adoption update

Several people have been asking me & Baron how the adoption process is going. Most of you who are interested already know, but just for kicks {and because I have been neglecting the ole blog}, here's a quick post to bring you up-to-date.


1. The profile. We finally finished our profile! {For those of you not familiar with the adoption process, the adoptive couple makes a profile of themselves, which is basically like a "get to know us" sort of scrapbook deal. It's what the birthmother looks at when she picks parents for her child. This is basically the adoptive parents' marketing ploy. :)} We decided to do our profile a la Wal-mart photo book, and we FINALLY finished it. Just waiting on the 937 copies to arrive at our nearest Wal-mart store. {Ok so there are only 4 copies.}


2. The agencies. We started off using Carolina Hope out of South Carolina. They "merged" with Nightlight Christian Adoptions, so now they're known as Nightlight. Agape of Central Alabama did our homestudy. {Speaking of the homestudy, that has also been completed as well...whew.} So, we decided to have both Nightlight and Agape working for us. The more the merrier!


3. The books. Ah, the books. Both agencies require a certain amount of "education" before adopting. Nightlight offers several webinars, which we plan to do at some point in the near future. In the meantime, we are reading the oh-so-informative-and-slightly-boring adoption books we ordered.


4. The first phone call. A couple of weeks ago, I got a call from Nightlight. They had a birthmother who came in, and they wanted to show our profile! But alas, we did not have a copy, due to the procrastinative (?) nature of ourselves. So I quickly proofread what we did have & sent them a link to the online version of the photo book. Oh and p.s. the birthmother's due date? October 21st. But, as it turns out, she never got back in touch with the agency. Strike one.


5. The crib. So, after that first phone call, I got all giddy with the realization that this could happen ANY DAY NOW. Granted, the odds are that it will still be months, but who knows? So in an rare form of non-procrastination, I started thinking of what we need to do to prepare ourselves should we suddenly have a new baby in the house. Coincidentally {or not so coincidentally, as I don't believe in "coincidence"}, Elizabeth told me about this consignment sale in P'ville and how I may want to check it out for any awesome deals. So I went over on a Sunday afternoon, and lo and behold, there stood the exact style/color crib I'd been planning to get! And for the low, low price of $150 smackaroos. I got Baron's permission {via text, since he was in a coaches' meeting, oops!} and made the first official baby purchase. Fun times!


6. The second phone call. Just this past week, Agape called us. They got an e-mail from their sister agency in Texas - they had a birthmother who was being very particular about the adoptive parents she wanted. And we just so happened to fit her criteria. The catch? This agency's placement fees are WELL over our intended "baby budget". And by WELL over, I mean about $15,000 more than we planned to spend. Oh and the mom is due in December, which would give us 2 months to come up with that money. So, since we unfortunately purchased a red maple from my brother rather than a money tree, we had to ask not to have our profile shown for this case. It really broke my heart to come to this decision. I cried at the thought of having to basically tell this mom/baby "no, we can't afford to adopt your precious child into our home." {Yes, there are grants out there available for adoptive parents. Unfortunately, we just don't have time right now to get everything together to apply for them in time for this particular case.}


So, there you have it. Our adoption process thus far, in a nutshell. :) Feel free to ask questions...I'll consult my latest 1200-page book for an answer if I don't have one. :)

tree!!!

My brother, the ultimate landscape architect, sold us a 13-foot red maple this week. He planted it in our backyard & this is the finished product. I'm so excited to finally have a tree in the backyard! It looks great!!!

His first choice

I have a friend from college who has recently informed me that she & her husband are considering adoption. She & I have been "facebooking" back & forth about this subject. She had some trouble getting pregnant, but she does have a beautiful child of her own now. And she is still considering adoption. One of her concerns is what people will think about them adopting when they are perfectly capable of birthing their own children. {"Why would you want to do that when you can have your own children?"} Well, that got me thinking about something I read today in the book, The Adoption Decision, by Laura Christianson. I'm reading the section in the book that refers to God's adoption of us as his children. Here is a quote from that section:

"When Paul [in his letter to the church at Ephesus] refers to God's children, he uses the Greek word huiosthesia (huios means a son and thesis means a placing). All believers are adopted - placed with their heavenly Father. Adoption is not God's second-best choice for building His spiritual family but rather, His first choice."

I love that! Adoption is God's FIRST choice for building his spiritual family. He didn't try another way and then use adoption as his backup. This was his plan all along! He desperately wants to adopt us as his children. What if God did not choose adoption? Where would we be?

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will - to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the one he loves. ~Ephesians 1:4-6

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! ~1 John 3:1

Thank you God for adopting us as your children. Thank you for giving us the gift of salvation & the hope of eternal life through our adoption. Thank you that this wonderful plan is your first choice.