Adam & Beth

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, a

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 Abraz

My pleasure. It's rather simple but seems to cover all the basics of living a life of Faith

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

Amen.

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.

Thanks Laural He was a good sport and we are happy (and relieved) to have it done. -A

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

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 gre

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

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 gr

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

DWWCUTMWBWNBABMUSGBAWNBOSBMUWTP it is! Thanks for that oh brave woman! Good laugh -A

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 apprec

Mark, Congrats to you and Erin. It is a wild, wacky, fun, and super-informative weekend. ENJOY! -Adam

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 l

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!!!

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

Best wishes to you Jenny on your adoption journey. -Adam

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

EVERYDAY is a good day! Some are just better than others

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