Lifetime Created
Our Family!

Dear Mardie and our Lifetime family-
We want to say THANK YOU for helping us with our second adoption. With your help, we were able to connect with some truly amazing birthparents. We have had such a great experience - we even were able to catch a plane on the day our special little boy Jax was born - arriving just an hour after he was delivered! 

Saying 'thank you' isn't enough for helping us realize our dream of growing our family. Lifetime has done such a fabulous job with helping us on both of our adoptions. We've had an incredible journey to this point. We were so honored and blessed to share our story (before Jax was born) on a Lifetime webinar with Libby (who we absolutely LOVE). Jax is now seven months old, but we wanted to let you know how thankful we are for you. Here is a brand-new family photo...hope you enjoy! God bless you!

Love,
Tim, Tisha, Arianna, and Jax

Hear a special podcast that Tim hosted with Lifetime's Founder, Mardie Caldwell!

Blessed for a Lifetime

Hi Diane!  I hope you are doing well.  We are all doing just great!

I wanted to give an update on our little big man.  Bentley is growing up so quickly and he is changing every day.  Our days are filled with so much fun and laughter.  All of us are centered around Bentley and watching him grow and change.  He doesn’t even look like the same little peanut that he was when he was born.  He is an eight month old big boy!  He is rolling all over, sits up very sturdily, rocks back and forth as he is getting ready for takeoff, and babbles and babbles.  He just wants to be in our conversations and we can tell that he has a lot to say!  There is never a dull moment with him.  We are all so in love with him and in love with everything that he has brought to our family, which is nothing by love and joy.  He is just an absolute blessing.  Words can’t truly describe the feelings we have.  Our hearts are filled. 

I thank God every day for blessing us with Bentley.  I am so thankful we were with Lifetime because I can’t imagine Bentley with anyone else but us.  I don’t even give it a second thought, because him and us were meant to be with one another for a Lifetime.  Having two biological children, I really can’t say there is much of a difference at all.  I sometimes think I gave birth to him!  Nothing has ever felt ao right. We are so happy and so in love!

God Bless,

Danny and Shannon

Bouncing Baby Boy

My blessing Elijah is now four months old!

I am so thankful for the opportunity to be his mom...thank you to Lifetime for all of your help and support.

Elijah is a happy, wonderful, bouncing baby boy! His birth mom and I communicate often through text messages and pictures. Every day is a joy as I watch him grow. I love being his mom!

-MaRay

Twice Blessed

Hello Diane & Libby,
We finalized Grace's adoption last week. Yay! We were fortunate to have the same judge who finalized Olivia's adoption. Thank you so much for all your hard work over the last couple years. We had some rough experiences but are so grateful and feel so blessed to have found our way to Grace!

-Eric & Melody

Our Lifetime Experience

Lifetime adoptive mother Marla shares:

"We had an excellent experience with Lifetime! We would highly recommend it to anyone and we have to several people!

The ladies at Lifetime are so warm and caring! And they help you through all the steps, step-through-step. I cannot share enough good things about them!

Please press the "play" button below to listen to Corey and Marla's experience with Lifetime:

Adoption Will Bless You!

Josie amazes us and delights us every single day with her intelligence, her sense of humor, her independent spirit, her spunkiness, and her excitement about the world around her. She is always learning and we're blown away by how quickly she "gets" new concepts. Josie loves to spend time with her family and friends, she likes to draw, dance, and sing, she likes to make others laugh, and she's such a sweet girl. It's hard for us to remember what life was like before we had her in our family. Our house is less tidy, but our hearts are filled to overflowing with love for her. It's been the best two years of our lives!

Even in the joy of our daughter, we remember so vividly the anxiousness of "the wait." We keep in touch with you not only because we are proud of Josie, but because we want to offer our prayers and encouragement to your waiting families and birth mothers. So many people loved and supported us while we waited for God's plan to unfold for our family that we feel compelled to return that blessing.

To the birth mothers: words cannot describe the amazing gift you will bestow on a waiting family. Your courage, determination, and love are humbling. Thank you for these qualities, thank you for your strength, thank you for the opportunity you give to us to become a family.

To the families who are anxiously awaiting the call: know that you are constantly surrounded by the love, prayers, and well-wishes of those of us who have walked this journey. In your times of anxiousness and nerves, remember to breathe deeply and trust God's plan. He is steadfast and, when you do get the call (and you will!) you will see how He chose just the right situation just for you!

And, of course, a huge thank you to the entire Lifetime staff! We value each and every one of you and are so grateful for your expertise and guidance. Without your help, we wouldn't be a family of three!

Much love and many blessings,

Alyssa and Scott

Our Precious 'Lil Peanut

It has been almost a year since our little precious peanut joined the world and became part of our family. Evelyn is such a joy that we'd struggle to say a single bad moment we have had. Even her one bad three hour stretch of teething was something we loved. To be blunt, she is the perfect baby. Happy all the time, a personality that commands a room, amazingly perceptive on everything, sleeps and has slept the entire night from day one! We can't thank you enough for the match you put us in contact with.

-Roric & Michelle

Growing By
Leaps & Bounds

Isabelle is doing great and changing all the time. She is up to 27 pounds and 33 inches tall. With the nice weather the last couple of days, she has been outside playing and does not want to come in at night to go to bed. Isabelle is very talkative and starting to say quite a few words. Some of her newest words are: Elmo, bye, clock and Minnie. Her favorite word the last couple of days has been no.

We just started potty training and she has done pretty well with that. Sometimes she will go when we ask her if she needs to go potty but normally, she tells us after she has gone in her diaper but she’s making great progress.

We went to New Orleans for Kelly’s cousin’s wedding and she made the 17 hour car ride with no problems! We kept plenty of toys and movies in the car for entertainment.
           
-Justin & Kelly

Our Precious Princess

Hello my sweet friends!  Life has definitely changed so much with little Miss Adley Grace here with us finally...we couldn't be any more excited!  She is our precious little gift and we love her so much! Everyone just loves her so much and every time we take her somewhere, someone is always holding her, getting all of her sugars!  When she smiles, our hearts just melt.  She is so very perfect!  We're having the best times of our lives with her! The past two nights she has slept through the entire night. At first, she would get up every few hours but now she's getting good rest at night!  We're so happy that she is comfortable and she fits right in with us!  We're not Sandi and Ronnie anymore when we go somewhere; we're Adley's parents, and we love it! 
 
We thank God every single day for blessing us with this precious baby girl.  We have kept in contact with her birthmom.  We text every other week or so.  We have sent her some pictures and she loved getting them.  She seems to really like it when we tell her everything that's going on at that time with Adley's development.  We plan on always staying in contact with her.  She's also very precious to us and she will always have a huge place in our hearts, along with her other two children. 
 
We still pray for everyone involved in adoption and we pray that Lifetime will always be around to help other families like us!  Thank you again for everything that y'all done!

Love,
 
Ronnie and Sandi

We Couldn't Be Happier!

Hello Heidi and the Lifetime staff,

When we signed up for Lifetime, I thought that we would have to wait for at least one year before getting matched up with a birthmother.  I also thought that it was going to be a long road.  You and the Lifetime staff have made it so easy.  You all have been very helpful along the way. We were nervous wrecks when we were matched up with Jerold's birthmother, but when we spoke on the phone we clicked right away.  We spoke like we old friends. The whole time, I was afraid that she would change her mind and we would have to start all over again.  After he was born and I held him for the first time, I fell in love with him.  We couldn't be happier! He is getting so big, so fast.  It was pleasure working with Lifetime, and if I was able to do it again, I would definitely come back to you.  Thank you for everything!

Sincerely,
Demetrius and Janice

Our Two Adoption Blessings

Hi Libby,

It's so ironic how similar our two kiddos look! Jake had an opportunity to correct some misconceptions of adoption on his flight home last week. We couldn't be happier with how large the family feels now; the blessing of adoption was well beyond being parents. Cassidy's birth mother will be flying out to spend time with us in June to celebrate Cassidy's second birthday, and we're hoping that Connor's birth mother can make it out too. Both kids call them "belly mamas"...It's pretty cute to hear them talk.

Take care,
Jake and Tanya

My Brother, My Friend

Hello Diane,

We just wanted to send a quick update on our two Lifetime babies. Julian is five months old now and we are looking forward to finalizing his adoption in June. Wow does time fly! Big brother Isaac will be five in June and he is a very proud big brother! He loves helping teach Julian new things and tells everyone we meet about his "baby brudder". He especially loves the days when they can both wear their spaceship shirts and be "twins".

Thank  you all for everything you did to help us build our family. There aren't words to say what an amazing team you have there doing God's work. Bless you, bless you, bless you!

-Michael and Lyn

Our Boy, Our Joy

Hi Jen, 

-Dave & Telita

She's Perfect!

Hello Veronica,

We have been admiring baby Elisbeth Rae and counting our blessings all night.  She is perfect!  She's eating and sleeping real well and has a few hours of wakefulness during the day. Here is a little photo of her!  Thank you for everything!

-Jess and Kevin

Our Adoption Joy

Hi Jen,

Here is a recent picture of Isabelle...We had a pretty good adoption experience. We were contracted with Lifetime 42 days when we found out a birthmother had picked us and she was in labor when we found out so we rushed to the hospital that night to meet her and our baby!

-Justin and Kelly

Lifetime Blessed Us!

Lifetime adoptive mother Pam shares:

"Our experience with Lifetime was perfect! God really blessed us through your organization, and I pass that info along to everyone that inquires of Lifetime...they also were very good with our birth mother; they were able to assist her with things she needed."

To hear more about Pam and her husband Bret's experience with Lifetime, please press the "play" button below:

All Smiles

Hello Diane and Lifetime,

It has been three months since Eli came into our lives.  We are forever changed.  Eli is the most happy baby we've ever seen.  He smiles all of the time - a big, toothless, ear-to-ear smile!  He is amazing.  He is outfitted for his first hiking trip.  We took him to REI for the first time to get his gear. Carrier: check, Cute hat: check, Mommy and Daddy: check.  He's ready to go! He seemed really interested in the red kayaks.  Hmm - possible hobby?  

We have been able to visit with his birth mother.  We met her and her sister for dinner.  It was such a great visit.  Her sister brought her two-year-old daughter.  We are so excited to have them in our lives.  Eli and his cousin were so cute together.  We haven't heard from his birthfather yet.  We are hopeful to visit with him and his family this summer.

We love our Eli so much.  Thank you for helping put this family together!

Love,

Our Little Sunshine

Hi Jen,
Here is a little video of Olivia Grace (11 months) that we wanted to share with you. She is our little "Sunshine" and the light to all those around her. We have been blessed beyond words! Thank you to everyone at Lifetime for helping to make this happen for our family.

-Fred & Mary-Lee

Lifetime, Through a
Family's Eyes

After waiting two years with another agency, Darren and Tammi were able to adopt a baby girl in just two months with Lifetime! Please press the "play" button below to hear about Darren and Tammi's experience with Lifetime:

Open Adoption Has
Blessed Us!

Dear Veronica and Libby,

Here is a recent picture of Jacob, our "almost three year old"!  This was taken Easter weekend. He looks so big in his suit! Jacob and Tammy went to see his first mommy for a wonderful visit.  There were activities to do and Jacob had such a good time.  There was lots of laughter!  He remembered an event from our last visit with her just a few months ago, and it struck me that from here on out he is going to have his own memories of his visits with his first mommy!  We look forward to our growing, open adoption story, and pray that it blesses them both. We know that we, the adoptive parents, are blessed!

Kind Regards,

Patrick and Tammy

Cherished in Our Hearts

Dear Veronica, Patty, and the entire Lifetime staff,

Thank you doesn't seem adequate enough to describe how grateful we are to you for all the work you have done on our behalf to bring Hannah May into our lives! We are so grateful for your support and encouragement on the long journey to adoption. We are blessed by our daughter, and so thankful to God for her and her birth family. The role Lifetime has played in our lives will always be cherished in our hearts!

With love,

Scott and Jen

Picture-Perfect Adoption

Hi Jen,
I love to tell my adoption story!  I actually had the picture-perfect adoption experience.  I am single and when I decided to adopt I had several doors shut but once I called Lifetime, it all fell into place and eight months after I signed my contract my son Cooper was born.  It all happened much quicker than expected and I was in the delivery room and cut the cord. I actually babysat his two siblings for a couple hours until a family member could come to the hospital to pick them up.  We had a couple of bumps when the birthmom started to change her mind but they really didn't last long and went pretty quick. 

I know that God was in control of our adoption and I appreciated that my Lifetime counselors were Christian.  I also appreciated how Lifetime helped me to find someone here to do my home study and helped me with the attorneys.  I consider the Lifetime staff my family, even though I have never met any of you!

Thank you,
Stacey

Blessed Twice by
Open Adoption

When we share about our two adoptions with Lifetime, we typically share how our two experiences were so different. With our first adoption, we had such a rollercoaster nine months with failed matches lots of interest in our profile and lots of craziness, but that we have our wonderful daughter and the wonderful relationship that we still enjoy with her birthmom. 

With our second, we submitted our profiles and heard nothing for 18 months and that was so hard. Month after month of check-ins with nothing. But when we matched, that was it, there was no rollercoaster, it went smoothly.

We like to let people know that open adoption is nothing to be afraid of and that it can be a wonderful thing for both adoptive parents, birth parents, and for the children!

-John & Peggy

I'm the Big Sister

Our Maggie just turned two years old...and last month she became a BIG SISTER! 

Our little boy, Andrew, Jr., was a little early but he was completely healthy and absolutely wonderful!   We are adjusting to two little ones in the house, and loving every moment! 

We have nothing but great things to say about our experience with Lifetime - and we enjoy sharing our story with others hoping to add to their family through adoption.

Have a wonderful day!
Nancy & Andrew

Growing Like a Weed

Hi Jen,

Sydney is growing like a weed and just attended kindergarten round up. It's so hard to believe she is five years old. As you can tell she is a very happy and energetic girl!

- Polly and Shane

Blessed Beyond Words

Michelle,

Last week our family took a stroll to the courthouse to finalize the adoption of our precious little Caroline! Here is a photo of us at Caroline's adoption finalization in court. She is now three and a half months old. We are all so happy! Blessed beyond words!

Thank you for the effort and dedication you put into our adoption. You were the perfect Adoption Coordinator for our family!  We have so many positive memories from working with you and the staff at Lifetime. Thank you for working so hard for our family! 

Love, 

Ready, Set, Grow!

Hi Veronica,
We hope you had a wonderful Easter! Here's a recent picture of Lena. She has gotten so big and wonderful she will be two in June and already knows her ABC's and is potty trained -- Yay!

God Bless,

Lewis & Loreen

She Lights Up Our Lives!

Dear Libby,

Happy Easter!  We always think of you this time of year and wanted to send you our annual photos of Katie with the bunny!  These photos are of Katie and Hershey this year. Taking them always reminds us of you asking us to take the "perfect" photo of our bunnies for our profile. We appreciate the attention to details that you and the others at Lifetime put into our adoption which led us to a perfect match!  Thank you again for everything!  Katie is now a very active three year old who lights up our lives!

Love,
Roger and Tricia

Pretty in Pink

Veronica, Libby, Patty and Michelle,

Michaela is growing so fast!  She has such a sweet smile and personality.  It is just amazing how much she has changed in just three months.  The doctor says she is perfect, but we already knew that.  She is cooing, smiling, kicking, holder her head up and most recently had her first laugh/giggle. And we were lucky enough to get it on video! She is even sleeping through the night.   We have been corresponding through email with her birth parents.  They are such a sweet couple and we enjoyed our time with them.  Our hearts are so full of love for them and for what they have done for Michaela.  We are sending them updates of Michaela’s milestones along with photos. 

We want to thank you for all the help and direction you have provided for Michaela's birth mother and for being the connector God used to bring us together.  It is funny how whatever you can dream, that God just dreams it so much bigger.  Michaela is so much more that we could have ever hoped, dreamed or prayed for.  But God is like that, going above and beyond.  We will keep you updated on our finalization.

Sincerely,

Scott and Meredith Adopted a Baby Girl!

In this photo, Isabella poses alongside their adoption profile book

Congratulations from the staff of Lifetime Adoption!

Our Boy, Our Joy

Dear Michelle, Kim, and Tonya,

Thank you guys for your wonderful support!  Here is a picture of our beautiful boy Adam at one week.

We are now parents of a beautiful baby boy and our hearts could not be happier! 

With much appreciation and gratitude for everyone at Lifetime!

-Alfred and Landria

Girl of Our Dreams

Hi Libby,
I've been meaning to send some pictures your way of Elisabeth (Ellie). We went recently and had the girls get pictures together and also just ones of Ellie. She is doing so good. Sleeps all night, takes nice naps, is growing great and just all together a very healthy girl!

We have confidence that God knew about Ellie 10 years ago when we first felt compelled to have adoption as part of our family's story. Somehow, through a very winding path, He had her in mind for us. We also know He used you to bring her home. Her birthmom didn't choose us, you did. I have no idea what criteria you were looking at that long, sleepless night, but I am so thankful it led you to call us at 4 in the morning. The wait was hard, but worth it. So, thank you for our daughter!

-Kevin and Alisa

Thank Heaven for
Our Little Girl

Hi Diane,
Where did the time go? Can't believe we just celebrated Gaige's first birthday. She is such a joy! We're so blessed to call her our daughter.

I'm hoping your non-profit program for birth mothers received some donations in her honor. We asked friends and family to donate to that program in lieu of birthday gifts. Enclosed are a few extra checks that were brought to her party.

Thanks again for all your help in bringing Gaige home!

-Derric & Lori

Our Little Bundle of Joy

Dear Lifetime,
We haven't ever felt such joy as we have this past week!  Miss Adley Grace was born six pounds, 17 inches long and we got to experience so much with our baby and her birth mom!  It has truly been an amazing and breathtaking experience!  Adley is just so perfect!  

Our birth mom is one of the strongest, motivated, loving, wonderful persons we know!  We met with her and had a fantastic time with her and her two kids for a few days...we'll definitely never ever forget them! We're excited to be able to stay in touch with her and send her lots of pictures. 

This has all been led by our Jesus!  We prayed so much for our baby and her birth mom.  Things could not have went any smoother for all of us involved!  We're on the road headed home right now.  It's a long way to go, but EVERYONE back home is waiting on this little bundle of joy to get there!  

We cannot express how much we LOVE and appreciate ALL of the staff at Lifetime.  We could not have done this without you!  We would like to say an extra special thank you to Mrs. Patty and Mrs. Diane!  You two have been our rock from start to finish!  It brings tears to my eyes thinking of you two!  We pray that God and Lifetime continues to bless lots of other families just like us, that thought it would not ever happen!  To all the waiting families, Hang in there, call Mrs. Patty, cry, and pray constantly! There was a time that we didn't think it would ever happen.  It's all in God's time!  I heard that so many times throughout it all, IT'S the TRUTH though! God Bless and thanks so much Lifetime! We love you all!

-Ronnie & Sandi

So Very Thankful

Hi Diane,

Please forward our letter and photos to Maryn's birth mother. Thank you for doing this for us. It's important to us that we keep up our open adoption agreement. Maryn is doing great and we are so thankful to Lifetime! and you!

Thanks again,

Doug & Trina

Our Open Adoption

Hi Diane,

Oh my, where has the time gone?!?  After Grey’s (Greyson's) birth things just got crazy.  Crazy good, but crazy nonetheless.  Ha!  Now that we have a little more time to breath, we just wanted to reach out and give you all at Lifetime a HUGE thank you!  You all helped to match us up with the most amazing son that two parents could ever hope for.  There isn’t a moment that goes by that we don’t thank our lucky stars for him!

When we first signed up with Lifetime we were a little apprehensive about the whole process, and what an open adoption would look like for us and our future.  Well, I am here now to say that it is amazing.  You all did such a great job of holding our hand and walking us through the process.  We put our faith in you, and boy was it ever worth it!  We now have a beautiful son and a great relationship with his birth mom too.  Open adoption has been a true blessing for our family. 

We wanted to share the full story of Grey’s birth...We headed up to his birth mother's state almost a week before Grey’s due date, since we wanted to do all we could to be there when he was born.  When we first got there we were very nervous about meeting the birthmom, but a few minutes after meeting her we knew she was an amazing person.  Since Grey decided to hold out a few days past his due date, we were able to spend some great quality time with her.  We did a few dinners, a doctor appointment and even a mani/pedi afternoon.  In hindsight I think that was great for all of us.  When she finally went into labor she called us right away and we rushed right to the hospital.  She did not have much family support there for her, so we were there to walk the halls with her and hold her hand through labor. 

Kayla was in the room when Greyson made his entrance into the world, and even got to cut the cord.  It was a dream come true and absolutely love at first sight for us!  The hospital was so great to us.  They gave us a room to spend the days with Grey and we would also take turns going down and sitting with his birth mother.  She had requested to not see Greyson because she felt like that would be harder for her, but we wanted to make sure that she knew we loved her too.  We decided to honor Greyson’s birth mother with his middle name. 

After we went back to the hotel with Grey our attorneys went to work and got all of our paperwork in line.  We were excited to get back home to settle in so it was nice that we didn’t have to stay too long after the birth.  Since then, things couldn’t be better.  Grey is AMAZING and we love being his parents!  We also keep in contact with his birth mother via text messages, pictures and videos.  We plan to travel to her around Grey’s first birthday so that Grey and his birth mother will get to see and know each other.  We are thankful every day for the gift that she has given us!  And again, thank you for all that you did to match us up together.  It couldn’t have been more perfect! Thanks!

- Kayla and David

And Baby Makes Three

Hi everyone at Lifetime!

We are having an absolute blast being Brendan's parents. I can't believe he's almost two months old already! He is getting too big for his newborn outfits now, so it's sad to have to pack those away already, but it's worth it seeing him grow and change each day. He just started smiling a LOT and doing these cute little "laughs" where he inhales quickly. He's such a happy little guy, with hilarious expressions! He loves staring at faces and when we talk nonsense to him, and is also a big fan of Celtic music (unless bagpipes come on...he apparently hates those!). He's honestly the most mellow and happy baby I've ever seen.

His pediatrician laughs at how "chill" he is even when being poked and prodded. He'll just look up with his big eyes like "whatcha doin?" and take in everything around him with no complaints. He also loves bathtime! The first time we poured water on his head, he closed his eyes and got a big goofy smile. He hardly ever cries unless he's particularly hungry or has a wet diaper, but the tears stop immediately once we figure out what he wants, so we're definitely learning how to interpret his needs! It's been a great experience, being parents, and we're excited to see him continue to flourish. We also have a great relationship with his birth family, and continue to share plenty of updates and pictures. We feel so blessed to have met them and feel like our family has grown by more than just one. I'm so happy that Brendan has so many people who love him! Thanks for your part in bringing us all together!

-Josh & Laci

Be Mine

Hi Joan,
Evan had a wonderful first Valentine's Day! I do believe I heard him he asked me to be his Valentine! He is growing so fast and has already doubled his birth weight in just three short months! He is also holding his head up!
- Brandy (and Todd)

Blessed by Adoption

Well it's hard to believe it has been four years!  Eli just had his first soccer practice today and we don't know where the time has gone.  He has got to be the most precious little boy in the world.  We love him more than words can describe and am so grateful to Lifetime and his birthmother for this priceless gift.  We think about Eli's birthmother all of the time and although we are miles apart, she stays in our minds and prayers.  Thank you again for our little man!

-Jason and Natalie

Our Dream Came True

Hello Lifetime Family,

We're over-the-moon happy with the adoption of our daughter Sarah Elizabeth! We received a drop in the lap call from Diane while getting ready for church.  A few hours later we flew across the country to meet our daughter and birth mom. We met and simply fell in love with Sarah that night. Sarah is healthy, happy and growing so much each day.  We give God the glory, for it was His Hands that orchestrated this divine match.

We give thanks to Jen and Joan for supporting us during the craziness of traveling, the ICPC process and until we arrived safely home. Lifetime, we cannot thank you enough for making our dream come true to become parents and completing our family; each one of you has a special place in our hearts. Words simply cannot express our gratitude.  Like Libby and adoptive families always say in Lifetime's adoption webinars, when we look back, every wait, decision and event was clearly planned by God, Who is ever faithful. Lifetime, you are and will always be part of our family!

Warmly,
Glen and Wendy

Groundhog Greetings

Dear Veronica,
Happy Groundhog Day!  We think of you often, but especially on Groundhog Day because we know you love the holiday so much!  Here's a picture of Katie showing you some of her favorite pages out of our Groundhog Day books. She had fun celebrating at pre-school with her friends. We pray for everyone at Lifetime often!  I have enjoyed sharing our story in the Lifetime webinar, answering questions and providing adoption support for new Lifetime families who are just beginning their journey!

Love,

Forever Treasured

Hi Veronica and Our Lifetime Family!

Our adoption finalization court hearing was last week! We are now an official forever family! These past six months have passed so quickly and Kallie Grace is growing so fast. She is amazing and we are so in awe of what God did for us! It's exciting having two birthdays to celebrate with Kallie and our family here is so grateful as well that she is ours forever. Thank you for making the adoption process seem so easy and just always being there for us. We will never forget you. We hope to start the adoption process for our second Lifetime baby soon so that Kallie can have a little (or big) brother.

Take care,

Della and Tony

Then & Now

Ten years ago today, in the evening, we received the call from Lifetime that Daniel had been born at lunchtime by emergency C-section (one pound, 14 ounces & 13 inches long - 28 weeks gestation.) A surprise for everyone!

So the following morning, we all loaded up & then drove on to where Daniel was in the NICU - 550 miles from home. We made it to the hospital Friday morning. Can you see the size of the pacifier compared to Daniel?! Richard's party trick is to take his wedding ring off & tell everyone that he could fit that all the way up Daniel's arm!

We often get asked if it is easy to bond with someone else's child & with this our first adoption, we had asked ourselves that same question. We can honestly tell you that as soon as we received the call from Lifetime, we were ready to "fight" for our son! There was absolutely no doubt in our minds that he was ours. Daniel's situation was a little complicated, but as an adoption plan had been made & the birthmom giving us Power of Attorney we were able to make all the medical decisions needed right from the time we arrived at the hospital without DFS becoming involved.
Most babies at 28 weeks do not have fully developed lungs - they need a ventilator to breathe. The doctors told us that Daniel had fought for life in the womb as his lungs were fully developed (surfactant normally develops 72 hours before full term birth) & he never needed a ventilator, just some oxygen once in a while. He was truly a miracle albeit a very tiny one. We were not able to hold him for a week, all we could do was put our hands in the incubator & touch him.

After the first eight days we had to go home but came back to visit Daniel each weekend. Saying "goodbye" was hard but we also knew he was in excellent hands & it was only a temporary measure. Daniel was in the hospital for seven weeks before being released at just over four pounds. Daniel had sleep apnea so was on a monitor at night plus he choked very easily on his milk & would often stop breathing when this happened. Of course we were in the hospital when it first occurred - scared Richard to death as he wasn't a paramedic then! The nurse just told us to flick his feet & make him scream. I can remember it happening the first time in public & folks around just looked at us in horror & amazement! Daniel will still choke once in a while. It is happening less & less as he matures, but happened regularly those first few years.

We are SO blessed to have Daniel in our lives. He is so full of enthusiasm & the joys of life. For some reason this birthday has him more excited than any other. Here is a photo of Daniel today - still with that very thick head of hair which many folks comment on.

We are very excited to now be working on Adoption #4! Wow! Looking forward to seeing who God is going to place in our hands this time.

Take care,
Liz and Richard

Forever Family

Hey there Michelle,

Just a little update from us...we still can't believe that we have a daughter, thanks to the Good Lord & Lifetime! She is now 17 months old; she is beautiful, smart, and healthy. A perfect gift! She fits so well with our family. We do still have contact with her birth family and have kept our open adoption agreement; they are awesome. We also drove to the town where they live & attended the zoo! We do plan to keep in touch with them and meet up a least once a year. We want Gracelyn to know her other two sibilings as well. We will keep in touch with you guys as well. Thanks again to our forever family!

-Jesus & Ronna

Dave and Deb Adopted a Baby Girl!

Congratulations from the staff of Lifetime Adoption!

Cassius and Rhonda Adopted a Baby Girl!

Here is Cassidy with her proud big brother Tre.

Congratulations from the staff of Lifetime Adoption!

Our Precious Gift

Dear Joan and Lifetime,

A very heartfelt “Mahalo” (thank you) for all your help and support over the past year in our quest to be parents.  Makena is absolutely adorable and we are enjoying every minute with her, sleepless nights and all.  She is perfect; 10 fingers, 10 toes, a smile and big beautiful eyes that would melt anyone’s heart.  There is no other love more pure, than the love we have for this precious Christmas gift.  We want so much for her, that our hopes and dreams are now her hopes and dreams. 

We appreciate you facilitating such a perfect “match” with Makena’s birthparents.  They really have been amazing and we have so enjoyed getting to know them over the past months.  We were pretty nervous during our first phone conversation, but the relationship easily transitioned into a daily email and text dialogue.  We were able to visit with them twice before Makena was born and spent those days getting acquainted, checking out the local sights, walking along the beach, and dining on some great local cuisine. They have become part of our family and we are thankful that their sacrifice is the source of such joy in our lives. We have much admiration for their strength and courage. 

Mike and Lisa with their two daughters

Of course, there were times that we had doubts that this dream would come true.  But we stayed firm to our belief that everything would work out as God intended.  We took each day as a gift of hope and tried to enjoy the process, staying true to our daily routines and even managing to squeeze in a vacation before the big event.   We prayed for Makena’s birthparents, and had faith that they would make the best decision for themselves, which in turn would lead to the best situation for us.  Good or heart-breaking, we were thankful for the fact that hope existed where it did not before.

As it turns out, we could not have dreamed of a smoother adoption process and appreciate all the love, help, and support we have received from the entire Lifetime staff.  Six weeks later, Makena is thriving!!  She is truly our little treasure!

Warmly,

Lisa and Mike

Look at Me! I'm Three!

Hi Veronica,

Just wanted to touch base with you to let you know how we are doing. It has been a wonderful experience being a parent to our smart, beautiful, funny daughter, Nadia.  She has brought us so much joy.  She keeps us busy, but that's a good thing.  We're grateful to have the opportunity to love, protect and teach her about life.  We wouldn't change these times for anything. 

This picture is of Nadia at her 3rd birthday party. Thank you to Lifetime Adoption for helping us and hopefully we can do it one more time. Take care and hope everyone has a great new year! 

-Stacey & Jackie

The Boy of Our Dreams

Hi Diane,

I thought you may want an update...Corey is six years old now!

- Jay & Jill

I'm a Mommy!

Hi Veronica,

I am so happy to have newly adopted through Lifetime!  I signed on with Lifetime in August and became a mother the first of January.  It was four months and some days. 

I am a single African American woman and was assured that 'THE PERFECT MATCH" was out there. Boy, was it ever...Elijah's birthmom is amazing and I look forward to a lifelong relationship with her.  I had moments of will this happen and many prayerful days... I AM a Mommy!

-MaRay

Much Gratitude

Hi Veronica,

It has taken us so long to write, but having a six month old is a full time job!  We all are doing wonderful and cannot express our gratitude enough through words, about how happy we are.  

The relationship with Harper's biological family is wonderful. He is the happiest little boy who is growing and learning new things every day.  I can't believe it has almost been seven months since you called us with the greatest news of our lives. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, all so much and may God bless the rest of the families waiting for their little angel.

With all our love,

Brotherly Love

Hello Libby and our Lifetime Family!

Happy New Year! Here is a picture of David and his big brother Ryan. David is now two and a half years old. David loved everything about Christmas - from decorating our tree with ornaments, to getting his favorite toys from Santa (choo, choo trains) to attending a Happy Birthday Jesus party at our church. We hope everyone at Lifetime is doing well. For all of the adoptive parents who are waiting - the right time and the right match will come for you. It did for us.

-Rich and Jennifer

God's Gift, God's Blessing, God's Timing

Dear Diane and Lifetime,

We are so in love with our little Eli! We hold him and just stare into his beautiful little face. He is the star of our Facebook profile! Friends and family are trickling in from around the country to meet and hold him.

Thank you so much for helping grow our family. The journey has been so much smoother, with minor hiccups, than we could have imagined. Our birth parents and their families are amazing. We look forward to that growing relationship.

Our beautiful Eli laughs in his sleep! The first time we saw that, we all just fell out laughing. He is such a blessing. He is amazing...God's gift, God's blessing, God's timing. Praises to Him!

Warmly,
Brandon and Jen

So Thankful

Hello Heidi,
 
We signed on with Lifetime at the very end of last January and Liem was born November 20th, so it was ten months, the same time frame as a pregnancy. We think that is pretty neat. We were matched at the end of August with our birthmother and we were the only family that she talked to. We instantly hit it off and had many things in common. Since she lived close, we were able to meet with her a couple times. She is amazing and we are forever greatful to her. We were blessed that she lives in California because our families live there.

After Liem was born we were able to stay with them while waiting for approval to leave the state. Liem was two weeks late, so the time seemed like forever.  We were at the hospital when she was in labor and at the last minute she decided she wanted us to be the first ones to hold him after he was born. That was super important to us for bonding and it was just such a blessing.

From the first second we saw Liem, we knew that he was our child and that God had made him especially for us. He looks soo much like my husband, which he loves. He was born with tons of hair and he was nine pounds, nine ounces. From that point on Liem has been with us. We stayed with him one night in the hospital before he was released. Our birthmother wanted to see him and us at the hospital. The most touching part was that she, in pain, got up from her bed while holding Liem and physically handed him to us. We will always cherish that moment. We were released from the hospital the day before Thanksgiving and we couldn't have been more thankful.  Liem is super easy going and only speaks up when he needs something. We are thankful for that, since we are first time parents. He is very expressive with his eye brows and has huge feet and long fingers. Seven weeks later he is still a big boy and a super healthy eater. He is very attentive, has a huge smile and has started talking back. He loves toys with music and lights, loves to stare at the ceiling fan, but most of all loves attention. We are soo anxious to see what his personality will be and we are just excited to be on this new adventure with him.

-David and Chantel

MaRay Adopted a
Baby Boy!

Sassy Stella

Hi Diane,

We celebrated Stella's third birthday yesterday! It's hard to believe it has already been three years since we witnessed her birth and she was placed in our arms. She is as sweet and sassy as ever and her personality is fun, independent and also so loving. We still keep in touch with her birth family and we feel so blessed that we were chosen to be Stella's mom and dad! Thanks, again, for all you do!

Blessed by Adoption

Dear Diane,

It has been a couple of years since we have had contact with you all at Lifetime...just let ourselves get busy with these kiddos & didn't take the time to send an update!

We signed up with Lifetime just over six years ago. We were in our twenties and had no children. We were blessed to adopt our daughter through connections with friends. You all were wonderful to let us pick right back up where we left off and help us with Weston's adoption. He was this beautiful little six week baby boy & it was love at first sight! He is now a spirited three year old boy, full of smiles and sillyness. Just this past summer we were again given the opportunity to adopt a baby boy through the help of my aunt & friends. It overwhelms us to think how God has given us more than we could have imagined or dared hope for six years ago!

Here is a recent family picture. We are so thankful for Lifetime's part in growing our family according to God's plan for us. Thank you for the work you did for us, Weston, and his sweet birthmom!

Thank you so very much!

An Amazing Bond

Brendan Asher was born at 1:28 am, weighing seven pounds, 10 ounces, and measuring 21.5 inches! Our birth mom was able to be discharged from the hospital today, so she signed the paperwork today at 5:45 pm, making the adoption official and irrevocable. The lawyer said she expects finalization will probably occur in about four months! The hospital was kind enough to give us a room tonight for the three of us to stay in. The nursing staff has been wonderful!

We got to get to know the birth mom's mom quite well while waiting for delivery. They are both amazing and are coming back tomorrow for his discharge. We were able to stay with her in her room the whole time, which helped us all bond very well.

Laci's parents and brother drove down and got to meet Brendan in person today. We got to do video chats with Josh's parents, sister, and grandpa (gotta love technology!) We are planning to fly back on next week. It'll be nice to be in our own beds, although the beds at the condo are great (the couch at the hospital, not so much).

The picture above is of both of us holding him is about 20 minutes after birth. Thank you all so much for your love, prayers, and support! Brendan is perfectly healthy, and prayers to get through the flight are appreciated. The birth mom and grandma are doing remarkably well, but I'm sure they'd appreciate prayers, as well.

Love,
Josh & Laci

The Greatest Gift

Hello Diane,
We wanted to say thank you once again for all of your help in finding us our baby girl. Here is a picture of our new family with our little girl Alaina Victoria who is now six months old. We have our court hearing in a couple of weeks to finalize everything. We couldn't be happier. Thank you. We hope to work with Lifetime again soon!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love,
Chris and Kelly

Our Little Princess

Hello Veronica!
We wanted to send you a quick note and a recent photo of Avery.  She is doing so well!  She started walking before 10 months old and is so full of energy and laughs.  We had such a wonderful time celebrating her first Christmas.  I still pinch myself sometimes to make sure I'm not dreaming.  I can't believe she'll be one next week...where does the time go?

We are getting together with her birthmother and maternal grandmother next month to catch up and celebrate her birthday.  I'll send photos of the celebration.

Happy New Year and thank you to all the Lifetime Staff for what you do for so many!

Forever Ours

Hi Diane and Libby,

Just wanted to let you know that yesterday we finalized Elisabeth's adoption! She is now officially and forever ours! The whole legal process went very smoothly thanks to our great attorney. He made sure it all happened quickly for us.

Elisabeth is starting to smile, which is just amazing. She is such a mellow, sweet girl who loves to spend her days being held, which isn't a problem between Kevin, myself and her two big sisters!

We are so thankful for Elisabeth and the help you provided to bring her into our family!

-Kevin & Alisa