Lifetime Letters

Lifetime has been successfully helping birthparents and adoptive families come together since 1986. In that time, we have received many adoption thank you letters. We would like to share some of them with you.

Hello Angels of Lifetime!
Our adoption happened so fast, and was such a beautiful experience, that it all seems like a dream.

Speaking of dreams, here’s a picture you may want to see. Our little Lindsay was held by someone very important on recently (he was in a town near us, presenting his environmental program to the Nation).

Keep up the good work making miracles, ladies!

Love and thanks,
Jennifer, Scott and Lindsay

 

Dear Mardie and Staff,
I don’t think we could possibly let this wonderful Holiday go by without thanking you and your incredible staff for all of the work that each and every one put into finding the perfect child for our family!! We are so unbelievably happy with Nicole, we couldn’t equate it to any great experience we have ever had. Even in the middle of the night, her wake up calls are a joy. We both just love to look at her beautiful face.

Initially, Jim and I were not sure if a mixed race child was right for our family. As soon as we were presented with the possibility of being chosen by our Birth Mom, we knew that God would only send the child that was truly right for us – and He did!! To all adoptive families who are not open to a child of mixed race, we believe in our hearts that you will be missing a beautiful experience. She is so amazing, and we look forward to the day when we can adopt a sibling for her. Until then, we wish you all a safe and happy holiday season.

Our deepest THANK YOU to all of you,
Theresa and Jim

 
Dear Mardie,
I have wanted to write this letter to you for some time now and finally the time has come. I will try and express what you and your staff have meant to Ronnie and me.

As I lay in bed each night and say my prayers, they always include a special thanks for you and Lifetime. I remember how it all came to be and how Kathleen went above and beyond her “job” to make everything so special. Her compassion and professionalism are a truly a Godsend! I feel that she is a part of our family, as well as you, Dana, Diane, Sanda and all the rest. You all have been our “labor coaches” throughout this difficult journey to having a family. After going through several other places, we finally found you and almost immediately there was a certain “peace”. Ronnie and I both felt it.

Mardie, I have never been called on the telephone by an owner of an adoption agency or facilitator directly until I met you. Your advice and wisdom are priceless. We felt not only special but safe.

You have given us the wonderful memories of working with special, special people. Thank you for what you do and thank you for following your dream of building families. It has given us ours. A sweet, sweet son.

Sincerely,
Rene

 
Mardie, Kathleen, and the Gang,
I was just playing around on the internet, thinking how little I do that now compared to a year ago! I thought of you guys and looked up your website – WOW! It looked great before but is fabulous now! More staff has been added, I am supposing because you are helping more people like us realize their dreams of becoming parents.

I won’t keep you, I know how busy you are, but I just wanted to say hello and remind you that what you do day in and day out is beyond explanation. Thanks to you, our lives have positively changed forever. Not just for the six of us, but for all the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends
for generations to come. All of our children are truly the “light of our lives”, thanks for helping to make that so! I promise to send new pictures — love the ones on the site.

Thanks again,
Candi and Greg in Alabama

 
Dear Lifetime,
My Dad sent this poem to me and I wanted to share it with ya’ll to let you know how much your staff means to us. We appreciate all the advice and support your office gives us. Thanks again and take care.

Love Lots,
Andy & Angie
To view poem, please see our poetry page.

 
Dear Mardie,
I am so happy with my new daughter, Lauren Michelle. She’s so perfect and so beautiful. I wanted to thank all of you at Lifetime for bringing her into my life. I plan to send pictures of her just as soon as I can get to Walgreens for developing. Nevertheless, I will send pictures.

Please keep in touch if I can be of any assistance to you in the future. Take care and I will send Lauren’s pictures very soon.

Sincerely yours,
Angela

 
Martha,
We apologize for not responding to your letter in a more timely manner. We had placed our contract on hold in April of last year after finding out that we were expecting a child of our own. As you can imagine, our lives will never be the same — especially after having been told that this would never happen by some of the most renowned experts in the field of medical fertility. Our son, Trent James, was born happy and healthy, and has nearly been loved to death by parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors and friends ever since. It is our desire to devote as much time as possible to him, and we have therefore decided not to pursue adoption further.

The mission of Lifetime Adoption will always be in our thoughts and prayers, and we would be happy to recommend your facilitation center to anyone interested in adoption. If we can do anything to help you in the future, please let us know.

Sincerely,

Mark and Michelle

 
Dear Mardie and Staff,
What joy Greg and I are experiencing right now. Alex is such a blessing and proof that God answers prayer. Greg and I could never thank you enough for your hard work, dedication and your unselfish love for others.

We wish you could have experienced our homecoming at the airport. It was 11:00 P.M. The three of us were towards the back of the plane so we were almost the last ones off. We walked off the plane and turned to walk up the terminal aisle when shouts, clapping of hands and flashes of cameras began. At last head count there were 60 people from our church there. As we approached the crowd, my mother ran down the aisle shouting, Greg’s parents stood with a huge smile through tears, and the crowd smiled and cried as they all sang, “Jesus Loves Me”. You could probably imagine how filled with emotion Greg and I were at the time. I still get teary-eyed thinking how wonderful this was not only for us, but also for our son. We will always be able to look back and tell this story to him.

The congregation has been so excited about Alex that they felt a baby shower was not enough, so they held a fellowship dinner/baby shower in honor of Alex. Over two hundred people attended. We received sixty-five gifts and they continue coming. Our minister devoted the front of the bulletin to Alex. Our minister also had the three of us stand before the congregation so he could formally introduce Alex to everyone and then he proceeded with a prayer of thanks giving and a prayer on behalf of Lori and Stephan.

The excitement continued at Greg’s workplace where they gave us a baby shower. Greg and I have written over 150 thank you notes for gifts. I think this will be so exciting for him to look at the photo albums and see how excited people were for him and for us. Alex has received countless hugs and been kissed slick.

Alex has been a blessing for our congregation. Alex is five weeks old and has already forever touched many people. He has been a tremendous blessing for Greg and myself. I have never known a love like this before and I can tell you it feels good.

May God Bless You Always,
Greg, Charman and Alex

 
Dear Mardie and Staff,
We did it! Our heartfelt thanks to you and Lifetime Adoption Center. Enclosed is our adoption announcement for Kyle. We love him so much!

Mardie, please feel free to use us, or this letter, as a recommendation for your facilitation center. You have been nothing but encouraging, helpful, motivated, knowledgeable, ethical and above all – effective!
We would not hesitate to recommend your center or to contract again with you for another child (which we are seriously considering!).

Our Sincerest Thanks,
Vic, Charlotte and Kyle

 
Mardie & Diane,
Thank you so much for matching Espie with us. We couldn’t have asked for a better birth mother. Brayden is such a beautiful baby, he’s happy, healthy and incredibly cute! I am including a picture of him at 3 ½ months. We took his Pooh Bear he received at birth with us, it turned out very cute. He turned 4 months just yesterday. Please have anyone using Lifetime Adoption call us regarding our experience. We are very happy! Can’t thank you enough.

Leigh, Bruce & Brayden

 
Dear Staff at Lifetime,
We want to give you our deep heartfelt thank you for all the help and what you’ve done for us. We are so delighted with our darling little daughter. Eric & Chynelle really like her too. And thank you a whole bunch for the pretty and special personalized blanket for Veronica. Eric wanted her to open the box and see what was in it, so we held the blanket in front of her for her to see. It is so pretty. Thanks again!

Love,
Verlin, Mary, Eric, Chynelle and Veronica

 
To Everyone at Lifetime,
My mommy and daddy and I want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for bringing us together. Mommy tells me I am her sweet miracle and daddy says I am the apple of his eye. As for me, I just love to smile, coo, and bring happiness to everyone I’m near. I especially want to let you know that we think you guys are great! Our family is now complete and the peace of love is ever-growing with us all. We will never forget your kindness.

Much love,
Daniel

 
Hello, I have been “surfing” adoption sites for over a year, and by far your site is the most thoughtful, engaging and inviting I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing. Thank you very much for the wonderful services you provide for birth parents & adoptive families. Mardie, our little girl is doing wonderful. She will be a year old December 1 and we think we are now ready to adopt again. She is a very beautiful and loving child. Thank all of you at Lifetime for giving me the chance to be this little girl’s Mommy.

Always,
Wendy

 
Thanks again for the wonderful thing you do for not only couples like us but birthparents and especially the children.

Thanks again,
D and J

 
Dear Mardie & Staff,
My husband and I want to thank you for all the help you gave us with the adoption of our son this year. We are so thrilled with him and so grateful for the opportunity to raise him. In discussing our son’s future, we feel sure he’ll be needing a sibling in a year or two. Again, we can’t thank you enough for our beautiful little boy. He has made our lives so complete!

Thank you again,
Christy

 
Dear Mardie,
After a couple of years dealing with infertility specialists, my husband and I learned in May that I couldn’t have a child. Having a younger brother and sister that are adopted and knowing the love I have for them, we immediately began gathering information from friends and relatives regarding adoption options. We are Christians and I firmly believe that God has a hand in all matters. I am saying this because through three completely different sources we have been led back to your center.

About a month ago, my cousin learned of our situation. She and her husband encouraged us to contact their college friend, Dana in California. After a month of “emailing”, Dana and I finally spoke last night on the telephone. Chills ran down my spine with all the wonderful stories of families that have found their child. Then when she spoke of you and your center I immediately recognized the name from my Alabama sources (Drew Whitmire and a friend’s neighbor adopted a baby through your center). As a matter of fact, in June I downloaded an application and information packet from one of your employees. As I stated previously, we believe that your center is the “adoption option” that is meant for us to pursue.

We are going to work on the application this weekend on the long drive to see the “in-laws”. I hope to have it in the mail to you at the beginning of the week. Dana told me about the “Doctor Laura” show and I am planning on watching it! She also asked that I follow all of your instructions. Please know, that we will. I am an assistant district attorney and I know how to follow instructions – the Judges! Thanks for all that you do. I look forward to speaking with you, or one of your associates, soon.

Sincerely,
J.T.

Please send us any info you have. My husband and I are looking to adopt. I met a woman at the mall today who has gone through your agency, and raved about what a wonderful experience. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Regards,
L.S.

 
How is Lifetime Adoption doing? How many kids did the Lord use you to place with families last year? What a blessing to be called to such a ministry. Gary is officially now a Moen, and doing well. He’s also approaching puberty. I can’t believe it. He’ll be 12 in Dec, and has hair darkening on his upper lip. He’s noticing girls too. What a hoot! He is such a great kid. I’m so glad God led us to Lifetime.

Love,
T

 
Hi Everyone,
Just a glimpse into our wonderful new beginning with our new and perfect daughter Nicole and her incredible birth mom, Kristen. Unfortunately we had no time to get acquainted prior to her birth, so we are making up for it now.

Kristen’s entire family, including her parents and 2 year old little girl have become our extended family, and will be our friends for life! When we visit, we promise to bring everyone to meet the wonderful group of people who brought us all together! Thank you all so much for finding this angel. To complete our family.

You are the best!!

With Love,
Theresa, Jim and Nicole

 
Dear Mardie Caldwell,
It was a pleasure to have met you and your cordial staff while I was in California. All of you were so warm and made me feel so special. I just wanted to thank all of you for the time that you allowed me and my family. We really feel that this adoption experience is so special. We feel that your organization is so profoundly sincere. Thank you, Mardie.

Sincerely yours,
Angela, RN, BSN, CLNC

 
Dear Janis,
I was surfing the net and happened to find this website. Four years ago my daughter became pregnant. She was only l5 at the time. I spoke to her about adoption but she decided to have an abortion. I wish I would have known about this website then. You would have been the perfect parents for my grandchild. I must live with this decision every day of my life. I do not believe in abortion but was fearful of complications with my daughter having a baby at such a young age. She lives with this decision also. On Halloween she went in for her abortion and at this time of year she and I mourn over our loss. I wish you a lot of luck and many blessings in finding another child. I will keep you in mind if I know of someone who is not able to keep a child. Thank you for your time and giving hope to others out of love.

Joann

 
Dear Lifetime,
One of the hardest things my husband and I ever had to do was say “good-bye” to our sweet, loving, almost two-year-old, granddaughter Breanna. Her young, single, mother was giving her up for adoption. When we first found out this was going to happen, it was more than I could handle. My heart hurt bad and I cried rivers of tears. I pleaded with my daughter Lisa, to not give Breanna away, I tried to take control of the situation and failed. It was out of my hands. It was between the lawyers, the adoptive parents and Lisa.

The adoptive parents, Steve and Deloris, are from Alabama. My husband and I had a chance to meet with them last week when they flew out to get our precious, little grandbaby. As it turned out Steve and Deloris were the most wonderful, caring, loving people, who felt and knew our pain of letting go. They are around the ages of 35 and have been married for 16 years and were not able to have children of their own. When I heard their heartbreaking story of years of trying to have children, my heart started to soften. They turned out to be very special people. Breanna’s going to have a wonderful life with them. They will be sending videos every four months and when Bre is old enough to understand all this, they will bring her out to California for us to all have a little family reunion.

We all had to put our emotions aside and do what was best for Breanna. Now, bless her heart, she has a mommy and a daddy who love her so much and she seems to be loving them too. She so desperately needed all the attention and love she is now getting, and she is also getting the stable, loving, caring kind of life she deserves.

Ricki, Breanna’s grandma

 
Dear Courtney,
Susanna and I wanted to drop you a quick note to express our sincere appreciation and admiration for the strength you’ve shown. We have been blessed with the responsibility of raising your daughter. Monday night when Susanna called with the news was one of the highlights of my life as was the first moment I set eyes upon her. I hope you are comforted in knowing that she is in a home filled with love. Our family members are flooding our phone lines with calls and soon begin visiting. Susanna and I wish you all that life can offer and thank you for the gift of love. We are surely blessed.

With Sincere Love,
Robert & Susanna

 
Dearest Lifetime Family,
We want you to know how grateful we are for making our dreams come true, for bringing families together. This has been a spiritual journey for us. I cannot tell you the love I have for Roschelle (Our Birth mother). I never thought I’d have a baby in my arms so soon. I am telling all my friends about Lifetime. ALL of you are so warm-from Sandra’s cheerful voice to Angela’s advice on our letter and of course, Mardie.

I felt like we were all a family. Kathleen was so good to Roschelle and me. We love her so much. If I can talk to other adoptive parents, write a letter or anything, please call us.

Open Adoption is the best way to go for everyone, especially the baby. We are truly grateful for Lifetime, much love,

Debbie G

 
This is a letter of recommendation and testimonial for using the facilitation services of Lifetime Adoption. I am able to make this recommendation as an adoptive parent who found their “Little Angel” through Lifetime and as an adoption attorney who has worked with Lifetime on a number of adoptions in California and throughout the United States.

As an adoptive parent, I could not give a better recommendation. Lifetime was very thoughtful and caring of our situation, not being able to have children ourselves, and greatly educated and assisted us with the adoption process. Once we had our resume completed, after much consulting with Lifetime, we matched in a short period of time. We have a beautiful daughter and we have a wonderful, caring relationship with our birth mother and her relatives. After over two years, we still thank God he showed us the way to Lifetime.

As an adoption attorney, who works with other facilitators, Lifetime is clearly the best. Their screening process of the birth parents, the paperwork and information gathered concerning the birth parents makes my job much easier. Lifetime attempts to only work with birth parents that are committed to placing their child for adoption, even though there are still risks the adoption might not go forward. Once the adoption legal process begins, Lifetime helps bridge my contact with the birth parents.

For over two years, I have worked with Lifetime and have seen them grow to what they are today. A facilitation center that has tremendous exposure throughout the United States, which greatly increases your ability to find your child, while still keeping that personal touch during such an emotional, but wonderful, process. If you are considering adopting, Lifetime should be the first facilitator to consider.

James E. Handy
Adoptive Parent & Adoption Attorney

 
Mardie and Staff,
My husband and I and our son Brandon want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the great work you do. We signed on with you in April, and we had a beautiful little boy in June—it’s unbelievable the time frame. It’s so wonderful for these birth mothers to have an avenue to the adoptive couples through you. It’s such a wonderful feeling having our family completed. I will refer you to any couples interested in adoption. We adopted our oldest son six years ago. We had been waiting for years to adopt another child, then we were told about A Lifetime Adoption which was an answer to our prayers. The only thing I wish is that we could have met you in person. You are doing God’s work. We will pray for all of the couples who are waiting—your time will come.

Love,
Rita

 
To All Prospective Adoptive Parents,
A little over a year ago, we were in a situation that many of you may find yourselves experiencing now. We were happily married but unable to have the children with whom we longed to share our lives as a family. That is until we met Mardie Caldwell. What first impressed us about Mardie is that she is an adoptive parent herself and could fully empathize with our feelings about being childless and our trepidation towards the adoption process. We could also see that Mardie’s own experience with adopting a child had profoundly affected her own life. Her facilitation of adoptions isn’t a job for her, it’s her mission in life. That was the kind of person we wanted working for us. After we signed, Mardie immediately began preparing us for adoption. She guided us while we drafted our resume, she included us in advertisements, and began to tell birth parents about our story.

It was very clear to us that Mardie knew exactly what we needed to do. In our first week with Mardie we actually had a meeting with a birth mother with a chance to adopt a beautiful baby girl. The adoption did not happen for us, but we quickly came to believe that Mardie would find us a child. It was encouraging to watch Mardie work with the birth parents. She understood the difficult decisions they faced and always offered loving support and guidance. She also took great care in the screening process so that adoptive parents knew what to expect with any particular adoption. We also enjoyed the monthly meetings with other adoptive parents at Mardie’s home. At these meetings, we learned many helpful hints about adoption, celebrated recent adoptions, and were able to spend time with other couples with whom we shared so much.

Our adoption occurred a little differently than most others, although we had prepared ourselves for the unexpected. We received a call from Mardie at 10:00 one Sunday morning that a two day old baby boy was waiting for us at a hospital in Merced, CA. We drove down to Merced, picked up our precious child and arrived home by 6:00 that night. It can happen that quickly.

Our adoption experience has been a real blessing in our life and we know that we will pursue a second adoption in the near future. The nice part is that the first and most difficult step of our second adoption is already done. We will simply call Mardie at A Lifetime Adoption and let her know that we are ready to adopt another child. The best reference that we could ever provide is that we trust Mardie to help us build our own family. Whatever course we take, we wish you the very best for your family. Adoption has been a wonderful experience for us and we hope and pray that you are able to experience a similar blessing in your life.

God Bless,
Gerry and Marie

 
Dear Friends,
There is not a day that goes by where Bill and I don’t feel gratitude for having been fortunate enough to find Mardie Caldwell and Lifetime Adoption Facilitation Center. There are no words vivid enough to express our appreciation and convey how tremendous she was during our adoption search. We were referred to Mardie about two years ago because we had developed an interest in adopting an infant through open adoption. From the beginning we were impressed with her commitment to her job, her strong support of and faith in her adoptive families, and her compassion for her birth mothers. Mardie truly CARES about helping birth mothers and adoptive parents make the “perfect” match. This is not a job for her; it is a passion! That depth of feeling comes through in everything she does.

Mardie’s door is always open to us. Sometimes I think she can’t possibly be getting more than two hours of sleep a night! We were never given the impression that we were bothering her or asking stupid questions. I am a very hands-on person who needed to be involved in everything that was going on, so I’m sure I was a real challenge for her! Yet I could tell that she truly cared how we felt and was always there with the right feedback to keep us on track. Although she is tremendously busy, in the trenches working for us every day, we always got return phone calls and accurate answers to our questions.

We were with Mardie close to a year and during that time we actually turned down a number of potential situations with which we were not comfortable. Mardie encouraged us to trust our instincts and reinforced our belief that the “right” baby was out there for us, if we would listen to our hearts and be patient. She was right. The adoption we have ended up with is better than any of the other situations with which we were presented. We are truly blessed to have a wonderful birth mother that we care for and who loves her son enough to ensure him a happy, stable life and who trusts us to care properly for the most precious gift she had to give.

Heather was looking for a “home” for her baby, not a family with a pile of money, fancy houses, and vacations to exotic places every year. She wanted a solid, happy home with parents that would love her child, raise him in a family-oriented environment and teach him to live a meaningful, fulfilling life. The fact that we already had an eight year old daughter was viewed as a bonus. Our son Eric is nine months old today. He is a very happy, healthy baby. In the words of his doctor: “He’s perfect!” Through Mardie we met our birth mother 2 ½ weeks before Eric’s birth. I was able to participate in the delivery and was actually asked by Heather to cut his umbilical cord. Being there with Heather and her family gave me a deep insight into Heather’s family support and the caring people who had raised her. Helping to actually deliver Eric was an experience that will be with me forever.

Mardie was present in the delivery room as well, and her calm, professional and compassionate interaction was definitely needed in some of the more emotional moments of the birth. I don’t know how we would have done it without her. All of us got along so well during the day that Heather was in the hospital that the nursing staff thought we were family or had known each other for years. Imagine their surprise! Being able to have medical histories on the birth parents is a huge asset when dealing with medical questions with Eric’s doctor. Since Eric’s birth, I have been doing some telephone research for Mardie and have found that there simply isn’t ANYONE out there who provides the personalized support and services that she does—at ANY price! We cannot recommend her highly enough. Good luck in your adoption search. With love, tenacity, faith and lots of support from Mardie and Lifetime Adoption Facilitation Center, your dreams WILL come true!

Sincerely,
Bill and Dawn

 
Dear Mardie,
As I write this letter to you I am holding my precious son in my arms. There are no words to thank you enough for everything that you have done to make our dreams come true.

Whenever Bill or I had a question or many questions, there was always someone at Lifetime willing to help us. I know sometimes I was very impatient. It was very hard for me to believe that I would actually adopt a newborn baby.

Bill and I tried going through the state system and with an adoption agency. We came away from both of these places crushed. With them, there was virtually no chance of us being able to adopt a sibling group much less a newborn. Even those closest to us, family and friends discouraged us. They didn’t want us to get our hopes up only to be disappointed again. But we felt that adoption was God’s plan for us. We feel that He led us to you and Lifetime. It is so very clear to us that God did his work through Lifetime to bring our son, Nathan, into our lives.

We signed with you on April 26, 1998 and our son was born September 21, 1998. This is so incredible! Our social worker asked if I would recommend you to others. I said YES! She could hardly believe the short time frame. You made a believer out of her! She sent for your packet of information shortly after I did. After studying the packet and seeing firsthand results, she is going to tell others seeking to adopt about the wonderful work you do at Lifetime.

Mardie, I write this letter not only as a thank you, but also to those with arms aching to hold their child. I know it is very hard for them to believe that they too could have a happy ending such as ours.

To those of you who feel such an emptiness in your hearts and in your lives. Please know that with Lifetime you too can bring home your little bundle of joy!

To those people I say, hire Lifetime and go out and buy that crib!

Love,

Bill and Brenda