Hi Friends & Family!
Thank you for following us in our journey of being adoptive parents! Since we've embarked on this adventure in growing our family, we have learned a great deal about the adoption community and the many facets of the adoption process. Through this learning we've grown even more passionate in the prospect of being part of our hopeful adoptee's life.
While our journey to parenthood has come with its own trials we do not see adoption as a last resort to complete our family. In fact, adoption has been a hope in our relationship for many years and we are elated to welcome our first born in this way!
Much of the adoption funding supports the birth family's own journey, including; medical fees, counseling, living expenses, transportation, legal fees, and more. That being said, the cost of private adoption can go upwards of $45,000 or more.
Within this process of crowd-funding we also invite you to forever be part of this child's community by also leaving words of love, wisdom, encouragement, or hope for our child to look back on as they grow up. Please leave this note in the "Message to the Family" so that we may include it in our child's adoption journey book. For in this way you play a part of the village that will help raise the child we hope to welcome into our family.
In an effort to support this community beyond our family we are determined to advocate for local organizations that do the same. Therefore, we pledge to personally match at least 10% of the funds we've raised toward responsible organizations such as Brave Love and local women's health centers who educate women and birth families in their options. We encourage you to learn more at https://www.bravelove.org/manifesto.
With love and gratitude, CJ & Chelsea Aquino
Dear Mommy M.,
Thank you. Thank you for who you are. Thank you for what you did. Thank you for your ultimate choice of love.
We hope you will always know how grateful we are for the bundle of joy you brought into our lives. We hope you know that we will always be grateful for your sacrifice, your hope, and your grace. We hope you know that we see you and you will always be in our hearts.
We promise to raise this baby knowing your love and the Lord's love. We promise this baby will know YOU. We dream of the day that we all get to meet you and include you in our family. On this Mother's day from now and forever, we always honor you.
Baby Aquino
Born on: 4/14/2023
Home on: 5/8/2023
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To our friends and family - the big day finally arrived a week from today and we cannot express the amount of appreciation and tearful joy you've brought to our family. Due the support of our "village", we are now a family of 3 (Plus 3 fur brothers!).
Please continue to stay tuned as each and every one of you will be invited to the big meet for sweet baby Aquino!
Much Love,
The Aquinos
Hi friends and family!
First off, thank you for your patience as we've realized we haven't provided an update in quite a while. Since December we have been fervently praying (especially for patience) as we await being placed with the child the Lord intends for us. It's been an emotionally trying 4 months that we've filled with work, distractions, and other craziness!
We definitely owe you all an update though. Please know that we are feeling your prayers and thoughts and we are forever grateful. Each of you will always be a part of our family because you have been part of this journey with us. Our baby will one day realize of the amazing love that brought them to us! Whether it be by the amazing sacrifice of their mother or the many incredible supporters of their adoptive family.
Please continue to stay tuned, we hope and continue to pray that we will have even better news for you soon!
Hi Friends and Family!
We realize it has been a few months since our last update and we thought this holiday season would be the perfect time to catch you up! We have come such a long way in the past 11 months and we know so many of you have been praying and supporting us on this road and we cannot thank you enough! As of November we arrived to possibly one of the most emotionally challenging parts of this process, being "live"! Being "live" means we are currently in the matching process now in which we are awaiting to be chosen by a family! We are holding the tension of our deep desire to be parents and the hardest decision a family has to make - to select a prospective adoptive family.
Again, we are incredibly grateful for you all during this prologue of parenthood story. Merry Christmas and a most wonderful New Year!
-The Aquinos
Hi Friends!
Chelsea here again with our September update! Fall is in the air and we feel ourselves getting closer and closer to go time, which looks and feels very different for us HAPS (hopeful adoptive parents!)
We had a wonderful time at our adoptive parent orientation over this Labor Day weekend and it just reminded us that even in this season of waiting the ball is still rolling and God is faithful even here! We were able to hear from other adoptive parents who have completed the adoption process and it gave us peace and reassurance that it may seem like forever, but we know it will be so worth it.
We wont lie, it is SO hard to trust the waiting especially when it this is such a trying and emotional time for all parties involved. For us, the giants we are facing look like funding our adoption and continual healing from our own fertility journey; I am reminded that our intended birth mom/family are facing some major giants that come with the decision to place their child who they love SO much. We cannot possibly imagine what that is like!
Both families (our own and theirs) have gone through a lot to get to this point and we are just reminded that while we have such a strong support system, our birth mother may not. So will you add somethings to your prayer list for us this month?
-Pray for our birth mama/family. Pray that God blesses them in ways that only he can.
-Pray for our birth mom's health and the health of the baby that she is carrying.
-Pray for her mental and emotional health and wellbeing. Pray that she knows she has counselors who are there to listen to her and support her every step of the way even if she chooses to parent!
We are forever grateful for this community and this is just a reminder to share our profile it helps us tremendously!
Much love,
The Aquinos
Hi Friends & Family!
Chelsea here with the latest update!
It's officially August and we have an approved home study! It's hard to believe we have come so far in such a short amount of time! We didn't think we'd make it to this point in our adoption journey so quickly, but here we are!
Currently, we are typing our little hearts out and working overtime to complete what you might ask?? More paper work! LOL! This time it's the tedious ins and outs of grant applications since this is really the final step in this process.. can you believe it?! Only time will tell when we can bring the baby we've been praying for home.
Since we are frequently asked what are some more ways you can help us I thought I'd make a list!
-Feel free to share our Adopt Together link as many times as you want! It's the best way for us to continue to spread the word to others how to help our family specifically and we're having so much fun updating you all through this platform.
-Please leave our little one a note! We'd love to share with them the people who have supported our family on this journey.
-We so appreciate your prayers and encouragement during this time. We know that God is good and what we have asked and prayed for will come to pass!
Lastly,
Stay tuned for updates on what we have planned for the month of September as we plan an event to say thank you... or might I say.. "sing" thank you to the community that has supported us through this process. (;
With much love & appreciation,
-The Aquinos
