JEROME, Idaho — November is National Adoption Awareness month, a month to raise awareness about the need for adoptive families for children.
“We honor adoption 365 days a year, but one month it gets a really great spotlight,” said Cara Walsh, the infant adoption coordinator of A New Beginning Adoption Agency in Boise. “It's just a way to raise awareness of growing your family through adoption, and growing love through adoption.”
A New Beginning Adoption Agency in Boise helps facilitate every type of adoption for birth families and adoptive families, ranging from infant adoption, foster adoption, even international adoption.
In 2018, the agency was given the opportunity to find a newborn girl with special needs a loving home. Her name is Jada, lovingly called “Baby J”.
“We received a call from St. Luke's and they had a woman there who had a baby that had some special needs,” Walsh said. “She wanted to consider adoption, so I went the next day and met with Jada's birth mother.”
Jada was born with an extremely rare genetic disease called PCH-2, which impacts her brain development and her ability to move, communicate, eat, and see.
Sadly, children born with this condition often pass away during childhood.
“Jada's birth mother loved her dearly, but knew her special needs were something she couldn't meet, so she asked A New Beginning to find a family for her,” Walsh said. “Our initial thought was we needed to find a cradle care family to just love that baby while we looked for a permanent family.”
The Peiffer family of Jerome, Idaho came to mind instantly.
Scott and Tari Peiffer have 13 children, nine of them adopted as babies. Their 7-year-old adopted daughter, Olivia, also has special needs.
“We adopted our little Olivia, she was born without eyes, and she is completely blind," Tari Peiffer said. "She also has hearing loss, she's non-verbal, she doesn't walk, but she is amazing and she teaches us all the time what unconditional love is."
When the agency called the Peiffers to ask if they could care for Jada temporarily, they were happy to help.
“They needed a family to care for Jada while they looked for a [permanent] family for her," Tari Peiffer said. "We knew she would be a blessing in somebody's life and we jumped at the chance to have her in our home for a couple of weeks while they looked for a family. You can imagine after her being in our home for two weeks, we were completely in love."
Scott Peiffer said there is something so special about each child that has come into their home. Jada was no different.
“There is such a connection there,” he said.
The Peiffers knew early on they did not want just want to be Jada's temporary family; they wanted to give her a forever home.
“We just kind of knew, it's just one of those things,” Tari Peiffer said. “You just know when a child is meant to be a part of your family.”
The family couldn’t wait to share their decision with the adoption agency. Walsh and the rest of the agency was beyond excited.
"Our agency just took good care of them and got them approved to adopt again,” Walsh said.
Scott and Tari Peiffer then told their other children the good news. They knew the agency was looking for another family for Jada and had no idea their mom and dad had decided to adopt her.
Tari Peiffer couldn’t wait to share the news.
“I said 'Hey you guys, I just wanted to let you know that the family that they selected for baby Jada is us,'” Tari said through tears. “They started crying and the shocked look on their faces, it was amazing.”
Baby Jada couldn’t be in a better home, according to Walsh. She will be two in February and is so loved in the Peiffer family.
“The Peiffers are beyond compassionate, and an empathetic, loving family,” Walsh said. “You walk in their home and you just feel the presence of love and the presence of the Lord, and their children, there's just this unity there.”
The Peiffers don’t know how much time they will have with sweet Jada, but they say they will treasure every day they do have with her.
“For her, it's about making sure that she knows she is loved and cared for,” Tari Peiffer said. “If her life is very short, or if she is with us for longer than we have previously been told, we are going to cherish every day because her life is truly a blessing.”
The Peiffers said adoption and special needs adoption is the best thing to happen to their family. They have some advice for Idaho families who have been thinking about it.
“I would say go for it, you will never ever regret taking that leap,” Tari Peiffer said.
This big, beautiful family proves there's always enough love to go around.
“The amount of joy and love these little special ones have brought into our family, it's priceless.”
If adoption is something in your heart, just reach out and start the conversation. The folks at A New Beginning are there to help guide you through the process.
They have ZOOM adoption information seminars coming up in December that you can be a part of. There is more information on their website.
December 1 - @ 6 pm - Infant Adoption
December 15 - 6 pm - Foster Adoption & International
We are also available to do one-on-one calls with families. Email admin@adoptanewbeginning.org or call 208-939-3865 to schedule.
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