Why Ellen cares about this adoption movement:

“Because I am thankful everyday for the birth mothers of my babies, and I want to applaud all the brave women who make this choice!”

FYI. Ellen is a mom—an adoptive mom actually. She’s proud to call Texas home. She also happens to be the founder of BraveLove. (Read this story.) Besides currently rearing her four cute kids, Ellen’s all-time favorite job was when she worked at SeaWorld… just a few years ago.

Want to jump to Michelle, Erica or Grace and read why they care?

We’ve stumbled upon some great adoption stories, articles and videos in the past week or so. We wanted to make sure you saw them, too...

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.

Fun Fact—Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 12, however Birth Mother’s Day is the day before, Saturday, May 11.

This year, we’ve teamed up with Blessings in a Basket for the first time to create a sweet care package specifically designed for birth mothers. Why? Because we want birth moms to be honored and encouraged on this holiday. And we thought a few goodies would be a loving way to care.

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 crossroad 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! Without further adieu, here’s Ashley:

(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...

Once there were two women
Who never knew each other.
One you do not remember,
The other you call mother.
Two different lives
Shaped to make yours one.
One became your guiding star,
The other became your sun.

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: 1) to better convey the sacrifice Mummy and other birth mothers make when they choose adoption. And 2) to encourage other birth mothers that you aren’t alone. We don’t take this lightly. We’re honored to get to know Mummy and listen to her story and others.

“I would be honored to share my story. There have been many ups and downs. I am grateful that I can say I have never regretted my decision as being the best for my son. But, I do think that after all this time I am in a place where it is easier for me to tell…because if [reading other stories on BraveLove.org] has helped me then perhaps some of my story will help someone else as well.” - Mummy

Now it’s time to read her first letter to Seth. Once you finish, read the second letter here.

We were in the news this morning! If you are not in the Dallas area, have no fear - you can still read our paper. Reporter for the People Newspapers Georgia Fisher wrote:

“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.”

Read the article here.

We’ve been thrilled by the coverage we’ve received from in the past few months. So (in case you're curious), we're sharing some of these features in case you missed them in the news...

Read this article about our founder and her inspiration behind BraveLove. “Mother Creates Adoption Community” by Georgia Fisher, Park Cities People & Preston Hollow People.

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. Everyone shared their opinions and talked honestly and openly about the adoption stigmas that exist today. We shared our vision and then had a constructive discussion around plans for making this movement move.

We’re thankful to have 17 new friends of BraveLove and looking forward to more Roundtables!

Hope you all have had a lovely week. We’re blown away that it’s already mid-February. It’s been a busy few weeks around BraveLove as we’ve met some incredible people that continue to help make this movement move. Just wanted to share some stories and updates with you as you head into your weekend:

A new year brings resolutions, momentum and hopes for improved habits. This year we have big dreams for BraveLove, and we’re doing everything in our power to make these plans a reality. We need your help though. Here is what’s on the horizon and ways you can get involved with this movement. (Note: These plans are dependent on the support we raise. We like to keep an open mind because there’s always room for change.)

Our 2013 plans…

Today, we want to share a poem that our friend Heather wrote for us as she was inspired by her own story as a birthmother. We’re grateful to know her, and we’re continually amazed by her strength and honesty. Without further adieu, here is Heather’s poem...

2012 has been a great year, and we have you to thank this Christmas. We’re excited by some of these recent accomplishments made possible by your belief in our mission. Before we kickoff a new year, let’s look back.

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:

For those who have been tracking with us recently, you know it’s National Adoption Month. For the rest of you, start following today. We’ve been sharing some beautiful adoption stories, videos and Q&A’s. The good news - November isn’t over yet so there’s more to come.

Have you watched the most recent video added to BraveLove’s video library? Meet Matt, Lori and Cathy. You can hear their different adoption stories from three very personal perspectives.

It’s Day 2 of National Adoption Month, and there’s been some great stuff floating around the world wide web in celebration of NAM. Here are a few finds and interesting facts you might enjoy reading:

Did you know that approximately 7 million Americans are adopted persons, according to adoptionfacts.org.

Read this story of a 17-year old who chose adoption for her baby. (Thanks for sharing, Amy.)

We’re two days away from National Adoption Month. So to amp up, let’s start trending #BraveLove now! Some of you may not have a clue what we’re talking about. But for those of you who like to Tweet, Instagram, etc. just hashtag #BraveLove so we can see some of the chatter. 

Just last week, students from Highland Park High School in Dallas, TX gathered for their FIRST BraveLove club meeting. 9 girls, 4 guys, a tray of Chick-Fil-A nuggets, brownies, BraveLove stickers, t-shirts, tattoos and more.

So how did this come about? Well, last year a group of sophomore girls wanted to start their own club in effort to volunteer with a local non-profit organization. They hadn’t finalized which organization until BraveLove entered the picture this summer. 

We’ve been working away to compile our photos from the Launch Party. We’re so grateful to our talented volunteers who photographed the event like Lauren, Hannah and Christy and our amazing videographer Raelyn. We can’t wait to share this with you all. In the meantime, check out some of the photos we’ve posted to Facebook. If you have any of your own photos, will you share them with us? Post them to our BraveLove Facebook page and tag BraveLove. Or for you Tweeters and Instagrammers out there, hashtag #LaunchParty.

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. Bottom line: when you folks say you’re coming, you mean it. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all those that celebrated with us last night. We had a blast kicking this off with you. Now tell your friends about what you saw. If you weren’t able to join us, you can still watch our videos. Enjoy a little wine, eat a kobe slider, pop in a Jackopierce album and pretend like you were there. Many thanks to the talented Mr. Cary Pierce for his performance, all our awesome volunteers and the Marquee Grill for being so flexibility with our big ‘ole party. Stay tuned - more party pics are coming soon.

Hard to believe today’s the day. The invites are out, the tattoos are in, the first BraveLove video is complete, and here we are with a brand new, LIVE website. Can’t wait to celebrate the kick-off at the Marquee tonight. Looking forward to hearing what you all think.