 In 2005, we learned of our inability to have biological children, and decided to pursue adoption. We met with Marla Allisan in her Brookline office on February 13, 2005 for our orientation. Marla took all the time we needed to go over every part of the handbook with us and to answer our questions, which were never ending. In our attempts to have biological children, on our fertility voyage, we'd lost our hope. During this meeting, we both felt hope again for the first time in many years, that we'd actually become parents. In that Brookline office on that February morning, we found it. We started right away with our application and home study. Every step of the way we were treated respectfully and professionally, when we did not understand something, Marla and all the workers at A Full Circle Adoptions took the time to explain things to us and to reassure us. There were times during our wait that we fell back into the more familiar feeling of wondering if we'll ever be blessed with parenthood. In December 2006, we began speaking with a young couple expecting a girl here in Massachusetts. During our talks, there were times when we became overwhelmed, and it was a Godsend to have Marla to bounce our feelings off of, it brought us great comfort to be able to share our concerns with Marla and the team at FCA. We became officially matched with this couple on New Year's Eve and our daughter was born on March 6, 2006. When our daughter was born, we went through the gamut of emotions and experiences. I was fortunate enough to have been asked by our daughter's birthmother to room in with her in the hospital because she wanted me to start caring for and bonding with our daughter immediately, from birth. While it was one of the most difficult times and frightening times of my life, it was hands-down the best opportunity and exceeded even my best dreams. There were times during our wait that we knew we had to be driving the staff crazy with our endless concerns and questioning, not because the staff became impatient with us, because they never did, but because we knew we would have driven ourselves crazy! And during our most uncertain and persistent times, Marla and FCA rose above and lifted us up and helped us continue on our journey, always respectfully and compassionately. After we came home with our daughter, we started counting down our monthly post placement visits until finalization. In September 06, we had one particularly unsettling conversation with our daughter's birthmother. Immediately after ending the call with our daughter's birthmother, we called Marla for her professional opinion and some reassurance. She once again rose above and was able to successfully explain the grieving process that some birthparents experience and relate that to us and this particular situation. That was the moment that we knew we would really never want to end our contact with this agency. The continued support that started during our orientation and continues to this day, over a year after finalization, is the kind of support that is rarely available in today's world. We are very grateful for the work that Marla and the team at A Full Circle Adoptions does, and for the integrity and respect they convey in their work. There are no words good enough to describe the quality of care from this agency. It is the diamond in the rough. They've given us so much more than our hope back, they've given us our dream and our life as a family. Julie |