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What made you pick Abrazo?


LuvOurTexan

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lovefaithhope, I don't have anything original to add to what others have said... but I agree that Abrazo really feels like a family. We were amazed at how much we bonded with fellow adoptive parents at the orientation session, and now that we are seeing people get matched with birth parents it's this feeling of joy. We thought we would feel competitive but it's not that at all. We are all pulling for each other. I think most of us are out-of-staters as well.

Linda (not matched yet, but it's just a matter of time!!)

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lovefaithhope,

Welcome to the Abrazo forum. We chose Abrazo because they gave us hope...We worked with another agency and the second time, they gave us faith in the adoption process. We worked with another agency and there is no comparison. What is different? They aren't placing children...they are building families. What this means to me is that they really look for the best overall match between birthfamily and adoptive family, a child to his/her forever family. This is their highest priority is making sure to watch out for the best interest of everyone in a Christian and loving way!

That is the difference...(In my mind).

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We had literally stacks of information from many agencies, both for domestic and international adoption. I had no idea how to choose one over the other, until Angela called us to see how we were doing. She was the only person from any of the agencies to call. That simple gesture was enough to pursuade us into Orientation Weekend. After that weekend, meeting the Abrazo ladies and the other couples, there was no doubt that Abrazo was for us! Our 3 month old son was home with us less than a month later!

We're so glad to be part of the Abrazo family, we're returning for our 2nd adoption!

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lovehopeandfaith,

The thing that impresses me the most about Abrazo is how much they want you to continue to be a part of the Abrazo family. They want to continue to know about your child as they grow up. We adopted two children from another agency and one from Abrazo. The other agency does not ask to know about the children they placed with us. This makes me kind of sad.

Good luck on your journey and we hope you will join the Abrazo family! :)

Heather :)

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I didn't pick Abrazo- BUT I wouldn't change a thing. I sent out a bunch of emails looking for an adoption situations...Abrazo answered and 7 days later I was in Texas being introduced to my 3 day old son! :lol::lol:

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I really can't add any more than what everybody else has said other than Abrazo is very open and honest. They want you to know everything and go into each situation with your eyes open. The support of everybody not just the staff is amazing. We had major emotions taking place after our son's placement. We called the office and they put us in contact with another family that went through something similar. It eased our emotions but showed us that they care and truely know their families.

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We came to Abrazo after a disastrous contested adoption case with an attorney who "specialized" in private adoption. We were looking for an agency, because we had enough of dealing with adoption attorneys. Our NJ social worker gave us a list of about 10 agencies - the last one being Abrazo, and her comment about Abrazo was "they place pretty quickly, but it's mostly hispanic kids."

I did my best to research the 10 agencies, some had websites, some didn't. When I looked up Abrazo and read about them, I really liked the idea of Orientation. I spoke to Angela and she was extremely nice, informative and compassionate to what we had been through.

To be perfectly honest, by the time we arrived in San Antonio, we were pretty beaten up by the adoption process and were in desperate need of some hope. Abrazo gave us an education about open adoption, that frankly made us feel somewhat embarrassed about our contested adoption experience. Most importantly, they gave us back our sense of worth and hope that we would one day soon be parents.

We chose Abrazo because they took the time to know who we were, accepted us, and restored our faith in the process and showed us that open adoption is truly the only way.

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Mostly the experice of a friend who had adopted twice through Abrazo. I spoke to her a year before we were ready to adopt and then again after our failed IVF. She LOVED Abrazo and was tremendously happy with her decision. I never looked at another agency. I felt comfortable with Abrazo from the beginning not only from my friend's experience but by the way things were handled when we began the process. Everything went so smoothly that I even asked my husband - "Does this seem a little too easy?" "This doesn't seem like it should be this easy".

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I can't believe that I haven't seen this before!

Well, what made me chose Abrazo was: When I decided to go with adoption for my son I was about 5 months along and I knew at that time it wasn't ready to a mother to three children. I really wasn't ready to a mother to two children either but it was to late for any life changing choices for them but for this one I knew I could give him everything he needed by finding a loving and happy family to care for him. So my cousin sent me this letter with a profile of this couple looking to adopt in the Dallas, TX area and a number to call. I called the number and it was for Abrazo and that couple had just recently adopted so I gave them my information and they sent me a packet with other potiental adoptive family's. When I got this one couple I just knew with out a dout that they were the ones that I wanted to adopt my son. I talked to another couple before talking to them but my mond was already made up on them. And the rest is a beautiful story.....The one that is uplifting and meant for lifetime. Who knows, one day it just might become a lifetime movie...lol But all-in-all, I am glad that I found Abrazo, or better yet they found me!

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Hi - We're hoping to adopt again domestically and I was just wondering what made everyone choose Abrazo? It seems like a great agency! :D

......

I also appreciate your responses. I'm out of state too, so just curious about the out-of-staters.

thanks again,

Hi LoveFaithHope:

We too are out of staters and through Abrazo, were successfully placed with our beautiful son, Nathan. GOD IS GOOD!

We were using a great adoption agency locally, but they are a very young and small agency and advised that it could take quite some time before the right birthmother/baby were to come our way. (Surprisngly, a good situation occurred shortly after we started with Abrazo, but we felt we were on the right path to continue with the Abrazo program). Our agency advised they knew a number of people in the Memphis area that had successfully adopted through an Agency in San Antonion known as Abrazo Adoption Associates.

We looked into Abrazo to see what their program was like and spoke with a couple or two locally who had used their services. We did the inquiry, application and Orientation and Abrazo really opened our eyes to what Open Adoption is (and just as importantly, what it is not). Abrazo has a good program and it works. Our son Nathan is proof of that. Being out of state, I think it helps to have some local support resources as well and our local adoption agency has filled that role. At a minimum, make sure you are working with a good social worker who will be handling your case while you await finalization.

The Abrazo Orientation is excellent at helping you establish support resources within your adoption/Orientation group. Believe me, even after a mere 2 day orientation, you will form lifelong bonds with some if not all of your group. I can't tell you how supportive our friends in our group have been to us. :)

Through Abrazo, we met, matched, and formed a life-long bond with a wonderful birthmother. The things we learned about open adoption helped put to rest our fears and helped kindle a good open relationship with her. We are grateful for Abrazo's help in educating us about how beneficial an open adoption relationship can be for all parties.

Is Abrazo right for you?

Only you can decide that. Check them out. They are not for everyone and they'll be the first to tell you that. That is one of the first things they told us at Orientation. But if you do feel they are for you and they feel the same, it could be the start of a wonderful relationship :)

Is there a perfect adoption agency?

No, I don't think so (nor is their the perfect client probably :lol: ) but I do believe that some are agencies are a step above other agencies and I can tell you that, in my opinion, Abrazo's plan does work. Without us having taken a leap of faith to use them, we would not be placed with our beautiful son :) GOD IS GOOD! and I believe he guided us throughout our entire adoption journey. I am thankful that through him and through our local agency, we were directed to Abrazo.

Whatever you decide, may God be with you on your journey and may your life be filled with blessings & joy.

Peace be with you,

Adam

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Hi - We're hoping to adopt again domestically and I was just wondering what made everyone choose Abrazo? It seems like a great agency! :D

We too switched to Abrazo for our second domestic adoption. we loved our 1st agency, we wanted our children closer than there regs would allow, due to the age of our first child at placement, we used them for the local support and social workers, but Abrazo was where we were meant to be for number 2. I feel we had a good idea of open adoption going in, but we loved orientation weekend with Abrazo. There were things at orentation that we had not heard before and that we learned more on, of course I do not think you can ever stop learning about open adoption. I think Abrazo and the other agency both had staff that saw their work as their calling and not a job, and that is what we wanted. These ladies love what they do. And like Adam said we have formed some awesome friendships from our orintation group, 3 years later we still talk and hopefully that will continue for a lifetime. We have a good relationship with our birthmother. And I think one thing that has been a God send, was that they are still here for us, when we have issues. We unfortunaley lost our son's birthfather in late 2006, Abrazo was there to offer us support, and guidance with this, the forum family was there to pray for us and Garen birthfamily as we all dealt with his birthfathers untimely death. Elizabeth and her staff went out of their way to try to help us find out what had happened. These ladies truely become an extention of your family, adn they absolutley love what they do, and have fun doing it.

Good luck in your future adoption journey

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Well, I got the yellow pages out and called every adoption agency in it. Everyone sent us their information and Greg and I narrowed it down to three. We applied to all three with the first set of paperwork and all three accepted us at that point. Then we had to decide on one. We picked Abrazo becasue their wait time was the shortest and the cost was in the middle of all three. But most of all was the conversations I had on the phone with the people at Abrazo. I wish I could remember who I spoke it. I just got a "good" feeling with Abrazo. They seemed to care so much. I had a lot of questions and they answered them so well. So we choose Abrazo and the rest is history!!! Two kids later we couldn't be happier. :lol:

Jan

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We only contacted Abrazo. We had a friend of a friend use Abrazo and have a good outcome.

We initally were unsure about the openess but that changed after orientation. ;)

We are now back 2 years later as againers.

Elizabeth, Do you have an agency you recommend to people who already have bio. children and want to adopt their second? I have people ask me and would like to know of one that they could use but also believes in the openess way of life.

Take Care.

Laural

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Abrazo gave us our son Zachary as a B.O.G. only 3 weeks after our 1st orientation. How is that for service? ;)

Our second match came shortly after orientation as well. I think God is good. We are blessed with birthmothers who

liked us for some reason. ;) But Abrazo has been great and we would highly recommend using them. Open your hearts and minds to

adoption, openess, and maybe even transracial adoption.

Take Care.

Laural

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  • 3 weeks later...

This is the first time I also noticed this thread...We picked Abrazo off the Internet. I liked the website and how the caring aspect came forth in the initial presentation. We went to Orientation soon after and since then we have never doubted are decision. I can say from our recent experiences, I hate that things do not always work out but I am 100% confident that other agencies and adoptive parents would never be there to support you like this family is. Abrazo is honest, fair, and a family that I know we will always be a part of.

Josh

Edited by Josh and Kara Whitfield
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Our friends, Maralou & Craig, told us about their adoption experience with Abrazo so we were really leaning toward using them (Thanks guys for introducing us to them :rolleyes: )!!. We investigated a lot of other adoption agencies but liked Abrazo's approach and when we went to Orientation it sealed the deal for us. How many adoption agencies do you know of that have an orientation weekend??? I don't know of any other than Abrazo. It gives Abrazo a chance to get to know each couple personally that they are going to place a child with and it also gives the adoptive couple a chance to get to know the wonderful ladies they will be working with. Two months, almost to the day, after orientation weekend we were on our way back to Texas to pick up our little sweetheart, Ethan Ascher who is turning 2 next week.

THANKS ABRAZO FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Edited by dbernados
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Hi Saint!

Would you care to share why it took some convincing?

Can you remember why you had hesitations and fears?

We would love to hear your turn-about!

I know for me personally, making that first phone call to Abrazo was a BIG deal! I was ready (and desperate for a plan for our life). I just know I sounded so pathetic on the phone. Lucky for me, I got this great guy, (who worked at Abrazo at the time) who was sooo patient, answering all my loaded questions. He was so caring and CALM, I just knew that we were going to be OK! :)

(And this was pre-forum, 1995.)

Karen

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  • 6 months later...

Having already adopted once I had a LONG list of stuff that I needed our agency to be.

Number 1 was ethical to the birthparents.

Number 2 was ethical to the adoptive parents.

Number 3 was knowledgable in open adoption because I know how much support an open adoption can take through the entire life of the child, not just pre-adoption.

And so on and so on. Our past agency has had a lot of switches in personnel, and much of that personal service was lost sadly in the process, which is why we were looking for another. I must say that cost was another factor as I was not willing to pay the 30,000 that some agencies are looking for.

My friend was hoping to adopt with Abrazo at the time, and told me about a "nursery note". I had just started talking about another adoption, but figured I would call anyway. I am so glad I did. Angela was so sweet, and I found such a peace talking to her. It's hard to explain except to say that I felt "at home". Is that too corny? Even if it is - it is what I felt. I talked at great length with her, calling her I think multiple times to go through the "process", she didn't tire of talking to me but instead with great patience explained it in detail.

Even though I knew that nursery note wasn't for us because we hadn't even STARTED all the paperwork yet, it was then that I spoke with my husband about seriously starting another adoption. We decided to start after we moved (which was in the next months). I looked for references from others, the good, bad, the ugly. To my surprise I found nothing but rave reviews, from birthmothers & adoptive mothers alike. This was VERY important to me. Then I found the forum, and after searching all the past posts, all the help & support, I knew that this was perfect for me. I never had to feel alone on this journey again, and I had so much information at my fingertips. Being a transracial adoptive parent this was that much more important to me as my boys get older & the questions get harder.

Abrazo is patient, gentle, yet do not sugar coat things. They will always be honest with you, and treat every person fairly.

My favorite thing about Abrazo?

They are looking for the best possible families for their children, not the best children for their families.

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  • 10 months later...

I never noticed this thread before. Erin doctor told us about Abrazo. After we checked out the website we were so impressed that we thought that they had to be the agency we would use.

Mark

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...

Several years ago, we heard something that we had no idea would change our lives. We were at a neighborhood picnic, and met a couple with the sweetest baby boy. We started talking to them, and they mentioned Abrazo. I remember saying the word several times to myself hoping to remember it so when I got home I could look it up online. I did remember, and bookmarked the site. Fast forward to last October. Many circumstances brought us last fall to pursue adoption. We did our homework and researched a lot of agencies, and thankfully we did still have Abrazo bookmarked! To make a long story short, we went to February orientation and met some of the most amazing couples ever. We left with a feeling we hadn't had in a while about having children and that was hope. Skipping many details, we finished our homestudy and on a Wednesday (St. Patricks day) got a fax from Angela about a match. I was standing in the UPS store receiving the fax and looked down - a boy. Our hearts were full as we considered the possibility of actually being parents in April. Two days later, on Friday 3/19 my phone vibrated at work and I broke all the rules to take my "restricted" call. He was born. Houston. Healthy. Birthmother healthy. Come. The words just swirled around and I left work, and Rudy and I started driving to Houston. We stopped on the way to get a car seat and diapers, and sleepers and that was about all we showed up with! I can not begin to tell you what peace it brought to us to have Angela with us every step that first evening and the morning after. It brought our hearts comfort to know that Luke's birthmother trusted Angela as well and leaned on her for support through this difficult decision. We met our baby boy and our lives have not been the same. We definitely see each day as a gift. He turns seven months tomorrow and we can't believe how blessed we are. We are also thankful that we finally met people through Abrazo (and hopefully lifelong friends) that have been on a similar journey. There were two words we needed to describe whatever agency we used - and those were ethical and compassionate. We have found both of those things to be true about Abrazo every step of the way. Our hearts are so thankful.

Edited by RHSegura
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I'm not sure if this is the right place to put this, but I am going to put it here.

I heard about Abrazo from my niece's daycare. The sweet ladies that took care of my niece are good friends with a lady who adopted through Abrazo and lives in the same area that I do. She actually adopted a baby girl and then also adopted her older sister too. I was given her phone number and we talked for over an hour about adoption, Abrazo and children. She had great things to say about Abrazo and went on and on. Then we began our research and signed onto the forum to learn even more before we signed up with Abraz. I never had the opportunity to meet her face to face but had only talked to her a couple more times after our first conversation. I believe she had kept up with us through my nieces daycare. My niece now is in school and we went to her school festival on Saturday and we ran into Elaine and her two beautiful daughters. It was nice to meet her face to face. It was crowded so we didn't have a great opportunity to talk. But as she walked away I felt a little sentimental(spelling?), I thought to myself that just one conversation and this lady helped change our lives in a wonderful way. She told us about Abrazo!

Tracey

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