suebee

What wonderful news and reason to celebrate (or in Mandy's case "shop"!!!!!) Congratulations Wombles!! Can't wait to hear more about your new daughter!! Susan

The following was my first, posted January 25, 2001. We were matched, and Joshua was born about three weeks later. How do you respond to the endless questions about your birthmother both before and after placement? It amazes me what people will ask. Some are simply curious...others just plain nosey. Examples are: Does she have other children? Do they have the same father? How old is she? Why is she giving her child up? I want to protect her privacy as well as our adopted son's privacy, but I don't want to be rude. How have others handled this situation?

What a blessing this was for me to read this morning. Our church has been through a lot (that's an understatement) of turmoil in the last 8 months. It's not the same church God led us to four years ago. My faith and church family have always been extremely important to me, so the last 8 months have been a very unsettled time. We have been going to a new church in the last few months, and yesterday, I felt hope for the first time that our journey of searching for a new church home may be coming to an end. It was such an encouragement to read of your journeys, Karen and Sabrina, and your words of wisdom, Elizabeth, and know that God wants us to find a church home as much as we want to find one. I have never been one to "church hop" so leaving the church I grew up in four years ago was a HUGE step of faith, but God blessed us tremendously in our new church home. It has been heartbreaking to be in such turmoil these past 8 months, but God is faithful. I am learning too about the different seasons of our faith, and the different purposes God may have for us at a particular church. Thanks for sharing ladies! Susan

I have sent an e-mail to the agency we are working with in TN and will follow up with a phone call.

Yeah!! Another precious Texas baby finds her forever family in Tennessee! Congrats to the newest mom and dad, and blessings and prayers for the wonderful birthfamily!

Even after your own placement--five (and a half, as Joshua would say) years later--my heart still skips a beat with every baby announcement, and I get CHILLS!! Congratulations to the newest family!!

Hurray Monica and Clyde! Hurray Squirrels! Hurray for Baby Ella Lauren! Congratulations to the newest family, and blessings for the precious birthfamily!

What a beautiful tribute to your son and the parents you chose for him. He is a very blessed little fella to have three people who love him so dearly. Your strength and courage are inspiring. Thank you for posting! May God bless you with peace and comfort when your heart is breaking, and hope and joy for the days ahead with Alison, Cliff, and little Cliff. What a special family you all are! Susan

Yes we do!!

That Melissa...she's a pesky one, isn't she Elaine?!! Of course, in this case, it's a good thing she didn't give up!

Well said! This was initially the number 1 reason we were committed to open adoption. I didn't want my future child to have to wonder about their birthfamily or have to "search" for answers down the road. And I'm happy to say (as many of you forum faithful already know) we have been blessed not only with a precious son, but a wonderful and open relationship with his birthfamily! It's better than I had even hoped for!

Congratulations to the Longs and their precious bundle of blue. Just love the photo in the gallery. Praying extra special blessings on your birthmom, and wishing you all a LONG and happy relationship. Susan

Can you allow birthmoms of a BOG to look at ALL profiles that meet her preferences, both those who specify gender and those who don't, while allowing profiles for families who have specific gender preferences to be seen only by those birthmoms who have a BOG of the preferred gender. Does that make sense? In other words, the birthmom of a BOG could choose from the entire pool of adoptive parents therefore it wouldn't be unfair to clients who do not specify a gender preference, but it would also solve the dilemma of knowing the gender of the baby for sure. That would mean that clients who specify gender could only be chosen by birthmoms of BOG, thereby increasing their wait time most likely. But they already accept that possibility when they specify gender. Just my two cents.

The following paragraph was in one of the related links to the article Elizabeth posted. I really admire Dr. Dobson and think he is so on target with many things... BUT this is not one of them. Hmmm, maybe I should write him a letter. I really don't understand his position. Anyone else have any thoughts??? "But Dr. James Dobson cautions that open or semi-open adoptions carry some risks. Whereas an open arrangement may be beneficial during the latter part of a child's development, it can also be harmful earlier on. There is potential for emotional damage to a child who establishes one parental relationship only to learn "mid-stream" that there is another mother involved. Much conflict and confusion can be avoided if the book is left closed until later in the child's life. "

From just a few days ago... Congratulations Sandi and Scott on your baby girl!! Prayers for you, your daughter, and her wonderful birthmom. Susan

Lisa, Excellent site! I've bookmarked it so I can go back to it and read some more. Thanks for sharing this. You always are such a wealth of information!!

Sure beats another business trip, huh Majory?

WOW!!!! Majory, I'm stunned, but oh so excited for you guys! (I'm sure not even half as stunned and excited as you are!!) This is fantastic news!!! I can not wait to meet your precious new daughter. The pictue on the gallery is awesome!! Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow! Blessings to you and the loving birthparents of your beautiful girls! Susan

Elizabeth et al., I can only imagine the eye rolls and remarks you girls have behind close doors when new clients come in wanting to adopt! You are so kind to gently guide us and do a great job educating along the way. You must feel like proud parents when some of us close-minded morons start to really get it!! The irony is I'm working with an individual in our current agency that desparately needs to attend an Abrazo orientation!! Susan

Elizabeth's answer about the five children is below...

Congratulations Ashley and Ted! What an exciting beginning to the wonderful journey of open adoption!! Diana, you deserve a million medals. I hope you know how special you are to all of us. You all will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Wow, this post brought tears to my eyes...happy tears!! Congratulations Noah! You sound like quite a kid, much like my son Joshua. I can't wait for him to become a big brother. Like you, I know he will be a good one! I know you and Jonas will have so much fun together. He's a lucky guy to have you to show him the ropes. And you're lucky (i.e. blessed!) to have him too! He will always look up to you, and I know you'll give him lots of reasons to! May God bless your wonderful family!

And to think, that just four weeks ago you were headed to SA for orientation!! How exciting! Congratulations!

What amazing proof that the right baby...the one that was meant to be in your family...will find you! Congratulations mom, dad, and big brother!!

memom, I'm right there with you! My husband and I are slightly younger (37 and 39), and our son is 5. He will start Kindergarten in the fall. We are pursuing adopting a second child (through another agency, although we love, love Abrazo and would use them in a heartbeat if we lived a little closer.) Somedays I FEEL too old with all the aches and pains of my body (especially after non-stop yardwork all weekend), but we believe in our hearts that God has another child for our family. My advice...GO FOR IT!! Susan