Where Are They Now? Mae & Sena

Five years ago, we shared with you the story of Mae and her adoptive mother, Sena. Sena adopted Mae from foster care and they shared an incredible bond right away. So what are Mae and Sena up to now? 

Mae is now 14 and in 8th grade. She likes doing Diamond Dots, sketching, listening to music, sports (she plays volleyball and softball) and being with her friends. 

Mae and Sena recently moved back to Oregon from Hawaii, where they loved being outdoors at the beach swimming, paddleboarding and snorkeling. Now their hobbies have changed, but you can find them shopping, eating, going to the park, playing volleyball and softball (which Sena coaches), and playing board games like Catan and Wingspan. 

COVID & Ice Cream

The two still get along famously.  

“There’s nothing I don’t like about her,” Mae laughed. “I like how she’s always there for me, how smart, funny, kind and beautiful she is. I like everything about her pretty much.” 

This August marked seven years since Mae has been home, which Sena likes to call “plus time,” because she’s now been home longer than she was anywhere else.  

“I love her resilience and how she’s centered in who she is,” Sena said. “She has come into a more open and funny personality.” 

The COVID pandemic was a blessing in disguise for Mae and Sena, who cherished having extra time together at home.  

“Being present with each other for such a long time, I think we made up for some time that we didn’t have before,” Sena said. 

Although COVID times were spent at home, Mae and Sena have had plenty of adventures together over the past few years. This summer they traveled to Minnesota for Sena’s seminary graduation. They also love taking advantage of urban life by going to concerts. They’ve seen Dwight Yoakam, Sawyer Brown, Eric Church, Melissa Etheridge and a Tom Petty cover band together, to name a few. Still, one of their favorite memories together was Mae’s official adoption day, which they still celebrate with ice cream on August 10 each year.  

“That’s a tradition that we’re going to keep forever, even when she’s gone away somewhere else,” Sena said. 

“We’ll Facetime each other eating ice cream!” Mae added. 

What’s Next?

The family also has plenty of plans to look forward to in the future. Sena is working on a career change and now that she’s finished seminary, she’s waiting for her first calling to be a pastor, which could take the two to a new community. 

“That’s another thing that I really appreciate about her is that...she always just goes with the flow and I’m not so worried about it because we know that home is where we are,” Sena said. 

Next spring when Mae graduates 8th grade, the two hope to make a trip to Australia and Hawaii to visit family. 

After high school, Mae said she would like to join the Air Force. She thinks that would be a cool job and flying a jet would be fun. 

“My inspiration is Top Gun: Maverick,” Mae said. 

Lessons Learned

“I guess I’ve been overwhelmed by how powerful love is to heal,” Sena said.  

She said that at first she had doubts about whether they could do this, but the pair has made huge progress in their seven years together, and the doubts have melted away slowly as they’ve worked through things. 

“Love is an amazing thing,” Sena said.