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.”
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 (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…
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:
Dear Julia,
I want to say thank you for allowing us to adopt Vika into our family. It was not an easy decision for you to make and I want you to know that we will love and care for her like she is our own.
To My Beautiful Girl,
Almost 22 years ago, I fell in love with you, and the love has never wavered. When I found out that I was pregnant with you, my first thought was pure joy. I had always wanted to be a mother, and I saw you as nothing but a gift.
December Eve: the last day of National Adoption Month
You’ve probably noticed the surge of adoption info swirling around the world wide web this month like sweet reunion stories, adoption-related events and editorials. (FYI, November is National Adoption Month - in case you missed that memo.) That said, here is our BraveLove recap from National Adoption Month...
It’s National Adoption Day!
TODAY is officially National Adoption Day, which means we (and other agencies and organizations around the country) are collectively celebrating nearly 40,000 children move from foster care to forever families. If you want to read more about National Adoption Day, visit this website for more details.
BraveLove shares a few finds from the week
Did you hear about David Correy, the X Factor contestant, who’s adopted? The judges asked what makes him different from the other contestants, and he said “I’m adopted so I feel like this opportunity will reconnect me with my birth mother if she hears my voice.” He also went on to say how much he loves his family, but he wants to know where he comes from and if his birth mother sings. You can watch his story here.
Relive the Launch Party
In case you missed it, watch this short video of our launch party.
The Launch Party was a success!
What a night! (Don’t worry - better pics are on their way.) So we were expecting around 200 or so guests. Well, the people kept coming, the lines started to form and before long BraveLove guests were literally standing outside on the sidewalk to come into the Marquee Grill.