Dale and Amanda

Susan, we look forward to following your journey!!!

Nope, no plans to stay in the Memphis area. Dale finishes his MBA in October, and we hope to move west (his preference is Oklahoma, mine is Phoenix, but I am pretty sure we will end up in Oklahoma if he can find a job there). Who knows? If he was to get a promotion at work that could all go out the window!!!

I did talk with Jay (thanks for asking). He agrees with me ( I can't believe he is feeling it too). We are focusing on getting our house ready to sell right now. We hope to have it on the market by early spring and sold by late spring/early summer. We hope to attend orientation sometime next summer or early fall. Of course, if the right situation comes along sooner than we planned, we will make amends. Tina, where do you guys plan on going after you sell your house? We plan to put ours on the market around that time as well. I had hoped to do some improvements this winter in preparation to sell, but that is out the window! I will be fortunate to get it all painted!!! Good luck and I look forward to your future news!!! (Whenever it may come.)

Congratulations! What an amazing family photo!!

That's the great thing, your baby will find you when the time is right!!! For us it was a bit earlier than we thought, but then again Arianna found us sooner than we expected, as well!

Rhonda, how great to have a little one that is already concerned for others!!!

Karen, what an amazing Christmas gift!!!

This newest one has been on my mind today. Praying that he will find the right forever family!!!

Love the picture in the gallery!! Happy tears!!!

Julie and Jon, what amazing news! Praying for you, the babies, and the birthfamily for a wonderful Christmas!

I can tell you from our experience that God does amazing things when adding to families! The only thing for us that was current was our fingerprints as we had them done last December for Arianna's placement. They are good for a year. Other than that, everything had to be done between Friday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon when we headed for San Antonio. I scrolled back through all the posts about the baby girl that is now known as Nichole...and I am still amazed that she is here!!!

Praying for this precious one, those that love him, and those that will be his family.

All I know is watch out, because if you start talking about #2, it might happen before you expect it! We weren't thinking newborn either, but Nichole was only 6 days old at placement. Good luck with whatever you guys decide!!!

Tina, I agree. We want Arianna and Nichole to appreciate what they have and take care of things. I have friends whose children make it a game to see how short a life they can give something...and then beg for a new one when they do break/lose it. A couple of years ago the kids wanted Ipods. They were going to get the nice big video ones (at 10 years of age). I talked my friend out of it as I reminded her that if they are able to download videos, she no longer has any say-so in what they watch (you should have seen some of the songs that were downloaded!!!). Well, the Ipod was gone in about 2 weeks, so it would have been some big bucks out the window. I was raised to appreciate what I had (which wasn't much, but I took care of it). I want my children to appreciate it as well. I take care of my home, so I hope that they will learn some by example. We have sponsored children in "needy" countries for the past 10 years or so. I hope that we are able to share that with the girls as well as in more hands-on ways.

Wow! We knew the ladies were busy this week, and we are so happy for all the families! We are having a ball, and our girls are doing great! So much to be thankful for!

Praying for all involved in this!!!

Congratulations to the expanded family!!!

I guess it would be best for us to start looking to start over if we were to go through a Texas agency. Our previous homestudies were expressly for TN, so those studies probably wouldn't be in the format TX needs. ARGH! There is so much to think about and process!!!

I have a question...I have noticed that most PIWs come in expecting to be matched with an expecting mother. Do you have PIWs expressly for older placements? There have been a couple of older children this year and I know that our homestudy has not been done for TX standards, so I was wondering if you have people coming in specifically for an older child?

Wonderful news! Congratulations to the newest family!!!

Congratulations on your baby girl! They are so much fun!

Oh my goodness! Happy tears for all of you! Congratulations Traci, Brett, and baby girl! Prayers for you guys and your birthfamily. Now we will have dinner sometime and CELEBRATE!!!!!

Congratulations to the newest families! Keeping all involved in my prayers!

Wow! I have to say that I entered the adoption world quite ignorant of many things. Over time I have been educated through many of you that transracial adoption can work well (although many posts as of late seem to say that adoption period is harmful to children). I have also learned that I am willing to accept that there was no prenatal care, and can still have a healthy baby. Not all stimulants, drugs, or tobacco products will permanently harm my child. I am thankful that I have had this forum as a resource. I hope that others are able to find it a supportive and helpful resource as well.

Congratulations Peter and Hallye! Prayers for you all during this time of transition.