I came across this video on someones blog that they had found and posted for a friend who was struggling with infirtility and I know many of you, well most of you will get it...
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Adopt Us Kids.org
First of all, I love adoption! I love reading all of your adoption stories, your adoption blogs and hearing about different ways people are involved with the adoption process. I am so excited to get started! We are waiting for a few things in our life to settle down, but once they do, I am ready!
In my online research of adoption, I came across the website AdoptUsKids.org. It features babies and children who are in foster homes, most with disabilities, and who are looking for their forever family. It does not cost very much to adopt these children as they would just be so happy to find a family who would love and care for them. I didn't know that that option was out there.
As I looked I came across this little girl-
Isn't she adorable??? Her name is Jasmine (pronounced Yaz-meen). She is 2 1/2 years old. She was born nine weeks premature and had been exposed to drugs and alcohol in the womb. She has short gut syndrome and is fed through a G-tube. They do not know what her life expectancy is, but she is a happy, upbeat little girl.
Check back weekly as they have new children highlighted each week. My heart goes out to each and every one of them and I wish that I had the time and the means and the money to care for them all!
Much Love, Megan
In my online research of adoption, I came across the website AdoptUsKids.org. It features babies and children who are in foster homes, most with disabilities, and who are looking for their forever family. It does not cost very much to adopt these children as they would just be so happy to find a family who would love and care for them. I didn't know that that option was out there.
As I looked I came across this little girl-
Isn't she adorable??? Her name is Jasmine (pronounced Yaz-meen). She is 2 1/2 years old. She was born nine weeks premature and had been exposed to drugs and alcohol in the womb. She has short gut syndrome and is fed through a G-tube. They do not know what her life expectancy is, but she is a happy, upbeat little girl.
Check back weekly as they have new children highlighted each week. My heart goes out to each and every one of them and I wish that I had the time and the means and the money to care for them all!
Much Love, Megan
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Our Miracle
I am so excited for you all to meet Brielle! She is Awesome! I have known her for a long time way before we even thought of adopting ourselves since we are currently in the same ward together. She also is the one that helped orchestrate our little Adoptive Mom/Hoping to Adopt group. If you have ever me her or get to meet her I am sure you will all love her as much as I do! Thanks Brielle for sharing your Adoption Story! -Deanna
Where to start . . . I always love when people ask me to tell about our adoption story. I get caught up in day to day life and sometimes forget what a miracle I have right in front of me. Telling our story reminds me of how lucky we are as a family and how we received not just one blessing, but two, through adoption: our beautiful daughter Braelyn and our amazing birth mother Jana.
Being a control freak, I'd like to think that finding Braelyn was "all me" but in fact it was Jana who took the leap of faith to find us on Parent Profiles. Not to discount the fact that you should do everything in your power as an adoptive couple to get your name out there, but it really is up to a courageous birth mother to find you. Saying that, there are many avenues for an adoptive couple to be found from pass along cards, to word of mouth, to online profile sites such as Parent Profiles.
We began our journey to adopt in May 2009 when my husband and I first started talking about adoption. My husband surprised me with his enthusiasm by contacting LDS Family Services the very next day to find out how to begin the process. By August 2009 we attended our first adoption conference as a precursor to certification. We filled out the paperwork within a week and were certified for adoption by October 2009. I remember that day very vividly because it was filled with emotions. Realizing that we were actually ready to embrace a child into our home was so joyfully overwhelming.
As soon a we heard the news that we were certified I immediately went onto the Parent Profiles website remembering that our case worker had mentioned that it was one of the number one sites for birth mothers to seek out adoptive couples. True it cost a little extra money each month, but to me finding our baby was priceless. I joined the website and was so anxious to get our profile up and running that I faxed in my first month's payment instead of mailing it in so we could be viewed immediately.
Four hours later I received a call from a birth mother in Philadelphia interested in choosing Ben and I for placement. I was astonished and thought this must be too good to be true. We referred the birth mother to our caseworker and all three of us corresponded for about a week. One day before this birth mother was to officially decide if we were her couple, I received a heart felt email from a birth mother right in our hometown. I would have ignored the email or referred another couple since we were already working with a potential birth mother, but somehow I could not ignore this email. I called my mom crying because I was so confused and I never thought that I would be put in a position to "choose my baby". She encouraged me to at least meet with this new birth mother if I was feeling so strongly about the email. I decided to call this new birth mother Jana and we set up a time to meet for dinner that night.
From the beginning Ben and I made a promise to be honest with ourselves and our birth mother, so I told Jana that we were supposed to hear from another birth mother the next day. By the end of dinner she let us know that the decision was up to us, but she would love to have us be the parents of her child. I called our other birth mother on the way home from dinner and left her a message to let her know that we had met with someone else but that we wouldn't make any decisions until we were able to talk to her the next day. However, we both felt as though we were going to choose Jana because the connection we had with her was so strong and I truly believe that our Heavenly Father guided her to us in that perfect moment. Unfortunately the birth mother in Philadelphia never received the message and forgot our phone meeting the next day. After praying and talking with my husband we truly felt that we had such a connection with Jana and decided that it was her baby that we were going to call our own. We called Jana right away and asked if she would have us be her daughter's parents. She was ecstatic as well as us.
The next day as I went to put our profile down on Parent Profiles I noticed another email from a couple in Indiana that were interested in us. Without a second thought I emailed her and informed her that we had just chosen a birth mother but that some amazing friends of our were also looking to adopt. She looked at my friend's profile and instantaneously fell in love with her and her husband. Seven months later they received a precious baby boy.
We were able to seal our little miracle in July 2010 and it was truly the best day of our lives. You will never feel so lucky or blessed as the day that your little one becomes a part of your eternal family. It's an experience that I wish every family could have.
I am such an advocate for Parent Profiles. Again, there are so many avenues to find your little angels, but please remember that Heavenly Father expects us to do all we can and then He will provide for the rest. I know that our Heavenly Father helped Jana find us because we were willing and searching. It's important that when you join these websites you utilize all the services they offer. Put up as many pictures as you're allowed with captions, write a heart felt birth mother letter that meets the maximum length allowed, and put thought into filling out your favorites list so that a potential birth mother can really get to know you. Remember that these birth mothers are carrying our children and are making the hardest decisions of their lives. The least we can do is put effort into our profiles to show we care and are dedicated.
Again, I am so grateful for my little angel. Braelyn is the sweetest, funniest, smartest, sassiest, happiest, talkative little toddler I know. I couldn't wish for anything different. I just want to thank Jana for making that wish come true. She is and will always be so special to us for the gift she gave. We love her!
If anyone would like to contact us for advice or questions please visit our blog http://benandbrielleadoption.blogspot.com/
Monday, May 2, 2011
Finding Faith in the face of a Failed Placement...
Hi! Our names are Josh and Elise. Elise is a part of an Adoptive Mom Group with Deanna, one of the new blog administrators, and she has asked us to share a little bit about our adoption journey thus far.
We have been married for 7 years and trying to conceive for 6 1/2 years. We prayerfully decided to begin the adoption process last August and were officially certified to adopt in December. By the end of January we had heard from four birthmoms and by the second week in February we had been chosen by a birthmom who was due in March. Our friends and family rallied and threw three wonderful showers and we went to work painting and decorating a nursery for the little boy that we were planning to welcome into our family! To make a long story short, the baby was born at the end of March and after 12 days on the craziest emotional rollercoaster of waiting, praying and hoping, the birthmom decided to parent the baby.
We have been married for 7 years and trying to conceive for 6 1/2 years. We prayerfully decided to begin the adoption process last August and were officially certified to adopt in December. By the end of January we had heard from four birthmoms and by the second week in February we had been chosen by a birthmom who was due in March. Our friends and family rallied and threw three wonderful showers and we went to work painting and decorating a nursery for the little boy that we were planning to welcome into our family! To make a long story short, the baby was born at the end of March and after 12 days on the craziest emotional rollercoaster of waiting, praying and hoping, the birthmom decided to parent the baby.
It was such a shock, we had not seen this decision coming after all of the communication between us and the birthmom and how supportive her family had been. We were looking forward to bringing the baby home and enjoying all of the wonderful blessings and experiences of an open adoption. To say we were devastated is an understatement. But, equally surprising to both of us was how hopeful we still felt about adoption being the way we would begin our family. So less than 24 hours later, we put our profile back up and began again the search. It has not been an easy road, because even though we had faith that Heavenly Father has a perfect plan for our lives and that there is still a baby out there that is meant to be in our family, we still have been facing the loss of the baby that we met and held those few days in the hospital. We have a room in our house that is full of tiny little clothes and every item of baby furniture one might need and though we know that it won't go unused, it's still hard not to wonder how long it will be before we will need all of it.
Now, nearly a month has passed and we can honestly look back and see how much our lives have been touched by this experience. We have had the oppportunity to become "Adoption Warriors", advocating for adoption whenever we can, sharing our hope to adopt and expressing to whoever will listen how awesome birthmoms are and what a miracle we believe adoption is. There is so much depth to be found from a failed placement because we were so close to reaching our dreams only to end up right at the beginning, back on the search of finding our birthmom. It's so humbling.
We have learned there is so much comfort that can come through the healing powers of the atonement. We have learned that you also have to allow your Heavenly Father and your friends and family in. Elise has a good friend who just lost her mother tragically and she put things in perfect perspective when she said that really trusting the Lord means that we have faith to trust him with the little things and then we will have no problem turning over the big things. We are so grateful for the opportunity to adopt because when else can you witness the Lord's hand so obviously manifested in your life. We pray daily for our birthmom and the sweet babe that is meant to be in our home and are looking forward to the rest of our journey. Enjoying the journey has taken on a whole new meaning...so glad we have each other to hold onto while we make it!
We have learned there is so much comfort that can come through the healing powers of the atonement. We have learned that you also have to allow your Heavenly Father and your friends and family in. Elise has a good friend who just lost her mother tragically and she put things in perfect perspective when she said that really trusting the Lord means that we have faith to trust him with the little things and then we will have no problem turning over the big things. We are so grateful for the opportunity to adopt because when else can you witness the Lord's hand so obviously manifested in your life. We pray daily for our birthmom and the sweet babe that is meant to be in our home and are looking forward to the rest of our journey. Enjoying the journey has taken on a whole new meaning...so glad we have each other to hold onto while we make it!
If you or someone that you know has experience a failed placement, we are here to listen, have a few shoulders to cry on and can be reached at our blog: http://www.joshnelise.blogspot.com/. Also, feel free to stop on by to find out more about us to or even to learn a bit more about our story. Oh yeah and by the way, we are still hoping to adopt! Tell somebody! It's going to be awesome, we just know it!!!!
Love & Best Adoption Wishes, Josh and Elise
Friday, April 29, 2011
Couples who are Hoping to Adopt!!!
Hey everyone!
If you would like us to feature you on our Blog as a Couple Hoping to Adopt please email me! We will be doing this most likely once a week. This is a great way for you to get your name out there and have a chance for others to learn about you!
Also, Anyone out there that is not listed in our Hoping to Adopt List and is certified to adopt already please email me and I will add you to this!
Email Deanna @ ldsadoptionconnection@yahoo.com
P.S. if you don't have our blog button on our blogs please grab it now and place it on your site...the more we get the word out the better!
Thanks a bunch!
*NEW* Phoenix, AZ FSA Chapter!!!
So my great girl Jaymie has been called to be the new Co-Chair of the NEW (or once was a long time ago) Phoenix Chapter for FSA! We are so excited for this and she is so awesome. She is one of the gals in my Adoptive Mom/ Hoping to Adopt group (I will tell you all more about that in a later post). Jaymie and her husband Jesse recently welcomed the placement of their son a little over a week ago. His name is Nixon and he is sooo cute. She also has a sweet little girl named Henslee who her and her husband also adopted. Both of her adoptions are open and her birthmom's are amazing. So strong and so courageous!
So, to get things started up in the Phoenix area Jaymie has organized an Ice Cream social for all of those that are hoping to adopt or have adopted! What a fun event! No pressure just fun, fun, fun!
Here are the details:
BTW - Please RSVP to jaymiemaughn@yahoo.com
So, to get things started up in the Phoenix area Jaymie has organized an Ice Cream social for all of those that are hoping to adopt or have adopted! What a fun event! No pressure just fun, fun, fun!
Here are the details:
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