tksimmons02

Congratulations to the new families!! Prayers of peace and healing for the first families.

Welcome Jenny! I hope Abrazo is where you find your family.

Congratulations!! Prayers of healing to the first family.

Congratulations Laural, Casey, and Zachary!! Blessings to the firstfamily that made this possible.

Congratulations Brad & Amy! Prayers for the first family of this precious new Texas son.

Blessings to you little Eli! Prayers of healing for your courageous first family.

Congratulations Jason and Wendy. Prayers for healing and peace to Ethan's first family.

My heart has been so burdened by this situation. I pray that this precious woman learns to respect herself as much as she obviously respects Abrazo. I pray that the right family comes along to love both the baby, and her first mom.

Congratulations to all!! Prayers for healing and peace for your precious first mom.

My advice 1. God's timing is PERFECT. Your child will come to you EXACTLY when he/she is supposed to and not a moment before. RELAX. You will not "miss" your child because of a homestudy glitch or badly timed vacation. 2. Talk to your families now about what open adoption is and isn't. Get them ready for it. Talk about it often. It is a difficult concept for most people, and a simple explaination really won't do it. Live it before your child comes home. 3. Read parenting books. Adoption is great, but you need to know how to care for a newborn AND what to expect before you can talk about adoption! 4. Don't think about it too much. You can drive yourself CRAZY contemplating possible scenarios. Take each day as it comes, and BREATHE!

We are lifting up this little boy and his precious mom. May they both find the peace they so deserve. I surely pray many of our wonderful PIW's have submitted themselves for this special situation. Our daughter is almost 2, and it is a magical age.

Congratulations!! What a wonderful story!

Congratulations!! How wonderful to have such a loving reception for this newest angel!

I gotta brag on my hubby a little. He was interviewed for an article in Physician's Practice. The article was the "cover story" for this issue. Jay is quoted extensively and is used as an example of what an IT guy should be. The article details what Jay does for his company, and shows of his knowledge of the latest medical software and technologies. I know he's fabulous, but it is pretty cool to see it in print!

Congratulations!! Enjoy every sweet moment together!

Congratulations to all!!!

I don't have a problem with incentives based on special needs children (medical problems, etc,). I have a huge problem with incentives based soley on skin color. I had the awesome opportunity to hear some fabulous momma's talk about this very topic this weekend. These ladies opened my eyes to the messages we are sending (albeit however innocently). It hurts my hearts for them. Like it or not, adoption isn't cheap. I don't begrudge our agency, because I think they do it honestly. Placement costs are based on need and situation. I do resent other agencies that have price lists for babies and list them like products. Those agencies give adoption a bad name, and give me a lot more discussions to have with my little girl some day.

Congratulations John & Nina!!! She's precious!

Praying for a happy announcement soon!

This is what makes us different. I don't give to charities because I get a tax deduction. I give to causes that I passionately believe in. My donation is my effort to make a difference with the limited funds that I can provide. I don't even keep records for tax purposes (sorry Anthony ). Much of what we give is untraceable, because it doesn't matter where it came from, as long as it helps. I am offended by breaking down the costs of adoption based on race for many reasons, and the biggest one is the "financial incentive" that you refer to. Adopting transracially is not an easy thing. Choosing your family based on "what you can afford" is irresponsible, and shouldn't be encouraged. I don't think emotional or guilt based reasons are appropriate either. Adding to your family through adoption should be done carefully, and deliberately. If a financial incentive is what you base your decision on, I fear the consequences for the child and the family. I don't have answers here. I just know that it hurts my heart that certain children (like my own) could be considered "easier to place" because of what she looks like. I HATE the message that that sends. She is certainly no better than children of other ethnicities, nor should she cost more. It is offensive to me that people would pay more for her based on appearances. It hurts my heart that my dear friend's children may be considered "hard to place" just because they are darker than their mommies. They are unique, wonderful children with fabulous parents. Their worth to society can't be measured. Giving financial incentives based on income of the AP's seems much more fair to me than basing the incentive on the color of the child placed.

I find this unbelievably disturbing. Children are priceless, regardless of color. That this Dallas agency feels it appropriate to break down the value of a placement based on the racial combinations is absolutely horrifying to me.

What a BEAUTIFUL baby boy!!! Enjoy every precious minute with your new sweetheart and his first family! Congratulations.

God bless Abrazo for bringing comfort and hope to the down trodden. Everyone makes mistakes. It shouldn't mean you are less than human. It makes me SICK to think how these girls were treated (girls because they're jueveniles). If anything, juvenile offenders need MORE comfort and MORE hope so that they have a chance of actually being "rehabilitated".

God is good!

Isn't "marketing" like that highly unethical? Is there any sort of governing body that overseas those kind of unseemly behavior?