Auntie Ang

Thanks so much for sharing the photo, Susan. What a testament to the effort that you and Bill have put into building a relationship with Adrian's family. I never could quite find the words to post after Adrian's passing, but loved your tribute to both he and Lisa. It still makes me sad to think Adrian never got to meet Tasia and Jenna, but I also know from my communication with him over the years how much your letters and pictures meant to him. I'm also thrilled that because of your commitment, the girls will know their birthfamily and get to know Adrian from those that knew and loved him most.

I enjoyed getting to know Rick in the time they spent around here after Ethan was born. I know Rick and Donna enjoyed being at Camp and especially enjoyed the times they were able to spend with Ethan since the placement. I will be keeping Rick's family including Mike, Kelly and Ethan in my prayers during this very difficult time.

I am very saddened to hear the news of Penny's passing. I had the pleasure of working with Penny many times over my time here and very much enjoyed meeting with her on our trips to Memphis. She was a blessing to the adoption community and she will be missed. Praying for all those that loved her.

I was extremely shocked and saddened to hear of this great loss. I am adding my prayers for Bridget, Lucas, and the entire Arredondo family during this most difficult time.

Today is one of those days that teaches us how important it is to take advantage of every minute we are given with our loved ones. Today we mourn the loss of two of Abrazo's family members... Rev. Vanderwerf passed away last night with his daughter by his side. Elizabeth's daddy has proudly supported his daugher and the Abrazo community over the years in many different ways. From participating in Camp Abrazo to providing transportation to a local birthmom who otherwise often found herself walking home alone at night from work. Rev. Vanderwerf was truly an amazing man who will be missed by many. This morning also brought the news of the passing of one of our birthmoms, Tracy. It was just last December that Tracy gave birth to both a son and daughter. Knowing she wasn't able to provide the life she dreamed for them, she lovingly placed them in the care of a childless couple from Missouri. Surely they treasure the time they were able to spend with her in the days following the placement of the children they all loved. Please keep their families in your prayers in the days and weeks to come.

I too was very saddened to hear the news of Priscilla's passing yesterday. I will be keeping Glenn and all those who loved Priscilla, including Joel and Hope, in my thoughts and prayers.

Oh, but they do. I have heard it on many occasions sitting in birthparent support group. The "girls" will be talking about their chosen families and say "my adoptive parents..." They of course don't mean it literally, but they do feel a sense of ownership. They show off your profiles/pictures to each other so everyone in the group can get to know you as well. I have also heard on many occasions the girls debating over who's adoptive parents are the best, i.e. "I have the best adoptive parents," "No, my adoptive parents are the best parents!" I find this type of conversation quite endearing, not awkward. Also, isn't calling a woman a birthparent before she places essentially the same thing as calling parents who adopted, adoptive parents after the adoption is finalized? Would this not be just as offensive???

Photos of both new families are in the gallery! Keeping all in my thoughts tonight and saying a special prayer for the birthparents and their extended families who were an intregal part of today's placements.

As an adoption professional, one of the hardest tasks we have is evaluating inquiries to assess a "fit" between applicants and the agency. Aside from specific criteria (i.e. age, length of marriage, infertility diagnosis), there typically isn't any one item on the inquiry that would deter us from approving the inquiry, rather a combination of factors. Ultimately when approving inquiries, we have to give first preference to families who make ideal placement resources for the children we are placing. It is no secret that we place a large number of full Hispanic children here at Abrazo. So families open to full Hispanic children are always needed and space at our orientations is always saved for those couples. Obviously, families also open to a variety of other backgrounds including African American and biracial children are always desirable as placement resources as well. (Please note: children of Anglo/Hispanic background are not bi-racial--both are of the Caucasian race. "Biracial" denotes descendents of two races, ie., Anglo/African American, Hispanic/African American, Asian/African American, etc.) In addition, we do limit the space that's available for couples already parenting. We find that couples with a child/children already in the home wait longer than first time parents-to-be, although birthparents are more receptive to placing with families with adopted children, vs. biological. Are there exceptions to this? Absolutely; however, in our experience a large number of our birthparents do prefer childless couples. Would the fact that you have a child be the sole factor in determining whether we approve or deny your inquiry? No; it would also depend on other factors, such as level of openness, geographic location, willingness to consider older children, etc. I do realize how difficult it must be to receive a letter stating we are unable to proceed to the application step, but I hope that no family has deterred their dreams of building/expanding their family solely because we were unable to assist them. There is no shortage of adoption agencies out there and every agency decides their own admittance criteria, so hopefully with enough research everyone can find "the right" agency for them.

The picture of the happy new family is now in the gallery!!!

Check out the new photo of the happy new family in the gallery (yes, I actually have a digital camera now and can post photos!!) Congrats! Now off to do some fiesta-ing I go!!!

Thanks to those families who have called this afternoon to inquire about this birthmom and her newborn son. As of lunchtime today, we didn't have any families to put her in touch with, which in turn made her question whether or not placing would be the right decision for her baby, as she didn't want him stuck in foster care. So it does appear at this time that she is pursuing other options. Should things change, I will be in touch with those families who expressed an interest. Thanks again.

I am sorry that the new FBI fingerprinting requirement has caused so much confusion, but please don't make it any harder than it is... For those individuals who called questioning whether the paper fingerprinting done in other states would suffice, I was under the impression that we were supposed to call you back only if you needed to re-submit those electronically. If you didn't hear back from us, then your current checks were okay. If you re-submitted them anyways, that is okay too...they will be good for a year from the date of the last submission. We will confirm with each of you as we get your results in so you know not to worry anymore. AGAIN, please call me directly to discuss if you have any specific questions! Thanks, Angela

For all TEXAS residents: I sent out a memo approximately three weeks ago with instuctions on how to have the fingerprinting completed. This is a new requirement for all Texas residents adopting through Abrazo. (Texans were not previously required to have FBI clearances; however, our agency is now mandating the same safety standard as is required for all adoptions done through the State, to ensure that our children are given the same degree of protection.) The fingerprinting done for Texans must use the forms Abrazo provides you, so that the results will be forwarded to us directly by TDFPS (Texas Department of Family & Protective Services) when completed. For all other OUT-OF-STATE residents: Please talk to your social worker regarding your fingerprint checks. They can usually help facilitate this quickly. These results need to go to your homestudy worker so that the results can be included in your homestudy. Also please send Abrazo a copy of the results directly. Processing times vary from region to region, so please submit your information promptly so this does not delay a potential match or placement!! If you have any questions or need further clarification, please call me right away. Thanks, Angela

Oh Karen, you better watch what you say, aren't you on schedule for another one...

Hey I offered my little camera, as it turns out I'm not as technologically advanced as they wanted and opted for Pamela's digital...I'm working on it, I've got my eye on a digital camera, but I really do love my film camera!!! Congratulations to all the new families!!! Boy, this job never gets old, I'm beginning to see how Elizabeth and Holly have done this for soooooooooooo long...