Andrea & Blake

Wow! So many boys. Congratulations to everyone. Andrea

Prayers for you and your family as you weather this newest loss Andrea

I am so excited to see your family picture!!! Congrats again! Andrea

Congratulations to this newly expanded family. Your group holds and extra special place in my heart because you were there to witness as we welcomed our daughter into our lives (who celebrates her first birthday in 2 days). What a perfect weekend to celebrate this addition. Andrea

Listening is the key, because sometimes the voice is so soft, so random, or so fleeting, it is hard to recognize as "The Voice". And I often have many competing voices/ideas/conversations going around up there I shared on another thread about the feeling that were would have a boy shortly after M was born. And that right now I can't imagine a different life, or one more fulfilling than our little four-some. But i leave myself open to possibilities (and hope that God doesn't have such a sense of humor that he would wait another 10 years to reveal a greater plan). What will be will be. A

congratulations to the new moms and dad and the large extended family that love this little girl. andrea

happy 3rd birthday, sloane. blessings for many many more! andrea

amen!!!! i have answered prayers in this new part-time job and new experience we are about to have. and i have often wanted to stay at home full time. but then i have weekends (or a few hours before bedtime after a trying day) and i question my ability to be a full time at home mom. because i get so frustrated in so many of those chronos moments. (and i struggle with counting down to bedtime knowing i have missed my children all day). honestly i have fear about my ability to thrive with more days at home. i am thinking about another forum member's facebook post sharing some FANTASTIC win

thanks melissa. i believe every little bit has helped us forge this strong bond we have with our now extended family. lighting a candle for all of our first families. andrea

little gavin-what a way to welcome in 2012. congratulations to all who love him! andrea

i highly recommend Everyday Grace by Marianne Williamson andrea

i agree that it is a frequent misconception. before becoming educated myself, (and having come from foster parenting classes prior to going to orientation) that was one of the issues that made me wary of open adoption. so glad to have come full circle. andrea

skype has been great with keeping the kids connected to grandparents and extended family. we've also been able to skype almost weekly with our daughter's birthfamily. andrea

ya hooh for pax to connect with his birth grandparent...........how many years later? we continue to hope that our families will be able to maintain at minimum yearly visits and we hope to continue to add blood familial connections over time. Esperanza must know where she comes from and who carries her past. she looks like my extended family, but i want her to always connect physically to her original mom and dad and siblings. we all do what we cando........and hope it is enough..... andrea

i can honestly say that our birthparents were interested in their daughter having siblings, ,,,,,,and in our case a sister. our 2 girls absolutely adore each other and are the first person each other notices and plays with. thier bond was immediate and had been a constant in our common relationship, i feel like we are trying to find connections with E's birth sisters and brother in order to maintain long term connections. ultimately what it all boils down to is making sure that our daughter maintains as many genetic connections to her parents, sisters, and brother, as well as any other ext