregon, Lacey showed up again — at my track finals, my high school graduation, my college graduation, and even when my twins were born. Both my moms were there, always there.”
