It's time. It's time to finally come clean about what's been going on with your family lately. It's no secret that we have been trying to extend our family for several years. After two miscarriages within two years and several unsuccessful fertility treatments, we have finally decided to adopt. God has been working in our hearts over the past several years through all of the trials and tribulations related to extending our family circle. Without a doubt, He has been preparing our hearts for what's next to come.
Approximately 6 weeks ago, we met with our caseworker and discussed our desires to adopt. We completed the orientation process and also completed some required testing before getting the final go-ahead. Today, we received the final go-ahead so we are eager to submit our application to the agency. With a ton of emotions pumping through our bodies, we are anxious for the months that are ahead of us. For obvious reasons, we waited to share the 'news' with the blog world until we received today's confirmation.
Questions, questions, and more questions. I'm sure all of you have plenty of questions. To keep it simple, I'm going to run through some basic questions and answers below. I hope this helps. If by chance you still have a question, please let us know. We are THRILLED to be able to share this journey with all of you...so please ask as many questions as you want! :)
Q: What's next in the process?
A: We need to submit our application to the in-state adoption agency for processing. From there, they will be requesting documents and they will be scheduling our homevisit.
Q: What is a homevisit?
A: A homevisit is a lengthy interview process that requires everyone in our family to be involved. This process will help the agency evaluate all aspects of our life from social and employment history to disciplinary practices and beliefs.
Q: You mentioned your 'in-state agency'. Does this mean that you have an out of state agency as well?
A: Not yet...but we will. The wait time for a baby in our own state is 2-4 years so we will need to link up with an out-of-state agency to get a baby from another state sooner.
Q: Where will you be adopting from?
A: Once our homestudy is complete, we believe that we will be adopting a baby from Texas. Based on the birthmother laws that are in place for Texas, we feel like this state has the best laws that meet our adoption needs.
Q: Do you want a girl or a boy?
A: We are open to either a boy or a girl. We are also open to any race...so bring it on!
Q: How does PQ feel about the adoption?
A: PQ is PYSCHED about it. We have been talking to him about it ever since we decided to pursue this avenue. He knows every move we make with regards to this process and he is extremely excited to have a baby brother or baby sister!
Q: How much does it cost to adopt a child?
A: It will cost us ~$30,000 for everything related to the adoption. This includes application fees, homestudy fees, agency fees, and travel to pick up the baby.
Q: How are you going to afford this?
A: With God, we know that anything is possible! We are trusting Him to provide the resources that we need to make this happen. For now, Papa H and I will be living off from 1 income starting this week so that we can save money to put towards the adoption. In addition, we are cutting back on the 'extras' in our life so we can save more money for the adoption. Lastly, we will be raising money to help us pay for the adoption.
Q: How can I help your family through this process?
A: Your prayers are always coveted! Aside from prayers, we will be selling t-shirts in the upcoming weeks. We plan on having several fundraising events and we will soon be opening a savings account so cash donations can be accepted for the adoption. (If you or someone you know wants to help us out, please let us know!)
For now, I'll leave it here. There is so much that goes into the adoption process. I don't want to overwhelm anyone on this first post about our big news. If you could please keep our family in your prayers, we would really appreciate it. We love you. XOXOXOXO
5 comments:
I am so happy and excited for all of you! What an amazing journey you have ahead of you... :) I will gladly do whatever I can to help - please don't hesitate to ask!
And congratulations!!!!!!!
yahoooooooooooooooooo bring on "David JR" :) BAH!!!
Thanks, LouAnn!
Hilarious...For those of you who are wondering who 'David Jr' is...Country Mouse was listing off baby names this past weekend and after reading the name 'David Jr' in the People Magazine, we both busted out laughing at the idea of someone randomly naming their child 'David Jr' if their wasn't any other Davids in the family...it's all for laughs...
I still think it's funny, Country Mouse!
I'm praying for the health of "Your" unborn baby, and his/her birth parents as well. Also for wisdom, guidance, and patients for the H family. So excited for you all. Love you guys!
Hi there, I don't like to "stalk" blogs without introducing myself. A friend of yours from your church passed your blog address on to me, knowing that I'd be interested. I live in the Bangor area and have adopted 2 children as newborns. Our son was born in Massachusetts and we were in the delivery room for his birth...we have an open adoption with his first mother, including visits. She has taught me a great deal about how heartbreaking it is for a woman to place her baby for adoption (definitely, no baby is unwanted by their first mom). Our daughter was born in Maine and came to us when she was 1 day old. Am looking forward to following your journey and hope I can somehow offer you hope as a parent through adoption.
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