It’s National Adoption Day and today there were some emotional moments felt among 180 Valley families who took the final step in the adoption process.
Those families now get to enter the season of Thanksgiving as a legally bound family.
One mom who turned to adoption after dealing with fertility issues spoke with 12 News, sharing how her daughter is flourishing 13 years later.
“It was very surreal,” said Stephanie Contos, reflecting on the day she brought her daughter Maya home from the hospital.
She was just 2 days old.
“I was instant mom once we walked through the door,” she said. “It was just a flood of emotions.”
“Luckily, we had a great situation…very unique with open adoption with the birth mother and her family and they’re part of our family, which is wonderful,” Contos said. “It’s just made everything seamless.”
Stephanie will tell you deciding to adopt is one of the best decisions she’s ever made.
“It’s just been a great experience…more family around her and more people that love her and she’s proud of it.”
“I love them so much and I love my biological family too,” said Maya Bradley, Stephanie’s daughter. “Adoption doesn’t really make me any different, it just gives me more people to love.”
Stephanie now works as a paralegal for the same adoption attorney who finalized Maya’s adoption 13 years ago. Today, Maya came to watch an adoption hearing to get an idea of what went on when she was adopted.
“It’s a really cool thing to witness, like seeing all those families come together, seeing all the happy tears being shed, it was really nice,” Maya said.
“I just love the fact that families can be built through adoption,” said Kathryn Pidgeon, an adoption attorney, who says these heartfelt hearings are the culmination of a year’s work.
Pidgeon is also the co-chair of Maricopa County’s National Adoption Day.
“To see the volume today of children finding their forever homes, the week before Thanksgiving is very memorable and touches my heart,” Pidgeon said.
Stephanie knows all the blessings that come with adoption through her own experience.
“I think it’s just awesome to see these kids be placed in homes where they’re loved and cherished and they’re exposed to a whole new world,” she said.
Stephanie will continue to be a voice, encouraging others to adopt.
Since its inception in 2000, the National Adoption Day annual one-day event has made the dreams of 70,000 children come true.
For the last several years, Maricopa County's event has been the largest in the nation, with more children adopted here than in any other city in the U.S.