What great news. Congrats to you and your family, She is a very lucky little girl to have been in a home with people who love her and never gave up.

Hi Kathy, I just found this message board and read your post. I was adopted at birth, It was a closed and private adoption. My story could go on and on but here is the short version. I met my birth mother, We got to know each other over a couple of years but it just did not work out. I'm glad I met her and alot of questions were answered, I have no regrets. On the real positive side I also met a sister and brother. My brother and I have become close and getting closer every day. This has been over the last ten years or so. The twist to the story is that my brother was the reason I was adopted by my parents. He went to the same church and everyone knew my parents were looking to adopt. He took them to meet his mother who was pregnant with me and my twin sister and planning to give us up. My parents adopted me and my twin. The paperwork was done before we were born. I did not know about my brother for many many years. He moved out of state and I was never told about him until he came back about twelve years ago. It also turns out that the little boy I remember my mother babysitting for when I was very young, IT WAS HIM, MY BROTHER. I just wanted to share a little of my story and wish you well on your journey. good luck!

Hello Shannon, I am new here and just saw your post. I have two adopted children. Both from foster care here in Michigan. I had two natural children already that my husband adopted in his name also. I am big on adopting children, however I know for alot of families the cost is out of the question. My sister is adopting internationally and it is costing her 25 thousand!! I urge you to consider foster care as an option. It costs nothing to adopt your foster children when they become available for placement. Many babies are available if that is important to you, however older children need loving homes desperately. My two boys were 3 and 6 when they were placed with us and we adopted them 2 years later. I know that some placements aren't permanent, however fostering gives you a chance to experience parenthood ahead of time and also the training you recieve is invaluable as a teaching tool for parenting. Foster adoptions, children 3 and over are considered special placements in most states and they actually pay you a supplemental income every month until the child is 18! This helps with expenses and extras that some people would otherwise have trouble providing. Also the waiting list is almost non-existent after your license is provided to you. Many children are waiting for homes already. There is a website for national adoption you can check out yourself. It is http://www adoptuskids.org, please check it out in your search for you child. If you have any questions or want to know more, e-mail me and I would be happy to answer your questions. Wendy D.

We had 6 adopted children. The first 4 were through the foster care system. The next 2 were from open independant adoptions. They first 4 came at ages 5, 19 mos, 13 mos , 7 mos. Our last 2 were placed into our arms at birth. One we knew the birthmom long before the adoption, the other we met when she was 5 mos pregnant. Our girls are now 7 & almost 10. Our open adoptions have been great for all of us. DeeDee

Good luck on your journey. It is not an easy one, but well worth it in the end. DeeDee