Embryo Adoption Services of Cedar Park Celebrates 1st Anniversary

Perspective Parents Thank You

Embryo Adoption Services of Cedar Park Celebrates 1st Anniversary

Baby CircleEmbryo Adoption Service of Cedar Park is pleased to announce its first anniversary on November 9, 2009! We are so grateful for the wonderful things God has done for us since we started this ministry. Let’s look at some of the highlights of our last 12 months!

One week after opening, we had a front page story in The Seattle Times, entitled “New Life”. This story generated countless news stories all over the country, and from around the world. We have had calls from five countries and Internet searches of our web site from about 18 countries.

On December 31, 2008, we opened a beautiful and conveniently located office in Issaquah, in the Lake Place Office Center, at 1605 NW  Sammamish Road, Suite 250. We have been able to host some information lunches, host seminars, and meet with families to talk about embryo placement and adoption.

In October, we were invited to come to the National Prayer Conference at Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, Colorado. While there, we were thrilled to have a chance to tell our story, as many had never heard of embryo adoption. There were leaders there from all over the country. At this event our six-year-old daughter Elisha had her first speaking “debut” discussing important things, like her rabbit- in front of 400 people-we are so proud of her! (Elisha was the first child born via embryo adoption in the state of Washington).

Since opening a year ago, over 120 families have made serious inquiry into participating in either donating or adopting embryos. We have had several national news events, hence we have families involved in various stages of the process from all over the United States and Canada.

Our most exciting news yet is our first adopting family, which lives in Chicago, Illinois, is due to deliver a baby boy in late February!

We look forward to the historic day this little baby boy is born. This is no small thing. Every baby born through embryo adoption reminds us that life is precious. How can someone be in the freezer for years, frozen at a few cells and microscopic, be placed in a waiting mother’s womb-and be born nine months later if life does not begin at conception?!

Indeed, life is precious, and we are so thankful that the Lord is bringing this child forth to show His love to the parents, and all of us, that He cares about the very tiniest of human beings, a human embryo. We will be sending out a birth announcement as soon as he is born!!

Please continue reading more about this amazing testimony and celebrate with us because “He’s on His Way!”


He’s on His Way!

Perspective Parents Thank YouThe joys of motherhood from the perspective of an EASCP adoptive Mom:

“As I type these words, the baby inside me is kicking away, perhaps trying to add his ‘two cents’ on the topic, too! I believe he is trying to say ‘Thank you Maria!!” We love the fact that Cedar Park has always been there for us, night and day, month after month, guiding us onward in our journey toward parenthood. Maria did the most amazing job ‘matching’ us. We have been matched with the most wonderful donating family! I feel as though I have gained not only a son, but also a warm and loving extended family!

The donating (genetic) family expressed their feelings about this amazing event like this:

“I am so happy that this baby is getting to live. We could not bring ourselves to donate the embryos to science or destroy them so we kept paying the fees to keep them in freezer. This I do know.  Letting him live was the best decision we could possibly have made for him. He has superb parents to be.”


Thank You Dr. Dobson!

Elisha and FamilyBy Maria Lancaster, Executive Director
Embryo Adoption Services of Cedar Park

Seven years ago, my husband Jeff listened to a radio program by Focus On the Family with Dr. James Dobson, an interview that would change our lives forever.

Dr. Dobson interviewed the first women to “adopt” frozen embryos; embryos that needed a family. Jeff knew right away that this was an answer to our prayers. We called Focus On the Family and they directed us to the very same adoption agency Marlene and her husband had gone through to adopt their daughter Hannah.

Dr. James Dobson and Elisha Lancaster

Dr. James Dobson and Elisha Lancaster, 6, the first “Snowflake” baby in Washington State.

Our Daughter Elisha was born Sept. 5, 2003. It was the happiest day of our lives to see her looking back at us, with little eyes full of love for us. Knowing that she would still be in the freezer had she not been adopted was sobering. One of the things I had always wanted to do was thank Dr. Dobson and his lovely wife Shirley for their wonderful program and ministry to families, namely OURS!

By a miracle we were invited to come to Colorado Springs this last October to attend a prayer conference, The National Day of Prayer Summit. Elisha and I took the train all the way to Denver to do so. Shirley Dobson heads the Summit. Both She and Dr. Dobson were there of course and Elisha and I had the marvelous chance to thank them, in person, for our little miracle.  It was one of the things on my list of “must do’s”. We are so grateful.

Thank you, Dr. Dobson and Shirley, for your warm welcome and opportunity to share our story. Somebody is going to get out of the freezer because of your generosity!!