sugarfamily

I was so sad to learn just today of the death of Jenna's birthfather Adrian. Although we chose to have limited correspondence with him through Abrazo, it was always our desire for Jenna to meet him one day when she was a little older. My heart hurts for my little girl, who will no longer have that opportunity. Our hearts also go out to Adrian's family, including Jenna's birthsisters. I am especially thankful for Susan, who let me know of this tragic news, since I am rarely on the forum anymore due to time constraints. Thank you to all of you who have expressed condolences. This will be hard n

Aren't we lucky? This new addition to Bill and Susan's family means it's a new addition to ours as well, with our sweet daughters Tasia and Jenna being bonded forever as birthsisters. Congratulations to you guys. I am so incredibly happy for you...and to think how we were just talking last week and saying our prayers that God would give you an opportunity for a new baby soon. Obviously, He was listening! And what a BEAUTIFUL baby He has blessed you with, too! Love you all and can't wait to see you soon. Linda and Jenna

I completely understand why birthparents might want younger parents for their children. However, given that people typically don't marry these days until at least their late 20's and then wait awhile before trying to have kids, then go through several years of infertility before realizing they need to look at other options....it seems unrealistic to think there are a bunch of couples under the age of 32 who even qualify for adoption (taking all the above into consideration plus adding in the financial requirements for many adoptions). Not to say there aren't any, but I would think the majority

Just a quick note to say I took myself to see Juno on Valentine's Day evening, when Jenna was with Scott. I loved the movie and laughed when the dad was driving Juno to Mark & Vanessa's house for the first time to protect her against "being ripped off by some adoption wackos". I thought - wow, I'm sure that's exactly what birthparents and their families fear going into the whole thing! I liked being able to watch an adoption story from "the other side". I haven't taken the time to read all the posts about why people didn't like Vanessa, but I could relate to her lifelong anticipation of

I agree. The Bible clearly states that God allows us to go through trials so that after we have endured them in faith, we are then able to help others going through similar trials of their own. I know that I could not have made it through our adoption process without the love and support of my friends here on the Abrazo forum who shared their own strength, hope and experiences with me. I have also in turn been given the opportunity to educate several preschool teaching staffs about adoption and how to be more supportive of adoptive families. Every day I look at Jenna, she is so beautiful, and

Congratulations Brian and Nicole! FINALLY we (your fellow Tremendous Ten parents) know what Isabella looks like! She is beautiful, and looks thrilled to be a big sister! Please send me a PM so we can exchange contact info and get back in touch! Congrats again on your sweet new daughter Gabriella! Love, Linda and Jenna

Hallelulia! God is good! I have FINALLY found a new church home that is just right...Tina, you were right in that as much as I loved going to my neighborhood Methodist church, in looking at the denomination and some of its current directions, it was just too different from the Baptist church for me to feel comfortable switching. Fortunately, I ran across an old and dear friend of mine who is directing a women's class at a different large Baptist church here in Houston. I have visited it plus a class for single moms there, and it is wonderful. It has a lot of the same qualities I loved about my

Oh my gosh, Elizabeth, that video is GREAT! You are right - I want to send it to all my friends, both Jewish and Christian! Thanks for sharing it!! Linda

OK, here is a topic I hope I can get feedback on, because I am in a very interesting quandry! Please note that my specific questions relate somewhat to my divorce, but I think it would also be good to get others to think about how they chose their place of worship and why. Scott and I were members for many years (like 15+ years) at a very large Baptist church here in Houston. It was a good place to be early on in our relationship because with its size, there was a lot of diversity in thought, and Scott felt comfortable there even though he was not originally a Christian when we met. Well, we

What a wonderful poem. In thinking about this subject, I think it is much easier to be "accepting" of different things when you are approaching adoption the second time around. I believe it's not until we have children and love them 100% just the way they are, "imperfections" and everything, that we realize that no-one is perfect - not us, not the babies. Some start out perfectly healthy but develop major issus later. Other may not have gotten a good start but end up just fine. As for the race factor? I think "fitting in" with your family can be an issue, but I can tell you that when I look

Oh my, Sandi! I can't believe the ridiculous things that girl was told! I thought I had heard it all, having worked at the Holocaust Museum, but that is just bizarre. I appreciate your insight and I think your perspective is very helpful! I'm glad you're here to share a Jewish perspective. FYI, Jews for Jesus is a specific ministry and you are right, that they are not well liked within the Jewish community (I think mostly because of their evangelism tactics). But they are not representative of all Messianic Jews. Elizabeth, thanks for starting this post! On another note, there was rec

Lisa, I've done a lot of ministry work in this area and have several good resources. Just give me a call or PM me. I took a couple of classes through a group called the Institute of Hebraic Christian Studies (http://www.rbooker.com/html/ihcs.html) here in Houston. They covered the Jewish roots of Christianity. It really made me see how much we're connected, even though the church hasn't recognized that for many centuries! I also used to be a docent at the Holocaust Museum. If you and your husband are Christians, you may want to consider going to a Messianic Jewish congregation. I have been

Well, all right!! I am visiting my sis in North Carolina, just a mile or two down the road from this lucky couple! I wonder, Stork Central, will they be back in their neck of the woods by Saturday so I can give them a special welcome home call? Or will they still be in Texas awating interstate compact? If they'll be home soon, someone in our group please PM me their phone number so I can hook up with them while I'm here! I'd hate to miss the opportunity to see the newest Tremendous Ten Abrazobabe! Linda