I decided to start this blog as a way to document our journey to starting our family through adoption. For those of you who do not know, I was diagnosed back in 2009 with a neurological condition. Basically, it is a "false brain tumor" that causes all the symptoms of a true tumor. It is currently under control but any changes in my hormones could cause it to come back, possibly more severely than before, with the possibility of loosing my vision. After years of prayer, doctor's recommendations and thousands of hard, emotional conversations, Scott and I decided back in April that we would pursue an adoption to grow our family.
Now the exciting news! We filled out our initial application with Bethany Christian Services back in April and attended our first, informational meeting with them in May. Shortly after that first meeting, we both decided that Bethany was the agency for us so we filled out our formal application at the end of May. June was filled with LOTS of paperwork, medical exams, fingerprinting and more paperwork. At the end of June, we attended another training with Bethany. Since that training, we have been putting together our profile, photo books and YouTube video. The next step will be our home study which will begin in another few weeks. The home study generally takes about 2-3 weeks. After that is completed, we will be up on the Bethany web site and will be waiting for "the call."
For those of you who are not familiar with adoption, I would love to share with you a little (a lot!) of what I have learned. Scott and I are pursuing a domestic, infant adoption. We have kind of been "jumping through the hoops" up until this point but as soon as our home study is finished, that is when the really exciting part begins. We will have an online profile (kind of ironic for us considering we met through an online dating service) with a letter to the birthmother, pictures of us and a link to watch a short YouTube video that will give a little more insight into us, our family, hobbies, etc. Bethany Christian Services actually allows the expectant mother to select the adoptive family....I was completely floored by this because I just thought the social workers matched you up and you worked your way up a waiting list. But since it is not that way, the timeframe is anyone's guess. It could be weeks after we go up on the site or months or possibly even a year. Our social worker has prepared us that the average family's process start to finish takes about a year. Once an expectant mother picks us, our agency will contact us and give us as much information as possible about the situation. From there, we will be able to pray over the situation and decide if it is something we are comfortable with. If it does not sound right, then we will stay on the web site. If it does, then we move forward. This may mean actually meeting the expectant mother if that is something she desires or just waiting for placement. If you haven't picked up on it by now, everything varies and every situation is different. We are at peace with this and know that God has already designed a plan for us.
We are so excited to see His plan unfold as we continue on this journey. We ask that you pray alongside us for our birthmother, our future baby and for our family. Please pray for patience for us and that God will provide us the strength and comfort that we will need during the waiting period. We have already seen his hand at work in getting us to this place and even in the few short months since this journey began. I am humbled and amazed at how AMAZING our God is! We appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers and can't wait to update you as the journey continues...
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