Monday, July 28, 2014

Our adoption journey thus far ...


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. 

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