Moving Along

Yesterday we had our home study interviews. The word I would use to describe the whole thing would be...fabulous. God is so present in all of the decisions we make and I'm not sure why it continues to surprise us that He leads us to the right choices when we ask for His guidance. Our agency is amazing and our case worker could not have been any better suited for us. Our agency is so proactive in finding homes for children in need and I really admire the hard work they do and the sacrifices they make. God is using them so well! 


I cannot speak for other adoptive families but the home study interviews were nothing to fret about. Ryan and I are pretty much open books so it wasn't too hard for us. They just want to make sure that children are being put into a better situation than what they are coming from. Sadly..some children are put into worse environments and that is what the home study is trying to prevent. It's a really necessary step and we are just excited to be moving along! 


The thing we were most nervous about before hand were the answers we may get to some questions we wanted to ask him.


What is the wait time to receive a referral? About 9 months (like a pregnancy) and he thinks that is getting shorter. There is always a disclaimer that it could be much longer or that something terrible could happen, but we signed up knowing those things but hoping for the best. 


We want to make sure that we do not have the mindset of please go find us a child...but here we are, ready..when a child needs us..we will love them. Families for orphans..not orphans for families. 


When we started this process we decided we would be "open to siblings." Meaning, we would accept a referral for a blood related pair of siblings. Our hearts started to be changed and softened and instead of "open" we were now "hoping for siblings." The problem is that we have a young child and we would like him to remain the oldest child in our family. So unless there were twins needing a home, we would probably  receive a referral for one child. 


So our next question was "Can we adopt TWO non-blood related children at the same time?"  Yes...a lot of families do it, Ethiopia will allow it, you can do that. Sure. 


Will it take a lot longer to get a referral for two children? It will take longer probably, but not crazy long, and things are looking better all the time anyway. 


So, are you saying you are open to two children or you are seeking to adopt two? We want to be a family of 5.


Will you please write down that we WANT to adopt two children? That is what we are requesting. Two children born after May 31, 2011. Boys or girls or one of each. We would like to adopt two. Okay, great.


How many of those fees are doubled? Most of them you just pay half on the second child. And of course you travel only 2 times and not 2 for each child. One home study fee. 


Our social worker leaves.


Did we just tell him we wanted to adopt two children? Yes, and I am so excited about that. 


Why two?
Why not?


Can I physically and emotionally handle being a stay at home mom to what will probably be three toddlers? Not on my own..but with God and my husband and an army of friends, yes I think I can. 


Can we afford it? We are really leaping out in faith and trusting that God will provide and we have already seen evidence of that within 24 hours of our meeting. 


What about Brody, do I feel bad that two more children will take even more attention away from him? These babies that will be ours one day are orphans right now. God gives mommies and daddies the ability to spread out their love to many children. I am praying for Brody's sweet heart to understand and he love his new siblings! 


So there it is..we are in the process of adopting two children. Our prayers are for our children in Ethiopia.