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TexasFamily

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Posts posted by TexasFamily

  6. Newsworthy Grandparents

    in The Family Room

    Posted

    Ok, I'm so excited! My Dad and my Step-Mom just closed on their new home. They will live about 30 to 45 minutes from us (It's Houston so there is always traffic :) ).

    I can't believe that they are leaving their hometown. I was so surprised when they told us a year ago that they were looking to build a house near Houston. They have pretty much lived there their whole entire lives but they wanted to live closer to their kids and their grandsons.

    My nephews and Alexander adore them, so it will be very nice to have them close by.

  8. Destiny, Divine Intervention Or Wishful Thinking?

    in Abrazo's Chapel Potluck

    Posted

    I read this today and wanted to share.

    Read | Psalm 25:20-21

    What are we to think when God withholds His answer to a prayer? Most likely, you’ve wondered this at some point. As creatures stuck within time, we can find those ticking seconds very frustrating.

    We must realize that God doesn’t see us simply in the here and now; He perceives the big picture all at once—where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going. He knows exactly how every little decision, action, or blessing will impact our lives.

    Do you think God wants to bring some- thing into your life that would absolutely destroy you? Of course not! He knows that what may be a tremendous blessing for you later could completely wreck your life now. For this reason, though the Lord hears your prayer, He often pauses to give you time to prepare for that blessing.

    Learning to wait on God demands at least three things of us. First, we must be sensitive to Him. That is, we must nurture our relationship with the Father so we can hear Him when He says “Wait.” Second, we must trust His judgment. Does God know more than we do? Yes. Then we should trust Him. Third, we must be obedient to Him. If we try to make something happen on our own after God tells us to wait, then we’re heading for disaster. The Lord blesses obedience—even obedient waiting.

    God doesn’t operate in a vacuum; He works within His relationship with you, on the basis of His omniscience, omnipotence, and love. Never forget He’s actively walking with you, even when He withholds an answer to prayer. It doesn’t mean He’s not there; it means He’s looking out for you even more.

    Copyright 2013 In Touch Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. www.intouch.org. In Touch grants permission to print for personal use only.

    Monica,

    Thanks for posting this. I've been on the forum most of the day on and off reading posts on certain topics.

    I needed to read this today.

    Leah x

  12. A Birth Grandmother's Role

    in BirthGrandparents & Important Others

    Posted

    Mari,

    Hello-

    No, M-I, is not currently in our lives.

    Kevin and I did not meet M-I until Alexander was almost 4 months old. She originally wanted a closed adoption. When we went to the hospital 2 days after Alexander was born to meet Audra and to meet Alexander, she had already elected to leave the hospital.

    We received a letter from her a month after Alexander was born, I spoke with her on the phone Christmas Eve of 2011 and we met her in San Antonio on a Sunday in February 2012. We had a lovely meeting and we were able to take a couple of pictures of her holding Alexander. She said that attending group meetings at Abrazo had really helped her and that is why she had decided to send us a letter.

    Anyway, we continued to text one another and we were due to meet after finalization in May of 2012 but she never returned our texts or calls that weekend. We had tried to contact her a few times after that weekend but she never returned any of the messages. We have not heard from her since that May.

    She rang Abrazo in Spring of last year and was planning on coming by and picking up the pictures and the letters that we had sent but she did not go by. We were very happy when Abrazo had called and told us she had contacted them. We were quite sad when Abrazo rang us and told us she did not go by.

    We always hope that she will make contact again. She bought Alexander a water globe that plays music and every night after his bath, we wind it up and dance to the song. We have the pictures of him and M-I together, so that he can see her. We treasure the pictures of them together so much.

    So we'll always go to San Antonio to show Alexander where he was born and to hopefully, one day meet with M-I, again.

    Thanks for asking and I hope that we can meet you when we head to San Antonio in 2014.

    Leah x

  13. A Birth Grandmother's Role

    in BirthGrandparents & Important Others

    Posted

    Mari, our family makes a trip to San Antonio every March to teach Jordan about her birth story and to make attempts at reuniting with her birth family. It's looking like it will be March 14-16 this year and we would love to meet you then if you are available. I'll message you and see if we can't set up a date. :-)

    Merae,

    I love that y'all do that. Kevin, Alexander and I do the same. When we were placed with Alexander in October 2011, we said we would always try to bring him to his birth place at least once year.

    In 2012 we did it in May. In 2013 we did it in December.

    That is a great idea to do it the same time every year. I will chat with Kevin about that.

    Mari,

    It would be wonderful if we could meet you in San Antonio one year, too!

  14. Employer Adoption Benefits

    in Looking to Adopt

    Posted

    Mike,

    Thanks for your post.

    My husband, Kevin, due to his schedule was able to take 7 weeks of paid leave off when Alexander was first placed with us. The 3 of us were together for 2 weeks before I had to go back to work.

    We really did not want Alexander to attend nursery till he was 6 months old. We were able to achieve that because we were able to stagger our times off (I took 4 months of unpaid leave and then additional vacation time, when the new year started).

    Kevin really did relish the time he spent with Alexander when he was a newborn. He loved that he was able to stay home with him.

    I agree with you, I hope that one day in the very near furture, we are all able to take paid family leave.

    • Upvote 1

  17. Employer Adoption Benefits

    in Looking to Adopt

    Posted

    I was happy that we were able to qualify for some of the benefits that they offered. We have several friends that have adopted and did not qualify for anything. I would have rather had paid time off but that was not the case, especially since we pay in to the same insurance pool that everyone does. Kevin and I have continued to advocate for change.

    One interesting item too that recently came to light, was someone at the company where Kevin previously worked at, had a surrogate carry their baby. It was their embryo but she was not able to carry a baby to full term, so they went the surrogate route.

    She was furious when she found out she would not get paid leave. Since she did not give birth, so she was not able to receive 'maternity' leave.

  18. Employer Adoption Benefits

    in Looking to Adopt

    Posted

    Kevin and I work for the same large corporation.

    They do not have adoption leave (you get one paid day for finalization).

    When we were placed with Alexander, I only had 5 days of vacation left. I managed to attain 10 days home with pay but it was through a lot of negotiating. I had just started in that BU a couple of months before so my boss and I did not have a very open relationship at that point. She did not know of our adoption plans, etc.

    Anyway, due to Kevin's schedule, he was able to take 7 weeks of paid leave before I took 4 months of unpaid leave.

    Our company offers 6 months of unpaid family leave, so I took 4 months of it. I loved those 4 months of being at home.

    The company we work for does offer $5k to help towards adoption related expenses. It's per adoption, not per employee so only one of us qualified for it. It did help us out but I would have rather had 6 weeks of paid leave. Both our bosses at the time try to get the other money for us to help with the unpaid leave time but they were not successful.

    When I was working with our benefits department and my boss, I told them that we do not have true 'maternity' leave. They concured and said it's disability leave (which I knew that but I wanted them to admit it). They said that most fortune 100 companies do not offer it but that they offer unpaid leave instead.

    One of the things that we have been very active in, is that there is paid coverage for bonding leave for all employees. Kevin and I have not stopped advocating for it through the employees networks at our company.

    During one of the discussions at the networks we found out that there has been a push for years. That was one of the reasons the 6 month of unpaid leave came into play. I know unpaid leave is not as great as unpaid leave but it's nice that they will hold your job while you care for your newborn, child, spouse or parent.

    I hope in the future it will change but it will take a lot of folks beinig vocal about it.

  23. The Adoption Tax Credit

    in Looking to Adopt

    Posted

    After much delay on my part, we finally received our 2012 refund.

    I had filed them incorrectly last year, so I had to refile them.

    Due to life in general, I was not able to refile them till this past October (I filed a extension last April), and we received all of it this week.

    We are so happy to be done with all of that!

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