suebee
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Posts posted by suebee
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Congratulations to the newest Abrazo family. I absolutely LOVE the name you have chosen for your little one. Of course, I'm a little partial! Congrats again and please post MANY pictures!
Nathan's Mommy, Jean
I love the name as well because it is Joshua's middle name...chosen for the meaning "God gave" or "gift of God."
Your new son and relationship with C is definitely one of God's greatest gifts as well as the faith God has given you to walk this journey!
Congratulations!!! I look forward to meeting your son!
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Looks like the Memphis crew will need to "Eat mor chikin" to help this family offset their new expenses of diapers and formula (cause believe you me, it adds up!!) I'll be glad to stop by for cookies and cream milkshakes to do my part!!
Congratulations!!
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Awesome story Annie and/or Eric!
Thanks for sharing...I'm assuming you have your crib!!
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Congrats!! How exciting!
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Here's one that drives me a little crazy & proves that others have no idea what infertility is like ..... "Keep trying, that's the fun part!"
They clearly don't realize that "the fun part" after a while is not so much fun given that the spontaneity & romance
quickly gives way to "it's that time, let's go." As my husband says, "it's like being a trained seal"
So true!!
I told a friend who was considering adoption, that it was great when we started in that direction because you could go back to having sex for fun again!
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OK, I'm not a member of a new group, but one of the craziest things said to us was neither insulting nor annoying. It was just plain funny.
Pre-Hendrick, we were discussing our "issues" with some friends at a party. They had just had a beautiful baby girl.
"You know what you need to do?" said the woman. "Get really, really drunk."
Then the couple, dear friends and former coworkers, proceeded to tell us they did just that when their little girl was conceived, even confessing to us, while cackling hysterically, that they got "kinky."
I'm not sure what that meant, and I really don't want to know. But it gave Nina and I lots of jokes to tell each other on the way home...
Hmmmm....wonder if they'll share that with their daughter!
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Paula, Scott, and McKenna,
I'm so sorry to hear about Eduardo...may God grant you peace and comfort.
Susan
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Congratulations Tony, Linda, Andrew, and Ayanna!! From a family of two to four in about a year's time!! May God pour his richest blessings on you all during your transition and as a forever family of four (at least until the stork comes calling again!!)
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Wow Renee, I can just imagine the hand of God protecting you and your car...so glad you are safe.
CRAZY drivers...ugh!
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Great news Andrea!
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I have an amazing praise to share with my forum family. Many of you are aware that we have been active with a local agency for about a year now. We were hoping to head to San Antonio in August to go through orientation with Abrazo again. Well, it looks like we won't be making that trip because yesterday we were matched with a woman who is making an adoption plan for her baby due in July!! The gender is unknown so we are excited about the possibility of another son or a daughter joining our family!! We definitely would appreciate your prayers during this time, especially for the woman we are matched with.
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Congratulations Joe & Nancy!!!
I can't wait to see you guys at camp!!!
Congrats on the addition to your wonderful family!!!
Nita, did Tina's post scream loud enough for you!
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My mother had a hard time with my pregnancy and later with the choice that I made to place Joshua. She is just now opening up to me about how much she enjoys the pictures and stories that I share with her and we can finally talk about everything. She has even said to me recently that she is ready to meet Larry, Susan and Joshua, and when the time is right (hopefully soon) build a realtionship with them as I have in the past six and half years. I am so proud of her for being there for me and supporting me the best that she knows how, even if it isn't always what I need or want. I am ready now to support her and hope that she will find the peace and love that I have found in my relationship with them.
We are looking forward to that!!
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(((Cathy)))
I think your fears are normal...infertility takes away almost all perception that you have any control over your life, and then the adoption process takes care of the rest!! What I finally had to realize is that I am not in control...but God is. He has wonderful plans for you and Brian, and most likely that includes parenting! As everyone else has said, just be honest and open. I'm sure Abrazo will talk to you if there are any concerns. You do want to find the agency that's right for you so that you will get the child that is meant for you
I do know that Abrazo is not looking for perfect people, otherwise none of us would have qualified. So just be yourself!
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This is definitely a joyous moment and long anticipated announcement...not just the birth and placement of this precious boy, but the joining of two families. It's the fulfillment of a Lisa's dream for many years...to have an open and ongoing relationship with the first mothers of her children (something denied to her in the placement of her own precious daughter almost 18 years ago). Lisa, you've shared your heart and soul with us, and because of that we feel so much a part of your life and your joy. My heart is overflowing (and my eyes too!). Congratulations and many blessings to you and Lance, your beautiful daughter, and your precious SON!!
Meg,
I know without a doubt this is the absolute most difficult thing you will ever do in your life. You are a strong woman, and I know your son will grow up knowing and loving you. May God's ever present and overflowing grace comfort you and give you peace in the days ahead.
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I hate to jump off the subject right off the bat... (but I'll do it anyway)
)Both of my parents and in-laws are still living, but these are great suggestions for future reference. The thing that caught my attention is that some of the tips can be helpful for families in talking with their child about the adoption story/birthparents. Of course the HUGE difference is that hopefully the birthparents are still very much alive and a tangible part of their lives, but these tips can bring them closer in your day-to-day life. For example, I do #1 and #2 a lot with Joshua. When he eats Tootsie Rolls, I remind him that Nichole loves Tootsie Rolls. I tell him he gets his curly hair from Jeff, and when we went bowling for the first time I told him how we took Nichole bowling when he was just a few days old. And that he slept through the entire time (noise and all).
Just a thought...back to the original question...
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What a beautiful family!
I read this and rushed to the gallery to see the picture...but it's not there. Am I missing something?!?!
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Has anyone read Without a Map by Meredith Hall...I just ordered it from Amazon.
This is the synopsis on Amazon site...
From Publishers Weekly
It was 1965 when Hall was expelled from her New Hampshire high school, shunned by all her friends, made to leave her mother's home, and kept hidden from sight in her father's house—all because she was a sexually naïve 16-year-old, pregnant by a college boy who wasn't all that interested in her anyway. And in this memoir, chapters of which have been published in magazines, Hall narrates this bittersweet tale of loss. After childbirth her baby was put up for adoption so fast, she never had even a glimpse of him. She finished high school at a nearby boarding school, then soon wandered to Europe and eventually found herself just walking, alone, from country to country. Somewhere in the Middle East she scraped bottom and repatriated herself. She accumulated another lover and had two children, before her first son, the one she was forced to abandon, made contact. Making peace with him was deeply healing. This painful memoir builds to a quiet resolution, as Hall comes to grips with her own aging, the complexities of forgiveness and the continuity of life.
I'll let you know what I think after I get it and read it! The customer reviews on Amazon were all favorable.
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You're probably right. TMZ is most likely looking for snark rather than seriousness. And there's nothing like a bit of intelligence to ruin the troglodytes' party!
troglodytes = A person considered to be reclusive, reactionary, out of date, or brutish.
Now that I looked that up, GREAT WORD!!! I will have to remember it for further use!
Tina,
Too funny...I was thinking of doing the exact same thing! Then I got distracted (or lazy). Thanks for doing the work for me. I'll have to see if I can work that into future conversations!
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I posted this elsewhere, but thought it would be appropriate here as well. A book I am reading that might also be helpful for Birthgrandparents is "In Every Pew Sits a Broken Heart," by Ruth Graham (the daughter of Billy Graham). It is her personal story and includes her grief as she walked with her 17-year-old daughter Windsor through the pregnancy, birth, and placement of her first grandchild for adoption. Here are two excerpts...
At the time, I could only imagine the storm raging in Windsor's heart. The Bible says, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). Windsor had laid down her health, figure, and reputation to carry her baby to term. She had walked through the valley of the shadow of death to give birth. She was falling desperartely in love with her baby, knowing she would have to release her to the arms of others--a completely unnatural act. I realized I had never sacrificed as much as my daughter, and watching her caress her newborn child, I stood in awe of her.
As the adoptive couple departed, Windsor wailed and sobbed with unbelievable passion. Hers was pure grief. Pure despair. She was in agony. I was in agony. My heart broke doubly--first for the loss of my grandchild, then for my own child as I watched her disintegrate in front of my eyes. I could do nothing to comfort Windsor, nothing to help her. I could not make the pain go away. There was now a permanent hole in my daughter's heart, a hole I could not fill. Her grief was deeper than what many people experience in a lifetime, yet she was only seventeen. Most of her friends had just learned to drive.
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I'm not sure this is the best place for this, but I wanted to highlight some excerpts from her book, "In Every Pew Sits a Broken Heart," by Ruth Graham (the daughter of Billy Graham). She is writing about her 17-year-old daughter Windsor who placed her little girl for adoption.
At the time, I could only imagine the storm raging in Windsor's heart. The Bible says, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). Windsor had laid down her health, figure, and reputation to carry her baby to term. She had walked through the valley of the shadow of death to give birth. She was falling desperartely in love with her baby, knowing she would have to release her to the arms of others--a completely unnatural act. I realized I had never sacrificed as much as my daughter, and watching her caress her newborn child, I stood in awe of her.
As the adoptive couple departed, Windsor wailed and sobbed with unbelievable passion. Hers was pure grief. Pure despair. She was in agony. I was in agony. My heart broke doubly--first for the loss of my grandchild, then for my own child as I watched her disintegrate in front of my eyes. I could do nothing to comfort Windsor, nothing to help her. I could not make the pain go away. There was now a permanent hole in my daughter's heart, a hole I could not fill. Her grief was deeper than what many people experience in a lifetime, yet she was only seventeen. Most of her friends had just learned to drive.
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Thank you for sharing these articles Elizabeth...I love reading stories in the media about open adoption. Hopefully more people are starting to "get it."
As a side note, I noticed the information at the end of the article for "The Birth Mothers Mass" to honor women who have placed children for adoption. This particular one was last night in Tulsa I presume, but I wondered if other places had one, particularly Memphis area. I am not Catholic, but I would love to go to something like this to honor our son's birthmom and all these strong women. I called my neighbor who is Catholic and asked her if she knew of a Birthmother mass. She did not, but it got me thinking. Does anyone go to a place of worship that offers recognition for birthmothers either on Mother's Day or other days? I think I need to talk to one of our church staff about this...
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Congratulations Doug & Jennifer! I feel like I know you guys since I watched you on Adoption stories.
They really should do an update on you guys!!
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A Big Congratulations to the Burns family!! How exciting to go from a family of four to a family of six!! Wow! Loving thoughts and prayers for your birthfamily during this time of transition.
The Welcome Wagon!
in Looking to Adopt
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Welcome Robin. We look forward to hearing more from you and following your journey to your newest son or daughter!! Feel free to jump in anywhere...as you know, we're a friendly group!