reneetodd

The photo of the newest family can now be viewed in the gallery! Congratulations!

Check out the gallery for the photo of our newest family!

Check out the gallery for the photos of our two newest families!

I am currently reading "The Girls Who Went Away..." and I am blown away. It is wonderfully written, full of interesting statistics and social commentary, and full of true personal accounts. I wouldn't say this book is anti-adoption. I would say it's more of a reflection on the sad history of adoption and thoughts on what got us to that point. In order to know where were going we have to know where we've been (or so Elizabeth says on Orientation Friday nights!) and that rings true here. It has had quite an impact on me. I can only read a chapter or so at a time, it can be quite overwhelming. I didn't realize the author was speaking at that conference Elizabeth, color me jealous!

I was so sad to miss Gregory and Angie's placement while I was on vacation and so excited to hear about Clyde and Monica's!!! Three cheers to the two new families and their precious daughters!

At LONG last, there is a photo in the gallery! Congrats to the new family!

It truly is a great photo to see! Congratulations!

GREAT examples Elizabeth! Not only good info for those prospective APs new to open adoption, but also for our current or past clients who have to answer questions from misinformed families and friends.

Wow, that quote gave me chills. How thankful I am that women have all their choices available to them now. And thankfully we can offer them the choice for open adoption.

Welcome! We're so glad you've found the Forum and especially that your family found Chad and Jena!

Check out the gallery for our newest addition, Baby Camryn! Congratulations to her new family, excited big brother, and loving birthmom!

Told you you'd get over it!

Great topic! I'm glad it was brought up to the top again. I am neither a single parent or a birthmother who matched with a single parent but I am the child of a single parent. My mother remarried when I was nine but until then she did it all by herself. While I am, obviously, the same gender as my mother she tried to do activities with me that she thought father's would do with their daughters also. She didn't want me to lose the "masculine" influence that a father undoubtedly has on his daughter. We played catch, went camping, hiking, fishing, rode bikes, caught frogs, wrestled, played sports, etc...along with all kinds of girly tea parties, dressing up, shopping trips, coloring, reading, watching Shirley Temple movies, etc... As a result I have a pretty cool mom who can dress like a princess OR pitch a tent in less than five minutes. I also had a lot of positive male role models in my life. Coming from a very close knit family I was never short uncles who loved me and treated me the same as their children (especially my Uncle Al who had only sons, he loved to spoil his neice-daughter!) My grandfather also taught me to shoot guns, catch chickens, work on cars, and the names of tools. I think my advice here would be that single parents include influences and role models in a child's life that give them the opportunity to experience both genders of parents. There is no reason why a single father couldn't play tea party or Barbies and sports with his daughter or why a single mother couldn't teach her son to catch a ball and read picture books together at bedtime. Being a well-rounded single parent shows the child that stereotypical general roles are a thing of the past and that males and females are equally capable of most things. And having a strong family unit with male role models for your child exemplifies the proverbial, it takes a village to raise a child. And that sense of community can only help your child's self-esteem and well-being.

What a beautiful tribute Sherrie. I will definetly be thinking of y'all and Elizabeth's family.