Cath & Shane

Welcome Eli... Congrats Hope, Joel and Girls...haven't read your story on the Shooters thread, but that's where I'm headed next!! Love you guys, Cath

Congrats to the two latest WO's families to place!!! Maybe the two families can plan to return to SA to finalize together later this year!! Enjoy those baby girls...best wishes!

Hey all, Just wanted to post this comment about a grant program listed in regards to "financing adoption" from a recent Adoptive Families article: "After our first adoption my husband and I founded Helpusadopt.org a national non-profit financial grant program designed to help couples/individuals (regardless of race, religion, marital status or sexual prefernece) with their adoption expenses. We are accepting applicaitons now ---the deadline is April 18th for our June 2008 grants and we are going to award $50,000! WWW.helpusadopt.org" Maybe this could help one of you!! Good luck on your journeys!

Can't wait to hear some good news on Monday...we're crossing our fingers!

Adam and Beth...how excited (and sleep deprived) you must be! Warm wishes from the Skala's

I would suggest taking out a loan for possibly $5K more than the figure in your head...most likely you'll be paying off your loan sooner than expected with the tax credit and reimbursement from Abrazo if any money is left in your escrow account after finalization. It seems like you always need more money up front than what you expect...when don't you?!? However, if you have another way to come up with a good chunk of money relatively quickly if needed (i.e. 401K loan or something of that sort) I wouldn't worry as much. I've said this before, but 0% credit card offers on purchases over the next year is great to have as a back up too--perfect for travelling expenses on your adoption journey, although I know credit cards aren't for everyone. Just food for thought. Good luck, Cath

Amy & Gabriela, I'll be anxiously awaiting stories from your upcoming orientation this month...as well as following each of your journeys. Amy...get ready for a wild ride; as your cohorts in Memphis that have been there/ done that or are currently in the process can attest, it's an amazing experience. I'm sure you have pretty good insight into how open adoption works due to the wonderful Abrazo families you have access to, but I think you'll still be blown away at the connections you are about to make. Enjoy! Gabriela...we were againers too; it's so weird the second time around, so many questions about how "this one will go". Our second was so different from our first...not in a bad way by any means, just different! What a comfort to have a bunch of familiar faces and voices though as againers...we love our Abrazo girls! Congrats in advance to each of your families!

Mary & Kenneth, Congratulations!! You'll be amazed at how fast Mitchell will change once he gets the hang of eating...they grow so fast! Can't wait to hear updates! Enjoy your new little man and good luck on your meeting with his birthmomma.

Yeah Mark & Marlene!!! I have a feeling Mark broke a few laws while returning to the great state of Texas! We're very excited to see pictures of Ethan, post as soon as you can. Enjoy your stay down South and have a safe trip home. Hopefully Ethan loves (or at least tolerates) long car rides as much as Maya & Malik did!

We had already decided about the multiple ways we were planning to use for financing our adoption, but that would definitely be a big one for those who haven't! We would have loved to have had our homestudy and physicals completed ahead of time...it would've dropped our stress levels in the month that followed; however, we knew our birthmom was due within the month so our biggest fear was that our daughter would arrive and we wouldn't be "officially" prepared for her on paper. As luck would have it, we ended up having plenty of time to spare though. We had received a handful of sample profiles prior to orientation I believe, so I hadn't even started ours but I wasn't stressed by the thought and for me it was a fun and creative outlet that first week home. Let's see, I can't think of anything else big...we had already started our nursery...I think we had the crib, carseat, and stroller along with a couple outfits already bought but upon return we had fun doing lots of mini shopping trips. SO, my biggest advice would be to get those finances in line and get going on your homestudies (make sure you have Abrazo's info in regards to Texas state law if you live out of state though ) Good luck to everyone on their journeys...it's gonna be amazing for each of you! Cath

Lisa... My husband and I discuss many of the same topics that you and your hubby have. Not necessarily the gender issue, we're ok either way but we sure wondered about specifying in regards to race this time (in particular a brother or sister for Maya who would also be biracial or AA). Our train of thought is with you though Lisa, whoever God decides to place with our family will be a perfect fit regardless! We also wonder what to do in regards to Maya when it comes time to travel...make arrangements with family here in town or take her with. Good friends of ours (you've probably seen posts by "WindyCity"), took their son earlier this month when his sister made her way into the world. So, we're leaning towards taking our daughter along; although I think it will depend on our next birthfamily too, so we'll have to be flexible. It will definitely be a whole new ballgame having a toddler to contend with during our stay South if that ends up being the case. Just may be a little more stressful working around naps and overall crankiness at being away from all the staples of home. Thank God there's two of us to tag team as needed! I know all will work out in the end, we just have to keep the faith! Good luck in your quest as againers! Cathy

PKK, Any updates for those of us "forumites" who might be interested??? When discussing God's will, the following comes to mind, "the plan and will of God will never die. The thing God wants you to do will become stronger each day in your thoughts, in your prayers and in your planning...it grows and grows." Keep us informed! Cath

Jeez Elaine, I feel like our adoption story is fairly similar to yours. My husband and I were "set" on adopting from China or Kazakstahn when I heard about Abrazo through a patient I was taking care of at work. My patient had a brother who was adopted from Korea 18 years ago; we were talking about international vs. domestic adoption and she strongly recommended I look into Abrazo, as she had a cousin who adopted a daughter several years ago (must've been soon after Abrazo began). I was pretty leary and I knew my husband would also have a fit that I was looking into something "new" when we already had a tentative plan! Needless to say, he wasn't thrilled...BUT, after much prayer and writing out a pros/cons list, we decided that Abrazo was for us. Once we decided on Abrazo it felt like a huge weight had been lifted and within a month of attending orientation little Miss Amaya Michelle was in our arms. We feel so blessed and are excited to see the rest of God's plan unfold for Maya's future sibling(s). Cath

Melissa, My fingers are crossed for your family, can't wait to hear the good news! Shane & I are excited about becoming "againers" as well...not certain about the timing, but hopefully sooner rather than later. I'll be looking forward to updates on the process of Baby Merritt #2...good luck Cath