We're Adopting!

It's no secret that I love children. In high school, I worked at a daycare where I would rock babies to sleep after school and play with four-year-olds out on the playground. In the summer I would pick up baby sitting jobs and spend all day at the pool playing diving games. I decided to become a teacher, so I could spend all day with kids. When my friends started having babies, I would spend more time with the kids than the adults. So it probably comes at no surprise that David and I are excited to bring children into our family.

We've spent the last ten months working through the home study process, which is the first step in adoption.  On July 20, 2016, we got an envelope that was about two inches thick with all of the paperwork we needed to complete. I optimistically thought I would be able to complete it fairly easily, but starting a new job, finishing my dissertation proposal, and just settling into a new home in a new state got in the way. We got it done at the end of January, and then we had a few interviews, a home inspection, a physical, and background checks. We are now literally licensed to parent! (I have a sinking suspicion that isn't going to make the whole parenting gig much easier.) In other words, the home study portion of the adoption journey is over.

Our next step is to file with agencies - which means more paperwork. The agency will show our profile to expectant parents who are considering adoption, and if an expectant mom chooses us to parent her baby, we will be "matched". At that point, we will have a better idea of when a child could be entering our home. Right now, we are just praying that God will guide us and the birth parents to each other.



We've decided to pursue domestic adoption. Ideally, we will be matched with a healthy infant, but we are open to many possibilities including sibling groups or various health concerns. We are following God's prompting, and we trust that He has the perfect story planned for us. I'm not going to lie. It stresses me out to not know the timeline.  I'm really worried about the finances. I fret about the many unknowns that come with adoption, but we know we can trust in God's plan.

It's like that hymn says, "Tis so sweet to Trust in Jesus, How I've proved Him o'er and o'er." Now we just pray for grace to trust Him more. That's our anthem right now. Trust in Jesus. He called us here, and He will lead us where we need to go.

Feel free to check out our adoption website if you would like to know a little bit more about our story.