Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Happy holidays - A year in review

Just wanted to say Happy Holidays to everyone in the blogger-world out there and do a quick braindump of what this blog has meant to us.

When we first started this process a year and a half ago, we felt very alone. All of the advances of science and medicine and a few years of trying to start a family didnt work for Maggie and me. We had spent tens of thousands of dollars, and every month that passed by, was another month where our dreams were pushed aside. It was easy to get depressed, but we stayed true to each other and supported each other as best we could. We had always talked about adoption, but when the IVF didnt work, it was time to actually start the process.

We didnt know anyone that had adopted, and didnt know what we were in for. Over the months (and year..) we worked thru mounds of paperwork, heartarche, headache and then one day a picture arrived of a beautiful red-headed little girl. The same day, a few hours later, the Tori Hanson case broke and again our hearts sunk.

We started to blog, and read other people's blogs and become friends with more and more people who were going thru (or went thru) what we were going thru. The blogging community (and fellow adoption families like Craig and Kelly) became more than just friends to us, but family...an outlet to share emotions, share joy, share sorrow and share HOPE.

Now that we are thru the process, want to really extend a warm thank you to everyone who helped us with advice, their prayers, and the love that we received. There are many of you out there who's blogs we have read who have inspired us and touched us. We dont often comment, but we read them and feel a closeness to the words and the stories. I think sometimes we all forgot just how wonderful people can really be with all the negative news out there, and how busy we all get with our own lives and struggles...however, the stories and people on these blogs are special and inspirational and should be cherished and celebrated!

Really, just want to thank everyone and wish everyone a happy holidays. For those of you that have completed the process, we hope that you and your new family have the warmest of holidays. For those still in the process, stay strong and keep the dream alive....you have people that care about you and support you. happy holidays everyone and lets continue to change the world for the better. Much love everyone....

The (new and improved) Wills Family

4 comments:

Heather said...

A great post - for our first and now our second adoption, the blogging community has become a huge support. Enjoy this holiday season and thanks for sharing your story with all of us.

Heather & Chad said...

Fantastic post!!!

The blogging community has been such a blessing to us as we, like you, felt very alone in the beginning and had no idea what we were getting into. It has been so helpful and such an inspiration to read about others journeys. Thank you for sharing with all of us!

We wish you a happy holiday season!!!

Sabrina and Giorgio said...

You've both been a huge support for us too! We're so happy to have had the opportunity to meet you in person in Vladivostok and share your journey.

Happy Holidays to your beautiful family!

Craig & Kelly said...

We did not get a chance to reply until now. Thanks for the mention. We feel honored, lucky and quite happy to have met you guys through the class at LSSNE. And even happier for Katerina and Polina because they will always have someone relatively local and the same age who has gone through the same process.

Two lucky beautiful little girls who have made their parents even luckier.