dbernados

Congratulations Mike, Kelly and Ethan! We are so excited for you and can't wait to see your new little boy! Love you all, Donna, Tony & Ethan

Congratulations Tom & Kathy!!! Maya is beautiful! Much love, Aunt Donna, Uncle Tony & Ethan

Through process of elimination, it appears the newest family is Tom and Kathy....YEAh!!! WE are so happy for you and are rejoicing right at this moment. Tony

We are so excited about being Ashton's parents. This is the first time since we brought him home I am able to post. He is definately an answer to a prayer. My husband Dave and I have been through a lot of heart ache in the past 8 years. We have had 2 miscarriages with one being twins, mutliple infertility treatments to the point I felt like a pin cushion , we also registered with another agency and was with them for over 3 years with no opportunities. I was home sick one day and saw the Adoption story about a couple who use Abrazo and it was an answered prayer. We did our research and prayed about switching agencies and we got peace that we needed to make that change. God had put a desire in our heart to have a child and we knew we are suppose to be parents. We got our paperwork filled it all out and prayed over it before it was mailed out. Ashton is definately the child God has destined for us. A group at my work prayed everyday at noon about this agency and that the adoption would come through quick and fast....boy does he answer prayers. I got the call from Angela at work at noon about a newborn baby. It was all I could do to contain myself and I called the birthmother immediately. We hit off and there was an instant connection. My husband and I waited.....because there were other families she needed to speak to, so we waited to say the least it was hard to work the rest of the day. I got call from Angela on the way home from work that the birthmother chose us. It was all I could to drive that last 5 minutes home to tell my husband. We were on cloud nine, little did we know we were going to have to jump through a few hoops to bring him home. We already had a home study but it was not valid for Texas so we had to immediately get it redone and thanks to Elizabeth we found someone who was able to get our homestudy done immediately. After going through the whole process, faith and prayer brought Ashton home. Abrazo is wonderful and took such good care of us and even put our new baby on the phone with me so I could hear him and to encourgage us that all the stuff we were going through was worth it all. He is the most precious adorable little baby, he is so happy and it just feels so right like he has always been in our hearts. Talk about other plans, orientation was on the schedule.... it just goes to show it is God's timing and we were not to wait for the orientation, Ashton needed to go home. It has been a wonderful journey so far and we look forward to our future and watching Ashton grow. Thank you Abrazo and the wonderful staff, you will always hold a special place in our hearts. Next time we will try the orientation, I hear they are great and fun! Tonya & Dave - Ashton's Parents 36221[/snapback] Tonya & Dave, Your story is beautiful. I love how you prayed over the application/paperwork before it was mailed. God does answer our prayers and when he does it is worth everything you had to go through to get to that point. We are so excited for you! Orientation is AWESOME!! So maybe the next time around you guys will be able to catch it (if the Lord wills) before your bundle of joy arrives.

Congratulations Brad, Mel and Brady on the new addition to your family! God has surely blessed us all with the wonderful Abrazo group! I am so happy that all of the peas have been placed. It is sad not to see you guys there in PIW but hopefully the Tots will catch up soon!

Congratulations Jay & Tina! We are so happy for you guys and Makenzie is beautiful!!! I cried when we read Elizabeth's post about you guys. Donna

Congrats to Jay and Tina!!

The BOG went to Jay and Tina from Connecting the Tots. They left for Dallas this morning. I will post further details as I find them out.

Wow! What a large group! There were 3 Againers in the group and lots of smiling faces. Can't wait to see what their name is... Tony

I wonder if the new orientation group is just now going to sleep??

Welcome to the fold....New orientation group. You all will have so much fun this coming weekend!!! It is one of the most unforgettable weekends we have ever experienced and the relationships that we have formed with everyone in our group is amazing. Relationships that last a lifetime with people that understand exactly where you have been and how you feel. Get some rest before the weekend!!!

Congratulations Jena and Chad....Abrazo is on a ROLL...Let's keep this going! Tony, Donna and Ethan

Congratulations and much love from our home to yours. Tony and Donna

Adequate words escape us. You all are truly on the mark. Ethan is beyond imagination and his birth family is extraordinary. In all truthfullness, WE feel like WE have been adopted by them. We are humbled and truly touched by all your kind words and well-wishes. We accept the responsibility of raising Ethan to be a loving, giving man of integrity. Thank you..... Tony and Donna

Hello Orientees: We are in Tony and Donna. We are part of the Connecting the Tots group and are in San Antonio now for the placement of our son Ethan. Best of luck this coming weekend. You will leave with a greater sense of what this journey will be like and a renewed confidence in taking charge of your own fertility... Maybe we will run in to you all.... Tony

Matthew & Betsy, We are so thrilled for you! Enjoy your new bundle of joy!

Congratulations! I am sorry that we won't be able to meet you guys this coming weekend, but what better reason than picking up your new little girl. She is beautiful!

Can't wait to see your new pictures!

Congratulations on your new bundle of joy!

So you used Identix and they were able to get your husband's results back quickly? When I called Identix they were confused which made me more confused. We go to Memphis several times a year (we will be there again in March) and thought we might go to Identix while we are there so expedite the process. I am putting our fingerprints in the mail today though just so we can get that started in case the other doesn't work.

If we send it through the FBI it will take 6-8 weeks to get the results back. I know in Tennessee they have an agency called Identix that gets the results back within 48 hours. Does anyone know of something like this in the North?

Sandi, How quickly did you get the results back?

Thanks for the information!

Thanks Sherrie! Sorry it has taken me so long to respond. We went to the Orientation a few weeks ago so we have been busy trying to get everything together. Abrazo should have received our first packet of information and 1/2 of the fee today...so we are official! My husband and I have been married for 10 years so we have that taken care of.

I have a question about finger prints. No where do I see in the Abrazo paperwork (although there is alot so I may have overlooked it), our home study paperwork or the Texas home study requirements that there is a requirement for finger prints. Our social worker said that is typically done with International adoptions. Can anyone shed some light on that? I have everything else in the works but don't want that to hold us up. Thanks!