As we celebrate three years since inception and two years of giving out grants, here are some testimonials and statements from those with adoption and infertility experience.

Thank you for all the kinds words. We wouldn’t be here without all the support.

Sincerely,
Erica and AJ Schlaefer ,founders and the board of directors

“Dear Parenthood for Me,
We just celebrated our son’s 1st birthday. We now live in the light where we were once surrounded by darkness. Your generosity helped to allow that change for us. After so much loss and pain, we feel that we have now emerged on the other side.” -Nancy, 2010 grantee

“Parenthood for Me helped me to understand that we are not alone in our struggle and to really believe that we would have the family we were meant to have, however it happened. The information I received and stories shared helped give me the strength to move forward with our plan. And today we are expecting twin boys! To me, Parenthood For Me’s efforts at spreading information and providing support is invaluable.”– Lindsay G.

Thank you Erica, you have helped me in many ways that others haven’t been able to. Your blog and organization have been a gift. The biggest gift you have given to me is that some day when my daughter asks why your words will help us explain to her what we went thou to have her. “– Kara F.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said that it’s a shame that my family planning has everything to do with how much money I have instead of how much love I have to share. Parenthood for Me is one of only a handful of organizations that recognize and help families like mine with the burden of these costs.” – Lisa, adoptive mother

“We also had infertility “issues” but did not let that stop us from becoming a family. And thanks to organizations like yours, we did and could not be happier. The day we meet our son was the most incredible day of our lives, just to be able to hold him, touch him, and even smell him was something that words cannot describe. We are truly grateful to Parenthood for Me for helping us bring Liam home. Now we can call ourselves a FAMILY!”- Holt and Shirley, 2010 grantee

“You just never know what can happen in your life. I never imagined that I would struggle with and suffer from infertility. My husband Jeff and I were one of the lucky couples to receive the 2011 grant. We were ready to give up and call it a day as we had done everything we could do on our own. This grant will definitely help us with our next treatment.” – Jeff and Judy, 2011 grantee

“After 5 years of waiting our baby is finally on his/her way. We are living on a cloud. We are grateful to you for giving us financial help we needed to achieve this pregnancy.” – Marybeth and Daniel C.

“I applaud your efforts for bringing attention to the sometimes bumpy and frustrating path to parenthood…adoption is a tremendous gift and blessing and this blog could help to unite waiting children with their forever families. My heart goes out to everyone struggling with infertility issues or indecision about adoption….we have been twice blessed through adoption and words cannot begin to describe how grateful we are for our miracles each & every day! -Lisa

“What a wonderful thing you are doing, it will be a blessing to all you help. As a couple that would love to have another child but the money is holding us back as we still sit on the loan from our first adoption, it is encouraging to see people like you that are stepping out to help! – Ashley Jene

”I am so happy that you are creating this non-profit. My husband and I can’t afford the infertility treatments. We would need in vitro due to his infertility and insurance does not cover it. Adoption is not an option also because of financial reasons. Good luck with your venture! “-Tracy

“I think your heart is in the right place and what you are doing is beautiful.” -Kara B.

“Congratulations on 3 years of changing history for a number of families.”- Lori

“Congratulations on 3 years! I’m so impressed you took something painful in your own life and made it into something amazing!” – Alex

“Erica,

It breaks my heart that anyone should ever have to go through such a painful experience. This is beautifully written. It both comforts those who have been through similar experiences and educates those who have not. The fact that you went through this potentially soul-shattering experience to move forward to helping others going through similar experiences demonstrates your strength and courage.Thank you for sharing your story.” – Jeanne

“You really captured many of the truths of the adoptive journey. It’s such an all-encompassing emotional time…..a journey with both highs & lows….agony and god willing, unabashed joy at the end. Thank you for giving a voice to ALL parents.”- Lisa

“I’m sitting in a flood of tears as I read your post. It is so incredibly moving and you opened by eyes to a lot of things I had not considered before. I want to say congratulations to you on your beautiful family.” – Claire

“Thank you for taking your experiences and educating people about adoption. At this point I don’t know what is down the road for me, but it sure helps me to better understand how to support friends who have adopted. Very helpful – thank you.”- Stacey

“What a lovely post! I appreciated your description of the ways you find joy in mundane parenting tasks (ex. picking up toys or buying diapers), because you are glad to have to do the task. Sometimes I get hung-up on my secondary infertility…I need to remember never to lose sight of my sweet 4-year-old, even when I’m longing for her to have a sibling. Thanks for the great reminder.” – Alana

“I have never been moved to tears by a post or anything else. I was today and I could never have put my feelings into words like you did. You described how I feel exactly.” –Nina

“I tend to be an optimist in life, and believe that struggle and pain help us appreciate all of our blessings. I thank God for infertility because without it I wouldn’t have my son, nor would I have the same perspective on life and just how sweet the words “love you dada” sound.” – Jerry, adoptive dad

“The decision to adopt is a HUGE one. It took us years to come to that decision. Because in making that decision you are also saying to yourself, it’s ok if we don’t have a biological child. And in doing that you are grieving that child you never had that would have had your eyes and his nose. It’s a lot to take in.” – Alicia

“At first my husband and I had to cope with the unimaginable loss of our first born son dying hours after birth. We coped, we drank, we hit punching bags, cried, wrote – everything and anything we could do to deal with the grief we carried in our hearts.
Then came the infertility whammy. The stress of the double whammy has hit us. We have to work harder at our relationship than ever before. It is easier to slip into our own survival modes, unintentionally leaving the other alone. But we cope, and we reach out and take notice if our relationship begins to drift away from center. It takes work but it is worth it.” – Amy