Garden of Hope

That's wonderful, Trisha!! Don't worry about crying. Tears cleanse the soul and heal the heart. What a blessing Jonas and all the other members of the triad have received in this reunion of possibilities! I'll be praying that it exceeds all your expectations.

Wow, Karen. What an inappropriate statement for anyone to make and most especially a teacher. Obviously, the teacher knows that he has students who are adopted and proud of it. What an insensitive oaf!! He obviously needs to be educated on postive adoption language, open adoption, and how to be an intelligent, positive member of the teaching profession. UGH!!! Cassie is so fortunate that you have given her the gift of her history in all it's beautiful glory. I feel very badly for the other child who may not have had that experience. SO sad.

What a glorious "past"! I know Cassie's teacher, classmates, and family were spellbound to hear her tale and proud as can be of her talents as a writer and proud adoptee!

Isn't life glorious?! Yours is a truly amazing and beautiful story. And Elizabeth, who always knows exactly what to say, helped us all celebrate with you!

Congratulations Cameo and Denny. What a beautiful way in which God has knit these two families together. Meant to be, I would say.

Informed, proactive, love may not conquer all, but it can assure that proud, beautiful, productive children of rainbow families grow into confident, caring, productive, adults who are proud and beautiful, too.

first thing international adopters do is to strip their new Chinese babies of the only things that are familiar to them, in order to dress them in Gap clothes and slather them with American skin products, all so foreign at a time when children most need the comfort of that which smells and feels and sounds and looks familiar. I don't know if this common among all countries and orphanages, but it seems as though when my sister adopted her daughter two years ago and her son in January, that the officials asked the adoptive parents to leave the clothing that the child was wearing. They were also asked to bring 10 new outfits to leave with the orphanage. It seems as though it may be a situation of the orphanage administration not having enough extra clothing to allow the children to leave with "orphanage property". That is my guess. I'm hoping it's not a plot to rob these precious children of the comfort of their familiar smells and feels. I know that would never be the intention of my sister and her husband, who did learn basic phrases in Russian and have a friend who speaks Russian fluently come and talk and sing to their daughter to give her that comfort and familiar sound.

Congratulations, Scott and Char!!!! What a brave and loving birthmom you have! Congratulations on the the triad that was meant to be. Divinely so.

Congratulations to the newest Abrazo family. The baby is precious and her proud big sis and birthmom, too. Congratulations to everyone!

I think that all adoptions should be on a level playing field to all. If there is one baby and 2 families interested, then the "star" couple should not be the one to automatically get that child. However, in this case how many families are waiting on a 4 year old child from Vietnam??? Or a seriously ill little girl from Ethiopia who could have died???? I happen to think Angelina Jolie is awesome and she does so much for children everywhere. IF there were other couple waiting for this little boy and she pushed her way past them....shame on her.....but thats probably not the case. Here is a little more from the article I quoted yesterday. "Personally I prefer to stay on the right side of the law. I would never take a child away from a place where adoption is illegal" --Part of an interview with a French magazine in response to the "Madonna scandal. I was very glad to read this article which outlined that Angelina Jolie had done the paperwork and had followed all the procedures. If she chooses to donate money to the orphanage, that's wonderful, too. I hope she supports children's causes state side, too. I have no knowledge as to whether she does or not.

Us magazine has an article about the adoption plan. What follows are quotes from the article. "It's a Boy!" Adoption officials confirm Brad and Angelina are bringing home a 4-year-old son from Vietnam. "We would be very happy if a child here can be adopted," Nguyen Van Trung, director of the Tam Binh orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City, told a local Vietnamese newspaper. "On March 1, Vu Duc Long, head of the Ministry of Justice for Vietnam, confirmed to Us that his agency received from Jolie-who just returned from a trip to the African nation of Chad to galvanize support for Sudanese refugees-an application via an American adoption agency to adopt a 4-year-old boy from the Tam Binh orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City. This is the second stage of a Vietnamese adoption. Jolie, as first reported by Us, filed the first set of paperwork to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services during a January 18-19 trip to Vietnam, according to an insider close to the adoption. 'The kid is normal, healthy, and very good-looking,' says the Vietnamese source, adding that Jolie-who sub\mitted the requisite paperwork as a single parent because Vietnamese law mandates that an unmarried couple can't adopt a child together--and Pitt, 43, have asked that the name of the boy be kept confidential. (He is about one year younger than Maddox, 5, who was born in neighboring Cambodia) "As for how long until the newest memeber of the Brangelina posse can move into the couple's #3.5 million New Orleans mansion, the adoption procedure takes no more than four months, says Nguyen Cong Khanh, the depty head of the country's International Adoption Department. And the A-list actress won't be given any preferential treatment. '[Jolie] will have to follow preocedure like any other American,' Long tells Us. 'No priority will be given to them. They will be treated equally as any other people'. There may an added incentive to rush things along, 'She promised to give #2 million to the Tam Binh orphanage on the very day she receives the child,' the Vietnamese insider rtess Us. Of note: The actual adoption fee is only about $125." (Jolie's rep didn't respond to a request for comment; Pitt's rep had no comment.) "Jolie publicly hinted at an impending adoption in December, telling Diane Sawyer that the biggest challenge was determining what country to adopt from. 'You know, now the questions are more when you have a mixed-race family, do you balance the races so there's another African person in the house for Z?' she said, referring to Ehiopia-born Zahara, 2. 'So there's another Asian person in the house for Madd? Shiloh has Brad and me that she can look at.'" "But Jolie may have actually first become acquainted with her future son back in November, when she and Pitt visited the Tam Binh orphanage during Thanksgiving. 'The couple passed out toys to the orphans, who were very happy and responsive,' anemployee at the orphanage, who shared a meal with the pair, tells Us. Did they pay special attention to anyone in particular? 'They played with all the kids,' says the orphanage worker, but speculates that the boy Jolie is adopting may have met with his new mom during her January trip, at an off-site location." "There's no question that Pitt and Jolie, who have always taken a very hands-on approach to parenting, will expertly handle their fourth child. 'Brad and Angelina are very down-to-earth people,' Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, the director of the acclaimed drama Babel, in which Pitt starred, recently told Us. 'It is great they are adopting more kids....They are doing what they need to do.' And the A-list couple's work never gets in the way of their family. Case in point: Pitt recently brought Shiloh to the New Orleans set of his new fantasy drama, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and toted her around the neighborhood on his shoulders to meet other local children. 'He does on all of his kids,' an eye-witness tells Us. 'He's great with them-patient and calm. He was made to be a dad, that's for sure'. I'm not going to "proof" this, so I apologize in advance for any typos.

Congratulations to the newest Abrazo birthfamily, Abrazo Babe, and Adoptive Mom and Dad! Miracles and blessings beyond our wildest dreams. Praise God!

I think she should have to abide by the same rules as everyone else. There are lots of other places that will consider singles as adoptive parent(s).

Hi Jenny, Abrazo is very practical about the invitations for orientation. They look at their pool of expectant birthmoms, their pool of adoptive parents, and their projections for both in the upcoming months. That is how how they determine the types of families they can reasonably expect to place within a 12 month period. The best way to get the most correct answers to your questions is to call and talk to Angela at Abrazo. She can give you all the most up to date information. Adoption is totally a case by case situation. One never knows where the journey will take you. (Fast track? Detours? Scenic route?) Just keep the faith and know that you have selected the best agency in the country. Hugs, Jean

Wow, Elizabeth. What a touching announcement. God has blessed this special family with a new baby boy and HE has blessed you with the gift of words. CONGRATULATIONS DEBRA, MAURY AND BIG SISTER SAMANTHA. I am so happy for you. What a precious gift sent specifically to you from your heavenly fathers. PRAISE GOD!

Welcome Jenny and Shawn! Abrazo is the BEST! Stamp that envelope and send in that inquiry asap!!! Call the "girls" at Abrazo and talk to anyone and everyone. They're all great. Angela is the adoptive parent coordinator, though and Elizabeth is the number one diva/director. (All kidding aside--CALL) You'll be glad you did! Jean

Precious family. Congratulations!

Bless your heart, Lisa. You have a personal guardian angel who is the bee's knees. (Love that)

Lisa, How wonderful that you and your dad and his wife have a positive and ongoing relationship with your child's adoptive parents. I was struck by the loyality the AP feel toward you and the support they show through their approach to dealing with your mom's contact attempts. How sad she can't just "buck up" and approach it differently to have a positive relationship there and with her birth grandchild. Somebody did something right as you have grown up pretty smart and level headed! Thanks for sharing that part of yourself. Hugs, Jean

Congratulations on your precious little bundle of blue!!!

You are SO SMART, Elizabeth!

Love the tears of joy. Awesome family photo!!! CONGRATULATIONS!

Well, We're not from Idaho, we did attend Orientation, and we are not headed to Camp Abrazo.. All that factored with the fact that we haven't yet matched says "IT'S NOT US" Congrats to whoever's family just grew in size today CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEWEST ABRAZO FAMILY!!!!!!!!! SOME THINGS ARE JUST MEANT TO BE. Now Adam, WHY AREN'T YOU COMING TO CAMP???? WE ALL WANT TO ENJOY YOUR HUMOR IN PERSON AND WE CERTAINLY WANT TO MEET THE NEWEST IDAHO ABRAZO FAMILY.