Be Forever Home

Adoption Stories – The Birth-Mother Part 3

admin — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 21:17:01 +0000

We met his birth-mother for the first time…when we met our baby. He was a healthy, gorgeous African American boy, and we named him Luke Andrew on the spot. The next day we took him home, introduced him to his siblings and relatives, and had a whirlwind of baby showers. Luke had a room prepared for him and enough love to go around for 3 babies! Our two teenagers formed their own unique bond with Luke. My husband and I fell in love with our baby and couldn’t get enough of holding him, snuggling with him, playing with him, and just merely gazing at him. Fortunately for me, I was nearly off-track, and at home. I am a school teacher. I took the rest of January off and February, my off-track month. We found a lovely woman with a lovely family in my school’s neighborhood to care for Luke during the days after I returned to work. During this time, I was deliriously happy.

Two months after Luke’s birth, to the day, David and I received a call from our Adoption Coordinator. The birth-mother had missed her appointments to sign off on her parental rights…

Adoption Stories – About Luke Part 2

admin — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 21:07:25 +0000

My first marriage dissolved when I was in my early thirties…without children. When I married David at age 34, I was hopeful and looked forward to bringing children from our union into the world by the time I was 40. I was already a step-mom of Nate and Vania, ages 7 & 8 at the time. When my 38^th birthday came around with no additions to the family, it was time to look into adoption. We could have spent thousands of dollars on fertility treatments resulting in a baby…or not…or become parents of a child already present needing a loving home in which to grow up. We chose the latter.

Having heard from other adoptive parents about the long, arduous process through the county, we decided to look into private agencies. It was at this time that we interviewed with an agency close to home and began the work of “selling ourselves” to prospective birth-moms. We had decided that we would like a child of Hispanic or African heritage since our two children were of those ethnicities.

During that process…and the waiting…we continued to work hard and raise our children. On a busy January day, we received a call from our adoption coordinator asking us if we wanted to race to a San Diego hospital and meet the mom that had chosen us for her baby…that day!

Adoption Stories – About JoAnne Engelhorn Part 1

admin — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 20:59:08 +0000

As a young girl growing up in a family of seven, I remember how much I desired to be around babies and toddlers. I was absolutely enamored with them! When I was 7 years old, my younger sister and I became “contestants” on a children’s local program called “The Uncle Gary Show” in Monterey, CA. When “Uncle Gary” asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I replied, “A mother.” He then asked me how many children I would like to have. Thoughtfully I answered, “Eleven”. My mom almost passed out in the room set aside for hover mothers! I have no idea why since, she herself, adored infants and children and had modeled that love ever since I can remember. Also, growing up in a closely-knit Catholic home, school, and church community, eleven children was almost the norm! It wasn’t long before I had several regular baby-sitting jobs at the young age of ten. I was good with babies and small children. Having said that, I always knew I wanted a fairly large family…not eleven…but a good three or four at the very least!

The Be Forever Home Gets Started with New Website

admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:31:22 +0000

Alright! We are getting all of our ducks in a row to start raising funds to help families make happy homes through adoption. We have begun our efforts by hiring a talented social networker and designer to help us build a professional looking website and to build out and maintain our social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, flickr, and down the road maybe more. But for now, that’s a great place to start. We’re so excited to start sharing our rich stories of the adventures using adoption to create our family has brought into our lives. Stay tuned as our site and the Be Forever Home Project evolves!

About Be Forever Home

admin — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 18:56:18 +0000

Visit our About Us page to learn how The Be Forever Home Project began with the creation of a family.