Support Joseph and Tori's Embryo Adoption Journey

Our Story

Many of you may not know, but I (Tori) had an ectopic pregnancy in October of 2023. An ectopic pregnancy is when the embryo implants where it is not supposed to, in my case a fallopian tube. I had only known I was pregnant for four days before I went to the emergency room in hypovolemic shock , as my tube had ruptured from the growing baby. I was rushed into an emergency laparotomy where I lost my right tube and the baby.

The Lord was watching over us that day and protected me. I lost 2.57 liters of blood, or about 60% of my body's blood volume, which required 7 transfusions. My surgery required an 8 week recovery, which was a blessing in disguise as it allowed us time to grieve as well as process the emotional and medical trauma of the day that changed our lives forever.

It’s been a long year of healing and trusting in the Lord. While I still think of Baby Brown every day, we have been able to apply Philippians 4:6-7 to our lives: asking for the peace of God that can transcend all understanding, no matter our circumstances.

I take comfort in that God used us to create a little human that He gave a soul. A soul that does not have to go through any of the suffering his parents do on earth, but gets to spend all of eternity in peace with Him. I am so jealous that God gets so much time with my baby and I only knew of his existence for several days. But I know my child is in Paradise with the perfect Father and that I will get to spend eternity with him one day.

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Luke 18:16

An ebenezer Tori embroidered several days after discharging home.

Our Call to Adoption

We have learned this past year that we will most likely not be able to have children of our own, except through IVF. However, it is estimated that there are over one million frozen children in just the United States alone that were already created for IVF but never transferred to the mother.

Couples usually create 5-10 embryos when they go through IVF, and they rarely use them all if IVF cycles are successful. Embryos can be frozen indefinitely, and many couples struggle for years, even decades, with deciding what to do with the lives they created. In the last 20-30 years, it is becoming more common for families to put their children up for "embryo adoption ," or the donation of their embryos to another family.

Joseph and I have known for years that we wanted to adopt, and now the calling is clear and the time is right. Through the unique experience of embryo adoption, we can give some of these frozen children, or “snowflake babies ,” a chance at life.

We are reaching out to our friends, family, and church community for support. While it is hard to share something so personal and painful with others, we believe in the power of prayer and will be asking many people to pray for us. We covet your prayers for:

We believe God's answer for having our own children is "no" because His answer for adoption is "yes." Please pray that this is God's will for our family (Matthew 18:19-20).

Embryo adoption comes with its own set of challenges, including the significant financial burden. Each attempt for an embryo transfer costs about $11,000, including all of the medications, procedures, tests, and embryo donation program fees. Each additional embryo transfer is $6,000 in the event of a miscarriage or if the baby does not survive the thaw. If you feel led, we would appreciate your financial support in our journey so that we can give multiple babies a chance at life. We are just beginning the process with our chosen program, so several months of appointments, medications, and saving funds are anticipated before we attempt an embryo transfer.

We memorized Psalm 27 early in our marriage, not knowing God would use it to sustain us through this season. I have meditated on the ending over and over this last year:

I remain confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord;

be strong and take heart

and wait for the Lord.