Waiting Child

I received the following email today through an adoption list serv.  I do not have personal experience with the agency or facilitators.  Please practice due diligence and research the postings.

___________________________________________________________________________________
I wanted to inform you of an adoption situation in Florida.

Both birthparents are Caucasian. The mother is 27 has three other children that have been adopted by her husband's parents. She denies drug use and admits to alcohol prior to knowing she was pregnant in the first trimester.

She has Hepatitis B and C. Her youngest child, born with the infection, needed additional vaccines to prevent having the infection. All three of her previous children are developmentally on task, with no delays or birth
defects.

Birthmother is married but the husband is not the father. Both her husband and her boyfriend support the adoption plan and are willing to sign paperwork necessary.

We are estimating that the cost for this adoption will be around $25,000 with $10,000 budgeted for birthmother expenses. This price does not include attorney fees and ICPC fees (applicable only if you live outside the state of Florida). The birthmother is 5 months pregnant and ready to be matched to adoptive parents.

She is currently living on a boat, with no heat--this is why the expenses are a little on the high side.

She has been receiving prenatal care, including a songram that shows this child is a boy.

The birthmother is looking for a heterosexual, married couple who wants an open adoption and are Christians. She prefers the adoptive family have no children, or much older children.

We are submitting parent profiles for her to review on Sunday, December 26, 2010. If you are interested in having your profile shown, due to the time crunch we would need you to e-mail us no more then a 2 page word document or pdf file with a few pictures of your family and a description of your family. If after she examines the brief profile and would like more information, we may contact you and ask for a hard copy of your parent
profile book.



Please e-mail your picture/family summary to:
info@theadoptionauthority.com


Thanks!
Thea Ramirez, MSW
The Adoption Authority, Inc
www.theadotionauthority.com

Waiting Children

I received the following email today through an adoption list serv.  I do not have personal experience with the agency or facilitators.  Please practice due diligence and research the postings.

___________________________________________________________________________________

URGENT -- LOOKING FOR a Family for a Cau Girl due Jan 6, 2011 --- Code: Bobby-Jo
Name & Due Date: Bobby Jo – January 6, 2011
Sex (If Known): Girl
Race: Caucasian
Location: Need a family from SC, KS or UT
Birthmother's Health: She is Hep C +; has Manic Depression; she did use Meth a little while she was Pregnant; says she doesn't drink; she does smoke less then a pack a day.
Other Info: We need a family from Utah, South Carolina or Kansas; she wants pictures and letters after.
Total Estimated Fees: $ 16,700 plus legals
Case Worker: L

IF YOU ARE PAPER READY AND INTERESTED, please contact Sarah sarahjdalia@gmail.com (sarahjdalia @ gmail.com - No spaces) or Adamadambodily@gmail.com (adambodily @ gmail.com - No spaces)

We are looking for families to match with our birth mothers.

****NOTE**** We have many Hispanic, Afro American and Biracial situations. We are working with several birth mothers and are looking for families to match them with. – If you are interested and paper ready Email Sarah sarahjdalia@gmail.com (sarahjdalia @ gmail.com - No spaces) or Adam adambodily@gmail.com (adambodily @ gmail.com - No spaces)

You may also go to our webpage WWW.Adoptionadvertising.org, download the adoptive parent intake form, fill it out and email it toadambodily@gmail.com (adambodily @ gmail.com - NO SPACES) Adam will call you after he gets the intake from the web page. It is important that you also email Adam or Sarah because the link from our web site that sends us your intake is not always reliable.

Kathy Finch kathrynmfinch@hotmail.com
"Adoption Advertising" Adoption Administrative Assistant
WWW.Adoptionadvertising.org

Happy Holidays!

2010 Wrap Up

Another year down for the Mitchell family.  We had a few major events this year.

1. Neuens Mitchell and Freese opened their doors.  Brian opened his law firm and we are thankful everyday for that decision.
2. Brice started school.  He officially became a preschooler.  He continues to enjoy school and looks forward to going.  He is making a lot of progress and we are very proud of him.
3. We decided to expand our family through adoption one more time.  We are still waiting for our family to be blessed.
4. We experienced a failed adoption.  Everything happens for a reason, even reasons we may never understand.  We continue to hope and pray the little girl that was not meant to be ours is being raised in a loving home.
5. Rogan turned two.  Two years old is officially a toddler, he is no longer the baby.  Our boys are growing up fast.
6. The Griswolds hit the road.  We had a few short vacations or long weekends and a major road trip through Colorado.   We all survived!
7. We renovated our home.  After living here for 8 years we have made a few updates.  It was a challenge but we are happy we did it.  We plan on updating our kitchen and bathroom next.
8. December 18th, Brian and I celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary.  We made it another year and looking forward to many more.
9.  I continued to blog about adoption.  My followers grew and I added a Facebook page for my blog.  I continue to try to get the word out and plan to do so in 2011 too!

Enjoy the holidays and I'll see you next year!  I'm going to take the next couple of weeks off from blogging and just enjoy what is left of 2010.

Waiting Children

I received the following email today through an adoption list serv that I belong to.  I do not have personal experience with the agency or facilitators.  Please practice due diligence and research the postings.

---

I am trying to help a sibling group of 4 healthy children. A girl age 5, boy age 3, boy age 2 and girl age 1 in Taiwan find a family! Please emailchildofmyheart@aol.com if you are interested

Also tryin to help find a family for a 17 month old girl with AMC and cleft palate, a 5 month old girl with Down Syndrome, a sibling group of 2 a boy and girl, ages 4 and 5 with developmental delays. Please email childofmyheart@aol.com for information on these waiting children :)

Santa

We took the boys to the mall to see Santa today.  Brice was totally into it, Rogan not so much.  Brice sat on his lap and posed for pictures and Rogan didn't want to come within a couple of feet of the jolly ol' man.  Maybe next year?

We asked Brice what he told Santa and he said, "Merry Christmas".

Of course.

He has been telling us this afternoon, "I love Santa."

The "elf" taking the photos tried her best to pose Brice perfectly, tilting his head and crossing his ankles.  When she brought the photos up for purchase she wanted me to buy the perfectly posed photo with the perfect smile, nope I said, "I want that one.  That's my Brice."

Cold Outside...

It has been pretty chilly here in Oklahoma lately so we've been indoors a lot.  We have managed to keep busy...

baking cookies...

 taking the poor old dog for walks around the house (she was not amused)...

...burning off energy in the bounce house.  One of the best birthday presents ever.  Brice received this little inflatable bounce house from his grandparents when he was Rogan's age.  I blow it up in the playroom and they wrestle, jump and play until they can play no more.  It is so handy during the winter.  These boys have energy to burn!

This Time of Year...

During the holidays, I think of our sons' birth families almost daily.  I believe the families are in my thoughts because this is when we pause and are grateful.  There is nothing I am more grateful for than my family.  Without the birth families, infertility, and adoption I would not be so blessed.  Our road was not always an easy one to travel but the trip sure was worth it.

We send update letters and Christmas photo ornaments to the adoption agency for the families.  We include a lot of photos, a drawing or craft created by the kids, and do our best to inform them how the boys have changed and grown over the last year.  We discuss their accomplishments and developmental milestones.  We pick up where we left off in our letters we sent on the boys' birthdays.

I pause and wonder about the birth parents many times throughout the year but over they holidays they are on my mind and in my heart.

Adoption Costs and Timing

How much does adoption cost?  How long does it take? Adoptive Families has surveyed adoptive parents to provide you with this helpful information. See data collected by Adoptive Families, click here!

Adoptive Families

Take Adoptive Families' 2010 Cost & Timing of Adoption Survey...and Earn $500 for the Adoption Charity of Your Choice.

"Each year, AF polls adoptive moms and dads to get the real story on the average cost and length of time it takes to complete an adoption, by country route. Share your experiences: http://www.facebook.com/l/36229J7uFzBby94NjHlPFKy3uQA;www.adoptivefamilies.com/articles.php?aid=1617 

As an added incentive, if more than 1,600 adoptive parents complete our survey, we'l randomly select one and donate $500 to the adoption charity of his or her choice!"

Christmas Photo

I have attempted to snap a photo for our Christmas card this year.  I say attempted because when I take photos of our boys together they tend to turn out like this...

this...

or this...

We have not hired a professional photographer.  We doubt anyone has the shutter speed or the foot speed. There is no need to throw money out the window.  

I will keep flashing photos on sport mode and we will get what we get.  I think these action shots are better anyway, they depict our boys as they really are.  

Grumpy

I tell myself, this too shall pass.  It has become my mantra.

I bought some quiet time today thanks to The Polar Express.  He loves choo choos and I am very thankful for that.

These are the moments in parenting when you have to stop and remind yourself.  I begged God to make me a mother.  I told Him I wanted to experience dirty diapers, sleepless nights and the terrible twos.  I pleaded to become a mommy.

Well, He definitely answered my prayers and has decided He is not going to cut me any slack.

A short time from now we will look back and laugh at his roller coaster of emotions.

We will giggle about him laying down in the aisle of the store and screaming until people begin to peek around the corner wondering if a child is being injured.

He wants to be heard and he doesn't care who's listening.

I promised I would always be the best mommy I could be. So, right now I am going to lay down next to Grumpy to watch some choo choos.

Are we crazy to want to do it all again?  No, we do not think so.  We love parenting.

Despite it all, we are asking God to give us one more chance to experience tantrums, diapers and sleepless nights.

Grumpy- our emotional two year old, the sweet smile and dimples can fool you.  Cute isn't he?  Grumpiness and all.

Adoption Profile Update

I was reviewing our adoption portfolio today and realized it is now outdated.  Our youngest son who is 2 years old, is shown in our portfolio as our "21 month old".  Two year old sounds much older and as a birth mother reviewing our profile she could think we already have a baby, which a child whose age is counted in months definitely sounds like a baby.  He is very much an independent toddler and should be profiled as one.

Growing kids change quickly.  We change as well, life moves fast.  You want the family who is profiled to be the family the birth parent(s) meets when the time comes.  I do not want to be introduced and the birth parent(s) take one look at us and think, that's not the profile I chose.

So, I have decided to update our profile.  I will use the previous profile but update our ages, dates, and add new photos.

Am I getting impatient and starting to ache for a baby in my arms?  It's possible, but whatever helps me to feel better and to know I did everything I could to bring our baby home.  Peace of mind is worth a lot.

Blog Background

In need of a blog background?  I get mine from Simply Fabulous Blogger Templates.  She has many free designs but she also has designs you can download for $5.00 which helps support her adoption!

She is hosting a giveaway at the moment for a full custom template and many other prizes.  You should definitely check it out! Click here.

Just another way to support adoption!

Let There Be Lights!

Drumroll please......

The yard and roof are outlined.  The trees and bushes are full,

the fence around the backyard is topped,

the posts on the back porch are wrapped with lights.

Clark a.k.a Brian and his dad worked all day yesterday putting up lights.

 After several trips to Home Depot and Wal-Mart....

We have lights, a lot of lights and we can still watch television, use the internet and even run the washer and dryer.  Success.

Merry Christmas!
From The Griswolds

Clark

I had hoped to have pictures posted of all of Clark's hard work this weekend getting the house Griswold'd.  You will have to hang on a little longer.

Clark blew a breaker.

Clark has so many lights plugged in...actually his version is we need more outdoor outlets to accommodate the lights. Basically, we need more power.

So, we now have extension cords running under the garage door to the outlets in the garage.  We have an electrician on hold to come and add another outdoor outlet and increase the breakers.

We have so many inflatable Christmas decorations in the front yard you cannot walk across it.  I know.  I tried.  I fell.

We lost power to our tv and internet router yesterday because of a power surge.  I wish I was joking.  I am not.

Happy holidays.  Where's the Tylenol?!

Waiting During the Holidays

Waiting to adopt during the holidays can be especially difficult.  It seems during this time of year everything centers around families and children. Everywhere you turn you are reminded, you are waiting to become a parent.

Here are a few tips:

1. Take a trip just the two of you.  If you cannot handle all the baby talk and questions during the holidays get away from it.  If you can afford it take a trip even if it is somewhere close to home.
2.  Take care of each other.  Often it is just as hard for your partner as it is for you during the holidays.  Instead of letting the stress get to you and possibly causing arguments open the lines of communication and talk about it.  You are going through this journey together learn to lean on each other.
3.  Remind others you are waiting to adopt on your holiday a greeting card.  It never hurts to gently remind people you are waiting and if they know of a birth parent looking to place their child they should contact you.
4.  If you get the dreaded, "so when are you going to start your family?" or "any news on the adoption" be kind and simply say, "we are always hopeful and cannot wait to share our news when the time comes".
5.  Keep a journal.  Write down your feelings, your future child will appreciate reading about your anticipation and desire for their arrival someday.
6.  Scope out your family events before you attend.  If you are going to be surrounded by pregnancy and you do not think you will be able to handle it...skip out if you can.  Perhaps you can explain to those closest to you who will hopefully understand.
7.  Get support, join an adoption support group.
8.  If you are going shopping over the holidays, avoid the baby section.

Listed below are the sources I used to develop this list and some are from my own experience.  Check out the sources listed below for additional ideas and support.

http://library.adoption.com/articles/handling-the-holidays-.html
http://www.growninmyheart.com/waiting-through-the-holidays
http://library.adoption.com/articles/the-waiting-game.html

Thanksgiving Day Feast

Today, Brice's Pre-K class held a Thanksgiving Day Feast in their classroom and parents were invited to attend.  Rogan was busy napping while the class was feasting so I stayed home with him and Brian went to the feast.

Brian said the lunch was a lot of fun and he was so proud of Brice.  As the food was served, Brice said please and no thank you.  The kids went out to play and sat around the rug to sing songs.  I sure missed out.  I did however, receive a special gift when Brice came home.  Brice made a placemat stating what he is thankful for and an Indian headdresses.  Brice's placemat said, "I am thankful for my mom."  He was very proud of it and his headdress.

Tree Is Up!

Well, Brian caught a cold this past week and he did not feel like getting up on the rooftop to Griswold up our home.  So, next weekend the lights will go up. I promise to post photos.

Although he was stricken with illness, we did manage to get the inside of our home decorated.  Our tree is up, mantle decorated and Christmas decor is everywhere.  Usually we wait until the day after Thanksgiving to decorate but we have to travel for Thanksgiving and we have a birthday party as soon as we return.  So Christmas came early!  In true Griswold fashion, we love having the decor up for an additional week.

Decorating this year was a lot of fun because both of the boys are now old enough to participate and enjoy it. Brice was even able to place the star on top the tree with a little help from his dad.

The boys decided they needed their own tree.  So, in their bedroom is a small 3 foot Christmas tree set up between their beds.  We'll see if it lasts until Christmas.

Support for Infertility

50 Excellent Blogs for Fertility Support
http://www.nursingschools.net/blog/2010/11/50-excellent-blogs-for-fertility-support/

National Adoption Month activities continued...

Monday, November 22

-Ask your child to write a letter to his birth parents. Have your child think of questions, tell about himself, and about your home. Include hand drawn pictures and photos. If unable to send, keep for a possible future reunion. His birth parents will cherish this gift.

Tuesday, November 23

- Donate books about adoption to your local or school library.

National Adoption Day!

Happy National Adoption Day!  Want to know the history of this special day?  Click here.  

Holiday Season

The Griswolds are a common reference here on my blog.  If you knew us personally, you would know the reference is not off base.  Well this is our time of year to shine!

Clark/Brian will be heading out this weekend to decorate the Griswold/Mitchell homestead.  The electrical meter will begin to spin wildly and the Oklahoma nighttime sky will soon have an extra glow.

About an hour north of here is where my friend Mandy at Campbell Family Party of Three lives.  I told her to walk outside this Sunday evening and look southward to see the gleaming lights reflecting into the sky.

Clark has big plans.  New lights will be purchased.  The house, fencing, and entire front yard will be illuminated.  Christmas "yard art" will appear. It will be festive.  It will be a sight to see.

My Christmas wish will be that we can afford our electrical bill and that no planes attempt to land in our yard.

The holiday season is here...

The most enjoying traditions of the season are best enjoyed in the warm embrace of kith and kin. Thith tree is a thymbol of the thpirit of the Griswold family Chrithmath. ~ Clark W. Griswold