HJBurken

My husband and I were also of different faiths. It was time for us to finally choose when our girls were 2 and 3 yrs old. We definitely looked at how strong the children's programs were in our choices. We have been so blessed to have found one that has our girls so enthusiastic about Christian learning. Our church also has an awesome children's choir and they just love to sing about Jesus! Hope

A friend of mine who adopted from Guatemala also told me that this tax credit wouldn't apply for adopting a full Anglo child. Does anyone else have any insight into this scenario?

Thank you, Pamela, for posting pics. And thank you too for all you girls do to help create new families. Hope

What another wonderful and amazing story! Blessings to all!

Blessings to the newest Rat Family and their new birthfamily! We've all been waiting to see this board hopping! Hopefully, it's just the start of a busy week!

Our thoughts are with you this week, Jenny. Hang in there. Thanks for sharing your story as well, Teena. Our lives just unfold before us. Even with all of the heartache, I know I will look back later in life and see the purpose in all of it...I know I already have begun too.

HHMMM...most of the preemies I took care of in NICU were prescribed caffeine! Maybe this couple is truly misinformed and making terrible assumptions?! I'm hoping they don't have a medical background.

Is this what I have to look forward to in....6 yrs old now + 7 = 13....7 years? You're a riot!

This is interesting because our criminal background check with our last update came back in less than 7 days so it seemed to move VERY fast. I see your point though that with that kind of distance between you and your social worker, it would make spur of the moment appointments very difficult. -A I'm certain our state ones are back but I will let you know how long our FBI checks take. Wouldn't it be great if our case worker tells us on her visit tomorrow that they are back!

Just adding our situation here... We are currently doing our annual update including criminal checks. In trying to chat with the agency doing our homestudy about an immediate update (for an imminent placement scenario), they kept asking us, "how are other people able to get an update done so quickly." This always bothered us a bit. We happen to live 100+ miles from our case worker, so that is not an easy one to schedule. And, we all know how long criminal checks can take. We just decided to update now so it won't be as involved when it comes to an update within 30 days of placement. It is all worth it in the end, but the distance from our case worker is a major factor to consider since the new TX rule states an in-home visit is necessary and a phone update or meeting somewhere else is no longer an option for that 30 day placement rule. I guess what I'm saying too is to check with your case worker as well about doing urgent updates to get a feel for how they would respond to such a request. Much more at ease now that we are updating everything even though we will still need to meet the 30 day placement requirement... Hope

Boy, you guys are really pulling on the Iowa trivia with the Music Man! Good one again! CONGRATS BRIAN, NICOLE, ISABELLA, AND GABRIELLA! Much love from some fellow Eastern Iowans!

Gosh, I just get so excited and can't help but wonder what the write-up will be for us someday! I love reading these! Congrats once again to N. Joel's new family!

Sweet Tea for everyone...right David!!! This match was truly written in the stars (and appropriately written up by Abrazo) !!! Blessings (and we want a picture ) From the Burken Shooters in MO

I'll give Elizabeth a chance to answer and will call soon if she doesn't. We're also just trying to keep expenses at a minimum too. Thanks for chiming in guys! Hope

Welcome, Victoria! How pretty you are with your new mom and dad! (Do we know who they are, Victoria?) Hope

This is a homestudy "what if" question... We are homestudy approved for an international adoption and have been advised to wait to update and change it to domestic until closer to placement. What happens if we are chosen for an immediate placement? Our homestudy certainly does not meet TX requirements now and I believe they require 5 visits? We had 2 visits for our original international homestudy. Just wondering if we should be working on it sooner? Hope

I think infertility sex in attempt to conceive is about as bad as it can get for a married couple!!! Whoever said that definitely has no idea. It is amazing the release and fun that comes back to the bedroom when you do give up on trying. Jenny So true, so true! Hope

Welcome, Cameon! Gee, I can't imagine you would be turned away for being too large a family. I have been on a few forums and have met more than a few families much larger than yours! I guess that would depend on an approved homestudy. We are waiting to be matched for our #3. The birthmoms we have spoken too felt strongly that they wanted their baby to have siblings already in the household. And some want their baby to be the first-born. I know Abrazo accepts applications for orientations based on such needs including gender and racial preference as well. I have confidence we are well on our way to meeting our third child! All our best to you, Hope in MO

Are there any statistics on that one?! How about this one..... "Well at least you don't have to experience all the pains of pregnancy" And in our case of surrogacy... "someone else will have too" UGH!

Great idea, Andrea! Mine was "Just relax and it will happen" Another one..."Now that you've had one baby, it should be easy to have another one" I even had it described to me and the body being flushed clean! Hope PS...I've heard that one too, Jenny..."Just wait, you'll adopt and then get pregnant" My response was usually, "Bring it on!"

So excited to read about new families being formed! Congrats to all!!!!! Hope

What a wonderful announcement! Blessings to all...can't wait to hear more! Hope

Very cool! How about that for an extra special Mother's Day! Congrats Joe & Kim! Hope in MO

I've been registered for 2 months and I'm still discovering new things all the time! Just discovered where to look for older topics. Welcome, Cathy Hope in MO

Thank you, Elizabeth! I use a tracking number as well but it was due to arrive on a Saturday so thought I'd better check. Hope