Realistic Excitement

I am so very excited about starting this adoption process, but unlike our last journey, I am trying my best to be realistic. Yes, I am ready to add to our family, but having Nate makes the wait easier to deal with. We have a lot to do before we're ready to bring another child into the family and I don't want to let my heart get too far ahead of my head.

I haven't made any more calls since I made the last post. I have plans to call Hampton Social Services (when I called earlier, they had just closed) and I look forward to what they are able to tell me. Most of the agencies that I did call will provide a home study if you join their agency. I'm just not sure that is something that we want to do. Why? If we do join an agency, most of them require a large sum of money up front and then that money is tied up into that agency. That is all well and good if you do adopt from that agency, but if we were to "find a baby" from another agency or attorney, we lose the money that we put into the agency. Just one of the many decisions that we will have to make in the following months.

**We "found" Nate through a connection with a friend and ended up not going with the agency were were using.**

I know there are some blog followers that are just joining us and I wanted to include this blog link for anyone that wanted information about what a home study entails: http://home-study.adoption.com/nuts.php  While it is much more complicated than what is posted here, this will give you some idea of what we will have to do in order to be ready if a situation comes along.

Again, thank you so much for your support and prayers.

The Journey Continues

If you're my Facebook friend, you know that things are happening in our family. :)

Before the end of last year, Dave and I came to the conclusion that we were ready to start thinking about adding to our family. We do want to adopt again and we knew that once we got settled into the new house that we wanted to look into getting our homestudy done. For those of you that don't know, a homestudy must be done before an adoption can happen. We had a homestudy done when we lived in Florida, but since the move and the adoption of Nate, we need to start the whole process over again. This is an overwhelming thought, an expensive process (probably costing around $2.000), but something that must be done if we want to add to our family.

I called a few leads today about getting our homestudy completed. Mostly, I left messages for people, hoping that I will receive a call back. I'll make some more calls tomorrow

At this moment, we are leaning toward another private adoption, much like Nate's. We're not opposed to an adoption from the foster care system, but we have decided to keep Nate as our oldest child. Because of this, it makes adopting from the system harder since most children are not free for adoption until they are older. As someone told me, it's rare to find children younger than three, but not impossible.

As far as finances, I wish we could adopt through the system. Private adoptions like Nate's are so expensive and let's face it, we aren't rolling in the dough. :)

I am so thankful for all of you that read this blog and have not only followed our journey to Nate, but will join us on this new journey.

Dear 2 1/2 Year Old Nate

Dear 2 1/2 Year Old Nate,

You turned 2 1/2 on September 19th and you are my wild and crazy boy. While there are times that you are calm, the easiest way to describe you is a bull in a china shop. You just go and go!

Thanks to a nasty cold, you got to go see the doctor this week so I know you weigh 33 pounds and are 37 inches tall.  The doctor and nurses were so very impressed with you and your language. You were so well behaved while we were there and that makes Mommy so proud. 

You wear mostly 3T clothes. I pulled out your winter clothes from last year and we had to pass them all onto your cousin Brennen because your legs are just too long for 2T pants. You can still wear some 2T shirts, but I mainly buy you 3T clothes because the sleeves are longer. You wear size 10 shoes! 

While there are times when we can't understand you, you talk a lot. You have awesome language skills, probably on the level of a 3 year old. You can communicate what you want without any problems. Everyone is impressed by the things you say.

You still love books and that makes Mommy so happy. You love the library and when we drive by it, you ask to go inside. You love the toys they have, but more importantly, you love being able to get books to bring home.

You are still and I think always will be a gross motor skill kid. You walk, run, and jump like a much older child. Just last night, you and I were outside playing soccer and you can run and kick the soccer ball like a pro. You love soccer, baseball, basketball, skateboarding, golf, and just recently, you fell in love with throwing a frisbee.

You love to be outside and one of your favorite places is the playground. Thankfully, we live close to lots of parks and you have a special name for each one. One of your favorites is the pirate park and the seesaw park. While you love the slides and climbing parts of the park, your favorite thing to do is swing. You would swing all day if you could.

You learned how to pedal your bike, but you would much rather just push it with your feet because you can make it go really fast that way. You love your bike and beg to do it quite often. You love riding your bike down to the mailbox with Daddy.

You are still quite the little eater, although you've gotten quite picky at times. Sometimes, you'll scarf down your food and then other times, we have to encourage you to eat. It just depends on the day and what is going on. You still love pancakes, but you also love hot dogs, waffles, oranges, yogurt, fruit snacks, bananas, cereal bars, doughnuts, and hamburgers.

You still take one nap in the afternoon and I think that you'll continue for quite some time. I don't think there's ever been a day when you've gone the whole day without a nap. You just need that extra rest throughout the day and Mommy and Daddy do, too.

You still sleep pretty well at night. You go to bed sometime between 7:30-9, depending on what's going on the next day, and sleep until 7:30 most mornings. When you wake up, you'll hang out in your bed and read and play. We love that you can be happy in the mornings.

Since your 2 year old update, you have moved to a big boy bed, a full size bed that we already had in your room since your room doubles as the guest room. While we feared this transition, it was super easy. You did great. Other than a few times the first few nights, you now stay in your bed and sleep well. You still sleep with your Monk Monk and Elmo. If I let you, you'd carry them around all day every day, but we normally have a rule that they have to stay in your bed.

You are now potty trained.  You woke up one day asking for undies and after a week of accidents here and there, you then woke up that Friday telling me you had to go potty.  It was like a light switch was turned on and you finally realized that you could know when you needed to go potty. You wear undies during your nap and diapers at night. Even with the diapers at night, you are normally dry 4 or more nights out of the week.

We still think that you'll be a lefty. You use your right hand every now and then, but you are much better with your left. You bat like a lefty and kick the soccer ball with your left foot.

You love anything that has to do with art like painting, coloring, playdough, etc. This makes Daddy very happy and I think that one day, you guys can make things together. When you do draw, you love to draw circles and you've actually gotten quite good at it. 

While you still don't recognize most of the letters of the alphabet, you do know that they are letters and can sing your ABC's.

You can count from 1-14 and you love lining up your cars and counting them.  You also know your colors and your shapes.

You love TV and ask for it when you wake up, which we don't mind since it allows all of us some time to cuddle and wake up together. Your favorite shows are Curious George, Fresh Beat Band, Super Why, The Cat in the Hat, and pretty much anything on PBS.

Cars is still probably your favorite movie, but you also love Bambi, Dumbo, and Monster's Inc.

You started preschool in August and you love it. You get in trouble sometimes, but what can I say!!  You're all boy and a follower at times. It's going to happen. You love your teachers and ask for them when we aren't at school. If I ask you what you did at school, you'll say play. :)

I'm so glad that you love school and their playground. When we drive by it while running errands, you immediately let us know that it's your school and your playground. You've had to adjust to taking a nap at school in a room with other kids, but you're getting there. You love your little cot.

You still love playing with trains and cars. You also love to do puzzles and to work on your tool bench. You are getting good at building towers with your blocks and your imagination is really growing.

If I ask you if you grew in my belly, you'll say no and that you grew in another Mommy's belly. While there are lots of things that you have yet to learn about your adoption, it makes us happy to know that you can understand some simple things about your story.

You are one special boy and I thank God everyday that He brought us together.

We'll love you forever,

We'll like you for always.

As long as I'm living,

My baby, you'll be.

We love you little man!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Adoption Poem

The Legacy of a Child in an Open Adoption

By Brenda Romanchick

Once there were two expectant mothers.
One carried and cared for you beneath her beating heart
She became your Birthmother.
The other carried the hope of you within her.
She became your Mom.
As the days passed, and you grew bigger and stronger,
Your Birthmother knew that she could not give you all you needed after
your birth.
Meanwhile, your Mom was ready and waiting for you.

One day your Birthmom and your Mom found each other.

They looked into each other’s eyes and saw a friend.
Your Birthmom saw the life your Mom could give you.
Your Mom saw how much your Birthmom loved and cared for you.

They decided that what you needed was both kinds of love in your life.

So now you have two families,
One by birth, the other by adoption.

And you have a home where you can get:
your questions answered,
your boo boos bandaged,
your heartaches soothed,
And much needed hugs.

And a place where you can find:
answers to your questions,
your image in the mirror,
a part of yourself,
And much needed hugs.

Two different kinds of families
Two different kinds of love
Both a part of you.


© Copyright 1999 Brenda Romanchik - R-Squared Press

2 Years

My Sweet Tater,

Two years ago, on March 19, 2010, your Daddy and I got up early and headed to the hospital.  I had barely slept the night before, but that didn't matter.  I was so anxious to see you, to hold you, to kiss your sweet cheeks. 

We met your birthmother, Joy, there and before we knew it, Daddy and I were alone, waiting for your arrival.  My heart was racing as I tried to soak in every little detail about that morning, knowing that it would be something that I would want to treasure forever. 

I stood in the OR recovery area with my ear pressed against the door and listened to your sweet cries as you entered this world at 10:04.  Minutes later, you were wheeled into the room and I laid my eyes on you, my son, for the first time.  You were so handsome and tiny.  My arms ached to hold you, to whisper in your ear that I loved you.

We stood at the window to the nursery and watched you get your first bath and get checked by the doctors and nurses.  I couldn't help smiling, knowing that you were finally here.  We made phone call after phone call, spreading the news about your birth to family and friends.  Your Trish even brought Krispy Kreme doughnuts to celebrate your birthday. 

And then the time came when you were ready to go to Joy's room, time when we could finally hold you and love on you.  I was the first one to pick you up and I felt like my heart would burst with love for you.  Watching your daddy hold you for the first time was the sweetest moment ever.  He's never been much of a baby man, but holding you, his son, just came naturally.  We spent a few hours with you and your birthfamily, all of us amazed at how handsome and perfect you were.  We took turns holding you and snuggling with you.  The love we all had for you filled the room.

Daddy took me home to get a few things and then he took me back to the hospital.  I got to spend that first night with you and Joy in the hospital room, just the three of us.  We loved on you, taking turns cuddling with you.  We talked about you, sharing our hopes and dreams for your future, and we marveled over how small you were and how gorgeous your chocolate eyes were.  We counted your toes and fingers and wondered if your hair would be curly or straight.  After Joy fell asleep, I put you in the bed with me and I just stared at you, feeling like I needed to pinch myself to remind myself that this wasn't a dream.  I felt like the luckiest mommy in the whole world. 

And you know what, Tater?  Ever since that day, two years ago, you have filled our lives with so much joy and love.  You are the child that we longed for, the one we hoped and prayed for.  God answered our prayers and brought us together to be a family.  I am thankful for the miscarriage and the years of infertility because without them, you wouldn't be our son and that thought breaks my heart.  God used those things to give us you.  You will never have red hair like Daddy or green eyes like me, but that's not important.  What is important is that you have had our hearts from the very beginning.  You are our son and always will be.   

I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always;
As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be. 

I love you, Tater.  Happy Second Birthday!

Love,
Mommy

My God Is So Big

Most nights, when it's time for Tater to go to sleep, he will ask us to rock him and while rocking him, he'll ask us to sing.  It's the cutest thing ever.  Dave has a few songs that he always sings to him, but I like to change it up.  Some nights, I sing hymns, other nights I'll sing praise choruses, and then sometimes, I'll pick a childhood song like Skidamarink. 

Last night as I was rocking him for a few minutes before putting him in his crib, this simple song that we used to sing in Children's Church instantly came to mind. 

My God is so big, so strong and so mighty
There's nothing my God cannot do
My God is so big, so strong and so mighty
There's nothing my God cannot do
The mountains are his
The rivers are his
The skies are his handy works too
My God is so big, so strong and so mighty
There's nothing my God cannot do

As I was singing it, I couldn't help but look at my little guy and remember just how true that song is.  With Him, all things are possible.  Because of Him, I am now a mommy, something that seemed impossible at times. 

There are many times that I worry about what the future holds.  I wonder if we'll ever be able to adopt again, if I'll ever want to adopt again (more on that later), if Tater is meant to be an only child.  Singing that simple song to Tater last night brought tears to my eyes because it was a reminder to me of all that He has already done and the fact that I can put my trust in Him for my future, no matter what it holds. 

I just have to remember that even when things feel impossible and I'm discouraged, that my God is so big, so strong and so mighty, and there's nothing my God cannot do.

Why It's Love - Not Blood - That Make a Family

Why It's Love - Not Blood - That Make a Family

http://www.familycreations.net/blog/why-its-love-not-blood-that-makes-a-family/

**Some people are having problems opening this webpage.  If you are one of those people and would like to read the article, let me know and I'll copy it and send it to you.**

You guys must really be.....

...Praying!

I got a call today from Jenn, the lady who works with the adoptive parents at the agency here in Jax.  She was asking if we could drop by our profiles TODAY, because they wanted to be able to show it TONIGHT! (This means that a mother is making a decision and we are one of the choices!)   Of course, I said YES!!!!!!  The only information I have is that she is in Naples, Fl.

Dave dropped them off and was told they were being shipped FedEx to a maternity home.  Since the office is closed right now and I won't know more information right now, I'm assuming that the mother must be staying at this maternity home.

Can I just say WOW?????

What's New

I've been promising updates, so here goes....Four things that are "new".

1.  Our photo profiles arrived.  Most of your already know this, since you've seen our previous blog post, but we found some mistakes.  It was nothing major, just a few things, but knowing that this is what a mother would be looking at when trying to decide if we should be the parents for her child, we decided to fix the errors and have them reprinted.  We are, however, going to turn in the ones we got until the others come in.  The new ones have been ordered, so it shouldn't take long at all.  :)  So, if all works out, tomorrow Dave will run them by, and our profiles will be at the agency.  That means that we will be active at the agency!  :)  Can't begin to describe how exciting it is.  Yes, I know that I must be realistic and know our wait could be forever, but I'm trying to put faith that God will provide!  I'm praying that God will provide in 2010!  :)

2.  Two weeks ago, I went to my normal annual doctor's appointment.  I brought up some symptoms that I'm having and asked about the possibility of endometriosis, something my mom and I had talked about in previous conversations.  My doctor told me to see our fertility doctor and talk with him about it.  The only way to diagnose it would be a laparoscopy, which I am not looking forward to, but we're willing to try.  Now, we just have to schedule it.  I've tried calling a few times, but it seems that their lunch break falls at the same time as my break at school.

It's funny, because the few people I've told have then proceeded to tell me that maybe this will be the answer to our infertility.  I won't lie-getting pregnant would be awesome, but my heart is so set on this adoption stuff, that it would almost be disappointing at the same time.  I know that sounds horrible, but it's the truth.  Yes, I would love a strawberry blonde, very pale,  Dave/Jennifer running around more than anything, but I also would love a kid that didn't look like me running around as well, knowing that God has been glorified through adding to our family through adoption.  I know this doesn't make much sense, and to some extent, it doesn't make sense to me either, but it's the truth.

3.  The biggest news is probably this:  We turned down another baby.  We got an email about two weeks ago about a possible baby due to be born in July.  Now, don't get carried away: The mother hadn't chosen us or anything, but we got asked if we wanted the mother to see our information along with other couples.  After finding out more information, we said no, but it breaks my heart to do so.  Why did we say no, you might ask?  Well, lots of reasons.  One, our profile wasn't done at the moment and they needed it asap if we wanted to be considered.  Two, the amount of money was out of this world!  Let's just say it's around the $40,000 mark.  Three, the baby was going to be born in Nevada, making the expenses higher, due to travel, and more red tape, due to it being so far away.  So, another baby closer to our VBK baby, right?

4.  Now that our profiles are ready, it's time for the next big step: The money.  We've got to decide on how to go about getting this large sum of money.  Just pray that we'll make smart choices and that God will provide!  He has so far, so I'm not going to doubt Him when it comes to this.  I do know, though, that we have to do our part!  I'm already cooking up ideas on ways to have something like a fundraiser.  If you have any ideas, I would love to hear them!  :)

Thanks for praying for us.  It's awesome to know that people, even some who don't know us personally, are praying for Baby VBK!

Picture and Excitement

Still have lots to tell, but since Dave has decided that today is the day to replace our front door, I can't stay on for long.  :)

I am super excited for this family:
http://our-journey-to-parenthood.blogspot.com/2009/12/getting-ready-to-go.html  
I've been following their story and they got the call that they can go pick up their daughter and have her home before Christmas!  They've had a crazy journey and it is very encouraging to hear other's stories of adoption.

I was playing around in Picnik and made our picture look a little more festive and thought I'd share.

Look at what came in the mail today......

Our Photo Profile!!!!!  :)

Profiles, Pressure, Printing, and Bad Dreams

Over this past week, Dave and I have really tried to get our photo profile together for the agency here in Jacksonville.  Basically, until they have the profile in their hands, we can't move forward with the process.  With the agency, when a birth mother is ready to select a family for her baby,  the birth mother is shown profiles of couples that meet her criteria.  We needed ours done to even have the chance to be chosen.

Can I just say that it's really hard to "sell yourself" in the profile?  Dave and I are just not the type of people to toot our own horn.  There is so much pressure on you while creating your profile.  You want it to look nice, because obviously, if it doesn't, you may never been chosen.  It needs to include information about yourselves, your life together, your jobs, pets, house, friends, recommendation letters from friends, and your dear birth mother letter (Ours is a 20 page photo profile.)   It needs to include pictures that make you look friendly and loving, but not ones that make you seem like you're overdoing it.  It's a good idea to have some pictures with children, but too many of those and you look like you're trying too hard.  Needless to say, it's not something you can just sit down and accomplish in one hour.  I think all together, I worked on ours for over 15 hours this week (hence the lack of blogging).  I've gone through picture after picture (and if you know me, we have tons of pictures), trying to find the right ones.  We've written and reworded things a million times.  I've changed picture layouts and tried to make the layout pleasing to the eye.

We finally finished last night.  I got a coupon in my email for 25% off our profile books (we needed three for the agency here in Jax) and was determined to get it done by midnight in order to use the coupon.  I think we officially ordered them around 11:20.  Close, but still with time to spare, right?  :-)  I got an email this morning saying that they have been printed and shipped and should arrive sometime before the beginning of next week.  Once we get them in the mail, we can take them to the agency and we have the opportunity to be chosen.  One step closer to our goal.  I went and got in bed last night and felt like a lot of pressure has been removed.  One more thing could be crossed off on my list.

Then...I went to sleep.  I kept having nightmares that our book was messed up, that the birth mothers hated it, or that we had to start all over again.  Needless to say, it as a night of major tossing and turning and the relief that I had felt last night was gone.  Now, panic had taken over.  I'm just having to remind myself that we did the best we could and we aren't perfect people.  If it's not 100% perfect, if there is one misspelling (even though we checked it a million times), that life will go on.  I am just having to trust God that, now that we've done our part, He can do his, more than what he's already done so far.  It's hard and I'm not going to lie and say the panic is gone, but I just can't worry about it too much.

Well, I've got more to share, but it's time for small groups with the girl teens at our church.  I know that I'm leaving you hanging, but I can't be late!!!  :)

Disappointment

Dave and I went to Barnes and Noble last night.  I had gotten a gift card from Allen and Angela (my brother and sister-in-law) and I wanted to get some adoption books.  I find their pregnancy/childcare section and was glad to see five whole packed shelves of books.  I start searching for the adoption books and can't seem to find them anywhere.  I mean, come on, they are a pretty large bookstore and should have a decent amount of

books on adoption.  Can you guess why I was having a hard time locating them???  They only had three books!  Three books, out of five whole shelves of books.  Out of those three, only one of those is a more current adoption book.  I ended up getting this book:

Pretty disappointed in you, Barnes and Noble!  :-(  I wasn't expecting adoption to have it's own section or anything, but I was expecting something more.

Questions Answered

Here are a few questions that I've received that I thought I'd answer.

1.  Are we still trying to have our own biological children?


Yes, of course, we are still "trying", but at this point, that basically means that we are doing nothing to prevent it from happening, as has been the case for the past 5 years (will officially be 5 years this March).  At times, we have done temperature charting, ovulation monitors, and I've been on clomid (a type of medicine that aids in ovulation, was on 50 mg and then 100 mg) for about 6 months of that time period with no results.

2.  Are we going to try any infertility treatments?


Yes and no.

We do plan on trying the IUI procedure once, just to say that we have tried it.  The cost for this procedure is right under $1000.   Basically, they put me on clomid, monitor my egg growth and release, take numerous blood draws, and when the time is right, they would artificially inseminate me through a catheter.  Sounds romantic, right?  haha

We had planned on doing this procedure soon after our appointment at the fertility doctor last November, but because of my gall bladder issues, they wouldn't let us do any of that until that was taken care of.  Right now, we are in the midst of getting that set up.  Due to the fact that things have to be timed exactly right, we didn't want to schedule them on days when we would be gone to Virginia.

We do not, however, have any plans of moving forward after that.  IVF is just too expensive and invasive for us.  It's right for some people, but for us, we would rather use that money to adopt.

3.  Does our insurance cover infertility treatments?


A big fat NO!  Our insurance will cover diagnostic testing, but does not cover a single cent of any infertility treatments.  Not even the clomid. :(

4.  How much does an adoption cost?


Adoption costs all vary depending on what type of adoption you are doing.

International can be pretty expensive, but that is due to the massive amounts of paperwork, called a dossier,  and traveling that you must do.  These can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 and sometimes more.  Also, there is always the chance that after getting a lot of money into adopting from a certain country, that country will then close the adoption rights and your adoption will fall through.  Some countries will lesson the adoption fee for hard to place children.

Domestic infant adoptions are expensive and can range from $5,000 to $40,000.  I would say the average cost would be around $25,000.  The expenses differ depending on what type of adoption you do.  There are agency adoptions, independent adoptions, attorney adoptions, etc.  The major risk of these would be the birthmother/father deciding after the baby is born to parent the baby.  Also, because most states allow it, the adoptive parents normally have to pay for some living expenses of the birthparents.  If they do change their mind after the baby is born, most of that money is then lost.

Foster care adoptions can cost between $0-$5,000.  Many of these children are hard to place children, meaning children who are older than 8, have siblings, or have medical issues.  With these adoptions, the children normally have lots of emotional issues and there is normally an issue with the parent's rights.  They prefer to place these children with people that are older and have had parenting experience.

5.  What is a home study?


A home study is the first thing you need to do in order to adopt.  It's basically a document which states that you are capable of providing for a child.  For ours, we had to do tons of paperwork, some of which included employers letters stating where we worked, an application, information on our finances, proof of our marriage, birth certificates, and the list goes on.  Also, we had to complete a physical, proving that we didn't have any health conditions keeping us from adopting, we had to have numerous background checks done, we had to have multiple references, we had to sign agreements stating that we had not been arrested for any reason, and numerous of other things .  Dave and I had to complete a paper on our history and reasons for adopting.  These had to be typed and had to answer four pages of questions given to us by our social worker.  When we were finished, Dave's paper was 10 pages long and mine was 12.  Pretty crazy stuff.  We also had our social worker come to our house to make sure our home was suitable for children and we had an interview with her.

Our home study started in late September and was completed the first week in November.  Ours went by pretty quickly due to the fact that we were going to be adopting K's baby is October.

Home study costs can range from about $1000 to $2000.  Ours was a gift from a family here in Florida that has known of our desire to have a family.  We are SOO grateful to them for providing this for us!!!

6.  Did we have to have a baby's room ready for our home study?


No, we did not, and I am very thankful for that.  Yes, I want to get a room together, but having a prepared room and it staying empty would not be much fun.  We do, however, have a few things here at the house in case we get a phone call about a baby that has already been born.  We have an infant car seat, a pack-n-play, a baby bathtub, numerous toys, and a handful of baby outfits.  We have friends that have a crib for us and another family that has a swing ready for us, when the time comes.  We have been blessed by having friends that are willing to give us things for baby VBK.

7.  What wait time are we looking at?


Once we finish up of family profile, our wait time could be anywhere between a couple of weeks to 2 years (or longer).  When adopting through an agency (and most other venues), your name is not just put on a list and you move up a list as babies are placed.  When a birthmother comes in, she is given multiple family profiles and she can decide on one of those.  We will have to be "chosen" in order to adopt so it could take a while.

I hope this has answered some of your questions.  Feel free to email me at jennifervbk@yahoo.com  if you have any more.  :)

I love getting the mail...

...when it contains a good letter from the adoption agency here in Jax.  They have our application, have reviewed it, and we are officially approved!  :)

Questions

I've had a few people ask some questions and thought that before I answered them, I'd see if anyone else has any questions that they might be curious to know about us or about our journey.  I'll wait until Friday for questions and then I'll try to answer them this weekend.

So, ask away!  :)

Cute Shirt

Saw this and loved it!

http://www.adoptionbug.com/02_pp/03WH-adult.htm

Where We Are Now

Thought I'd update you all on where we are now in this journey.

First, we're applying with a local agency here in Jax.  They are a Christian ministry which, because Dave is a minister, allows us to list for free.  We have put in our application, but have a few more papers to sign before it's official.  Once official, we have to turn in a photo profile.  This is a 16 or so page "book" which will be shown to birthmothers that fall into our criteria.  This profile book is not easy and will take a while for us to get together, so basically, once all of that is done, our profile will be available to birth mothers.  We still have to be chosen, so just listing is not a guarantee of adopting.  Once matched with a birthmother, we have to pay a large sum of money, part of the grand fee, and living expenses for the birthmother, as this is legal in the state of Florida.  Once the baby is born, and if the birthmother doesn't decide to parent the baby, we will bring the baby home and have to pay the rest of the fee.  The wait time for this could be 3 months or it could be 3 years.

Second, we have a connection at a local hospital that is keeping an eye open for us for babies that have been born at the hospital, but have been signed over.  This would be awesome, if God so desires for our baby to join our family this way.

Third, our social worker who did our home study, is often (meaning once every couple of weeks) contacted by attorneys and agencies who have a situation.  This is how the February baby and the current baby situation have come to our attention.  She sends us the information and we determine if we want to get more information.

Right now, we are working on our photo profiles, getting information on the possible April baby, and praying that one of these doors is the right one.  :)  Thank you for joining us and praying for us!

It's about time

Well, it's time.  Time for others to know about our adoption plans.

Yes, there are some that know, but there are lots that don't and it's about time that we share what's going on.  Up until now, I've been selective about telling people about our blog, not because I'm ashamed in any way of adopting, but rather because it was all new to us.  It's still new, but I'm becoming more aware everyday of how little most people know about adoption and I hope that through this blog, others can follow our journey and learn about adoption. We don't know where this journey will lead.  Doors have been opened, but at this point, there are so many doors and we're just waiting for God to lead us through one of them.

So, if this is the first time reading my blog, enjoy!  Sit back and enjoy the ride.  :)

Update

Well, I talked with the attorney about the situation that I mentioned in my last blog.
Here's some info that I can share about it.  The birthmom is young and is currently living with her older sister in Southern Florida.  No info on who the father is.  She is 21 weeks along and attorney does not know the gender of the baby.
Basically, the birthmom has already been given some profiles of waiting couples to look at.  If she doesn't like any that she is looking at or wants to see more, the lady I talked with is more than willing to get her our information.  Also, the lady is willing to get our information and let us know of situations opening up in the future if this situation is a no go.

So, where do we stand tonight in this?  Just waiting to hear something.  We're working on putting together a dear birthmother letter and our photo profile.  Fun stuff!