Monica281

Funny

Welcome to the world Baby Cecilia and a big congrats to all who love you so!!

I will pass the word to a few of my friends who are thinking about starting an adoption journey.

Thanks! I can't wait!! I got my order today!! I know my mom is going to love it! Thanks Tara!

Me too!! She is such a wise and compassionate person, we really do value you Mari!!!

That's a great question, I unfortunately don't have any ideas but would love to hear if anyone else does. Garrett doesn't seem to understand it either, we aren't matched yet but we still talk to him about having a baby in the house.

Thanks! I can't wait!!

I just placed my order, I can't wait to get it!! Thanks Tara!!

Welcome to world Ariel and may you always know just how loved you are by all your family!!

Mari, I love to hear that other people buy their pets gifts. We have always given our dogs or cats a little stocking with a new toy or treat in them. One year we had a dog that just couldn't wait and he tore up his stocking trying to get to his treats, after that we waited until Christmas morning to put their "gifts" out.

Welcome to the world little one and congrats to all who love you so!

Congratulations Andrius & Gaby and welcome Baby Xavier! What a very special holiday week for your family.

Did I miss the link somewhere?? We should be good for the last week-end in February.

Congrats Kim & Gip!! Welcome to the world baby Irie!!!

Yes the same thing happened with ours. We did finally get it but it took several additional months.

Love the newest pictures!

Happy Birthday to you Mari!!!

That's a great question Mandi! (As always ) I know that in the past when we have been out with Garrett's birthmom I always worried someone might say who's his mom or something along those lines that might make her feel uncomfortable or hurt her feelings. I never want her to feel out of place and I want to respect her as well. I think that is another one of those things that should be discussed with one another just like what does the birthmom want to be called by/around the child.

Welcome to world Riley!! Congrats to all you love you!!

When we lost our cat a few years ago, out vet sent us a card and poem too. They also took his footprints in a plaster heart. It was so sweet that they thought of us. If the poem is the one about the "Rainbow Bridge" it is very hard to get through.

I am so sorry to hear about your families dog, it is never easy to say good bye to someone we love. My thoughts and prayers are being sent.

Yes, it's good times! The nice thing was that we referenced our old application a lot to help with some of the details. It was interesting to see how we answered the questions in what I'd call the essay portion of the app...and then to think of how our views had changed after going through the adoption process once. For instance, I vividly remember the question on what contact info we'd share with a birthfamily and the first time we answered it something like "we'd share our email address". I'm sure we were afraid of being bombarded via phone, mail, and a visit on our doorstep by a birthmom looking for her child back in a couple years...um silly us! We had a lot to learn but I can look back at some of those responses and worries and see how we've grown in the 3+ years since we first started looking into adoption. I didn't really enjoy filling out ALL the paperwork again but understood why we needed to and it was kinda fun to reflect on where we were in the past and where we've come to now. Jocelyn, you sound like us. It was pretty neat to see how much we had "grown" in our adoption views. We also had put something like we would give out our email. We have learned so much and why it is so important for Garrett to have the relationship that we are growing with his birthmom. I would never have guessed that she would have been to our home and that we would have the type of relationship that we have. We were silly weren't we! So here's to all of us who have grown and opened our minds and our hearts!!

Yes you will need the references again

We are in Houston but most of the time with advance notice we can be in San Antonio it's only 3 hour drive for us. We would love to get a group going in Texas! We have been trying to activate the Houston group but haven't been successful yet. We are actually going to San Antonio next week Thursday-Sunday for a mini-stacation. We plan on taking Garrett to Sea World and a few other things. I am ready for a little fun!!

Thanks for you post Ellen as always you have a very eloquent way with words!