We are so excited to share with you that Brynlee is now 2! We had a Tea for Two birthday party and Brynlee was surrounded by family and friends. We plan to have dinner with her birth mother this weekend and could not be more excited. We have such an amazing relationship with Brynlee’s birth family and we are so thankful to Lifetime for bringing our families together!
Miss Brynlee is such a wonderful toddler and full of personality. She has a silly sense of humor and loves to make people laugh. She is independent and curious about everything! Brynlee has a love for animals, especially her dogs and cats. She is learning animal sounds and her favorite is the chicken! I love that she is talking more each day and learning how to navigate through all of her emotions, big and small! We have been warned about toddler meltdowns at 2, and we have not had many, so I consider us pretty lucky so far! Brynlee loves to be outside! She loves every season and not even a blizzard will stop her from playing outside! Jesse has had the best time teaching her to play ball and she loves to be on the basketball court with him when he coaches his team. We are looking forward to the summer and all the adventures to come! Brynlee has been in gymnastics for a few months now and we really enjoy watching her grow and learn the different courses each week. She is also a dancing queen!

It feels like not long ago, we were in the thick of the wait and it felt like there was no end in sight. Brynlee was so worth the wait! We love to share our story and love that we have had been referred to Lifetime families to provide support and answer questions. We have grown so much in the last 2 years and strive to be the best parents we can be. We hope you enjoy the attached photos of Brynlee! Please give Natalei and Tiffany our best!

Thank you for all you do!

-Jesse and Alicia

It’s hard to believe that it has been one year since you called and told us that there was a baby waiting for us. It’s hard to believe that one year ago all of our dreams came true.

On May 10, 2018, I had a rough morning. After our failed match the previous January, I was feeling very down in the dumps that Mother’s Day was approaching and I was not a mom yet. After my husband left for work that morning I went into the room that we had started setting up as a nursery back in January. I sat down in the rocking chair and I got a onesie out of the dresser drawer and I placed it on my chest and I started to rock. All I could think of was I should have a baby in my arms right now; I should be a mom this Mother’s Day.

I left for work and little did I know that you would call me in a few short hours and tell me I was going to be a mom and my husband was going to be a dad.

From that moment on our lives have been filled with more joy and happiness than I could ever explain. After waiting four years to get the call that we were going to be parents and wondering and questioning why it was taking so long and maybe there was something wrong with us, when I saw that little boy, I understood. Isaiah just wasn’t here yet.

Now that we have had Isaiah for a whole year, I realize that he has always been with us, even before he was born. He is the most amazing human being that I’ve ever met in my entire life and Casey and I often wonder what we did to deserve him. He’s happy, and fun, and beautiful, and ours. It’s hard to wrap our heads around it sometimes.

We text and FaceTime with Isaiah’s birth mom and we are so thankful for her. When we left to come home after getting Isaiah, I was not prepared for having emotions I will be leaving her. The same thing that was bringing me and my husband so much joy was breaking her heart. I cried uncontrollably saying goodbye. She comforted me. I know how much she loves Isaiah and I tell him about her all the time. She is part of our family now and we love her very much.

Isaiah‘s birth mom told us that his birthday coincides with Mother’s Day. In the Mexican culture, Mother’s Day is always celebrated on May 10. He is without a doubt the best Mother’s Day gift anyone could’ve ever gotten.

He is so joyful and funny. He is always on the go. He’s been walking since he was 10 months old. And now that walking is turning into running. He loves all food. He gets upset if he eats all of his food and there is no more. He loves company and he is so joyful and funny. He is always on the go. He loves colors and soft blankets. He absolutely loves our dog and two cats but they are still a little unsure of him as he’s a loud little thing. 🙂 He absolutely loves his dad. Watching him with Casey has made me even more in love with my husband then I ever thought possible. Truly bursting at the seams with joy.

I hope this email finds you and the rest of the staff at Lifetime well! I’m sorry I don’t touch base more frequently but this little guy keeps us so busy. I also wanted to tell you that the main reason that we selected Lifetime in the beginning was because there was a Mother’s Day special going on where a portion of our fee went towards the birth mother scholarship fund. Something about that felt so great to us and it just is amazing to me that four years later, Isaiah was born on his heritage’s Mother’s Day, three days before the Mother’s Day we celebrate, and this little boy made me a mom.

His adoption was without a doubt part of God’s plan and we are so grateful.

All our love,

Casey, Johanna and Isaiah

We love to take our annual Easter photos of Katie and the bunny to remind us of the love and care you helped us put into our adoption profile. You wanted us to get a picture of the 3 bunnies (we had at the time) all lined up in a row. We had quite a time getting them to cooperate, but we got the photo!

This year proved to be almost as hilarious trying to get the photo, as our family has adopted 2 new fur babies this year! So here is Katie with the Hershey the bunny, Cookie the hamster and our maltipoo named Murray!

We appreciate you and the Lifetime staff for the love, prayers and support you put into helping bring together our forever Lifetime family!

Love,
Tricia and Roger

Leo’s adoption was finalized last month (finally)! Leo is thriving and is really the center of our world. He just turned 17 months old and is picking up new words everyday! He is very active and loves to run, jump, climb, and swim.

I can’t imagine life without Leo and just wanted to thank you for all your work to make this happen.

Best,
Corrine and James

Ezra is doing great – he turned 13 months old last week and took his first couple steps the same day! He is healthy and happy and so busy, busy, busy! He brings so much joy and laughter to our family. We are so thankful for all that you at Lifetime did for us and his birth mom, and we’re so thankful for her and our relationship with her too. We share pictures with his birth mom a few times a week on Instagram and have seen her twice in the last year.

Thanks again!

Kara, Ethan, and Ezra

Langston continues to be loving, happy, funny, joyous, and well-adjusted. He is a very good student, though he doesn’t care much for math. He loves to read books and play with Legos. He has a wonderful imagination, loves to sing and dance, and loves to watch movies.

He is going to be tall, we think. He is already just shy of 5 feet tall – taller than most of his classmates – and he currently wears the youth size equivalent of my shoes (which he often pulls on to take out the trash – his chore), and my feet are not small – women’s size 9!

This past summer – though only 9 years old – he auditioned for – and won – the part of Young Simba, the lead in the musical, The Lion King! He worked incredibly hard, and was rightly very proud of his performance and hard work.
This fall, he was nominated for a regional theater award for his excellent work – the only 9 year old on the list!

He is a much beloved classmate, friend, and son. I thank God every day for the privilege of parenting this human.

Have a very beautiful Christmas.

Sincerely,

Robin and Val

“I am so grateful for Lifetime and Scott and Meredith.
I couldn’t have picked a better family for my daughter!
She is loved more than I could have ever imagined!
Here is a recent picture of our blended family!
I love you Meredith for being such an amazing mother to my Bella!”

– From Bella’s Birth Mom

Just can’t get enough of these boys!
They are already best buddies.
Big brother loves to help out in caring for his new little brother!
Congrats to this happy family!