Steven&Melissa

We are SO happy for you, Brent and Lynn and Caleb, too! What wonderful parents Avery has and we are so thrilled to see your baby girl find you!! Congratulations!!!!

I love the thought of a bigger Memphis crowd. We've been so blessed recently with families who attend gatherings and get the kids together and I'd love to see that circle grow even bigger!!

Oh, no! Mari - I'm so sorry to hear you've been feeling so bad. I hope everything subsides quickly. We've known a few people in our lives with Fibromyalgia and it's been a really difficult path for them. Praying you are feeling as much relief as possible soon. You always have such a positive outlook, so I know your optimism will help you heal even faster.

Keeping you in our prayers, Mari!

When is the October, 2013 orientation weekend scheduled for?

Happy anniversary, Mari! 29 years is a wonderful accomplishment!

Congratulations!!!

I believe the standard is staple on the upper left corner. You might also consider providing a digital version of your profile (PDF if you created it electronically or scanning it as a PDF if you hand-made it) to the family services coordinator just in case there's a mother who wants to receive profiles electronically before she can receive them in the mail. This happened to us once at the start of our journey.

Wanted to add that I love the placement/family picture in the gallery!! So special!! Me, too! Such a beautiful family.

While I know today is a mix of emotions, I know there must be a sense of peace in these babies' birth mama over the amazing couple she chose. Congratulations to Steven and Becky and lots of prayers for the kids and every parent who loves them as they make this transition!

I love that, Mari.

FYI, it did arrive eventually. At right around the 4-month mark. Aside from that, I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed that they have a hard time not projecting the downfalls of other past, failed matches on their current match? I have a hard time not looking at things as me being 110% sure a placement will not happen, vs. even 50/50 sure that it might. I find myself trying to shoo myself out of a level of paranoia I felt with the 3-month match we had pre-Oliver. I honestly have to admit that I'm not really a person I like very much during the PIW phase in general. It tends to bring out the very worst in me and while I want to savor each day (especially these precious days we have as a family of 3, before things change), I am not really the best company for myself or others!

Congratulations, Jak and Tamara! I know it has probably felt like a loooong rollercoaster ride, so I'm glad you have the "proof" now that everything works out just as it's meant to. Welcome to the world sweet boy!

Mari - I hope you know that you're forging the way for adoptive parents here on the forum to keep an open mind about where their relationship might lead in the future with their child's birth parents. I know you and Lauranda have built up so much trust within your relationship and really have forged something amazing with them. I know it must have been so awesome for you all to have that special time with your granddaughter and I'm so happy to see the posts from both you and your daughter that are overflowing with love for your "angel girl." What an amazing dynamic you all have together and it makes me so happy thinking of all the love that surrounds her (and all members of her family). So glad you had such a wonderful weekend together! Continued prayers for your health and state of mind as well!

For real... such a great photo. Can't wait to see the first photo of all 4 of you together!

Praying this family can get ready quickly and loves this baby to the fullest.

I'm so sorry to hear you've had such a tough morning and that you have so much on your mind concerning your health. I know that can be such a shock to the system to hear that something might be wrong and the worry that comes along with that is a lot to have on your shoulders! You've got lots of prayers being said right now while I take a moment to pause from my work. Focusing on calmness of mind and body, just as you requested, but also throwing in some special prayers in there for your overall health and well-being!! Keep us updated, please.

Mari, there is something so special about the validation that comes with a compliment from any birth family member about an adoptive parent being good at something, the right fit, etc. It's really heartwarming to see what you had to say about Joe. So sweet.

Suzi said it perfectly. I can remember all those same questions, too. I read the forum from cover to cover, somehow trying to predict would would happen on our journey based on the stories of those who came before us. But I can testify that our first journey was unique and I'm sure our second one will be, too. No two stories are ever the same and there's just no safeguarding against the pain that inevitably comes along with adoption. What I can tell you, though, is that you become stronger than you ever thought possible and that's a trait that will serve you very well when you become parents. And as the Abrazochicks say, it's not "if" you become parents, but "when." So just keep trying to look on the bright side of "bad" situations... there is always a silver lining at Abrazo.

ditto!!!! Ditto?! Dyna... have you kept that home study fresh?! Ready to ride the roller coaster again and get Ty a baby sibling?

Hoping this is a possibility!!

Hi, Katie and Matt! Welcome to the forum. Glad to see you're already on here. With our first journey, we signed on officially with Abrazo at the beginning of May, 2010 and went through a couple of failed situations before getting "the" call on September 23 (4 months in) about a birthmom due to be induced the following Monday. We talked to her Thursday, she chose us Friday, we started our drive to Texas on Saturday and we met her first thing Monday morning in the hospital, where our son was born at 2pm. This time around we went to orientation 4 months ago in February, 2013 and have not been matched yet. All situations are so different. I remember our first time around wanting to understand everyone's situations because it made me feel hopeful that anything could happen. You could come into Abrazo and have a baby a day later or you could wait a year or more. There is just no way to know. No two stories or situations are the same! We signed on with Abrazo the first time around because I felt comfortable all the way around. The reason we came back the second time is because of the sense of family that's built by this community and that's something I really wanted for our second child as well. Good luck to you!

It looks awesome! Thanks for the link, Mari!

Congratulations, Jeff, Melissa and Abby! We are celebrating with you as we keep J close in prayer for peace in her heart.

This post was made in an open adoption group I belong to on Facebook today. They accept anonymous questions or comments and this one made me smile. I'm not a fan of hearing/saying, "my birthmom" or "our birthmom" because B isn't "my" or "our" birthmom... Oliver gets to own that piece of his history, but I loved the question from the birthmom below because there's such a sweetness to it: "Fan Question: Lately in my head (until this post) I have been referring to my birth-daughters Adoptive parents as MY adoptive parents, not because they are in any way parenting ME but because I chose them and they are awesome parents, I am proud of them! It feels more accurate than calling them THE adoptive parents. To my friends/family I use their 1st names but secretly I feel they are mine lol Is that weird?" The comments she received (22 in the past hour) gave different perspectives, and while I still call B "Ollie's birthmama," she is still "our" family and I do call her that. I don't say she's a member of "his" family because there is no doubt we're all intertwined and belong to one another now, though I do still believe the title of "my birthmother" is Oliver's alone. As an adoptive parent, there is something so validating about any hint from your child's birthparent that you are doing a good job or that they are proud of you, which makes me look at the message behind saying "my" or "our" a little more positively, wondering if birthparents feel the same way.