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Baby Step: Start-Up Advice for Newbies


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Guest BeachMama

Welcome Gigi (and Edwin!)!

We submitted our Inquiry App. a few weeks ago and are now working on our application. I totally understand how you feel having found Abrazo - I think we have found our home.

We had a very bad experience with a different agency and I came to Abrazo with a lot of fear - but this forum has helped me so much. Even though we have not reached official approval, I have high hopes and the Abrazo mantra of "Its not if, its WHEN!" is really starting to resonate in my heart.

So great to have you here - and maybe we'll get to meet at orientation in a few months!!

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Guest BeachMama

Thanks for the clarification, chilemom! I can totally understand Gigi's feelings.

One of the MANY reasons I am glad we are working with Abrazo is that in our home state the birthparents have 30 days AFTER they sign away their rights to change their minds. Although I want the best for birthparents and feel that this probably benefits them, it scared the heck out of me.

The downside for us is what Elizabeth mentioned - we will be SO far away from our child's birthfamily. I'm sad about that, but we will do everything we possible can to see them as time goes on. We also have desires to move South eventually anyway - so maybe we'll end up in driving distance!

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Beachmama,

Desires to move south, huh? Well, come on down and join us. There is plenty of heat and humidy, sweet tea and smiles, and loads of southern hospitality to go around.

Personally, I love to lie on the lawn sipping mint juleps under the great magnolia trees...just call me Scarlett.....NOT!!! tongue.gif

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Guest BeachMama

LOL, Elaine...yes, some days I think I just want to move South in the movies - like any place, Hollywood makes EVERYTHING seem better! I am a Southern Belle in Yankee Girl disguise (I grew up in New York)

Actually, DH and I love the South - our three favorite cities (granted, they're tourist destinations) are New Orleans, Savannah and Charleston. My IL's just moved outside of Nashville - we think we may mosey down there sometime in a couple of years or so - time to be near family!! And we just feel...at home...in the South.

I get SO jealous every time I hear a woman say she is a G.R.I.T.S. I'm hoping I can raise a daughter to be one, or maybe a son as a Southern gentleman smile.gif

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Gigi & Edwin -

Welcome - you guys will really enjoy the forum and the experience. The Abrazo ladies do a great job guiding you through the process.

Best advise is from those above, read up on Open Adoptions and don't rush into the decision, make sure it is for both of you guys. But, don't be scared off by some of the stories you may read because that might just be one story out of a thousand great ones.

We did here of Michigan as being a great place to adopt too. We went with Abrazo, because they are in Texas. And, if I am going to have an Open Adoption with someone, I want it to be a place that I don't mind visiting. laugh.gif That was one thing that added to our decision.

Utah is nice, been there and dont that not excited about visiting annual, New Mexico is the same. I need an IKEA and hills and pools, beach, everything.

Ask lots of questions too.

Enjoy everything

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Hi!

We are making our first post, hoping to navigate our way around the forum, and excited to begin the Abrazo journey!

I see Edwin and Gigi are new from Michigan as well...I think we live close...we should talk!

We will be making our travel plans this weekend for the orientation in July and are overcome with excitement! biggrin.gif

Who else is going to be there? Maybe there is a post on this already? We will look around here more and see. We were just so excited to make our first post after we received the confirmation for our spot in July!

We are looking forward to meeting some really great folks here!

Thanks,

~Don and Andrea

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Welcome, Don and Andrea! You'll find a thread especially for our July orientation folks under "Parents-In-Waiting", entitled "Next Stop: July Orientation." Enjoy!

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Hello,

I just wanted to thank you all for your kind words and support.

We are very excited about getting to know all of you also.

unsure.gif I wanted to clear up the misunderstanding about us not adopting from Michigan because we are scared of "Open Adoption" that is incorrect. That is not our fear at all. My husband and I are excited to have the option for open adoption at Abrazo. When we were going to go International it really bothered us that we would not meet the birthmom or know anything about her or her family.

We look forward to meeting our birthmom and having a relationship with her and if possible the birthfather also. They deserve every photo, letter, phone call or personal meeting with the child that they would want to have.

We are not coming to Texas to seek placement outside of Michigan so that we wont have to deal with the birthparents. That is not the case at all.

Our fears is Michigan are the rights for the birthmom after she signs all the paperwork are too long. I have had a co-worker who has had 2 failed adoptions because after everything was final and they had the child home for awhile, the birthmom changed her mind and wanted her child back and got it back. We do understand that this is the hardest time for the birthparents. I cant imagine having to carry my child for 9 months and then having to give it up for someone else to love and raise. God bless them for doing that. I dont blame them for wanting to change their mind and take the child back but in my defense as the adoptive parent, I would like to be a little more protected from that happening to us. I know there are risks still, even going to Texas but they are less then going through Michigan.

I am sure there have been a ton of very successful adoptions here in Michigan. We however have decided against adopting from our own state.

I hope this clears the air about the fear I mentioned in my first posting. rolleyes.gif

Have a great weekend everyone.

Gigi

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Thanks guys! We are headed over to "Next stop-July orientation" right now! We added a picture to our profile(hope it doesn't come out too big!). My family is all in Texas already so it will be a blessing to have them around as we go through all of this. They are terribly excited for our visit in July and the hope it brings to our family. smile.gif

~Andrea

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Don and Andrea,

Welcome to Abrazo and the forum. Check out the Michigan Musings thread and if you'd like to come to our August get-together in Ann Arbor pm me with your name and address and I'd be happy to send you an invite. We'd love to meet you in person and share our experiences with you!

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I agree with you Gigi. I just feel that Michigan doesn't handle the adoption process in a timely manner. When we were told by our Michigan agency that if we would take placement of a child, the birthparents would have up to thirty days to go to the courthouse to terminate their rights after placement, I was very nervous. I know that many families have had success and that time frame wasn't an issue for them, but I was very uncomfortable with it.

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Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome!

We are looking forward to orientation and getting to know everyone here and in San Antonio! Great times ahead we are sure!

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Hi everyone,

We are new to the Abrazo family and we are so excited. We have been surfing all of the great sites and topics and feel like we know ya'll already.

We have sent in our application and are hoping to hear about the July orientation weekend. We are looking for any words of widsom and guidance from everyone who is willing to help us.

We are both from Canada but have relocated to Northwest Louisiana since 1997, we have tried the fertility route, but stopped short at invitro. We looked into adoption a year ago and we believed that our prayers were answered. We received two beautiful sisters (2 and 15 months) from the foster to adopt program in our state. We were blessed to love and take care of these 2 beauties for almost 10 months. However, the girls have since returned to their mother ( who has made the appropriate life changes to be a better mom ).

We have been sad to not see the girls every day but we realize that we loved and helped the girls during a difficult time when they really needed us. (and we needed them) We know that we are made to be parents and that our hearts are full of love and compassion for another child or children.

We are really happy to be a part of this wonderful family and are ready for this wild ride.

Jenn and Dave. :)

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Hi Jenn and Dave and welcome!

Bless your hearts and the road you have traveled!

Things are pretty exciting around here, huh?

We are new as well and still getting situated on the forum but feel great about joining the Abrazo family. My Aunt lives in Shreveport...small world! We have family all over down there. I sure hope you get to make it to the July orientation! Keep us posted!

~Andrea and Don

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Awww....Jenn and Dave - welcome to Abrazo's family and we're so glad you found us!!! I can't wait to hear more from you guys as you begin this journey and thanks for introducing yourselves!!!

You've found a great place - it's the best agency in the world as far as I'm concerned - they are a very special, close-knit group of ladies who give so much of themselves in everything they do!

Wishing you guys all the best!

Lisa

(We attended the August 2002 Orientation and adopted our daughter Kayleigh (who was a BOG (Blessing on the Ground) in December 2002 - we sent our initial inquiry in to Abrazo around July 4, 2002!!)

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Welcome to the Abrazo family Jenn and Dave. I hope you'll find this forum to be as helpful and supportive as our family has. Can't wait to hear about your journey. :D

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Welcome Jenn & Dave! We are new as well! Just sent in our application and waiting to hear if we got in the July orientation. This forum is amazing! I have learned so much from just reading through the history of posts! Good luck to you and I hope we get to meet in San Antonio in July!

Donna

PS We live in Memphis but I was raised in Lake Charles and moved here from New Orleans! Small world! :D

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Welcome Jenn and Dave! I have such respect and love for you already. We adopted our first daughter through Abrazo in the Spring of 2005. Now we are in the middle of a CPS adoption to adopt our daughter's bio sister.

We have gotten to know Angel's (our new daughter) foster mom and dad very well. They are wonderful people! Needless to say this CPS adoption has been much rockier than I had hoped for. Knowing that Angel's foster mom and dad truly love her and take great care of her keeps me sane!!! I don't know what I would do if I suspected she was not in a good foster home. :(

I am excited to see you all are beginning a new journey with Abrazo. We had a wonderful experience with them! I look forward to following your story. :)

Keep us posted on how things are going. Later on you will be glad you kept this "online journal". I have fun reading my old posts and seeing how much things have changed.

Your Friend,

Elaine

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Welcome Jenn and Dave! We've been with the great folks at Abrazo since May and will be attending the July Orientation - hope to see you there!

Enjoy the wonderful world of the Forum - almost anything you could possibly need to know you can find here, especially the warmest and most supportive group of people you could imagine.

Get ready for the journey of a lifetime!!!

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Jenn and Dave,

It will be nice to ride this wave of life with you. I do not believe we will make it to the July orientation as I just mailed out our pre-app this past Monday. We are hoping to be able to go to the Aug orientation.

Keep the faith and trust that God has put you on the right path.

Gigi & Edwin

Hi everyone,

We are new to the Abrazo family and we are so excited. We have been surfing all of the great sites and topics and feel like we know ya'll already.

We have sent in our application and are hoping to hear about the July orientation weekend. We are looking for any words of widsom and guidance from everyone who is willing to help us.

We are both from Canada but have relocated to Northwest Louisiana since 1997, we have tried the fertility route, but stopped short at invitro. We looked into adoption a year ago and we believed that our prayers were answered. We received two beautiful sisters (2 and 15 months) from the foster to adopt program in our state. We were blessed to love and take care of these 2 beauties for almost 10 months. However, the girls have since returned to their mother ( who has made the appropriate life changes to be a better mom ).

We have been sad to not see the girls every day but we realize that we loved and helped the girls during a difficult time when they really needed us. (and we needed them) We know that we are made to be parents and that our hearts are full of love and compassion for another child or children.

We are really happy to be a part of this wonderful family and are ready for this wild ride.

Jenn and Dave. :)

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Hi Everyone,

We thank you so much for your warm welcome into your lives. It has made me smile all day :) . We also received great news from Angela, we will be there in July for the orientation. Yahoo!!!!

We cannot wait to meet everyone and learn from each other.

Thanks again for your love and compassion.

Jenn and Dave

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JENN AND DAVE,EDWIN AND GIGI,

WELCOME! WE'VE 2 BEAUTIFUL ABRAZO BABES. NATHANIEL'S 3 YRS. AND CHEYENNE 3 MONTHS.

WE WENT TO TEXAS CAUSE THE AGENCIES WE CHECK OUT IN NJ JUST SEEMED SO BUSINESS LIKE AND ALSO A COUPLE OF THEM SEEM BIG ON PUSHING GOING OUT OF THE COUNTRY. ABRAZO IS FAMILY. MY HUSBAND AND I FEEL THAT THE LADIES OF ABRAZO DO LOVE WHAT THEY DO AND TRY THEIR HARDEST TO DO WHAT IS BEST FOR THE ENTIRE ADOPTION TRIAD.

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