Why Erica Cares
All around the country there are men and women who care about changing the perception of adoption! They're not all birth mothers, adoptive parents or adoptees though they still care. They're people just like Erica...
Reunions, “Brave” & Oprah
We’ve run across some great adoption stories, articles and videos so far this week. Read/Watch these at your leisure...
Why Michelle Cares
All around the country there are men and women who care about changing the perception of adoption! They're not all birth mothers, adoptive parents or adoptees though they still care. They're people just like Michelle...
Melissa | An Adoptive Mom from New York
I think another reward would be that having an open adoption has made us more open about telling our son. We've told him since day one that he was in our arms that he was adopted, even though he obviously couldn't understand at two days old. We still talk about it all the time and answer his questions and dispel his fears.
Adoptees get peek at past in birth records
“I finally got to see and meet someone who looked exactly like me,” said Duffy, a marketing professional. “It’s a very kind of emotional, strange thing that you grow up your whole life and don’t ever know anything about your background. And it’s the first chapter of your life, that birth certificate.”
Hannah | A Birth Mom & Adoptee from Texas
"I chose adoption because I knew the life I wanted to give my child was different from what I could truly give her."
Why Ellen Cares
All around the country there are men and women who care about changing the perception of adoption! They're not all birth mothers, adoptive parents or adoptees though they still care. They're people just like Ellen...
Hearts Wide Open
"The four of us are family now, knitted together because of this precious child." #BraveLove
Jenny | An Adoptee from Ohio
"My greatest wish for birth mothers is that they find peace with their decision to place and know that their children appreciate the sacrifice they made."
The Heart Has Its Ways
My attitudes toward adoption started many years ago, over fifty, actually. Rosanne and I were like sisters. We attended the same high school, and were in each other’s weddings. In those days of hush-hush adoptions, her mother, my aunt, never spoke of how she came into our family, but I didn’t care. As a child, I can remember thinking how wonderful adoption must be because without it we wouldn’t have had Rosanne.
Must-reads & watches for your week
“I know a woman who has never been to one of her child’s school events. It’s not because she is too busy. This same woman has never baked a cookie, wrapped a present or even admired a picture her child has drawn at school. There are others like her - more than you would think, because of course most people don’t know this about her."
This time last week: Southern Social
Last Thursday, we had the joy of hanging out with about 400 of our closest friends at the Southern Social. The Southern Social is a series of free concerts meant to promote local music, good food, and help raise money for people doing some good in the world.
Terri | A Birth Mom from Kansas
My parents told me after Katie was born that it was all over. But the truth is it was just beginning. I wish I would have known how much I needed support and counseling so I could have been better equipped to deal with my grief in healthy ways.
Barbi | A Birth Mom Who Inspired a Novel
Twenty-two years ago, New York Times bestselling author, Patti Callahan Henry’s sister Barbi placed a baby girl for adoption. Then in April 2010, a Facebook request put an end to all the waiting and wondering. It’s time to hear the true stories that inspired Henry’s fictional novel And Then I Found You. Enjoy our series of Q&A’s with Barbi and Patti.
Patti | A New York Times bestselling author
We're continuing our series of Q&A's with the Callahan sisters. If you're just now jumping in, make sure to first read Barbi's story Part 1 so you can fully understand the true story that inspired her sister's novel "And Then I Found You".
What It Means to be a Big Tough Girl, according to Ashley - Part 2
(If you haven’t read Part 1 of Ashley’s post, better read that first.) Whether you are a birth mom, a single parent, an adoptive mom, a woman….it doesn’t matter…in my book you are a BIG TOUGH GIRL if...
What It Means to be a Big Tough Girl, according to Ashley - Part 1
This year we’ve become friends with the founder of Blessings in a Basket Ashley Mitchell. Ashley spends her days loving on her children, leaning on her husband and reaching out to women who, like herself, found themselves at a crossroads and chose adoption. She is the founder of a non-profit birth mom community called Blessings in a Basket. She is a die-hard college football fan, covets anything from Tiffany, and thinks that snow is the most magical and sparkly thing in the world!
Jan's Story
It was a winter afternoon during Christmas break that I discovered I was pregnant. Mom and I had been Christmas shopping together but immediately when we split to do our own thing, I dashed to buy a pregnancy test. Although I was fairly confident that I was pregnant, the positive pregnancy test staring at me in the JC Penney bathroom that afternoon took me by surprise. I was 22 years old and a sophomore in college when I got pregnant with my son.
“Legacy of an Adopted Child” - poem by unknown author
Source: This poem is a part of Dear Abby’s “Keepers” booklet, which is a collection of poems and essays that Dear Abby readers love to read and re-read.
Understanding the heart of a birth mother
Last week, we received two open letters from one birth mother (we’ll refer to her as “Mummy”). Mummy relinquished her son Seth when he was 2 1/2 years old. She shared two letters with us: one she wrote about his placement day and the other on his 13th birthday. Her words are poignant, honest and profound. Immediately after reading, we knew her story needed to be shared for a couple of reasons...
BraveLove's in the paper - “Mother Creates Adoption Community"
“I’ve been more that a little entranced by the open letters and videos on BraveLove.org, and will have story in Friday’s paper about the organization’s founder, Ellen Porter, of Preston Hollow. Porter calls BraveLove a movement — one she hopes will forever change the way people look at adoption and birth parenting.”
Dear (13 year old) Seth,
Today you are 13… a teenager! Wow… I imagine what you’re like… What kind of young man you are becoming…
Our first Roundtable
The first week in February we gathered around one table with 17 different men and women from North Texas. We hosted our first (ever!) BraveLove Roundtable discussion and lunch with different DFW area leaders from adoption agencies, pregnancy resource centers, schools, churches, law firms, etc.
Dear Seth,
March 15, 1998 you became a part of your new family. This date holds so much more significance for me than your birthday, or mother’s day, or all the days you are in my heart and on my mind.
Happy Friday!
Just wanted to share some stories and updates with you as you head into your weekend: