Here We Go!!

So...

It's been a LONG time since I last wrote on this blog and I haven't been consistent with it since I created it, but after a lot of thought and a non-stop nagging on my heart, I've decided to use this blog to document our adoption journey!

We actually made the decision to adopt back in late June/early July, but we've only been sharing our journey with family and friends on a limited basis. Until now.

The deeper we get into this process, the more I'm realizing that this is a completely foreign topic to our families and friends. Just as we were uninformed and misinformed about different aspects of adoption when we first began the process, we've found that those closest to us have a lot of questions and a lot of misconceptions, too. I also hope that those considering adoption can gain some insight into the process and feel less intimidated than we did when we first began all of this.

To start, I want to get some stuff out there, so anyone who reads this will understand my intentions and my heart. First, many of the emotions I've had and will have in the months to come are raw and unfiltered. I don't plan on offending anyone, but in the event I might, I'll go ahead and ask for grace right now. Also, many of the things I'll write about will be based solely on our experience with adoption and aren't necessarily reflective of anyone else's experience. If there's one thing I've learned about adoption it's that no two experiences are alike.

With all of that said, here's a brief run down of what we've done so far:

-We have chosen a private agency to help us adopt an infant. Deaconess Pregnancy and Adoption Services has been A-Mazing so far. The agency has been around for more than a hundred years and the people who work there know their stuff!
-We have completed everything needed for our home study (one of the requirements for the placement of a child in our home).
-Once our social worker is finished with it, we'll turn it over to Deaconess, along with some other forms, our Life Book and our letter to prospective birth families to activate our profile.
-When our profile is activated, the agency will begin showing us to birth families who are working on a placement plan for their child.
-Then the wait begins. Honestly, I'm dreading this part the most because there is nothing I can do but WAIT for a match and I'm a horrible waiter!

One question we get asked a lot is how long we will have to wait for a match and a placement. There really is no answer for this question. Some families have very little waiting time (Rob's parents found out they were getting him the day he was born!!), while others wait months or even years. If I think too much about this, I can get completely overwhelmed, so I choose to remind myself that God already knows who our baby is and when we'll get him or her, so I just need to relax and be patient (which is easier said than done!). I recently heard an adoptive mom say something that really stuck with me about the wait. She said, "How long you wait is not in your control, but you can control HOW you wait." I love that--and hope I can use the time wisely to prepare to be a mom!

Whew! That is one LONG first entry and I still have so much more to say!

Please let me know what questions you have and I'll be happy to answer them (as well as I can).

Until next time...

~M