‘I felt at peace’: Idaho woman adopted at birth reunites with biological family

A woman adopted at birth found her biological family, and recently spoke about the love and respect she has for both her adoptive parents and biological parents.

Key Takeaways:

• Naomi Randall was placed for adoption by her biological mother, Nikki Lindsay, when she was an infant.

• Randall’s adoptive parents always spoke highly of Lindsay, praising the sacrifice she made for Randall.

• Now an adult, Randall did an internet search to find Lindsay and reconnect with her biological family.

• She spoke about the benefits of having both an adoptive family and a biological family in her life.

The Details:

Adopted as a newborn, Naomi Rose Randall had just one photo of her 17-year-old biological mother, Nikki Lindsay, tearfully holding the infant Randall while Randall’s adoptive mother, Terry, looked on. That photo served as the only connection Randall had to her birth mother.

“She was saying goodbye to me and handing me to my mom,” Randall said. “My mom was comforting her, knowing that this young girl had made the ultimate sacrifice to allow her to become a mother.”

“I was in tears,” Lindsay told the Idaho State Journal about the experience. “It was a mixture of love and joy at the same time. As soon as I put Naomi in their arms, I walked out and I heard her cry, and as a mother, you want to turn around and go back and comfort your child. I said, ‘No, this was the best thing for her. I’m very young. I’m 17 years old.'”

Randall told East Idaho News that she always knew she was adopted, as it was something her parents never tried to hide. They also spoke highly of her birth mother and the sacrifice she made for Randall.

“Ever since I was little, my parents were very open about the fact that I was adopted and that my biological mother loved me very, very much,” Randall said.

As an adult, she felt a need to try and find her biological family.

“I just did this Google search of ‘In Idaho, how do I find my [biological] parents?’ And coming to find out, it’s actually really difficult to try and find any information in Idaho,” she explained. “I have some medical things that are going on, and I just kind of wanted to know (my) basic medical information. That way I could give my doctors an idea of like, ‘Oh yeah, this does run in my family.’”

In July, she found a Facebook group dedicated to helping people reunite with lost family members. She posted the one photo she had of Lindsay, and within 15 minutes, she received a message from Lindsay’s sister.

After a series of back-and-forth conversations, Randall learned that she had many biological relatives, including her mother and father, who are still together, living just two hours away. She messaged Lindsay and had an instant connection.

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“They had both been looking for me… come to find out they’d been looking for me since I had turned 18,” Randall said. “I video called her, and I was trying to be all cute and do the whole, ‘Hi, Mom, I’m your daughter!’ like you see in the movies and stuff, but I was only able to get out, ‘Hi!’ and I lost it. I broke down crying.”

Randall drove two hours to meet her biological family, where they greeted her with open arms.

“I get out of my car, and [Lindsay] comes running up and gives me the biggest hug in the world,” Randall said. “I held on, and I hugged her back, and I felt at peace. I felt this huge weight lift off my shoulders that I didn’t even know was there.”

Her dad was there, too.

“I turned around and there was my dad just standing there, and I gave him a hug. He did not want to let me go at all,” Randall said. “As he was hugging me, I went, ‘Huh, this hug feels very familiar.’ And my daughter, she’s 3, and she hugs the exact same way.”

Randall was also touched to learn that although they had placed her for adoption, her biological parents never forgot about her.

“They told me that every single year on my birthday, they’ve done like a little thing, and that they have 24 birthday cards for me,” Randall said. “They’ve never forgotten my birthday.”

The Bottom Line:

Randall’s experience is an important reminder that adoption (especially open adoption) can be a positive alternative when a young mother feels unable to parent her baby. Throughout her interview, Randall focused on the benefits of growing up in a loving family, while also getting the chance to meet her biological family.

“I have kids of my own now, and so it’s really exciting to be able to get to know my bio-parents, and be able to let my kids get to know them,” she noted. “They have a whole new set of grandparents now.”

She also expressed appreciation for how her biological family is respecting her adoptive parents.

“One thing I absolutely love is that they are not discrediting that my adoptive mother Terry is my mom, because she is,” Randall said. “I mean, she raised me for my whole life. … They are my parents, but it’s definitely a different feeling when you find those people that you’re related to by blood and they are so accepting and so loving and they’ve been searching for you too.”

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