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GudJen

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GudJen last won the day on July 22 2013

GudJen had the most liked content!

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    Chicago, IL

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    Adopting Parent

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  1. God listens even when we think he must be preoccupied with something else! What a lovely story and a wonderful addition. Prayers to her first family as well.
  2. What an amazing blessing to this baby girl to have so many that adore her! Our thoughts and prayers are with her whole first family as they work through their grief. And our hearts are so full for Steven, Melissa and Oliver as they welcome Amelia to their lovely family.
  3. What blessed news! Congrats to this wonderful new family and prayers for the Mamma making such a brave sacrifice!
  4. Hello Katie and Matt, I know how agonizing it can be to make such a major leap of faith. It feels strange to step out of one line, not sure if the next one is any faster, better, etc. We are from Chicago and researched local agencies, but the fit was just not right for us. I am a person who asks a lot of questions and we were afraid in a larger agency, we would be a number on a sheet. We heard about Abrazo through our doctor, as she had a patient with two placements through Abrazo. We began to research Abrazo and went into orientation unsure of the decision to fly all the way to Texas. But we knew we were in the right place by the end of the weekend. The other couples were awesome and supportive and we just knew it was right. We hadn't completed our homestudy when we attended orientation February 2010, and it took seemingly forever. May 18th we got our homestudy approval and spoke to our first 2 expectant mothers. We matched the following week. This match did not result in placement, however, we still remain in contact with this family. Three weeks later, we talked to a lovely woman and a week later we were signing entrustment papers. Our wait time from orientation was less than 5 months. We came back to Abrazo for orientation in February 2013 to expand our family. We literally finished our homestudy today! We have such a sense of peace about working with Abrazo. This is a group that cares about all aspects of the adoption triad. This is one of the most emotionally charged experiences of my life and it was paramount in my mind to have someone with experience, with compassion, and with a sense of humor. Because it is a roller coaster!!! We wish you the best in your journey and look forward to cheering you on from the sidelines!
  5. Perfectly said...we second these sentiments.
  6. Thanks for posting this Melissa. It's so heartbreaking, but loving to read this mother's journey. Before Drake came into our lives, I really contemplated what would make a mother choose us. But I came to the same conclusion as the author, God brought us together. It's hard to remember at the time, but I hope I carry it with me on this journey.
  7. Praying for all that love this baby girl! Thinking of you Teri and Stephen and the road that brought you to this day.
  8. Just wanted to let everyone know that we found a children's book that I really liked for this. It's called I'm a Big Brother by Joanna Cole (I found it on Amazon). I'm pretty sure she has one called I'm a Big Sister too. Landon really responded to this book and I especially love the last two pages which say: Mommy loves me. Daddy loves me. I am special to them. I'm the only me in the whole world! I'm special in a new way, too -- I'm a big brother now! I would recommend for anyone with a child that's soon to become a big brother/sister (or who just became one recently as we still read it to Landon). Jumping online to buy one. We have an Elmo Big brother book, too, but haven't started reading it to Drake yet. Thought we would keep talking in general terms until we are closer. Thanks for the tip.
  9. Congrats to Scott and Deb! Looking forward to seeing you all this summer! Keeping prayers for all that love baby Alex!
  10. Thinking of all those that love Kay today. Her family must be grieving her so.
  11. Welcome Baby Joshua! Sending out love and prayers to all that hold this little one dear.
  12. Oh my goodness, the horror of those words, Elizabeth. Knowing your personality, I am sure you found a way to sweetly put that fella in the right frame of mine. Like Scott, I guess I don't feel strongly one way or the other with fundraising. The topic of the cost of adoption comes up so much more than I imagined it would when folks find out Drake is adopted. I firmly, but politely tell inquiring minds that it is simply none of their business. I had not even considered this could be a topic that is sensitive to adoptees, so I appreciate the conversation. I love Oliver's Mimi's response!
  13. Thanks y'all for the advice. I spoke to Elizabeth today and got some resources. I have been so surprised by the limited providers of homestudy here in Chicago. Many of the agencies will not provide the service unless you are using their full scale program. I was joking with Gaby the other day (we used the same agency for the homestudy) that I'll pass along my info to them when they are ready to adopt again. That Xavi is so gorgeous and sweet! Anyhow, tomorrow is moving day, and then Thursday, I will get some answers. I'll keep you posted.
  14. Well, we have been talking to the agency that did our original homestudy, and are we in for a shock. An update is essentially everything we did the first time, but now includes Drake. To the tune of $3300, $200 less than our original homestudy. Are you kidding me? And they just disclosed that because we are renovating our house, we won't be able to get much of the paperwork moving because we are not in residence at our home. Huh? This sounds fishy to me. I will reach out to Abrazo tomorrow and scour the State of Illinois website. First time around they took FOREVER to finish our homestudy. Might be time for a change. Ugh!
  15. Reading this entire thread again is so interesting. Besides the adorable timing of Miss Madelyn, i find it interesting that so many of us hold the same fears. And there is great advice, too. I hope this will give me inspiration to finish my section on Drake and get our profile in already.
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