ADOPTION!!!!!

(Written on Friday, April 17, 2009)

Adoption is something that Brandon and I have always been interested in. We have always dreamed that years from now, when we are done having kids of our own, we would adopt a baby from overseas...save a child from poverty...give an orphan a forever family and home. We never anticipated that we would feel the calling to adopt so much sooner. After 3 consecutive miscarriages, it seems that the Lord is pushing us toward adoption now. It's such an overwhelming thought, and such a huge step. I told Brandon last week that I wanted to start looking into it. I wanted to attend one of the information meetings that a friend had told me about. So I went to the adoption agency's website and looked at their meeting schedule. As luck (or fate) would have it, the next meeting was scheduled for last night. I only had to wait a few days! (The Lord knows that patience is not one of my strong points...thank you Lord!) On Monday, I requested an information packet on International adoption, and it was emailed to me the same day.

Brandon and I looked through the information, and it seemed that the best fits for us were South Korea and Ethiopia. I spent the rest of the week researching these two countries, finding out all I could about the adoption process. At the meeting, we found out that South Korea had a limited intake (meaning that our agency can only place 5 babies per year for that country), and that they do not allow you to choose the gender. I was heartbroken. South Korea seemed like such a good fit to me, but we really want to be able to choose a girl. This could very well be our last child, and I have been wanting a daughter my whole life. Luckily, Ethiopia still seemed to be like a good option for us. I expected to feel encouraged and energized at the end of the meeting, but I actually ended up feeling very discouraged. Brandon had been so worried about the financial aspect of adoption, and I thought for sure that he was going to tell me that there was no way we could do this. I felt defeated when we walked outside, and barely made it to the car before I broke down. Brandon didn't understand why I was so upset. He actually WAS encouraged by the meeting. By the end, he felt that this WAS something we could do. I was so relieved when he told me, and then I began to recover. And THEN I began to get really excited! We're going to ADOPT A BABY from ETHIOPIA!!!!!!

We are both thrilled with this decision! It's almost like I'm finding out I'm pregnant all over again, but without the risk of a loss. We will end up with a baby...it might take quite a while but in the end, we WILL end up with a baby!!!!! I sent in the preliminary application today. The adoption agency will contact us in a few weeks to go over things with us. Then we will fill out the formal application. Once we are accepted, we will have a home study with a social worker. And once that is done, we can complete and send our dossier to Ethiopia. Then we will wait and wait and wait until we get a referral for our baby girl. A few months after that, we will travel to Ethiopia to pick her up and bring her home! We have quite a process ahead of us, but I am excited for it. I'm going to have a daughter! At last! :)