Intro's/get to know everyone post

MauidAims · July 2012

First, I'd like to say I am relatively new to this board and find you all so sweet and helpful! So I thought we could do introductions.

1) What is your name?

2) Where are you from?

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc?

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it.

5) Where are you in the process?

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies?

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies

8) favorite vacation destination

If I forgot anything, please add.

steph196 · July 2012

1) What is your name? Stephanie2) Where are you from? Southern California3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? We felt the Lord leading us to adoption.4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? We did a domestic infant adoption through Bethany Christian Services and were VERY pleased!5) Where are you in the process? We brought our daughter home 3 months ago.6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? I have one human child and one furry child!7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies? Don't put your life on hold while you're waiting for a placement. Travel and do the things you have wanted to do. We booked a trip for this past April and we ended up having a 5 day old tagging along! :)8) favorite vacation destination... Sydney, Australia

MauidAims · July 2012

1) My name is Amy

2) From Sacramento, CA

3) I've always thought about adopting, even though I dont know much about it. DH and I have been TTC for some time and recently dx with low ovarian reserve (fancy way of saying my eggs are diminishing and could be bad quality). In my heart I get excited and happy when I think of adoption (not so much for IVF for some reason). Adoption feels righ to us.

4) Still figuring this part out. Any agency rec's would be wonderful.

5) Just beginning

6) 1 son, 4 years old and two furbaby boxers Would love as many kids as allowed. lol

7) Newbie myself

8) We've traveled all over but my favorite still is Hawaii. So many memories there.

MauidAims · July 2012

Steph, your daughter is SO cute! Agree with you about traveling and think one should still travel with kids.

Its a different experience but so fun to watch through their eyes.

elissaann26 · July 2012

1) What is your name? Elissa

2) Where are you from? Raleigh, NC

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? We chose to become foster parents because nothing else felt right. The longer answer is here.

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it. We are licensed foster parents through our county.

5) Where are you in the process? We welcomed two boys (5 and almost 2) into our home almost 4 weeks ago! So we are still definitely trying to figure things out!

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? Our first baby is Rutabaga (Rudy) our golden retriever. We have two boys (Artichoke and Zucchini). All of our beds are full, so we aren't expecting any more little ones at this point!

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies Be patient and enjoy the part of the process that you are in. Enjoy date nights with your hubby. Be spontaneous! Sleep, sleep, sleep!

8) favorite vacation destination Asheville, NC (without kids) or OBX (with kids)

If you are interested in following my foster parenting journey in more details, check out my blog!

Dr.Loretta · July 2012

1. DrL

2. Military brat (lived all over), currently in New england

3. IF

4. Domestic. I can PM the agency if anyone wants info

5. Finalized our adoption October 2010

6. 1 kid, wouldn't mind another, we have a cat

7. Make copies of everything

8. Carmel, CA

Julie721 · July 2012

MauidAims:
First, I'd like to say I am relatively new to this board and find you all so sweet and helpful! So I thought we could do introductions.

1) What is your name? Julie

2) Where are you from? Michigan originally, live in CA now

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? Infertility, but ultimately God's plan for our family.

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? Attorney

5) Where are you in the process? Matched in February, placed with our DS in May.

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies?We have one DS and one dog. We hope to adopt at least two more times.

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies. Some of the best advice I got was about any situation where we weren't picked or had to say no for some reason: "that isn't God's baby for you, you will know when it is your baby." It was so true for us, and I am thankful that God gave us that perspective.

8) favorite vacation destination Italy, but I also love Yosemite.

If I forgot anything, please add.

steph196 · July 2012

MauidAims:
Steph, your daughter is SO cute! Agree with you about traveling and think one should still travel with kids. Its a different experience but so fun to watch through their eyes.

Thank you Amy! She has been such a blessing and totally worth the wait!

Foster1Mom · July 2012

1) What is your name? ...

2) Where are you from? The South

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? Our hearts brought us to foster care.

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? Foster

5) Where are you in the process? Middle of HS, 2nd meeting on Tuesday.

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? Have a couple fubabies and want 1-2 kids to adopt one day.

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies. Learn to roll with the punches. Patience. I am still learning that one.

8) favorite vacation destination Disney, I am a big kid.

If I forgot anything, please add. I love this board and the honesty & support to know you are not alone in this process.

crene84 · July 2012

1) What is your name? Carrie

2) Where are you from? Raleigh, NC

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? We didn't have luck getting pregnant and decided this is our best option to start a family.

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? Domestic Infant Adoption with a private attorney

5) Where are you in the process? I started my home study this week and things have been progressing nicely. I hope to have it completed end of August.

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? 0 human (hoping for 2), 1 dog (Benji) in my sig below

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies? I am a newby still, so not yet!

8) favorite vacation destination. I like to travel to new places every time we vacation so I don't really have a favorite. But, the vacation I've enjoyed most with DH was Cancun.

jillianmb · July 2012

Welcome!

1) What is your name? Jillian

2) Where are you from? Originally a Canadian but I live in Michigan now

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? Adoption as a way to live out our spiritual convictions. :-)

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it. International adoption through a small agency.

5) Where are you in the process? Making our first of three trips in 9 days!! (!!!!!)

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? We have one furbaby, our cat Jasper and we will probably have 4 kids, but are open to more or less. At least two. We'll see how things go!

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies Have faith. There are times on this journey when it feels like it will never happen, but it will.

8) favorite vacation destination Small beach towns anywhere are our favorite. Sleeping in, going for a big breakfast, laying on the beach, sipping coffee at a coffee shop.... that's our favorite!

jwpbride · July 2012

1) What is your name? Laura

2) Where are you from? South Carolina

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? Multiple reasons: I am adopted myself. Also, after our first child and multiple miscarriages, I was diagnosed with MTHFR which we felt like was God's way of saying "this is what I've had planned for you all along".

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it. Domestic infant adoption, not race- or gender-specific. We are working with a small local agency that I'm sure no one has heard of!

5) Where are you in the process? We have been waiting for "the call" for about 4 months now.

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? We have one biological son, Noah who will be 3 in September and one furbaby, Rufio who will be 7 (sheesh!) in September. We hope to have 3 children when it's all said and done, but we'll see how we handle 2 first! haha

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies Well, I'm pretty new here, but I will say prepare for this really awkward time when you begin waiting: you've been at the agency every day, checking things off a check list, calling (and getting called) multiple times a day and then suddenly....there's nothing left for you to do! For me, that was a really hard part- knowing that I can't do anything else to move the process along. Sitting on my hands is a major lesson I am still learning! haha

8) favorite vacation destination Bald Head Island, NC. *sigh* I love it. No cars (only golf carts), so quiet, so beautiful.

jenjen930 · July 2012

Welcome! I am pretty new to this too, but getting into the swing of things.

1) What is your name? Jenn

2) Where are you from? Chicagoland area

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? I always knew that adoption would work for us if we couldn't have bio kids. In fact, I figured even if we did have a bio kid we would adopt our second kid. We stopped treatments after 2 IVF's because there was no point in continuing to go through the hell of infertility when there was another perfectly valid option in growing our family.

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it. Domestic Infant Adoption

5) Where are you in the process? Just starting our home study

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? one kitty, one step-daughter so far. I would like to adopt 2 kids if I could afford to do this again in the future.

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies. I am still a newbie myself, but I think the best advice I have received so far is be patient (as in - be prepared to wait), and stay organized. Keep a file of everything you have done so far and know what the status is.

8) favorite vacation destination So far, Jamaica. Loved it!

bumpuser794640 · July 2012

1) What is your name?: Katie

2) Where are you from?: originally, west Texas. Now we live in North Texas/DFW metroplex.

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc?: we have male-factor infertility and we chose adoption over IVF

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it.: We are planning an agency-assisted domestic infant adoption (open). We are using Catholic Charities as our agency (assuming our application is accepted).

5) Where are you in the process?: saving money, planning to put in our application (and hopefully begin the home study process) in January.

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies?: we would like 2-3 children (we have 0 currently). We have 3 dogs at the moment, which is a large but manageable number, lol.

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies: do LOTS of reading! I have learned so much about various aspects of adoption by reading books on the topic. I've read about10 so far, half recommended/required by the agency and half I chose browsing the stacks at my university's library.

8) favorite vacation destination: Colorado or Europe!

Foster1Mom · July 2012

Where did you get that Superman shirt? It is super cute.

Robby6 · July 2012

1) What is your name? Robby2) Where are you from? DC suburbs3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? I have a brother who joined my family through domestic infant adoption. My whole life I was interested in adoption and luckily 4 years ago was able to land a job in the adoption field (I'm now a SAHM). DH and I always planned to adopt after having a couple bio kiddos first. 4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? After the earthquake in Haiti, a particular child in a very unique situation became available for adoption and DH and I got on board to attempt to adopt him. He was placed with us 11.5 months after I initially met him.5) Where are you in the process? DS home 19 months.6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? DD was born 7.5 months after DS came home (we found out we were pregnant one week after finding out we were officially going to be DS's parents). I would love 1-2 more, but probably cannot afford it. Also one dog and one cat at home.7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies. Never give up. We were told by many many people to "move on" and I refused. Our persistence paid off. Also, like pp said, do not change your life while in the waiting period. Take that vacation!8) favorite vacation destination. International: Nepal. Domestic: Seattle

silliestbunny · July 2012

MauidAims:

First, I'd like to say I am relatively new to this board and find you all so sweet and helpful! So I thought we could do introductions.

1) What is your name? Jill

2) Where are you from? Grew up in NorCal, now in SoCal

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? Cancer survivor who wanted a family.

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? We started with A dopt He L P in CA but ended up finding our babies elsewhere through independent means.

5) Where are you in the process? We have two babiues.... and are seriously discussing if and when and how for a third (and probably last) child.

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? We have two daughters. We hope to have three (I always wanted four). We have three bunnies too.

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies- As annoying as it is to hear while you wait--- the wait is worth it to find YOUR child! We waited what seemed like forever and a day... but I wait twice as long to find my two girls. They are part of me...

8) favorite vacation destination I love to travel so this is hard but my ultimate vacation destination is safari in Kenya. Locally, I love Joshua Tree and Grand Canyon.

If I forgot anything, please add.

Courtneyluff · July 2012

This is great! I am new too and loved reading everyone's intros! And Katie is from DFW just like me!

1) What is your name?

Courtney

2) Where are you from?

DFW!

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc?

It's what I believe in. We tried to conceive for a while, but it never felt right. It seemed like we were doing what we were expected to do. Foster care is where my heart is. I want to give children a stable place until they can be reunited with their family. I was briefly in foster care, but was lucky to have a great family waiting for me. We had one terrible foster mother and one great one, and I want to have the impact on a child that my foster mother had on me (the good one!).

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it.

Foster care (we will be licensed foster-to-adopt, but only for situations where the child has nowhere to go and wants us to adopt them), We are going through CPS.

5) Where are you in the process?

Very early! We have gone to our information meeting and we are now sort of hanging out until classes start in September.

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies?

Since we are not looking for permanent placements at this time, I don't have a good answer here.

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies

Not yet, I'm still a newbie!!

8) favorite vacation destination

I'm a homebody! But Florida is beautiful.

If I forgot anything, please add.

HopingforChange · July 2012

1) What is your name?

Jennifer

2) Where are you from?

Southern Georgia

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc?

Trouble TTC and then two miscarriages in a year and the news that I am quite prone to losses due to hormonal issues. DH and I are also not interested in IVF for various reasons, so our IF treatment road is going to be a pretty short one. Adoption has also been on my heart for a long time now--since before any of this started.

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it.

Foster/foster-to-adopt

5) Where are you in the process?

Our (rescheduled) orientation is next Tuesday. We are also thinking of contacting a private agency, but we have been dealing with some personal stuff and are held up.

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies?

Ideally, I would like two or three, but, at this point, I will consider myself very blessed if I have one human child. I do have a furbaby! His name is Rupert, and he's an Apricot mini poodle. I that dog!

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies

I'm still a newbie!

8) favorite vacation destination

I loved Maui! For short trips, we love Florida. St. Augustine and Jacksonville are both day trips for us--so lucky in that way!

jackieo1309 · July 2012

1) What is your name? Jackie

2) Where are you from? Grew up in FL, lived in NYC for several years now (DH is from NYC)

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? We've always wanted to adopt but figured we would have a couple bio kids first and then adopt. It wasn't really working out that way so after a few cycles of clomid we decided to switch to adoption now rather than go through IUI/IVF. So happy we did!

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? We're doing domestic infant adoption with an agency (IAC).

5) Where are you in the process? We have a completed homestudy, trying to finish our dear birthmother letter now.

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? We don't have any right now. Would love to have 4 eventually.

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies: Easier said than done, but try not to get too frustrated when things out of your control are taking too long. Even now I have to keep reminding myself of that when someone from the agency is taking too long to do something or background checks are taking too long, etc. Your child will find you exactly when the time is right, so try not to stress if things take a few weeks longer than you'd planned.

8) favorite vacation destination We love to travel so this is tough! Our favorite international trip was to Turkey. Favorite domestic trip probably to San Francisco. But there are a lot of places in New England that we love too!

Mandy_Lou83 · July 2012

1) What is your name? Mandy

2) Where are you from? Alabama

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? Infertility, but ultimately it was God's plan for our family.

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it. We were in the process of submitting an application w/ an agency, but we were lucky that a private situation come up.

5) Where are you in the process? We brought our girls home a month and a half ago. We received full custody on the 7th of this month and now we are working on our homestudy and finalization.

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? 2 girls and a dog. We wouldn't mind one more.

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies...Heck, I'm a newbie too and have no idea what I'm doing. As w/ infertility I would say don't put your life on hold. Enjoy doing things you wouldn't be able to do as easy w/ children.

8) favorite vacation destination We love the Gulf Coast, but we also had lots of fun in NYC last fall.

IRR · July 2012

1) What is your name? Renee

2) Where are you from? From NY, living in CT

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? After a couple of M/C, failed IUI's and failed IVF decided this would be a great way to start our family.

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it.

Attorney/agency. Not sure which agency yet, but our lawyer will let us know now that we have identified a birthmom

5) Where are you in the process? Meet with birthparents last weekend. BM is due in December

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? Have 0, want 2 and want to wait on a furbaby until our baby is old enough to pick it out.

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies - still feel like a newbie.

8) favorite vacation destination - Tough one. I love costa rica and buenos aires, but favorite place I have been with DH is either Beaches Turks and Caicos (yes we went without kids) or Grand Cayman Island.

9) just finished the book "Baby we were meant for each other" very uplifting quick read on adoption.

slndr042305 · July 2012

1) What is your name? Sue

2) Where are you from? DC Metro Area

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? Infertility

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it. Domestic infant.

5) Where are you in the process? Waiting, and waiting. Waiting some more.

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? We would feel blessed to just have 1, though who knows what the future brings. 1 furbaby who's my love.

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies One day at a time, and at least we can drink throughout this entire pregnancy, how lucky are we?!?

8) favorite vacation destination Jamaica or St. Lucia both are special places to me & DH

If I forgot anything, please add.

morgan2B · July 2012

1) What is your name?
Amanda

2) Where are you from?
VA

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc?
We always knew we wanted to adopt and/or foster but after 3+ years of unsuccessful TTC we were even more destined for it.

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..?
adoption by way of foster care
DePaul Community Services

5) Where are you in the process?
We were approved for foster/adopt July 2011, our two "forever kiddos" just moved in last week, we'll petition for adoption in 6 mths and hope for finalization by Feb!

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies?
1 daughter, 1 son (both adoption ready, waiting for 6 mths timeline)
2 dogs, 1 cat
We'll wait about 1-2 years to determine if we will add to our family. I really think that we will consider adopting one or 2 more children.

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies
Hand in there, there is a reason for everything (even though you may not find out the reason for months or years later, God is in control and has a plan

8) favorite vacation destination
We should have traveled more in our 7 years of marriage before children, but..
Our favorite beach desintation is Tybee Island, GA!

Mrs.Slick · July 2012

MauidAims:
1) What is your name?
Mrs.Slick

2) Where are you from?
The South

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc?
It was always in our master plan but infertility led us here sooner than expected.

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..?
International - if anyone would like to know the name of our agency send me a pm. You may want to page me too since I don't check them all that often.

5) Where are you in the process?
Waiting to travel

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies?
Want : 2-3 Have: 1 furbaby

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies?
Start talking! Many more people have been touched by adoption than you realize!

8) favorite vacation destination
The beach

jmoka7 · July 2012

1) What is your name?... 2) Where are you from? Texas 3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? I tried 6 home inseminations, 2 IUIs, and 3 IVF cycles before deciding to go down the foster to adopt path.4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it. Fostering to adopt. SAFY.5) Where are you in the process? My first home study is this coming Monday.6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? I have one dog. And I'd like to have at least three kids. 7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies I'm still a newbie myself, so not right now.8) favorite vacation destination

Jamaica and Catalina Island

numeria11 · July 2012

1) What is your name? Amber

2) Where are you from? Chicagoland area

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? DH and I have been talking about it for several years and are just starting to investigate it more for a possible 3rd child.

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it. Domestic adoption most likely still learning about everything though

5) Where are you in the process? Just starting research

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? 1 2 year old daughter, Charlotte, and 3 kitties

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies. No advice but I'm reading everyone else's

8) favorite vacation destination Costa Rica outside the US, or Big Sur in the US.

jwpbride · July 2012

Foster1Mom:
Where did you get that Superman shirt? It is super cute.

Thanks! I had a print shop here in town make them- It was a fundraiser we did!

Twirple · July 2012

I'm not adopting, but I have always been interested in adoption and I know a lot of people who either been adopted or have adopted.

1) What is your name?

Jill

2) Where are you from?

Alaska

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc?

I'm not actually adopting, but I love to support the people who are.

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it.

If I were to, I would probably do international adoption. That is the path I have researched the most.

5) Where are you in the process?

N/A

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies?

I have one son, one dog and two cats.

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies

The best piece of advice I got when I was an expectant mommy..."Don't worry, babies (and kids) are meant to survive new parents.

8) favorite vacation destination

Prague. I loved the history there.

erinmc1 · July 2012

MauidAims:
First, I'd like to say I am relatively new to this board and find you all so sweet and helpful! So I thought we could do introductions.

1) What is your name? Erin

2) Where are you from? Pittsburgh, PA

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? I've always wanted to adopt. As it turns out, we're also infertile.

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it. Agency-assisted domestic infant open adoption.

5) Where are you in the process? We're waiting. Received the third "they picked someone else" call yesterday.

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? We would ideally like to have two children. But one is probably all we're going to be able to afford to adopt. We also have a 2-year-old Boston Terrier.

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies. Try not to get discouraged. Reflect on the personal growth this journey fosters in you, because you'll see huge changes in yourself and in your partner.

8) favorite vacation destination Ireland.

If I forgot anything, please add.

SweetieBelle04 · July 2012

1) What is your name?

SweetieBelle

2) Where are you from?

Always somewhere new - military

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc?

We wanted children and having them biologically was not an option. It was an easy choice to make.

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it.

We did Domestic Infant Adoption through an agency (in Utah - gasp!). We had a great experience. We were also open to adopting independently through an attorney, but we didn't find our baby that way.

5) Where are you in the process?

We were placed with our daughter in May 2011 at her birth, and we finalized in December 2011. We're just living a regular life with a toddler right now!

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies?

We have one daughter, and we're debating if/how many more we want. I always wanted three, but we're leaning towards being done or adding one more. We'll see how things go. We also have two dogs.

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies

Make copies of everything, make sure you and your partner are on the same page, and be ready for things to mave very quickly or very slowly (both have their challenges).

8) Favorite vacation destination

The beach! I'm not very picky.

DaisyZH · July 2012

First, I'd like to say I am relatively new to this board and find you all so sweet and helpful! So I thought we could do introductions.

1) What is your name? Jamie

2) Where are you from? New York

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? My DH and I have always been interested in adoption. We have had 3 miscarriages and 1 healthy DS in our TTC journey. After 2 miscarriages in a row we decided that it was time to begin a new chapter and start the adoption process.

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it. I think we are most interested in domestic adoption. We have a list of about 12 agencies that we are getting more information from, and a kind of short-list of about 5.

5) Where are you in the process? Researching and seeing how much money we can save up over this year.

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? We have one DS, and while I would love to have 3 kids, I think 2 will have to be it for us. I would love a dog someday.

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies None yet, I am a newbie : )

8) favorite vacation destination Disney World!!

If I forgot anything, please add.

Mush-Tastic · July 2012

1) What is your name? Courtenay

2) Where are you from? Minneapolis

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? After much prayer and consideration, we both feel that this is the direction we are being led in order to begin our our family.

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it.Domestic Infant

5) Where are you in the process? Turning in our official application next week. Probably start our Homestudy process sometime in August.

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? Right now I'd be happy with 1 baby. I have a 5 year old shih tzu and a 3 year old tabby cat.

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies I'm a newbie

8) favorite vacation destination I'd love to go back to Spain. It's the most beautiful place I've ever been to.

If I forgot anything, please add.

Rachel Sonnier · July 2012

1) What is your name?Rachel 2) Where are you from?SW Louisiana 3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc?IF 4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it.Agency Assisted Domestic Infant Adoption 5) Where are you in the process?We have been doing paperwork since April. Just got an email this AM saying once my husband's health clearance gets filed, we can begin our home study!!! Woohoo!6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies?One bio son. If you would have asked me 8 years ago, I would have said that I wanted 4 children, but now if I can get 2, I'd be set! If there are more in store for us, that would be wonderful as well :-) 7) Any words of wisdom for the newbiesI feel pretty new to all of this myself. We started the process in Feb and I think I began lurking here around that time. Maybe just to try to read everything you can get your hands on, and attempt to be patient with yourself and others.8) favorite vacation destination :)Hawaii

JennaNAaron · July 2012

) What is your name?

Jenna

2) Where are you from?

NC

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc?

IF

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it.

Fostering with the hope of adopting someday

5) Where are you in the process?

We have been licensed through our county since March and got our first placement yesterday.

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies?

We are licensed for 2 kids (hoping to increase to 3 someday). We have a 14 month old with us now and a newborn joining us in a couple weeks. We also have two dogs.

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies

I'm still pretty new myself.

8) favorite vacation destination

I love Gatlinburg TN

christy2125 · July 2012

1) What is your name? Christina

2) Where are you from? Dallas, TX

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? We have experienced several pregnancy losses and after our second failed IVF decided that God was leading us down this path to complete our family.

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it. We are pursuing domestic adoption, haven't picked an agency yet so if anyone knows any good ones in our area please let me know!

5) Where are you in the process? We just made the decision to adopt about a week ago.

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? My husband has a daughter from a previous relationship, and we have four furbabies (alot I know) We would like to have two-three more kids.

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies Don't have any yet as I am still a newbie myself

8) favorite vacation destination South Flordia (I love the ocean)

meg_marie · July 2012

1) What is your name?

Megan

2) Where are you from?

North Carolina

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc?

We've always wanted to adopt. We want to start our family by adopting because of the Gospel. We are planning to live internationally in a few years and adoption might not be an option at that point, so we want to start now.

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..?

Adoption from foster care with Children's Home Society North Carolina

5) Where are you in the process?

We are at the beginning. We take MAPP class in August.

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies?

We have two dogs. We are hoping to adopt 1-3 kids. (I'm hoping for a sibling group of 3.)

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies.

I'm still a newbie.

8) favorite vacation destination

Paris.

Jenn is Silly · July 2012

1) Jenn

2) Arizona

3) We've always had a heart for adoption, and it turns out it was God's plan for us.

4) We did an independent domestic newborn adoption for our daughter, finalized 7/11, and are currently in the beginning stages of investigating IA, with a focus on the Colombia program.

5) Finalized adoption #1, researching for adoption #2

6) As many as the Lord decides to bless us with.

7) Trust your gut. When your head creates crazies, your gut will always tell you which direction to go. When your head wants to live in the clouds and in denial, your gut will tell you that as well.

8) Anything Disney! (Disneyland, Disneyworld, Alauni)

bhead81 · July 2012

1) What is your name? Brenda

2) Where are you from? Arizona

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? We have always known we wanted to adopt, plus I have IF. We thought we would have a child first and then adopt but god had other plans for us.

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? * If you wouldnt mind listing the agency you picked that would be helpful to others looking into it. We used a lawyer in CA for our adoption. We are also foster parents.

5) Where are you in the process? Waiting for a finalization date.

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? We have 1 and want at least 2-3. We have 2 dogs and 2 cats plus a saltwater fish tank (125 gallons)

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies Trust in your gut. The road can be rough at times that there can be a lot of ups and downs but your gut is going to be your biggest help in the process. If something doesn't feel right it probably isn't.

8) favorite vacation destination The beach...preferably the caribbean.

kacelle · July 2012

1) What is your name? Kacey2) Where are you from? Alabama3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? Our faith4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing...independent, attorney,domestic, international, foster..? International5) Where are you in the process? Research6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? We have one daughter and want a large family. Not sure how many that will mean for us! We don't have or want animals.7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies? Nope, I'm a newbie myself!8) favorite vacation destination

Savannah or Boston.

sh4602 · July 2012

1) What is your name? Sue

2) Where are you from? NJ

3) What brought you to adoption, foster care, etc? I have Tunner Syndrome and can not have children

4) What avenue of adoption are you pursuing. domestic infant

5) Where are you in the process? Our son is almost 4 we were there when he was born and cared for him in the hospital. we finalized a year later

6) How many kiddos do you have (or want), including furbabies? our son and 2 dogs

7) Any words of wisdom for the newbies im mot on here alot but feel free to pm me

8) favorite vacation destination the beach

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