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from solemn Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 14:43 (Agree/Disagree?) I don't mean to over simplify but have you tried asking your mother what your dad's name is? Perhaps if that is your only question she may give it to you. aAn exact spelling would be a good start. (reply to this comment)

From ambyrle Thursday, January 12, 2006, 14:54 (Agree/Disagree?) well, i'm waiting to receive my adoption records and that should have his correct name on it (i have to have them to get the passport i need for an upcoming vacation). i am going to try asking what the family names were, but she tends to really freak out over any mention of him. every once in awhile she'll tell me stuff. if i asked her what his name is, she'd be immediately suspicious about why i wanted to know and be unlikely to tell me. she really likes to pretend that that time period did not exist.(reply to this comment)

From solemn Thursday, January 12, 2006, 14:57 (Agree/Disagree?) Is it just that you dont want to rock the boat, or will she cease all comunication with you for pressing the issue?(reply to this comment)

From ambyrle Thursday, January 12, 2006, 15:06 (Agree/Disagree?) it's just that i know it's futile, because i've tried before ;) if i can keep the questions infrequent and casual enough, she'll answer them. if a question puts her into "freak" mode, she will clam up and answer NO questions for years. the passport issue has opened some doors to legitimate questions, and she's been surprisingly open about it so far, so i'm going to try to press that advantage.(reply to this comment)

From solemn Thursday, January 12, 2006, 15:15 (Agree/Disagree?) I never met my real (bio) father but I do know his name and I have seen one picture of him. It's strange, Like seeing a picture of someone in a newspaper, I couldn't relate. I've always said I dont want to meet him. Yet I think what I really mean is I dont want to look for him. Perhaps you know what I mean. Anyway, good luck, I hope you find what you are looking for.(reply to this comment)

From ambyrle Thursday, January 12, 2006, 16:04 (Agree/Disagree?) i think i'd feel better if i knew what he looked like. i have no idea, so it's just this blank, and that feels very strange.(reply to this comment)

From solemn Thursday, January 12, 2006, 16:31 (Agree/Disagree?) I can tell you that the picture will raise more questions; what does his voice sound like, his accent, his laugh. If I look at him will I see parts of myself? I dont mean to discourage you in the least. Just some thoughts from someone who has been there ; )(reply to this comment)

From ambyrle Thursday, January 12, 2006, 16:43 (Agree/Disagree?) i'm sure you're right! curiosity killed the cat and yet i pursue it anyway ;)(reply to this comment)

From solemn Thursday, January 12, 2006, 22:13 (Agree/Disagree?) If it is what you want dont let anything stop you.(reply to this comment)

from steam Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 14:20 (Agree/Disagree?) That must be difficult for you. I will say that seeing as you were only three when you left there is a good possibility that you did not experience any abuse of a sexual nature. Some did certainly, but at that age it seemed they were the unlucky ones. I personaly was abused at age 5 so don't anyone take this as a denial of the horror of The Family, I am just saying that in that narrow definition, she has decent odds that she wasn't. (reply to this comment)

From ambyrle Thursday, January 12, 2006, 14:35 (Agree/Disagree?) i'm fairly certain that i wasn't, although my brother was (5 years older than me). he abused me a little later down the road, and i think it's because of what he experienced within the COG. at this point, i'm just trying to find some information, past or current, about my biological father.(reply to this comment)

from steam Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 14:16 (Agree/Disagree?) That must be (reply to this comment)

from steam Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 14:16 (Agree/Disagree?) That must (reply to this comment)

from steam Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 14:16 (Agree/Disagree?) That (reply to this comment)

from Aita Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 03:31 (Agree/Disagree?) Hi Amber, I think I might have met you. In fact, I actually think I remember you and your brother. Did you live in Puerto Real? Close to Cadiz? Anyway, I'm almost sure I still have pictures of us in that home... including some with you and your brother. I don't know if your parents come out at all as I don't remember adults as much. (reply to this comment)

From ambyrle Thursday, January 12, 2006, 16:09 (Agree/Disagree?) i don't know anything about the geography of spain, but my mom wrote me this today: "Carmen and Jonathan were born in La Coruna and Vigo respectively. Both were in the region of Galacia - directly north of Portugal and bordering the coast obviously."(reply to this comment)

From ambyrle Thursday, January 12, 2006, 05:23 (Agree/Disagree?) i don't know where we lived :( mom always refuses to talk about it. but we do have a few baby/toddler pictures of me and child pictures of my brother so it's possible i would recognize us in photos. i will try finding out where we lived from my mom. sometimes if i phrase the questions about spain instead of COG, she'll answer.(reply to this comment)

from cheeks Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 17:54 (Agree/Disagree?) I may be able to help you but I need your mothers Family name. Your Fathers Family name would help to also what city you or your sibbling were born in. My parents were in Spain right about that time for six years. By Family name I mean the name they took when they joined the Family or changed to later on. (reply to this comment)

From ambyrle Thursday, January 12, 2006, 16:12 (Agree/Disagree?) i am astonished. i just got off the phone with my mom and i got a ton of info. i kept the conversation focused on how she got out of COG and she let some details drop that i was hoping to find out :) her family name was Aenon. my father's was/is Jehoida. (his real name is actually Columbus Lindbergh Sanders). he was still in COG and (i believe) residing in Spain when my mom's husband adopted me in '87. he apparently had more kids, too, and those are the people i REALLY want to find. they are my siblings.(reply to this comment)

From ambyrle Wednesday, January 11, 2006, 18:11 (Agree/Disagree?) thank you for your efforts. unfortunately, i have NO idea what either of my parents' family names were. my mother won't talk about it at all. i'll have to get back to you on exactly which cities my siblings were born in, but i was born in valladolid in 1977. i think my brother may have been born in alicia; that would've been 1980. i'll check with my sister and post again.(reply to this comment)