Stork Central
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Posts posted by Stork Central
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...And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they ask will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that it will come to pass, and it will be yours." Mark 11:22-25
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Don't Quit
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will;
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit!
Life is strange, with its twists and turns
!(As everyone of us sometimes learns)
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You might succeed, with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man.
Often the struggler has given up
When she might have captured the victor's cup.
And they learned too late, when the night slipped down,
How close they were to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt!
And you never can tell how close you are,
it may be near when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit!
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.
--Clinton Howell
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Love: Variation on a Theme
If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place but have not love, I am a housekeeper, not a homemaker.
If I have time for waxing, polishing, and dishwashing but have not love, my children learn of cleanliness, not Godliness.
Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh.
Loves smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly-cleaned window.
Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.
Love is present through the trials.
Love reprimands, reproves and is responsive.
Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, runs with the child, then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood.
Love is the key that opens salvation's message to a child's heart.
Before I became a mother, I took glory in my house of perfection. Now I glory in God's perfection in my child.
As a mother there is much I must teach my child but the greatest of all is Love.
--Pennington Bend Herald
Nashville, TN
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The Wannababies are officially placed in full, what with yesterday's send-off of a tiny newborn boy with the last of that group, Abrazo againers and their two older children, prior adoption success stories. Congratulations to all the graduates of that orientation weekend, now home safe and sound, with darling new sons and daughters to show for all their faith and effort and patience!! (And always, our gratitude to all the loving firstparents--birthparents--who made these dreams a reality, for the childrens' sake!)
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They were already signed up with another Texas agency, but came to Abrazo's January 2002 orientation at the urging of friends who had found us first. And we're sure glad they did, because by now, both of these couples from our The Mamas & The Papas II weekend are proud parents of AbrazoBabes! Congrats to the two latest inductees into the Late Nighters & Loving It crowd--we'll watch for plenty of wee morning Forum postings from you, now. (Just remember: sleep when Baby sleeps!!)
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The waiting seemed like an eternity to them, but just a couple weeks after posting that sentiment, these members of the Sleepless in San Antonio (3/02) weekend were meeting their their newborn son. They are now back home introducing him to relatives who beat insurmountable odds in order to hold him! Congrats to these proud parents (and much love to the dear birthmom who made it happen for them, how and when it did.)
And for all of you P.I.W.'s (Parents In Waiting) who seek support here, don't forget to come back to share your hardwon wisdom and a dose of encouragement with those who follow you here. Because we all "get by with a little help from our friends" (and happy nuptials to the just-married chap who originally spread that message around the world-- just a couple short decades ago...!)
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And S-C-O-R-E! THE CROWD GOES WILD! as they cheer for the goal...Forget the World Cup, it's a baby boy for another couple from The Fabulous Six-Packers, circa 11/01! As these folks move on from the Parents-In-Waiting column to those much-awaited Home With Baby celebrations, please know your Forum friends are all throwing cyber confetti in the air in your honor! Go, team!
For those still waiting 'til for your big day, be sure to check in frequently with your local homestudy agency, to ensure that they have your study and/or all updates current and completed in accordance with Texas state standards! (This is why Abrazo sends you home from orientation with written requirements to pass on to your social worker, so he or she can ensure you are "good to go" before travelling to Texas for placement.) This is your responsibility, so stay on top of things! Es muy importante, amigos! (Comprendo? Bien, gracias!) See you soon...
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The Mamas & The Papas II (Jan. 02) have another "happily-ever-after" story to tell! about another couple in their group (also active on the Forum). They reluctantly forfeited one match that just didn't seem right months ago, but have now found their faith rewarded--they matched again last week, with a new birthmom due anyday, and to everyone's surprize, there was not just one birth, but two! Congrats to all the proud parents of these precious twins (a boy and a girl) and here's wishing fairy tale endings for all!
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DreamTeam 02, don your party hats, because the first of your 5/02 orientation teammates have become parents, with the homecoming of not one but two adorable new sons!! Hurrah! (As per Forum tradition and Stork Central's commitment to confidentiality, we're not spilling the beans as to who the lucky family is-- DreamTeamers will just have to burn up the phone lines or computer keys talking with each other to figure it out.) Ah, the suspense! Congrats to the happy new family and oodles of encouragement to the rest of yous who are still in the "hoping and dreaming" column... it'll happen! Just you wait!
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Observation: Adoptive families often misunderstand a birthparent's motivations for not involving her family in her adoption plan. Many seem to fear that this implies a lack of intentionality about placing and increases her likelihood of changing her mind about adoption at or near the time of birth... while others genuinely regret the lack of opportunity for the child to have continued contact with extended birthrelatives after placement. Yet a number of adopting families choose to not inform their own relatives of their adoption plans until placement is imminent or completed.
Do birthparents or adoptive families have a moral obligation to include their relatives in their adoption plans, or is this a matter of privacy and individual choice? What do you think?
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An interesting sidenote: Kay Bailey H. and her husband have now adopted a baby boy this year, so it seems that sleep deprivation is a manageable challenge for them... but it does seem to raise the question... how old is too old, when folks at, near or over retirement age seek to adopt newborns only? (At what point does this become a child welfare issue?)
Rumor has it they have adopted through an agency that still practices closed adoption, so chances are, the birthparents of these children have no idea of the advanced ages of their infant's adoptive parents... it'd be interesting to know if these aps would meet the bps' expectations if the truth were known...?)
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So far, March's Sleepless in San Antonio orientation group seems to be happily "singing the blues" as another childless couple from that weekend has taken home yet another darling baby boy! Will it be an all-male sweep for the group, or will some baby girls come along to even the score? It's the battle of the sexes! Stay tuned to see whether the checkered flag turns pink--or not! Congratulations, all!
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One more beautiful baby boy placed with one more of the DuckBlind Faith families of 8/01 has officially completed that group's placement quest in full for all who continued with Abrazo. (Proving again that faith does pay off, whether one views the horizon from the duck blinds, orientation weekend seats or hospital nursery windows!) Fond congrats to all our DuckBlind alum, who achieved their adoption goals with Abrazo's help in just 8 months!
But as these folks and hundreds of other successful Abrazo program grads could tell you, nothing good comes easy, and not on our own timelines, much as we wish it could. There's just a divine rhythm and reason for what happens when, and that's where the faith part comes in. For those still "in wait," know that although no pregnancy, bio or adoptive, can be rushed, your turn will come in time and then you'll know why no baby due any sooner could have been right for you. The "right" one is out there... and well worth the wait! Vaya con Dios!
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Like the phoenix that rises from the ashes to a glorious transformation... an adoptive couple who heartbrokenly relinquished a placement last year when the birth resulted in complications unanticipated found their answer to prayer in the arrival this past weekend of the well baby they trust is in fact meant to be theirs for a lifetime... We wish them great joy in their new life together!
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Congratulations to The Fabulous Six-Packers (November 2001), who are cheering the arrival of a much anticipated baby girl this week! She is the answer to the "when" question for a couple who've been active in sharing their experience with other Forum members, so watch for some wee hour postings from them in weeks to come, as they return home from Texas and find their days and nights reversed, as well. Hurrah! and here's to all those who keep the faith even when the road seems beset with twists and turns... for as the old Shaker song goes, "...by turning, turning, it comes out right."
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And it's another boy for another lucky "Sleepless..." (3/02) couple, who'd already decorated their nursery in pink based on erroneous sono results. (Needless to say, they're overjoyed, regardless!) Congrats! And a hearty welcome, also, to our newest orientation grads, DreamTeam '02 , circa May 2002, who are hot on the trail and blazing towards parenthood.
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Hurrah! A second family from our Sleepless in San Antonio (3/02) orientation group has taken placement of a newborn boy...and a B.O.G. at that!... giving them a much better reason than the Friday night group session to now be sleepless in San Antonio! And congratulations, too, to the young Minnesota couple who flew down South with only a weekend's notice to welcome their precious baby boy into their lives, as well. For those still waiting and wondering, remember those words to the wise... "to everything there is a season..." Your day will come. Keep the faith!
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It's a boy! for the first baby to join a family from The Mamas & The Papas II, our January 2002 orientation grads! This handsome six pounder was welcomed home by a loving set of parents who couldn't have been more ready, having been through a "dress rehearsal" just 30 days back, the reasons for which are now clear. This match was a loving, tender "affair of the heart" (as our friend Jackie M. calls it!) and it came together all in less than one week's time, so (as the Bard himself would say) "all's well that ends well!" Better yet, for this wonderful extended family of birthparents, birthgrandparents, adopting parents and baby, this is just the beginning of a whole new fabulous chapter in the lifestory of their beloved son and grandson! So congratulations, all! And here's hope for those who wait...
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One caller this week expressed dismay about the agency's open adoption practices, stating that they didn't want to "go to all the trouble of adopting a child only to feel like we're raising someone else's child-- we want it to be our own." It was a painfully honest admission of an issue many prospective adoptors struggle with, and yet, a terribly succinct summary of the problem with closed adoption. Until one comes to terms with the reality that adoption does mean "raising someone else's child" can one really prepare for the role of parent by adoption? Adopting parents do need to feel entitled to love the child they adopt, but why must love be so exclusive? And how does one overcome the "own"ership issue, for the good of the adopted child who needs to be able to become his or her "own" person, a member of two families by birth and by adoption?
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It's officially spring, and the stork is flying high again! Congrats to the Minnesota mother who came south this week to meet her new baby boy, who will be able to call her by either title: "doctor" or "mom!" And with three other babes born this week and a record number of new cases and exciting matches happening, our staff is dashing about all corners of the state, so for those in the "still waiting" column, stay tuned for the buzz of activity--or the ring of a phone! Good things are coming your way.
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'Twas the luck 'o the Irish which brought them to Abrazo, and at the end of the rainbow, the last of the Lucky Leprachauns, Abrazo againers from our March 2001 orientation group, found something even better than a pot 'o gold--a precious newborn daughter, just miles from the town where they'd taken placement of their firstborn, a boy, several years back! (Their son's birthfamily, in fact, gladly pitched in to help, babysitting for him this week while the adoptive couple spent quality time at the hospital bonding with their new birthmom and baby girl.) Top 'o the mornin' to them all!
Abrazo's foster parents Hugo and Gloria, meanwhile, are busy cuddling a newly-arrived newborn awaiting just the right rainbow family to shade his little world with love and nurture enough to last a lifetime.
And as the Texas roadways blossom into a blaze of multi-hued wildflowers, (thanks to Lady Bird Johnson), all of us at Abrazo wish all our clients, far and wide, an Easter-colored springtide!
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From your perspective, whether you're someone who's just thinking about adoption or as one who's "been there, done that," what are the top three qualities or features you look for in choosing the "right" kind of adoptive family for your child? What matters to you, and why? (If you've been through this before, what advice would you give new birthmoms about things to look for, or questions to ask?)
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A hearty welcome to the newest graduates of our latest Parents of Tomorrow weekend, Sleepless in San Antonio, 3/02 and to the lucky single mom who topped off that weekend with the best possible reason to be sleepless, placement the very next day of a precious new baby son who'd been waiting in our foster care for just such a wonderful family! Congratulations, all!
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Oops! Our apologies, dear readers... a flurry of new birthparent intakes with babies due this spring and a staff member out for surgery have caused us to neglect our posting duties here lately... but thank you, sugarfamily, for this opportunity to herald our February arrivals, three little ones successfully placed via Abrazo's designated adoption program, in which adoptive parents willing to be proactive meet interested birthparents via outreach efforts that include personal networking, Internet marketing and newspaper advertisements, often reducing both the waiting time and placement costs!
For our parents-in-waiting, please rush those homestudies if they're still "in process" because our supply of waiting families has been somewhat shortened by a recent rash of new matches, and the birthparent demand for childless couples living in Texas continues to be particularly strong, at present. Remember, too, that for instate families, the state-required criminal and CANRIS checks are taking 6-8 weeks to process through the department in Austin, and results must be on file before matching or placements can be done, so work with us to get your files updated so you're ready when the baby is!
Saying Grace (Prayers & Thanks Givings)
in Abrazo's Chapel Potluck
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We are just so thankful for the Forum folk who post regularly and offer so much love and support and hardwon wisdom to each other! Before your adoptions happened, you were Clients. Those of you who stick around afterwards have become our true friends. (And those who share of themselves to help make the load lighter for those who follow are truly angels here on earth.) Bless you, all!