POST PLACEMENT VISIT: WHAT TO EXPECT

At Gift of Life Adoptions, one of our favorite things to do is the post placement visit. It takes us out of the office, on the road and we get to check-in with “our” babies after placement.  It is such a special time for us.  As we watch the adoptive parents lovingly dote over their…

MEMORIES OF A GIFT OF LIFE CHRISTMAS

Gift of Life Adoptions has a few different ways of celebrating the Holidays. First, we covered the state.  Our staff doubled as elves and brought Christmas cheer to the nurse’s stations and hospital social workers all over the area we serve.  We have a great support system of social service professionals in our community.  They…

HOSPITAL MEMORIES: A CASEWORKER’S STORY

The link between locations and memories is a fairly universal concept.  We put monuments in spots where important things took place. Growing up in Virginia, I remember the chill I felt when I saw a play at the Ford Theater or when I visited the battlefields.  In biblical times, the children of Israel would place…

HOLIDAY CHEER AND A HOSPITAL ART SHOW

During the Christmas season, Gift of Life likes to bring some Christmas cheer to the hospital staff and social workers that do so much to help us throughout the year. As we hand deliver these treats to nurses stations and offices, we get to see the hospitals all decked out for the season. Tampa General…

ALL THAT WE ARE THANKFUL FOR

Every Thanksgiving the Gift of Life staff gathers together, as an office family, to celebrate all that we are thankful for and also to share a delicious brunch.   The spread was impressive. It’s one of those things where everyone brings in a dish, and there is more food than our small office can possibly…

A GREAT DAY FOR MAKING FOREVER FAMILIES

Last Friday, Meghan, Tim and I were able to volunteer at the 12th annual Adoption Day, at the Pinellas County Courthouse!  It was such a fun event to be a part of. Adoption Day always occurs in November, as it is National Adoption Awareness Month.  It was a wonderful day of celebrating adoption, and there…

HEARING FROM BIRTH MOM’S WAS THE BEST PART OF THE FAC

This year three of our staff from Gift of Life had the pleasure of attending the annual Florida Adoption Council conference in beautiful, sunny Orlando. It was a great 2-day event that included distinguished speakers covering topics specific to our field.  It served as a perfect opportunity to reengage with adoption professionals that we’ve come…

CASEWORKER ABOUT TOWN: LOCAL ART

We’ve mentioned before that, as we travel for the sake of adoption, we come across many different whimsical creatures in the form of local art. Different counties of Florida have claimed animal mascots. Jacksonville has manatees and Clearwater has dolphins.  We have already introduced you to the Pelicans of Lee county and a gecko in…

FUN AND EMBARRASSING SELFIES IN MANATEE COUNTY

Gift of Life occasionally gets the opportunity to speak to groups in the community about the adoption process and adoption law.  This is what I did last Tuesday for the Healthy Start Coalition of Manatee County at the lovely Manatee Memorial Hospital. We always love presenting to Healthy Start, because they are familiar with our…

BACK AND FORTH: A CASEWORKER’S STORY

When I took the job as an adoption caseworker, I didn’t really understand the raw, emotional nature of adoption.  I didn’t know then that I would witness the best and worst emotional moments in people’s lives.  Or that I’d have to deal with how those best and worst moments often occurred at the same time….