I must say these last few months have really flown by, I can't believe its already nearing the end of August. We have been busy with projects, projects and more projects, I will fill you in on this in a bit.

Well friends, I am happy to say that it feels like we are done with Phase 1 of the Adoption process and moving on to the next Phase! Which means its time for the Home Study! This process really excites me, I feel like were in the thick of it. We have to have 3-4 home visits, and our first will be mid September.
Many people have asked me what the Home Study requires, to tell you the truth I am not sure what all will go on. I know that yes our agent will come and see our home, our lifestyle, the way we live, but its more then that...its also an on going interview. I believe we will get direction on how to write our letters to the Biological-Mother, and we will also start to put our "Book" together. Matt and I have to make six  
"Snapfish", "Apple" or "Costco" books, I guess whichever one we find that has the best price. This will show photos of our home, each other, our dog, families and the things we like to do....showing us and who we are. These books can be sent throughout the country and shown to a potential mother, she can look through our book and if she likes us "choose" us. Its an interesting process, but I know the Lord has the right little baby to be out there for us.

Back to our home, we have been painting, doing some construction, creating storage/nooks---trying to get some things done that we have had on our list. I know we won't get it all done in time, which is ok, it doesn't all need to be done right away. I will be sure to post some photos as we get things done, little by little, it sure has been fun!

I have come up with a comparison of the Adoption timeline, and a Pregnancy timeline...just my own little diddle I thought of.

Adoption:                                                                         Pregnancy:
Pre-Application                                                                Trying to Conceive
Application                                                                       Pregnant
Paperwork & Required Documents                                  Doctor Visits, Morning sickness & exhaustion
Home Study                                                                      Nesting
Placement with Baby                                                        Finding out Sex
Waiting & Nesting                                                            Waiting, nesting and getting bigger
Post Placement                                                                  Baby time/Labor

This may change down the road, but we will see how it goes!

A verse that was encouraging to me today was:
But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded. 2 Chronicles 15v7

Thank you all for the encouragement & prayers!
Emily

Physical

Its hard to believe all the things you are asked to do prior to adopting, I understand that not everyone should adopt, that is why they have such an enduring process. They want to weed out the creepers, those who shouldn't parent, and sadly those who are not fit for to make the cut.

I have been reading a lot lately, yes all pertaining to adoption. There is so much information out there, different ways to go about it all, its given us much wisdom and insight on how to go about this process.
One of my favorite things I recently read in "Called to Adoption" by Mardie Caldwell was "I believe the desire to be a parent in from the Lord, yet how we approach that desire when biological pregnancy does not happen easily also needs to include His plans for us. While many of us are called to become parents, few of us are called to adoption" Ever since we made the decision I have felt so free and full of joy again.

Physicals. Yes we had to get physicals, not just the regular before you can play sports physical....we also had to have drug tests and a TB(Tubercuosis) test, followed by paperwork our Doctors had to fill out. Not to worry we passed everything! I have to say I am thankful they do this, its wise to want potential parents to be healthy prior to taking on the life changing roll of a parent.

Thought I would share a few photos from my visit.

Waiting for the Nurse. 

Dr.Shadi Miller and I. 

She is so great if you don't have a regular MD

Many blessings to you! 

Paperwork

After doing the research of which organization to go with it was a huge blessing to find out we have a friend who works at the agency were using, with our decision to choose a Domestic Infant Adoption she too will be our caseworker. We were grateful to be able to meet with her privately to go over the services they offer, and what the process looks like.

We filled out our Pre-Application, to get approved for the actual Application, which moved along quickly. I thought to myself, “Wow that paperwork wasn’t so bad”…however a few weeks later we received a large manila envelope that was packed of information, forms, directions, etc. Oh boy, here we go. From fingerprints, background checks, references, family information, Infant First Aid and CPR certified and so on, it’s an overwhelming task.

This verse came to mind, “The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the heights.” Habakkuk 3v19 

I need to remind myself this and not get caught up in the long list of paperwork we have ahead of ourselves.

I found myself knee deep in papers, running in every direction all over town to get official forms; Marriage Certificate, Passports, Tax information. I feel like the people at the courthouse know me well now. It can be an exhausting task, but I am grateful to have such a loving and supporting husband to go through this with. There is a lot that they ask you to do before adopting a baby, I do understand why, we have to remain positive and productive and the Lord will see us through.

Just a little look into what some of my days are consisting of now, the desk, yes lots of desk time. 

The beginning of our journey.

Many of you know the struggle we’ve had with infertility the last 3 years, it’s been a whirlwind of emotions, you never expect to be the “one” who goes through it. Through the many testing, prodding’s, charting, appointments, procedures, drugs and so on, the Lord has always brought us through. I know that God is using this in our lives to strengthen our marriage, to build our character, and draw us closer to him. A verse that I meditate on often “Blessed is he who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord”. Jeremiah 17 V7

To get through those hard, dark, disheartening days where I felt so low and useless this was the verse that I clung to. That I must trust in him, his plans and his ways for they are far better then I could ever imagine. Traveling down the road of infertility is not one you choose, but one that God allows. A wise friend once told me, “The Lord finds you worthy to go through this”. Hearing that statement was a major reality check of what I am living this life for, not for me and my wants, but for the Lord and his plans.

In the end Matt and I know that we want to be parents, the beautiful thing is that there are various ways that this can happen. We came to a standstill in the medical world, do we do injections, or do we do in vetro fertilization? The cost to the “chance” was a big factor---spend thousands of dollars on something that there is no guarantee in the end you will have a baby, this left us without a feeling peace.  I also was struggling with the medications, hormones, side effects, and the unknown of the long-term effect this would have on my body. With much prayer I had to confess to my husband that throughout our process of wanting to conceive a child, Adoption has always been around me. We had always talked about adopting, you know “someday after we have a few of our own”. That someday is now for us. We could not be more happy to share that we are in the process of a Domestic Adoption. We do understand the cost is quite large, we trust that the Lord is going to provide for us, however he plans to do so. We have peace that in the end of this process no matter the cost, we will have a baby, what a gift that will be.

Thank you for following along, we hope you will join us as we have begun our journey in praying for us, provision of money, and our future baby.

Many blessings to you,

Emily