Monday, August 6, 2012

August 5, 2012~Peace that comes with a Decision~

This post took me a bit longer to write for various reasons but the main one being we had not made a decision yet as to which adoption agency we were going with. Well...........our decision was made last week and our paper work has officially been submitted!!!

Chris and I, after many LONG talks, meetings with agency members, and prayers have finally decided to go with domestic adoption at a local agency here in Birmingham. The group is Family Adoption Services in Homewood Alabama and we could not be at more peace about this decision.

Months ago when I began really looking into the adoption process I had always visualized doing International and going to China. As fate would have it, my "plans" again don't always go the way I think they should. In the previous post I talked about how my plans were not HIS plans and I think this was just another example of this.

Sign outside of our Adoption Agency office

When investigating the International Adoption option via China we ran into some very specific road blocks. I won't get into all of them here since they are quite personal (you are probably thinking well goodness she's shared just about everything else right? why not this?) but just know that it's not as black and white as you might think.  

It was very difficult to see that door close to us but Chris and I both know it happened in order to place us on the correct path to receive our Baby Baker. We met with several agencies and talked with friends who had gone through the adoption process themselves. It finally came down to where did we feel the most comfortable. 

I would like to say that each group we met with was lovely, empathetic, and professional but one stood out from the rest.

During our first meeting with Family Adoption Services the entire office came into the meeting to sit with us and discuss the possibility of us joining their prospective parents group. I honestly felt like this group cared and had our best interest at heart. 

Family Adoption Services. Precious little house in Homewood. 


I started to tear up and cry during the meeting when they asked me if I had any concerns and my main one selfishly being that I didn't want to wait years and years for our child. We have already waited almost 6 years, lost one along the way, and my husband and I desperately want to be parents. But all of that is obvious right?

The owner of the agency and her husband themselves could not have children. In fact, her doctor all those years ago told her "Go home and plant a garden...". I swear, sometimes people really do say the strangest things to people dealing with infertility. You would be amazed at what's been said to us. 

Susan (the owner) got up and handed me a tissue, grabbed my hand and told me "I am so sorry for your loss, your heart ache, and the pain you both have endured. I understand and am here to help. Your child will make it to your arms in His perfect time and I promise you it will not be years and years."

Chris and I left feeling very confident with this group but we still took the time to make sure we were making the right decision. I called them two weeks later and told them the news that we would be filling out the paper work and joining their prospective parents group. The sweet girl at the front desk actually squealed with happiness for us. 

So.....what next? Well, lots and lots of details. Lots of paper work, lots of meetings and the start of our Home Study with our social worker. What's a Home study? A Home Study is where the agency assigns you a social worker who interviews you on several different occasions at your home and requires you to meet certain expectations. Or for lack of better ways of putting it....delves into every aspect of your life possible. 


FBI background checks, finger printing (that was not fun by the way), blood work, doctor's appointments, HIV tests (yeah, you read that correctly), parenting classes, CPR certification, tax returns etc. 

Scary but exciting stuff. The Home Study typically takes about three months to complete and once that is complete the wait time for your child begins. Average wait time with this agency is a year to a year and a half but it all depends on how many mothers they have at that time and other various factors. Could be sooner....could be later. Hoping for the prior :)

I am also happy to tell you that I have still been running. On average about 4 times a week depending on my work schedule and the weather. Yes, it's still unbearably hot and humid here and I probably look like Phoebe from the episode of Friends when she jogs with Rachel and looks like a crazy person. Oh well. 

More to come soon....and I do mean soon :) 

Much Love,

Amanda & Chris


2 comments:

  1. I know I've already shared my excitement with you but I'm so happy you guys made a decision.

    Keep on running :)

    Xo
    Ash

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    Replies
    1. Thank you sweet friend! Prayers for patience and yes ma'am, still running!

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