I'm so
thankful for all of you who are following our journey. I am not sure you are
all aware of exactly where we are at in the process, so I thought it would be a
good idea to be sure everyone knows exactly where we are at at this point
in the journey!
Here’s
where we are to date … As some of you may know, we initially pursued a private
adoption, which did not work out. At that time, we were in the process of
completing all of our home study requirements, as well. After the
private adoption did not work out (the mother changed her mind after several
months of talking with her), we decided to go through an adoption agency.
Thankfully, we had already completed all the requirements and were ready to go.
If you
are unfamiliar with adoption, as we initially were, you may not be sure exactly
how it all works. The agency asked us to put together a photo book detailing
the story of “us.” Ron and I prayerfully (and quickly) put together a book with
photos about our lives, things we enjoy, what our daily life looks like, etc…
We wrote about how we met and what things are important to us. It included
photos of me drawing, Ron playing the guitar, us cooking in the kitchen and
sitting on our porch. We included photos of our family and showed all the
cousins our new baby will have. We made sure to include a photo of our dog,
Buddy, of course. We also had photos of the nursery (we even changed the room
to show it as a pink girl nursery or a blue boy one, since we aren’t sure which
gender God will give us!). Then, the agency will use this book to show a
prospective mother as she makes a decision on which family to choose for her
child.
The
agency did show our book to one family, but as they are being indecisive at the
moment, we are going to move forward with any other prospects that the agency
feels may be a good fit for our family. Once a mother looks at our book and
feels we are the right family for her child, we will officially be “matched”
and the agency will not show our book to anyone else.
There
is another potential mother who may look at our book this week, but, as we are
learning, things change very quickly in the adoption world. In fact, once a
mother chooses us, it could be very close to her due date and we could have a
baby very quickly. Or it could be very early and we would have to wait awhile!
Until we are matched with a baby, we are on pins and needles. Even after that
moment, we will STILL be on pins and needles. Our experience with the private
adoption shows us how quickly a mother can change her mind. We are grateful to
now be represented by an agency who will shield us from the constant ups and
downs. We realize how difficult a decision this is for any mother. I can’t
imagine what she must think and feel, so, while ups and downs are a very
natural part of this process, it is nice to not have to know about all of them
(even though my imagination may be far worse than the reality, anyway).
This past week
our contact at the agency was on vacation so we are not sure what to expect
this week when she returns. Hopefully, we will soon have some updates for you
precious friends who are on this journey with us.
