[LilOne]

P R E S S R E L E A S E



As the world lights candles in preparation to celebrate the birth of a child who changed the course of history on Christmas Eve, throughout the United States and around the world mothers who lost their children to adoption invite you to join them in their 5th Annual Candle Lighting in memory of births which changed their own personal histories.



The Sunflower Sisters and NEBmoms are two groups of mothers from around the world who have lost a child to adoption and are now linked through cyberspace as well as through personal hardship. The Sunflower Sisters and NEBmoms communicate through e-mail and personal contact with each other. Both groups offer one another emotional support as they endure the struggles associated with living as the forgotten member of adoption - the mother.



On Christmas Eve this year, each of the Sisters will light a candle at 6:00 PM and burn it until midnight. The candle will remember the mothers of the list who are searching for their daughter and/or son and light the way for the possible reunion. For those who are reunited, it will burn to strengthen the tie that was forged between the mother and child. And for those who have been rejected by the fruit of their womb, it will offer the hope for a change of heart and a better future.



These mothers ask that all members of society remember those in their communities who are living a life with a part of them missing and offer a brief prayer for mothers everywhere who endure the pain of separation by adoption forced by age and economics. It is their hope that in this season of goodwill toward all that they may share in the joy of the season. Please join the Sunflower Sisters and NEBmoms in lighting up the world on Christmas Eve.