Jump to content

Adam & Beth

Forum eLite
  • Posts

    5,075
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    2

Everything posted by Adam & Beth

  1. happily parenting God's greatest blessing!

  2. If you want to stay in touch, please email me at: adam_c_ryan@yahoo.com

    Take care!

  3. Ours was similar. You just never know. It took a few weeks to process our Inquiry and get an Application. We applied just after the last published 2006 Orientation date (Nov). We thought it would be Jan/Feb of the next year before we received an invitation for Orientation. Next thing ya know, we were Approved and invited to a new December Orientation only 3 weeks away! Everything kicked into high gear, we went to Orientation, had our first birthmother call 5 days after leaving (Homestudy was already complete), 12 birthmother calls and a few months later had the "right" match come thru, and Wow! a mere 9 months after Orientation, our newborn son was in our Arms! GOD IS GOOD! And Abrazo's process put us in touch with "Clara" who made our dreams of parenthood a reality! It's a good program. GOOD LUCK! Peace, Adam
  4. Best wishes to you Brandy. While I can't speak for the Abrazo team, I can tell you in my experience, I've see that their response times can vary depending many other things going on at the agency (Orientations, training, BABIES! being delivered, Intakes, etc....). It is an exciting time and I'm sure you are full of anticipation. My best advice is to be patient as it probably won't be long before you hear something and once on board, it's a wild ride! I wish you all the best on your journey towards growing your family through adoption and hope that it is a good fit between you and Abrazo. Their program has made many happy families (us included)! Peace be with you, Adam
  5. My pleasure. It's rather simple but seems to cover all the basics of living a life of Faith
  6. This is one of my favorite prayers that we would use to close every Mass. (other than "This Mass has ended, let us go forth and serve God") It is simply called the Parish Prayer was written by our priest at the time, Father Michael Tracey (aka Father Mike) -gotta love the good ol' Irish priests ) Lord: As a parish family we come to you; We come from different walks of life; Different countries, customs and experiences; Yet we come in one Faith to worship You; Form us into a loving, caring family; Gift us with openness to You and each other; May we never tire in our desire to serve You. In our vision, give us hope; In our struggles, assurance; In our Prayers, perseverance; In our plans, courage and inspiration; May the stranger find a welcome among us; The Searcher, guidance; The Doubter, a strong faith; The Newcomer, acceptance And the Burdened, refreshment; Renew us in Mind, Body, and Spirit so we may renew others through Christ. -Amen
  7. Dan, it's not just you, I too had never heard of him. I saw the news article on Yahoo! at lunchtime. I can't view YouTube from work, but perhaps will catch it this weekend.
  8. Thanks Laural He was a good sport and we are happy (and relieved) to have it done. -A
  9. Never fear Susan! I've never found you to be long winded and I'd be willing to bet money that I'm much longer winded As my coworkers can attest, I can write a novel just to say "YES" I like to think of it as being "very thorough" in my responses
  10. Monica, First, what a beautiful avatar photo. What a precious little girl Excellent post too. The tough journey we experienced with a failed placement followed a year later by a failed match was (for us) actually harder for us than the disappointments we faced with infertility. All of those events though were very tough and should not be taken lightly. My heart goes out to all those who hurt in their struggle to become a parent. Coming to terms is indeed very important. The tough times may never be forgotten, but once you have been blessed with a child, it does make them diminish greatly (in my opinion). I was just thinking (again) this morning about how special Nathan is to me and how I could not love a child more. This may sound silly, but I think I appreciate the gift that God has blessed & given us even more having become a parent through adoption than if I had been blessed with a biological child. I would love either unconditionally and could not put into words how special each is/would be, but I sometimes I just want to shout now "THANK YOU GOD FOR THIS AMAZING CHILD! Your Plan was SO GREAT!" Peace be with you, Adam
  11. Thanks for sharing in our joy Elizabeth and Susan We're going to have the poem printed & laminated and it will go in Nathan's baby book. At this rate, I'm going to need a bigger baby book for him as we've documented so many special times and so many baby's Firsts! It's hard to believe this little tyke of mine is almost 1 year old already Peace be with you all, Adam
  12. We had Nathan baptised this weekend and it went extremely well. Little Man was very well behaved and even "hammed it up" with the congregation as he yelled Da-Da-Da!, smiled, and then started clapping once the baptism had taken place. It was a hoot. Today I received an email from a church friend who said he had written this poem Sunday based on "Nathan's baptism and our happiness". I thought it was very nice and quite special and wanted to share: Poem by: Alan Sefton This Child May He Thanks be to God for this child... May he be slow to anger with temperment mild May he grow in both wisdom and years May he turn to You with all his fears May he experience Your love and Your grace May he have a smile upon his face May he care for and show others the way May he always worship You and pray May he see life as sacred and blessed May he not be by material wealth impressed Rather, in Your love and Your care May he trust You more and fully dare To live out his belief in word and deed Helping improve this world in need
  13. Best wishes to all those families created through adoption, old and new. Extra congrats to all the new first time parents. God is Good, all the time! -Adam
  14. DWWCUTMWBWNBABMUSGBAWNBOSBMUWTP it is! Thanks for that oh brave woman! Good laugh -A
  15. Elizabeth, I appreciate the point of view you expressed on this topic and I agree with many of the points you have raised especially when looking at labels that are placed upon all persons involved in adoption ). Semantics do certainly come into play IMO. For me, there is a difference when using the term Mom versus Mother. To others there may not be much difference. I think it is great that people keep open minds when discussing these issues and that we continue to reflect as to how to best present our meanings while giving those we speak of, all the respect they deserve. I appreciate Heidi lifting this particular topic as I know in many instances, my 'adoption language' has changed (for the better) in regards to our adoption journey and adoptions in general. It amazes me how a simple rephrasing of a sentence can have a big impact on how others interpret a statement. Thanks Heidi for keeping us thinking -Adam
  16. Mark, Congrats to you and Erin. It is a wild, wacky, fun, and super-informative weekend. ENJOY! -Adam
  17. Good info and please also accept another big forum WELCOME! The only thing I might add is I don't believe you can receive a birthparent call until you have a completed homestudy on file with Abrazo, so the sooner you get the done, the faster you can start talking to birthfamilies (provided all goes as planned with the application and orientation ) Bottom line, get that homestudy started (and be sure your social worker is familiar with the Texas Homestudy requirements). We had ours complete prior to orientation (due to a prior adoption attempt) and had our first call 3 days after we left orientation. It was a very exciting time! But, don't let not having it done keep you from applying and getting to orientation. Most folks don't have it ready yet when they attend, but you'll see why you want to have it done ASAP after attending. There are wonderful stories of folks going to Orientation and coming home with babies! Best wishes to you on your journey Danette & Chris. Adam
  18. Wow, time Flies! Just 9 short months ago we were placed with Nathan and now, looking back on that August photo, it's hard to remember him ever being that small! Best wishes to all those applying and to all the PIWs who wait patiently to be watched with a special birthmother. Peace be with you all, -Adam PS) GET THOSE APPLICATIONS IN!!!
  19. Mark, IMO (in my opinion) it's absolutely a good idea to get going with the homestudy now. You will want to have that milestone behind you as soon as possible. Once you attend an orientation, you cannot receive birthmother calls until you have a completed homestudy on file with Abrazo. We were fortunate in that our homestudy was complete due to a prior private adoption attempt and thus we had our first birthparent call just 3 days after leaving orientation. So, I would say, yes , if you can start it now, do it -Adam
  20. Best wishes to you Jenny on your adoption journey. -Adam
  21. Mark, Getting antzy is completely understandable. I think most if not all of us have been there in the adoptoin process at some point or another. The date will be here before you know it. Heck, we even thought we had missed the last Orientation of the year and would have to wait a few months until the next one came forth. Then there was a suprise orientation date that popped up and with about 3 weeks notice, we were invited to Orientation and found ourselves on a plane to San Antonio! 9 months after that, we were parents! Best wishes to you and Erin. -Adam
  22. EVERYDAY is a good day! Some are just better than others
  23. Happy May Day to you as well and thank you for the kind comment. Wishing you and your family all the best.

  24. That is some serious rosary prayer.... And I agree, prayer is a beautiful thing, whether it be structured in the form of Hail Mary, Our Father & Glory Be or a less formal one-on-one with the Big Guy The good news is, He always listens. -A
×
×
  • Create New...