Adoption: We’re Active!

PART TWO: Back in April, we shared that we had begun the Adoption Home Study process, and what a wild ride that was! Within three weeks, we completed all of the paperwork involved, and then once that was completed and approved, we moved into several weeks of interviews and home visits with our caseworker. In between our visits, she spent some time writing up our actual Home Study, and once that was done, we spent a few more weeks waiting on final signatures and the postal service to deliver all of the completed paperwork to all of the right people.

Those final couple of weeks felt like an eternity, but now our home study steps are complete, and we have officially gone active with our adoption consultants.

This means we are now seeing cases! It is so exciting to finally be to this point in the process, but it is also filled with a variety of emotions that are new for us…thoughts and feelings we are still learning how to navigate.

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We knew that this journey would include having a front row seat to heartbreak, loss, trauma, etc. but seeing the cases has made all of these things a reality for us.

We are not currently working with one specific adoption agency but with adoption consultants who partner with multiple agencies around the country – providing us with a wider variety of situations to consider. As we see these cases, we are given the opportunity to say YES or NO to presenting our family’s profile book to each of the expectant mamas whose case we view.

Our profile book is a little booklet that provides a glimpse into our family’s life and allows us to communicate with the moms.

As we are saying YES to presenting to a birth family, other families may be saying YES as well – with a match happening when an expectant mother chooses a family who has also said YES to her.

This process has been full of waiting: waiting for documents to arrive…waiting for visits to be schedules…waiting for paperwork to be completed and signed…waiting for mail deliveries…and now waiting for cases to come in each week.

I hate waiting. Let me repeat that – I hate waiting. So the fact that God has invited me on this journey makes me laugh sometimes!

In chatting about the adoption with our kids, we explain to them that we don’t know what the future holds. We chat about how we don’t know for sure God has a baby for our family, but that if He does, we are standing with open arms ready to welcome them – we’re saying these things all while I’m on Amazon ordering baby stuff. ha! So far, the bassinet has arrived – and so has the stroller. One afternoon, my youngest son yelled, “Why’s there a lawnmower on the porch?” It was a stroller.

Many of you have asked us how you can support us during this time – and if we would be willing to create baby registry of needed items, so we have done that here:

IN THE EVENT THAT WE DO NOT EXPERIENCE A MATCH, ALL ITEMS WILL BE DONATED TO OUR LOCATION PREGNANCY SUPPORT CENTER.

but more than anything, we would appreciate your consistent prayers for all who may be involved in the situation.

There could literally be a match at any time…or there could never be a match. What a wild feeling that comes with a whole host of complicated emotions, but there is one thing I know for sure – I am currently in some sort of intense nesting mode. You would not even believe the level of decluttering, organizing, cooking, etc. happening over here.

It’s like being pregnant but not knowing if you’re going into labor in two years…two months…two weeks…or ever. That may not be the most PC way to explain an adoption wait – I’m learning there are all kinds of things you should and should not say, but at the moment, that’s the best way I know to describe it.

Our kids are excited. The girls talk about the baby, and the boys are convinced God is going to gift them with a little brother named Luke Skywalker.

Sharing our life publicly has gifted us with the opportunity to connect with all kinds of amazing families. We have felt so encouraged as we have shared how God has stirred our hearts to pursue adoption. It has been exciting to see our decision encourage others to do something about that tugging they’ve also felt on their heart.

However, our announcement in April was also met with some criticism from some as to why we were pursuing a newborn adoption when the foster care system is full and overflowing. Over the last few months, Why not help a waiting child instead? has hit my inbox on repeat.

Yes, the foster system is in desperate need of families who have been called and equipped to serve, and I pray if that is where you feel God would have you be engaged right now, you would not delay in getting the process started. In addressing the orphan crisis, I believe there are roles all of us can play!

For us, in this season, we believe that God has called our family to come alongside an expectant mom who has chosen life for her baby, a different kind of waiting child, and offer a tangible provision of hope. This is where our heart is at this time…this is where we feel God has called us and equipped us right now. We’re not exactly sure how our story will look, but we have said YES to whatever story God has written for our family, and we would be so grateful for your prayers as we walk alongside Him.

God, we trust You.