Australia

This was a poem that was shared from this weekend at our seminar, hope you enjoy! 

Deciding to have a baby is like planning a trip to Australia. You've heard it's a wonderful place. You've read many guidebooks and feel certain you're ready to go. Everyone you know has traveled there by plane. They say it can be a turbulent flight with occasional rough landings, but you can look forward to being pampered on the trip.

So you go to the airport and ask the ticket agent for a ticket to Australia. All around you, excited people are boarding planes for Australia. It seems there is no seat for you: You'll have to wait for the next flight. Impatient, but anticipating a wonderful trip, you wait - and wait - and wait. 

Flights to Australia continue to come and go. People say silly things like, "Relax, you'll get on a flight soon." Other people actually get on a plane and then cancel their trip, to which you cry, "It's not fair!"

After a long time the ticket agent tells you, "I'm sorry, we're not going to be able to get you on a plane to Australia. Perhaps you should think about going by boat."

By boat!" you say, "going by boat will take a very long time and it costs a great deal of money, I really had my heart set on going by plane." So you go home and think about not going to Australia at all. You wonder if Australia will be as beautiful if you approach it by sea rather than air. But you have long dreamed of this wonderful place, and finally you decide to travel by boat. 

It's a long trip, many months over many rough seas. No one pampers you. You wonder if you will ever see Australia. Meanwhile, your friends have flown back and forth to Australia two or three more times, marveling about each trip.

Then one glorious day, the boat docks in Australia. It is more exquisite than you ever imagined, and the beauty is magnified by your long days at sea. You have made many fiends during your voyage, and you find yourself comparing stories with others who also traveled by sea rather than air.

People continue to fly to Australia as often as they like, but you are able to travel only once, perhaps twice. Some say things like, "Oh, be glad you didn't fly. My flight was horrible: traveling by sea is so easy."

You will always wonder what it would have been like to fly to Australia. Still, you know God blessed you with a special appreciation of Australia, and the beauty of Australia is not in the way you got there, but in the place itself.

Your Lamaze Class = Our Adoption Training Seminars

 

Before we went to Saturday's Seminar. 

We had a weekend full of training's, involving us going up to Portland on Friday for a 2 hour session and Saturday we spent the day in Seattle for an all day Training Seminar.
I will elaborate on Saturdays sessions for Friday was more of an Introduction.

We walked excited yet nervously into a room that had about sixteen other couples, it was quite and all seemed eager to see what we'd be learning. The morning started with meeting one of Bethany Christian Services Lawyers, he was a charming guy with a gentle spirit. He shared many stories of when he was young in his Law days, and how he developed the heart to work with Adoption cases only. He told us you can imagine the abundance of joy that fills the room the day that he is present with a family in court to finalize the Adoption, one of the few times you see Judges come out of retirement to see it happen. He also discussed how each state is different in the process and timing that is allowed for a biological parent to relinquish their rights as parents. The process of finalizing an adoption, how it varies from state to state. He was a wealth full of knowledge, very helpful with all the questions we had.

We discussed the Adoption process and why Bethany Christian Services encourages "openness" in your Adoption plan. Many people have a bad stigma on openness in Adoption, but there are many ways to go about it, we see it that it could at some point in time be a ministry for us and the birth mother.
Home Studies are required, we will have 4 visits with our Case Worker. We don't fully know all what will take place, yes she will look at our home, but its so much more then that. There will be a series of "interviewing"-a process in which she can get to know "us" and therefore hopefully match us as best as she can. We have our first one next week! Please be praying!

Our favorite part, yet also heart wrenching was the Birth Mother Panel. There were five different women who came and shared with us their story, each one different, but in the end all were grateful for the decision of giving their baby up for adoption. My heart broke at moments, but was also so encouraged and excited at many times. The moms said some of the things that bless them are being open and honest upon meeting the birth mother. Once you are chosen to have good communication, that they want to know that they are making the right choice in choosing you, they shared that them as the birth mothers have the same fears we are facing. It was so eye-opening in a sense, to really sit there and realize that they are giving you the baby growing inside of them, because they know that in the end what is "best for the baby'.

They discussed Transracial Adoption, the issues that can arise and how we in America still face racism. How when you adopt a baby that is not of your race that you have to really embrace that culture and make it apart of your lives, for you are now a multi-cultural family. The examples of the color of skin of the dolls, action figures, books, magazines you have in your home, not just be the color of your skin. It was really good to hear those facts of information, the advice we were given and how to make it apart of your lives.

Another highlight was when the Adopted Family Panel came to share their stories. There were three different families and each had a wonderful story of their adoption process. Each stated that "openness" is different for each family and can change overtime, all had positive experience with it. They shared about their first visits with the birth mothers, how to be yourself and sensitive to them and their family members. It was encouraged to start "nesting" when you are in the "waiting" portion of the adoption, this is when your home study is completed and approved! This was exciting for me, and good to hear. I didn't know when/if you set up a nursery prior to having your baby. They said to have a registry prepared, so that once you have the baby you are already set with that portion and not have to worry about it. Meaning its encouraged to have a baby shower after you have the baby home.

We were reminded in the end no matter how long it takes to be placed with a child, God is writing our story, that he has the perfect baby out there for us. To not get discouraged remaining faithful in prayer for the future birth mother and our future baby.

      You can't really read it, but this is our certificate stating we completed that portion of our training!


Thank you again for all the prayer and support!
Emily