AmandaC

Thanks for the input! I can't wait to get the packet in the mail. I've been having a ball fixing up the nursery. This will be my first child...(my husband has a seven year old from previous marriage who lives with his mom) and I still can't believe that my dream is on it's way to coming true! My husband and I have agreed on our wants and needs as far as a child goes, and we talk about it all the time. We agreed to be very open with the agency about what we are looking for. Any other way would not benefit US or the adoption, itself, so I don't think that will be a problem. In the meantime, I am really suprised at how patient I have been through this all. I guess that after so long in trying to have a baby and feeling out of control in that situation...finally I know that this is in my control and that we WILL have a baby. My heart is at peace and I am just patiently waiting for God to guide our child to us. Enough of my rambling. I appreciate and am open to ANY and ALL input on all of this!! Have a great week, everyone! Amanda

Hi Everyone! We just heard back from Abrazo last night and they are sending the application packet out to us!! I guess that means our inquiry looked good to them??? If I'm understanding this right, we get the application packet back to them and then they set us up for orientation??? We're very excited! Been working on the nursery and just finished our home inspection for the homestudy. We've already had our physicals and two interviews also! I've just read through this whole topic of posts and it is so encouraging to see you guys who were once in my shoes, now having their little ones to show for all of their work and patience! I hope that one day I can be posting a beautiful photo of my child instead of the one of my husband and me!

Hi! It's not hard looking at the pics! I love it! What WAS hard up until now was shopping for a baby. This is all so new to me being as I never let myself even go CLOSE to the baby section, anywhere! I guess it was almost like I didn't want to get my hopes up because I was let down time and time again when I was trying to get pregnant. Now...I can...and that's ALL I shop for...although I haven't bought anything yet. I don't know what I should start with! I know the crib and furniture...but it's the little stuff that I'm so unsure about, like what I will need most, first, etc. So...tell me about your "waiting" story! Are you guys getting excited yet...or nervous???? Oh....one more thing, guys!! Does anyone reading this have any experience with General Motors and their adoption benefits?? Legal services are covered, but am wondering if we can use our own attorney for the legal services instead of Abrazo...to save a little money. Any input?? Oh...and we're checking on GM credit union....thanks for the suggestion!!

I feel a strange patience about this whole process. I am confident now that God has led us down a difficult road for a reason...and it's sooo nice to finally see that reason! That, in itself, reminds me that things will work out the way that they are meant to. Waiting gives us a chance to work on the nursery...which....is harder to come up with a decor than I thought! Of course, it is neutral....but there is sooooo much to choose from! It's fun looking around though. We're painting it this weekend! I have never let myself look through the baby aisles until now...or get excited until now, for fear of the unknown. I KNOW NOW that we will have a child...and our perfect child will come to us when he or she is meant to! Have you guys looked through the gallery at the pics??? If not...you must! They are so sweet and give lots of hope and encouragement! Well...hubby is yelling at the tv (watching the Cowboys game)....so I am going to see what all the fuss is about! Have a good night!

I thought of a garage sale where friends and family can donate items to sell. Verdict is still out on that one, though. Is it common for Abrazo to turn down applicants??? I'm so worried about that! I was referred by an agency here in shreveport and she said that she has heard RAVE reviews about Abrazo, so I figured she referred a lot of people!

Thanks Guys!! That's why I am stuck on this agency...everyone is so warm and informative. It's very comforting! We just had our individual interviews for our homestudy and our 1st home visit is a week and a half away. I'm getting more and more nervous that we won't be accepted to Abrazo for some reason, although, considering our flexibility and circumstances, I think we have a good chance. This is the first time in my life I've let myself shop for baby stuff and I'm getting overwhelmed!! Did you guys start shopping this early??? We are working on the financial part....doing lots of extra work to put back for expenses and I'm researching loans with good interest rates. There is a myriad of them out there, most of which charge to apply for them, so I'm reluctant to right now. Any suggestions there would be appreciated, although I've already found out a lot reading in that forum. I'm also beginning to look for some type of adoption group we can join. Guess you can never have too much information on this subject. These forums are great! Look forward to talking with you all more in the months to come!!!

Hi Everyone! I am Amanda and my husband is Chris. We just submitted our inquiry and are waiting to hear if we will be accepted into the Abrazo family. We are also in the middle of our homestudy. This is so exciting! I see that many of you have already adopted from Abrazo and it makes me feel so good that everyone seems to be so helpful and comforting. As you all know, it is very scary getting started into this process knowing nothing and I think it's great that these forums are here to help make everyone comfortable with the process. I hope with all my heart that we are accepted. We've had a heartbreaking time with infertility and miscarriage and have come to realize that God just wanted us to have our child a different way Anyway...this is my first post ever, and in all of my research in this process, I'm sure I'll be posting often. Just wanted to introduce myself and it never hurts to get more fingers crossed for us, too!